[DeTomaso] Fwd: Re: CD Players- (a completely different alternative)

[audionut at hushmail.com]

Being an audionut, I cannot help but weigh in on the topic of Audio In
The Pantera --  

Due to the decibel level inside the cabin of even a stock-motored
Pantera, my conclusion is that there is no point in installing any
kind of stereo system.  That is,unless you want to listen to music
when the car is not running (parking lot events, extended periods of
waiting for people, etc.) No matter how much money you spend on
quality gear, the sound quality will be terrible (by my standard) and
you will damage your hearing when you inevitably crank up the volume
to drown out the motor. My solution?  Noise-cancelling headphones. 
There are several different makes out there but I use a Bose unit with
an iPod that plays my memory-gobbling lossless files.  (mp3 files are
the lowest quality music format ever created, suitable only for "Books
on Tape" and such.... cassette tapes from the 70's sound better)  You
can put a ton of lossless song files on an iPod.  I have around 5,000
on mine and it's not yet full. I am on the road upwards of 25K miles
in a year and I've been using this set-up for many years now-- even in
my modern vehicle which has a much quieter cabin.  The sound quality
is excellent and the miles fly by stress-free.  (Well, almost!)  If
you have a passenger, you need another set of cans for them and then
use a signal splitter out of your player so the both of you can enjoy
the same music.  Sharing music this way also has the effect of
eliminating undesirable and distracting verbal interaction with one's
passenger that often lead to agitated emotional states.  (how's that
for putting it nicely?) Yes, it is "illegal" in California to wear
headphones while driving-- but like so many of our well-intentioned
laws, this one happens to be quite stupid.  There are deaf people who
drive cars.  Some folks drive around with ridiculously powerful sound
systems thundering away inside.  The world of driving continues to
turn pretty much as it always has.
Noise-cancelling headphones do not completely eliminate outside
sounds.  I can always hear the sirens of emergency vehicles while
wearing them.  Cops have looked at me straight in the face while I am
driving with them on and every time they passed right by. 
CHP bullied me with a speeding ticket on the way to our Fun Rally in
Monterey this year and the cop said nothing about the pair of
headphones sitting openly on the passenger seat. (I now have a radar
detector.) I will say this, however-- if you are unsure of your
ability to be visually aware enough to drive safely with exterior
sounds muffled, or you are the type of driver who tends to "zone out"
on the road and become absorbed in mental distractions then
"noise-cancelling headphones as car audio" are probably not a good
idea. Also, it is probably best to not use them in an urban
city-street environment where you have stop lights, cross traffic,
blind intersections and such.  I usually take them off whenever I exit
a freeway or rural highway.   (Thankfully, the Pantera is an unwieldy,
miserable beast in an urban city environment so the miles we drive
there tend to be few.)
_----------------------------------------------------------------------_
_"What do you need a stereo for?  You should be happy with the music
of the engine!"__ __(or something like that)  --A. deTomaso_ 
 Sent using Hushmail
-------------- next part --------------
   Being an audionut, I cannot help but weigh in on the topic of Audio In
   The Pantera --

   Due to the decibel level inside the cabin of even a stock-motored
   Pantera, my conclusion is that there is no point in installing any kind
   of stereo system.  That is,

   unless you want to listen to music when the car is not running (parking
   lot events, extended periods of waiting for people, etc.)



   No matter how much money you spend on quality gear, the sound quality
   will be terrible (by my standard) and you will damage your hearing when
   you inevitably crank up the volume to drown out the motor.



   My solution?  Noise-cancelling headphones.  There are several different
   makes out there but I use a Bose unit with an iPod that plays my
   memory-gobbling lossless files.  (mp3 files are the lowest quality
   music format ever created, suitable only for "Books on Tape" and
   such.... cassette tapes from the 70's sound better)  You can put a ton
   of lossless song files on an iPod.  I have around 5,000 on mine and
   it's not yet full.



   I am on the road upwards of 25K miles in a year and I've been using
   this set-up for many years now-- even in my modern vehicle which has a
   much quieter cabin.  The sound quality is excellent and the miles fly
   by stress-free.  (Well, almost!)  If you have a passenger, you need
   another set of cans for them and then use a signal splitter out of your
   player so the both of you can enjoy the same music.  Sharing music this
   way also has the effect of eliminating undesirable and distracting
   verbal interaction with one's passenger that often lead to agitated
   emotional states.  (how's that for putting it nicely?)



   Yes, it is "illegal" in California to wear headphones while driving--
   but like so many of our well-intentioned laws, this one happens to be
   quite stupid.  There are deaf people who drive cars.  Some folks drive
   around with ridiculously powerful sound systems thundering away inside.
    The world of driving continues to turn pretty much as it always has.

   Noise-cancelling headphones do not completely eliminate outside sounds.
    I can always hear the sirens of emergency vehicles while wearing them.
    Cops have looked at me straight in the face while I am driving with
   them on and every time they passed right by.

   CHP bullied me with a speeding ticket on the way to our Fun Rally in
   Monterey this year and the cop said nothing about the pair of
   headphones sitting openly on the passenger seat.



   (I now have a radar detector.)



   I will say this, however-- if you are unsure of your ability to be
   visually aware enough to drive safely with exterior sounds muffled, or
   you are the type of driver who tends to "zone out" on the road and
   become absorbed in mental distractions then "noise-cancelling
   headphones as car audio" are probably not a good idea.



   Also, it is probably best to not use them in an urban city-street
   environment where you have stop lights, cross traffic, blind
   intersections and such.  I usually take them off whenever I exit a
   freeway or rural highway.



   (Thankfully, the Pantera is an unwieldy, miserable beast in an urban
   city environment so the miles we drive there tend to be few.)



   ----------------------------------------------------------------------

   "What do you need a stereo for?  You should be happy with the music of
   the engine!"



   (or something like that)  --A. deTomaso





   Sent using Hushmail