RE: Stereo In General

[kbidne@fortdodge.ia.frontiercomm.net]

Hi  Al,

I appreciate your comments very much ! I too need a roof, paint for 
the 3 season porch et al . . . oh well maybe next year they will get done after 
I'm through tinkering with my 5kTQ.  The kids can go barefoot this summer  :-)
Seriously tho, it's easy to get caught up in the enthusiasm and excitement
of making our beloved Q's a lean machine. I've come to the harsh reality 
that some of you out there in audi cyberland actually have way more time
and money than I do to spend poking a screwdriver at your car on a Saturday
afternoon. Drat !

 No matter what, it's still fun anyway you look at it, kind of 
like chasing girls in high school, thrill of the hunt. In the end, it doesn't really
matter if your car is the fastest or has the best stereo, what matters is that you 
are happy with your car and all the tinkering/tweaking it takes to make it seem 
just a little better. I guess that's called self-satisfaction. That's what its all about
isn't it ? The bonus is we get to throw some friendly b.s. at each other and have a 
barrel of fun while actually learning something. 

I'm getting off my soap box now, thanks for reading ! 

Until the next time,

Keith Bidne
Ft Dodge, IA
87 5k TQ        (my new project)
> 
> I've been sick for a few days - and just caught up on mail.  Some of 
> my "catching up" posts will appear before this one...
> 
> Some comments about stereo and our approaches to it...we clearly have 
> a widely disparate set of priorities about money and sound quality 
> when it comes to stereo.  We have many folks who are on the top end, 
> some in the middle, and maybe even some who would be happy with 
> speakers stuck to the C-pillars by their magnets!
> 
> The arguments seem (to me) to occur when those who have differing 
> approaches and priorities try to design systems.  Personally, I 
> have lots of things to do with my money.  The most money I have ever 
> put into a car system was $450 in cash money, plus trading for some 
> speakers.  Sure, I'd love to have $1500 or $2000 for a big-time 
> stereo, but it's not worth it to me.  (Cost/benefit = No Go.)  So I 
> got a factory refurbished head unit with 6-disc hardwired remote CD 
> changer, bought a decent amp (for the rear speakers) at a police 
> auction for $39, put 2 new spekers and 2 traded-for speakers in the 
> car, and I'm done.  (Here I'm referring to my 280ZX, not to the 
> ongoing saga of my Audi stereo.)  Although from the description, it 
> seems like this system should sound like two tin cans being 
> banged together, the sound is really not bad, friends!
> 
> With almost 30 years in radio and TV production, I CAN hear the 
> difference between a few-hundred-dollar system and a couple-of-
> thousand-dollar system....especially if they're side by side.
> 
> But when they're NOT side by side, I can be happy with the less 
> expensive system, as long as it sounds pleasing and performs as I ask 
> it to do.  Fact is, 80% of my listening is to AM talk radio, so I 
> place high value on AM reception!  Go figure - I'm a dinosaur!  I 
> want reasonable, clean sound within a "cheap" budget, which is 
> possible if one chooses carefully.  In the Audi, if Crutchfield 
> doesn't make that rackafratzin adapter sound GREAT for me, I will 
> bypass the Bose amps in my car and run the speakers directly from the 
> Sony head unit I'm putting in.  And that's no cost except some 14 
> gauge wire (nothing exotic in wire, please - why pay?) and my labor.
> 
> Linus Toy spoke well: "If I want really good stereo, I sit at home in 
> my living room."  If some on this list demand that quality on the 
> road, more power to 'em.  Many do not.
> 
> And remember that regardless of the quality of the system's 
> electronic components, there are intervening factors:
> 
> 1)  The speakers used in the system;  we really haven't discussed 
> this, but no matter what the components are, the sound won't be better 
> than the speakers used to reproduce it.
> 
> 2)  How well the owner actually hears!  Many adult males are 
> (due to misspent "yute's" in noisy environments) somewhat short-
> changed on ability to hear high frequency sounds.  I tend to 
> question how much money it's worth them paying for frequency 
> response past 15khz (limit of FM radio) when they may not even be 
> able to hear it.  (Of course, this is not the case for many...)
> 
> 3)  The listener's preferences and perceptions.  Some listeners 
> really don't care if their systems have 8% THD vs 5% THD and won't 
> notice the difference, especially in an automobile at road speed.  
> They also may not care whether their CD changer is an FM modulated 
> unit vs. a direct-wire to head unit, especially if they don't 
> often listen to the higher-cost option.
> 
> I admire a truly fine stereo system.  I also need a bench vise, a new 
> cordless drill to replace the one which just died, four tires for my 
> 280ZX, a new roof on the house, three new panels of T-111 siding on 
> the house to replace the ones which are rotting in our TX climate, a 
> computer for the kids, and come to think of it, some $$ for a whole 
> week's vacation this year would be super!
> 
> I enjoy my list friends on this group, respect your opinions on 
> mechanics, stereos, and even movies, and understand that you have 
> differing priorities and values as regards stereos and other things.  
> Just because those priorities differ does not mean that any of them 
> are wrong....because we can all tolerate the foibles of our list-
> friends as long as they keep the Audi faith. 
> 
> Al Powell                           Voice:  409/845-2807
> Ag Communications                   Fax:    409/862-1202
> 107 Reed McDonald Bldg.             Email:  a-powell1@tamu.edu 
> College Station, TX  77843-2112
> W3 page - http://agcomwww.tamu.edu/agcom/satellit/rpe/alpage.htm
> 
> 
>