New To Car Audio...

[Psychosis 10+ year member]

Ok so I have done some searching and such, this is what I have found...

Alpine CDA-9847 $179

Pioneer Premier DEH-P480MP $161

Kenwood EZ-500 $189

Alpine SPR-17LP 6.5" 2-Way 250W Speaker $210 (for two) or $420 (for four)

JL Audio 10W1V2-4 10" 150w 4-Ohm Subwoofer $120 or $240 (for two)

Rockford Fosgate Punch P4004 50W x 4 Amplifier $219

or

Rockford Fosgate Punch P8004 100W x 4 Amplifier $496

So with those options what do you think? I have to figure out if any of those 3 head untis will comfortably fit my car's make and model... Then I am thinking of going with 4 of the Alpine Spkrs, 2 JL Audio Sub's and the Lower Priced Rocksford Gate Amp. Now the only thing I'm not clear on (b/c I have no idea about this stuff) is if all of this together will work together well, such as power wise, and such.

The Amp's both have a built in crossover, so I'm assuming I don't need to buy a separate component, unless it would be a lot better in quality to do so... The only things I'm really missing are wires/connections and a subwoofer enclosure, correct?

 

[SAG3 5,000+ posts]

you should get a better sub than that JL, not saying that it's bad but it is one of the lower models. you will also need at least 5 channels on your amp, 4 for regular speakers and one for the sub.

 

[SAG3 5,000+ posts]

when you buy the regular speakers they come in pairs so you only order 2.

 

[Ctminime 10+ year member]

when you buy the regular speakers they come in pairs so you only order 2.

yah but i think that he was gonna go with 6.5s all the way around...

 

[SAG3 5,000+ posts]

yah but i think that he was gonna go with 6.5s all the way around...

those speakers go for ~$65.00/pair + shipping on ebay

 

[Ctminime 10+ year member]

those speakers go for ~$65.00/pair + shipping on ebay

thats all cool then..... make sure that he knows to get everything off of the net..... sonicelectronix.com and ikesound.com are your friend....

 

[PepsiFiend69 10+ year member]

The Alpine 9847 is a very good unit, i owned one for about a week but returned it because something was messed up with the pre-outs, it was the display model, so the shop blamed it on that.

it was very easy to use and everything was pretty clear cut. not to mention the SQ was good.

 

[SuperJETT 10+ year member]

I only spent around $450 on my system, TOTAL including a new Alpine CD/MP3 head unit so for $1300 you are set.

The problem is, when you walk into a store and say "I have $1300 to spend" the salespeople are going to either try to get you to spend more than that or rip you on the $1300 you do spend, normally. Definitely listen to the advice from ca.com and you'll spend your money wisely.

Your rear speakers don't need to be as good as the fronts as that's where your imaging comes from. I don't even run rears in mine, just the 6.5's up front and the subs in the trunk.

For your setup, I'd say a nice set of 6.5" 2-ways up front, and a good single 12" SQ-oriented sub in a sealed box in the trunk. For power a good 50x4 amp that you can bridge the rear channels to power the sub would be ideal. I have 300W on 2 10" Infinity subs and it's plenty for your type of music so a 12" with that type of power would probably match what I have.

 

[Psychosis 10+ year member]

God I love you guys, your so much help!

Ok so if my JL Audio Sub selection isn't that great then I'll have to find a better model . I do like how JL's sound so I'll stick with that company. What should I look for when looking for a sub? Watts, Ohms, etc. And I'm still confused as to go for a single 10", double 10" or a single 12"

Now I have read a couple suggestions so far about JUST getting new front speakers and not upgrading the rear. I guess I was planning just to buy the Alpines for both front and rear... but is it really going to make a difference? I guess I could shop around for a lower priced Alpine for the rears to cut down on cost IF upgrading the rear speakers is definitely something that is recommended. I'm just not sure? Comments, Suggestions?

Hmmm... I seem to be having trouble locating a 5 Channel Amp. The most I am finding so far is 4 Channels. Any suggestions?

(edit: I just found a 5 Channel Amp... Memphis Belle 16-MCH600, any good?)

(edit 2: Ok what about this set up)

1 DECK: Alpine CDA-9847

4 SPEAKERS: Alpine SPR-17LP 6.5" 2-Way 250W Speakers

1 SUBWOOFER: JL Audio 12W3v2 12" 600W Dual 4-Ohm

1 AMPLIFIER: Memphis Belle 16-MCH600 (5 Channel)

 

[PatFitz9 10+ year member]

i don't have anything against buying everything on the internet, but something to think about, for you, is the cost of installation and fixing problems. buying on the net will most likely not have a warranty. not a huge deal, but something to think about. as far as installation goes, with most shops, you can get them to lower the install cost if you buy from them. especially spending $1300 bux. and if you have any questions/problems you can just go to the shop and talk to a (hopefully) knowledgeable employee. when you go into the shop, just try to get them to lower the price. bring in a list of prices from the net and tell them your $1300 is going somewhere else, see what they have to say about that.

 

[Psychosis 10+ year member]

i don't have anything against buying everything on the internet, but something to think about, for you, is the cost of installation and fixing problems. buying on the net will most likely not have a warranty.

A lot of the parts I have found online have been offered with at least a 1 year warranty, so I'm not too worried about that, it is something I have thought about though. Thank you for your suggestion //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Mynameismcgyver 10+ year member]

If he gets a 5 channel amp and he uses 4 channels for his inside speakers and one for his sub, thats not going to give alot of power to his sub...correct me if im wrong..

 

[phantom240 5,000+ posts]

Hey, I have some suggestions for you.

First, if I had $1,300 to spend, i wouldnt go with anything Sony. Sony isn't terrible but for $1,300 you could definitely do a lot better.

Headunit: I would go with Pioneer, Alpine, Kenwood, or a nicer JVC. Alpine is really good but they will run you a lot of money. After listening to all of these, Alpine is the overall best but not the best value (your looking at about $400 for a good one). Pioneer is the best value. Kenwood makes great headunits with very good durability and sound quality. I would put the Kenwood Excelon up against any headunit out there especially for the money (around $300). JVC is pretty good but not as high sound quality as the others, also if you are trying to find a good JVC be prepared to spend at least $200. You need a headunit with a lot of options and good sound quality, but i wouldnt spend too much on the headunit. Save your money for speakers.

Speakers: Do you want to go with components or coaxials? If coaxials, the overall best that i have heard are Polk Audio or American Bass. They have good bass response mixed with the highs and lows. Keep your coaxials at 2way if possible. 3ways are extremely overrated and I feel that they somewhat cut down on the vocals. Of course, at higher volume, coaxials tend to distort. Right now, im running American Bass components in my truck and they sound great. I can let them run wide open and there is NO distortion. Also, keep you sound stage and compnents in the front. Im not running any speakers in the rear. If you like the rear fill, they get some moderately priced coaxials in the back. You ear as well as most other people's, shouldn't be able to tell between expensive back speakers and lower priced ones.

Amps: By far the strongest amps i have heard are Rocksford Fosgate Punch amps. Ask anyone who knows anything about car audio, and if they are being honest, they will tell you Fosgate put out more watts than they are labeled. Other strong amps are Memphis and American Bass. All three of these are very durable, long lasting, high-quality amps.

Subs: I would go with American Bass or Rocksford Fosgate. Both are high quality and very loud. JL is by far the best subs i have heard but are most expensive.

Overall the best value brand is American Bass in my opinion. Fosgate is great but will cost more.

Good Luck

1)You're an idiot.

2)American bass is a cheap brand made by a bigger company (orion maybe i forget) to appeal to walmart shoppers and the like.

3)there are much better subs than JL.. not that theyre bad, its just they arent "the best" i like RE's but im too broke to get em myself.

4)For the past few years (maybe 5 or 6) Rockford's amps have been complete garbage. Since they started REALLY mass producing them they **** and dont put out poop for power. Go with something like Alpine, viper, some kenwoods are good, theres a lot of good amps that ppl use here... i just cant think of any.

 

[75MonteCarlo 10+ year member]

I can't believe no one has said this:

HU: Alpine or Pioneer

Speakers: Stay the hell away from Alpine Type-R speakers! Go with infinity refrence speakers.

Amp: Try to do 2 amps if possible, it will save a lot of headache. Get a 4 channel amp for your speakers (50w rms x 4 is perfect) and a 500 watt rms amp for your sub. Rockford Fosgate is a great company no matter what the hell anyone says.. They have a 5 channel amp that does 4 speakers and a sub, it would be good but I don't know the cost or model number of it.. look it up!

Sub: Alpine Type-R 12"... just one will do you well. Put it in a ported box, and you'll have more than enough bass. Just make sure to give it 500w rms if you can.

 

[Psychosis 10+ year member]

Ok, so I have taken some things into consideration and here is the system I have compiled. Please give me some opinions on it:

HEAD UNIT: Alpine CDA-9847 ($180)

SPEAKERS: (4) Alpine SPR-17LP 6.5" 2-Way 250W Speakers ($210)

SUBWOOFER: (1) JL Audio 12W3v2 12" 600W Dual 4-Ohm ($200)

SPEAKER AMP: Kenwood KAC-8402 4-Channel 60W X 4 Amplifier ($167)

SUBWOOFER AMP: Kenwood KAC-9102D 850W Mono Amplifier ($188)

Now opinions on that would be appreciated. I guess my questions about that set up would be... will the Amps power their components correctly? Will the sound quality all around be crisp, clear, balanced and yet powerful? Basically will this be a good system for the money I am spending?

If everything looks ok I would like help with the next things on my list:

Wiring - What will I need to hook everything up and what kind of cables should I select to get quality sound.

Subwoofer Box - What is better for a cleaner sub sound, Closed Enclosure, Bandpass Enclosure or a Ported Enclosure?

Crossover - Even though the Amps have built in crossovers should I bother getting a separate component or should the built in's be able to handle the filtering just fine?