posted
I have a 1981 Ford Bronco, and I'm planning on adding a system to it.. I miss Bass toooooo much.
I am looking for sound quality, as well as the ability to produce some low bass.
I really like the sound of 10's so I am planning on adding 2 or 4.
I have a lot of room to work with in the doors, and don't know which direction to go. I am going to build custom doorpanels, and would like to start sketching it out. I was thinking at least 2 5 1/4" in each door, and either 1 or 2 Tweeters in each door.
As for Amps - I don't know what's out there, I havent bought one in a couple years. I figure somewhere around 500 watts would be plenty, for now.
For rear sound, I was thinking a 6 1/2" and a tweeter on each side, but I am not too concerned about that.
What I really want is one of those hybrid CD players that also plays MP3 CD's but I don't know who makes them or the quality. I just want it to load the whole MP3 song into memory so when I am off roading, it won't skip.
I prefer amps with an active crossover for the subs, mids and tweeters.
I really liked the 6 channel PPI amp even though I didn't even get a chance to use the 5th and 6th channels.
So, I am starting from scratch, where is a good place to start? I can get by with my cheap CD player I have in it now, so I am mostly concerned with the AMP, SUBS and the MIDS.
You guys all seem to really be into this, so I hope you can help lead me in the right direction.
Are there any good websites that sell this stuff? Any suggestions or comments are appreciated!
posted
I did some looking around, and found a few decks. Some are really expensive, and some are really cheap.
Rockford Fosgate RFX9000 (Didn't even know they made decks)
Visteon MACH® MP3 (Never Heard of them)
Sony CDX-MP450X (Never really liked Sony)
Kenwood eXcelon Z828 (Most Expensive, but its Kenwood)
JVC KD-SH99 (Don't Know)
Aiwa CDC-MP32 (Don't Know)
Jensen MP5010K (Don't Know)
I don't have all the specs on them, but they all seem fairly close. I am kinda leaning towards the Visteon MACH® MP3 because of the stock looks, but it doesn't say anything about specs or anything at all about it.
The only one that I think is any good at all is the Kenwood, but again, I haven't bought a new CD for a LONG time.
posted
Yeah, I have always been a big Aiwa fan because they have good sound and good frequency responce. As for a amp I would go with a class D amp size depending on the amount of speakers and the RMS of those speakers. You should probably go with 10"s like Alma Gates uses. Kicker L7 Solobarics Put in a sealed boxes and to over power them recut your doors to handel 1 6.5" speakers and go with a high quality speakers like MTX or Infinity with built in tweeter. Also put some nice 6x9s in the back along with the 4 10"speakers Use a capasitor to help reduce damage on your altenator. with all that you should be doing well if you have more questions feel free to email me at toad_guy@hotmail.com
------------------ Team Compression DB You will hear us more !!!TOAD!!!
Posts: 26 | From: Barryton, Michigan, USA | Registered: Feb 2001
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posted
look for that Alpine head unit also with the MP3 capability. It's the 7878 i think.
Also I really like my PPI PC450 on my highs. It's the cleanest amp I've had on highs so far.
I've always been partial to Rockford amps and JL subs, using pioneer premier speakers for my highs. I use the pioneer speakers cause they are the best value I have found, sounding good while not being too expensive.
good luck with your system,
------------------ Mike Miguez
My project cars:
Posts: 2209 | From: Beaumont TX, USA | Registered: Jan 2000
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As for the Amps - I like PPI and Rockford too. I'm not sure how I want to do this quite yet. I'm also not sure if it would be better in the long run to run 2 amps..
posted
I reccomend the RF deck. I have had a couple, unfortunately not that particular one, and they have been excellent units for me. As for the rest of the system, I'd reccomend Digital Designs for all the speakers and there are many good amps that would suit your needs. I say go for a good front stage and forget the rears for now at least. DD makes some nice components. If you want a loud front stage and have a lot of room in the doors I would suggest going with a 3-way setup. Run a pair of CT-28s for tweets, DDW5s for mids, and DDW6.5s for midbass. Make a small sealed chamber for the 5s and let the 6.5s use the door for an enclosure. For subs, you could run 2 or 4 3510s ported. All the speakers would be Digital Designs. As for powering the system, there are a couple ways you could do it. You could run the tweets and mids off separate amps, or order them as components and run them off the same pair of channels. I would reccomend the latter for simplicity. Get an amp that'll do about 100-150 x 2 for the mid and tweet component set, an amp that'll do at least 200 x 2 for the midbasses, and an amp that'll give the subs at least 500 watts each. For amps I would reccomend an Earthquake PH-D2 for each pair of subs (the amp does about 2000 x1), and there are many options that would work with the mid tweet comps and the midbasses. PPI, RF, MTX, Earthquake, Kicker, and many others make amps that would work good for the application. Another option would be to get a large 4 channel amp to power the mids and tweets off the front, and the midbasses off the rear. If you like RF like I do, you could run a Power 800.4 for the mids, tweets, and midbasses; and run a Power bd1500.1 to the subs. There are many options. If you've never heard of DD, you can check them out at their web site, ddaudio.com, and you order from them too, so all the info is there. They are great speakers, its just that a lot of people have never heard of them. If you're on this board for a while you will get to learn about them.
------------------ rybaudio@freeze.com
The goal: Accurate musical reproduction in the mobile environment
Posts: 3961 | From: State College, PA | Registered: Sep 2000
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posted
Made a little visit to some local car stereo shops around here, and man - this industry has changed overnight..
I really like the new JL amps.. I'm thinking about getting the 300/4 for the front, and the 500/1 for the subs.
I went to "Tweeter" car audio, and this guy was talking about a "XTANT" system amplifier like it was the best thing since sliced bread. Its a 3 channel amp 600 watts with some kind of modules in it. Said it would drive (2) 6" midbass' (2) 5 1/4's (2) tweeters and (4) 10's no problem, and would sound louder and cleaner than the JL's - Anyone know about them???
My Budget is $2500 for stage 1 of this project, which includes a CD Player, 1 Amp, (2) 10's, (2) 5 1/4;s and (2) Tweeters.
Again - I really need your help.. These guys ALL have something to gain - A SALE!! I don't trust thier opinion at ALL!!
posted
[QUOTE]Originally posted by MyBigBronco.com: [B]I have a 1981 Ford Bronco, and I'm planning on adding a system to it.. I miss Bass toooooo much.
***OMG - that is one nice Bronco!*** lol
I miss My Bronco so much!!
------------------ Alma Gates
Posts: 3134 | From: phoenix, arizona - usa | Registered: Aug 1999
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quote:Originally posted by MyBigBronco.com: My Budget is $2500 for stage 1 of this project, which includes a CD Player, 1 Amp, (2) 10's, (2) 5 1/4;s and (2) Tweeters.
i say you can get some really nice stiff within that budget. The most expensive CD player you will probably get is gonna be 600 bucks or so. I say go with the alpine when it comes out, but see which one you like the best. i say go with two amps at first. Get a nice amp for your highs, how bout the biggest one Alpine makes in the V12 series. The V12 series are some clean sounding amps. Then get a 1000 watt class D amp of your choice for bass. I like my Punch BD1000A1 I use, but they got plenty of awesome stuff out there. Two 10's will set you back 400-500 at the most for most decent stuff out there. How bout some JL 10w3's? Then some good components would be around 300-500 or maybe cheaper. you could spend 600 on headunit, 700 at the most on your amp for you highs, 500 for you sub amp, 300 for two JL 10w3's or whatever 10 you like, and another 300 for you highs. That's like 2400, and then wiring would add another hundred to it. YOU would have a cool system with that with lots of potential for upgrades.
just some thoughts for you to get ideas from,
good luck with the system,
------------------ Mike Miguez
My project cars:
Posts: 2209 | From: Beaumont TX, USA | Registered: Jan 2000
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posted
Thank you ALL for your comments.. I really appreciate it.. And thanks especially to you Alma for the comment on my Bronco!
As for the amps - I got a quote for all of this for this price:
Think its an OK deal? (I gave up on the MP3 Thing)
Here it goes: Alpine CDA 7965 $500 JL 300/4 (4x75) $500 (2) JL 10W0 (8 ohm) $75 Each MB Quart PSC 213 $369 Prestige Remote Start/Ig Kill $379 (Installed)
I think its pretty fair.. The poor guy doesn't know I'm gonna be the worst price grinder to walk in yet.. I've already found better prices on the net, but I am trying to establish a local relationship.
I don't know how the MB Quarts sound compared to the JL seperates, but I was considering going all JL - only cuz I really liked the 10's I had before..
As for choosing the 10W0's instead of the 10W3's is because I am not running enough power to warrant the extra. My sub amp is 500x1 and they are designed to handle 150w each - Running 4 would put the handling at 600RMS which would be 100W more than the amp could produce. If I went to 1000x1 then I would have to get the 10W3's
Anyway.. All this is WAY up in the air still. I'm looking into the Kicker L7's and some other stuff out there.
posted
Bryan, be careful buying on internet. Many manufacturers will not warranty products purchased via internet. Check that out before spending your money. It's sometime better to spend a little more and go through the dealer.
At least if something goes wrong, you know where to find him.
------------------ Alma Gates
Posts: 3134 | From: phoenix, arizona - usa | Registered: Aug 1999
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posted
With your budget I would go with a single, larger sub, rather than 2 10s, it would be cheaper, easier to power, and with the right sub, sound just as clean as many 10s. I say go with a RF Power 800.4 for the amp, Digital Designs CT-5 HP components up front, and either 2 DD 3510s or a single 3512 or 3515 for sub(s). The RF head unit could start the signal chain. Later you could upgrade with a larger Class D sub amp, and add midbasses up front.
------------------ rybaudio@freeze.com
The goal: Accurate musical reproduction in the mobile environment
Posts: 3961 | From: State College, PA | Registered: Sep 2000
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posted
I am gonna build a "box" that will replace the plastic on the inside of the bed. If I only put one woofer, it would be on one side of the bed, and that wouldn't work. I'm not building a conventional box that goes directly behind the rear seat.
As for buying off the internet - I wouldn't do that, I'm just using those prices for negotiating the price locally.
posted
I'm rather partial to Phoenix Gold for nice sound quality as well as power myself. As good sound quality and some bass were your main requirements, here is a system that should sound damn good. Of course, before you make any final purchases, you should listen to it yourself and decide if you like them. In a good install this will look pretty sweet also, even without doing much.
PG ZX600Ti PG ZX475Ti The PG amps have some of the best internal crossovers I've seen on amps. Image Dynamics Chameleon Separates for the 5 1/4s and/or 6 1/2s (these will allow you to mount the tweeter separately or coaxial-style) for subs, kinda hard to say.. I've heard the Audiomobile EVOs will work perfectly in a case such as this where a good combination of SQ/SPL are wanted. Those are only online ordering though. www.audiomobileinc.com for more info. The Infinity Perfect 10.1s will probably work really well for you, and will love that PG amp. other than that, just try them out. I've been looking more for SPL subs. HU? I don't really have much to offer here. I'm not up on those and especially the MP# ones like you are looking for. You might consider some other suggestions in this thread.
Hope this helps, or at least gives some more options to look at that are more geared to what you stated in your first post.
------------------ You can kill the revolutionary, but you can't kill the revolution - Rage Against the Machine
Posts: 188 | From: Des Moines, IA USA | Registered: May 2001
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posted
"AudioMobile" I don't know about them, but they sure look good! I think I'm gonna have to do a LOT of research on this. I really want the most BOOM for the buck! As far as head units, I think I've 99% given up on the MP3 idea.. Quality isn't there, and a GOOD CD won't skip when I'm off roading anyway.
I used to have a phoenix gold amp - back when I was in the Marine Corps somewhere around 1994 or so. I LOVED that amp. I think it was 4x75 and sounded like 4x200+ that thing ROCKED!!
The new ones look awesome - my old one was white with big gold "Fins" for heat sinks across the top.
posted
If you want boom for the buck, Digital Designs 3500 series is hard to beat. I know I sound like a broken record, DD DD DD DD, but they are some of, if not the, best subs on the market today. Their company is like Audiomobile, they sell factory direct online to save you a ton of money, and you still get warranty. I think you should check them out. PG amps are awesome too, but for the money you can get more power.
------------------ rybaudio@freeze.com
The goal: Accurate musical reproduction in the mobile environment
Posts: 3961 | From: State College, PA | Registered: Sep 2000
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posted
Well, I think you made a good choice. I've heard the L7 10s and they get loud while sounding nice. Kicker amps are quite nice also, the plug in modules provide a ton of flexibility. You may want more power for those subs, cause the rear channels of the ZX460 aren't going to push them to the max. Later maybe you could add a DX700 or DX1400 for the subs and run the mids and tweets off of the ZX460. The Kicker components are nice also, not a personal favorite, but they do sound damn good. For a deck, I must again highly reccomend RF. They make very nice heads, and affordable to. If you can find a RFX-8330 for a good price, it would make a head piece for the system. Don't forget to get good accessories. Properly sized cable, fuse holders, fuses, and proper terminations are a must. Your system will only sound as good as its weakest link.
------------------ rybaudio@freeze.com
The goal: Accurate musical reproduction in the mobile environment
Posts: 3961 | From: State College, PA | Registered: Sep 2000
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posted
Thanks.. I think that's gonna work for me - I have no experience with Kicker anything, but I will soon...
As for the extra amp - this is only stage 1 of the whole system - I agree that amp doesn't have enough power to run (4) 10's but will get by with just (2) 10's for now.
Thanks for the recommendations on the second amp. I'm gonna need it.
Eventually that 4 channel amp will be pushing 4 or 6 mid basses and 2 or 4 tweeters. I'll figure that out later. I'll then run a dedicated mono amp for the 4 subs.
posted
I am looking into running a ZX-460 amp to start, and I am curious on your opinion of running channel 1+2 at 2 ohms and 3+4 at 1 ohm... I know I am going to have heat issues to worry about, but is it really stable down to that ???
Here's what the Kicker page says:
quote:The four-channel KICKER ZX460 provides four channels into 4, 2, or 1 Ohm loads or two bridged mono loads as low as 2 Ohms.
Just wanted your opinion. Is it going to handle it?
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