ROLL CALL: Who has surround sound in their car(s)?

[CPR]

Update: Now have an Acura 2012/TL/SH AWD/Tech
Plays DVD/A's, DTS, & SACD/Hybrids/ONLY!
Great system, for Ipods, BT Audio, CD's, MP3's, etc

 

[JonUrban]

Well I ended 2012, exactly on Dec.31 to pickup a 2013 Acura ILX which I had been checking prices throughout the year and as dealer incentives at end of year thought maybe this is the time to pull the trigger......

Update: Now have an Acura 2012/TL/SH AWD/Tech
Plays DVD/A's, DTS, & SACD/Hybrids/ONLY!
Great system, for Ipods, BT Audio, CD's, MP3's, etc

Congratulations guys! Nice to hear about new Acura owners who actually know what they have in their cars!! Crank 'em up!

I'd be interested to hear if the latest ELS systems still check for the watermark. I mean really, what's the point of keeping it in there?

 

[peterzach]

Congratulations guys! Nice to hear about new Acura owners who actually know what they have in their cars!! Crank 'em up!

I'd be interested to hear if the latest ELS systems still check for the watermark. I mean really, what's the point of keeping it in there?

Thanks Jon, its through this site that I have learned to appreciate so many more things about surround sound. I have listened to 3 different dvda's and one of them is a ISO burn of Rush-Farewell to Kings, should that one have been watermarked as it played fine.
Driving to and from work this week has been such a pleasure as the sound in the car's sound is so balanced, really enjoying it. For a introductary Acura I am pretty happy with it so far.

 

[elshagon]

Over the next while hope that some of the experts here can give me a hand or explain how to convert Dvd Video dts disk's to dvd audio as there are so many that I have: Genesis,Depeche Mode,Nick Cave,Opeth,Gentle Giant,ELO,etc.

First of all if your car plays the dvd video there's no real advantage to converting to dvd-audio aside from having everything one format for making mixed discs. The dts audio won't improve by converting it to dvd-audio. Some of those artists have discs out in higher resolution than dts so if you can, get the dvd-audio. The easiest way to convert those dts tracks is to use a program called "DVD Audio Extractor". Choose your dvd video disc from your pc's dvd drive in the menu and it will then show you all the tracks on the disc. Make sure to select the dts 5.1 as there's options to rip the stereo as well. Then rip those tracks to 6 mono files making sure to keep the audio the same bit rate as the original. once you have the 6 mono files for each track then you must use a program such as Surcode MLP to encode those mono files to .mlp. MLP is what you will use to make your dvd-audio disc. It's much easier with original dvd-audio discs as you can simply rip the tracks straight to mlp.

 

[UFL1138]

Near the end of January I bought a certified 2011 Hyundai Genesis 3.8L V6 w/ Tech Package. It has a black exterior with "cashmere" interior.

One of the features that steered me toward this car was its 17-speaker Lexicon audio system: http://hyundai.lexicon.com/hyundai.aspx

It sounds great! It may be less forceful on the bass than I would have imagined, but I'm not cranking it all the way up in the (3-band) equalizer, either.

I have a bunch of King Crimson DVD-Audio backups that I play in the car, and I'm working on my method for converting SACD ISOs to DVD-Audio. I'm also hoping to be able to convert the latest DSotM 5.1 mix to DVD-A for listening in the car.

In addition to DVD-Audio, the car has built-in XM and HD Radio tuners, an AUX input, USB input, iPod interface (which connects to both AUX and USB simultaneously in one dock adapter). It at least plays 320kbps and V0 MP3s from both DVD-R discs and USB. No flac yet. I'm also interested in learning how to create a DVD-Video with DTS 96/24 audio and basically a static image for the "video" portion. This would allow for several surround albums on a single DVD, which would be nice.

Guess that's it for now.

 

[JonUrban]

Near the end of January I bought a certified 2011 Hyundai Genesis 3.8L V6 w/ Tech Package. It has a black exterior with "cashmere" interior.........

Great. We have a few members here with Hyundai's and they seem to like them a lot. Having 5.1 in the car is something that only can be appreciated once you have it yourself.

It reminds me of NAVI's. I bought a 1999 Acura TL back then, and I opted for the NAVI, which added almost $2K to the car, but I thought it was sweet. Everyone (including my wife) said "Why do you need that, you have maps in the glove compartment?". Today, most people get cars with NAVIs. It's a shame the 5.1 did not catch on with the public like GPS systems did.

 

[cliffbig]

If manufacturers wouldn't cheap it out, 5.1 might be successful. Considering how much they charge for tech packages that include 5.1 surround systems, they are years behind in upgrading the disc unit itself so that can read SACD, DVD-A, DVD, and Blu-Ray. Contract with Oppo to create a car with universal surround sound and you have something that no one else in the industry is currently offering!

 

[inkubuzz]

Hi, Ive been trying to find the famouse sony SACD/DVD player with no luck, anyone knows where i could fond it online?

I have to buy it and bring it to chile..



edit:
Or if someone can buy it for me and send it to a USA address I have in Miami? :banana:

 

[Pibroch]

NOTE: those of you with the Sony MEX-DV2200 -- if you burn DTS-CD with no CD-Text and 3 second track gaps (which the player ignores anyway) it will not skip tracks!! I am currently re-burning all of my DTS CD's.. I have dozens, but it's worth it to not have to babysit the damn thing.

 

[mdmost]

I just bought a JVC KD-AVX2 from Audiosavings.com for $157. Got a wiring kit off Ebay along with an iPod controller. I'm just going stock speakers for now and the unit seems pretty upgradable for later. I have a sickness. I'm just glad this acquisition was cheap.

 

[mdmost]

Installed my KD-AVX2 last Thursday and I am in love with my car stereo now. The only drawback is it does not play watermarked copies of DVD-Audios. I get the reasons but for someone who owns legitimate DVD-Audios but fears for their quality after riding around on pot hole filled streets, I'd still love the ability to play copies of my DVD-Audios. The crazy thing is when I was installing the unit, I was measuring my center console to see if I could custom make a center speaker space. My 05 Honda Accord is a similar body type and interior to the Acura's that came with center speakers so it's possible I believe. Not sure the wife will let me go that overboard though. If you are thinking of taking the plunge and have a single DIN space, get this unit before they are all gone.

 

[johnrd]

Installed my KD-AVX2 last Thursday and I am in love with my car stereo now. The only drawback is it does not play watermarked copies of DVD-Audios. I get the reasons but for someone who owns legitimate DVD-Audios but fears for their quality after riding around on pot hole filled streets, I'd still love the ability to play copies of my DVD-Audios. The crazy thing is when I was installing the unit, I was measuring my center console to see if I could custom make a center speaker space. My 05 Honda Accord is a similar body type and interior to the Acura's that came with center speakers so it's possible I believe. Not sure the wife will let me go that overboard though. If you are thinking of taking the plunge and have a single DIN space, get this unit before they are all gone.

I'm a little confused over your comment. Do you mean the unit won't play these original watermarked discs, or due to the copy protection, you're not able to write them to a DVD-R then play the copy in the JVC instead? Interestingly, I think someone mentioned Beatles Love is not watermarked, though I've never tried to make a back-up of my original.

As far as the center channel, here's a wonderful solution. The Oontz.
http://www.theoontz.com/oontz.php

I love this little speaker. If you've been impressed with the sound of the Sonos products. Thinks of this as its mini complement.

Bonus points for speakerphone and removable/rechargeable/portable factor.

You will have to address the issue of it's fixed line input, and will need a way to adjust. So add one of these.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Koss-VC...68097274?pt=US_Headphones&hash=item2c64b446fa

 

[mdmost]

Yeah I was meaning it won't play watermarked copies. I would like to clone some of my more expensive, irreplaceable discs like Rumours and Hotel California but it won't accept those or will only play the song for 15 seconds and then cut to silence. It's not all discs. Mostly Warner DVD-Audios.

I may get the Alpine center channel/amp combo. I'm thinking of taking it to a custom shop just see how much a flush mounting would run me. I swear there's enough room there for a small 2" speaker. That's what the Acura's have. Dropping an amp in there would be a stretch though.

 

[Pibroch]

I just grabbed a nicer-feeling Sony HT center from a thrift and velcroed it to the dash. It's on the same amp as my sub, I have a crossover for them and I've had zero problems with it. Sounds acceptable for the car, could probably find something nicer, but I've definitely not got golden ears.

 

[holland123]

hey guys i have an easy solution for center channel install problems and this is what i have done, flip your front channels to the rear and your rear channels to the front of the car and you can easily install your center in the back deck, or a free floater box in the hatch. and to be honest i think the system sounds better reversed in that way anyhow as your sub is usually back there as well. it will blend better with the front channels. and btw just pm me regarding solutions to playing watermarked copies. kevin

 

[LizardKing]

Got my JVC KD-AVX2 installed in my Holden (still with stock speakers) last night.

So far it has been able to play everything I've thrown at it:

DVD-A - including a "de-watermarked" copy of Fleetwood Mac Rumours..I managed to create & author.
DVD (DTS and Dolby Digital) - both NTSC and PAL.
DTS CD

I'd like to upgrade the speakers & add a subwoofer, but so far I'm very happy.

:steering:

 

[Time Lord]

Congrats,
when you complete your audio setup it will probably be worth more than the car

Got my JVC KD-AVX2 installed in my Holden (still with stock speakers) last night.

So far it has been able to play everything I've thrown at it:

DVD-A - including a "de-watermarked" copy of Fleetwood Mac Rumours..I managed to create & author.
DVD (DTS and Dolby Digital) - both NTSC and PAL.
DTS CD

I'd like to upgrade the speakers & add a subwoofer, but so far I'm very happy.

:steering:

 

[holland123]

yes indeed time lord is probably right, once you get into it, it's like an addiction. especially if you spend alot of time in the car. but you absolutely need to toss those stock speakers, you will notice a big improvement with a small outlay on speakers. and a sub is a must have for dvd-a playback, then amps, crossovers, terminal blocks, powercaps, oh shit

 

[Cibola]

Add me to the list. Took most of the day and an hour to get home from the used car buying ritual. But had PT's FOABP in fine 5.1 to keep me company. 2012 Acura TSX with low miles and ELS surrround. More than I deserve.

 

[arnaoutchot]

What year, make and model of car: 2014 Mercedes CLA / Harman Kardon Logic 7

Did you install it yourself (if not factory installed): no, factory installed.

What surround formats can you play: DVD-Video and Audio, dts, no SACD

How would you rate the system, and would you recommend it to others: This is already my fourth Harman Kardon System in a Mercedes car. Fine tuning of the systems got better by the years. It was perfect in the predecessor (Mercedes E 300) and - albeit now being a smaller car - did not get worse. Very sophisticated sound design ! If it wasn't for the very expensive Command Online navigation system needed to run it, I would certainly recommend anyone to spend the extra ca. 1,000 USD for the surround system.