First post - need advice

[GTO Dave 10+ year member]

Hey people. Need some advice for my 2001 Silverado. I'm having some problems with my current system in the truck now and am thinking of buying some new stuff. Everything I have in it now was bought new in 2001. Sorry I don't know all the part numbers but I have most of the necessary specs. I have a Boston 10" sub, Boston 6.5 components and Boston 4x6's in the rear doors. HU is an Alpine(CDA-7977) and amp is a 5 channel Alpine V12 MRD F752 75wRMSx4 + 250wRMSx1.

One of my channels is not working consistently on the amp so I was going to send it back to Alpine for a "tune up", if it is in fact the amp. They said it was $70. Good deal (it was a good amp when I bought it$$$) or get new?

Also my crossovers for the front components are broken so I wanted to replace those. I also want to get new 4x6's since the ones now aren't that strong(I'd like them louder).Before I found this board I bought Infinity Kappa speakers but after reading some opinions, I'm not sure if I want to keep them. Should I send them back and get something better? Budget for the speakers would be less than $500.

How important is it to ground RCA cables. I have monster cables(it's a 6 jack into one cable setup) that have a hole to screw to the truck but I never did it.

Everything is hooked up as basic as it gets. I'd guess 4 ohm. Don't know what all that means, just want a nice sounding system. Wish the sub was louder. Maybe that's the best it gets with only 250w?I'm not going to be in any competitions and am not going to use sound deadener. Sorry if I left anything out but I'm not not knowledgeable about what all the specs mean.

Dave

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[GTO Dave 10+ year member]

Bump for some advice....please.....

Dave

 

[TurdFergueson2 5,000+ posts]

Other than replacing your components, what's wrong with your current setup?

 

[BEAVER.989 10+ year member]

The first thing I would do is ensure that all of the wiring is intact. Which speaker is connected to the bad channel? Check the connection at the amp and at the speaker. If everything is good there, make sure that the entire wire is in good shape with no obvious defects. Then, and only then, consider having the amp repaired.

As for the 4x6's... the last thing you want to do is make them louder. This will pull your stage back. Consider louder components up front. In fact, I'd bridge your amp to the components and feed the 4x6's from the rear two channels on your head unit.

 

[GTO Dave 10+ year member]

My current setup I suppose I was never too thrilled over. I spent a decent buck on the stuff and expected more I guess. Just thought my sub should of been louder and same with the back speakers.

Can't run anything off the HU since it doesn't have an internal amp.

Another Question - the Infinity 4x6's I bought are 2 ohm. Can I run those since my amp is 4 ohm? What does this affect?

Dave

 

[mil81 10+ year member]

Are your crossovers broken, as in they don't work? Or is the plastic just broken? I would definately keep all speakers you are running, since they are quite high end stuff. The amp is what I see as the weak point. I know those old Boston subs were some amazing speakers (I have a set of Boston Pro 10's from the same era). They are power hogs though. If you have a small box, as is recomended for those speakers, they take a lot of power to sound good. Therefor I don't think the 250W is doing them justice at all. Get a bigger mono block to run the sub. And I've always liked the sound of their speakers. If your budget is around $700, I would try to get two new amps and learn how to tune everything in nicely. Then I bet you'd be happy with everything you have.

As was stated above, you want your rears to be quieter that the front stage. They are just for fill.

 

[GTO Dave 10+ year member]

Yes crossovers are busted as in parts fell out of them last time I had the door panels off. Suggestions on new ones? Keep the Infinity Kappas?

The more I read this forum I get how 4x6's are kind of useless, but I'd still like to replace the ones I have. I was never happy with them. Any answers on the ohm question? The Infinity's look nice, and can handle a bit more power.

How many watts do you suggest for the Boston sub? I'm not even sure what it's rated at so if anyone can remember....little help?

RCA cable question - do they have to be screwed down? For ground? Can you test them for continuity so I can eliminate that as my problem? How? I assume they're ok because when I switch channels on my amp with them the "dead" speaker changes location.

Thanks again for all your help.

Dave

 

[BEAVER.989 10+ year member]

Yes crossovers are busted as in parts fell out of them last time I had the door panels off. Suggestions on new ones? Keep the Infinity Kappas?
The more I read this forum I get how 4x6's are kind of useless, but I'd still like to replace the ones I have. I was never happy with them. Any answers on the ohm question? The Infinity's look nice, and can handle a bit more power.

How many watts do you suggest for the Boston sub? I'm not even sure what it's rated at so if anyone can remember....little help?

RCA cable question - do they have to be screwed down? For ground? Can you test them for continuity so I can eliminate that as my problem? How? I assume they're ok because when I switch channels on my amp with them the "dead" speaker changes location.

Thanks again for all your help.

Dave

This is a telltale sign that they are not ok, or something further up the chain is not ok. This is not an amp problem if you can switch the dead channel by swapping the orientation of your RCA's.

 

[GTO Dave 10+ year member]

OK. I'll check out the RCA's. Thanks for the tip. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

Any other answers for me on the other questions?

Thanks,

Dave

 

[BEAVER.989 10+ year member]

At the very least, you'll need a new set of components, unless you can find a set of identical passive crossovers for the ones you already have. The 4x6's you have now will work fine, either set...2 ohms is fine as long as your amp is being used in stereo mode.

I'd suggest stepping up to a more powerful amp(ideally, two amps), this way you'll be able to get more out of your front stage and sub... you'll be able to tone down the rear fill via gain settings. I'd try to have somewhere in the neigborhood of 100x2 - 150x2 available for the front, 50x2 - 75x2 for the rear and 400x1 - 500x1 for the sub.

 

[mil81 10+ year member]

400-500 would be alright for the sub. I don't know what it is rated at for RMS power, but I think I'm going to pick up an Alpine MPR-M850. Mind you I have two of these subs, but they should sound pretty nice.

 

[GTO Dave 10+ year member]

Thnaks for the suggestions. I'm looking right now at 2 Alpine amps. PDX 4 channel 150w RMS each and then single channel @ 600w RMS. I guess that would be ok.

Now I'm really considering returning the Infinity components. More I read the more I get the hint they're harsh on the highs. What would you get? I'll spend $400-$500 if they're worth it, but again, I don't have any sound deadener. Will there be a big difference in sound quality beween a good set and a cheaper one?

The answers are much appreciated. Thanks.

Dave

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

My current setup I suppose I was never too thrilled over. I spent a decent buck on the stuff and expected more I guess. Just thought my sub should of been louder and same with the back speakers.
Can't run anything off the HU since it doesn't have an internal amp.

Another Question - the Infinity 4x6's I bought are 2 ohm. Can I run those since my amp is 4 ohm? What does this affect?

Dave

The back speakers should not be loud.

 

[TurdFergueson2 5,000+ posts]

Thnaks for the suggestions. I'm looking right now at 2 Alpine amps. PDX 4 channel 150w RMS each and then single channel @ 600w RMS. I guess that would be ok.
Now I'm really considering returning the Infinity components. More I read the more I get the hint they're harsh on the highs. What would you get? I'll spend $400-$500 if they're worth it, but again, I don't have any sound deadener. Will there be a big difference in sound quality beween a good set and a cheaper one?

The answers are much appreciated. Thanks.

Dave

Not sure how many options you have at 4x6.

 

[GTO Dave 10+ year member]

Not sure how many options you have at 4x6.

I was referring to the front 6.5" speakers.

When you guys say the back shouldn't be loud, do you just turn the gain down on the rear channel or do you adjust the fader so you hear more out of the front? I'm just kind of confused why you wouldn't want much sound out of the back speakers.

Dave