sza

Hola,

I'm in the process of designing software for my 350Z. I have a handle on everything on the software side of things... but having never been an audiophile (at least not with my cars) I'm a little unsure about my best audio setup.

First of all I'm getting rid of the factory HU (the Z's system's all suck.. even the Bose upgrade) and getting a new one and an amp and probably some speakers. (I would love suggestions as I am not up on the market) So with this in mind.. I can purchase anything that will assist in the integration of PC to stereo.

The software I'm designing is pretty responsive... I'm going to implement that with TTS from Festival. The problem is that when I'm driving at 110 with NoFX blaring I'm not going to notice the LCD when it's telling me that the ECU has something to ***** about. I need software control of all audio components. Not knowing much about car audio.. this is the solution I have planned:

MIC -------------\ (mic)
HU (Preamp out) --> (line in) PC (Integrated SC (VIA)) (lineout) --> AMP

So I find a head unit with preamp out... turn the RCA into mini and back to RCA to go into the amp's preamp in (or to a crossover I guess). Then in software when I need to "say" an alert, I'd fade the Line to about 25% of the former volume and let the PCM channel go full on until the PC was done talking.

My unknowns are what the impedance mismatch will be between the preamp out on the head unit and what the line-in expects, although I have a feeling that that will be less harsh than the amped (by soundcard) out into the amp. Also, I do care about fidelity and want to get the most out of the head unit I get. How much will going from RCA to mini to RCA cost in terms of quality? Is there another way?

Any input is appriciated!

Thanks
s