Mobile Electronics Australia

One of the burning topics in car audio at the moment is OEM (factory head unit) integration. What’s available and how do they compare for features and value? Andrew Phillips takes a look at the currently available processors from Alpine, Audison, JBL and Rockford Fosgate.

While having been around for a few years now, the Alpine PXE-H650 ($799) and Rockford Fosgate 3Sixty.2 ($999) were quick to the market, with the newcomers Audison BitOne ($1355) and JBL's MS-8 ($999) seeming to offer more flexibility and enjoying recent success. All are great units and each one offers unique features when compared to the others.

Installation

One of the important factors for OEM integration units is the size of the actual unit. Remember these units are mainly designed to be hidden away so the smaller the unit the better. Once they have been connected to the factory source unit they rarely need to be accessed again. The smallest unit amongst these four is the 3Sixty.2, easily small enough at 184x108x44 and 0.4kg to be mounted behind the dashboard and in my experience, the best place to mount the 3Sixty if you want noise free operation. I’m not saying they are noisy, but there have been noise issues that have been solved by moving the unit closer to the source. It seems the other three are made to be seen, all are better looking and roughly the same size, the Alpine 252x149x38 and 1.0kg, Audison 225x150x32 and 1.3kg and the JBL the largest of the group at 293x187x55 and a porky 2.9kg.

Usability

With the Alpine PXE-H650 the adjustments are made from the actual unit or via USB on your computer. The software is included on the set-up CD, a wireless hand held remote is included for selecting options like source, bal/fad, sub level, mute and user presets. The other devices are either computer controlled or include a remote for the actual adjustments. The JBL MS-8 offers two remote pieces, a smallish screen for making the actual adjustments and this screen can be left in the car for “on the go” tweaking, or removed and the owner can select the settings from the included wireless remote control. The Audison BIT ONE’s adjustments are made via computer using a USB cable with the main unit having a wired remote (DRC) that is mounted in the vehicle for selecting user presets, volume, bal/fad, input select and even offers access to digital features of Audison Thesis Amplifiers if connected. The Rockford 3Sixty.2 only has the ability to tune and adjust using a handheld Palm, Windows Mobile or Windows computer device via Bluetooth connection. This Bluetooth feature is unique but also a pitfall of the unit, the owner needs to purchase another device if they want to be able to self tune. Bluetooth can be fickle at the best of times and there are plenty of different versions around and your 3Sixty can become un-usable if you lose connection. The 3Sixty has a simple wired remote that can either be used as a master volume control, or a subwoofer level control. The best unit for usability would seem to be the JBL MS-8, offering on the go tweaking from the driver’s seat.

Set-up

The Alpine and the JBL units include microphone set ups for automatic tuning of the equalizer and time alignment functions. This comes in quite handy for DIY'ers and some stores that do not have RTA’s (Real Time Analysers), a must have piece of equipment if you plan on tuning a 31 band equalizer. For the Alpine PXE-H650 and their 'IMPRINT' Technology, it includes a high end microphone that is placed in various positions inside the vehicle in order to tune the EQ and sound stage to optimum levels, Alpine recommends 4 to 8 microphone positions to acquire the best results. The JBL has a unique headphone mounted binaural microphone that requires the user to sit in the driver’s seat and turn their head to face 4 different positions when the set-up CD tells you. This can be repeated for up to 4 seats and placed into presets that can be accessed through the remote control. 

The Rockford and Audison unit’s can only be equalized properly using an RTA, this requires skill and time from a good installer. In some cases this tuning time may come at an extra cost, not included with the actual fitting price of the unit. For the BIT ONE, 4 presets can be stored and accessed from the DRC wired remote control; adjustments are made using the software on your computer screen with the USB cable connected to the main box. With the Rockford 3Sixty adjustments are made either with a handheld device or computer with compatible Bluetooth connection. The 3Sixty software allows for multiple settings and multiple vehicles can also be stored in the one device using customer’s names, number plates or vehicle types as a password; this would be useful if you are doing the exact same vehicle and system as you have done before.

Inputs

All of the units feature both hi-level (speaker) and lo-level (RCA) inputs, the newer JBL unit has 8 channels, the Rockford has 6 and Alpine 5. The Audison has 8 channels of speaker level and 6 channels of RCA level but also offers optical and co-axial digital inputs available from high end after market headunits. It seems the newer the unit, the more input options. The input channels for the Rockford and Alpine are set as front/rear/center/sub etc . They don’t offer much flexibility if the vehicle has more channels, on the other hand the newer Audison and JBL offer user selectable channels that are merely marked 1 – 6/8. All four units feature some sort of signal sensing circuitry so that a remote turn on is not needed if a factory headunit is used. Auto summing and auto EQ correction of factory units is also catered for. Two channels of AUX input are included in all units bar the Audison, which has four channels for two separate AUX inputs.  

Outputs

The output stages vary as much as the inputswith JBL leading the pack with 8 channels of user definable RCA outputs at a respectable 2.8volts. The MS-8 also features 8 x 18 watts RMS (4ohm CEA Rated) of output power, a unique feature amongst these units and allows the user to mix and match powered speaker or non-powered RCA outputs to make up their systems requirements. The Audison has 8 channels of user definable RCA output at 4.0volts. The Rockford offers 5.0volts through 6 channels marked as Front/Rear/Centre/Sub and the Alpine has 6.1 channels marked as Front 1/Front 2/Rear/Sub. If you want to run a 3-way front speaker set-up with the Rockford or Alpine, you need to get creative.

Processing Power

All units feature a great amount of equalization and x-over adjustment. The amount of adjustability is determined by the outputs, the JBL and Audison units have user defined 8 channel outputs so they offer full hi-pass, lo-pass, band-pass capabilities along with 31 bands of equalization and full time alignment per channel, you decide what they do. The Rockford and Alpine are more limited as they have set outputs, still great but more limited in adjustability. The JBL offers single digit control of the x-over frequency and a selectable slope of up to 24dB/octave. It’s worth noting that with the JBL unit you cannot have different x-over values for coincident speakers ie, sub-bass to mid-bass x-over is shared and the same, you can’t have 70hz mid-bass hi-pass and 80hz sub-bass lo-pass. It also has 5.1 and 7.1 Logic 7 processing built in with the ability to create surround sound from a 2 channel stereo input.  The Audison offers hi-pass/band-pass/lo-pass/full range x-overs per channel and is more limited in adjustment with 70 steps between 10hz and 20Khz, but offers them with up to 48dB/octave slopes and 0/180degree phase control. The BIT ONE offers a Dynamic EQ setting via the DRC, this allows for auto EQ adjustment between high and low volume. The Rockford offers 31 band equalization and full x-over adjustability for the front, 27 bands for the rear and centre and 10 bands for the subwoofer. The subwoofer x-over is limited to lo-pass 50-200hz, all x-overs are 12 or 24dB/octave. The Alpine’s x-over is similar in range to the Rockford’s in regard to the frequency range and slope but has a unique front1 and front2 set-up, the PXE-H650 also offers 3 custom parametric EQ settings for further fine tuning, one setting for treble, mid and bass.

Other features

All units offer high quality digital/analogue conversion, the BIT ONE in particular reads like the who’s who of audio components. The PXE-H650 has source tone memory, 2 user presets and factory steering wheel control interface. The Audison BIT ONE has input sensitivity adjustment for the AUX inputs and is able to control features in their high end amplifiers using a special link. The JBL MS-8 features adjustable turn off delay between 0 – 5 seconds and the ability to manually tune the EQ on the go. It also ships with all mounting screws, double sided tape, alcohol wipes and an array of remote mounting options. The Rockford 3Sixty is easily the smallest and can be tuned in real time, wirelessly.

Conclusion

When it comes to OEM integration devices it may seem like newer is better. The JBL MS-8 especially seems to have addressed all of the short-comings of the earlier Rockford 3Sixty and Alpine PXE-H650 unit. It also comes with built in power and a reasonable price. The Audison BIT ONE is a must for Audison lovers and takes things to the next level with audiophile sound quality based features. Where does that leave the Rockford 3Sixty and the Alpine PXE-H650? I know that Rockford will show a new multi channel, non Bluetooth upgraded unit called 3Sixty.3 during this month's Consumer Electronics Show (look out for MEA's coverage) and this should bring them back into the mix. As for Alpine they will always be at the forefront of car audio design and will not sit back without upgrading their PXE unit, I notice a newer PXE-H660 available in the US with some upgraded features and the rumored release of yet another higher powered model for CES.

For me, the JBL MS-8 ticks all the boxes, for now ...

Stay tuned for an update on these models, and new players to the market during the CES in the coming weeks.