Audiophile Full Setup, What should I buy?

[TheSeeker 10+ year member]

Hi, I am restoring a 77 vw bus and the interior is completely stripped and I am doing the new interior custom with a friend of mine. I really appreciate high quality audio and would like a new system that is cost-effective. I would like a head unit, 2 speakers up front, 2 speakers in the back, and a subwoofer, plus all the necessary amplifiers. There are so many choices its hard to make a decision. For the head unit I want something with a usb hookup in the back, a cd player, aux input, hd radio, and a remote control. I would like to spend around $500 on this if that is reasonable. If i can get some thing much better for say $150 more, i am looking for optimum cost/quality ratio so if that fits ill go for it.

I would really appreciate any advice since ive never done this before.

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[Bumpin' Goalie 10+ year member]

A mono amp for the sub, a 4-channel for the other 4 speakers, headunit, sub, 2 pairs of speaker (components or coaxials).

That;d be your list. You'll also need wiring and a box for the sub of course.

Look into Phoenix Gold for budget sound.

 

[Side Show 10+ year member]

what sort of coin do you have to play with? audiophile system in a bus could be very expensive. but you'll be able to get it loud and sounding nice for a decent price

 

[Bumpin' Goalie 10+ year member]

what sort of coin do you have to play with? audiophile system in a bus could be very expensive. but you'll be able to get it loud and sounding nice for a decent price

OP said $500 or slightly above. Hoping he'll add a zero to it for "audiophile" purposes //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Side Show 10+ year member]

geez i thort that was just for the headunit..... wowzers

 

[mossberg385t 10+ year member]

Blues Car Audio

Ray sent this to me.

Everything is designed and engineered in house by us and EVERYTHING is made in the USA. This is

even higher quality product than the original Blues, and we have tested them

against all the major high end brands, Focal K2 3 way (1899.99), Dynaudio 3

way, Hybrid, and Hertz audio. We outperform all of these brands in several

different ways with the Dynaudio three way component system coming the

closest in SQ to ours. The mid and high frequency is very close with each

ours and the Dyanudio having subtle differences, but the big difference is

in the low frequency and the efficiency. Our 6.5 goes lower in frequency

than any of these and we are roughly 4 dB more efficient that n the Dynaudio

three ways system(1450.00). We are able to cover the full frequency

bandwidth with just our 2 way system and offer it in a retail price range

similar to the Dynaudio 2 way system (830.00-880.00).

 

[TheSeeker 10+ year member]

I guess you could say I'm a audiophile on a budget, I dont have a trust-fund from daddy warbucks. Why not a 5-channel amp? Whats the difference in price and quality between coaxial and component?

 

[mossberg385t 10+ year member]

Blues Car Audio
Ray sent this to me.

Everything is designed and engineered in house by us and EVERYTHING is made in the USA. This is

even higher quality product than the original Blues, and we have tested them

against all the major high end brands, Focal K2 3 way (1899.99), Dynaudio 3

way, Hybrid, and Hertz audio. We outperform all of these brands in several

different ways with the Dynaudio three way component system coming the

closest in SQ to ours. The mid and high frequency is very close with each

ours and the Dyanudio having subtle differences, but the big difference is

in the low frequency and the efficiency. Our 6.5 goes lower in frequency

than any of these and we are roughly 4 dB more efficient that n the Dynaudio

three ways system(1450.00). We are able to cover the full frequency

bandwidth with just our 2 way system and offer it in a retail price range

similar to the Dynaudio 2 way system (830.00-880.00).

unfortunately i just noticed your budget :/ the 10s are $183 ea as far as i know though, component sets are ~$800

 

[Bumpin' Goalie 10+ year member]

5-channel could work as well.

Components are slightly more expensive, but offer the ability to locate the tweeter yourself. They usually come with a passive crossover.

 

[TheSeeker 10+ year member]

ill raise my budget to $700, you guys are very persuasive //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif Ive heard Kappa Infinity speakers and perfect subs are good. Infinity 62.9i_692.9I_BA460 (629i_6929i_ba460) - Amp + Speakers Combo - Sonic Electronix what do you think of that combo? I dont have 800 for a set without and amp or head unit. I think the right head unit will be harder to find than the right set of speakers, but what do i know. Can you guys give me some brands or websites with good deals please? Id also prefer coaxials

 

[Bumpin' Goalie 10+ year member]

The classifieds here can be bountiful.

As far as sites:

sonicelectronix

woofersetc

subtilisaudio

partsexpress

knukonceptz

Those work pretty well.

 

[EvilSquirrel 10+ year member]

why a 77 bus???

theyre like the ugly fatchick bus.

atleast the early bays are like a fatchick with a pretty face. lol

I assume your still going to use the type 4 motor? IDK how many options your going to have for more power.

the biggest type 1 alt ive seen is only 95 amps, which should be enough for what you want.

that should be your main concern.

Transporter or Westfalia?

I've always thought about turning the storage under my westys' rear seat/bed into a sub box.

up underneath the dash you could make little mounts for 6x9s, 6 1/2s, whatever, honestly theres not much area to cleanly mount speakers.

my Westfalias got 2 6x9s under the dash, and 2 6x9s under the rear shelf thats over the bed.

 

[Side Show 10+ year member]

start off with a headunit and speakers, then if you want more volume, get yaself an amp for your speakers, if you then decide you want more bass, buy yourself a sub and another amp to run it, have you had any systems in any of your cars that you think sounded nice?

 

[Brian_smith06 10+ year member]

for 700 a true audiophile setup is somewhat out of the question. However, given your budget we can def help you get something that will sound great.

There is a 5 channel US amp you can find in classifieds from time to time for around 250. It will give you nice clean power and enough to do what you would like.

So this leaves you with 450. Get a decent deck. There are plenty of budget decks around 150 so that leaves you with 300 for all your speakers.

Now for decent speakers on a budget, I would say look into phoenix gold rsd's. They can be had for like 70 a pair shipped so thats 140 for the pair. Leaving you with 160 for sub(s). Try to find something used on here for around that and try to build a box

I did leave wiring out but decent wiring can be had off of here or even ebay for pretty cheap. Try to stick with ofc wire and not cca

 

[EvilSquirrel 10+ year member]

i say...

throw a subaru motor in the rear,

rig up 1 or 2 HO Alts.

put sound deadening material everywhere

wall it off

4 18s //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif