Mixing or same brand audio parts?

[vupham]

Hi, is it better to mix audi parts or buy everything the same brand? Wouldnt sticking it to same brand get better outcome? Thanks

[kOncept]

hi vu welcome to the forums...

I usually prefer mixing and matching...

Same brand will not garuntee a better result, it all depends on your listening tastes some companies will make a good sub and their speakers are just so so... listen to everything before you buy it, keep in mind they will still sound different in your car compared to the display board.

Also ask if they are running it off an amplifier or head unit in the store...

Some stores will run it off an amplifier which will make them sound really good but if you're not running an amp it will produce nothing close to it...

[Tu88y]

Myself I find it better to mix brand around. Some brand might have good product in head unit and some other brand might have better products in spilt. But really at the end of the day is up to your own preference. Always listen to the and test out different products before purchasing so you know which one suits you better

[zorrt]

Yea, going with all the same brand doesnt mean the system will sound better. Just means you can stick one brand sticker on your window rather than having a million different ones.

[SiReal]

mix and match y0! Thenm I can tell my friends ALL the goodies I have and a list of ALL the various brands I have. "I got CV splits, MTX this, Kicker that, Nakamichi CD"..sounds better than "I have a sony xplod system"

[J-MuN]

Yeah i usually mix around my brands. An 'all one brand' system wouldnt mean your system will be better than a 'mixed brand system'.

[mugeneration]

yeah this is all true, different brands are renowned for making better quality parts than others, so theres nothing wrong with a bit of mixing and matching here and there. I will say though that when the speakers etc are tested they use the same brand parts, but then thats not to say that other brands parts wouldnt perform better. As long as you dont cheap out, mixing brands is probably the best way to get the most out of your sound system.

[mj3610]

mixing is best but if u prefer just ONE brand (for some reason) then FUSION generally has good stuff in all areas but might leave a hole in ur pocket.

[nEUROtic]

Yep mix and match for sure. Speakers and amps are totally different components and require different expertise to make them awesome! So yeah, get a great speaker and a great amp.

[Z]

Some manufacturers make awesome 'product x' and dont even manufacture 'product y'

EG: JL Audio make quality subs/amps and dont even make headunits.

Thus: Mixed brand is the koot

[Captiva_Blue]

Mix and Match... its the way to go. That said tho, I think its a sensible option to keep all of your full range speakers from the same manufacturer to ensure that they have the same sort of sound, but other than that.. go nuts!

[vupham]

Ah thanks guys for the great info, im planning to buy pioneer head unit because they looks better overall and pioneer speakers for front and side and alpine 4 channel amp.

[alta'd n13]

definitely better to go for a mix and match approach.
every company has its stronger points, for example:
rockford fosgate make a better sub and amp package than the rest of their range,
boston acoustic make an extremely good component speaker system,
focal only manufacture speakers and damn good ones at that,
clarion and jvc make some extremely good headunits

basically if you can put together all the best components from each company into one stereo then its gonna be a better all round package than using a company that just makes everything so-so.

also an important thing to note is to not go for looks when buying your audo gear, at the end of the day your ear cant hear how good the speakers look. alot of the cheaper brands like to make their gear look good rather than put the research and cost into making it sound good because it still creates sales. all the pretty coloured sony and fusion speakers have nowhere near the quality of the plain looking boston acoustic and focal brands.
if you want a very good bang for buck stereo system at the moment you cant go past the 2005 jaycar range. extremely top quality sound and value from their new range

[vupham]

alta'd, thanks for great info. Are those brands expensive like boston and focal because i know boston speakers can go up to $1000. I like pioneer because they seem to be popular and affordable. I am planning to get pioneer deh-p9650MP head unit, and pioneer TS-C160R for front and TS-D161S for rear. alpine MRV-F345 or MRV F545 4 / 3 / 2 Channel Power Amplifier. That set up will cost me $1500 max buying them from ebay new. What do you think about that set up or should i invest that money somewhere else? any hints would be nice

[J-MuN]

hey vupham, where u located?...

i wouldnt recommend the Pioneer TS-C160R's... dont get me wrong, they're a good speaker but for the

price they are at, its not worth it... listen to the JL Audio VR600's at ur local JB Hifi and compare them

to the TS-C160Rs... then see the price difference...

[vupham]

Im from QLD and the speakers im paying for is 250 on ebay and thats 1/2 price of what they are selling it on jb hi-fi. what about the head unit, u think its good? to me i find it looks nice thats all hehe

[alta'd n13]

yes pioneer is affordable and does make a decent entry level all round package. yes the previously mentioned brands are in the upper end of the car audio spectrum but u get what you pay for in most cases in car audio.
the exception to this is if you shop around for the higher quality gear at the right prices.
i have been shopping around for my car audio gear for a little while now and have stumbled across some very good deal both new and second hand to build my stereo.

my current set-up and prices i have payed:
2x 12" clarion v-net subs in sealed box - $200 second hand
1x clarion v-net 4100 (4x100wrms sub) - $200 second hand
1x 1farad jaycar capacitor - $100 brand new
set of boston acoustic FS60 6 1/2" splits - $270 brand new
pair of boston acoustic fx4 4" 2ways - $100 brand new
alpine mrpt220 amp - $200 brand new

that equates to $1070 in total for a very good sound quality system with.
i am also running the new clarion touch screen h/u which retails around $1400 when it came out but for the remaining $430 im sure you can get a nice h/u to run all that gear.

as an alternative to the pioneer setup you have listed i would give some very serious consideration to a jaycar stereo setup. their 2005 range is far superior imo to the pioneer range yu have suggested and will be at a fraction of the total cost as well

[vupham]

I already bought alpine mrv-545 4 channel amp, so im planning just sticking with pioneer head unit and speakers. Im planning to run front and rear speakers of 4 channels on the amp, is it true u can run rear speakers off your head unit and use the front speakers on the amp for best results?

[nedgeworth]

Forget about running your rear speakers off the amp. There is no point too it. The head unit will provide more than enough power to adequetly run these :) Remember your ears face forward so you want the sound to be projecting from in front of you not from the rear.

Either bridge each channel to effectively create a 2 channel amp and run your fronts. Or bridge the rear channels and amp a sub later on down the track :)

For your budget on front speakers i head more towards what alta'd n13 is running :) You'll be much happier with a quality brand than running pioneer speakers.

[vupham]

Hmmm but 4 channels are 125rms watt, the speakers can run 60rms max, so either way i have enough power to run all 4 speakers with ease, that way passengers and myself can all share same quality, is that considerate or just keep it to the front. I do not plan to have a sub-woofer because of the weight and i think the speakers are enough to blow your ears away with the bass. Im noob in audi so bare with me and thanks for all the info guys

wow i searched for a boston speakers for pro 60 6.5 and they are bloody $1000 a pair, maybe i get those for my fronts and keep the pioneer ts-d161 as rear? since my amp can produce

[nedgeworth]

It's upto you which way you want to do it. But just because your speakers say 60rms doesn't mean they can't take any more :D

Look for some lower range boston's if you don't want to spend to much. Hit FHRX up for prices if you need them. Ebay isn't that great for car audio stuff.