EddieC

Sorry I didn't see this until today. We got there around 2 after a nice long traffic delay on I-95. Hate I missed ya man. I'll definitely be going to the next one close by. Aaron, it was nice meeting you. Thanks for taking a few minutes to talk things over with me. My car will finally be paid off this summer and I'll be hitting you up for something a little more powerful. ;-) It was! First one I've had the chance to make. Definitely won't be my last! Met a lot of really cool, down to earth people there.

Think I'm gonna take my son up with me Saturday as well. He's 11 and thinks mine is loud....hah! He's in for a treat.

Cory Money ft Bo Gunner & Chiegh - Cleaned Up. It's on Decaf's rar 33. Nice setup bigjon! That Ethos is BEAST!

Man that's just brutal...thanks! Couple of f bombs but nothing too bad lyrically. I'll bet that Evil lays a whoopin' on your ride during this shizz!

Ok.... so what has happened to all the rap music nowadays? Used to be that there were SOME groups who made good heavy bass music without all the cussing, but it seems that every song to play through Slacker or Pandora is FULL of explicit lyrics! Don't get me wrong.... I crank 'em when I don't have my 10 year old with me, but It's pretty much a lost cause trying to find something that he can listen to with me. BTW.... I don't push it too hard with him (half volume) as I don't wanna damage his hearing, but he does love to hear some bass. That being said.... can someone please point me in the direction of some kid friendly bass tunes to listen to with my little man?

Found this one from the Decaf 33 rar. This is the regular version, but it still bangs. Plus my son loves it so we can both enjoy this one with a little volume. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9aqVtGFHjw

With an android phone, it's hard to find a hu that will operate through usb (other than accessing media stored on the device, which to my knowledge just began this year. I may be wrong, but this was the first year for Pioneer to offer that feature). All of the music streaming has to be done through Bluetooth or through the aux input. I don't understand why, but the Bluetooth is much louder on this unit than the aux. The Dual was the exact opposite, which is why I was questioning the quality of the newer units. I'm actually pretty satisfied with the way it sounds, though you can tell a difference when it's connected via USB (with stored music). But on that note, I'm having a hard time getting the head unit to connect to the phone via USB. I've only had success with it once and it sounded amazing, but every time since I get an Error-19 message. I've had friends connect Iphones and Ipods with no issues, as well as a flash drive. I contacted Pioneer about it and they said it sounded like an issue with the phone, since other devices were connecting with no problem. They suggested I contact Samsung about resetting the MTP within the phone, but it's easy enough to just put the music on a flash drive. All in all, I'm happy with it. It sounds much better than that old Dual. lol I don't know if it's the higher voltage preouts or just the fact that I can get a better eq but the music sounds louder and cleaner than before.

My Christmas gift from my family is going to be a new HU. I'm replacing a Dual unit with either a Pioneer or Kenwood as I've heard more good things from those 2. The new Pioneers have android app control through Bluetooth. The BT in my Dual has pretty crappy volume compared to plugging it through the aux jack. Are all units like that? Or is it just the fact I've been running a lower quality HU?

Well....stereo is in. Audio sounds pretty damn good over the Bluetooth! Don't see myself needing an aux cable any more. Now just gotta get used to having an eq. Much easier to hit a bass and treble button, but when it's dialed in...damn! Those 4 volt pre outs definitely push harder than what I had. Thanks again everyone!

Today on the ride home from work I was streaming Pandora through my head unit with my Galaxy S4 via aux jack when all speakers but the front left and subs quit playing. I tried music stored on my phone and everything went back to normal. 1st thought was an app issue with Pandora, so I tried Slacker and got the same results. Back to the stored music.... fine again. I then tried streaming both apps through Bluetooth and everything played fine. Wtf could cause this??? If it was a problem within the phone or aux cable, shouldn't the stored music do the same?

Ding ding!! We have a winner! Never would have thought the cable was the problem being that it played fine in the music app.....but a new one solved the issue.

I rebooted....twice. Second time removing the battery and holding down the power button for 30 seconds. Same thing afterwards. Guess I'll try the factory reset and see how it goes. I've been needing to do that since the 4.3 update anyways. At least I still have until the end of the month to take it back to Best Buy and exchange if that is indeed the problem.

Well I decided to go with the Pioneer DEH-X8600BH. Still haven't seen one in person yet but all the specs are identical to the 8500, which seemed to be pretty good for my needs. I'll post thoughts on it after the install. Thanks for all the replies guys!

3 bands are more than I have now.... with the Pioneer having 5 it just seems that there would be more adjustment to it. But the UI on the Pioneer didn't seem as nice as the Excelon's. I guess it comes down to preference on it. BTW.... did Pioneer ever get the rca ground issue corrected? Read a lot of complaints about the older units, but nothing on the newer ones.

After some debate, I really don't see myself going active anytime in the near future. Plus since this is a gift the $ is a little high on the PRS. I did demo a couple of Pioneers over the weekend, but no one had the newer models. Not too sure on these as it seems kinda gimmicky with it's flashing lights and such. Plus I know Pioneers used to have that bad RCA jack issue. The Kenwood Excelons seemed pretty nice. Looking now at the KDC-x897. Pretty nice unit! BT sounded OK in the store, but you never know until it's in your ride I guess. So is this the better unit to buy? I can get it for $160. Edit*ughhh...3 band eq. Nevermind. ...

Just did some research.... active capability and time delay settings, etc. Maybe I should pitch in the extra $ in case I decide to go that route in the future!

Might be a hard sell for another 100 bucks as a gift. What makes that one superior?

I'll drop by the local shop and check one out tomorrow. Not holding my hopes too high as, like you...so far I haven't been all that impressed with BT streaming. But I still think I'm on the right path going with the Pioneer for my budget. Although those Excelons do look sweet too.....

I tried my phone in a couple of other vehicles and while they did sound a little better, they had a tendency to sound garbled at higher volume. I understand what M5 is getting at. And most people will be fine with it, but not sure I can. That's why I was asking....Didn't know if the newer, better units fair any better than what I have now (which is getting replaced regardless). Thanks for the input so far guys!

With this being the 2014 model, I haven't found it anywhere local yet, only online. The thing that is good about this one is the ability to access the phone's music folder through usb on android. I have a Galaxy S4 with a 64 gig card that should work nicely with that. Worst case, I plug in the aux jack when streaming Pandora and such. Can anyone with a recent model Pioneer vouch for the Bluetooth sq?

I was looking at the media units also, as I very seldom play a cd anymore. But I think I'm gonna go with the Pioneer DEH-X8600BH. Unless there's something better for the same price (160ish). I like all the android compatibility with that unit. Plus those 4 volt pre outs should sound nice....

Awesome! That's what I was hoping. The unit I have is one of the first BTs that were made. Plus like I said, it's a Dual. Can't wait to step up to a good quality unit. Thanks man!

Yeah....gonna try that this weekend (time permitting) and see how it does. Keeping fingers crossed.....

Serious issue going on with my system, and I know it's gotta be my electrical..... just need some advice on where to go. I've only had my system in since April, and I've noticed at times that my front stage will suddenly begin losing treble, then volume. I turn it down and it recovers pretty quickly, within a minute..... but will do it again if turned back up. I have not upgraded the electric at all.... was hoping I wouldn't need to being that I'm not pushing a lot of wattage. Amp is a Kenwwod7005PS 5 channel..... manual says it pulls 56 amps. I'm guessing my Scion xB 80 amp alt just isn't enough...... but would doing a big 3 help this??? (I have some 4 ga left over from the amp install that I guess would have to be better than what's there now.) Now that it's getting cool it seems to happen more often with the heat running. And if a bigger alternator is needed, would grabbing one of the 160 amp reman'd ones from ebay suffice? I'm never gonna be pushing big power, and don't want to spend $400 on one when a $150 one would do the job (especially with 2 kids and Christmas around the corner). Thanks in advance guys.

No components..... but here could be another factor to consider. I'm running Polk dB525s rear and dB651s up front from the amp. However I'm running a set of Kicker 11DS40s in the dash off the head unit. They are usually the first I hear drop out. I've been planning on changing my speakers to a component set up front and dropping the rears.... bridging the amp to 100x2 vs 40x4. I know that will sound better in the long run anyways since I can barely notice the rears. But....should I expect an 80 amp alt be enough for everything anyways? Or am I hoping for too much....