vB Easy Archive - Need advice on car audio

Pages: 1

Need advice on car audio
(Click here to view the original thread with full colors/images)

Posted by: sl33p

Hello, I was wondering if I could ask you guys for audio advice.
I want to buy used equipment from car msg boards and canadian car audio and others, and possibly some new stuff but I dont know that much about car audio and I wanted a second opinion.

I'm on a budget and I'm mostly looking for bass. I want to build my system so when I get more money, I can always add or change. The kind of setup I'm looking at is something like this, but instead I'll use my factory rear speakers. http://www.jlaudio.com/amps/pdfs/SYS_4.pdf

I'm looking at this high-end sub: Boston Acoustics ProSeries 12.5w/ box http://forums.torontoaccords.com/viewtopic.php?t=12922
I think he's looking for $350.

I'm looking at this Rockford Fostgate 550X: $350
http://forums.torontoaccords.com/viewtopic.php?t=12777
to power the sub and possibly components up front. I know that sub requires a lot of power but this is the best 4 channel amp I found that fits my budget, and maybe later i can add another amp to power the sub alone. Is it possible to use 2 channels for the front components and then bridge the 2 other channels for the sub? Will I get 275 RMS for the sub? I don't know anything about 2, 4 ohms.

And finally, I'm looking to spend about 200-300 on a good (maybe mp3) head unit but I haven't found any good used ones yet. Finally, if I have the money, i'd get components for maybe $200? or less?. This guy is sell Infinity components for $220: http://www.canadiancaraudio.com/cgi...ic;f=2;t=003382

This will cost me approx 1 grand. What other stuff will i need? wires+install = $100+? Im located in Scarborough, Toronto, very close to Markham.

I know this is long and I sincerely appreciate your advice. Thanks in advance.

Posted by: Stock R

Wow, I'd hardly call that "budget".

If you only want to add some bass, I don't see why you need to spend so much unless you plan to do more with the entire setup overall.

I don't know if that amp is able to do 2 channel + 1 bridged out all at once. See if you can find the info on the RF site.
Do remember that the guy only says the rms value doubles when you're running 2ohms. Odds are you aren't. So you'll be getting about 140watts rms, which is enough to push the sub, but not a lot.

Do you plan on ever doing anything to the rear speakers? If you amp the front and leave the back alone, the sound balance in your car is going to go funky and might not sound the way you want.

Does your car have components already? If so, just leave them alone for now. The stock ones can take a lot more power and still sound fine. Bass is what's really missing right now isn't it?

Save the money from the amp, components, sub and invest in a good deck. Remember that if you take crap, send it through the top of the line amp, equalizer, speakers, all you got is really loud crap. Get a deck with the features you want, high Voltage line outs for all the outputs (front/rear/sub). The speaker wattage won't matter if you're useing the rca outs to the amp.

For the wiring, don't skimp out either. Your entire system is running on these wires. Get a 4 gauge wire kit incase you ever want to do anything in the future.

Have you checked out how much those parts cost retail? Remember that you're paying a grand and you won't have warranty on any of the stuff if somethings goes wrong.

Here's my suggestion (generic cause i haven't looked at car audio in a while). Spend 40-50% of the mony into the deck (pioneer/kenwood/alpine for quality, sony/panasonic for bang for buck). That's where everything comes from. For now, get a 2 channel amp (RF seems to be the brand of choice) that's bridgeable to push the woofer only. If it's not very high powered, get a 10" sub. You'll get better sound quality/clarity from it with a more solid kick. 12" really only makes a difference when you're talking bigger power. Get a sub (kicker seems to make the most kicking subs) with a ported box. You loose out on the quality but you get about 10db more (10x louder).

For the install, make sure of these things
1)the inline fuse is between about 6-18" from the battery.
2)the power wire and the rca wire run down DIFFERENT sides of the car. Otherwise you'll get whine and a whack of other problems.
3)the amp location (back of seat or underseat/whatever) has room for cooling.
4)sub won't fly anywhere and kill you in case anything happens. A 12" in a box is a good 50lbs. Ever wonder why the spare tire is bolted down?

Anything else jsut ask and i'll actually look into it for you. This is just off teh top of my head.

Posted by: sl33p

Well...I want to spend as less as possible. But i don't want to buy crap. Components? i'm not sure.. i have a 2002 Accord SE. Maybe? I wanted to get components for the front and then power the front and the stock rears! I wouldn't leave out the rears. Thus, that's why I wanted 4 channels. 2 for the front&rear splitted with that Y splitter thingamajig...(JL website).

OR, what if I just get a powerful 1/2 channel amp and power the sub and use the deck to power the factory speakers or if i get components.

I DO want to get a good deck...but there's so many different models out there

You think I should get new? How much and from what store?

I don't know anything about speaker loads..ohms..

4 guage wire kit

Posted by: geo

it better to get a 4 channels to power your inside speakers and a 2 channels for the sub. also, don't get a deck that play mp3 as it take much longer to load cd.

p.s. i have a used alpine deck model# cda-7892 for sell. pm me for detail and if your interested.

Posted by: Hong Kong Fever

If you just starting out, look at my subs for sale in the For Sale forum... Thanks! $250 + $30 shipping.

http://www.howardforums.com/showthr...threadid=175429

Posted by: rip

go to : (on the top they have a link to select components to fit your car/ next to reviews...choose that and see what shows up...good luck)

www.sounddomain.com

Posted by: sl33p

thanks bud

Posted by: rip

hey do you want my old stuff...it doesnt fit in my POS ...lmao

let me know...it's free

Posted by: eimajuno

I would go with a Alpine head unit. I just got an Alpine CDA-9811 and it has an all power face with tilt, mp3s and it is able to display the title of the song. It also it XM ready but that is a US only thing. Very easy to use compared to the Pioneer that used to be in my car.

Posted by: seanski

i was at A&B sound a couple weeks ago and they had 2 10" JLs for $199

Posted by: TE1221

If I were you I'd focus on a new head unit, very good components, and an amp with a subwoofer or two. Since budget is your main concern I would probably turn to internet companies that you wouldnt see in stores.

They spend more money on engineering than marketing, so as a result their products are better for your money.

You could probably do well with the alpine 9805 with 4v sub preouts, or the Pioneer Premier 550mp with mp3. Both have 3 sets of RCA preouts.

For the components Thezeb.com has a special on CDT Audio Components, the CL-61a for 149 with free shipping. These are $300 components but the factory paint was too dark and they didn't like the way the paint came out.

Elemental Designs has great subwoofers under $300 for the driver. The 12A sub is great and works well under small enclosures and has plenty of power. It is very competitive and can almost be compared to Adire Audio's Brahma or very close the the JL W6. It's made of a flat Nomex cone and is engineered with better quality than any of the subs you can buy at the store.
Check out their site since its factory direct pricing. www.edesignaudio.com

They also carry Avionnix amps which are very good. You really cant go wrong.

I wouldnt skimp on an amp for the regular speakers. It really makes a night and day difference in your imaging. Believe it or not, amping a set of stock speakers sound better than running expensive speakers off the head unit.

And I'm just going by experience. You really want a good front soundstage and ideally you should disconnect the rears and just run with subs. In a real concert hall all the vocals and soundstage is in the front so having rear speakers will throw off the imaging. You might want to check out ikesound.com they are rated very well. The prices are very hard to beat and you can check them out on ebay since they have a store. The only thing is that the warranty you get is through them and not directly from the manufacturer.

Good luck and PM me if you have any questions.

Posted by: Stock R

Damn TE1221 - your idea of budget is quite large!

Sl33p - I like the idea given earlier. Since you're really looking for more bass, run the car speakers off the a nice deck for now. I think you will be quite happy with the change.

THe wire gauge is a measurement of pretty much how big the power cables are. The smaller the number, the bigger/thicker/more it can handle. 4 gauge will probably suit you fine. Just remember to get a kit with the same gauge power/ground wire, and a nice set of rcas to connect between deck and amp.

Use the leftover money on the amp/sub. A bridgeable 2 channel and a ported box with a 12" will give you plenty.

I don't know how much bass you want, but think about it this way. a 30watt 6" sub for your computer and make your room shake easily. a 100watt 8" sub can make your house shake quite easily. So what do you think a 300watt amp 12" sub in your car is going to feel? (yeah yeah, it's not a great comparison but it makes sense to me

)

Posted by: TE1221

It's all about more clarity and bump for your dollar

.

I mean he was willing to spend $350 on a used boston acoustic subwoofer so it seemed like his budget is around the $900 area. If you want to save money, try ebay too. Just be cautious about it.

Posted by: Stock R

Quote:

Originally posted by TE1221
It's all about more clarity and bump for your dollar .

Too bad it always comes down to money

The prices he was stating were in CDN dollars so they amount is already a lot less. Also those were his initial plans when he planned on getting a lowend headunit too.

Posted by: TE1221

Ohhhhh... That explains it. For some reason I was thinking he was spending a lot for a budget system. Well since everything I listed was in USD, disregard everything I said.

Posted by: TheOne

In my project car, there was an alpine 7895 w/ new speakers (when I bought it). Next week, I'm getting JL 250/1 and a JL W3v2 12" sub installed. Not too much bass, but good stuff.

W/ box, install, wires, power lock, taxes and 3yr warranty, the sub and amp came to a little under 1400.