First-Time Beginner Build

[Arythael 10+ year member]

Hi everyone! I've recently begun looking into upgrading my 2003 Nissan Maxima's audio system, but I've never attempted something like this before and I want to be sure I'm going to end up with good results before I spend several hundred dollars.

I'd like a system that produces good sound quality but doesn't cost more than a college student can afford (I'm trying to keep my budget as close to $400 as possible, but could go a bit higher). As far as bass goes, I want subs that can turn heads, hit hard and low, but still sound accurate (absolutely not "boomy"); I listen to a lot of hip-hop and electronic music.

At the moment, I'm thinking of putting Focal Access 165 A1 components in front, and a pair of Hifonics Brutus 12" rounds in the trunk.

I have no idea what to look for in an enclosure or where to get one (I would consider making one myself if I have to), and I'm completely lost as to what to look for in an amp. I understand most of the basic electrical stuff (rms wattage/power, ohms and wiring the subs, etc), but I'm not sure what brand or model of amp I should be looking at. I do plan on doing the Big 3 before hooking up an amp, but I have no intention of upgrading my battery or alternator. If anyone could point me in the right direction for the rest of my setup (or point out how bad my current ideas are ), it'd be much appreciated!

Edit: A few more questions... Would one or two 12-inch subs deliver better bang for my buck? Ex. I could spend $150-200 on a single good sub, or $50-100 each on a pair of decent subs... at such a low price point, which would work better? Also, should I get an amp for the speakers too or is one only needed for the subs? Do amps exist that can efficiently output to both the speakers and subs (meaning it delivers respective high- and low-pass filters to each output), or would two amps be needed?

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[naughtyca 10+ year member]

this $400 budget is install included or are you installing yourself?

If you have the room for 2 12 sub its preferable and you will move more air, more air movement = more bass

Subwoofer box

Bright Star Car Audio

subwoofer

q power deluxe 12 on a 1.2 cu sealed

people probably will laugh at this one but i had 2 of these running off kenwood 500 watt at 4ohm and they hit really hard was very surprised price on these are probably $60 each

or

T3 T400 buy out $43 from parts express

you can also try the Rockford P1 ot P2

amp i would suggest a d monoblock, brutus lines or the kenwood 9105d

 

[Bettr n' Revrse 5,000+ posts]

No to that ^^^

OP how much room do you have to work with? What all do you already have in the car? I would strongly suggest saving up a little more and reading around here for a bit to figure out some good names to look for before any purchase,..

 

[Kangaroux 5,000+ posts]

For a low budget build you're going to want to make it efficient. I would get a single SSA Dcon 15", and something like an APSM-1500. The 1500w is way more power than you need but it would give you room to expand given you want to, plus the amp is dirt cheap

 

[T.I.K. 10+ year member]

No to that ^^^
OP how much room do you have to work with? What all do you already have in the car? I would strongly suggest saving up a little more and reading around here for a bit to figure out some good names to look for before any purchase' date='..[/quote']

Best Idea for you.

 

[naughtyca 10+ year member]

i never had experience with APSM-1500 $119, might be a good amp, I see a lot of guys running these, i just always buy amps that is CEA 2006 compliant which tends to be cleaner wattage. that Dcon looks pretty good, im also looking for one to run on my wife's.

hows dcon 12's comparable to

Alpine SWR-1243D

$124 in ebay

 

[T.I.K. 10+ year member]

i never had experience with APSM-1500 $119, might be a good amp, I see a lot of guys running these, i just always buy amps that is CEA 2006 compliant which tends to be cleaner wattage. that Dcon looks pretty good, im also looking for one to run on my wife's.
hows dcon 12's comparable to

Alpine SWR-1243D

$124 in ebay

I'd go with SSA, smaller company, equal, if not superior products, as well.

 

[Renzone3 10+ year member]

i never had experience with APSM-1500 $119, might be a good amp, I see a lot of guys running these, i just always buy amps that is CEA 2006 compliant which tends to be cleaner wattage. that Dcon looks pretty good, im also looking for one to run on my wife's.
hows dcon 12's comparable to

Alpine SWR-1243D

$124 in ebay

So you know CEA compliant amps aren't anything special.They are only tested @ 4 ohms,and read around here you'll see a lot of underground companies aren't CEA compliant and do way over they're rated power.

 

[naughtyca 10+ year member]

So you know CEA compliant amps aren't anything special.They are only tested @ 4 ohms,and read around here you'll see a lot of underground companies aren't CEA compliant and do way over they're rated power.

I agree they only test 4ohm at 14.4v but its something to hold on to, I rather buy an amp that's been tested by a 3rd party to verify wattage, but to each his own. I am not saying the Audio Pipe is bad or the other amps that was not rated by CEA are bad, I'm just throwing it out there on how i choose my amp. i was also told to look at fuse amperage.

 

[naughtyca 10+ year member]

I'd go with SSA, smaller company, equal, if not superior products, as well.

Thank you, i'll keep that in mind

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

you are so misinformed my man

 

[T.I.K. 10+ year member]

you are so misinformed my man

Who?

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

naughty ca. cea compliant really doesn't mean shlt.it's in place to keep some of the junk amp companies in check .but really doesn't even do that.and as far as fuse ratings ,that just tells you an idea of the power that your amp COULD produce.most of your better amps dont have external fuses thats why the company wants you to use an in line fuse.and besides 99.9 of your mainstream amps are china made now,EVEN KICKER AMPS ARE MADE IN CHINA and have been since 2007

 

[T.I.K. 10+ year member]

naughty ca

Aw, i wanted to get into an argument.

 

[Arythael 10+ year member]

this $400 budget is install included or are you installing yourself?

I'll be doing the install myself. I'm looking at it as a learning experience, but I'm a DIYer at heart so there's no way I'm paying someone else to do it.

OP how much room do you have to work with?

I measured my trunk to be 40" Wide x 30" Deep x 16" High (at the smallest distances).

What all do you already have in the car?

I installed a Kenwood KDC-HD548U head unit when I got the car because I wanted an iPod input. Besides that' date=' it's all stock (with the non-Bose version of the audio system).

I would strongly suggest saving up a little more and reading around here for a bit to figure out some good names to look for before any purchase,..

Like I said, I could go a bit higher //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif I'm probably getting the speakers within two weeks (thoughts on the Focal Access 165 A1's?), the rest of the setup is several weeks/months away... so I have time to put together some money for a system if it'd be worth the extra investment. I would prefer not to go above $600-800 under any circumstances, though.

Thanks for the amp discussion from everyone else, they seem to be the most diverse and hard-to-choose part of the setup so I welcome the suggestions!