I have a alpine head unit pushing clarion speakers in front and rear and a type-r 12" sub being pushed by a mb quart amp and to me it sounds descent except there is no mid-bass punch. I have plenty of bass for my taste and trebble is pretty good but mids are sucky. Any sugestions on a way to help with this? I think to add another amp would require me to do the big 3 upgrade cause i can already dim the lights slightly if i crank it up really loud. I would like to stay in a resonable price range .
Are they just drop in coaxial speakers? I would suggest a quality set of components and sealing the door up the best you can to get the most out of the mids. What is a "reasonable" price range to you, and what kind of power do you have available for front speakers?(Amp model would help)
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
"You really need to staple your face shut"-THE Joey Baggs.
I was thinking about another mb quart amp since the one i have has treated me so good with no problems and plenty of power. The mb quart onx4.6 is what i was thinking for my 4 channel amp and maybe type-r componets in the front and rear , but i havent heard them yet to know what they sound like, i just like my alpine sub and head unit really well. However i think alpine is overpriced. I dont really want to spend more than $500 for all 4 speakers and a amp because i know its probably going to cost quite a bit to upgrade the big 3 and probably a battery. I have heard kinetic battery's are good. Knue koncepts is the best place i have found so far to buy the wire/cable to do my big 3 upgrade. I know most of u guys on here are more into higher end audio than i can afford. Besides , im not looking for compettion stuff just good quality and loud. My stereo gets loud now, but im not as impressed with these clarion speakers as i thought i would be. And yes they are coaxial drop ins, kinda they did take alittle work to get to fit.
While I don't think a 2 or 4 channel driving your speakers would be too hard on your alt if you don't friggin' wail on your system all the time. But if you're truly concerned with that, there is always the KTP-455, it would literally plug right into your deck.
I already have a 2 channel amp pushing a 12" sub and im takling about adding a second 4 channel amp to push componets . My 1 sub amp pulls lots of juice as it is adding another amp will definetly tax charging system. I had my sub amp running at 1 ohm for a short while and it damn near shut down my lights when the bass hit , so i set it back to 4 ohms and its ok unless i crank it way up.If i had the other type-r i would run at 2 ohms.
That ktp-455 is a crappy excuse for a amplifier. I had a friend that bought one and it was almost useless, totally not worth it.
Well if you want to spend around $500 and get the most bang for your buck, I would look into a good 2 channel amp putting out 100+ watts per channel at 4 ohms, and some kick ass copmonents up front. Ditch the rears. You really should focus up front as much as possible. It's where you are, where the music should come from, and you can get some awesome components for the price of replacing all 4 speakers. If you did end up wanting to dabble in the higher end stuff, Rainbow SLC265.25NG 6.5" components can be gotten to you for $260 shipped man. That would leave you with $240 for an amp in that budget. And honestly, I would try and find a cheaper amp and get some sound damping material for your doors, like I said to really make the mids come alive.
What I would do(not that it's what you should do, but just my educated opinion):
-Rainbow SLC's ($260 shipped)
-Soundstream PCX2.350(found online for $130 and they're amp's are great for the guy on a tight budget.)
-Second Skin Damplifier Pro Door Pack. ($60+shipping)
That would be a decent amp, kick ass speakers, and damping to get you started all for $450 plus whatever shipping is from Second Skin and the place you buy the amp. Should come in under $500.
Just my personal opinion, but that would be my way to go
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
"You really need to staple your face shut"-THE Joey Baggs.
some good advice here. but your main issue seems to be the speakers. so as said a good quality componet set 6.5" if you can. then get that installed in the door properly. if its not installed properly it wont matter if you have $1000 speakers and a million dollar amp. install is everything. make sure the speaker is sealed up to the door solid. make sure there is no air leak around the speaker and the door. try to seal up the door with damping or wood or whatever as best you can. making the door almost like an enclosure. is your current coaxials being played off the headunit or an amp? if they are on an amp. id run that amp strictly to your front speakers and leave the rears off of the headunit power. if everything is off the headunit, then yeah you definatly will need an amp.
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how do u recomend mounting these rainbows in the door? Is there anyplace to buy a descent 6.5 adapter? 4x6 is factory size in the front so i would assume the door would have to be cut to accept this new size and some kind of adapter would have to be placed in there.I have 6x9 to 6.5 adaptors for the rear . Speaking of wich dont you want sound all around to get sound in stereo?
No. Music is recorded in stereo(stereo is 2 channels. Left and right. Not surround sound like movies). Typically the goal is going to be concert-like. Get a clean, full spectrum of sound coming at your ears from the front as if the band I playing on your hood lol. adding more speakers is going to drag the soundstage behind you, cause cancelation issues, and can muddy the sound up quite a bit in most cases. A solid set of components installed and tuned correctly paired with a sub to pick up where they roll off is a good, simple, solid plan.
As for bafffles/adapters, anyone who makes enclosures usually makes baffles. I could get in touch with the guy I use for my customers boxes and baffles if you wish. If u end up wanting to go with rainbow, I can even get the baffles to you for next to nothing.
A good solid baffle/adapter, some sound damping material, and the right tuning will be they key parts to getting the most out of whatever front components you buy.
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
"You really need to staple your face shut"-THE Joey Baggs.
I dont know much about rainbow, what makes them so much better?
that amplifier has been discontinued
Rainbow is simply better because they are better. They use better materials, tighter tolerances. The typical qualities of a worthwhile brand.
And for the record the KTP445 doesn't suck. Although the way it works can be deceptive.
Bradsk88- The alpine ktp455 is only powerfull enough to help out coaxials , not power most componets well. And what do you mean its deceptive? Its a small amplifier and it has bad reviews.
It's designed to follow the same volume curve as the Alpine deck. That is, it puts out the same power at lower volumes, but once it gets to higher volumes where there would have been distortion before, there isn't. It puts out 50Wx4rms using PDX architecture.
I think people are expecting it to be a glorified bass boost. It isn't.
Ok so i read about this amp and it only puts out 16 watts rms per channel and they say u dont add the power of your headunit to that. Its 45 watts peak power per channel.
16 watts per channel for $150, no thank you .
I'm looking to see what I might have available to me to fit your budget, amp wise. As u can tell with me selling rainbow, the stuff available to myself and anyone I sell to is higher end. Brands like tru, genesis, and celestra don't exactly have a nice 100x2 amp for 200 bucks lol. But I might have something nice here. Stay tuned
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
"You really need to staple your face shut"-THE Joey Baggs.
$150 for 50x4watts (RMS, not peak. And 50, not 16) is not unreasonable.
If you're looking at a new amp that puts out 50x4 (keep in mind that's at 4ohms) for less than $150, you're looking at garbage.
jl- I can get a good deal on the mbquart amps, do you not think they are good? The one driving my Type-r has been great. Speaking of wich it is a dsc2150 wich puts out 150 rmsx2 @4 ohms. Maybe i could run 2 componets up front like some alpine spr-17c .And maybe get the mb quart onx1.1000D to power my sub. $189 for the new sub amp that would put 1000 w rms to my sub and $150 for the front componets.Thats only like $340 and with the money left over i could buy my big 3 upgrade wiring and stuff. Do u think a new battery would be neccesary?
I don't have anything against mbq. For the price If u like their amps, I won't say stay away. And if type r comps are what u want, go for it. The thing is, I could get you into rainbow equipment for their price
.
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
"You really need to staple your face shut"-THE Joey Baggs.
Also, when looking at the good prices or "good deals" you are getting on things(especially electronics), are u buying from an authorized dealer? A lot of times u aren't, and unless the manufacturer authorizzes the retailer, you do not get factory warranties. A factory warranty on electronics is worth a @!#$ ton.
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
"You really need to staple your face shut"-THE Joey Baggs.
Yes, sonic electronics is a authorized dealer and are great people to deal with. I have been. Using them for years.
Yes, sonic electronics is a authorized dealer and are great people to deal with. I have been. Using them for years.
U could get me rainbows for the p$150?
Ok. A couple things, because some of your responses are reading to be very defensive and snappy(I might be wrong, but it's almost like if someone recommends something you don't already like, you seem offended.. and then if someone says something about a specific brand or company being authorized or not, you get super super defensive of said company that you aren't even affiliated with?).....
1. SonicElectronix is not an authorized Alpine dealer. How do I know this? Well simple... Alpine has retail stores that sell their equipment, and thn they sell off their site. The do not supply a single internet vendor with their product at all. They don't, at all, ever, ever, ever. I know this for a fact. A lot of sites get away with saying "Authorized internet dealer" because they bought out a lot of equipment, or got a bundle from a 3rd party wholesaler and Alpine or whatever manufacturer said "ok fine, sell what you have". An actual authorized dealer is back, supported, and pushed by their manufacturer. The (in this case Alpine) equipment is sent to them from Alpine, and comes 100% with factory warranty. No company of this caliber offers any kind of factory warranty on items not purchased from this type of dealer. SE or whatever site might have a "warranty" or return/exchange policy, but it's usually simply "We will take back faulty equipment if it can be proven you didn't cause the damage, and you are responsible for return shipping". That's not a warranty. It's a defective equipment exchange policy from a 3rd part.
2. As Brad said, brands such as Rainbow, Dynaudio, Zapco etc. cost more and are regarded as "high end" for a large number of reasons. As he said, tighter tolerances, closer attention to detail and quality control, higher quality materials, more R&D, and warranty. You can be assured they will last for a long time as the best materials are used, and the best care in construction is taken. The R&D those types of brands put into their products is more on the side of "how can we make this perform it's absolute best", not "how can we sell thousands of these to as many people as possible" as a lot of the big-box, run of the mill stuff is. You get what you pay for in quality, sound, longevity, appearance, and support. Plain and simple. The only reason I agreed to represent certain brands in the manner that I do, is because I KNOW what they're all about and have no problem putting my personal name out there with their products.
3. For $150 you are getting the previous model Type-R components from SonicElectronix(which as I said is not an authorized Alpine dealer). For the current model, they are still $220 from SE. And from an authorized Alpine dealer such as Best Buy, on those current model Type-R's you are going to pay $280. Why $60 more for an authorized dealer? 100% manufacturer support and warranty, and a company that(although I don't like best buy, we are talking Alpine right now so I gotta use them), Alpine has said is ok to sell their stuff. At the $220 price point, I can get you a higher end brand of speaker(Rainbow), with full factory warranty. How is buying worse speakers from an unauthorized dealer better than that? lol
I don't mean to sound like I'm attacking you at all, but just lighten up a bit man, all your replies seem very hostile and on guard. We're all friends here.
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
"You really need to staple your face shut"-THE Joey Baggs.
