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08-11-2005, 08:45 PM | #1 |
Scooby Guru
Member#: 32636
Join Date: Feb 2003
Chapter/Region:
MWSOC
Location: Dayton, OH
Vehicle:2004 Impreza STi Silver/Silver |
offset’s Car Audio Manifesto and FAQ
offset's Car Audio Manifesto and FAQ
This is my attempt at organizing and informing people on all basics of car audio; and the ways in which it applies to a Subaru. I hope that this can serve as the starting point for any car audio related question. If you are considering posting a general question, you may want to take some time and jump through some of these links as it will most likely answer your question. For anything not covered or something more specific however, feel free to post as there are several very helpful and knowledgeable people in these forums. I am including in this post the links to the primary Buyer's Guide and FAQ posts that I have created; as well as several other links that cover various topics. If you have any suggestions, comments, or criticisms of my FAQ postings please use this thread instead of the others to post in so that they may stay clean and this thread can see all of the activity. Also any requests on FAQs please post in here as well. Also, many of the most frequently asked questions on NASIOC can now be found in the third and fourth posts of this thread. Primary Car Audio Buyer's Guides and FAQ Car Audio System Design and Selection FAQ (This one may take a while to get done, but I think when it is ready it will greatly help. For now try this link instead...) http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/S-...ealSystem.html Active versus Passive Crossover FAQ FAQ http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show....php?t=1479380 Head Unit Buyer's Guide and FAQ http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=824987 Cabin Speaker Buyer's Guide and FAQ http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=824998 Amplifier Buyer's Guide and FAQ (includes Big 3 and alternator type of info) http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=713891 Subwoofer Buyer's Guide and FAQ (needs some revision now) http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=618889 Sound Deadening Buyer's Guide and FAQ (Coming soon, but for now these are excellent posts...) http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=712026 http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=642962 http://www.sounddeadenershowdown.com/ Car Alarm Buyer's Guide and FAQ (I hope to convince netZ to work with me on this one, it may take a while, until then these are the best posts for info...) http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=111553 http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=308992 Other Electronics(CB, police scanners, radar detectors, laser jammers) (No idea when this will happen, but it would be worthwhile I think) Fiberglassing tutorial/FAQ http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show....php?t=1168388 The GREAT thread all about the stock head unit (includes great info on speaker connection, antenna adapter, CD changer connector, aux jack, and stock subwoofer) http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=749402 Great install threads for Subies http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show....php?t=1261005 (2005 aftermarket headunit) http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show....php?t=1264018 (fully detailed component speaker install) Car Audio shopping - First and foremost if you have the option of buying from a local car audio specialty shop I would recommend you considering that. This helps to promote local business, gives you good opportunity to see and hear the equipment in person, and it is generally easier to get support on any items purchased that way. However you should be a little cautious of Best Buy and Circuit City in terms of installations as their salesman and installers know less than they should (there are some exceptions, but there have been plenty of bad install stories about either of them). This is a listing of some Internet retailers who deal in car audio products. The first two listed are the only two who offer only authorized products. The rest are considered more ***8216;grey market', which means that the manufacturer's warranty may not be valid on an item purchased through them. However people still continue to buy from them due to the tremendous savings on the items they carry. Most do attempt to give their own warranty on products sold though. I have dealt with some of these retailers and have not personally had any problems yet. Just remember that it is like gambling, you pay less for an item but you also have less support and no factory warranty in case you run into problems. Of course there is also eBay which is a wonderful place to buy both used and new car audio equipment. I have bought stuff that way and have had no major problems as of yet. A lot of that is being an informed buyer and knowing what to look for in an auction to insure everything will work as expected. That comes with lots of experience in car audio. Also don't forget that there is a Private Classifieds section here on NASIOC. I have bought and sold with people on here and have had great results this way as well. Not to mention that there are a lot of us here who can be used as free support if you run into problems. Just be careful as there is less protection in case of a scam. At the least make sure the person you are looking to buy from is a regular poster, has been registered for a decent amount of time (at least a year usually works), and has bought or sold other items before. http://www.crutchfield.com (a little pricey, but still good service with factory warranty) http://www.sounddomain.com (every bit as legitimate as Crutchfield with all of the same perks) Other typically reputable online shops***8230; http://www.hookedontronics.com http://www.ikesound.com http://www.woofersetc.com http://www.cbrstereo.com http://www.onlinecarstereo.com http://www.sonicelectronix.com http://www.darvex.com (wires) http://www.knukonceptz.com (wires) Last edited by offset; 04-29-2008 at 11:05 AM. |
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