First off, dont run rear speakers. Invest in a nice set of comps for the doors. If anything, run midbass in the 6.9 locations but no highs. You can get a nice Alpine deck and get two 2-channel amps: one for the sub, one for the components (and another for the midbass if you go that route).

J

 

So don't worry about the head dash unit and what it puts out? I was leaning more towards a 4 channel amp, i don't just want my music blasting for bass. Want to get rid of the distortion of what the factory speakers give out. The most i was going to spend for the amp would be 300 and i am sure i could find something of good quality for that price.

 

A deck's function is to process a signal be it an MP3/CD/TAPE/RADIO. That is the function of a true deck. It should not be dealing with amplification because the size of the deck will impede on the design of the built in amp. In an ideal setup, you want to feed an external amp via RCA cables and have the amp do its job of amplifying the signal. The external amp will be much more powerful and can be designed to minimize the distortion of the signal.

I dont think you can readily buy ampless decks from your local shops, but the main specs you want to look at are those of the DAC's, distortion, and preout voltage. I really only use higher end stuff like Denon/Denford/McIntosh so I cant recommend a deck to you. I do know Clarion has an amazing deck though, the DRZ9255. It is a bit of $$$ though. If you dont want to shell out that kind of cash, Id recommend a decent Alpine. They make some pretty good decks. Nothing audiophile but nothing shabby either. They did have the Alpine F1 but that is ancient

As for your amps, you dont want to go with what you can buy at your local shops. I would stick to a used amp. Old school USA built amps. There are a few but US AMPS will be the best bang for your buck and the build quality on them is very very good.

As for speakers, Digital Designs is what im leaning towards on my next setup however they are pricey. The components run 700ish and the subs are about 500 for the nice ones. It can add up. If you dont want to shell out this $$$, look into DIY drivers (Parts-Express.com - Speakers, Speaker Building, Home Audio and Video, Pro Audio, Electronic Parts & Accessories).

As for cables, make sure to get some decent cables. Get pure copper wires and run at least 16 gauge to your speakers from the amp. Get the big power wire (0 gauge is nice) and do a big three wire upgrade under the hood.

Run your midrange in the stock door location and the tweet up near the top of the door. The midbass if you want some, would go in the 6.9 locations in a custom mount panel.

Remember, nice audio is great for any car because you can enjoy it whenever you need to space out. At the same time, you want to do it nicely once and never have to think/worry about it again. That is why I recommend the higher end stuff. It wont cost you a fortune if you build it up slowly as deals become available. You will lose a lot of time and money if you do a shit install and constantly fix it. Everything down to your wiring, your soldering your insulation should be professional and clean. Dont do a half ass job. You will be rewarded in the quality of sound, i promise.

Oh, and if you really want to go all out, you might want to deaden your car.

J

 

US Amps AX TU 600, hand made in Florida, upgraded tubes - eBay (item 250370282838 end time Feb-18-09 03:53:37 PST)

2 Lanzar Optidrive 200.2 & 100.2 Car Amp ZED old school - eBay (item 110349482998 end time Feb-14-09 16:49:21 PST)

US ACOUSTIC USA 2150 ZED AUDIO AMPLIFIER - eBay (item 250369274571 end time Feb-15-09 22:13:52 PST)

and pretty much anything McIntosh or TruTechnology.
Here is a website you should check out. This way you can SEE what you are paying for.

AmpGuts - Car Amplifier Guts

Note the US AMPS. I like them because of the parts/build/attention to detail. There is nothing cheap about them in terms of quality, and they dont cost a fortune either. The Zed amps are good too.

J

 

Thanks bro plus 1rep

 

There are a couple HU's out there that wont break the bank, provide adequate SQ, and can run an active crossover setup if you decide to go that route later on; so basically can be useful for years (and upgrades) to come.

One is the Clarion DXZ785USB, it has an AUX in and a usb port and has gotten pretty good reviews over on DIYMA. It is very affordable and probably the cheapest option for an active capable HU with time alignment.

Clarion DXZ785USB


A more expensive option is the JVC KD-SH1000 which has pretty much the same feature set as the Clarion. The JVC also has an SD card slot which could be useful if theres a couple cds you really like.

JVC KD-SH1000

For advice and more choices on high end audio gear at good prices look at the DIYMA forums; they have a "hot deals" section which you can find some good deals if you are watching.

Chris

 

I'm sorry, but I defintely dissagree with some of the stuff jonc told you, obviously I doubt you are looking for a compeition system (judging by the amount of money you are looking to spend on an amp) so you don't need high high quality stuff like the stuff he has told you. You can get an alpine or pioneer deck from just about anywhere (try amazon or ebay for lowest prices) that will be absolutely fine for what your looking for. Look for a headunit that puts out 4 or 5v to the preouts on it so you can get a good strong signal to the amp. Also you don't need a crazy high powered amplifier for your speakers either, you can get a good infinity reference amp, or alpine pdx series(digital= low distortion amp) for a couple hundred bucks off again amazon, krutchfield, ebay, etc. Don't cut your doors apart and put 6x9s in there either. complete waste of time, money/ distroying your car, the 6.5s that are in there can provide you more than enough mids and bass, I gaurantee it! Also if you find a good 6x9 that's actually worth the money they probably won't even fit due to mounting depth, and you will probably have to custom make spacers, again waste of time and money.

Yes in a true very good system your tweeters should be mounted in your doors, and actually down almost below the dash next to your woofers in the door, but again you get more than good sound quality where they are, and you don't have to cut holes in your car and make it look like a 16's year old honda civic. Unless you are a professional fiberglass worker, or have had ample experience with it, this is not your gig, I can assure you that, it takes a GREAT deal of time and work to make it worth it (which still isn't worth it too me).

Keep your 6x9s in the rear if it was me, adds more of a surround sound, which I'm sure jonc will disagree, which this is preference, but again you have to make your rear panels look good (fiberglass etc) if you get rid of them.... again a waste. I'm not trying to say jonc doesn't know what he's talking about, he just recommends stuff for people looking for very high-end shit, and alot of custom work which most people will never attempt and honestly don't have the time, tools, garage, ability etc, to do it (not saying you don't). Right now I'm getting ready to install my speakers and amp I bought (check my sig) and it should rock harder than almost any car you've sat in I guarantee it! All are stock sizes and are replacing stock speakers and amp. In fact infinity makes some VERY good not over expensive speakers and amps, (I'd put mine up against just about anything). I am dynamatting my whole car too for sound of course, and again I do agree with jonc on this part, you'd be amazed how much sound actually escapes from a car.

Anyways not trying to bash jonc, just don't agree with a lot of his thinking, especially if your not looking to compete in sound competitions and buy stuff that you're going to need high powered alternators, extra batteries, way more than sufficient wiring etc.... obviously wiring is never going to hurt you if you go bigger than needed, but again 0 gauge wiring is also expensive to most. Just thought I'd post some insight too, I know jonc and I battle back and forth a lot lately with this, but it in the end is what YOU want. I do have experience with almost everything alpine, pioneer, sony, kenwood, jvc, jenson, dual (cough.... junk), pretty much everything that your local retailers sell, so I can give you all the info you want on any of these products and what I think about them.

 

WHo the fuck said anything about putting 6x9s in the door? And the amps you are recommending are going to end up costing MORE from crutchfield than what I was recommending to him AND they wont perform as well. US AMPS sell on ebay for well less than 200 bucks. Same with other big name brands. Infinity amps are junk, and alpine amps dont compare to US.

 

sorry I did read the 6x9 thing wrong, and I'm sorry to say that no you are wrong infinity and alpine amps are not junk, have you ever even used one? Try their new pdx series they are actually a very good amp for your info, most people don't want a 75lb amp in the back of their car either, especially in these when there already isn't much room for an amp anyways.... by the way this is both a hobby and a job for me.... what about the old rockford amps, lets see how your US amps compare to those...

 

US AMPS is my brand of choice, there are plenty of great USA built amps, however they are all from the 90s and nothing you can get in stores today.

For the performance, there is no logical reason why you wuold want to get a new amp when you can go on ebay and get something older/used that outperforms it for less $$$. I just looked up some random infinity amps on ampguts, their boards do not impress me in any way. They look like sloppy cheap amps.

J

 

I defintely agree with most amps are not built the way they used to be built, and in this field is really is all about personal preference. The reason I recommended him new amps is because if you buy a new amp from even a retail store, you may spend a little more, but you get a warranty with it most of the time 4years, (can probably also get them online to), but anyways for most people if their amp survives what they are throwing at it for 4 years they know they have a decent amp.... when you start looking into older amps, and they accidently fry it or what may have you, then they are out that money plus the rebuild for a new amp, and can you honestly tell me that most people know how to rebuild the internals of an amplifier? That is my main reasoning, usually (especially if you don't have much experience) people find out what they can and cannot push to that amp in the first couple years and again how it holds up. Now granted yes the 90s amps were built better, you never know what you are getting, again, unless you have been in the hobby or business for a while.

I do agree you are going to get a lot better amp for the same price that's how many years old, but it's also a guessing game to especially if you are getting one used of ebay or where ever and don't know what its been through. Personally I don't think infinity amps are an awesome amp, they just do what they need to for the money, of course older Rockfords, most JL, sony-vega (sp) etc will kick the pants off them, but you have to spend the money for a system to hold up to those amps too... Again man I'm not trying to say you are wrong in anyway either, I'm just trying to give people a different way of looking at it too, where-as they aren't going to be SOL when they hook up their amp for the first time and fry the bitch.

for the record I would not run an infinity mono amp, agreed they aren't great when it comes to the lows.