A bunch of questions about horns...

[the_noob]

I've been thinking and reading again, so, of course, I am confused . I know I listen to 100% metal, so, I'm now starting to realize that 145 db's of bass may not satisfy me(i.e.--it may be too much). I'm hoping to get some xxx mids to be used as midbass/midrange and make kicks for them.

So anyway, in the course of all this, I ended up reading a lot about horns. Specifically, the ID cd1 pro's because they can be had at just over ~$300. So, if I get a head-unit that will give me about 18 watts x 4, using 18 x 2 for the horns and 18 x 2 for the stock rears, would the amp even be needed? At least, for the horns--the sub(s) and mids would be properly powered. The Id's are 8 ohms, just to let you know.

The problem is also this: I am a complete noob(see name). I know very little about car audio. I know horns go under the dash, however, I have no idea on how to mount them. Would I have to do any drilling into my dash to mount them? I do have plenty of space, though. I am also poor, 16, and have no money, so any purchases will not be made until I can find a job .

Finally, what kind of xover would I be looking at? Or, without an amp, would it be ok to just use the xover on the head unit, assuming it has one . Sorry for such a long post, but any help would be much appreciated.

[Beat_Dominator]

Well for some of your questions...

Yes, you will have to cut into your dash most likely. Horns are very big, that's why you rarely see them. I guess if you got lucky and your dash was JUST right, you could fit them without much trouble.

If you want the quality it's still a good idea to use an amp. A 50x4 amp would put out close to 25w a channel into 8ohm.

For a xover (if you don't get the comp. set that ID has) you'd be looking at a huge number of choices in an active xover, but it just adds to the cost. It really depends on how much control over your setup you want.

[the_noob]

Well for some of your questions...

Yes, you will have to cut into your dash most likely. Horns are very big, that's why you rarely see them. I guess if you got lucky and your dash was JUST right, you could fit them without much trouble.

What do you mean by ''just right?'' It's an '05 Silverado Crew Cab that I'm ''sharing'' with my dad. There's no way in hell he'd let me cut into the dash .

[zachzchw]

You could find the measurements of the horns and make models up out of cardboard or something.

[Beat_Dominator]

Just right meant "lucky" basically. Some horns are over 12" wide, not sure how big ID's are.

[the_noob]

They're 9 inches, which I think could fit. I'll have to go outside tomorrow and check. But how do you secure them in place?

[Beat_Dominator]

the opening of the horn usually has holes for screws, so if it's 9"x1" horn but 6" long, you need 6" mounting depth.

[the_noob]

Oh, and to make absolutely sure, this would be a two-way xover, yes?

[Beat_Dominator]

As long as you have mids for it. But you could make it more, the sky's the limit

[Exaran]

heres an install tutorial for a very similar product:
http://usdaudio.com/tutorials/wg-tut1.php

I always thought the hard part about horns was finding a spot that was deep enough (dont miss the pic of the airhammer in the tutorial), width doesnt seem like it would be an issue

[squeak9798]

So anyway, in the course of all this, I ended up reading a lot about horns. Specifically, the ID cd1 pro's because they can be had at just over ~$300. So, if I get a head-unit that will give me about 18 watts x 4, using 18 x 2 for the horns and 18 x 2 for the stock rears, would the amp even be needed? At least, for the horns--the sub(s) and mids would be properly powered. The Id's are 8 ohms, just to let you know.

As you said, horns are 8ohm.....which means that your HU will only put out 9w RMS @ 8ohm. Not really much more than that is needed for horns. However, I wouldn't exactly trust the "cleanliness" of that output. And horns, being as sensitive as they are, would really bring out any distortion in the amp (a lot of HU's are rated at 10% distortion...not exactly clean power).

So yeah, you would definitely be better off with an external amp.

Would I have to do any drilling into my dash to mount them?

Depends on whether or not you can find any existing screws to use.

Finally, what kind of xover would I be looking at? Or, without an amp, would it be ok to just use the xover on the head unit, assuming it has one . Sorry for such a long post, but any help would be much appreciated.

You'd need to use an external active xover, or buy a headunit with a built in active xover (like the Pioneer 860MP, Eclipse higher lines, etc etc.). But, either of those options would require use of an external crossover. I honestly don't know of any headunit that would allow you to highpass the internal amp at the needed crossover point (~1khz).