HELP - Need guidance with Car Speaker Set Up

[sunarde]

Hey guys!~

I was wondering if you guys can help pick out my sound system for my sp20 =D

What I was thinking was..

Front: JL Audio C2570X 5x7inch Speakers $147 (also considering the CX3570X)

Rear: Pioneer TSG1644R 6inch 2Way 250Watts Speakers $48 (I heard rear speakers I shouldn't bother with)

Sub: JL Audio 10W0V24 Subwoofer $175

Enclosure: any enclosure $75

or

http://www.jbhifi.com.au/car-sound-g...ure-sku-99687/

Amplifier:
Would it be better to get a mono block for sub and 2ch amp for speakers?

A 4ch amp for both speakers/sub?

Just a mono block for sub and direct wire speakers to head unit?

How much should I spend for a decent amp?

*open to recommendations* =]

Head Unit: JVC KW-AVX746 Bluetooth Multimedia 6.1 inch Touchscreen DVD Player $459

Sony XAV-63 6.1" In Dash CD DVD Monitor $398

Looking for a cost effective set up to replace of crappy factory speakers.

Ow any idea how much installation is if I got the whole lot installed with/without sound deadening on the doors?

Cheers

[Ben]

The Alpine sub will go so much harder.

A mono amplifier is an amp that combines both left and right channels into one and amplifies the signal into a mono channel. This amp is usually used for subs because it only has ONE channel.

As for speaker amps. I don't believe you can buy a 4 channel amp, run 2 speakers and the sub. I may be wrong. However, i would say if you could, the quality will be poor, subs take a lot of power! Best to do one or the other. Mono is better for subs as i previously explained.

So if i you wanted to save your coin. Just buy a mono and hardwire the speakers to the head unit. you do NOT need a amp for your speakers. It is not necessary! This also saves extra money for extra wiring kits.

Speaking of wiring kits, you will need one, they cost about $50+ Cheap is not recommended, this is power your playing with.

Installation. Speakers you can do yourself in a afternoon if your a first timer. Its not hard.

If you can't do the stereo, probably around $80-$200 depending where you go and what style of HU you get.

edit: I just noticed your in regents park? Never seen you at meets before. Tons of the QLD guys can probably help you with install. Maybe we can have another mod day? I for one can help.

[Drift Thorpey]

Ok, hopefully I can be of assistance here.

If you are looking for an OEM+ upgrade on your factory setup, then pretty much anything supplied from a reputable brand in their base level lineup will be better sounding than the factory system. I would highly recommend component speakers with tweeters you can place higher up on the car, purely because the sound stage gets right up to ear level, it ALWAYS sounds better than coaxials (all the tweeters and woofer in the one speaker) placed down at foot level. Spend money there to get a pair you like the sound of and you will smile every time you turn it up.

Rear stage is less vital to you as the driver, as you will want most of the sound and vocals coming from the front speakers, however if you frequently have passengers and you're a generous bloke (assuming gender) then simple upgraded coaxials in factory rear locations will do you well.

Sub choice seems fine, the one you have quoted seems a good price for a 10". Sealed or ported enclosure is upto you, I have linked the page with their box specs listed which I would strongly suggest you follow:
http://www.jlaudio.com/10w0v2-4-car-...bwoofers-92161

If not, go find a sealed enclosure as close to the recommended internal size as listed in the above link and spend some cash on Dynamat/similar to line the box and keep your box from becoming too boomy, maybe even adding in more internal bracing if you're keen.
Running that off an AXIS 2004D Rear channel should be fine, which leaves you the front channels to run the splits/front stage and give you control over what you're hearing up front, and enough kick in the sub to shake you're car. Please be weary of analogue/low efficiency amps when choosing your product, they are the main cause of dead batteries, dancing headlights when stopped etc etc, you can get good Full Digital Amps for reasonable money and it is a very worthwhile investment.

Head Unit is wide open and falls into what you need most for connectivity (iPod/Phone, USB, Bluetooth) and unless you are after SQ features like time alignment or extensive EQ adjustability you should be fine with which ever brand/model ticks the boxes for you.

I cannot stress enough how much sound deadening improves the acoustics of your car. Even if it's only for your front doors, the difference in clarity, external noise suppression and vehicle quality in general is so much better that for the money I'd rather Dynamat more of my car than spend extra money on more power, or better speakers. Each to their own, especially for budget reasons but please consider having something like Dynamat installed when you go to such great lengths with your car.

Regards
Chris Thorpe

[Clean_Cookie]

Hi. I upgraded to amp-ed front speakers, after having the HU and speakers for ages. It boosted the quality to levels I didn't believe possible. (note this was a $700 HU in its day, not a cheap one) so If you've got money to spend, i recommend spending even a little on a cheap second hand amp for the least amount of money for the highest amount of gain in quality.

I am also at regents park regularly if you need some simple guidance/help.

[derb]

Originally Posted by Ben

As for speaker amps. I don't believe you can buy a 4 channel amp, run 2 speakers and the sub.

I run a Jaycar 4x100w amp that runs 2x front 6" and a 12" sub. Runs nice and loud and my sub clips before the amp.

[Clean_Cookie]

Jaycar amps work well for little money. Esp used!

[Drift Thorpey]

Subwoofer powering is one of those things that gets thrown around a fair bit in power ratings. Unless you're going for a dedicated SPL/dB Drag car, you can make ears hurt/chest cavities rumble for about 300W RMS/500W Peak. I currently run an XLB250A which is a amplified 10" from Blaupunkt that I have at about 25% gain (est. 100-150W RMS) and it make my BG Astina shake things.

Running that 10" from the rear channel of just about any 4 channel amp should do you fine, I do suggest looking at the XT2004D. If you want a hand sorting out your car audio and wanna have a bit more of a chat, PM me your email and I can give you a hand during work hours and after

Regards,
Chris Thorpe

[Clean_Cookie]

Exactly. It's all about power in vs power out too. We have a 100w amp at home. It weighs a fair bit (old school trannys and coils) but with a 100w sub it will make your ears hurt bad, and break Windows..oops. dads first car amp was 2x17w and its still better than the "50w" from head units...I'm tempted to buy old amps rather new for the quality, and cause I'm cheap.

[AndrewJ]

First of all, welcome to AstinaGT!

The audio upgrade was the first thing I did on my BJ and I don't think there's an upgrade that's more essential. I did mine on impulse almost a week after I bought the car because JB had a 30% sale on car audio. I picked up four Kicker 6.5" speakers for the doors and a Kicker kickpack for the boot and was incredibly pleased with the result.
Now, 6 months on I've upgraded the sub further and now run a Alpine 10D4 powered by a HiFonics Brutus. This setup cost me around $600 including 4 gauge wiring.

My only regrets are not purchasing splits for the front. I find the audio can often be poorly balanced because of the nature of the door speakers.

As for subwoofers, I'd always recommend powering them via a mono amp. It's less worry and far easier to install.
Don't worry about powering the door speakers via an amp as of yet, it's not necessary, not worth the extra money (which could be spent on the sub and/or the speakers themselves) and can be just added on later down the track.

[Lepsche323]

Let us know what you end up getting mate, as I too need some guidance with sound systems (im hopeless).

[sunarde]

thanks for the input guys!

bad news is that my sister just scratched the whole side of my car when I lent her the car today =.='' Will probably be taking the car to the panel beaters to get it fixed up right away cause it scratched pretty deep into the paint.

Due to the sudden change in cashflow ^.. I think i'll just upgrade the front speakers and HU for now and slowly work on the rest after..

Speaker: Soundstream-RBC.6-6.5inch $160

http://www.soundmaster.com.au/Sounds...Speakers/RBC6/

I originally didn't want to get component because my area is a tad dodgy lol and if I had a tweeter sticking out it would just give someone a reason to smash into my car =.='' but I suppose if I'm upgrading it I may as well lol

HU: Clarion CX501 $178 Amazon

I'm assuming I can pop by any autobarn and get the doubledin cradle for it?

Originally Posted by Ben

edit: I just noticed your in regents park? Never seen you at meets before. Tons of the QLD guys can probably help you with install. Maybe we can have another mod day? I for one can help.

haha would love too but I live down in Sydney, Regents park .. Shame tho would be interested in going to one


EDIT: I figured the double din dvd dash was only a want but not a need and for the price of the clarion its hard to argue, I'll look into DVD player for future upgrades

[marcs_sp20]

Hello & welcome to AGT

You dont need to go big $$ to get a quality sound system, mines probably worth around $1500 and that was buying stuff bit by bit. But thats just personal preference. Spend majority of your $$ on front speakers, sub & amp, cause really you'll probably be the only one listening.

JL Audio 5x7's are a great front speaker, direct fit, and sound absolutely awesome, even just wired to the head unit. I've had my front pair in the car for the past 6 years and they are still going strong

All aftermarket headunits are leaps & bounds ahead of the stock 6 stacker unit, it all comes down to what functions you want (eg GPS, bluetooth, Ipod/usb connectivity), that'll also depend how much $$ you wanna spend to get them

[Ben]

Originally Posted by sunarde

thanks for the input guys!

I'm assuming I can pop by any autobarn and get the doubledin cradle for it?

haha would love too but I live down in Sydney, Regents park .. Shame tho would be interested in going to one

Too many regents parks! haha.

Autobarn will probably have to order it in. Only took 2 days or so for mine to come