club.liberty.asn.au

I currently have the standard kenwood GX-201KH unit and am looking at upgrading to the McIntosh PF-25511 unit currently on ebay.
What does anyone think and has anyone completed such a conversion?
Im just wondering if the connections are the same for the Mac to the Kenwood?

cheers
Dan

From what I've read, I don't think it would be a worthwhile task at all. Some people seem completely dissatisfied with the McIntosh (I can't talk, never heard one at all), and I don't think it'll be a straight plug n play. Seeing as the Mac system is 13 speaker (9 speakers really) and goes through an amp of some sort.

I'd wholeheartedly suggest getting an AV Panel kit from Japanparts.com or AVO, like Loweart and I have done. That way you can just go straight to any decent aftermarket head unit you want.

Hey Dan,

In my humble opinion I don't believe going from the single Kenwood head unit that's in the 2.5 to the McIntosh system is a worthwhile proposition.

Although it's immediately apparent there is a sonic difference between the two systems when properly kitted out I wouldn't necessarily say it's a stark improvement as such, more like a different kind of improvement.

I would expect that the wiring between the two systems would be different ( although there will be similarities ) considering your existing head unit doesn't have a separate amp and only drives 6 speakers ( really only 4 ) whilst the McIntosh has a separate BALANCED amp under the passenger seat that drives 13 speakers ( really only 9 ).

If you are intent on going down the route of purchasing that McIntosh system on ebay, please make sure the under seat amp is included, other wise you'll be on another mission to track down the amp. But more importantly, also make sure they supply the wiring harness that connects the under seat amp to the McIntosh head unit too !

All shortcomings aside with the McIntosh, please keep in mind that it was designed "sonically" or tuned with the type and amount of speakers and subwoofer that are fitted in the GT and 3.0 in mind. So if you just wire up the McIntosh in your car with the existing speakers or aftermarket ones, you'll have to spend some time experimenting to get the overall sound to sound "right".

You don't have to go all out like I or some of the others here have done. The key is making an informed choice based around a budget/sound quality you're hoping to achieve or willing to live with.

Nytrojen has shown what can be achieved on a restricted budget and even when I owned a 2.5 sedan, my system fitout in that had a single DIN JVC head unit that was powering a pair of 6.5 inch Clarion splits in the front and a pair of Pioneer 6 inch two ways in the rear with great results. See here -> http://forum.liberty.asn.au/viewtopic.p ... 75&start=0[url][/url]

Good luck with your project.

Cheers for the advise. Much appreciated.

Im just after a cheap fix to having a 6 stacker as mine is only a single?

With my stock Kenwood unit I already have a line output converter fitted with am amp powering a sub and the front Kicker components while the rear kicker coaxials are running off the headunit. This means that the tune from the HU doesnt really matter.

I found out that it is possible to change wiring looms on the McIntosh unit to fit the stock model as all signal wires are there but they aren't all in the same connectors. It shouldnt be too hard to relocated signal wires to go to my line output converter instead

As for the factory Amp, that came with the GT model, its not a vital part of the Head Unit. The head unit still has 8 signal wires(FL+, FL-, FR+, FR-...) that connect to the amp. The amp then uses these signals to produce power for the 9 speakers in the GT.
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Cheap fix is good and it seems like you've already done your homework and have all bases covered - all good !

Hope you win that auction and get the McIntosh at a good price.

wassell2381 wrote:Cheers for the advise. Much appreciated.

Im just after a cheap fix to having a 6 stacker as mine is only a single?

With my stock Kenwood unit I already have a line output converter fitted with am amp powering a sub and the front Kicker components while the rear kicker coaxials are running off the headunit. This means that the tune from the HU doesnt really matter.

I found out that it is possible to change wiring looms on the McIntosh unit to fit the stock model as all signal wires are there but they aren't all in the same connectors. It shouldnt be too hard to relocated signal wires to go to my line output converter instead

As for the factory Amp, that came with the GT model, its not a vital part of the Head Unit. The head unit still has 8 signal wires(FL+, FL-, FR+, FR-...) that connect to the amp. The amp then uses these signals to produce power for the 9 speakers in the GT.
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If you're simply after a 6 stacker, you can try and find the kenwood 6 stacker. They came standard in the Premium packs. I have my old one lying around, but I'm holding onto that for when it comes time to sell/trade in the car. If you can find one from someone who's getting rid of theirs it'll be a straight swap.

Might be tough finding one tho. You may have some luck at a wreckers maybe?

Didn't win the McIntosh Unit so Im still looking for a improvement for the single disc factory unit. Im thinking now about getting the AV kit and putting in a double din DVD unit We'll see!!