Yet another car audio advice thread...

I've decided that my new truck needs a new audio system, but I'm a complete (read:complete) n00b when it comes to audio equipment.

Basically I want to add a pair of 10's in a downfire box under my rear seat, an amp, and a new head unit. I listen mostly to rock, here lately the very occasional rap (really just Em and Tupac...so, not that big of a deal), and a little blues. I'm not looking to blow anyone away at stop lights, I just want more volume and the bass to hit harder than what I have.

If anybody has any suggestions on brand names, or even better yet a good setup, I'd appreciate it. I'm looking at spending around $800-$1000, but I'd like to spend as little as possible.

I'm a big Boston Acoustics fan, but I know nothing about installation.

I really like this site.

usafpilot07 wrote: I really like this site.

Interesting site:

The page cannot be found

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Nuclear wrote: usafpilot07 wrote: I really like this site. Interesting site: The page cannot be found The page you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable. Please try the following: Make sure that the Web site address displayed in the address bar of your browser is spelled and formatted correctly. If you reached this page by clicking a link, contact the Web site administrator to alert them that the link is incorrectly formatted. Click the Back button to try another link. HTTP Error 404 - File or directory not found. Internet Information Services (IIS) Technical Information (for support personnel) Go to Microsoft Product Support Services and perform a title search for the words HTTP and 404. Open IIS Help, which is accessible in IIS Manager (inetmgr), and search for topics titled Web Site Setup, Common Administrative Tasks, and About Custom Error Messages.

I have come to two conclusions.

1. Fail is indeed contagious.
2. You should have been quarantined long ago.

pm snipa69

stratoaxe wrote: Da Hui wrote: ^Fail Link dont work. I tried Google all morning, I'm too much of a stereo noob to even get anywhere on that. Unfortunately now days the first three pages of Google are usually useless sponsored/trap pages when looking for things like this. I found this amp, which is about 500 bucks everywhere else I looked, I've just  never used this particular website before. My friend supposedly has friends that have used it, but I'm always afraid to drop that much money from a site I've never used. I'm looking at a pair of Kicker CVX's for 340.00, but that's as far as I've gotten. Do I have to replace my head unit, or would it work temporarily?

From what I know about car audio (which is basically limited to head unit instillation), you shouldnt need to replace your head unit.

Yomillio wrote: Roweazie wrote: just get alpine unit type-R on front and type-s on the rear with good subwoofer of your choice.  then get a 5way amps enough to push them all.  You should be set from there. Type R's are awesome.  My dad threw those in his truck, and you really can't beat them for rock type music. As for subs, 2 ten inchers is a decent setup.  For audio, I would use Alpine, JL, Kicker, Rockford Fosgate, or maybe Audiobahn.

hell yea.  every lil thing/sounds clip you can hear them.  thats why i love lisning techno/trace in my car.

 

P.S. Make sure to use monster wires also (its wort every single penny spent), not those spaghetti.  You might wanna use some dyno matts around the speaker too, it will enhance your audio inside/interior.  Remember, when pushing too much power, make sure to upgrade your alternator too, to avoid deem on your dash or possibly new battery.

 

I have 200amp alternator w/optima battery and it will play my audio system all day, without having the car shutting off.

Edited by Roweazie - 29 August 2007 at 2:31pm

kicker > all, most other brands lie about the rms ratings, look for  "cea rated" thats means theyre not allowed to lie about the output, and dont get fooled by max/peak wattage, it will never reach that, ever

I used to have the dual 12" kit from Visonik in my Grand Am, they sounded awesome even though the whole kit only cost about $130. I originally had them hooked up to the stock radio, leeching off the back speakers for the audio signal (which means they also got extra power from the radio's built-in amp) and they hit hard for the price. Since I'm working on switching to my firebird as a daily driver, I moved the subs into there along with the alpine head unit I got. When they aren't amped by the head unit as well, they don't quite hit hard enough for me so I'll be getting a better amp soon but even when you consider the cost of the kit and replacing the amp, that's pretty good sound for about $300. After tuning it, my friends preferred my system over the $1000+ system that my other friend has. The point here is that you don't have to spend an absurd amount to get good sound.

If you're just going with a pair of tens you won't need anything hardcore in order to power them so don't let anybody tell you that you need a capacitor and a new alternator without actually looking at the car first. If you have a newer car then you probably won't need a new alternator if you don't have a crazy powerful amp. A capacitor is even less likely to be needed, don't get that unless your lights dim a lot when you crank the system up. The capacitor's job is simply to hold a little juice so that when the system draws a lot of power, it takes it from the capacitor instead of sucking up everything and leaving nothing for the rest of the car (hence the lights dimming, etc.).

DxXz wrote: kicker > all, most other brands lie about the rms ratings, look for  "cea rated" thats means theyre not allowed to lie about the output, and dont get fooled by max/peak wattage, it will never reach that, ever

Glad somebody mentioned that. The RMS rating is basically what the amp is effectively putting out. So it can say 1,000,000 watts peak but if it's only 300 watts RMS then it'll sound just like another amp with 800 watts peak and 300 watts RMS. It may reach the peak wattage at certain times but it'll probably happen so fast that you won't hear it. Without getting into the technical reasons, RMS power is what really matters.

I have installed my own car audio stuff in addition to doing it as a side job for friends so I do have some experience with this. This one kid I installed a system for got two 12" subs from Rockford Fosgate powered by a 1200 watt Sony Xplod amp (may have the brand names reversed) and those things literally hit so hard that I thought they were going to break the spoiler off of his trunk.