ok well my other thread kinda went dead so im just gunna ask what sort of brands/models i should be looking for to make a complete system for like $1000 to $1400. I would prefer sound quality over just really loud bangs lol, but a nice mix of the 2 would be nice. i dont know much (if anything) about sound systems, but i have some kicker ks693's for my rear speakers (to save some money for now i think ill keep them) what are some brands and models of subs, amps, HU's and front speakers yall could recommend. Its just that theres so many of them i dont know where to start, so i figured id get some advise from you audio experts on here. Also wat are some websites for audio stuff you guys use? Thanks in advance
Concept is the best amplifiers made for the money in my opinion.
For a CD player I would say Eclipse or Alpine, but buy their middle of the line stuff around $200-$300 price range, avoid low end products from anyone.
For amps, subs, and speakers the more reputable brands are: Eclipse, Alpine, Rockford Fosgate, JL Audio. You can't go wrong with products from these manfacturers.
Stay away from the cheap low end stuff from any manufacturer you choose, also avoid Sony, Phoenix Gold, Clarion, etc.
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Quote:
Stay away from the cheap low end stuff from any manufacturer you choose, also avoid Sony, Phoenix Gold, Clarion, etc.
What is wrong with Phoenix Gold? I have ran a lot of their equipment and have had no problems. I see that you always hype the most popular lines. There is much better equipment out there than just JL Audio.
problem is i dont know what kinda amp and stuff id need, theres so many types : 2 Channel Amplifier, 4 Channel Amplifier, mono amplifier.. i dont know what it all means lol.
blkfire00 wrote:What is wrong with Phoenix Gold? I have ran a lot of their equipment and have had no problems. I see that you always hype the most popular lines. There is much better equipment out there than just JL Audio.
Not many people have heard of Concept...
Phoenix Gold is absolute garbage
Phoenix Gold R6.5 Comp
Opinions on Phoenix Gold???
I recommend what I have sold for the past 7 years based upon service issues and reliability.
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Shawn,
My opinion would be (if you are not planning to compete, and considering the price range) upgrade your 4x6 door speakers $90, since you plan to keep the Kicker 6x9's in the rear.
Buy a higher quality cd player to run the 4x6's and 6x9's, $250-300.
Buy a good quality 2 channel amplifier, around 500 watts to drive the subs, for around $400-$500. Most come with bass controls now, so you have a little head room to turn it up if you feel like booming once in a while.
Buy a good set of 10" subs and a box for about $275-$350.
Have everything professionally installed at the shop you purchase from for around $120.
If you buy products online and take it to a shop to be installed you will typically pay big time for the install. The total for your system will usually be more expensive than if you purchased everything at the shop and just had them install it. This is how it worked at both shops I have worked in at least.
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I have to agree with Mennitti on PG. Phoenix gold products are little more than a pathetic shadow of what they were 10 years ago (and yes, I had PG amps 10 years ago). There's a good reason why PG amps went downhill, and Concept amps are above average
In addition to what was recommended, I also suggest taking a good look at Pioneer Premier decks. For component speakers it's hard to beat CDT for the price.
J.J. Lecznar wrote:... bring ur @!#$ over here and i wil blow what u have to hell.... ill put @!#$in 200 dollars on it...
*wipes tears from eyes*
PG also sold all they shares and are going under.. so you wont get much tech support.
For the money, I would try alot of online companies,
Such as us, Elemental Designs
Adire Audio
Resonant Engineering
Ascendant Audio
All good online companies where you deal directly with the people who design them, not some local kid trying to make a buck.
Although RE is now pretty much retail only, it will be hard to get a good deal on them.
We also offer a forum discount to Jbody.org members.
for component speakers we just dropped the price of our 6500s to $185. They used to go for $350. and before i worked for eD i paid that for them, well now 2 years later, and prices are dropping. They compare to CDT HD-62, but use a better tweeter.
Ascendant Audio, is selling some good speakers for awesome prices right now aswell.
Elemental Designs
Performance.Mobile.Audio.
alexl@edesignaudio.com
Warehouse Manager
ooh yeah. for a headunit.. ide look into an Eclipse 5444. Great headunit. and there are some new ones on ebay for under $230 right now. Its 5 volt preouts, 13 band EQ, built in crossovers, and MP3 playback.
Elemental Designs
Performance.Mobile.Audio.
alexl@edesignaudio.com
Warehouse Manager
first off ty for a descriptive post, helped alot lol (not being sarcastic, it really did) second, do yall think that 2 10" type R's would be ok? Ive heard good things from em, just dont know if i should do 2 10" or 2 12".
about the Eclipse 5444, is it possible to order things through stores?? ive never bought stuff like this so i dont know. But like if a store doesn't have it can i order it through them?
shawn brynelson wrote:about the Eclipse 5444, is it possible to order things through stores?? ive never bought stuff like this so i dont know. But like if a store doesn't have it can i order it through them?
check ebay, a couple of the stores sell what they have left, its a older model. most stores wont be able to order them, and if they can, think $400.
Elemental Designs
Performance.Mobile.Audio.
alexl@edesignaudio.com
Warehouse Manager
Alex Lindeman wrote:shawn brynelson wrote:about the Eclipse 5444, is it possible to order things through stores?? ive never bought stuff like this so i dont know. But like if a store doesn't have it can i order it through them?
check ebay, a couple of the stores sell what they have left, its a older model. most stores wont be able to order them, and if they can, think $400.
i would get it off ebay but how hard is it to install?? ive never done it before. Also when i was taking a look behind the deck thats in there now, theres no little adaptor thingy, like the wires go straight from out the back of the deck and go down in behind the dash somewhere, like theres no clips and such. How can i fix this?
my suggestions for a GREAT SQ system for around 1k-1.4k would be starting off with considering 250-300 for the deck, look into mid range eclipse, pioneer and alpine units, find ones that have features that you would find usefull, and 3 sets of pre-outs is always a good thing to look for. now one thing you might find is that Eclips, Pioneer and Alpine all offer similar features and adjustments, so it might actualy come down to what one looks better to you..
Subs, im a HUGE SQ fan and could get a rats azz about getting loud and boomy and doing spl comps, so on the SQ side of things i would recomend talking to Alex about any kinda deal he can give you on eD stuff, a pair of 12Kv.2's would be something to consider, very nice subs at an amazing price... also look into JL W3v2's, W3v3's, ID IDQ's, basicaly anything Adire makes in your budget would be a good choice... there are SOOO many options, auditioning things at local audio shops is the best way to chose realy.
Amps: well as far as specific models, cant realy say until you chose what sub(s) u wanna run... then it will depend on the RMS power handling the sub(s) have. some brands to keep in mind:
Audison(little pricey, higher end)
JL(same as above)
Soundstream
Directed(DEI)
Cadence
Viper(DEI)
Orion(DEI)
PPI(precision power)
Alpine amps arent bad either
Note: I dunno how new to all this you are so Ill tell you this much about matching an amp to your sub(s),... single coil subs have no wiring options... single 4 ohm can be wired to 4 ohms, single 2 to 2 ohms etc...
dual coil subs can be wired on their own to either double of half of their coils impendance (dual 2 to 1 or 4ohms etc)
say u get 2 dual 4 ohm subs, wire each down to 2 ohms then together for a 1 ohm mono load
Front comps:
CDT is probly the first place to look for the best bang for the buck.. in the 100-200$ range they can NOT be beat... if ur going even cheaper wait a few weeks and go to cadencestore.com click car audio, then click buy surplus here... look for the CWM-6KIT comps.. can NOT be beat (enter freeship as the coupon code, free shipping)
Amp for comps: most comps u will find are 4 ohm,,... in general, most comps in the price range ur looking are going to want 100-150 watts RMS per channel at 4 ohms... keep an eye on the same brands i mentioned above.
Wires are wires. knuconceptz(i think this is the right spelling) usualy has amazing prices
good luck with everything!
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
I just bought a 20 inch widescreen ultrasharp flat pannel..I'm going to have to subscribe to the high quality porn places now......damn
Clarion has some good head unit's i have had one for about 4 years now and never had a problem with it.
for amp's and sub's you might want to look at soundstream the t4 sub's are really good and you can pick up a 2000 watt amp on e-bay for around 300 buck's.
i have never heard SS subs, as why i didnt mention them, sweetnloud, how do they sound? sound quality wise. are they just a big power boomer or they get musical? comprable subs from any brands i mentioned? i know this isnt my post, but no reason i cant learn a bit too
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
I just bought a 20 inch widescreen ultrasharp flat pannel..I'm going to have to subscribe to the high quality porn places now......damn
on ebay you can get entry level diamond audio subs pretty cheap, great subs no matter what version you buy
wow omg im so confused... my brain hurts lol, all these terms confuse me. I think ill go with JLAudioCavalier(1bad02cav)'s suggestions as im looking for SQ not just anoying booming lol. I wont have that money for another month or so, so im not gunna stress over it for now lol.
lol, nobody like infinity anymore. They have great SQ, and other then Boston, only company i will use.
Infinity is less than sub par these days, theres SOOOOOO many brands that just make better speakers, amps, and sub its realy hard for me to point people in that direction, i mean Infinity, if i had to put them on either side of the fence, i would put on the SQ side... but wih ID, RE, Ascendant, Adire, JL, and a handfull of others around, i just cant put infinity on the upper end
likewise with boston, but i would say theyre a lil more reputable and respectable than infinity... of course Rainbow and CDT and even MB Quart are giving boston a run for the money in any price range.
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
I just bought a 20 inch widescreen ultrasharp flat pannel..I'm going to have to subscribe to the high quality porn places now......damn
I have spent approximatly what you want to spend on my system, and I am very pleased with it. Here is what I have.
HU - Pioneer DEH-P4400 - $180
Door Speakers - Infinity Kappa 60.5cs - $170
Amp # 1 - Infinity Reference 7520a - $120
Subs - 2 12" RE SE's - $147 x 2 = $294
Amp #2 - Orion 1200D = $210
Sub Box - Custom Built - $60
Wires and other random stuff = ~$100
So far... $1134
The headunit is several years old, and if you are looking for one, I would take the suggestions of others on this board.
I love the Infinity Kappas for the doors. They are a 6.5" component system and they sound great. The amp for them is cheap and works great. I am not running rear speakers, so if you want to, I'd look into a 4 channel amp to power both your front and rear speakers.
The RE SE 12" subs are great. They definatly have some bump, but sound great as well. Although I have not looked into RE lately, I've heard that there were some changes in management, so not sure if any of the products have changed in quality or price.
If you can build a sub box or get a friend to do it, you will save a lot of money. Also, if you can install this yourself you will save money also. All of these products were purchased offline and installed by some friends and I. If you are looking to spend $1000-$1400 and are not installing it yourself, a lot of your money wil go to an installer. Also, buying oonline will save you a ton fo money. My Orion amp is retailed at like $900, but I bought it refurbished off ebay for $200 and it works great. You should be able to install most of this yourself just by doing research and comming on here to ask questions. If you want to see some pictures of my setup, checkout my cardoain page at the link in my info. Good luck.
On top of all this, you will want to buy some sound deadener for you car. This will help eliminate the rattling from the bass, and increase sound quality. Also, a car alarm is another idea, since you don't want to spend all this money and have it get stolen.
PS. I dug up this post on how muhc people spent on their systems. You can scroll through it, and pm anyone who has something around your range and see what they say about it.
http://www.j-body.org/forums/read.php?f=4&i=115533&t=114759#115533
Wide Body Progress
*sigh of relief* im not the only one that posts big page long rants on this forum lol
ok got another question... what kinda sound would u prefer out of your highs? that will help chose a component set as well.... titanium or aluminum or any metal dome tweeters will have a tendancy to have a brighter, more piercing precise sound, silk dome tweeters are much smoother, more natural and forgiving,... another factor in chosing what type of tweeter might suit you best, other than the type of sound u want, is the mounting position... the closer it is to your ears, the more you will hate metal dome tweeters...
I still recomend CDT for basicaly any components you might need in the 100 to basicaly any price range... every single line they have PERFORMS! although i would mention some other brands if you ever considered running up into the $300+ range...and if i remember right just about all of CDT's comp sets include silk tweeters (my preference anyway), so if a metal dome suits you better, i would have to look a lil deeper to see if they offer any in their lesser priced comps
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
I just bought a 20 inch widescreen ultrasharp flat pannel..I'm going to have to subscribe to the high quality porn places now......damn
lol i should have stuck with one thread hehe, anywho ty slimmatic, that looks alot like what i wanna do, theres so many choices and im not audio smart lol, so JL i have no idea what ur talking about really
"what kinda sound would u prefer out of your highs" first.. what are highs.. and what do you mean by what kinda sound i prefer lol. sorry if this is frusterating you but im very new to all of this, its overwhelming. I trust you JL, you seem to have alot of knowledge about this stuff so ill give you as much info as i can and see if you can recommend some specific brands/models you think would be good. Types of music ill be listening to: hip hop, alternative, heavy metal (in other words, not much soft music). like i said before my budget is between $1000-$1400. Since i read these posts i decided NOT to run rear speakers. I do want to run the component system things, but what brand is good for my budget/music choices. for a HU im not looking for anything super fancy, if it costs extra i dont need it to have those 3d screen saver things, or any unneded extras like satilite radio ready, or Ipod ready. the subject of Amps confuses me. Do i need one for the component speakers AND the 2 12" subs, or do i just get 1 Amp to run all of them? about the whole 4 channel things, does 4 channels mean i run 4 things, like the 2 subs and 2 6.5" compos? Rather than make my head explode, please list some specific models and stuff. Im sure ill be able to set up the system myself with my friends and such.
Ok... i'll try to answer all those questions.
Highs are high frequencies. As far as audio goes, most people talk about highs, mids and lows. In a component system, your highs are generally produced by the tweeters. Like JL said, depending on the material that the tweeters are made from, they may hurt your ears or seem overwhelming.
You seem like you are just looking for a decent system. JLAudioCav is knowledgable, but most of what he says you probably wont need to know if all you are looking for is something decent. You can get very deep into specs, speaker placement, ect, but most people who just want a system generally will not have to worry about this too much.
As far as amps, the number of channels is the number of things you can run off it. I have a 2 channel amp that runs my two front speakers. If you were running rear speakers as well, you could run a 4 channel amp. Also, different amps are used for different things. Thewre are some amps that are geared towards speakers, and other that are for subs. I would recommend getting a 2 channel amp for your front speakers, and a seperate amp for your sub(s).
This pic shows the 2 amps I am using. The one of the left is the Infinity 2 channel amp for my front speakers. The one on the right is my Orion for my subs. (I know the wiring was messy, but this pick is from when I first installed the subs and did not clean up the wires yet)
Wide Body Progress
