just wondering if anyone has any knowledge about car stereos or computer speakers. Went to the local best buy and asked about car stereos and the guy started cursing me off, strange experience. Looking to spend about 500 on a car stereo and not really sure how much on computer speakers.

Just a few questions first:

1 - What are you going to be using the speakers mainly for? (I guess this really only applies to the computer speakers) (Some speakers aren't good for music production)
2 - How loud will you be playing the music etc? (So we know the size/the watts of the speakers should be)
3 - What type of music will you be listening to? (If you listen to rap/electronic music you would probably want a sub woofer etc.)

For computer speakers, it depends on what kind of setup you want. 5.1, 4.1, 3.1, 2.1 etc. The first number refers to the number of satellites, and the decimal to the sub woofer. Obviously, something like 5.1 is going to be surround sound, and will need a sound card to match.

well if you have 900 dollars you can get a nice system for your whole car.
with 900 you can buy new speakers for the inside of your car. CD Player for the car. subwoofers (4got waht kind) and this bottle looking like speaker, it sucks in air to increase the power of the subwoofer. Oh and how can I forget, a amplifier. I'll talk to my friend and see what are the names and how much they cost.

Went to the local best buy the other day and decided just to subject myself to some bullshit by the wackjob in the car stereo section. He asked what car i have and i told him a 2000 audi a4 and he told me the first thing i should do is replace the headunit and that if i wanted to get a nice system that'd i'd need between 1 or 2 g's. I don't know anything about systems but the headunit thing seemed a little crazy, correct me if im wrong, but how bad could the stock headunit be? I don't really take Audi as putting shit in their cars. But what I'm now planning on doing is just getting a sub cause the bass has got to be thumping and just spend some money on some new wheels and lowering the car, so its a bit off topic but if you know where a good place to look for wheels i'd be happy to know ( in the states by the way)

If you get a sub you really should get an amp too so it can pump LOUD! Also a new head unit is a pretty good/important thing to have and you can pick them up pretty cheaply.

Yea as Q says, it may be a good idea to replace the head unit. You will need an amp for the sub cos most head units are realy only designed to drive low wattage speakers and the sub will require more juce. Just remember that with the amp it is a good idea to have the car running while playing the radio cos it WILL drain the battery ! ! ! !

kicking on from what has already been posted, things to remember on the car setup is that the head unit is only an interface (and if you are happy with the control options that you have on the standard unit, stick with it) and should be adequate in quality if it is out of an Audi (assuming Blaupunkt or other quality German brand). What you are going to do to the car by plugging a whopping great amp on it is place stress on your altenator. Most people who run amps over 2x100W (RMS) upgrade the factory altenator. Do not compromise on speakers. You can have a you-bueat head unit that looks schmicko, but if it is through 2 way jaycar cones, it will sound like any normal unit. If you go for high end and high power speakers, couple them to the appropriate amp as under powering is more dangerous than over powering a speaker.

on the PC front check out the Xitel Hi-Fi link - it is a USB to RCA converter that allows you to bypass the sound card on the computer and gives you options of running high quality sound through the home stereo. A review is at http://www.ausmusician.com/html/modu...catid=&topic=4

Good luck, these are two very GREY areas when you walk into a store wide eyed, sales people prey on the ignorant.

mikinos

JBL makes some pretty good computer speakers, i turn them all the way up and it still sounds crisp and clear.