'98 Range Rover Build

[Hjames710]

New here. I've been debating on what to do to this truck for some time now. This is the list I've put together so far, nothing has been ordered. I'm replacing my stock Harman Kardon "Premium Sound" speakers, my Diamond D3 series amps, my D3 12D4 sub, and an Alpine CDE-133BT deck.

HU:

Kenwood KDC-X996

Amps:

Diamond D6 700.4

Diamond D6 1200.1

Speakers:

Front, Diamond D672S 5x7 components with silk dome tweeters

Rear, Diamond D661i 6.5 2 ways

Sub:

Diamond HP12 Dual 2 Ohm

Wiring:

Monster 4 gauge power and ground

Monster MPC I304 4 Channel RCAs for the 700.4

Monster MPC I402 Low Noise 2 Channel RCAs for the 1200.1

Monster MPC S402 insulated 12 gauge for all speakers and sub

I really wanted the D5 series amps, but I don't know where to find them. I checked ebay and found nothing. I almost bought the Hex series amps but I couldn't find a single positive review of them.

Click to read more...

 

[Hjames710]

Tell me your opinions everything. Good and bad. My budget for the whole system is about $2k at the most. Right now, for all of this stuff brand new it's gonna cost me about that.

 

[TheCaz]

Ehh, if I were you I might go with a ~4" mid ranger, and separate supertweeter, but that is just how I roll. Your mids and highs will sound much crisper.

 

[TheUnderFighter 10+ year member]

I would rethink some more cost-effective wiring. "Monster" generally has a pretty high price. I'd look into Knu or AT.

 

[Hjames710]

I was looking at a JL 1/0 gauge dual kit amp. Unfortunately, my battery is on the front of passenger side of the engine compartment, and the spot where I want to put my amps is on the drivers side of the trunk. I had a decently sized factory sub/enclosure that has since been removed and is a great spot for mounting amps.

 

[Hjames710]

I should also note I have a Monster 1 farad cap, got it when I uninstalled a friends set-up for her.

I should post some pics of the TrailBlazer I did. 2002 LTZ, Diamond 5x7's in the front, Focal 6.5's in the back, Diamond D3 15" D4 ohm in the trunk with a Polk Audio PA-660 and a JVC double din HU. I also did an inverter hidden under the rear seat with color changing LED's all throughout the car, and controls in the console.

 

[Hjames710]

I was also thinking of doing the D912D4 instead.

This was the Monster wire I was going to use for the speakers/sub. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0094CLUY0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3LLMZ9K72U9P2

It's about $1 a foot. If something like this would sound exactly the same, then I have no problem switching to it. I'm only doing this once (for now anyways) and don't mind paying a premium if it's truly better stuff. http://www.amazon.com/KnuKonceptz-Kable-Gauge-Copper-Speaker/dp/B006VP86EU/ref=sr_1_5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1364059157&sr=1-5&keywords=12+gauge+speaker+wire+audiophile

I have used Monster cables before, and found them to be decent quality. But they are incredibly overpriced. Don't even get me started on Beats... most hyped headphones in the world. Exchanged them for Klipsch and never looked back.

 

[winkychevelle 10+ year member]

Get the knu kord wire it's actually real high quality stuff. Though I would prolly just get the 16g for the amount of power you are running and then order like 15ft of the 12g for your subs. Overall all I use is knu wire because of the excellent quality I have seen. They make amp kits as well which will prolly be cheaper than the monster stuff. Idk if you have visited ther website but they make a lot of things

Amp Installation Kits, HDMI Cables

Really good product only thing I like better is Rockford but at 4x the cost for so little gain ill take knu all day

 

[Hjames710]

Get the knu kord wire it's actually real high quality stuff. Though I would prolly just get the 16g for the amount of power you are running and then order like 15ft of the 12g for your subs. Overall all I use is knu wire because of the excellent quality I have seen. They make amp kits as well which will prolly be cheaper than the monster stuff. Idk if you have visited ther website but they make a lot of things
Amp Installation Kits, HDMI Cables

Really good product only thing I like better is Rockford but at 4x the cost for so little gain ill take knu all day

I looked at their amp kits. But most of them are 17-18 ft. I need a kit that's at least 20 ft long to make it to the back.

Edit: Just noticed I can add a few feet to the wire. I'll definitely go with the Knuconceptz.

 

[Hjames710]

Ok. After realizing what a waste it would be to not do a 3 way component set, I started looking at the Precision Power PPI PC3.65C. But I'm still unsure about it. I wish I could find a set of Diamond D971's. I found a set that went for $350 back in '08, wish I had a time machine. Haha.

 

[Hjames710]

Do you guys think it's probably a good idea to buy a new alternator? The one in my Rover is looking pretty beat. Though the innards look new. I wish I could buy an aftermarket one that puts out like 200 amps, but it's hard to find any for the 4.6.

 

[Hjames710]

Ok. Finally think I have it all figured out.

Kenwood eXcelon KDC-X996

Diamond D6 700.4

Diamond D6 1200.1

Diamond D6 672S 5x7's with Silk Dome Tweeters for the front

Diamond D6 D661i for the rear

JL 0 Gauge Dual Amp Kit

Monster 400 Series RCAs for Sub

Monster 300 Series RCAs for 4 channel

100ft 12 gauge insulated wire

And I'm debating between the Diamond HP15 or the D615D2.

My total cost (minus the Dynamat and MDF to build the vented enclosure to DAT's standards) comes to be $2,097.90 (with the HP12) or $1887.90 with the D612D2. I'm kind of thinking I'll just do the D6, and then have all D6 everything. Plus it leaves me some extra money for improved deadening and extra expenses.

Edit- Decided I'm gonna wait on a new sub, for now I'll keep my D3 12" Dual 4 ohm, temporarily, for the next couple of months. Instead I'll be spending my money on a Shuriken SK-BT100 and a mount and junk.

 

[Hjames710]

Ok. So this is turning out to be a harder decision than I expected.

I decided to do a double din conversion because I really want navigation, so I think I want the JVC KW-NT800HDT, I love JVC's interface and like the sound I've gotten from them.

I also decided to go with the newer D1000.1 (1100 watts RMS at 1 ohm) and the D600.4 (90 watts RMS x4 at 4 ohms).

I'm gonna go with D3 components in the front (D363.5) and D3 coaxials in the rear (D363.5i). I'm not doing SQ competitions and these will be just fine for me.

And for the Subs I really can't decide. The way I see it I have 3 options,

Match my D312D4 so I have 2 12" Dual 4 ohm subs wired to 1 ohm, and retain some of my trunk space.

Buy 2 D315D4's, so I have 2 15" Dual 4 ohms wired to 1 ohm, and lose majority of my trunk.

Or buy 3 D3 10's. But my amp would be under powering them. If I did 3 Dual 4's, I'd have it at 0.67 ohms, which would be rough on the amp, or 3 Dual 2's, have it at 1.3 ohms, which would be fine on the amp, but would under power the subs. This would probably give me most of my trunk space.

What would you do?

I'll be building vented boxes to Diamonds specs.

Trunk space isn't a huge deal, but I don't like the idea of having none of it. I do use this Rover for skiing pretty often and camping every once in a while.

 

[Hjames710]

Ok... I know I keep saying I've got it figured out, but this time I think I do.

Head Unit- Alpine CDE-149BT which will be replacing my CDE-133BT.

Amp- Alpine PDX-M12, 1200 watts RMS at 2 and 4 ohms.

Sub- Diamond D9 12" Dual 4 ohm

And for now I'm gonna leave the factory speakers until I can afford to replace them with top notch speakers. They still sound great, and have factory amps (somewhere around 30 watts per door). They're Harman/Kardon and are 3 piece speakers.

I'm going with all KnuKonceptz wire. 0 gauge Kolossus from batt. to amp, with 0-4 gauge adapters (extreme overkill, but I wanna be able to add a distribution block in the near future), and 8 gauge speaker wire from the PDX-M12 to the D9. Once again, probably overkill, but it won't hurt.

Who knows though. Every single time I see an Alpine INE-Z928HD, I change my mind and contemplate putting one in my dash. Hmmmm.

 

[Hjames710]

Okay! Ended up scoring a near mint Diamond D5 1200.1 for $175 shipped. And I just ordered a brand new Diamond D912D4 from OCS. Paid a total of $265 there. Can't wait for everything to get here.

On a kind of related note, I had my windows tinted yesterday, 5% on all five rears, and 20% on the front two. Looks super slick.