Topic: car audio cont...

[DaryanLenz]

http://www.hookedontronics.com/show_product_details.jsp?cid=639&c=0312DealTime&b=Alpine_CHM-S630

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3064773004&category=14941
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3064648873&category=14941
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3064745475&category=14942


That's the stuff I am thinking about.  Now, what else do I need to get it working?

Is this stuff good enough?  I am getting this for Christmas, so I need direct links to give to Justine!

Daryan

[jpschust]

hey, you comin into bloomington tomorrow?  going to be an AMAZING party over here :-)

[DaryanLenz]

If I can figure out a way out of this Christmas Office party I will, but I kinda doubt it.  More likely, I may come up sunday and just pick them up, puff a little or whatever, and turn around.  How long do you think it will take me to get there from Iowa City?  Any shows up there next weekend?

D

[twatts (pants are so over-rated...)]

Hey there...

You've picked a CD changer and 4 speakers...

Here's my opinion/advise:

To run the changer, you'll need an Alpine head-unit (in-dash stereo). I also run Alpine, and their new CD head-units are really nice...

You'll also want to get an amplifier.  I would recommend Rockford Fosgate, but they are starting to get slack nowadays (going from "audiophile" to "Fast and Furious").  Pick up a 4 channel amp, run the 4 internals with it:  your 5.25s and 6x9s.  Get a second amp 2x100 or so for you subwoofer (if you add one)

A note of 6x9 speakers:  I have a pair of JBLs.  They are nice, but if money is not an option, I would go with components that are designed to fit a 6x9 hole.  Usually a 4" mid and 1" tweeter...  You'll be happier...

Yeah, back in college I was a car-stereo geek...  It helped living in Charlottesville where Crutchfield mail-order has their warehouse...  My stereo in my Subaru was worth more than the Suby itself!

And buy plain old subwoofers, don't get an fancy/gimmick crap like bazooka tubes or powered crap or whatever...  Just buy 1x plain old sub and stick it in an appropriate box...

Monster Cable make car kits...  While Monster may not make good mic cables, their car stuff is great...

Hope this helps...  

Terry

[DaryanLenz]

Thanks for the help.  I picked that changer because it wil integrate with the head unit already in my volvo.  I was going 6xp because that's what the crutchfield car guide thing said I needed.  Are the ones I picked good enough?

D

[twatts (pants are so over-rated...)]

I do NOT like Kenwood stuff, so I think I'd spend my money on this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3063968486&category=32818

or this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3064231265&category=32818

This is set I have:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=38646&item=2448167428

I also have a set of 5.25 Infinity speakers in my front...  They are better than the JBLs, but I've had the JBLs for years now...  I'll upgrade those when I get a new amp...

Terry

[DaryanLenz]

Thanks to al of you for the great help.  +T's and have a great weekend!

D

[jpschust]

d you are looking at about 6.5 hrs each way... long drive.

[jlykos]

I agree 100% with Terry here.  

I didn't even know that Nakamichi made car speakers.  Odds are that it is a relabeled speaker of somebody else's provenance.  I would avoid until hearing them for yourself.

I would also really advise you NOT to buy speakers unheard over ebay and instead go to a store and actually hear the speakers for yourself.  You would be surprised at how different a lot of them sound.

If you are in that price range, Terry is right on with the Infinity and JBL picks (those 6x9 JBL are really nice, btw); you may also want to check out Rockford Fosgate speakers and some of the lower-end Boston Acoustics.

Also, if you go with an Alpine head unit, it should have enough onboard power to drive any of the speakers mentioned here.  No amp required, but you may want to check with those Infinity separates.

I have all Phoenix Gold accessories and wires in my car system.  Some of my interconnects are Monster, but all the heavy-duty stuff (distributor block, fuse box, 2-gage wire, etc.) is Phoenix Gold.  Monster is probably the most popular, however.

[scervin]

That's pretty funny Jamie, my brother s sponsored by PG.  All his stuff is Phoenix Gold!  I say save some money and do it right.  I wet with Boston Acoustics Proseries 6.5 a long time back, with Boston rear 5x7's.  Components are the way to go.  Now if I could only find a way to put a nice little 10" or 8" in the Silverado!
SC

[jlykos]

That's pretty funny Jamie, my brother s sponsored by PG.  All his stuff is Phoenix Gold!  I say save some money and do it right.  I wet with Boston Acoustics Proseries 6.5 a long time back, with Boston rear 5x7's.  Components are the way to go.  Now if I could only find a way to put a nice little 10" or 8" in the Silverado!
SC

I am so jealous of your brother.  If I had all Phoenix Gold amps in my car, I would be set for life.

The Boston Pro series are great.  I have a pair of their 6x9s in my rear deck myself.

For a sub solution, check if JL Audio makes a sub box for the Silverado.  They make premade speakers enclosed in molded sub boxes to fit the interior of many leading cars.  You supply the amp, but the box has a speaker and sub box all in one.  Best subs around, IMHO; I have a 12W3 in my trunk and it is more than I will ever need.

MTX used to make truck boxes; I don't know if they still do.

[caymanreview]

kicker makes truck boxes! you can buy the stillwater design boxes that have a sub and mids and highs, all in one! im fairly sure they still make this series...

for subs in my autos, i prefer and only use Polk

as for head units, i am an eclipse guy. but the newer eclipse have had some problems, mine is a couple years old. i still have a warranty, 2 years old, that if my head unit gets stolen, they replace it, free. the unit is basically useless without the key cd when power is disconnected, and to get it going, it must be taken to a certified eclipse dealer and that serial number ran!

[scervin]

I might try and find the most shallow sub and build my own box. This MIGHT come after a Rhino Linre or Line-x, new BF Goodrich AT 285/75 R16's, set of Titliest 690.cb's and a HT MX-700 remote.  I want to spend less than a $1k on it all: components for the front (Boston's, MB Quart, r maybe some momo's if they sound up to par), amp to run them and sub and amp.  My brother wes me, so he can help with the install
SC

[John R]

don't forget to get xm integrated into the head unit.  great for those long, or short, drives.

jr

[jpschust]

john, i have one and i had xm for a while, this may sound petty but my biggest annoyance was that it takes a second or two between each channel when scanning whats on... its really annoying

[caymanreview]

does anyone have any idea wether i could pick up the bob and tom show via xm radio? i get off work at 530am and thats what i listen to all the way home (45-50 miles) and the reception is really shitty for half the drive

[scervin]

I talked to my brother more about putting something in my truck.  He said I should go with Dynaudio components as they have a soft dome tweeter, Phoenix Gold TI500 amp, not sure on the sub yet, but it needs to fit under the seat of my truck.  Only problem I see is my dog chewing the crap out of it on trips!  

[jpschust]

christ bob and tom... everyone raves about them, ive never gotten it myself.  

[JeffK]

He said I should go with Dynaudio components

Dynaudio or Focal are about as good as it gets for components.  They're both rather pricey though

[Sean Gallemore]

christ bob and tom... everyone raves about them, ive never gotten it myself.  

you're not alone, I never thought 2 annoying dudes laughing at their own silly jokes was humorous.

[scb]

>>I am so jealous of your brother.  If I had all Phoenix Gold amps in my car, I would be set for life.<<

i LOVE mine.  and now that we've been talking car audio here i have the bug again to upgrade.  might be time to disconnect the 4x6's in my dash and replace them with some 5.25 components powered off the amp.only catch is that i'm gonna have to cut a little into the frame to fit 5.25's in there, but i think it'll be worth it to add some nice components about 2 feet below head level on the dash

http://www.rockcrawler.com/techreports/orts_speakers/index.asp

[caymanreview]

christ bob and tom... everyone raves about them, ive never gotten it myself.  

i have been listening to them for several years.. have always loved it

and at 5am in the morning, there isnt anything else on the radio!

so can i get it on XM radio or not???

[scervin]

cayman,
Got your pkg, discs are out tomorrow thanks.
SC

[JeffK]

and now that we've been talking car audio here i have the bug again to upgrade.

Isn't this always the case?    I've been fighting the urge for over 2 years now.  The thing is, I already have all the gear, just have been fighting putting it into the car or get new stuff, hehe.

Also, be careful with components if you're going to mount your tweeters higher up in the car.  A friend had some Focal components, which sound AWESOME in the doors/kicks, but he mounted the tweeter in the dash and they were horribly bright.  He ended up making some kick panels for em and now they rawk!!!

[scervin]

I've thought about building some kick panels for the truck.  I'm going to go with the Dynaudios probably mid summer if all is well and I get the promotion my boss is trying to get me.  These will have to go in the door though as the parking brake would need to be moved some to allow for kick panels.  This is not a god idea as I use the parking brake a lot during the summer when pulling the boat in and out all summer long.  This along with the fact that I get in with soaking feet filled with sand has made me decide to put them in the door. I sure like the imagin more in the kick panels though.
SC

[JeffK]

Kicks are great, if they're practical for you... but sounds like they're not

I had kicks in a Civic a few years ago.  6.5" in the doors, 4" and 1" in the kicks, all Canton.  Still have the components and the kick panels, but they're not doing me a whole lotta good sitting in the basement, hehe.

I'm glad it's cold, because with talk like this I'd otherwise be installing a stereo back into my car all weekend

[scb]

>>lso, be careful with components if you're going to mount your tweeters higher up in the car.  A friend had some Focal components, which sound AWESOME in the doors/kicks, but he mounted the tweeter in the dash and they were horribly bright.  He ended up making some kick panels for em and now they rawk!!!<<


ended up picking up a pair of MB Quart RSC 213 components off ebay.  5.25s

now the question is where do i put them?  the front dash?  the front kick panel?  the overhead sound bar? (car is a wrangler).  front dash might work, though maybe too bright like you said.  they'll be driven by the PG xs4300 amp driving everything now

[jlykos]

If you guys want to hear the worst on-hold music of all time, check out the MB Quart customer service line at (800) 962-4412.

German techno discotheque!

[JeffK]

Scott,

I just looked at those photos, and it looks like the stock speaker locations in the dash will be easiest, and probably not all that bad.  When I was speaking of being bright in the dash, I was talking about general passenger cars where the speakers are very close to ear level.

You'll probably wanna make your own bracket too, instead of buying the ones from the above site.  I don't know for sure, but I'd guess that you'll be better off mounting the tweeter below the woofer if you go with the dash.  Also, try and seal around the back of the speaker with some insulation and it should help to create a tigher/more pronounced midbass.

Still better would be kick panels, but they would probably be pricey to have fabricated... unless you know how to work with fiberglass  It doesn't look like Q-logic makes any prefabbed kicks for Jeep Wranglers.

[Lee]

Also, try and seal around the back of the speaker with some insulation and it should help to create a tigher/more pronounced midbass.

Dynomat- definately the best investment in car audio.

[jlykos]

I'd guess that you'll be better off mounting the tweeter below the woofer if you go with the dash.  

Why would you place the tweeter below the woofer for in-dash?  Shouldn't the tweeter be as close to ear level as possible?

[scb]

>>I'd guess that you'll be better off mounting the tweeter below the woofer if you go with the dash<<

you think?  i was thinking maybe on top of the dash in the corner and attenuate it a bit (the components have a 3, 6 or 12 db attenuation on the tweeter)


>>Still better would be kick panels, but they would probably be pricey to have fabricated... unless you know how to work with fiberglass   It doesn't look like Q-logic makes any prefabbed kicks for Jeep Wranglers.<<

http://www.jeeppartsstore.com/selected_increments_mod_pod_speaker_and_enclosures.html

got those cheap little things 2 years ago and they actually work well if you give it good speakers and a lot of power

[jlykos]

>>I'd guess that you'll be better off mounting the tweeter below the woofer if you go with the dash<<

you think?  i was thinking maybe on top of the dash in the corner and attenuate it a bit (the components have a 3, 6 or 12 db attenuation on the tweeter)

Good to know that the new Quarts have a tweeter attenuation.  I wish that mine (a very old pair) had that.  I covered my grilles with some speaker cloth that helped with the raging high frequencies, but they are still bright with some forms of music.

Play around with it and see what you like best.

Have fun with your new speakers!

[JeffK]

In a car, most times things will sound best when the source is as far away from your ears as possible.  Just seems to help with imaging and soundstage.  Also, those quarts tweeters tend to be on the bright side to begin with, so the closer you put them to your ears, the brighter they'll sound.

I've seen some competition cars where the owner has actually taken out the front seats of a car and moved the steering column, gas and brake pedals to the back seat, just for sound quality competitions.  Obviously that's taking it to the extreme, but it was still cool to see... and sounded great

Scott, those speaker pods look like they may be ok too, you'd have to do some trial and error between those and the stock locations.

[scb]

going to do the install on sat, but still no idea where to put the tweeters.  guess i'll have to play around...

[scb]

if anyone cares, did the installation tonight.  sounds KILLER. tweeters are on top of the dash.

i'm feeding 75 watts to the components and the imaging is sooooo much better with the addition of the 5.25s and tweeter up front.

[scervin]

I checked into some car audio stuff this weekend only because all the talk here got me interested.  The fact that I spend 2+ hrs in the car a day also has something to do with it.  I talked to my brother who is pretty in the know with car audio and he said I should check out Image Dynamic components and element design sub's.  He gets Phonix Gold Ti amps direct from the factory as he goes to shows and dB Drag's for Phoenix Gold, so I'll be running one of those.  I'll probably end up with a pioneer HU as I'd like to keep id 2 DIN.  I'll take any other advice.  I looked int Tru Technology amps but too much loot for my needs.