ROCKET 88

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ROCKET 88

SUPER SOUND ON THE SUPER SLAB

Richard Robinson

by

This year, you, I, and everyone else in this nation who was brought up to spend money will hand over one billion dollars to car stereo salesmen. In exchange, piillions of cars are wired for sound.

There are two differences between the radio that comes (as an extra) with your car, and the bi-amped/power boosted/ Dolbied stereo system you install independent of Detroit; differences in price and quality. Car stereo costs three to five times more than a standard car radio; but it sounds better. People like the sound: Detroit has seen a decrease from 60 to 40 percent in the number of new cars sold with radios already installed. An extra million dollars on time-payment cards so mg can improve radio reception accuracy, play a cassette, power amp the program for quality speakers which produce stereoscopic sound as we pound along the asphalt.

Car stereo developed in direct proportion to car

QUESTIONS ASKED BY CAR STEREO BUYERS AFTER SEEING "BEATLEMANIA"

Q. Is a stereo car the same as a car stereo?

A. Only if you remount the steering wheel directly in the center of the front seat to achieve ideal stereo balance.

Q. Is is true that in California people ■drive around in their houses?

A. Not all of them. The car as a living room to go has numerous boosters.

Q. What's wrong with the radio I already paid extra for when I bought my car?

A. Nothing's wrong with it, but iVs not fullfrequency, power boosted, oi-amped, or automatically reversing, is it?

0Can't I buy a great stereo system for my apartment for less than I can buy one for my car?

A. In certain instances, yes.

Q. Is it true that if I drive at 60 m.p.h. (Common Market readers: 103:26 kilometers, give or take a foot), that bass rumble in my speakers will increase?

A. Only if your car stereo is plugged into a 110 volt AC outlet.

Q. Was that last question a joke?

A. I don't think you should kid around like that.

Q. Anyway, how often do I have to replace the needle in my car stereo?

A. With today's advanced technology, needle replacement in car stereo is uncommon.

ALL THE INFORMATION YOUCANGET

The intense anxiety that you get for free when you buy a car stereo isn't dissipated easily. Most car drivers/music listeners don't in theMeast understand the jargon that details component

suspension. Covered wagons: no suspension, no cat stereo. 1958 Studpbakers had suspensions and radios. The radios in those Studebakers matched the suspension: massive strength of purpose, tubes and cylinders pump together to roll you towards your destination. 1980 suspension is so independent you don't feel the road, the Mercedes does it for you, and the car stereo system is so advanced you feel like you're sitting in the best seat at Carnegie Hall or Madison Square Garden. At that moment of audio bliss, it's open to philosophical inquiry just what you're doing driving a car. }

My favorite personal experience is to get into a taxi with speakers in the back playing a Beethoven symphony as we drive uptown through the rain.

I'd rather buy clothes without trying them on first than buy car stereo equipment . Regular stereo can be auditioned at the store with some idea as to what it'll sound like at home. It's more difficult to figure with car stuff, sinc£ the inside shape and dimensions of your car affects the sound in ways you won't know about until it's paid for and installed.

parameters. Boy Howdy! doesn't give a damn about frequencies and multiplexes, he just wants to know how it works. Unfortunately, frequencies and multiplexes are how it works.

As.longas many companies are listing only the highest figures, rather than the more realistic RMS specs, and until such times as an industry standard is established, we feel consumers need all the information they can get.

Sid Gordon

i » President, Roadstar

I'll make it simple:

You want as wide a frequency range as possible, with a minimum of distortion at the best possible signal-to-noise ratio. That goes for about any component: pre-amp, amp, power booster, equalizer, radio, cassette deck, speakers, even cables.

Before you buy a car stereo, decide why you like music while you drive. If you listen only tQ AM radio or supermarket muzak, don't advance beyond the standard car radio. If you want to listen to FM stereo, or play cassettes, then expand the stereo system to enhance the sound. Pre-amp: Takes signal from signal source (cassette deck, radio tuner) and prepares it to be amplified (often with tone and volume controls).

CLASSIFIED INFORMATION

Amp: Increases the strength of the signal from the pre-amp so it will be strong enough to cause the speakers to reproduce the sound. (In car radio jargon, this is a power booster.)

Equalizer: A more versatile bass-treble tone control. (Often built into pre-amp or amp in car components.)

Radio Receiver or Radio Tuner: Pulls the little sounds out of the air and tunes them in. (Sometimes built in same component as pre-amp and equalizer; sometimes built in same component as pre-amp, equalizer, and amp.)

Cassette Deck: Plays audio cassettes. (Often needs separate amp and equalizer to work. Sometimes built in same component as radio receiver and pre-amp, sometimes as pre-amp, radio receiver, equalizer, and amp.)

Car Radio: The old standby is a radio receiver (AM only, sometimes FM) with pre-amp, equalizer, and amp all in the same box, radio to power the speakers.

Speakers: Give you the sound. In car stereo, they come in pairs, and can be as cheap or exotically expensive as you can afford.

Bi-Ampf Splitting the treble and bass frequency ranges of each side of the stereo image (thusproducing four signals: left treble, left bass, right treble, right bass) which are amplified separately and reproduced by different speakers (you need four-amp channels—two stereo amps—and extra speakers, plus a cross-over network).

UNDER$50

The basic reasons for car stereo components are to expand car listening options past AM radio, and to improve the sound quality.

ft costs several hundred dollars to re-rig your car for quality sound. You won't ever have to listen to AM radio again, for less than $50.

The convenience of a cassette deck or FM stereo isn't dependent on its cost. Audio-Vox's UC-1Q or C-988 cassette decks can be purchased for under $50. Craig, Pioneer, and Clarion have models between $50 and $100. Tl>ese decks mount under the dashboard below your car radio and alre called "under dash stereo cassette players."

The $50 budget could get you a power amp and a set of stereo speakers: Audio-Vox's AMP500B in combination with Jensen C-9728 speakers, for instance.

Lake's Model RH-77 replaces your current in-dash AM with AM/FM and cassette for $57, from Dixie Hi Fi (P.O. Box 6496, Richmond, VA 23230).

BUYING TIPS

•Leave your money at home the first day. The number of brands, models, and price ranges requires preliminary footwork; you have to visit a few stereo shops before you'll have even the faintest idea of what-you're up against.

•Learn the basic components and how the addition of each heightens total system potential.

fDon't buy everything at once. Options, like equalizers, digital delays, power amps, and state-of-the-art speakers, should be added as you

understand how each component will benefit your system.

•Avoid unusual bargains. As with all audio and video equipment, you'll have enough trouble even sticking to name brands.

•Find out if the componerits you buy will be immediately replaced if defective. Some dealers will sell you stuff, and if it doesn't work, tell you they can't do anything but send it back to the manufacturer for you—this takes weeks and leaves you without your money or your component;

UNDER $150

It takes under five seconds to spend $150.

Radio-cassette combinations worth checking include Lake's Model RH-77 (Dixie sells it for $57) or the more luxurious Roadstar Model 2001U AM/FM/Cassette (list $129.95). If you only want to add a cassette player, check out J.I.L.'s 607 Mini Stereo. Cassette Player (list $99.95).

Several dozen speaker systems cost under $150. Spend as little as $37 or $38 (discount prices) for a pair of Concept CS6923 or Jensen C9852 speaker?. Or spend $59 (discount price) for the Jensen C9999. $84.95 will get you the Craig R-731 Speakers.

With this budget, consider an amp ("power booster") with the speakers. Concept has two amps under $50 (discount prices) that will make it all sound louder and better. Roadstar's Model 50N power booster puts out ,15 watts RMS per channel1 at $39.95 list. A

You can also consider an equalizer to rebalance the sound for your particular car interior. Sanyo's EQZ6200 is a seven band equalizer with overall level control, muting, and eq defeat switches for $69.95.

AM, FM: AM, PM

Car Stereo Drawbacks:

•It costs money.

•Unless you're seated smack in the middle of the back seat, you won't get a perfect stereo image. ^•You may not hear other cars honking at you. •It's not as good as TV.

Car Stereo Advantages:

•It sounds better than regular radio.

•Certain components let you play tapes, thus you program your own.music.

•Everybody should have a hobby.

•You may not hear other cars honking at you.

$150 TO $250

$200 in cash on the counter gets you a seat in the big game. For $225 to $250, you will begin to hear an improvement in the stereo sound in your car. ,

At $199.95 list, Marantz's CAR-300 AM/FM/ Cassette system offers all the basic requirements for high fidelity. The component puts out 12 watts RMS power per channel—enough to drive a modestly nice speaker system. Sparkomatic is a manufacturer with several fine components in this price range. At $219.95 list, Sanyo's FT646 is an AM/FM and cassette component with separate bass and treble controls (important to ^iave if you don't plan to buy an equalizer). This Sanyo has the desirable automatic reverse cassette mechanics which keeps the cassette playing over and over again as you drive on andf on. At $239.95, Panasonic has its CQ6520EU AM/FM/Cassette with auto reverse. At $249.95 list. Clarion's PE-684A gives you Dolby noise reduction (I'm not a fan of noise reduction units, so'this doesn't excite me), separate bass and treble controls, and 15 watts per channel of RMS music power. (RMS powerjs the new "standard reference" for the amplifier industry. Imposed by 'the Feds, if it was spoken of as 15 Government watts per channel, it would be more comprehensible than the current jargon: 15 watts RMS/ channel.)

In a $250 budget, you might want to find room for a quality speaker system. Pioneer's TS-167 speakers are fine at $77.95 a pair. Or you might begin installing a component speaker system with Kriket's Audio Separates system at $104.90, which includes two dome tweeters and two 5" mid-woofers.

I'd go for a good set of speakers and a good

equalizer in this $250 buying spree^ then save more money for a quality cassette and radio. Equalizers, such asMarantz's SA-247 ($169.95) with a seven band eq and 15 wafts RMS/channel or Clarion's 300-EQB ($179.95) with 30 watts RMS/channel and an L.E.D. display power output to watch while you're driving, are what really affect the car stereo sound. You must reproduce a strong, clean, full-frequency signal with properly crossed-over speakers, but you must also shape the sound to confqrm to the interior acoustics of your car. Which is a bitch. Recording studios spend thousands of dollars to adjust the sound in their studio control rooms; hi-fi buffs spend almost as much adjusting the sound to their living room rugs. In each case, the sound is "equalized" for room acoustics. Which means that an elaborate "tone" control is set in action to make the sound sound better. The car interior is the toughest of all acoustic environ-

ments. But with adjustment of the sound to please your own ear, you can be happy there. An "equalizer" makes that adjustment to conform the sound to your musical pleasure better than the more limited bass and treble tone controls.

MASTER CHARGE ACCEPTED (THE SHAMEOFITALL)

"Yes sir," said the salesman. He wormed his way behind the counter. "Charge or cash? We accept Master Charge and Visa. Or perhaps you'd rather owe us the money with our store finance plan. Or if you want we can arrange a mortgage on your house, wife, car and kids. In no particular order, you understand, ha ha." Big bucks (unless your daddy owns oil wells; ha ha). But you spend money to get something really good, right? You get what you pay for, don't you? Since a dollar doesn't go as far as it used to, you have to spend more dollars for great sound. But you spend money to get something really good, don't you?

$250 TO $500

All-in-oners (with radio, cassette, and amp) begin to fade in this price range. Tuners with separate pre-amp and amp systems become available. Pioneer's PX9000 ($284.95) is an 1 AM/FM/Cassette component with a pre-amp that requires a separate power amplifier component. (Pioneer suggests theii' GM-40 amp at $79.95.)

If you're taking the big plunge for the first time,

I recommend one of the higher priced all-in-one units at this price. There are Pioneer's KE-5000 ($399.95) with Dolby for tape and FM, a digital clock that also displays radio station frequencies, a radio scan-stop System, and other extras; Marantz's CAR-410 CompuTuner ($399.95) with stereo cassette, tuner, pre-amp,, power amp and digital radio and time read out; and the Craig T-683 ($270.95) with AM/FM/Cassette and 12 watts RMS/channel.

Speakers start to get state-of-the-art at these prices. There's Kriket's two dome tweeters, two 5" mid-woofers and two 6" x 9" sub-woofers for $194.80; Fujitsu Ten's two-way speaker system in enclosure (2" tweeters, 4" woofers) for / $129.95; and Craig's R-732 full range speakers

at $100 a pair.

Among the most advanced car speakers are those recently introduced by Dahlquist. The Dahlquist ALS-3 speaker system ($250 a pair) is the result of some brilliant developments in audio, reproduction. Dahlquist's home speakers are spectacularly colorful and accurate. His car speakers will probably be used in as many homes as they will cars. This is the kind of component that gives you real satisfaction and pleasure from the car stereo experience.

On a $500 budget, you can purchase not just one or two components, but several. Often added to the car system are Pioneer's Ad-50 five band equalizer with 25 watts RMS/channel powerampfor $219.95list. Roadstar's Model 89 five band equalizer with 15 watts RMS/channel power output for $249.95; and Fujitsu Ten's PA-150F 80 watt power amp with four channels for $106.95. '

RUGS

----\-

I know this is a hell of a time to bring this up, but car rugs are the biggest problem for car stereo— especially those fluffy rugs that go up on the doors and on the inside roof. Rugs absorb sound. That's why they're in the car: to absorb the sounds of the car's engine and transport system. But they aren't particular, and will soak up the sound of your car stereo. There aren't any completely successful solutions to the car as audio environment, but unfluffy rugs, no rugs on door panels if possible, and a good equalizer, speakers, and power booster will help. Also, * ' wear polyester at all times.

$500 PLUS

Lamborghini chose an Alpine car stereb system forjheir $85,000 sports car. If you've got a class ad, you can spend money on things like

bi-amping your car system. A Kriket bi-amp component speaker system is $254.80 and includes Kriket's DoMaxial speaker, a 2" treble element, and a 6" x 9" bass element. Bi-amplification necessitates two stereo amplifiers, speaker cross-over networks, and a unit to split the signal out of the pre-amp for amplification.

There are several all-in-one components on the other side of $500 which provide excellent electronics with all the user features your fingers could desire. One such is the Roadstar Model 3210U with amp, automatic reverse cassette, and AM/FM stereo for $539.95.

J.l.L. extolls the virtues of their $500-plus 637E AM/FM/MPX that challenges a Cadillac salesman's rap: "There's fluorescent vacuum display of channel frequency during AM or FM play. A touch of a button delivers continuous scan/ pause search across tjte dial or accurate seek/lock-in on, the next station inline. Four push buttons offer instant selection of any of eight programmable channels—four AM and four FM. A digital clock provides fluorescent vacuum display of the time when the On/Off button is pressed . . .

"And to please the,super critical listener, J.l.L. has incorporated a High Filter to eliminate hiss from the high frequencies/and a Subsonic Filter to block out any annoying sounds at the low end."

EXOTICS

This is the whips-and-chains section. So let me introduce you to Pioneer Electronics Bodysonic: a cushion for $70 that goes between seat and small of back to transmit bass pulses into the spinal column (needs separate power amp). I hayg no driving experience reports regarding this unit, but it has been recorded as existing by some prestigious hi-fidelity magazines. Is this tf\e final solution?

Less esoteric exotica centers around biamping. VHF TV audio tuners, such as Roadstar's Model 2141 ($269.95); an echo control adaptor from Roadstar for $154.95; and digital time delay. This last item is also the hot new item in home stereo. It is a rear speaker effect where two extra small speakers placed to the side of, or behind, the listener reproduce a delayed low volume signal that can be adjusted-to approximate the reverberation characteristics of a large hall. In other words, you will have a Woodstock-on-wheels. You can make the shape of your car's afcoustics sound like you were sitting outdoors,-listening to a heavenly concert.

Digital delay background-systems aren'tcheap. The unit itself if about $500, added to which you need two additional speakers and one additional power amplifier. This is the true exotica of the car stereo world. Someday it'll be cheaper, but right now, if you're interested in transforming your car's interior acoustics, you'll have to make the investment.

HOWTO WIN

Your car stereo can produce spectacular sound if you take the time tg understand what you're doing. In buying, you have to learn to specialize. If you want to figure car stereo out, buy a few hi-fi magazines, steal a catalog at Radio Shack or Lafayette, and visit the scene of the crime at your local retail store. A few evenings in, the privacy of ypui: own home and one or two Saturday afternoons on location will put the matter in hand.