First post- opinions on my potential setup. SQ, Processors, components, Jeep.

[lameduck 10+ year member]

First post here! I know a decent amount about car audio, but i have some questions i cant seem to get a straight answer on, or maybe im misunderstanding some things. I've been doing a lotttt of forum reading on all these, but i still have some questions and i'm seeking some opinions on them pertaining to my setup.

Vehicle

2004 Grand Cherokee (WJ) with a base model system factory. (136 AMP Alt, stock)

My plans-

Headunit

Already have a Pioneer Premier DEH-P980BT from my Mustang and i will be listening to the radio on it occasionally, but mostly good quality CD's and a lot of Pandora(3.5mm jack) and IPod(proper connector). It has (3) 5v RCA outs (Front, Rear, and Sub).

Front

Polk MM-series 6x9 3way OR Polk Component MM-series 6.5, UNDECIDED.

Some sort of replacement for the dash tweeters, or just run the Component's tweets up there?

Rear

Polk DXI-series 6.5 2ways

(pretty sold on using Polk speakers)

4 Channel Amp

Already have a Polk PA-660 that i got a good deal with Best Buy. I try to stay away from BB for car audio, but it was an undamaged, unused open box item, i had gift cards and reward certs and it made the purchase veryyy cheap, plus got a 2yr replacement warranty.

Subs

Already have a new pair of RE Audio SE12-D4's (the old school versions) that will be wired at 1ohm/1500watts and put in a custom sealed box that will be built by a local shop that does great work.

Sub Amp

US Amps XT4000D

Wiring

I think i will be using a Tsunami 2AWG wire, into a Tsunami distribution block sending out 4awg to the amps (and maybe other things, depending on answers to questions coming up). I think ill be using KnuKonceptz 12 gauge speaker wire, and 10gauge for the subs speaker wire.

Okay, so here's my goals:

I'm aiming for pretty good SQ on an average budget, and slowly accumulating parts.. It's a daily driver and i wont be doing any serious competitions. I listen to mostly Rock, Metal, Ska, and a good bit of bassy rap and "dubstep", and on occasion, country and symphony orchestra...haha

Questions

-Should i go with the nice 6x9s, or are the component speakers worth the extra money for this setup?

-What should i do about the dash speakers/tweeters? Can i run those off just the H/U or will it conflict?

-The MM-series of Polk are 2.7ohm and my 4ch amp can run 2 or 4 ohm... how do i wire the crossovers to the amp properly for that?

-Signal processors- Are they worth it on this setup? I cant figure out if these are just for stock-H/U's or if they really help with SQ with a aftermarket H/U. I'm not looking to buy one of the ridiculous priced $800 ones, but looking in the $300 range if they are worth it. I thought the Epicenter Plus looked good, but then again, i dont really know exactly what i'm looking at, and didnt like that it didnt use RCAs.

-The sub box i seem to have settled on a proper sealed box, firing down as sealed is great for SQ, I dont want to use up all my cargo area, and i want the subs to be protected. Another option is a subs down, port back, ported box, tuned around 33-35..but idk how well that will do for SQ..

I'm sure i'll have more questions in the future, but these are the current big ones. I tried to put links for all the pieces, but i'm limited to how many URL's i can post i guess..

I appreciate any answers/opinions i get, and thank you!

Click to read more...

 

[lameduck 10+ year member]

Anybody?

 

[Bettr n' Revrse 5,000+ posts]

What are we doin in here?

 

[Tenacious]

Questions

-Should i go with the nice 6x9s, or are the component speakers worth the extra money for this setup?

-What should i do about the dash speakers/tweeters? Can i run those off just the H/U or will it conflict?

-The MM-series of Polk are 2.7ohm and my 4ch amp can run 2 or 4 ohm... how do i wire the crossovers to the amp properly for that?

-Signal processors- Are they worth it on this setup? I cant figure out if these are just for stock-H/U's or if they really help with SQ with a aftermarket H/U. I'm not looking to buy one of the ridiculous priced $800 ones, but looking in the $300 range if they are worth it. I thought the Epicenter Plus looked good, but then again, i dont really know exactly what i'm looking at, and didnt like that it didnt use RCAs.

-The sub box i seem to have settled on a proper sealed box, firing down as sealed is great for SQ, I dont want to use up all my cargo area, and i want the subs to be protected. Another option is a subs down, port back, ported box, tuned around 33-35..but idk how well that will do for SQ..

I'm sure i'll have more questions in the future, but these are the current big ones. I tried to put links for all the pieces, but i'm limited to how many URL's i can post i guess..

I appreciate any answers/opinions i get, and thank you!

1. I'd go for the components. You don't really need a 3 way speaker if you have a sub.

2. I'd disconnect the dash speakers and mount the component's tweeters where the stock tweeters are. Later on you could look into replacing the dash speakers if you wanted to, but it's probably not neccessary

3. Wire like you normally would? Just set your amps gain to give the proper amount of power

4. You probably won't need a signal processor. Install everything else first and see if you like how it sounds.

5. Sealed would be fine, ported would be louder. A good ported box doesn't sacrifice SQ, however you will lose some of your 60-80Hz output being tuned at 33-35 Hz (which is a good tuning for your music taste)

Other comments:

I'd set the LPF on the sub amp to about 80Hz and the HPF on the mids/highs amp to the same.

 

[brandonkain82 10+ year member]

Anybody?

U got to give it time kid. U will get your anwsers but not overnight. So sit back and relax

 

[Bettr n' Revrse 5,000+ posts]

What was stated pretty well takes care of that... Sounds like your going for more of a loud daily setup though OP not pure SQ

 

[lameduck 10+ year member]

1. I'd go for the components. You don't really need a 3 way speaker if you have a sub.
2. I'd disconnect the dash speakers and mount the component's tweeters where the stock tweeters are. Later on you could look into replacing the dash speakers if you wanted to, but it's probably not neccessary

3. You probably won't need a signal processor. Install everything else first and see if you like how it sounds.

4. Sealed would be fine, ported would be louder. A good ported box doesn't sacrifice SQ, however you will lose some of your 60-80Hz output being tuned at 33-35 Hz (which is a good tuning for your music taste)

Appreciate the reply!

For a ported box, will port back and subs downfiring still sound good? I plan on sound deadening most of the rear cargo area, sides, hatch and doors..

What should i do for the rear speakers? Are they really very important, or should i get low-middle level 6.5" 2-ways like i planned and call it good? I know most people shoot for front stage, but I will have passengers..

 

[Bettr n' Revrse 5,000+ posts]

Appreciate the reply!For a ported box, will port back and subs downfiring still sound good? I plan on sound deadening most of the rear cargo area, sides, hatch and doors..

What should i do for the rear speakers? Are they really very important, or should i get low-middle level 6.5" 2-ways like i planned and call it good? I know most people shoot for front stage, but I will have passengers..

Why down firing? Cheap 6.5's is fine...

 

[lameduck 10+ year member]

U got to give it time kid. U will get your anwsers but not overnight. So sit back and relax

Sorry, these have been bugging me and i was hoping for quite a few replies and answers!

What was stated pretty well takes care of that... Sounds like your going for more of a loud daily setup though OP not pure SQ

What makes it more loud/less SQ? Curious what i could do differently..

 

[Bettr n' Revrse 5,000+ posts]

Sorry, these have been bugging me and i was hoping for quite a few replies and answers!

What makes it more loud/less SQ? Curious what i could do differently..

It should sound decent if the install is done correctly just not really a pure SQ setup...

 

[lameduck 10+ year member]

Why down firing? Cheap 6.5's is fine...

Pretty much purely for the protection of the subs and hiding them a little from outside view.

It's my daily driver, and between trips to the range, tools, gear for riding and such, i just want to worry less about them. So that, in my mind, makes firing them back sort of an issue, and firing up could be troublesome due to the dogs and passengers as well as being visible to potential thieves. Concealed carry does me no good when i'm not by my vehicle. haha

 

[Bettr n' Revrse 5,000+ posts]

Pretty much purely for the protection of the subs and hiding them a little from outside view.It's my daily driver, and between trips to the range, tools, gear for riding and such, i just want to worry less about them. So that, in my mind, makes firing them back sort of an issue, and firing up could be troublesome due to the dogs and passengers as well as being visible to potential thieves. Concealed carry does me no good when i'm not by my vehicle. haha

Fair enough... Probably not a bad idea then

 

[lameduck 10+ year member]

It should sound decent if the install is done correctly just not really a pure SQ setup...

I guess i could see that. Compared to some of the other builds i've seen, my $1k in parts isnt anything special.

SQ is a bit more important to me than SPL, i guess.

 

[neo_styles 10+ year member]

What BnR is getting at is that the components you're selecting are more of a Daily Driver setup. An SQ setup normally includes a head unit with active processing or an external processor and a different choice in components. Also, there's considerably more time taken into driver placement than trying to shoehorn things into stock locations. Thing is, new Polk and new RE are not nearly what they used to be. Those MM comps are not like the SRs of the past in any way, shape, or form.

If you give us a total budget, we can definitely help you out, though. And by help, guys, I don't mean pimp out your own equipment *ahem*

***emphasis on normally because I know there's SQ setups out there with no processing whatsoever, so please do not try and dig up counterpoints. Just keeping things simple...***

 

[Bettr n' Revrse 5,000+ posts]

I guess i could see that. Compared to some of the other builds i've seen, my $1k in parts isnt anything special. SQ is a bit more important to me than SPL, i guess.

Im sure you will be happy with it depending on what you have listened too

 

---------- Post added at 08:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:41 PM ----------

 

What BnR is getting at is that the components you're selecting are more of a Daily Driver setup. An SQ setup normally includes a head unit with active processing or an external processor and a different choice in components. Also, there's considerably more time taken into driver placement than trying to shoehorn things into stock locations. Thing is, new Polk and new RE are not nearly what they used to be. Those MM comps are not like the SRs of the past in any way, shape, or form.
If you give us a total budget, we can definitely help you out, though. And by help, guys, I don't mean pimp out your own equipment *ahem*

Yep thats what I was getting at