Completely redoing system for new car - Opinions/advice?

[Xally]

Hello,

I recently purchased a 2015 Hyundai Genesis Coupe and the first thing I want to do is get my audio installed. My old system consisted of a Pioneer AVH-X5500BHS head unit, NVX JAD900.5 amp, Rockford Fosgate P165-S/P165 (Components front, coaxials rear), and a single Rockford Fosgate P3D4-12 in a custom built ported enclosure.

I am looking to go a bit bigger with my new car... currently I'm planning on 2 12" subs sealed (just don't have the space for two ported unless I wall the back of the car). I also want better speakers; I really didn't like the P165-S/P165, tweeters were way too harsh and the midbass wasn't too spectacular either. I've already sold the NVX amp and am going to be selling the speakers soon.

Here is what I have in mind after some research:

Headunit: Keep the Pioneer AVH-X5500BHS

Speakers: Polk Audio MM6501's for the front, and I'm thinking about skipping rears completely. With the stock system there isn't really an audible difference fading from 50/50 split to full front.

Subwoofers: Keep the P3-D412 and get a second one. From what I've read, the Rockford subs would likely perform better in a sealed enclosure then others like Sundown, SoundQubed, etc.. Also, I live close to Zenclosures, who make this enclosure for my car. I know custom enclosures are generally better, but that enclosure would match up pretty well with Rockford's specs on sealed enclosures as is, and I don't have access to many woodworking tools currently.

Speaker Amp: Rockford Fosgate P300X2; it seems that this would match up nicely with the Polk's, which 2.7 Ohm... this provides 100x2 @ 4, and 150x2 @ 2 so it is right in that range. If I end up getting rear's I'd likely get the P600X4.

Subwoofer Amp: Rockford Fosgate P1000X1bd would be a good match with the 2 P3D4-12's @ 1 Ohm.

Wiring: I have a lot of various KnuKonceptz OFC wiring from previous installs. I'd order more KnuKonceptz wire to fill in what I need as necessary.

I'm leaning more towards SQ than SPL overall, and I'm looking to keep the budget no more than $1200. Lower is definitely better, and what I have configured above would put me at about $950 shipped, plus whatever wiring I would need to get.

Does anyone have any opinions or advice on this? Feel free to ask questions if you need any more info!

Thanks in advance for any help!

EDIT: I thought I would address why I am leaning towards the Rockford amps. I simply like the way they look, and I like the idea of the C.L.E.A.N. system incorporated (at least from what I've seen). Also, the amps are similarly priced, or at least within ~$25 of some of the more recommended ones I see, and I know they will make more than rated power.

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[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

If you really want SQ, you'd go custom T-line enclosure, and rockford subs and SQ do not go in the same equation, but i'm guessing you want a full rockford setup. P3s will do better in a ported enclosure if you want that deep bass. Properly designed ported boxes can be just as accurate as sealed and sound better all around with more low end extension. If you really want to keep to sealed, you might want to throw more power to them or make the box a bit bigger then manufacturer's specs.

In the future if you really want sound quality, stop changing around speakers and get a Digital Sound Processor like a jbl ms8 or audison bit ten. It'll make the biggest improvement in sound quality. Most double din head units are "toy" units with minimal proper processing. A good signal/source is what makes your whole system sounds good.

 

[Xally]

If you really want SQ, you'd go custom T-line enclosure, and rockford subs and SQ do not go in the same equation, but i'm guessing you want a full rockford setup. P3s will do better in a ported enclosure if you want that deep bass. Properly designed ported boxes can be just as accurate as sealed and sound better all around with more low end extension. If you really want to keep to sealed, you might want to throw more power to them or make the box a bit bigger then manufacturer's specs.
In the future if you really want sound quality, stop changing around speakers and get a Digital Sound Processor like a jbl ms8 or audison bit ten. It'll make the biggest improvement in sound quality. Most double din head units are "toy" units with minimal proper processing. A good signal/source is what makes your whole system sounds good.

I'm pretty indifferent as far as brand goes; I just chose another P3 since I already have one, so throwing in a second one would likely be cheaper than buying two from a different brand.

I mainly wanted to stay sealed to maintain some space in the vehicle; I see a lot of the subs requiring 4+ cubic ft ported, and the only way I see that realistically happening in my car is removing the back seat and walling it, or completely losing my trunk, which isn't an option for me (I don't need a ton of space in my trunk, but I do need some!). But if you can recommend a good sub that wouldn't take an extraordinary amount of space then I'm definitely open to suggestions.

I should clarify more on what I am looking for. I'm really not looking for high end sq, my budget doesn't allow for that and a LOT of work would need to be done blocking road noise for it to matter in my car. What I meant by "I'm leaning more towards SQ than SPL overall" is that I'd rather have something that has acceptable sq rather than a high power, high spl builds. For example, a lot of the builds I see around my town that people think are good are just stock speakers with 4 15's signaled from a LOC.

Thanks for the feedback! I'll definitely look into a DSP in the future, but right now I just can't really afford one. I want to get a good base going to work with, and then maybe in a year or so I can add something like a DSP.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

you dont need to get two subs. A single sub in a sealed box will not be impressing anybody SQ or SPL wise. However, a single sub in properly designed ported box will work wonders. For money reasons i'd say just keep the sub and get a good box along with a proper amount of power. There's a thing called box/impedance rise that really kills the output, read up on that. Another thing to consider is where the sub is firing at, makes a big difference too.

SQL brands under 200 dollars would be C2 audio threatcon 2, american bass xfl, soundqubed hds300. I know the threatcon can get loud and sound good in a small 1 cubic feet, sealed box and get deeper bass in a bigger sealed box and even better when ported, totally beat out alpine type Rs and type Rs mop the floor with P3s.

For high SQ, there's dayton audio HO, dayton audio ultimax, tc sounds epic 9 and if you stretch your budget, there's image dynamics ID or IDQ or a used JL W6(craigslist)

 

[Xally]

you dont need to get two subs. A single sub in a sealed box will not be impressing anybody SQ or SPL wise. However, a single sub in properly designed ported box will work wonders. For money reasons i'd say just keep the sub and get a good box along with a proper amount of power. There's a thing called box/impedance rise that really kills the output, read up on that. Another thing to consider is where the sub is firing at, makes a big difference too.
SQL brands under 200 dollars would be C2 audio threatcon 2, american bass xfl, soundqubed hds300. I know the threatcon can get loud and sound good in a small 1 cubic feet, sealed box and get deeper bass in a bigger sealed box and even better when ported, totally beat out alpine type Rs and type Rs mop the floor with P3s.

For high SQ, there's dayton audio HO, dayton audio ultimax, tc sounds epic 9 and if you stretch your budget, there's image dynamics ID or IDQ or a used JL W6(craigslist)

Thanks again, if I were to run a single sub my budget for it would be ~$350. Some of the well reviewed ones I saw around this range were the SSA Icon and the IDQ that you mentioned. I would end up building a box with that option, so I'd have to see if I can find some way to get access to some tools again. Alternatively, I could get 2 c2 threatcon 2's and get the Zenclosure box (1 cu sealed per sub) and be done. Do you think either option would be a much better choice than the other? I also noticed the C2's seem to be out of stock everywhere that I checked right now though, so that may not be an option.

 

[timhof13 10+ year member]

Contact Murphy and get a tantric md 12 you will be very happy, btw I love the c2's

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Thanks again, if I were to run a single sub my budget for it would be ~$350. Some of the well reviewed ones I saw around this range were the SSA Icon and the IDQ that you mentioned. I would end up building a box with that option, so I'd have to see if I can find some way to get access to some tools again. Alternatively, I could get 2 c2 threatcon 2's and get the Zenclosure box (1 cu sealed per sub) and be done. Do you think either option would be a much better choice than the other? I also noticed the C2's seem to be out of stock everywhere that I checked right now though, so that may not be an option.

c2s do very well in 1 cubic feet sealed enclosures. Why not get a 15 in a sealed enclosure, they still have it. It'll be almost as good as 2 12s and a 15" sealed enclosure is very easy to build.

 

[Xally]

c2s do very well in 1 cubic feet sealed enclosures. Why not get a 15 in a sealed enclosure, they still have it. It'll be almost as good as 2 15s and a 15" sealed enclosure is very easy to build.

I honestly don't think a 15 would fit easily in my trunk. I only have about 16" of height to work with, but I may be able to take out the spare and drop the floor a bit, I haven't really checked that yet. The opening for the trunk is only 14"-15" though iirc, and that's at an optimum angle, so it'd be hard to get large enclosures in it as well unless I assembled it in the trunk. I'll take some measurements and look into a sealed 15 as an option.

 

[Xally]

you dont need to get two subs. A single sub in a sealed box will not be impressing anybody SQ or SPL wise. However, a single sub in properly designed ported box will work wonders. For money reasons i'd say just keep the sub and get a good box along with a proper amount of power. There's a thing called box/impedance rise that really kills the output, read up on that. Another thing to consider is where the sub is firing at, makes a big difference too.
SQL brands under 200 dollars would be C2 audio threatcon 2, american bass xfl, soundqubed hds300. I know the threatcon can get loud and sound good in a small 1 cubic feet, sealed box and get deeper bass in a bigger sealed box and even better when ported, totally beat out alpine type Rs and type Rs mop the floor with P3s.

For high SQ, there's dayton audio HO, dayton audio ultimax, tc sounds epic 9 and if you stretch your budget, there's image dynamics ID or IDQ or a used JL W6(craigslist)

I'm now looking at 2 10's sealed ~0.5 - 0.7 cu ft/ea, and it looks like the Dayton HO's would do nicely. Is there any sub you would recommend that would perform better in this setup?

EDIT: This is the sub http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-rss265ho-44-10-reference-ho-dvc-subwoofer--295-463 $129 each with coupon. Would have 2 wired down to a total 1 ohm, probably on that P1000X1bd

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

I'm now looking at 2 10's sealed ~0.5 - 0.7 cu ft/ea, and it looks like the Dayton HO's would do nicely. Is there any sub you would recommend that would perform better in this setup?
EDIT: This is the sub Dayton Audio RSS265HO-44 10" Reference HO DVC Subwoofer $129 each with coupon. Would have 2 wired down to a total 1 ohm, probably on that P1000X1bd

dayton HOs are good subs that do well in moderate sized enclosures. It really depends on what your goals are and how much space you are actually willing to give up. As in volume L x W x H

 

[Xally]

dayton HOs are good subs that do well in moderate sized enclosures. It really depends on what your goals are and how much space you are actually willing to give up. As in volume L x W x H

My fiancee would prefer to keep the subs installed flush underneath the rear deck, so id be using the space in the pass through. Definitely won't fit anything bigger than 10s, and I have a total of 1.43 internal cu ft to work with if I slope the back of the box with the seats, or 1.22 if I don't. I'd rather not, because the only tool I have to work with is a handheld jigsaw, so simpler is better. Itd also give me a place to mount my amps. I was also wanting to do sealed because of the simpler construction, but don't necessarily have to.

My goal is to have nice sounding, punchy bass in the car. I'm definitely not competing or anything like that, and don't really care about having the loudest system. We mainly listen to metalcore and post-hardcore music, the only other thing would be maybe remix albums of certain bands, for example Asking Alexandria's "Stepped Up and Scratched" comes to mind.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

My fiancee would prefer to keep the subs installed flush underneath the rear deck, so id be using the space in the pass through. Definitely won't fit anything bigger than 10s, and I have a total of 1.43 internal cu ft to work with if I slope the back of the box with the seats, or 1.22 if I don't. I'd rather not, because the only tool I have to work with is a handheld jigsaw, so simpler is better. Itd also give me a place to mount my amps. I was also wanting to do sealed because of the simpler construction, but don't necessarily have to.
My goal is to have nice sounding, punchy bass in the car. I'm definitely not competing or anything like that, and don't really care about having the loudest system. We mainly listen to metalcore and post-hardcore music, the only other thing would be maybe remix albums of certain bands, for example Asking Alexandria's "Stepped Up and Scratched" comes to mind.

2 ho 10s would be fine for that. They have good upper end midbass extension as well as low end. Feed them plenty of power though, 1500 watts rms. If you are going sealed

 

[Popwarhomie 5,000+ posts]

Just wanted to say nice car. You get the 3.8 or turbo 4? I was really wanting one for a while.

 

[blazian87 10+ year member]

My fiancee would prefer to keep the subs installed flush underneath the rear deck, so id be using the space in the pass through. Definitely won't fit anything bigger than 10s, and I have a total of 1.43 internal cu ft to work with if I slope the back of the box with the seats, or 1.22 if I don't. I'd rather not, because the only tool I have to work with is a handheld jigsaw, so simpler is better. Itd also give me a place to mount my amps. I was also wanting to do sealed because of the simpler construction, but don't necessarily have to.
My goal is to have nice sounding, punchy bass in the car. I'm definitely not competing or anything like that, and don't really care about having the loudest system. We mainly listen to metalcore and post-hardcore music, the only other thing would be maybe remix albums of certain bands, for example Asking Alexandria's "Stepped Up and Scratched" comes to mind.

I agree with what jeff is saying. Ported can actually have less distortion than sealed and requires less power too. I can vouch for the dayton HO 10's as I've been running it for the past 4 months or so. They do excellent in .7 cu ft each ported. They're rated at 600w but you don't really need all of it if you run ported. Very clean and articulate sub. Can't go wrong for the money. I guess for your music tastes, sealed can work. I understand you have very limited space requirements so this sub would be perfect for you. These subs honestly do better in ported though because the low end is lacking without it. If you don't care to have more low end depth, then sealed would work. These subs are still very punchy even with ported so don't be scared!

oh yea.. nice car btw lol

 

[nauc 10+ year member]

Q12, big sealed box

Q12 - Fi Car Audio Store

look into Image Dynamics for speakers, whatever your budget is... https://www.woofersetc.com/c-40-65.aspx?manufacturerid=36