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stereo

X

xscruffx

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does any one no if the stock vz head deck has a remote wire so can hook up an amp or do i have to replace it :bang:
 
V

vzute

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nah mate havent checked but i'm thinking of playing with the stereo so if you find out let me know
 

alimpyer

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unfortunatly u cant just add an amp to the standard head unit.
u need some pre-amp converter thingy so that u can convert speaker wires into pre-amps. supposedly there is a contant hiss or sound throught the speakers doing it this way.

if anyone knows about this could they let us know coz i dont want to looze the standard head unit or buttons on stearing wheel
thanx
 
D

DA_VZ_UTE

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Mode and Set

Well i found that if you hold down the Mode and Set buttons when you turn on your ignition you get to see a whole lot more about your car. Things like electric rpm... instant fuel... amp usage... fuel remaining... fuel parts out of 225... dash test signal and other part numbers.

Worth a look! :wave:
 

Phreddy

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Hey All.

After having some questions myself over this issue I decided to pull the stereo out and have a proper look. (I'm a qualified electonics tech BTW)

Mine is the in-dash 6 stacker.

1st point - there are NO low level outputs. Sure, you can use a high-to-low level converter, but as mentioned there is a "hiss" which finds its way to your power amp. There's also a vast difference in quality between different manufacturer's converter units. Regardless of the converter quality though, another drawback is that any distortion introduced by the onboard power amp chips is then dutifully handed on to the external amp. Not exactly desirable.

2nd point - there is also no remote output for power up/down of the external amp. There is of course an output for the power antenna, but do you only want your amp to operate when the radio's on?? ;)

I'm in the process of performing a slight mod to my unit, in which I build a small circuit board into the head unit which acts as a buffer amp (a buffer has little or no gain, it just prevents loading from the external amp from interfering with the signals inside the head unit) and also provides a remote output for the external amp power control. However, this mod is not for the faint-hearted. It involves pulling the unit apart (obviously) and a little soldering to connect the thing up. There's also a requirement to add a couple of sockets (RCAs or whatever) to the head unit to get the signal out, plus a modification of the cradle the whole thing sits in to be able to connect the RCA cables. Damn!

I'm prepared to go to the trouble though, as - like a few others - I like the convenience of the wheel mounted controls without having to spend hundreds on top of the head unit to convert the control signals. Plus the fact that the Blaupunkt unit isn't too bad - certainly not high-end, but a vast improvement over the crappy Eurovox units from years past. (last ride was a VT II - out came the Eurovox and in went a Panasonic head)

Comments welcomed, I'll post again soon with the results. (it's a work in progress)

Cheerz!
 

Utester

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Phreddy said:
Hey All.

After having some questions myself over this issue I decided to pull the stereo out and have a proper look. (I'm a qualified electonics tech BTW)

Mine is the in-dash 6 stacker.

1st point - there are NO low level outputs. Sure, you can use a high-to-low level converter, but as mentioned there is a "hiss" which finds its way to your power amp. There's also a vast difference in quality between different manufacturer's converter units. Regardless of the converter quality though, another drawback is that any distortion introduced by the onboard power amp chips is then dutifully handed on to the external amp. Not exactly desirable.

2nd point - there is also no remote output for power up/down of the external amp. There is of course an output for the power antenna, but do you only want your amp to operate when the radio's on?? ;)

I'm in the process of performing a slight mod to my unit, in which I build a small circuit board into the head unit which acts as a buffer amp (a buffer has little or no gain, it just prevents loading from the external amp from interfering with the signals inside the head unit) and also provides a remote output for the external amp power control. However, this mod is not for the faint-hearted. It involves pulling the unit apart (obviously) and a little soldering to connect the thing up. There's also a requirement to add a couple of sockets (RCAs or whatever) to the head unit to get the signal out, plus a modification of the cradle the whole thing sits in to be able to connect the RCA cables. Damn!

I'm prepared to go to the trouble though, as - like a few others - I like the convenience of the wheel mounted controls without having to spend hundreds on top of the head unit to convert the control signals. Plus the fact that the Blaupunkt unit isn't too bad - certainly not high-end, but a vast improvement over the crappy Eurovox units from years past. (last ride was a VT II - out came the Eurovox and in went a Panasonic head)

Comments welcomed, I'll post again soon with the results. (it's a work in progress)

Cheerz!

Good post.
Have you thought about just tapping of the output prior to the amp in the headunit to get low level outs, since you will be in there anyway, can even connect this to your RCAs and straight to an external amp.
Or is this what you are planning?
 

Phreddy

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G'Day Utester.

In fact that's EXACTLY what I'm planning to do, just building a little protection in. I'm picking off the rear right and left signals between the preamp chip and power amp IC inputs. The buffer circuit I described is firstly to prevent any nasty loading effects so that the head's inbuilt power amp chips can function as usual, plus it will prevent any interference the cables might pick up from getting into the head. (this shouldn't be a problem with decent quality cable, but I like to err on the side of caution! ;) ) The other advantage is that I've designed into the buffer PCB an output to control the external amp's on/off control, without loading down the power control circuitry in the head unit. If for some reason the external cables get hit with some stray voltage, it will also prevent the head unit from getting fried - just the simple add-in board.

Anyway, I have the gear to make PCBs and a little analog design experience. I like the challenge anyway! LOL!

Cheerz!
 

Phreddy

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ash sv6

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I have the HBD stereo fitted - went the full hog; 6 stack, amp, speakers and sub. I can say I am not overly impressed at the moment, there is something wrong with the FR speaker causing it to dropout (loose connection I think - getting looked at at 3K service next week) the rest of the speakers are fine - don't get any hissing, I have no idea how they run the head unit to the amp though. The sub however I am happy with - it has its own amp and it thumps hard. The overall sound is hard to comment on, with only three speakers working - I haven't heard the stock stereo to compare. Has any one else got the HBD amp & speakers package and what do you think of it?

Those blue LED's look sweet!
 
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