[Sam Spade]

Short version: Can I do rear fill with an Alpine PXA-H800 and my setup and will it deliver the tuning settings I want? (I've tried to work this out but am getting nowhere):
Setup:
Head unit is a single din Kenwood KDC-X7100DAB. Passive setup speakers and amps are:

• front door speakers Hertz Mille MLK 1650.3 legend -2Way, excellent hi level tweeter position
• rear door speakers Hertz Mille MLK 165.3 legend - 2Way tweeters 2/3 way up door
• subs are two Hertz EBXF20.5 - 8" Enclosed Subwoofer boxes under a false floor in the wagon area just behind the rear seat
• amps three Hertz HP802 SPL - class AB Stereo Amplifier 330rms into 4 ohms

I initially ideally want to tune 4 primary settings that I can switch between:

1. driver only and rear speakers switched off
2. driver only rear speakers used for rear fill
3. four passengers all speakers on
4. doors and tailgate open sitting around a campfire

Oh and I have an Astell and Kern A&ultima SP1000M Digital audio player which is completely unbelievable for all sorts of uses and I'm ripping my 1000+ CDs to it in 16/44 FLAC. I am running it analog into the Aux in of the Kenwood and it sounds sublime but it also has USB out. So I think I can run it digital into the head unit but maybe also directly into the DSP. Advice welcome on this.

Long version:
Right, I have recently installed a new car hifi system. Well had it installed. Pics and details here Which DSP should I get or don't I need one........ but it's a proper 4WD turbo diesel station wagon with a low range gear box that will go anywhere. I typically drive around the city alone, but on long trips can often have 4 people in the car driving for hours on end. So awesome sound, rear speakers and an OEM appearance were all part of the brief. It sounds awesome, like unbelievably awesome but I now realise that a DSP will improve that.

I had been heading towards a Helix DSP pro Mk2 but only being able to tune with a laptop, and having to spend AU$460 extra for the HELIX DIRECTOR Remote Control is an issue, it would have to be a lot better to spend 500 bucks more than the Alpine which I can get here with a remote included for the same price as the Helix without one. I don't mind using a laptop. But I'd like a phone/tablet app as well. I don't want to carry a $2K laptop around in the car with me. I was drawn to the Helix cos everyone says the helix sounds better but no one has been able to articulate how/why that is the case.

My installer also has lots of experience with the Alpine and he says: "Also the Helix having a 100% need to have a PC for even simple switching is very backwards, vs the Alpine, Hertz and audio control which have apps which you could easily use on a tablet, or phone to adjust on the fly and the Alpine and Hertz having full display remote controls allowing many presets to be dialed in for listening alone, with a car full, different types of music, if your in the mood for bass or the mood for unbelievable clarity you can adapt on the fly whilst driving like a road trip situation. The fact the Alpine has a built in audio analysis microphone also puts it on another level as you can visualise the response curve and how your changes are actually translating to the sound profile, then the ability to make and adjust the presets on your phone or Android based music player is next level and gives you the ability to take advantage of all the power of the DSP without the need for a degree in audio engineering and computer programming. . The analysis mic also allows a level of noise cancellation and compensation for road noise and harmonics to keep the sound profile uniform at all times, to me that sounds fairly revolutionary."

I have great noise insulation, but we could drive hundreds of KM on unpaved roads on some trips. So the road noise cancellation really grabs me. I also get the impression that not only is my installer an expert with the Alpine I could get up to speed with it pretty quickly and with the helix that might not be the case.

Thanks in advance
Sam

 

[atgeorge70]

Does any one have the two tracks on the installation disc of PXA H800, track 1 for setting volume and track 2 for setting imprint EQ. I have misplaced my CD and do need them for reinstall

 

[BillC]

The discs are still available through alpine and or pacparts.

 

[atgeorge70]

The discs are still available through alpine and or pacparts.

Thanks, I do have written to them, but did not get a reply yet. Meanwhile, I was hoping if someone had this disc, he could copy the two files and share it with me over mail or this forum. In any case, my new car does not have a CD drive, so eventually, I will have to copy these tracks on a pen drive and play through USB.

 

[isamu]

I am not familiar with the cable the H700 used. If it’s an AiNet cable, it will work. Yes you can control volume and input select from a pc. I would not recommend using a pc as the controller. It would be very clunky.

I just read the manual of the Alpine PXA-H700(the I own) and yes, it uses the Ai-NET connection as its interface between the base unit and the head unit. So that means hopefully no need to run new cables when installing an H800. Yay!

 

[Naveen]

Centre Channel

Hi All,

I am new to this forum.

I have an issue with my Center Channel. (this has been there since a few years now)

To begin with... I have a 2016 Tucson and I had a Win version aftermarket Chinese head-unit and it had a 5.1 channel RCA

My set-up is
Head Unit - Chinese
DSP - PXA H800
Amp 1 - Pioneer GMD-8604 (4 CHANNEL) for my front and back door speakers
Amp 2 - Pioneer GMD-8601 for my Sub
Amp 3 - Alpine SBS 0715 (amp and speaker set) for my center channel.

My setting on the PXA was Input - 5.1 ch Input and Output - 5.1ch system (Front2Way+Rear+Center+Subwoofer)

I have tried playing genuine movie DVD with Dolby in my unit and could hear the actual surround sound from it and also i have original Dolby test files and was so too good to hear with the separations and the dialog only from the center channel.

Now i wanted to upgrade my head unit to an Android unit so i could play Youtube, Netflix or something similar. I bought another Chinese Android Head-unit, but now the issue is the head-unit has only 4.1 channel RCA out and because of that the center channel did not work with the same settings and same movie DVD or the Dolby files that i have and with the same setting.(especially the dialog that came only through the center channel - i missed that)

I then changed the PXA input settings from 5.1 ch Input to "4 channel & 2 channel" then it started working but now i can hear the dialog from all the speakers and also from the centre channel.

How do i get the pxa working like before. Can somebody please help.

Thank you in advance

 

[atgeorge70]

with 4.1, my understanding is that you lose the ability to have a true center channel. If the android unit has a digital out, you can try digital connections on PXA, this could help. An alternative is to use PXA capabilities, like equalizer and time delay to create the right level of the center image - for eg, delay the left and right speaker, so that the center speaker sound reaches first, use the equalizer to cut mid frequencies in the range of 300-600 a bit more than the others. Store this setting in one of the options and recall them based on listening preferences.

 

[Naveen]

Thank you George for your comments! Well my head -unit does not have a digital out so that is out of question. PXA has a option of Phantom where you can use your right and left to form the center channel. but i have a question can i anyhow use this 4.1 channel and using this 4.1 make a 5th channel out of it which will act as my Center "In".

Thank you!

 

[atgeorge70]

This is my understanding of 4.1 - FL, FR, RL, RR & Sub, so there is no center channel at source, hence alternatives are the only possibilities. I have used PXA in my previous car, where the HU output was 4 channels and output was set at 5.1 , my current car HU outputs, 5.2 - i.e. FL, FR, RL, RR, C, Sub L & R, since PXA can sum only 5.1 have ignored Sub R, since frequencies below 180Hz are normally present in both channels at near equal dB levels. The output here once again is set for 5.1

The point, I am attempting to make is you have to take a decision on what's important to you, is it listening to music or dialogues, the ability to enjoy dialogues in a near-perfect way while driving is limited given the constrained environment of the car. My choice will be to tune PXA well for music and use the capabilities of PXA like phantom & rear fill for specific needs (store this in one of the presets). With the right level of time delay and EQ settings (use the Global mode, rather than parametric) a good sound imaging is possible.

For music do use a good sound source; lossless formats like WAV, FLAC, AAC, or similar; formats like MP3 & MP4 have limitations while being upsampled and the aliasing is pretty evident.

 

[MitchWolos]

Why not just put the PXA into Pro Logic II mode. It will matrix a center channel from the 2 channel input....

 

[Joel3c]

My H800 has started having an issue whereby the RUX will indicate 'battery low voltage' and the audio would cut out and come back intermittently.

Could this be a case of a failed capacitor on the H800?

 

[Rapture333]

My H800 has started having an issue whereby the RUX will indicate 'battery low voltage' and the audio would cut out and come back intermittently.

Could this be a case of a failed capacitor on the H800?

I have had a failure of my H800 once before, I recommend sending it back into Alpine to get it looked at. However, in the case low voltage you may want to look at your battery and alternator before going that route.

 

[seafish]

My H800 has started having an issue whereby the RUX will indicate 'battery low voltage' and the audio would cut out and come back intermittently.

Could this be a case of a failed capacitor on the H800?

Could be, but you might want to check your actual battery condition and connections, as well as the positive and ground connections to the H800, first.

 

[soundboy]

Someone know the difference of this two dsp setuo.

Alpine ina-w910r (Optical out) + pxa-h800 + rux-c800 (have this)

Alpine F#1 DVI-9990R + pxi-h990 (+ TMI-M990 Monitor)

How sounds best in this case? F#1, is now very old vs H800 gear..

 

[bradsk88]

Someone know the difference of this two dsp setuo.

Alpine ina-w910r (Optical out) + pxa-h800 + rux-c800 (have this)

Alpine F#1 DVI-9990R + pxi-h990 (+ TMI-M990 Monitor)

How sounds best in this case? F#1, is now very old vs H800 gear..

In my opinion the only reason to buy old F1 gear is if you're building a retro system. Or if you absolutely MUST do all Alpine and want a ton of channels (which would require running TWO H990s)

Nowadays, you're better off spending much less for something like a Helix DSP3