Best bang for my $$

[Gerry]

Hey CarAudio,

I currently have an Altima Coupe with an Avic F700BT unit installed in the dash. I am looking to upgrade from my BOSE components to aftermarket to get away from the proprietary BOSE amp/speaker quality issues i've been having.

I am looknig for something quality that will hopefully sound better than the BOSE setup currently does. However I am on a budget, I can only afford to invest 300-400 dollars on this right now and from my current (newb) knowledge I will need a pair of components with an amp of some sort (I am seriously newb when it comes to amps for components etc).

The budget mentioned above, I am hoping will be sufficient for a set of components for the fronts and an amp. I want to use my BOSE rear speakers as long as possible (they still work, but I've blown my fronts already after 1yr =/ )

So to get to my point, what is the best component set and amp that I can get for about $300-400 that will fit in my car?

I listen to a lot of jazz (dont judge me //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif ) and am a bit of a freak about 'clean' sounding audio, I want something crisp and loud that can handle silence and breaks in the music without noise/interference. This type of jazz/raggae also has alot of mid-range bass (funky arse bass player //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/cool.gif.3bcaf8f141236c00f8044d07150e34f7.gif )

Click to read more...

 

[nickolas_j_t 10+ year member]

Used P400-4 off of eghey. Used (but make sure they are working) alpine speakers. I got an amp, and 4 coaxials (2 new) for $200-210.

 

[Gerry]

I am not interested in buying used products.

Anyone else feel like chiming in? I was thinking of raising my budget a bit to get some BA Pro60's I can get a good deal on them, opinions/thoughts/concerns?

 

[traksta15 10+ year member]

I LOVE my boston acoustic z6's I got them for $375 off a member here, search the classifieds for bnib (brand new in box) deals, then just find an amp.

 

[cx-7heaven 10+ year member]

People have been saying very good things about the pioneer premier prs components, boston is also a very good choice. I loved my alpine type x components that I had(previous gen model) Very open and clean sounding speakers there. spx-177r is the model number on those.

 

[cx-7heaven 10+ year member]

As far as an amp goes, I love my Sundown 100.2's, one would be enough for any of the sets mentioned so far.

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

If your into SQ you'll want to ditch the passive crossovers...and go active in your front stage...night and day difference in SQ.....so look for a 4ch amp with active capabilities...for your componets...the bostons PRO's are nice componet speakers...

 

[cx-7heaven 10+ year member]

he claims complete noob status, I wouldn't mess with active right now, lets keep it simple and go with a nice passive set

 

[FoxPro5 5,000+ posts]

I listen to a lot of jazz (dont judge me //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif ) and am a bit of a freak about 'clean' sounding audio, I want something crisp and loud that can handle silence and breaks in the music without noise/interference. This type of jazz/raggae also has alot of mid-range bass (funky arse bass player //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/cool.gif.3bcaf8f141236c00f8044d07150e34f7.gif )

Science shows you can only hear so much "dirty." For most, that's about 3% total harmonic distortion. This is important to consider because while speakers will have the most audible distortion in a system, you also need to optimize the install, tuning and have ample amplifier headroom.

Any speaker will give you "crisp" and "loud' if you do the above. "Crisp" is 100% psycoacoustic, to me. So buy some speakers that sound good to you before you buy them and tune your system "crispy." Loudness has nothing to do with speaker choice. It has to do with the noise floor of the vehicle, quality of the music you listen to, and again, how the system is set up and optimized (tuned).

I'm not going to tell you which speakers to buy because I can't hear your ears. And even if I could, this "crispness" you speak of might sound like shit to me. So, buy speakers based on 1) their objective testing results and or modeling of the driver 2) what you ears tell you. If you cannot hear the speakers before you buy, study Klippel tests, graphs, and model them up so you have a good idea what to expect.

Sorry for the long reply, but this is the best information you'll get on this form. The rest will be a bunch of nonsense.

 

[FoxPro5 5,000+ posts]

If your into SQ you'll want to ditch the passive crossovers...and go active in your front stage...night and day difference in SQ.....so look for a 4ch amp with active capabilities...for your componets...the bostons PRO's are nice componet speakers...

Case in point: nonsense like this. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif Just ignore this crap.

 

[Racerx250 10+ year member]

I haven't heard them personally but the polk sr series have gotten quite nice reviews.

As far as boston pro's, I had em. While they did sound good, there lacking in the midbass area.

 

[Gerry]

hhmmm ya good mid-bass is pretty important for my style of music, i will have to go to a higher end audio shop and check out how these things sound i guess.

on the amp, when i see 200.2 or 200.4, the # after the period is the number of channels the amp supports right? Assuming i'm correct, would it be better to buy 2x 200.2 (one for front and one for the rear) or a 200.4?

(I know these r basics questions, be gentle lol) //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/hide.gif.2d479cfd917eedfe201353b91522ceab.gif

 

[mike11202 10+ year member]

CDT HD62 will work great for what your looking for

 

[snakeye 10+ year member]

I have to concur, CDT's sound awesome and have some great mid bass

 

[flyboyy 10+ year member]

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