Car Audio HELP!?!?!?

[FastEddy]

I'm starting to get confused the more I research this. I'm looking at replacing the Audio system *After the head. New amp(s) and speakers.

As I'm getting quotes from the "Experts" they all have something different to hawk and the watter is getting muddy.

One says I need to get an amp(s) that will compensate for Low head signal output to get the cleanest sound and another has no clue what hes talking about.

The installer / Designer that **seems to know more (Or is a better BSer) claims I need a variable rate input amp to help boost the signal before it gets processed by the amp. He is recommending an MTX TA3404 for the door speaker and the MTX TA3401 for a sub.
http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=15174
http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=15171

They both seem to agree on the speakers for the doors.Well kind of..
Both think Focal is the way to go with the 165 V2 for all 4 or the 165 k2P in the front if I want to spend a grand on a set (NOT) One wants to use a Cap and the other doesn't. They both will build a sub cabinet to custom fit against the rear of the back seat. but one wants to use 2 10s and the other wants to use 1 12. (Priced about the same)

I DNS! (Don't Know poop) about car audio. A told both of them the same thing, I'm looking for a great sounding Sound stage in the front seat. I could care less what it sounds like at high volume. I'm looking for a good clean sound with a stealth as possible install.

Without giving them a budget they both came back at $2,800- $3.000

I tried cruzing the audio forums but I wouldn't know a Farad if it bit me in the ass. I think a friend of mine had one once and it got out of its cage.

HELP!!!!

 

[4u2nv]

I've never heard about that clean signal stuff either. (I competed for 4 years when I was younger and held the state records for most db's (Full mod) car for over a year in Mn.) What deck are you running? What vehicle is this for? Mtx is allright, BUT I've heard alot cleaner speakers with better quality and better sound for cheaper. (MTX is kinda like a rockford fosgate.. They use to RUN the whole audio scene, but have now came out with low end junk because of greed.) Be sure to look into Kicker, and alpine (For the highs). I've always had good luck with them. Stay away from Boston highs, and ALL sony. The best highs I've ever had, and I still run is 6" kickers with a 2" tweeter, and crossover. And my fav sub of all time is pribably the Kicker L7 series. VERY good sound with that set up. If your planning on using the stock deck, that can get tricky and your best bet would be to have it professionally installed, but if its a aftermarket deck, its pretty basic.

 

[beason]

well I'm not into the high end poop but i can give you a little info
the focals are the way to go .. you can point them at the "head" area, if youve set up a home theater you understand why this is important and even moreso in a car. fill the doors and maby add a kick pannel with the best speakers you can afford, but make sure you got the amps to push them even if you have to add a "highs" amp and a "mids" amp i would suggest it, its hard for them to play at lower volume without the power behind them. it will be clearer with amps and easyer to tune with a eq instead of the head unit
make sure there installing a crossover it helps ALOT. the subs are a personal choice but i would go with the two 10s over 1 12. 10's hit cleaner, but not quite as low, ( with the music I'm thinking you will be playing that isnt an issue) plus there balanced and fadable. you will need a cap if you go high on the amps. it is like a small bettery that discharges at a really fast rate, it is just that a cap, capacator, but way big. and a good guideline is 1 farad per 1000 watts. that price accualy seems low to me i got more then that in mine without focals and a eq but i got 2 12's and a 2400 watt amp, I'm addicted to bass lol any more questions hit me up i can prolly help

 

[redneckracer1979]

I would go with infinity speakers I have found them to be the cleanest and nicest sounding speakers out there. IMO. Also I deending on the size of the car I would only run one 10 inch sub. That is what I currently have in my girlfriends car and it sounds great in that car. With that said I must add that I am into the total sound quality not just the bass.

 

[jammin]

the best luck that i have ever had with car audio is Clarion or alpine head unit that is. i could not see ever using any thing else. I would check out crutchfield for a little help. I have used rockford 12s for a few years and love them. I have heard some apline 12's but then you are looking at pretty pricy amps. It depends how picky you are about your sound. The more you listen the more you will spend.

www.crutchfield.com

 

[vbgagnon]

Whats nice about a higher end vehicle is that it has all the speaker positions made out and stuff just pops right in. What I like to do is stick with one brand of stuff, and my recent research is that Alpline is one of the best for the dollar.

I would also suggest that you sound proof your vehicle, dynamat can be expensive, but you WILL notice the difference. The less sound that gets in the better your stuff will sound. 3grand will definatly get you a kick ass system.

I would go with a 12 inch sub any more then this is overkill, and a set of good component speakers up front. Definatly getyourself a cap, the bigger the better.

I used to be one of the rattle your teeth loose guys, but I'm over that now. My last system was totally Rockford, back when they were good and I impressed alot of people. People would ask how many subs do you have? What about this...what about that??

Also I would look at the mom + pop places, they tend to do a better job because their lives depend on the product they produce and reputation. If you have any other questions ask away!

 

[FastEddy]

This is going into a 2005 Nissan Murano.
I have no choice but to use the Factory Bose head unit. If I try to change it out I will loose all the computer display functions and my climate control.

I plan on and have ordered in some sound dampening. I got 2 estimates on doing the entire floor and sides. They were both over 1,000.00 with 700.00 being labor. I don't mind taking a full day to gut the car and install it. These new cars are like the snap together models I used to build. There are very few nuts bolts or screws.

I may try to install the audio equipment myself however from what I hear there are a lot of little tricks that can make a huge difference that only an experienced installer would know.

I'm still on a quest to find the proper equipment. So many choices and price ranges.

 

[bustedgears]

Just how much sound are you wanting? Just earth-shattering bass, clarity, both?

Let me know, I can point you in the right direction.

 

[beason]

busted has heard my system.. sounds good with plenty of highes but i love the bass so i have it if needed

 

[greenwing7]

I have a pair of infinity kappa perfect 5 1/4, they are the ones with the tweeters seperate from the driver (component system) and the highs and low notes go the the proper speaker, I can say that they sound both better and louder with an amp, I have a DEH-P7300 for my head unit that is 45x4 but it didn't do well with those speakers, and the factory unit did even worse, component systems are AWESOME compared to the speaker that has all in one, but if you don't want to cut holes in the doors, it may be a little hard, I somehow got over 1k wrapped up in my system and didn't even have any ass pounding bass, and this is just for listening pleasure, but go to the specialyt stores, not best buy circuit city, I know our local one is BADASS and has gotten national awards for their installs, but don't just go to the local corner kid who puts in speakers cause he had to drop out of highschool, I doubt you would do that as you like nice things Ed, so those are just my 2cents, infinity kappa perfects that are a component system for your door speakers that have about 50-75 watts RMS running to each speaker unfortunately I can't really help with a "good" sub I have never really been into that, but I do know that our local place is all about boxes, and not much about speakers, although they do have a lot of nice subs

 

[ZANDOR]

Eddy I crammed this in to my celica.. Crystle clear..With some bad ass bass..

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...goryId=cat03085&type=product&id=1099388637212
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...goryId=cat03081&type=product&id=1072284520697x2
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...goryId=cat03066&type=product&id=1099388424834
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...goryId=cat03076&type=product&id=1051826174745
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...goryId=cat03076&type=product&id=1069302293654
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...goryId=cat03086&type=product&id=1099388637267
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...CategoryId=pcmcat28900050010&id=1051826176412


Plus all monster cable for power and ground...


It hits so hard You will wish you were blind.. It will cause your vision to tweek like a flash back

 

[kwong2001]

If you're gonna get sound deadening put in, do it yourself. It's a pain in the ass, but it's nothing that takes a lot of skill, just patience. Matter of fact, do the whole system yourself, DIY is much better, you'll know how it was done and can service it yourself.

 

[Lessen]

Eddy, those guys are just trying to sell you. But since you're a business man I'm quite certain you know that. since you are so new to the car audio scene you'll never notice a difference between variable rate or not. Honestly, I don't realy know what that means either. I used to be into this stuff when I was a teen. I built one system in my first car and it turned out great, nothin over the top but it sounded great. As long as you match power from a decent amp to decent speakers it'll be all gravy. If you like safety then it may be worth it to add 1 farad of capacitation per every 1000 watts of peak power. With all the electrical systems in vehicles these days I wouldn't be without it but that's just my .

my only recommendation is that you use the best cables and wire that you can afford. They are the lifeblood of your system and well worth the money.

 

[Plaidfish]

Ed I highly doubt you're listening to any music that needs to drive a huge sub.....get a pair of 8" subs in a smaller box....and I'm w/ VB get all one brand that's middle of the road quality.....don't go all MTV pimp my ride stuff if you're just listening to the radio in th emorning....Personally I like th esony stuff....I know it's not competition quality but for us guys that like th esound to stay in the car and not piss off the neighbors it works well......I do like to listen to it loud on the highway though but I only go like 30-40% of the volume......works well for me.....I have 2 10" speakers though...I do like a little bass in my music every now and then...do the sound proofing definately...nothing worse than seeing a $35k+ car sounding like a rattling tin roof.....

 

[Got Nitro?]

I think I'm with plaid,if your not looking to rattle the windows on somebodys house i would go with a good 8 or possible a pair,for a head unit,my dad bought a alpine 9853,and it is awesome,I've heard some ups and downs about kicker,i heard that the solo baric series sucked,from what I've read,there really in effecient,mtx has good woofers,i have a set of road thunder pro's in my garage,there old as poop,but they are top quality,I've heard mtx's new stuff and I'm inpressed,but i wouldn't go with mtx mid/tweets, i would more lean towards, infinity,mb quart,or boston acoustic, for woofers i would go and listen to them first,everybody has there opinion,i prefer mtx,soundstream,infinity just don't buy any lighting audio or audiobahn,they suck.

http://www.ecoustics.com/
this site has a lot of reviews on it,i would suggest reading some of them,but don't take them all to heart,some people are just idiots

my sub prefer choices,these subs are pretty good from what I've heard and i would give them a try,but listen to them before you buy
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-fYRdk4CLs83/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=208250&I=700RAPW12

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-fYRdk4CLs83/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=520&I=1081040W

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-fYRdk4CLs83/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=520&I=236T55104

for amps i would look at precision power,mtx,soundstream,infinity
Mid's,Mb quart are known for sound quality,so is boston acoustic and infinity give them a try.

 

[bustedgears]

I have a ranger with two Memphis audio 10s DVC hooked up in parallel/series to equal out to four ohms, all hooked up to a Planet Audio BB 650.1 amplifier.

http://www.planetaudiousa.com/home/catalog/public_html/catalog.php?sNs=1&deptNum=3&catNum=15#24

Since you don't want to change the head unit, you cannot use a dsp or equalizer. So, don't let the guys try to talk you into one.

As far as another amp for the mid/highs are conerned, you probably don't have to worry about it as the preamp should be enough.

I'd pull one of the stock speakers out to find the RMS wattage, then make a decision from there. Planet audio makes some real nice drop in replacements for the Murano. I personally use sony, but I got them on such a steal I wouldn't recommend them at MSRP.

Infinity speakers are definitely good, but are power hogs. Alpine would also be a great choice for your car.

As far as the cabling is concerned, Monster cables are good, but I don't like them. They have a bad reputation for corroding, and the construction in the ends are likely to go bad quickly.

I used db cabling for my truck and haven't had a problem out of it yet.

Remember to have all your wires ran accordingly. Power wire on the driver's side, signal on the passenger side.

If you do all of that with dynamat in the doors, you should have a kick ass system after it's all said and done.

 

[sweetdiesel]

Some more options for you...talk to your installer to see if they will fit

Image Dynamics horns
http://www.imagedynamicsusa.com/products_page.php?id=cd1e&type=horn

These run about $500 a pair and you will need to add a mid-bass driver. With these you don't get the localization of sound like conventional seperate tweeter/woofer combos. I'd stay away from kick panels unless you plan on having a show car. They get stepped on easily or kicked, and they take up leg room.

You don't need big speakers for the rear fill, so I would budget accordingly. A pair of 5-6.5 inch coaxials should do the job fine, the most important speakers are in front. With the horns you can shoot them up from under the dash or underneath the windshield from the top of the dashboard.

For subs I wouldn't go bigger than 10"....a sealed enclosure will play deeper and tighter but you need much more amp power. Check out the JL Audio line of subs...

http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_subs_pages.php?page_id=2

They also make a OEM interface for your head unit

http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_cleansweep_pages.php?page_id=79

 

[Got Nitro?]

For about $70 you can get a Soundstream XS-10,i own a pair of XS-12's and their awesome http://www.soundstream.com/sub/products_subs_xst_d.html,soundstream also make's top quality amp's,make sure to get crossovers on your speakers,it will sound better with them,this 4 channel amp should drive your woofer and give you extra channels for mid's/tweets http://www.soundstream.com/sub/products_amps_tarantula.html

 

[shadey26 ntc3]

Before I post check these's out

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Now I have built alot of custom enclosers for many diffrent cars and your should not be a prob. This is what I do all day at my shop. as far as what you said about the second installer about a booster he is correct, When you get your signal from your factory head unit it does not put out enough signal to properly get the volume on your amp right, ie. you have to turn the gain of the amp all the way up to get sound wich might intern give you signal noise. you dont want to get signal after ur factory amp because it might clip ur amftermaket amp, I would sell you this one, check it out www.jlaudio.com its the clean sweep and i use it alot. I recommend mtx not only because I am a dealer for them but you get more for your money. People hate on them because of it. I run 2 mtx 9500 15's and they rock hard as hell, I had the jl audio w7 13 and they hit. but the price for them is really stupied. I remember when jl first came out and people didn't want to use them, I was one of the first to put them in my car, 93 was a good year. lol If you need help planning your system just pm me, Not saying everyone has not help you right its just people have so many diffrent oppions, And I work with alot of diffrent product and I can steer you corectly. peace bro.

 

[Got Nitro?]

Shadey,do you have pic's of the twin 9500's in a install,i want to put one in my blazer but i haven't seen really how big they are.