Ok...with all the beer talk and now even wireless internet talk going on around here I've created this thread. Let's see how many different off topic conversations we can have in one thread.
I'll start - Anyone here collect comic books or original comic book artwork?
I think spiff is shooting for the all time highest number of posts in a single week.
Maybe a nice graph on each users identity for posts per period of time would be lovely.
nah...I'm just trying to help get beer talk and such out of stereo threads.
I used to collect comics as a young'n, and still get an annual itch I scratch by buying a graphic novel. Can't say I've owned comic art, but I do own some Looney Tunes animation art.
Uh... My oldest daughter has over 400 Japanese comic books.
I didn't read many comic books from the time that I was growing up; I read all of my Dad's comic books that he bought in the mid-60s to early 70s. My perspective on comics was all skewed from what my friends thought of them in high school...
Wow, a daughter into comics - talk about rare! Do you have any sons that she picked up the habit from, or is this something she naturally gravitated to? Most... ok all women I know find comics VERY juvenile, bordering on completely inane.
My personal goal in life - Find a woman who at least *likes* but ideally *loves* video games, movies, and cars - then marry her
Oh crap... I'm already off topic in the off topic thread!
ZeN
This is a very Japanese thing, ZeN, although it's being rapidly imported to the US in the recent years.
Have you heard of Sailor Moon, Card Captor Sakura, Rayearth, Vision Of Escaflowne, etc., etc...? -- these are all "girl's comics." They have been made into movies, too, and English version DVD's are also available, I believe.
In Japan, comics are big in both boys and girls. As you can imagine, though, the actual titles very rarely cross the gender border. The few exceptions include Rurouni Kenshin, hugely popular in both genders.
Just out of curiousity, Ranma 1/2 is a "girl's" comic/anime, isn't it? My (male) friends in high school were all really into it.
I have this feeling that this will be the most popular thread on the boards for awhile. It's kind of refreshing to get away from all the "M22s or M60s?" threads. ;-)
Well then Zen i'm happy to report i've found your match, except, i found her first.
These fine specimen of ladies do exist out there and i've married the proof.
My wife thoroughly enjoys the slower first person games like Thief, Thief2, but has such an itch for racing that i bought her a really solid force feedback
Act Labs steering wheel and pedals some Christmas ago.
Movies?
Well we do own an Axiom system (see the
Axiom Wall o Fame for before and after shots). She bought me that 50" Toshiba rptv as a wedding present (along with 3 hockey sticks i might add)!
Just for the record i gave her a 'shopping spree' for a wedding present but there were limitations so i believe she was equally as happy.
As for the cars, hmm, here's a quick pic of her getting into her cousin's 1977 Ferrari (at least i think it is a 1977). I guess you could say she's into cars. Funny thing though, i'm not.
At least i get some good leeway when deciding on new audio equipment to purchase! Since she listens to most of the music anyway (far more than myself), the systems we are putting together are very much for her enjoyment as well.
The WAF in our house is really quite negligible
Gee i hope this doesn't upset Semi any further.
He seems to be having some internal conflicts on audio purchasing, to buy or not to buy....
Parasound Halos are in question.
Is that off topic enough?
In reply to:
I'm just trying to help get beer talk and such out of stereo threads
Is that a challenge or some kind of sick joke or something?
I used to think you were pretty cool, chesseroo - but now, You Da Man! (and at the same time a real bastard for tormenting me like that!!!)
Sounds like you found the perfect woman!!! Congrats!! (and does she have a sister
)
Sushi,
I know of all of those comics - I guess I just didnt realize that they were girls comics. I make video games for a living, so many of the guys I work with are super comic geeks (among other super geek pastimes
)
Guess I learn something new every day.
I have a yellow tag hanging on my rear view mirror in my SUV as well. Coincidence?
Just call me lucky...and blessed...and lucky.
In reply to:
(and does she have a sister
No, but she does have 2 single brothers!!
Interested?
In reply to:
I have a yellow tag hanging on my rear view mirror in my SUV as well. Coincidence?
Are you implying i stole yours jbz? Or perhaps we had our windshields changed at the same big store vendor and lemon air scenters is all they have left in stock?
Nah...I'm just recognizing the yellow tag (mine is a parking permit). My SUV is very white and kinda large. That's a long way to drive and steal a car...
Ah...cool. A thread about whatever comes to your mind. Good stuff.
You may have noticed my profile mentioned original comic book art. I collect/buy/sell the stuff. I mainly collect only original pages from the Marvel comic, Daredevil. I got into the original art bit after amassing an entire run of the Daredevil comics. Once I had them all I didn't know what else to do. My hobby was "done". Then I discovered that you can buy the original artwork. Wow...very cool! (Very damn expensive though, too!)
Anyway...yeah, I'm a geek. If you want anything related to Daredevil, just pm me, I can probably help you out.
france has just banned the term "e-mail" go to boston.com, scrool down to world, the article is there. seems they don't want to use the english language term. time for those freedom fries again.
Enough of the "freedom fries"! So what...France didn't support "our" war - hell, most of the world didn't. Why don't we start calling Vodka "Freedom Water" as well. Ugg...
In reply to:
Just out of curiousity, Ranma 1/2 is a "girl's" comic/anime, isn't it? My (male) friends in high school were all really into it.
Actually, Ranma 1/2 was originally published as a long series in an (adult) male comic magazine (perhaps it's still continuing on). But like other mega-hits by Rumiko Takahashi, Ranma 1/2 rapidly broke through both the gender and age barriers.
In reply to:
As for the cars, hmm, here's a quick pic of her getting into her cousin's 1977 Ferrari
chess, and she's also a Playboy centerfold type?
By the way, what the heck are those moire's coming from??? Is it a screenshot of your beloved RPTV?
My brother was a big collector of Xmen, New Mutants, Xfactor and some other related titles many years ago.
He still has all of them in wrapped bags in boxes.
I did so love reading them.
In reply to:
chess, and she's also a Playboy centerfold type?
Hey, we can't have it all now can we?
Although, now that you mention it, the idea sounds interesting....
In reply to:
By the way, what the heck are those moire's coming from??? Is it a screenshot of your beloved RPTV?
It was a quick shot taken through the bug screen with a webcam. But i thank you for poking fun at my otherwise high resolution piece of viewing technology.
With regards to:
**"...just trying to get beer talk and such out of stereo threads."**
Point well taken. I suppose sometimes I forget that not everyone is a beer drinker. In fact, there is a strong possibility that some of you guys could be recovering alcoholics. I'm sorry, I will refrain from such references in the future. I certainly do not wish to offend anyone by parading my lifestyle choices in this public forum.
The End.
Heck no! That wasn't my point. Talk of beer and booze all you want.
I just thought it would be easier to navigate the boards if you have a better place to do it.
Eh, the French have been doing this for years. They try to keep the language "pure" but it doesn't work. Get used to it... "les blue-jeans" (pronounced lay bloo-zheans) is a rather popular one, now.
In reply to:
I suppose sometimes I forget that not everyone is a beer drinker. In fact, there is a strong possibility that some of you guys could be recovering alcoholics. I'm sorry, I will refrain from such references in the future. I certainly do not wish to offend anyone by parading my lifestyle choices in this public forum
Good grief, Will, are you trying to suck the joy right out of this board for me or something? I had not heretofore detected any humor impairment on your part. Relax. Don't Worry. Have a homebrew (or whatever). Did you forget? I don't think anybody has been inappropriate wrt references to alcoholic beverages. The people I've known that are recovering alcoholics fully understand that the world hasn't changed.
Criminy. Have a drink. Then tell me about it.
i have just discovered again harpoon ipa. i know, it's not an exotic brand, but smooth and tasty to me; doesn't have a twist-off cap, one of my requirements.
Twist-offs do seem to impair enjoyment of a nice beer out of the bottle. Why is that?
Because the badly-designed ones mangle your fingers/palm/crook of elbow/teeth/t-shirt/chosen opening implement!
Ok, since you've posted a pic of a cool car, I've got to put one up, too.
The person depicted may choose to identify himself in a subsequent post.
Ahhhh...cars. What do you all drive? Here's my wheels...2002 Audi A4 3.0 Quattro (yeah I stole the pic from Edmunds.com, but my car is the same model, same color, same wheels, and this pic is better than the one I have)
I drive this:
So I was poking around the Axiom site and decided to try typing in random links. I tried a bunch that went nowhere, but I finally tried www.axiom.com/research/prototypes.html and found this pic on the page:
It looks to me like it's equivalent to two M80s. As far as the colors go, the page explained the avocado veneer with mustard-colored cones were chosen to discourage the prototype from being stolen. After all, who would want THAT in their living room?
BTW, the link I mentioned no longer works. They must have discovered it was mistakenly open to the public soon after I found it.
but I must say, my favorite car that I've actually driven is the 2003 Mercedes S600. Twin-turbo V12 with acceleration (0-60 in 4.6s) that felt as good as the Dodge Viper (0-60 in 3.9) I drove above. (Yes, the Viper has better acceleration, but only in the hands of an expert, which I am not.)
I had the opportunity to test drive the Mercedes on a cone/obstacle course at the 2003 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Drool...
In reply to:
No, but she does have 2 single brothers!! Interested?
Not so much
But thanks for the offer... :P
This is the "funnest" car I've owned. This car was FAST, and handled like it was on rails. I used to take some CRAZY sharp turns at 60mph...scared the hell out of my passengers. (especially if we met an oncoming car when doing it) *sigh* to be 19 again...
http://www.iroc-z.com/1987pages/1987gallery/1987pic19.htm
Havving ridden in a similar vintage Camaro, I can attest to the "on-rails"-like cornering ability.
And here's my sweet ride
That thing looks pretty stock to me. You should trick it out with a spoiler, or at least some cool tail-light lenses!
Lets see if this works.
Very fine wheels, in both cases.
However, for sheer performance (and bang for the buck) you need to lose two of those wheels. My old Kawi ZX1100 (a '92 - it wasn't old back then) would smoke everything - Vipers, Vettes, a friend's very street illegal 500+ci NOS El Camino, and of course the occasional Crown Vic.
The new generation of 1100-1300cc sport bikes are insanely fast (180mph+) and will set you back about 10K out the door. Road and track did a test awhile back using a piddly ZX9 against the finest and fastest 4-wheel vehicles around. It involved going from 0-100mph and then back to zero again (all acceleration and braking). The ZX9 did this feat, 0-100-0 mph, before ANY of the cars had even reached 100.
Yeah, ain't that the truth.
My Z has an aftermarket computer, Borla exhaust, Lingenfelter intake, K&N coldbox kit, and a few other tweaks.....and still cannot even come close to keeping up with something on 2 wheels....unless its a Harley.
Its old and tired anymore after having racked up 140,000 miles. I need to tear the top end apart...I either have a bad lifter or a loose rocker arm. Possibly its a donut gasket....but I dont think so.
I plan on keeping the Camaro until I die. I can recall countless Fathers (including my own) who used to spin yarns about some old hot rod they had and never should have gotten rid of. I am not going to make that mistake...especially once they discontinued the Camaro.
Ahh...I love cars.
In reply to:
but I finally tried www.axiom.com/research/prototypes.html and found this pic on the page:
Hey, Peter, wrong URL. It's www.axiomAUDIO.com/...
Y'all should be grown up. I proudly drive this VERY FINE CAR (the booster not included):
My only complaint on the Odyssey is, its factory-standard audio SUCKS.
More like "on crack." Ahhh, driving back from Davis in the rain with no windshield wipers at 70 MPH and hitting a patch of water. Thank you, Diana, for such wonderful memories. Every time I smell mildew, I will think of that car. (God, I hope she doesn't read this.. I don't want to die-she still has that thing and loves it!)
Until now. The Ferrari Enzo meets the speed of that Kawasaki. Mmmm, Enzo... It's kind of butt-ugly, though.
That... would be me. And again, Peter, thank you for such a great bachelor party! Man, that car hauled...
The reason I've not been able to spend more on home audio:
My G Mobile
Gray?! How do you expect to pick up the chickies in a gray car?
Sooo, has anyone here been to
www.ninjai.com?
It's an awesome animated Flash series. If you like martial arts and well done animation, this is for you.
I haven't been back to the ninjai site since they took down the chapters.
I was waiting for the eventual website change to their new server people.
It's more of a dark silver, actually.
And with ease.
Oye...did you see the username of the latest Axiom family member? LOL
Who in their right minds would pay $16,900 (let alone the original $30,000) for a subwoofer this ugly?
http://cgi.videogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.pl?subwactv&1063895505&class&3&4&
Take a look at the rest of the shots. He's a big Krell fanbuy. There are a lot of people that pay good money for that little Krell logo.
(note, this isn't to say that Krell gear isn't fantastic, but that I believe expensive home theater and music to be a gradually acquired taste and I'm refering specifically to those that run out and buy Krell simply because they've been told it is the best despite their lacking the ability to actually discern the difference.)
Well, the photo probably doesn't do the thing justice.. ?
Besides, if we had the money, changes are we would own a few 'ugly' things ? hahah..
What really kills me, is that no matter how much some of this stuff costs, nor how fancy the set-up, there are always seems to be wires laying all over the floor !!!
Does anyone really own a "FINISHED" system out here ? hahah
I guess when you spend so much money on cables, you really need people to SEE them.
What's this cable and HT talk...I thought this was off topic! :P
So, what the heck is this thing, Peter? A book, a mouse pad, a poster, or WHAT?
It's a scan of the back of a book, I think. I found it on the internet. Don't look at it too long or you may go blind!
Hey, wait a minute. If you're blind, then it would be easier to audition speakers... Hmmm....
this seems like the right place for this question..am i the only one that has a bunch of audio gear laying around in the basement that i just cant part with? or am i a freak????....ron
Your either a freak or not married...
Well, it's got an ISBN, so theoretically, we could track down which book it is. Hey, I'm bored right now....
5 minutes later...
Well, it seems that it doesn't exist, according to 3 or 4 websites I checked. Hmm....
Yup, the book does exist but of course it's in Japanese. My verbatim translation of the title reads like: "The eye trickers 2: Magical illustrations activate your brain and refresh your mind." Basically, the entire book is a collection of illustrations inducing optical/visual illusions. Here are several of the many web pages the author of the book has created:
http://psywww.human.metro-u.ac.jp/sakusi/motion/motion.html
http://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/~akitaoka/index-e.html
I also found out that the author and I apparently graduated from the same university in Tsukuba, Japan, around the same year (different departments, though). He now teaches psychology in a college in Tokyo.
Where did you look it up? I figured that ISBN directories should list everything, even if it isn't in the language you're looking in.
I went to the web site of one of the largest book stores in Japan (www.kinokuniya.co.jp), and searched on the ISBN.
As I'm sitting here in a Marriott hotel room in Bethesda, Maryland, munching on a salad I ordered from room service --all the way across the country from my home in Oakland, California -- I notice how homey it feels with all sites I regularly visit still accessible to me.
Thank goodness for high-speed in-room internet access!
This is going back a while... but its all about the Kenshin! The OVA's are awesome... so much blood, and the splattering noises... and the oh god thats gross! good times... the series was a little wussie though...
Boy, it must be a slow Friday for everyone with the amount of people on and posting right now. Have a good weekend, folks!
Yeah, tell me about it. It's really challenging trying to get my name on all the forums. As soon as I finish one post, my name has been erased from the previous forum!
Look, there it goes again!
You're lucky this post is off-topic, because I don't feel so bad posting for no good reason.
The very next person to register on the forums will be the one thousand eleventy-first!
while standing in the garage this afternoon, there was a brilliant bolt of lightning (sp), followed by thunder. so i asked..why do we refer to it as "thunder and lightning" if the lightning comes first?? and while we're at it, why do we put on our "shoes and socks"? such philisophical (sp) questions.
dan
what came first?the chicken salad,or the egg salad?...ron
I'm guessing the chicken salad...I saw it smoking in bed with a big smile on it's face.
I believe the egg salad came first. The words "Looks like the yolk's on you" were overheard shortly thereafter.
Wouldn't it be the white's on you?
Sorry, couldn't help it.
Turns out both sushi and I work for the same company, although in very different capacities and locations.
Here's to dead rich aviators with a conscience!
Yeah, but why won't they hire me? ;-)
Got your PM, Peter. Small world, indeed!!!
For the rest of people here, we don't really work for a "company" -- it is a non-profit academic organization (not .com but .org). And yes, it is a rather large organization.
I've been completely puzzled trying to find the Northern California branch of the University of Texas that Peter works for, Masa. Can it possibly be HHMI, and is that why he was in Maryland? Maybe some more orexins and I'll get it straight.
Your sleuthing ability amazes me.
That is, indeed, why I was in Maryland. I unfortunatley didn't get a chance to wonder off toward some good beer...
Whoop-Whistle Port Plugs!(tm)
Imagine the look on your audiophile friend's face when he fires up a bassy CD or DVD after you secretly install some of these suckers in his ports!
I'm thinking of kazoos....
I'm thinking tequila, actually.
Of course, I frequently think tequila. Mmmmmm, tequila.....
Damn...I just topped all the boards again, and wasn't even trying to this time! LOL
Has anybody else noticed that the number of registered members to this board has been growing really fast lately? I guess singing the praises of Axioms everywhere I go helps!
Actually, I think it's just the (free) beer thread.
I'm tired. Yet, I cant sleep. I want my FMB! I want my SVS!! blah!
A watched doorstep never gets delivered to...
But if I don't watch my doorstep, things walk off!
Now that my forum profile includes my real name (it's Alan's fault to start with! LOL), any Google freaks can easily see that I am a real, sane, academic scientist. In fact, JohnK has apparently done all the relevant searches to identify not only me but my wife Hiromi, who is also a scientist. In case any of you are interested,
here is a bulletin describing some of the recent research in my lab.
Gosh, this just tells how much the academics are "exposed" on the net!
That's some great work your are doing. . zzzz z z zzzzzz.. there Sushi.. I found it very.. zzzzzz z zz z zzzzzz zzz.. interesting..
Just kidding.. But I just could not resist that silly attempt at humor..
Good luck on your work, and keep us posted on your progress..
Exposed is an understatement in your case. A quick google search of your name brings up a TON of links! You're downright famous. I dare say INfamous! (If you've seen "The Three Amigos" you'd laugh)
maybe it is just a common name?
Hmm. Googling "Craig Rogers" sure results in a lot of false positives...
is that a flamible gas recovery system hooked up to your backside due to the airline food???...ron
Yes Masa, my interest in your published papers revealed everything; but are you sure that you're not also that Karate Master with the dojo in Portugal?
Hahahahahaha.... I was NOT going to go there !! But you DID !!! haha..
I'm telling ya, sometimes this forum makes me feel like I'm in the back seat of the family car, on vacation, with my brother and sister, just killing each other.. Waiting for my dad to yell "If you kids don't stop it, I'm gonna pull this car over and REALLY give ya something to be yellin about !!" hahaha.. He never did, and we never let up.. hahah..
There are times here I want to say things, but don't know if it's going to offend or piss the person off.. Remember when you were a kid, everybody was always busting everone elses chops.. hahaha.. Gotta love it.. hahahahaha
Changing gears again...
We all know Ian's and Alan's face (and several other Axiom staffs). But where the heck is the picture of adorable Amie, an equally important figure here???
In
Vegas of course, Masa.
Now you see why Ian doesn't spend the time on the board that he used to(although he might claim that he's spending it all on the M90).
HI ALL! Long time reader, seldom poster - but I gotta know who else is looking forward to the release of the Indiana Jones trilogy on DVD?? I've bee on the waiting list for Raiders for 2.5 years. Fantastic movie, Fantastic soundtrack, and bad guys everyone can hate - well besides Canadians
I found out today and can not wait until Oct 21.
cheers,
DL
I'm looking forward to the release myself, I just hope they do a decent job of re-mastering it for DVD with lots of cool added footage etc.
I heard they digitally replaced Indiana Jones' whip with a yo-yo...
(That was a bad attempt at poking fun at Steven Spielberg's butchery of the E.T. remaster)
Better a yo-yo than a wet noodle...
Thought everyone might like to see a few pics of the
new M90s being tested using strict NRC criteria.
The new speaker itself. We wanted to call it the M160, but it seemed complicated. That's Amie Lucyk, Axiom's receptionist, in the background, with emergency rum and coke stock at the ready, in case of testing difficulties.
Boys in the band mounting the speaker. You may have seen
Boyce's Road's little yellow CD in some of our tower speaker pics. Boyce's Road has been playing a live show at Ian's dock every summer for the last six years. This year, they decided to try proper sound instead of PA monitors - what a change!
That's Ian on the left, Mike Rogers in the middle, and Peter Bobyk on the right. You've seen their pictures *ahem* slightly more formally attired in the December 2002 newsletter, testing speakers at the NRC.
Axiom Epic 80 owner (oh, and Canadian comedian) Mike Bullard introducing the band . . .
The M90s were a hit! Unbelievable sound reproduction -
all the neighbors thought so! And now you know what it is Ian does all summer . . .
they look overwhelming!! and, does ian have a natural sunburn or an irish tan?
Note said tan is missing earlier in the day . . . actually, there had been a lot of dancing by this point in the evening . . . to test the dispersion of the M90s at different heights, of course, and across the entire span of the dock.
Umm... The gorgeous house overlooking a lake through huge windows. A private dock with boats. Celebrities visiting regularly. And, last but not least, a beautiful lovely wife... I guess Ian is making way too much money out of his outrageously expensive speakers!!!
So, what was the peak SPL level afforded by the M90s??? LOL
Oh, btw, has everyone already noticed the new front page featuring the Masfield Beech Epic 80? -- also complete with the "official" link to the Axiom Custom Shop.
Well done, Amie!
My listening room is 6'x7'x8'. Does anyone think that M90s all around would be overkill?
Man, if I had a nickel for everytime someone asked me that . . . ;-)
And they've got at 4 new colors! finishes.html is still up, for all you newsletter members...
In reply to:
My listening room is 6'x7'x8'.
John, I didn't know that you lived in Tokyo. Or was it Hong Kong?
Masa, perhaps I should have clarified; this will be to upgrade my bathroom system. But yes, I suppose it might be just about that bad sometimes in those locales, although I note that Mahesh in Hong Kong has a very spacious listening room.
Rich people get spacious home wherever in the world, I guess.
Amie, seeing as you get such a poor turnout at these dock parties, what are the chances of you or Ian inviting some of the loyal supporters here at this forum to next years festivities? I'm sure Sushi, Spiffnme, and a number of others would be more than happy to fly in. As for me, I only live two and a half hours away.....
Hey Amie, I think you're trying to drag this off-topic thread off-topic!
Who'd want to haul all the way to Muskoka in the middle of the summer, real80sman? I couldn't possibly impose on everyone that way . . . tee hee! The only real problem is the actual weight the dock can hold! When you get a crowd jumping up and down in unison to their favourite rawkin' tune . . . 'shiver me timbers'!
Kcarlisle, sorry about the off-off-topicness!
How far from Mississauga are you? Our IMAX offices are up there. I could make it a "business" trip.
Which car should I get???
Okay, given that our oldest daughter is now 16 and driving (she stole our aging yet still beloved BMW 325i), we need a third car. Luckily, my wife has agreed that I deserve a toy car to face my middle-age crisis. After two weeks of market research, dealer visits and test driving, I narrowed it down to the following two models:
Honda S2000 -- ~$32K
Mazda Miata -- ~$24K
I know I am kind of comparing an apple vs. an orange with respect to the absolute performance and price range. But still cannot decide between these. All I know is that our budget cannot go much beyond the price of the Honda.
Any opinions/recommendations?
[I am NOT talking about the car audio, but the car itself! -- Incidentally, the Miata has an option of the Bose sound system, but to my ears it was no better than their non-Bose counterpart. Anyway, who cares about the audio on these 8000-rpm roadsters? LOL]
Sushi, is this a real question?!?!?!
The S2000 my man! Its faster, better handling, faster, smoother, faster, better handling, faster, better looking, faster, cooler, and faster!
Besides, the Miata is quite a bit smaller on the inside, not as comfortable. If I were to drive one, I would need to remove the drivers seat and put a fixed Recaro 1 inch off the floor.
The S2000 is an EXCELLENT car but, bear with me a moment, speed isn't always everything...
The Miata is about 400 lbs (180 kgs) lighter than the S2000. This perceptable difference in weight, coupled with the Miata's excellent nimble handling gives it an early British (or Italian) roadster feel--not necessarily superfast, but all-around fun car to drive.
I think the Miata is best experienced in a place where there are roads with alot of hills and twisties (preferably tree lined in the fall). I'm currently an isolated flat-lander which is why, two years ago, I went with the BMW z3 coupe -- I really liked the style of the coupe (also, I don't think the flatlands aren't particularly great for convertables either) and it had good handling and acceleration. Besides, the S2000 at the time was still commanding a $3-5k above sticker for "market conditions" at the time and I just couldn't bring myself to give the dealers the satisfaction. (Note that I also test drove the Audi TT and Porsche Boxter but in comparison to the Miata, Z3 and S2000, these things felt like tanks).
If I were buying today, still stuck in the flat-lands, and wanted a convertable, I would probably go with the S2000.
If I were in New England, I think I would lean toward the Miata (or maybe an old Triumph TR4A).
Of course, to each his own...
If you want a toy car, definitely get the S2000. Everyone doesn't have one of them, as opposed to the Miata.
I was lucky enough to drive my father-in-law's new S2000 last weekend in LA. A great car, but if you want great bursts of speed, you have to learn to keep the revs above 4000. (The thing redlines at 9,000+ rpm!)
I just barely fit behind the wheel of the Honda, but it was still quite comfortable.
Am I the only one who thinks a 16 year old girl learning to drive on a BMW 325i is crazy? Get the girl a used Civic and you keep driving that Beemer!
If you must have a new car for yourself trade-in the 325i and get yourself the Z4!
There are two kinds of drivers that scare the hell out of me - the very old and the very young. My oldest son just turned 16 so I'm giving him my 1994 Diamante wagon and I bought a new Diamante sedan for myself. If he trashes the wagon it won't be that big of a deal.
I agree with spiffnme about the Z4. I drool everytime I see one on the road. If you must have either the Honda or the Mazda, the Honda is by far the better looking of the two.
i never drove either one,but from looks alone and some specs ive seen,i would say go for the honda.by the way have you seen the nissan 350z?.....ron p.s. if you cant make up your mind,a buddy of mine has a 79 caprice with a fresh coat of rust on it for under a grand.a real head turner
Road and Track just did a comparision of the S2000 and the 350Z. The S2000 came out on top as more of a sports car, while the 350Z was more of a GT. It's in the August 2003 issue. Be worth a read. I don't think they've done a recent comparision of the Miata and S2000, but I can look through back issues if you'd really like to know.
Anyway, as a toy car, I'd go with the S2000. If you're going to be using it for more daily driving, I'd go with the Miata.
Ken
ZeN, yes, this is a REAL question. And yeah, one of Miata's drawbacks for me is, when I seat in my best driving position, the clearance between the steering wheel and my laps is only barely enough for me to be able to put one of my hands through below the wheel.
psychobabble, you are right on the nail with my thoughts, comparing between these roadsters. Yes, the Honda is definitely MUCH faster, quicker, more accurate and more rigid, but as Edmunds correctly says, "it is more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow." But then again, I too am in the middle of the flat-land.
Peter, yup, the Honda's VTEC engine becomes a real beast when revved over 6000rpm, all the way up to screaming 9000rpm. The note is awesome, too.
Craig, your point well taken, but our old ('92) 325i is only worth $4K at best -- much cheaper than a good pre-owned Civic. Actually, I do like the idea of my 16-year-old learning to drive on a well-engineered, "safe" car with a highly responsive handling that does not isolate her from the road. I believe that the 325i is a very nice "practice car" indeed.
I've already excluded the Z4 after test driving -- it is overpriced as compared to its competitors such as the S2000 in my opinion (even from my biased viewpoint as a BMW owner), and most importantly, its exterior design just doesn't "click" on me.
Mike, thank God I have three
daughters! LOL You know, girls are inherently wiser than boys when it comes to avoiding the unnecessary dangers etc (looking back my own teenage years).
As for the looks, I like the Miata's simple, understated lines slightly better than the more high-tech look of the S2000; to my eyes, both are better looking than the Z4, Mercedes SLK, Audi TT, or Z350.
Saturn, Mercedes is out for me, too. I want a lighter-hearted, fun-to-drive car.
Ron, the 350Z Roadsters are just starting to appear in dealers' lots here in Dallas. They are all already sold before arriving in the dealers, so there is no way of test-driving them right now, yet. That said, I've seen one on a dealer's floor, and have to say that it is "too big" for my taste, both in physical size/weight and in visual massiveness.
Ken, I haven't read the R&T review, but would already agree that the Z is more of a convertible GT than a lightweight roadster.
----------
Anyway, this will be my daily commute car as well as my toy. Incidentally, which one would you pick with respect to the tolerability in a long, boring highway cruise, like an inter-city trip in Texas? I know that none of these cars are really suitable for those purposes, but which would be more "okay" than the other?
Personally I think the Z4 is the best looking two seater out right now.
If I were you, I'd take the Miata. I'm not sure the S2000 would be an enjoyable daily driver, especially with nothing but flat boring Texas highways.
In the hope that I dont come off to you guys as a complete TOOL
I need to clear things up. I posted another reply right after I saw psychobabble's post - stating a bit more clearly my feelings. Coming back to the thread, I realize my post went to where ever good posts go to die...
Anyway... my thoughts above are meant as humor, I DO realize there is more to autos than going fast. I have spent quite a few hours on the track in various cars, and most recently a Miata. My cousin races in the Spec Miata Challenge here in SoCal (their most recent race was actually this weekend up at Laguna Seca).
The Miata is a fantastic car, almost track ready "out of the box", and what it gives up in pure speed, it completely makes up for in the fun to drive and handling categories. On the flip side, the S2000 (I've never track driven this car, but I have spent some fun time behind the wheel of one on Palomar Mountian) is as fun to drive in almost every way. Yes it's a bit heavier, and yes, its not as balanced. But, it really makes up for both of those facts in its smoothness and "revhappyness". Its an absolute blast to keep this car above 6000 rpm flying around mild corners - it makes the most wonderful sound!
I also fit better in the S2000 - its still not all that comfy, but its at least passable. I cant spend more than 30 minuets in the Miata (even as a passenger) unless the stock seat is replaced by a flush mounted Recaro.
FYI, I drive an Audi A4 as my daily, soon to be replaced by a Truck - I'm jumping into the Pro 7's class here in SoCal at the start of next season (February!!!).
There, I feel much less TOOL like
Sushi, Don't buy either one of those, you deserve to own a piece of true Americana. A 67 427 Corvette Roadster would be my choice. Followed by maybe a 69 Camaro Z28, or 70 Mustang Mach 1. If you want a toy, get a real car!!! There is something special about a big V8 motor rumbling along the boulevard.
Dan,
Yeah, one of my friends does serious restorations of American classics as hobby. His garage at home is like a small factory. He currently drives a '60s Corvette Roadster, restored bumper-to-bumper completely new by himself (his online handle name is DocVette!). We know he is coming from 100 yard away because of the engine note.
ZeN,
Yeah, in my college and grad school years, I used to have some fun on the
Tsukuba Circuit tracks, which happened to be just 20-minute drive from my school -- never really raced (I wasn’t that good) but had many practice runs with friends. Also nearby my school, there were beautiful winding roads on the
Mount Tsukuba… Your post really reminded me how much I miss those things, living for 12 years here in the middle of the Texas flatland.
Anyway, this is a tough decision for me...
I would go for the Honda. There's something to be said for the extra available horsepower when needed. Now if you compared it to the new RX8, I'm not sure which I'd choose.
Sushi,
Thats a good lookin track! Reminds me a bit of my most frequented track the largest difference being more straightaways on
Buttonwillow... There has to be some cool tracks out there in the Flat lands that at the very least allow hot-lapping or "instruction"
Get yer fix!
I keep trying to put myself into your position, but its very hard... I have no wife, no children, and wouldn't buy a convertable
So keeping that in mind, I'm honestly starting to lean in a direction that you likely wont go... the 350Z Roadster. From what I can tell, it is MUCH more of a daily driver and while I havent sat in one, the hard top version is quite comfy.
Anyway just another (another) thought...
Zen, I would have never taken offense by your comments. Sorry, was I the one supposed to be offended?
And when I made my point about there being more to it than speed, I was commenting on the fact that when I was looking, I was looking for power/speed too, and was amazed at how much fun I had in the Miata.
sushi, if you are talking about a daily, long, highway commute, I would probably not go with the Miata, as much as I love it. If you've had it on the highway, you'll know its noisy as heck. That's part of the reason why I went with the Z3-Coupe before. It's 6-cyl was MUCH nicer on the highway and the non-convertable factor probably added to its smoothness on the highway. I don't remember how the S2000 was on the highway -- I was having too much fun reving it at the time.
And, as much as I REALLY appreciate both the styling and power of the 60's American muscle cars, I just have a personal preference for the light, nimble 'feel' you get in a small, lightweight roadster.
Have you considered a 60's Austin Healey? You should be able to get a nicely restored one for about 30k. It's only around 2500 lbs and also has a 6cyl (back before safety/emission controls ruined everything
)with nice power (not Vette power, of course).
Or, why not go to the extreme and go with the Caterham 7? Six cyl., under 1500 lbs., 0-60 in under 4 seconds, all for less than 30k (life insurance extra). (http://www.britauto.net/)
Hey...get a Mini Cooper S!
Yea, those are lots of fun too, though the inside is a little too funky for me.
I think the interior is too cool! I was shocked at how much room there was inside as well. I wasn't cramped at all.
What scares me about Minis is the fact that they seem to have "deathtrap" written all over them. Sure, they're roomy. But doesn't that mean there's less material between you and that Hummer about to broadside you because he couldn't see you?
Well you could always buy a 1973 Lincoln Continental.
One thing for sure, this board brings together people with a variety of different tastes and preferences!
"And Axiom shall unite them all!"
"...one [speaker] to find them, one [speaker] to make them one, and in the darkness bind them..."
Okay, again I went to car dealers on my way back home today.
This time, I drove the Miata, S2000, and Z4 for more than 30 minutes each, especially concentrating on their usability as a daily commuter -- tried some boring highways (restricting myself from doing anything fun) as well as stop-and-go city streets, each with the top up and down. Since I guess I was too excited and kiddish in the prior test-drives, today's trials turned out to be very informative.
Third place -- Z4 2.5i. The inline six is very torqueful from low rev, which is nice for highway cruising and city driving. The cabin feels quite roomy and voluminous even with the top up. The body feels like solid as a tank. BUT... I don't think I would ever be fond of its exterior design with many such "meaningless" lines, seams, and bulges -- it's highly un-BMW according to my esthetic sense!!! And importantly, I know that if you don't like the exterior design of a roadster, you will never like that car. Also, although the base price is comparable to the S2000, after adding all the quasi-essential options (why the heck some of these items can be an "option"?), the price goes way too high in my opinion. By the way, I was surprised to learn that 80-90% of the Z4's sold in Dallas are the clutchless models -- either the automatic or the F-1 style "SMG" transmission.
Second place -- Miata. I still like the simple, unshowy design of this tiny roadster very much. I like the nimble handling that eloquently shows off the light-weightedness and light-heartedness of this car, too. Last but not least, the price is a BIG plus for the Miata. However, as psychobabble mentioned, it wasn't very comfortable to highway-cruise on the Miata at 70-80mph for more than 15 minutes. The engine was constantly revving at ~4000rpm, and sounded like it was. I had to agree with ZeN that the cabin felt wee bit too small, even though I am not particularly tall (5'11"). Also, I really felt this time that the non-tilting steering wheel was set too low--or the seat set too high--or me.
First place -- S2000. I definitely liked this car better than when I test-drove it last time, which is a good sign -- the car has grown on me. Although the engine needed to be revved at over 6000rpm to be truly energetic, the low-rev torque was in fact felt to be quite usable for the daily commute. On the highway, the engine remained sonically docile on the 6th gear, yet it still responded to the throttle adequately. Although the car looks and feels small and lightweight, once I was in the driving position, I felt very secure -- its utter confidence and rigidity in cornering certainly helped here. The cockpit just seemed to "fit" me. With the top up, though, S2000 seemed to exhibit the largest dead angle in the rear-quarter visibility, which required some getting used to.
Although I haven't test-driven the 350Z Roadster yet, I may go ahead and buy the S2000, solely based on the Nissan's looks and magazine reviews...
Now, this is the final chance for you guys to stop me from doing so! HAHAHA... Oh, and I am dead set on a convertible. A coupe doesn't seem to have enough "toy-ness" for this 43-year-old father of three going through mid-life crisis!!!
Yeah... I want one of those things, and as a bonus, so does my wife!
Much like speakers, car design is a very personal choice. I LOVE the look of the new Z4.
In reply to:
Also, I really felt this time that the non-tilting steering wheel was set too low--or the seat set too high--or me.
EXACTLY!!! FYI, I'm not that tall either, just a smidge over 6 foot but I have a long torso. When I sit in a stock Miata my eyeline is almost directly into the top of the windshiled! The steering wheel is also of concern, my legs are in almost constant contact with it. The center console also seems to continually "push" my right leg inward...
Oh well, guess I'm just not built for the Miata
Good luck!
I would not be surprised by the high percentage of clutchless Z4's sold in Dallas. The traffic was definitely more on those buyers minds than the rev limits of each gear. Now what color S2000?
My favorite color is the Silverstone -- the dark gray metallic one, with the black interior. Honda lists
zero factory-installed options for the S2000, and I'm not complaining.
And yes, the Z4 is a GREAT car if you like the design -- after all, I am a BMW fan. I guess I am kind of negatively biased here, though, because both my wife and I literally fell in love with the looks of the original '92 325i when we bought it, whose then-new elegant lines still represent BMW's brand motif today, except for the current 7-series and the Z4 -- IMHO, they hired a wrong man as the new chief of exterior design! Or, perhaps I'm just getting old...
sushi, if you like the looks of the older bimmers, i have a 2002 with 79k for mileage that's been sitting on blocks for the past 5-6 years here at work. i've always enjoyed taching it to 4500 rpm, then getting on it to about 6300 rpms; they love to rev. it's been sitting so i don't accumulate tickets. recently had the urge to put it on the road but then come to my senses again.
dan
Ummmm....a 2002 on blocks for 5 or 6 years? What year are we in?
I think he meant the original 2002, from the 60s .......
that's a 1975 year, model 2002. one owner, me!
Hey, I'm 26 and I don't like them (much). Also, the new 5 series is similar. They're kind of growing on me, though.
Alternatively, I didn't like the S2000 much when it came out either; I've always been somewhat biased against Honda's designs. Just too blocky. Except for that new Accord Wagon for the UK market. That thing is cool! Wish they made one for the US.
OK...got it now...you could have said 2002Ti or something like that. Just didn't click with me. I love that model.
ti was injected, the plain ole 2002 has a two barrel. kinda sweet that bmw sent any known 2002 model owner, commerative (sp) "2002" key chains at n/c.
Hey, I have another totally different question for you guys, this time regarding CAR AUDIO. As I
posted way earlier in this thread, our Honda Odyssey is a
truly superb family minivan, except that her factory-default audio really sucks (btw, how many of you realized that the car on the shuttle was the Odyssey?). I guess it’s time for me to upgrade her speakers, and perhaps add a bit more powerful amp.
I do NOT want to install one of those conspicuous external sets of speakers. Rather, I just want to swap the raw drivers without changing the grill facade, so that you don’t see she has upgraded speakers until you hear the sound. I’d like to keep the factory radio/player as is, too, and just piggyback a power amp if deemed necessary. As you see, I am not talking about an all-out high-end upgrade here. I understand that places like Tweeter and Ultimate Electronics will do a nice job of "surgery," and I don't mind paying for professional installation.
So, my question is, which brand(s) of 5.25” and 6.5” full-range drivers do you recommend? I have absolutely ZERO knowledge in car audio -- I have no idea how much a decent raw driver costs. The Odyssey does not have a separate tweeter in either of her 4 corners; so, each speaker has to be replaced with a good full-range driver. How about the amp? -- perhaps one that puts 50W~100W x 4ch?
The always liked the Alpine speakers and head unit I had in my 1988 Honda Civic. I wonder what ever happened to that car...
It rear ended a much older Honda Civic on the freeway because I was trying to decrease the overly bright, metallic treble. Which you know full well. :-P
Anyway, I have Alpines in both of my cars and I like them a lot. They were much better than the other speakers I auditioned. I'll post what type they are when I get home.
In a similar vein, can anyone recommend a relatively cheap (<$200, pref <$150) head unit with a CD player? I've been using Kenwoods, but the one I'll be replacing is also a Kenwood, and it can't read CDs worth a damn anymore.
sushi...see if someone in your area carries M B Quart car speakers ,i dont think they are a ton of money,and they sound nice...as for the amplifier,jenson-YES JENSON makes a decent amp for a couple of hundred bucks,that is 75 watts x4,(its labled 600 watts) with built in crossover settings and level controlls for each channel(more fun for the audio junkie),the sears in my area has them,if there is a sears near you,they will probbably have them too...good luck....ron
I heard some J M Labs/Focal speakers at Car Toys the other day and was just blown away by them. It was some of the purest, sound I've ever heard. My first thought was "how non fatiguing". Of course they were a bit pricey and btw, they were mounted in a store display. I wonder how they would sound in an inwall application. They are surely worth a listen.
Thanks guys for the suggestions so far (and m60i sent me a PM with loads of suggestions, too).
Mike, thanks so much for mentioning
CarToys.com. Seems that I can listen to ALL of the brands mentioned so far at my local Car Toys store. And you know I trust your ears, too, ever since the Maggie encounter! hehehe...
Dang, how'd I miss this thread? As a Miata owner, I'm biased but understand the appeal of the S2000. I'm just not a fan of the torqueless VTEC. Then again, my miata has been "upgraded" with a turbo kit from
Flyin' Miata .
230 HP to the wheels (not crank) is pretty fun in a 2300 lb car. I do have a '90 Miata though but they're pretty similar though it's not as nice in the interior.
As for car audio upgrades, I've had Polk, Boston Acoustics, and MB quart and was satisfied with all of them.
Frank
Check out the Rockford Fosgate line of 2 and 3 way. You might like them as well.
In reply to:
230 HP to the wheels (not crank) is pretty fun in a 2300 lb car.
Turbo Miata? That's unfair, frank! hehehe...
This morning I put a deposit down for a 2003
Honda S2000. WEEEE!!!
Mine is with the Silverstone exterior / Black interior. She will arrive in 2-3 weeks. Can't wait!!!
Since it is only 2 months before the rumored 2004 update, they could give me ~$500 over invoice -- not bad at all given the actual dearth of the model.
Choosing my next car was MUCH easier than choosing my next speaker! HAHAHA...
maggie...maggie...maggie...maaaaaaaagggggggiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
In reply to:
maggie...maggie...maggie...maaaaaaaagggggggiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
That quote reminded me of
this page (warning: Shockwave flash animation). It takes a little while to load as is COMPLETELY off the wall.
Wow that brings back memories.
that's even weirder than the stuff you usually send me.
Talking about Flash animations,
here is my teenager's favorite.
Congrats! I expect a full write-up in said 2-3 weeks
Congrats on the new ride sushi. I've gotta get out while the weather is still good here in MD and test drive some of the new stuff out there like the S2000 and the MR-S. Maybe a 350z. I won't waste time with the Rx8 given how they're down on the rate power from Mazda.
Frank
Did anyone hear anything new on the possibility of a 2005 Miata with factory turbo? I heard it will only produce 180 hp (not 230 unfortunately like fmowry's)
Okay, back to the audio upgrade for our Odyssey... I went to my local Tweeters and Car Toys, and listened to essentially all the speakers you guys suggested. Of the brands I listened to so far, I liked the mid-upper models of the Infinity Kappa series the best; I probably will have some of them installed after some more research and listening.
But what struck me the most is, HOW EXPENSIVE THESE CAR SPEAKERS WERE!!! I judged that anything below ~$150/pair weren't worth it for the “upgrade.” The speakers that I felt “adequate” costed at least $250-$400/pair including installation -- basically, I can buy a pair of the M22s for the price!!! This is almost ridiculous given the sound quality of these speakers, which is, well, “adequate” at best.
That said, do you guys have any opinions on the “separate” two-ways vs. coaxials? -- the door-speaker grills of the Odyssey can accommodate either of them under the existing facade. Naturally, the separates are more expensive and slightly nicer sounding at least on the store display walls. But are they worth it in the car?
just squeeze a couple of 22's under the front seats...
While the M22s DO have good off-axis response, I don't think they'd fare well under the seats
LOL.
Ninjai is a far better flash animation (series) than that. And it's got a much nicer Asian flavor to it.
So, WHY are the car speakers SO OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive??? Is the entire car-audio market raping the consumers? In the home audio standard, a $100 raw driver is considered a VERY expensive, luxury unit. I believe that the individual Axiom drivers cost up to a few tens of dollars, and they already sound great! Am I crazy planning to pay 10-times more for these okay-sounding drivers???
I think the car audio upgrade market is built around teens with money to spend. Unfortunately, teens often think higher price means higher quality ("Dude! Check out my tight new BOSE system!").
Really, I think the whole world went to sh*t (I'm only half-serious here) once teenagers started to have a lot of discretionary funds.... Their influence knows no bounds. They've affected the music industry, fashion industry, entertainment industry... I could go on.
Sushi, congrats on the new ride. I am a huge Honda fan. Every Honda my wife and I have owned (5 new in the past 10 years) has had a horrific stereo. The longest I've been able to tolerate a Honda factory system is a month - then it gets ripped out with a vengence.
I picked up our Odyssey about 5 months ago and it's stereo lasted a day. I installed an Alpine CD head unit with a 6 CD changer under the drivers seat. The changer is heaven sent. On trips, it allows me to jump instantly to a barney song (or whatever) to calm the kids.
The 4 factory full range speakers were replaced by Alpine co-axial's. Definite improvement, but still lacking. The biggest improvement came with the amplifier - the system seemed to "wake up" once it was added. IMO amplification is an absolute neccessity.
Don't be fooled by head units that claim 45watts x 4 (or whatever). There is no way that the power supply in a deck can provide the current required to give you 180 watts. It will distort and clip WAY before you ever reach that level. And there-in lies the key. At highway speeds, the tire, wind and engine noise (even in the Odyssey) is huge. You will need enough power to overcome these things without distorting. I have never heard a deck that can do this satisfactorily on it's own.
Shawn
Barney songs, eh? I refuse to stoop to that level once out little guy pops out. Raffi, I might need to bend on though.
pmbuko,i hate to say this but-barney can be your best friend when you need a break-you will see....congrats-and good luck...ron
In reply to:
The biggest improvement came with the amplifier - the system seemed to "wake up" once it was added. IMO amplification is an absolute neccessity.
I agree, and have decided to piggyback a 4-channel power amp to the factory receiver. What level of the rated RMS and/or Peak wattage did you choose? What brand?
Right now I am at loss between the well-respected amp brands that you guys suggested earlier (some of them as expensive as my Elite receiver!!! LOL), and those "lesser" brands, such as
Pyramid, that are several-fold cheaper for a given spec. Are expensive ones really THAT good??? I assume that most of these amps, regardless of brands, are made OEM somewhere in the Far East anyway. Also, my auditions of car speakers have clearly indicated that the sound quality does NOT always correlate with the price, once you get to >$200/pair range.
As for the speakers, I decided to first replace the front two channels with the
Infinity Kappa Perfect 6.5" (Infinity's high-end model), and see how they behave. Could get them at ~$220/pair online, and will have a local shop to professionally install them. To my ears (again, with classical music), the Infinity Kappas sounded better than or as good as most other brands, including those with much higher price tags.
You know, perhaps Axiom should make car-audio speakers!
It must be a highly lucrative business. To me, it seems that all you need are drivers that tolerate the "power abuse" in the noisy mobile environment (with a nice-looking logo on the cone and grill! LOL)... I, for one, really wish that there were Axiom speakers in the car-audio market.
I would speculate that Automotive speakers need to be built physically stronger to withstand the jarring environment, heat and cold of a car. I've seen complaint about Nakamichi auto speakers failing due tho the stresses encountered. I did an earlier post about a 5.25" driver in a pair of Michaura M55's I bought used. The magnet structure appeared to be jarred out of alighment causing binding in its positioning spring. I think this happened during shipping.
I know it's against the rules to say that amps sound different from each other, but Ken and I were at a Circuit City or Good Guys a couple years back looking at car stereos when I wandered into the comparison room where you can switch back and forth between components.
I remember hearing large, extremely noticeable differences between car amps when swapping them in and out of the circuit. Granted, car amps probably aren't built to the same ideals as home amps, but I thought that was a little crazy.
Just make sure you compare as many amps in your power/price range before you commit, sushi. When it comes to car audio, an audiophile is not in Kansas anymore....
Sushi, as far as the amp goes, it is a 30x4 Alpine - circa 1989. It fit perfectly under the passenger seat. Nothing too wild, but it is the family bus. When I was younger, I had all maner of "cheap" amps, and ALL of them failed in a glory of smoke and stench. (Although, that was 18 years ago - I was a teen, and had no concept of clipping and distortion. As long as it was loud......) I'm sure that a cheaper amp should be fine as long as YOU can't tell the difference in sound. As far as longevity, it shouldn't suffer the abuse my old ones did, so you should be fine.
Once I turned 20, I was able to afford my first Alpine amp. It played cleaner, louder, and was absolutely bullet proof. In fact, I have 5 Alpine amps in total (not in the van), and all of them are over 12 years old.
The cheaper brands are also notorious with their stratospheric power claims. Check the fuse rating and do the math. I've seen amps claim 1000 watts and have a 20 amp fuse! Sorry, not sure what they were smoking when they rated it. My Alpine with its claimed 120 watts has TWO 20 amp fuses and a 3 amp. I don't think it's bragging.
sushi, one forgotten thing to check out, be sure your alternator can handle the draw the new amp might want. i've heard of more than one alternator getting toasted after a new install of a killer amp.
dan
Peter, Shawn, Dan,
Your points well taken. Yes, I did notice that car-audio amps sound different from each other indeed -- some of them so obviously different even at low volume levels that I had to conclude that a subset of brands had no intention to make the amp ruler-flat! Clearly this is a very different market from the world of decent home audio gears.
And Yes, one of the things that really worries me is the fact that I cannot audition those cheap brands before I buy. Perhaps there are reasons why even those mass-market stores don't carry these brands on the demo boards!
Okay, why take unnecessary risks! -- I will choose from the "respectable" brands after I listen to them again. Thanks!
By the way, Shawn, did you mean that you installed a quite old (circa-1989) amp on your current Odyssey?
yes, as I stated, I have 5 amps all over 12 years old. One of them is in the new Odyssey.
It was about this time when Alpine started shifting its production from Japan to Korea. Thankfully all my amps are of Japanese manufacture.
psychobabble,
I know Mazda had a factory turbo Miata in the Australian market. I also know that Mazdaspeed (their factory tuner division) is introducing a turbo Protege 5 but I haven't heard of an upcoming turbo Miata for the American market. The standard Miata 1.8 could easily handle 180 hp without having Mazda worry about the warranty so it is a possibility.
Sushi,
You can still find relatively decent amps that aren't too expensive. I'd go for a true 4X50. I've got two old Rockford amps in my Miata. A 4X50 and a 2X100 on my stock alternator. A 4X50 won't tax your stock alternator.
Even though Rockford isn't as good as they used to be, they are still good amps. I'd go with them, MTX or JBL for not too expensive, good power amps. You'll probably pay 200-250 for a good 4X50 amp.
Frank
Thanks for the advises. After some additional listening on the store demo walls (duh...), I narrowed it down to Rockford, Alpine, and Sony. I also found out that the 4 x 50W-ish amps from these brands can be had for less than $150 if you do NOT buy at a B&M store (man... they will gauge you!). Since I've found a local shop who is willing to install the gears that I bought elsewhere without penalty, I ordered a Sony 4 x 60W from etronics.com. No strong reasons for the Sony -- It just looked to me like better-built, and bigger for the power spec. hahaha... It is on the way together with the Infinity speakers now!
My S2000 arrived in the Honda dealer safely, and I picked her up earlier tonight. She is a serious fun machine -- I am glad that I chose this great toy!!!
In fact, I must say that she is
our car -- my wife is suddenly committed to learn how to drive a manual stick, which she's never driven ever since she was attending the driving school back in Japan.
Yikes!!!! Just keep her under 6000 RPM! lol
Peter, you made a very important point... The Honda manual specifies, and the dealer double-emphasizes, the importance of /gasp/ BREAK-IN period on the S2000. I should keep the motor below 5500rpm for the first 600 miles, which, in fact, isn't necessarily easy since her engine is soooo free to rev up! I've been consciously watching the tachometer.
She is going to be fun to play with!
Masa, can't the dealer give you some sort of special CD to play that'll make the motor break in a lot quicker?
No, but if you lift the rear wheels off the ground and then place a brick on the gas pedal, you could break it in in less than a day! Mind those RPMs, though.
Okay Peter, but I thought that this
"Magic CD" would work just as well on motors as it does on speakers.
Getting rid of the Audi? Say it ain't so Zen! Which model do/did you have? I'm lovin' my A4.
ZeN,
Congrats to you, too! Is your garage big enough to hold the F-250???
Splif,
I have an '00 A4 1.8T - will have had it 4 years in a few weeks. Absolutely LOVE the car, its going to be very hard the day I give it up to pull myself away from her!!
If I could have justified keeping it, trust me I would have. But I'm single, and will be purchasing a track car (have to sell the current truck first though) - you can only drive so many cars as 1 person!!
Sushi,
No, it wont fit - too tall by 2 inches
No matter, its a truck
I have a 2002 A4 3.0. I've leased it, and will more than likely purchase it when the lease is up. Roger always jokes that I pay more attention to the car than him.
then you remind him that cars don't reciprocate...
Sorry. I'm really trying to get better. Honest!
Craig, I feel your pain. My wife is not of the reciprocating type either.
Finally, after nearly two years of waiting...I've got The Tennis Channel! I can't wait to get home and watch! 24/7 tennis.
I sincerely hope you plan on getting a laptop and wireless internet so your posting amounts don't diminish!
I do most all of my postings here at work anyway...BUT we're beginning work on The Matrix: Revolutions this week, so my postings my start sliding a bit. That's going to be keeping me quite busy for awhile.
So do you (I don't mean to oversimplify) digitally move films from one format and aspect ratio to another. What else is involved in converting a movie to IMAX format? This kind of thing really interests me. I considered going into post-production / digital-effect as a career for a while.
I can't talk about how it's done without risking getting fired. Sorry. There's probably some info online at www.imax.com. Or you could google search "imax dmr".
No worries. I understand. So it's like this:
"To create the brightness and clarity that audiences have come to expect from The IMAX Experience®, IMAX uses a proprietary computer program to make the images sharper than they were originally, while colors are adjusted for the unique technically superior characteristics of the IMAX screen. The completed re-mastered film is then transferred onto the world's largest film format, 15-perforations 70mm."
One frame at a time. It's like you're an animator.
Spiff would have to kill 'ya if he were to divulge any proprietary secrets pm! Don't dare ask him about getting the Caramilk into Caramilk...you're already on thin ice!
Cheers.
Can you tell us what is the approximate pixel resolution of the IMAX 70mm film?
I can CRT film record up to 5616x4096 pixels. Of course there's a big difference between digital data being recorded via CRT's and original camera negative shot the "old fashioned way".
Today I finally had a chance to bring our Odyssey to a local car audio shop in order to have the Infinity drivers and the Sony amp professionally installed. This time I did not replace the factory speakers on the rear channels.
I am very satisfied with the HUGE sonic improvement! Comparing the sound from the front Infinities and the rear factory drivers using the fader control, I couldn't believe that I "tolerated" the horrible sound quality of the factory speakers for so long. Now it sounds good enough for me to actually enjoy listening to my favorite CDs during long drives.
However, the technician apparently screwed up and inadvertedisabled the on-wheel control switches for the factory head unit. I guess I have to visit the shop again soon...
Other than that, he did a very nice, clean job.
So, have you bought a "My other car is an S2000" bumper sticker for that minivan yet?
Where can I get that bumper sticker???
And... "my other car" is doing VERY FINE, now well out of the break-in period and approaching 1000 miles.
I was bored...
Anyone who has their Axioms running with Rotel might like this...
www.funnyfarmcomics.net/axiom_rotel_800x600.jpg
Making that simple little wallpaper was fun. Anyone else want one? Tell me what you've got, and I'll see what I can do. Photoshop is fun.
Sure. My Axioms are powered by Onkyo. My desktop is also 1280x1024, and I don't want to have to stretch it...
Axiom powered by Elite, at 1280x1024, please!
OK...I've got to stop taking orders until I get those two done.
I want to make something nice, so it's going to take me a bit. (I'm still at work too, ya' know!)
I've got a Harman Kardon version that you inspired me to create. I just don't have access to web space right now to put it up.
Can you make an Ascend Acoustics powered by Harman Kardon?
Nope! Of course he will ONLY make "Axiom powered by..." Where do you think you are, Curtis???
Just in case Craig needs how the Elite logo look like, here it is (sorry couldn't find an actual online logo)...
Almost as pretty as the Rotels, eh?
Awww....where's the love?
OK...Curtis...I'll make an exception for you. (I can't say how quickly I'll get to it though!)
btw...tobz67's is now available. (His own design, I'm just hosting the webspace.)
Nice job!
www.funnyfarmcomics.net/Axiom-HK2.jpg
OK...here you go Peter. Sorry it's kind of lame. I've been pretty busy at work today. If I can make a better one, I'll let you know.
www.funnyfarmcomics.net/onkyo_axiom1280x1024.jpg
I just stumbled upon the picture below at AudiogoN.com -- a nice pair of the Revel Ultima $tudios, with a completely out-of-place plasma TV... LOL
My question: what the heck are those cables???
Another single guy no doubt owns this...
Here's a question for you. Why do so many people put their amps in the middle of the floor? Even with a TV, the amps are smack dab in the middle...I just don't get it.
That's not even a plasma TV is it?
I think those "cables" are those are cable wraps to make things look nice a clean.
-curtis
Nope. That's a CRT Wega. Those cable things look like they're flourescing!
Gimme Gimme..... I want those Ultima Studios
Yeah, that's my point -- the cables definitely seem glowing like strands of fluorescent light... What the heck are they???
Christmas lights?
Frank
I think I've seen those before. My brother (adamp88) showed me a pic of some huge monstrosity of a cable that had highly reflective metallic-ish braided shielding on it. It could just be the flash reflecting off it.
Sushi your wallpaper is ready!
I've made two...one with a pair of M60's included, one without.
www.funnyfarmcomics.net/sushi.jpg
or
www.funnyfarmcomics.net/sushi_m60s.jpg
I think the one with the M60's seems a little too crowded...
Curtis...yours is next.
Sushi,
spiffnme seems to be taking his sweet time making your requested pic (
), so I decided to give it a shot. It's a widescreen edition.
Click here to see it.
(I couldn't find any suitable pictures of speakers, so I made the M22s from scratch. I used the
sorrel pear swatch from the Axiom website, and some
good close-up pics of the drivers from a review of the M80tis I found.
I think I like Photoshop almost as much as I like this forum.
Thanks for the idea spiff!
(To see how I did it, right-click and save the photoshop file
here.)
Oops, spoke too soon!
Yeah, but those were just the power cables, Peter. These look like they're connected to the speakers themselves. Here's a picture of the Acoustic Zen Gargantua power cord. It's over an inch think and just a
mere $1500 for a 6 footer.
edit: after a little searching, it looks like Acoustic Zen makes a speaker cable that's basically the same idea as the Gargantua, so it's very possible those speaker cables are the Acoustic Zen Holograms, which will
only set you back $950 for an 8ft run.
Uh, boys, Sushi doesn't have M22s or M60s. He's got Hales fronts. Dur.... ;-)
Yes Ken, but now sushi realizes how good they'd look with his 45TX.
He doesn't have a 55txi either, but that's the picture he supplied.
I think the point was an Axiom/Elite wallpaper, not necessarily a "Sushi's System" wallpaper.
Oh, fine. I just like nitpicking.
Thanks Craig and Peter! I didn't know Peter was a DIY speaker builder.
Your opuses are safely in my wallpaper folder alternately showing on the desktop, together with the
Honda S2000 calendar.
Adam, so what's the surface material on those Zen wires? How come they are so uniformly bright?
Here's the Acoustic Zen website.
Looks like it's just a loose metallic mesh.
Dude, what did you do to Sunny to get that picture?!
What did I do? Nothing! I didn't even take the picture.
I sent you a PM with the uncropped version of the pic as proof. (It's a great pic and I just scanned it today.)
Ya know, I don't think anything costing hundreds/thousands a foot should be called Zen...
i personally think the 60's balance the graphic.
dan
they're on his wish list.
I think without the M60's it looks more like the speakers and Pioneer is "floating" in air, hence the "heaven" reference. The M60's seem to ground the piece. Or am I just nuts?
Curtis...do you have a decent pic of the Ascend logo? All I can find is REALLY small.
OK, I decided to make my own customized wallpaper (copying spiffnme's "powered by..."). Feel free to use it if you own the exact receiver & speakers (Denon 3802 & M60's). It's not as fancy & nice as the others posted here, but keep in mind it's my first creation ever with Photoshop! Anyway, just thought I'd share.
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-4/167709/denon800x600.jpg
Decent masking, good drop shadows and text effects, and no lens flare! I'd say you're off to a great start with Photoshop!
spiff...I will get you a better logo.
Some of you may know...some may not - besides working at IMAX, I sell comic books and original comic book artwork.
I'm going to be agressively selling off many pages of artwork, and offering good discounts on comic books over the next few weeks.
In my first push, I've posted three pages of artwork on Ebay
here.
Nearly all my artwork and comics are Daredevil related. If you're into this type of thing, take a peak at my stuff, and let me know if you are interested!
fyi - If you're wondering why I'm pushing to sell stuff right now, it's two-fold. 1) Paying off some debts in preparation for house hunting. and 2) I want to add a DVD-2900 to my system!
-Craig
OK...time to dust this thread off and bring it back out.
Take a look at this. Wow...
Is this a joke?
I certainly hope it is.
Snake oil doesn't even begin to describe that.
Burn a path of least resistance, eh? Every wire -- even freshly made virgin wire already has a path of least resistance. Why do I need to make a new one?
I'd say fraud would describe it.
This blows. This is like having your letter to the editor published in the Wednesday evening edition on the back page - between the obits and men seeking men ads.
