Been out of the game for years, help me pick out a new system.

[n01d3x]

As the title says I have been out of the car audio game for years, over a decade actually. Things change so quick I don't even know where to start my research. I'm leaning towards the pioneer 80prs for the hu. That's about as far as I am. I'm looking to be decently loud and clear. I'm thinking 10" subs but could do 12"s. I need some advice on where to start for the front stage, subs and amps for both. I used to be pure spl and ran 6k watts. I don't want to mess with all that any more lol. I'd like to keep my total watts relatively low, if I have to upgrade my alternator I will, but would rather not. This is all going into a 2008 corolla. My budget is somewhere around $2k, though lower is better and could go higher if it's really worth it to get what I want. Also, are those front kick panel boxes still worth it?

Thanks!

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[JohnKuthe]

I'm currently running an Alpine CDE-153BT HU and four Alpine SPR-69 and two Alpine SPR-50 and I was just out listening to it. It kicks some serious butt for consumer level electronics! You can get all that for around 2K, I'd think.

John Kuthe...

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

As the title says I have been out of the car audio game for years, over a decade actually. Things change so quick I don't even know where to start my research. I'm leaning towards the pioneer 80prs for the hu. That's about as far as I am. I'm looking to be decently loud and clear. I'm thinking 10" subs but could do 12"s. I need some advice on where to start for the front stage, subs and amps for both. I used to be pure spl and ran 6k watts. I don't want to mess with all that any more lol. I'd like to keep my total watts relatively low, if I have to upgrade my alternator I will, but would rather not. This is all going into a 2008 corolla. My budget is somewhere around $2k, though lower is better and could go higher if it's really worth it to get what I want. Also, are those front kick panel boxes still worth it?Thanks!

I can help you. And your not more than 3 hours from me 2k I can set you up pretty nice a pair of 10s I have now. But if you want 12s. I can order and ship them to you direct. Same with wire and a small extra battery. If you stay around 2500 rms or less you can prolly not need to upgrade the alt pm me. I'll give you my number. We can talk if you like

 

[macsdad 10+ year member]

I can help you. And your not more than 3 hours from me 2k I can set you up pretty nice a pair of 10s I have now. But if you want 12s. I can order and ship them to you direct. Same with wire and a small extra battery. If you stay around 2500 rms or less you can prolly not need to upgrade the alt pm me. I'll give you my number. We can talk if you like

Good guy to deal with, has helped out more times than I care to count.

 

[Austin175 10+ year member]

I can help you. And your not more than 3 hours from me 2k I can set you up pretty nice a pair of 10s I have now. But if you want 12s. I can order and ship them to you direct. Same with wire and a small extra battery. If you stay around 2500 rms or less you can prolly not need to upgrade the alt pm me. I'll give you my number. We can talk if you like

Second on Jim being stand up guy, bought from him many of times an he's very helpful as well an could get you setup right an within budget.

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

As the title says I have been out of the car audio game for years, over a decade actually. Things change so quick I don't even know where to start my research. I'm leaning towards the pioneer 80prs for the hu. That's about as far as I am. I'm looking to be decently loud and clear. I'm thinking 10" subs but could do 12"s. I need some advice on where to start for the front stage, subs and amps for both. I used to be pure spl and ran 6k watts. I don't want to mess with all that any more lol. I'd like to keep my total watts relatively low, if I have to upgrade my alternator I will, but would rather not. This is all going into a 2008 corolla. My budget is somewhere around $2k, though lower is better and could go higher if it's really worth it to get what I want. Also, are those front kick panel boxes still worth it?Thanks!

Can't go wrong with the 80prs.

Power is cheap and single subs that'll hang with 1000W in a good ported box are common as dirt. No need to use multiple subs if you don't intend to upgrade electrical.

As far as the Q-form kick panels I'd swear by them, just give them a layer or two of some quality deadener and they're super convenient, image nicely, and look professional.

Lastly old school amps can be had super cheap on the used (compared to MSRP back in the day), if you ever had your eye on something 15 years ago and not the budget shop around eBay and you can probably pick it up for peanuts

 

[dsw1204]

It really sounds like you should take up mylows10's recommendation. It sounds like he'll do you right with the equipment and keep you at your budget. But, if you cannot meet him, then this is my recommendation:

Pioneer 80PRS or Alpine CDE-HD148BT (because it is much easier to use and navigate and HD radio built in) $242 - $162 depending on which one at Amazon

DD Audio LEM-12 12" sub with enclosure - $270 from DD Audio

Arc Audio XDi 1200.6 6-channel amp (plenty of power if you bridge the two sub channels) - $700 There's a new one on Ebay for $700 w/a best offer

Morel Tempo Ultra 602 two-way components for front stage - I have these and are fricking amazing. Highly recommended. - $265 on Ebay w/s best offer

Helix DSP - $485 on Ebay w/a best offer - and if you get the Helix DSP then there's no reason to get the Pioneer 80PRS because of the redundancy

There you have it. I know it's only one sub, but had to keep it under budget. All pretty top notch equipment, although, and all for under $2000. But, because of all the endorsements for mylows10, I'd trust him and you'd probably not go wrong.

 

[BCotrell]

You can take the dog out the pound but you can't take the pound out the dog. Basically, I'm saying once you get this dialed in lower watt 2k system in your car you don't think it's conceivable that you're gonna have a flashback to your 6k Spl days and wish you had a little more. That said, wouldn't it be safer than sorry to consider at least a respun factory alternator that was higher than 80 amps? They got some 130's on eBay that would at least give you some space to play around a little more wattage.

 

[n01d3x]

Thanks for all the responses. I'm gonna do some more research, but mylows10 I may be getting in touch with you soon. Thanks ds1204 for the recommendations, I'll check them out. I'm clueless on what a dsp is, I'll have to check them out. I'm not against getting a higher amp alt, I just really don't want to deal with all that power any more. I'm in a completely different place in my life than I was in my spl obsessed days. I have no desire to go there again. I'm older now and kind of over all that. Now I just want my system to sound the best I can get it. I don't even really listen to the same style of music as I did back then. But yeah, if needed I wouldn't be against upgrading my alt.

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

Thanks for all the responses. I'm gonna do some more research, but mylows10 I may be getting in touch with you soon. Thanks ds1204 for the recommendations, I'll check them out. I'm clueless on what a dsp is, I'll have to check them out. I'm not against getting a higher amp alt, I just really don't want to deal with all that power any more. I'm in a completely different place in my life than I was in my spl obsessed days. I have no desire to go there again. I'm older now and kind of over all that. Now I just want my system to sound the best I can get it. I don't even really listen to the same style of music as I did back then. But yeah, if needed I wouldn't be against upgrading my alt.

I'm kind of in the same boat. But I have a big system because of sponsors and being acrep Even tho I don't listen to it very loud often But anyway. Feel free to hit me up with any questions. I'll do my best to help you get what you want I Pmed you my cell number last night. It might be easier that way for both of us to figure out what's best of your needs

 

[dbjunior 10+ year member]

I'd definitely keep a nice chunk of the budget for deadener and other things to make for a good front stage.

 

[The_Quiet_One 10+ year member]

What vehicle are you looking at installing in or did I somehow miss it somewhere?

 

[n01d3x]

I mentioned it in the first post, but a 2008 corolla. I've read up on dsp's and to be honest they kind of scare me lol. I'm not gonna have time to sit and mess with tuning the system for long. I'm not really an audiophile and kind of just want "plug and play". I've done 4 or 5 builds lon ago, but tuning just meant building the right box for my subs lol. I don't really want to pay someone to install or tune anything for me, as I would rather spend that on equipment. I'm ok with the install part, deadening, wiring etc. This tuning stuff seems complicated. I was a "presets" kind of guy with eq's back in the day.

 

[The_Quiet_One 10+ year member]

I mentioned it in the first post, but a 2008 corolla. I've read up on dsp's and to be honest they kind of scare me lol. I'm not gonna have time to sit and mess with tuning the system for long. I'm not really an audiophile and kind of just want "plug and play". I've done 4 or 5 builds lon ago, but tuning just meant building the right box for my subs lol. I don't really want to pay someone to install or tune anything for me, as I would rather spend that on equipment. I'm ok with the install part, deadening, wiring etc. This tuning stuff seems complicated. I was a "presets" kind of guy with eq's back in the day.

My bad lol. somehow I missed it...

Ditch your rear speakers. Buy a decent set of 6.5 component sets. On a budget I would suggest JBL/Inifinity as a solid bang for buck brand with a decent pedigree.

Amps - you could get any decent 2 channel and a monoblock or go for an all in one route though it may be difficult to find one for your exact situation.

Subs - I would go with a 600W to 1500W single 12. Do you have preferences as Sound quality oriented, American Made, etc? There's tonsof good mid level 12"s out there.

2 grand can go a very long way to making a decent system especially if your willing to buy used.

 

[n01d3x]

No worries. 2k isn't set in stone either. Budget isn't really my number one priority. My priorities are clean loud music. I listen to christian music 100% of the time, this ranges though, from rap, to rock, to more of a contemporary sound. I need something that sounds great with everything. I want more SQ but with a descent level of bass. Ease of use is important as well. I mostly only listen to music loud driving to and from work. Otherwise I have my kids in the car and keep the volume much lower. If adding another grand got me to where I want to be more easily, it wouldn't be that big of a deal for me.