I know there are several members who have completed nice audio setups in their Subies. In my defense, I had no clue about car audio back in 2003 when I installed this Another note is that I removed the rear speakers when they snapped their mounts and fell out of my doors :rofl: It almost seems like the audio sounds better without rear speakers anyway. I listen to many different genres of music and I would like my new setup to be able to handle that. A good example of that dynamic would be listening to some sort of acoustic live concert and then wanting to listen to a recently released electronica set from ASOT. A little about my current setup (for reference). Head Unit Clarion DXZ835MP Amplifiers JBL 80 x 4 (Speakers) JBL 300 x 1 (Sub) Speakers Infinity Kappa Perfect Components, 6.5" (65.5cs) Infinity Kappa 4.5" (42.5i) Image Dynamics IDQ10v.2, sealed 0.5 cu.ft box Wiring 8AWG Monster Cable Power & Ground In-Line Fuse Setup, Brass/Gold, 50A Generic RCAs (the black ones :hsugh ======================= Proposed New Setup Wiring Parts Express 4AWG Power & Ground (1672 strands x 36 ga. OFC. 10mm OD). Why I like it? It is sold by the foot, made in USA and has excellent reviews from what I can tell. Monster Cable XLN RCAs x 2 Amps Keep sub amp and maybe move to a 2 channel speaker amp? Sub I am quite happy with my IDQ, tell me otherwise? Speakers Meh, I dont really know what to do here. HU Would not mind moving to a double din AVIC D3 setup Thanks in advance!
I don't know what the hot speakers are now, but I have always been happy with CDT and DLS speakers. I have a set of the DLS 6.5 components in my car. The tweeters are mounted in the kick panels. The sound is awesome and the imaging was very impressive without the time alignment turned on. I would just get a two channel amp for the front speakers. Rear speakers are only their for fill. You do not want to notice that you can hear them. I have always been a huge fan of JL Audio equipment so I would recommend one of their higher end 2 channel amps. http://www.legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75322 If youw ant to see my setup.
jason (jason) has a nice setup in his bugeye. he mounted another set of speakers in the rear deck and has directional tweeters up front in addition to 1 10" sub. IMHO his setup sounds great and now with his new eclipse headunit sounds even better. he would be someone good to discuss audio with or check out his setup
Budget? Those kappas have always been pretty anemic when it comes to midbass reproduction. I'd seal the doors at the very least
I have a Classic "Memphis Belle 16-st1300d 5ch monster" for sale. Have a Monster capacitor too. "RMS Ratings-12v 4 x 75W + 1 x 300W @ 4 ohm 4 x 115W + 1 x 600W @ 2 ohm 1 x 1100W @ 1 ohm (subwoofer channel) 2 x 230W @ 4 ohm bridged (main channels) Fuse: 6 x 30A" Original MSRP was $1100 ill let it go for way cheaper.
Wirelessly posted Yeah! You are not kidding, they're fairly horrible at it As for budget. I haven't really set one. If it came down to new speakers versus new amp for the speakers what would be the best route? Speakers will only ever sound as good as the amp I would imagine. I was planning on dynamatt/second skinning most of the car when I had the interior apart for its surgery.
Also have some memphis audio 6x9 speakers. not sure if thats the right size for the rear speakers but they are incredible. would also sell you them for super cheap
are you concerned with keeping the system light? What kind of music do you listen to? Do you have a budget? As far as dd navs, for sheer usability, features and product support check out kenwood. Super easy to use and it's nav is garmin based. They even have user programmable touchscreen buttons with wired outputs on the back of the radio that you can use to trigger any electronic device ( meth, n20, lighting etc.)
I would prefer to keep the 10" that I have. I am less concerned with weight than I am with the loss of trunk space. The amps are mounted beneath the seats at the moment but I plan to create a set of lowering seat rails in the future. I will be moving them to the trunk as a result. If I can keep my current HU and just beef up the speakers and wiring that would work as well.
If you are moving the amps, I would replace the wire for sure. Don't forget to get a capicitor....You can find them at Fry's on sale for like $20 these days. I have never really heard good things about JBL amps. If you are happy with the sub, replace the amp powering your door speakers with a higher quality amp. Sound Deaden your doors and replace the front speakers and I bet it will make a huge difference. You are more than welcome to take a listen to my car.
Imo the amps are fine as decent power is easy and cheap and unless u have a very trained ear, you won't really hear the difference. If it aint broke...something something something. Id upgrade the speakers to a decent set of comps or a great set of coaxes, seal and deaden the doors, forget the cap, and do the "big 3".
Wirelessly posted I have an account with partsexpress so I can/may order all wiring, caps, etc. Fwiw.
I am going to disagree with you Donnie. I was in the car audio industry installing, competing, and as an ISACA judge for over a decade. Amps at the same power level can vary dramatically from one another. That would be like saying a Nexxen tire is just as good as the same size Bridgestone RE11. A normal human ear will be able to hear the difference in varying amps at the same rated power levels. With that said, JBL does not make very high end amps. If you stuck in a JL Audio, Xtant, McIntosh, etc.. rated at the same power levels, you WILL hear a difference. Get a high quality set of front components and a high end amp to power them with some soud deadening and you should be good. Talk to ghost since he is still in the car audio industry. I am sure he knows what is hot now. Back in the day PPI, Soundstream, Crunch, were all great brands....now they are all junk
its cool we can agree that alex has things that should be upgraded. i'm always in favor of people upgrading pieces if they choose. hell i go thru car audio components like crazy cuz i just want to change it up. hell i "think" i just bought my last sub setup for a long time. i'm definitely not as deep into car audio as i once was but i feel like i'm getting the bug again. alex, i can probably get you a deal on some focals or memphis comp's my friend still has in stock.i still say the big 3 is a neccessity! integroid....i still have some iasca and usac demo discs from the early 90's somewhere that i still break out once in awhile for testing
What's the pre-amp volt on the AVIC3? hope it's 5v+. Also, dynomat is a good idea and i like IDQs, I had 2-12" in my old car and they were awesome. muhahaha if budget permits, get some Focals! *drooooool*
Your stereo is only as good as the weakest link. Try some Polk components too. Sometimes you can find good deals here: http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/
Agreed with getting the 4ga. You do NOT need a external power capacitor (the big 3 upgrade is fine). Some sound deadning material (2nd skin, rammamaat) in the doors (i only put 2 sq. ft. per door and i notice a difference, floors, and trunk.) AVIC-D3 upgrade is in the right direction. They have a great forum for support too. avic411.com
I have a set of focal components front and rear with a 10" JL sub in a tiny enclosure. I feel my setup sounds good considering my amp sucks. I didn't want the system taking up the entire trunk this time though. You would have to listen for yourself. Great sounding highs out of these speakers. If you are in Marietta area anytime come take a listen and take a look. Most days I'm available at some point in the day. You know you want to.
yes. maybe not dynamat, B quiet or Raammat is cheaper. But yesh. If you add maybe 10 lbs of material carefully, you can get back as much ad a whole dB point in volume. You go crazy with it, and its not impossible to get as much as 3dB. Not exaggerating, thats like doubling your relative volume and power.
http://www.edesignaudio.com/index.php?cPath=1_24 eDead worked well for my car. I have enough left over to do your front doors and then some. Trade for something?
We used second skin on a customers car and it worked alright. There was not much that we could to do cover the noise of the ls2 and the loud tranny in the tunnel though :rolf: