From: gtb6038@zeus.tamu.edu (BILES, GREG THOMAS)
Newsgroups: rec.audio.car
Subject: AHHH!!!!!  Why am I plagued by crappy equipment!?!?
Date: 14 Apr 92 22:02:00 GMT
Organization: Texas A&M University, Academic Computing Services
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41

For all of those out there looking for audio equipment here are a few things
to stay away from!

First, I have a JVC RG-4 head unit.  It is only 6 months old.  The problems 
started at about 3 months old.  Anyways, the first thing to go was the CD/Aux
input.  Next, the eject button came loose and slid completely into the head
unit.  That's not too big of a problem since all that was needed was to open 
the unit and reattach the lever.  Anyways, now, the scan mechanism is messed up.
Whenever I put in a tape, the scan goes wild.  The tape plays fine, but the 
display shows the radio stations flashing buy.  It will lock on a strong one
for about half a second and then continue.  When the tape is ejected, it keeps
scaning until I press a preset button.  Then, if I try seek, it starts its wild
scanning again.  Also, the RCA cables from the radio aren't shileded or 
something.  This weekend, I was trying to get rid of some of the remaining 
enigine whine that still plagues my system.  So, I took the radio out and wired
up the power and ground wires and then ran the RCA away from the wires into
some Pheonix Gold Tri-Shieled RCA cables straight to the amp in the back.  
The noise wasa terrible!  So, I tried my friend's Pioneer CD player in the 
same fassion (He had just bought it that day) and guess what!!  NO NOISE!
(He had the same problem on the JVC unit that he was replacing because of
constant problems).  

Second, my Sony XC-90 EQ/Xover started acting up putting lots of whine and
distortion into the signal.  Anyways, I opened it up and found faulty solder
connections on the RCA jacks.  That was easily fixed.  Anyways, the lights on
the slide thingys up front blink on and off occationally.

Well, anyways, one the EQ problem was fixed, I went ahead and hooked everything
up thinking that I was just stuck with noise until I finally got a new Pioneer
CD player like my friend's.  The XC-90 EQ/Xover took out some of the noise and 
the XEC-500 Xover took out some more, but I still had an intolerable amount, 
especially with the A/C and lights on.  So, I searched around in my box of
audio junk and ran across a 2 1/2 year old RCA cable noise filter by Pyramid
and like magic, the whine was gone!  (Just about).  However, there is a SMALL
drop in sound quality with the filter in place.

If this message makes no sense to anyone and you are wondering why I wrote it,
I'm sorry.  It's just that I have had SO many problems with equipment that I
worked hard for, it's quite fustrating when it all starts giving you problems!
So far I have had problems with:
  JVC RG-4 Head unit
  SONY XC-90 EQ
  SONY XEC-1000 XOver
  SONY XR-4147 Cassette/Radio
  COUSTIC 380 2 channel amp
  PYRAMID GOLD PB 150 amp
  RF 5.25" coaxals

And, I'm in a bad mood.  :(  Sorry.  Well, anyone else have alot of problems
with certain brands?  Sony seems to be my worst.  The only brands that I haven't
had any problems with have been Sherwood, Pioneer, and Kickers.

Greg