Hello, First post here looking for advice.

[03'55AMG]

Hey everybody, First poster here!
Alright, I will get back on topic. I recently won a bet with my dad that's totally off topic to audio in general, but non the less, I won $2,000 out of the bet. Now, I plan on buying another car with it, because my Mercedes E55 AMG is way to expensive to maintain. I am about to pick up a 1988 Mercedes Benz 190e for about $7-800, and I then want a good system to go with it. Nothing major, but what I am looking for is a new single din head unit with a motorized touchscreen, and then to add a subwoofer. And to be honest, I am just a kid so I like some loud bass, but I cant stand lazy bass if you know what I mean. Now, I have one of two options to pick from.


Here's option A: I recently went over to Sonic Electronics and put about $700 worth of items in the cart. Here they are for review:
1}(2) Power Acoustik PEN-12W subs. 12" subs capable of running ~ 500 watts rms, and best in a sealed 1.3 to 1.5 cubic foot enclosure. These are $40/each, totaling $80.
2}Dual 12 SQB MDF enclosure with separate chambers, sealed at 1.23 cubic feet per side. Unit is $55
3}(2) Legacy LA1110(black) amps, capable of running ~ 500 RMS watts, at 4 ohms(subs are 4 ohms/ea) Each sub gets its own amp. Still haven't figured out how I am going to run 1 remote knob to control both amps, but Ill find out soon enough. These are $70 each, but I opted for a 3 year warranty bumping that up to $78 each, or $156 total.
4}Dual XDVD9131 Head unit. single din head unit with motorized 7" touch screen, with DVD playback, blue tooth, Built in GPS Navigation, and full Ipod control with all the included cables and other accessories. This unit costs $320, But once again I opted for a 3 year warranty, adding on $40, bringing the total to $360.
5} Power Acoustik AKIT-4 complete 4 gauge wiring kit. I also have a fused + distribution block for the 2 amps, all totaling $48.
Total all together, is $698.88. All free shipping.

Now, option B. This option is for anyone here who thinks they can trump that for the same $ if not less. In a head unit, I am really only considering a motorized single din(DD does not fit for what I have in mind). DVD playback and Navigation are also a must if possible, BT is just icing on the cae for me.

For subwoofers, I really prefer the idea of dual 12"s, but I am open to ideas here, as nothing has been done yet. I like Loud bass, but I still want clarity, and on a budget, I know that's tough, but it has been done before.

Now a question I had as of now, the 2 amps I had picket out from sonic would look great on a rack I think. I already have a mock up drawing and all the dimensions for the rack, but I had one problem I can't find an answer to. I planned on running 8 computer fans with blue LEDs in the amp rack which would be sealed. I just think 8 (although overkill) lit up fans would look super cool. But, I can't figure out how I would wire them up. I want them to come on with the amps, not on a separate switch or anything. The only way I have seen to do this is to hook the fan up to the remote wire, but there's no way in hell 8 fans are going to run off a 2 volt remote wire. Any ideas there?

Sorry for the long a$$ first post, but hey, its for a good cause. Lol

-John

[av83]

Here's option A: I recently went over to Sonic Electronics and put about $700 worth of items in the cart. Here they are for review:
1}(2) Power Acoustik PEN-12W subs. 12" subs capable of running ~ 500 watts rms, and best in a sealed 1.3 to 1.5 cubic foot enclosure. These are $40/each, totaling $80.
2}Dual 12 SQB MDF enclosure with separate chambers, sealed at 1.23 cubic feet per side. Unit is $55
3}(2) Legacy LA1110(black) amps, capable of running ~ 500 RMS watts, at 4 ohms(subs are 4 ohms/ea) Each sub gets its own amp. Still haven't figured out how I am going to run 1 remote knob to control both amps, but Ill find out soon enough. These are $70 each, but I opted for a 3 year warranty bumping that up to $78 each, or $156 total.
4}Dual XDVD9131 Head unit. single din head unit with motorized 7" touch screen, with DVD playback, blue tooth, Built in GPS Navigation, and full Ipod control with all the included cables and other accessories. This unit costs $320, But once again I opted for a 3 year warranty, adding on $40, bringing the total to $360.
5} Power Acoustik AKIT-4 complete 4 gauge wiring kit. I also have a fused + distribution block for the 2 amps, all totaling $48.
Total all together, is $698.88. All free shipping.

Now, option B. This option is for anyone here who thinks they can trump that for the same $ if not less. In a head unit, I am really only considering a motorized single din(DD does not fit for what I have in mind). DVD playback and Navigation are also a must if possible, BT is just icing on the cae for me.

You can't do a whole lot worse for 700, lol... There are many excellent deals popping up in the classifieds here on a daily basis. You are MUCH better off buying quality used equipment than new garbage brands equipment. You're about to get a ton of offers anyway, I'm sure. So have fun picking out your system... if you go with my advice. Lots of guys here are always looking to get rid of there old toys. And there toys are usually better than anything I'll ever own, lol. Welcome to Caraudio.com, sir.

And, yeah, you're in the wrong thread... fyi. Good luck.

[03'55AMG]

I did not know where exactly to post this, But if any moderators read this, Feel free to move it accordingly.

And yea the brands are all ****, but I never thought of the classifieds here. The only thing I get worried about is warranty and repairs for used items.

[itsblown]

take a look into some other brands, and do a lot of researching before you go and make a purchase

[Flex68]

tl;dr

[av83]

I did not know where exactly to post this, But if any moderators read this, Feel free to move it accordingly.

And yea the brands are all ****, but I never thought of the classifieds here. The only thing I get worried about is warranty and repairs for used items.

The only thing that I've bought brand new for my car was the sound deadening, my old sub, and my sub amp. Everything else was used. I've already returned the old sub, because it started to fall apart, and bought a not only a used sub, but a used sub rebuilt from other used subs parts, lol.. The amp is ok, but I could have done better and I will be upgrading it in the future for a high quality, used amp. And the sound deadener is great... but that's 1 for 3 brand new, lol. The moral of my cool story is that if someone has bought a quality item, and taken care of it, chances are it will be a better long term investment than an item you have a good chance of returning someday.

[Alrojoca]

I would stay away from used Head Units, you can pick up a new quality HU from Kenwood (excellon series) Pioneer and JVC, Alpine is great but pricey.

[Stellasboy247]

Craigs list bro, buy local so if something is hoopty you can bark @ who u bought it from. Word of the wise, if your in fact just a kid go with your older brother or some swollen *** squad and people won't try some shyster move on you. You can get some really good stuff off Craig's list you just have to take the right approach.

[kushy_dreams]

All terrible equipment. Start over, do countless hours of research and try again.

[av83]

I would stay away from used Head Units, you can pick up a new quality HU from Kenwood (excellon series) Pioneer and JVC, Alpine is great but pricey.

False. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a used head unit, provided it was treated well. My used X994 is the best HU I've ever owned. And there are some badass HU's in the classifieds right now that I'd recommend to anyone.

[av83]

Craigs list bro, buy local so if something is hoopty you can bark @ who u bought it from. Word of the wise, if your in fact just a kid go with your older brother or some swollen *** squad and people won't try some shyster move on you. You can get some really good stuff off Craig's list you just have to take the right approach.

I'd rather buy off an established member here, than someone with an unknown rep on cl, any day of the week.

[Alrojoca]

False. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a used head unit, provided it was treated well. My used X994 is the best HU I've ever owned. And there are some badass HU's in the classifieds right now that I'd recommend to anyone.

It only takes one bad one to never buy another one again and it is either a huge risk on a high end HU or low risk on a cheaper unit but the savings is not significant on a single din basic 6 ch HU, and since they keep changing with new technology and features the used ones resale value should be very low to make it worth the risk. I have not checked here but I will check, my guess is they are not going to be much cheaper than EBay since that is the benchmark, it may work for some, but it may not for others.

[03'55AMG]

All terrible equipment. Start over, do countless hours of research and try again.

Did You read option B? Feel free to suggest equipment and such, like I have said before, I am open to suggestions.

I'd rather buy off an established member here, than someone with an unknown rep on cl, any day of the week.

Yea, I cant stand CL, I have gotten burned too many times off there. Besides, the classifieds here seem very strict so I doubt I will buy a piece of crap off here.

It only takes one bad one to never buy another one again and it is either a huge risk on a high end HU or low risk on a cheaper unit but the savings is not significant on a single din basic 6 ch HU, and since they keep changing with new technology and features the used ones resale value should be very low to make it worth the risk. I have not checked here but I will check, my guess is they are not going to be much cheaper than EBay since that is the benchmark, it may work for some, but it may not for others.

Yea, I usually never buy used unless its something like dvds or tools with guarantees. You never know what is wrong with something that is being sold used.

[shpatb]

Every thing I've bought used here has been great and saved me a shitload of money.

[03'55AMG]

If anyone wants to post some links to items Id like in the classifieds feel free.