critique my build please

[ctsquid 10+ year member]

Hello everyone. Let me start by introducing myself. My name is steve, I am relatively new to car audio. I dabbled with it in my last car with a 10'' kicker cvt with a rockford fosgate 300 watt 2 channel amp, and some cheap polk audio door speakers. I was pretty happy with the sound at first but I quickly began to dislike it. I realized it that was just kind of thrown together with no rhyme or reason. So please help me with comments or suggestions on my new car and new build.

My car: 02 wrx wagon

Music: Country, Rock, Ocasional hiphop

Equipment that I already have: Pioneer avh-p3300bt

My wish list

Boston Acoustics SC65

Boston Acoustics SC50

Kicker dx200.4

10'' Pioneer premier is an off the shelf sealed box (i've had this since i was 16)

Kicker zx 500.1

Dynamat on the doors.

I have no idea what to use for 9con RCA's or power supply so I need sugestions for those too.

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[dragnix 5,000+ posts]

wth is 9con RCAs? Power supply? You mean like batteries and alternators?

 

[JoiNt- 10+ year member]

Uhh yea im kinda lost on what your asking also, for that kind of power just one kinetik 800 shud be good if ur stock batt isnt holdin up, with 4G knu wire and power distributor, throw the sub ina ported box to make it bump a lil harder if u want

 

[OmegaBunny 10+ year member]

Not too bad, better than most builds. Not sure about 9con RCA's and power supply either

 

[ctsquid 10+ year member]

Power supply as in the wire that supplies power to the amps. 9 conductor wire. RCA's are RCA's. Anyone have brand preference, pro's and con's? What guage to run? Also, I have an fairly new optima yellowtop batter, I wont be buying a new one.

 

[Joseph7195 10+ year member]

If you end up getting those Boston's , the Kicker amp only puts out around 25 watts/ channel, so I would give them a little more. Maybe 75-100 a piece. Make sure you set the crossover correct, you don't want a 25hz tone going through those speakers at 100 watts, lol

 

[ctsquid 10+ year member]

What amp would you recommend? I'm certainly not set on the kicker brand, it's just a familiar name and I've found them in my price range.

 

[Flex68 10+ year member]

Step up a bit, and I gots a used set of BA Pro60 SE that I might be able to make you a decent deal on....

 

[akheathen Premium Member]

I have an fairly new optima yellowtop batter, I wont be buying a new one.

in my experience, this is a real temporary statement..... just sayin. depending on what year that premier is, i know they do sound well and get loud in both sealed and band-pass (do not actually remember ever doing one vented, but might have) either way ported will get you good output.... and.... i just so happen to have a zx 500.1 laying around, which i might part with in the next week..... not sure why you want 9 con wire for rcas.... just as easy to stick with 3 sets of twisted pair rcas. you want it to be able to handle a little power, so there is no real wire resistance to degrade the signal, and nice rcas also help to block noise. while i have a thing for boston, mostly old school, i happened to check out both infinity and jbl mids i bought for review/testing, and they actually have some real nice response and sensitivity to them. the infinities were a little more powerful in the bass, but the jbl's were crossed over a bit better and blended well. excellent choice in the 20+rms power range. do some more looking around at amps for what you want.

 

[rjay 10+ year member]

I used to have the Boston SC60 for my fronts and was very happy with them, had 50 watts going to them and was plenty for me.

 

[ctsquid 10+ year member]

rjay, would a 5 channel amp like the one you have mentioned in your signature be a good alternative to running two seperate amps?

 

[rjay 10+ year member]

rjay, would a 5 channel amp like the one you have mentioned in your signature be a good alternative to running two seperate amps?

Just depends on what all you are after. It worked for me, I wasn't trying to be extremely loud or anything. It provided me with 50 watts to the components and 450 watts to my sub and that was plenty of power for me. The majority of 5 channel amps I researched provides 300-500 watts to the sub channel and for some people that's not enough. Sometimes I got the urge to want more power, but then quickly realized I don't need it anymore as I am getting older! Wiring up one 5 channel amp or two seperate amps is almost the same, other than the extra ground and distribution block, you don't really save anything on that aspect, but you could save some space depending on the amp sizes. Like Joseph said, I would get more power for the door speakers, about 50-70 watts is ideal. Also you would want to see how cost effective it would be going with either scenario.

 

[ctsquid 10+ year member]

Thanks for the input guys, I'm still searching for an appropriate amp(s). I'll post back up here when I think I've found one I like and a more experienced opinion.

 

[budgetkiller 10+ year member]

I'm no expert by any means, but listen to what these guys say. They haven't steered me wrong. Lol. Also, the only advice I could really give you is to make sure you install everything correctly and carefully. I don't mean in the sense that you don't want your power supply rubbing on a sharp metal corner, that's obvious, what I mean is make sure your speakers are sealed with the door really well. In my car I used some deadener between the speaker and the mount. Tweeter direction often does matter from my experience as well. Lastly, tuning can make or break a system (even literally). Don't clip and take your time. I know this is all pretty basic advice, but I'm hoping it will help you. I always get great advice on here so I'm just trying to return the favor. Thanks!

 

[ctsquid 10+ year member]

I appreciate the help guys, Im still in search for a good 4 channel amp, I will be looking for opinions when I find one that fits my criteria.