I found one of car audio's holy grails

Don't know too much about Clarion. Back when I use to compete usaci the 7990 Alpine was the unit to have. I wish they still made some higher end recievers with a cd slot rather than a folding face. I would rather have the money spent on internals rather than a fancy face. Maybe someday I will get back into stereos again, I still have a couple sets of Alpine flagship components sitting around somewhere lol.
 
I may try USACi next year...they have a bigger presence in Texas. I'm doing MECA this year since they're so big on the west coast where I am now.
 
Usaci events around me were pretty decent usually although I noticed less and less sq vehicles every year and more strict spl builds. The spl thing doesn't appeal to me at all but different folks- different strokes I guess.
 
UNBROKEN said:
I won't try to explain why it's so good...it just is. LOL
I found what is likely the last Clarion DRZ9255 that was brand new in the box on the planet. They stopped making them in 2008 and this is one of the last ones....the plastic had never been opened until today when I got it.
This is the last piece of the puzzle in my bid for world domination in MECA Street class this year.

1239488_10202020165725379_73437888_n.jpg
Click to expand...

Not the last one, as I have a Clarion DRz-9255 that I purchased new eons ago from Custom Car Stereo in Houston and never used it. It has a nice corner in my audio closet. I open the box from time to time to gawk. At the same time I purchased a new Eclipse 8053.

I had planned on using them, since I have always gone for sound quality however the new gadgets are growing on me.
 
Knowing how rare the Clarion units are. How does the Pioneer DEX-P99RS or a DEH-P880PRS stand up as a alternative choice?
 
Well we wil see what happens in the next month or 2. I am not really pleased with the Pioneer DVD head unit i have now. If the truck does not sell i think it will be time to go to a head unit that provides the SQ and forget about all of the whistles and bells. Hoping to sell as it is time for me to move on to the next chapter.
 
Back in the day when I was competing in IASCA I used a Sony A100 CD changer as the source unit in my 1967 Camaro. I competed in the Pro 1-100 watt class with an Orion 425 HCCA then swapped it out for a pair of hand tweaked Orion 225 HCCAs.

From my days of audio testing at Car Audio & Electronics magazine I still have the copper chassis Alpine CDA-7949 that I used as well as most of the rest of the speakers and amps I used as my baseline equipment.
 
The Orion HCCA Series I considered Cheating for the 1-100 Class....Just my thoughts.

But damn those amps were awesome!
 
wideopen said:
The Orion HCCA Series I considered Cheating for the 1-100 Class....Just my thoughts.

But damn those amps were awesome!
Click to expand...

EVERYONE in the class was running some kind of high current amplifier in the Pro 1-100 class!!! They were rated at 25 watts per channel, they just happened to continue doubling power each time you reduced the impedance and had tons of dynamic headroom for outstanding sound quality and dynamic control of the speakers!!!

I still have my 225 HCCAs, but I sold my 425 HCCA. The guy tried to get me to buy it back saying he never hooked it up, but I decided to pass since he wanted more than he paid for it. If it were at a cheaper price I probably would have bought it just to hang on the wall as I custom polished the center and fins of the heat sink by hand.

I also still have my Audio Control EQL that I modified to run off the +/- 15V phantom power supply of the Orion amplifiers for better signal to noise ration and sound quality.

I won several local and regional events with the car, but got spanked each time I competed at the World Finals... It was fun though!!!

The Ipod generation has certainly ruined sound quality for the majority leading manufacturers to focus on quantity and convenience over sound quality. One of these days I will rebuild a couple of my sound quality setups so that Kyle can hear what legitimate audiophile quality sound is like and that it does not come from an ipod!!!
 
Thanks to this thread being alive again...it prompted me to finally google why my AudioControl EpiCenter wasn't working. I switched the LPF off....and holy Lord! Lower octaves may require active rear view mirror stabilization. :hehe:
 
Stereos? WTF are those?
IF I lsten to it, I'm just happy if it makes enough noise to be heard above the Dakota's loud exhaust. :D
I barely even listen to the dash box, even on long drives. :hehe:

Mark.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top