Full new setup, help a beginner out.

[rambow70]

So the most I know about car audio is the alpine type R and the cruddy Boss P3000 amp I put into my car years ago. That is it.

What I want to do is move away from bass and more into very crisp, full sounding audio in my car. For the build I need two 6-1/2" and two 6-8" and maybe JUST MAYBE a small sub. Also I need an amp that will run to the four speakers and possibly the small sub if I want one. I also need a head unit with dsp, usb, aux, and possibly xm radio. I do not want a big touch screen head unit, nothing fancy just enough to deliver crisp clean power to my speakers.

The focus of the build is a crisp full audio experience. My budget is maxed at $1000, $800 would be a bit nicer ha.

Could you guys send me some links for a set up? I am new to this forum and I will rep anyone who helps! Thanks

Some links that I came up with (I have no idea so please correct me)

Alpine: PDR-F50 (amp)

SPR-60 (front) Alpine Electronics of America, Inc. are different online, cheaper)

SPR-68 (rear) Alpine Electronics of America, Inc. (Prices are different online, cheaper)

CDE-151 (head unit) Alpine Electronics of America, Inc.

Kenwood:

Kfcp709ps (front)

Also I do not know if I need tweeters? I will have to custom drill holes in my A-Pillars for them so if they are not on my top list of priorities.

The car is a 1997 ford escort sedan, it is in great shape and I got it for free. I am completely rebuilding the motor and transmission to make it my daily driver. Weighing 2400lbs 2ltr sohc motor it will be a great daily while I work on my VR-4, which is often problematic haha so needless to say I would like to enjoy my ride to work/class.

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[blazian87 10+ year member]

If you're looking for that crisp sound, you definitely need to get tweeters. You can try doing a 3 way front stage setup if you really don't want to get a sub. Requires a lot of custom work though. You can look into Tweeter soft domes, 4" midrange, and 8" midwoofer. Mount tweeter and midrange in the A pillar area or high up atleast and if u can fit the 8" in your doors, that would be great but if not just put them into an small enclosure and you'll be set. Treat your doors with sound dampening to get the best results with your speakers as well.

You can also just do a 2 way active setup with Tweeter and 6.5" mids to keep it simpler. 6.5's don't really produce great bass so I have a feeling you'll crave for a subwoofer eventually. Depends on what you want. If you can live without bass, then a loud active front stage should do you well. Otherwise you can always just introduce your Type R into the mix if you still have it and implement it better.

Parts Express: the #1 source for audio, video & speaker building components has many diy speakers for cheap and has great customer service. I would suggest you look around this forum and look at past SQ builds people have done to get inspired.

Here's one of my favorites from keep_hope_alive

http://www.caraudio.com/forums/car-audio-build-logs-cars-trucks-suvs/536049-2001-accord-ex-sedan-its-long.html

 

[gckless 5,000+ posts]

A three way setup would be a bad idea. It's expensive to do well, on top of the lack of knowledge here.

Also, you don't need extra tweeters, you have coaxial speakers chosen there, which have tweeters in the center.

 

[blazian87 10+ year member]

Pioneer DEH-80PRS is a great headunit to start with that has many tuning abilities including running 3 way active

http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-DEH-80PRS-Receiver-Crossover-Alignment/dp/B006Y44DAY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413257073&sr=8-1&keywords=pioneer+prs

Here's a good 4 channel amp from the classified section for a good bargain

http://www.caraudio.com/forums/amplifier-classifieds/608936-diamond-d6-600-4-4-channel-amp.html

Take a look at the Speaker Classified for good 2 way speakers

Speaker Classifieds

If I were you though, I would pick out a 3 way from partsexpress and run it active through the pioneer DEH-80PRS with a 6 channel amp. Would be well in your $800-$1000 budget

 

[rambow70]

If you're looking for that crisp sound, you definitely need to get tweeters. You can try doing a 3 way front stage setup if you really don't want to get a sub. Requires a lot of custom work though. You can look into Tweeter soft domes, 4" midrange, and 8" midwoofer. Mount tweeter and midrange in the A pillar area or high up atleast and if u can fit the 8" in your doors, that would be great but if not just put them into an small enclosure and you'll be set. Treat your doors with sound dampening to get the best results with your speakers as well.
You can also just do a 2 way active setup with Tweeter and 6.5" mids to keep it simpler. 6.5's don't really produce great bass so I have a feeling you'll crave for a subwoofer eventually. Depends on what you want. If you can live without bass, then a loud active front stage should do you well. Otherwise you can always just introduce your Type R into the mix if you still have it and implement it better.

Parts Express: the #1 source for audio, video & speaker building components has many diy speakers for cheap and has great customer service. I would suggest you look around this forum and look at past SQ builds people have done to get inspired.

Here's one of my favorites from keep_hope_alive

http://www.caraudio.com/forums/car-audio-build-logs-cars-trucks-suvs/536049-2001-accord-ex-sedan-its-long.html

What kind of an amp and head unit would I need for these kinds of set ups? 5 channel? That is my main concern. If I run my Type R with four mid range speakers and two tweeters what would that even look like? Seems like a wiring nightmare. Also I am not trying to have multiple amps if that is a common thing that you guys do. I guess I need to educate myself more or just go to a shop and tell them what I want. I don't really have the time to really dig into this research. But thank you for your input.

 

[blazian87 10+ year member]

I guess I have high standards lol.. Coaxials never really sounded that good to me.. If you're willing to learn OP, you can get a nice SQ setup within your budget!

 

[rambow70]

Pioneer DEH-80PRS is a great headunit to start with that has many tuning abilities including running 3 way activehttp://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-DEH-80PRS-Receiver-Crossover-Alignment/dp/B006Y44DAY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413257073&sr=8-1&keywords=pioneer+prs

Here's a good 4 channel amp from the classified section for a good bargain

http://www.caraudio.com/forums/amplifier-classifieds/608936-diamond-d6-600-4-4-channel-amp.html

Take a look at the Speaker Classified for good 2 way speakers

Speaker Classifieds

If I were you though, I would pick out a 3 way from partsexpress and run it active through the pioneer DEH-80PRS with a 6 channel amp. Would be well in your $800-$1000 budget

This was good info, thank you, to both of you. Yea I looked into those coaxial to avoid tweeters, they probably are not as good but I am a beginner to this. Also you mentioned sound denoting in the walls? I will look into that.

 

[blazian87 10+ year member]

What kind of an amp and head unit would I need for these kinds of set ups? 5 channel? That is my main concern. If I run my Type R with four mid range speakers and two tweeters what would that even look like? Seems like a wiring nightmare. Also I am not trying to have multiple amps if that is a common thing that you guys do. I guess I need to educate myself more or just go to a shop and tell them what I want. I don't really have the time to really dig into this research. But thank you for your input.

Yes, with that setup you could just go with a single 5 channel amp to keep it simple. They are quite expensive and hard to find though. It's not that bad wiring a 2nd amp.. Just wire how you would with one amp but you split it with a distribution block so you don't have so many wires running back and forth.

You could run 2 tweeters and 2 midranges through passive crossovers and that would only require 2 channels, then use the other 2 channels for the midbasses. Then the last channel for sub. For a 5 channel amp that is..

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

This was good info, thank you, to both of you. Yea I looked into those coaxial to avoid tweeters, they probably are not as good but I am a beginner to this. Also you mentioned sound denoting in the walls? I will look into that.

Its actually quite simple to install tweeters because component sets usually have mounting gear. For the simplest installation, you might just need to screw in the sail panels or even just use industrial strength velcro. The difference between coaxial and components is. Coaxial the sound is all by your legs. Components bring the sound stage up to your ears and make it extremely crisp.

If you are new at this, I'd stick to passive components to keep things simple so you can learn a little bit more about it. instead of an 80 prs, you can just get an alpine 147bt, it still has great sound quality along with time alignment and good sound internals. Instead of type R coaxials, just get the components version for the fronts.

Alpine PDX-V9 is a 5 channel thats good for everything but its expensive.

 

[rambow70]

Its actually quite simple to install tweeters because component sets usually have mounting gear. For the simplest installation, you might just need to screw in the sail panels or even just use industrial strength velcro. The difference between coaxial and components is. Coaxial the sound is all by your legs. Components bring the sound stage up to your ears and make it extremely crisp.
If you are new at this, I'd stick to passive components to keep things simple so you can learn a little bit more about it. instead of an 80 prs, you can just get an alpine 147bt, it still has great sound quality along with time alignment and good sound internals. Instead of type R coaxials, just get the components for the fronts.

So install the speakers at my feet and rear without coaxial's and install the tweeters on my dash or A- Pilar's? These will all wire up to the 5 way amp? Also the head unit, what should I look for specification wise? The Pioneer DEH-80PRS listed above has 3 way active and 200watt rms? Is that just a ball park I should shoot for? What are ranges of good vs bad head units?

 

[blazian87 10+ year member]

So install the speakers at my feet and rear without coaxial's and install the tweeters on my dash or A- Pilar's? These will all wire up to the 5 way amp? Also the head unit, what should I look for specification wise? The Pioneer DEH-80PRS listed above has 3 way active and 200watt rms? Is that just a ball park I should shoot for? What are ranges of good vs bad head units?

I feel like $180-$300 is the range for a good headunit brand new. You can certainly pay less if you're willing to go for used. The 80PRS would only be useful if you are planning on one day going active. Otherwise you can do fine with a cheaper headunit. Don't install the speakers in the rear unless they are coaxials. Have them all in front of you to get the best imaging. 5 channel amp would depend on if you are gonna use the sub or not. I wouldn't even use headunit power because it's weak as heck. I personally like oldschool alpine decks if you can find em'.

 

[rambow70]

I feel like $180-$300 is the range for a good headunit brand new. You can certainly pay less if you're willing to go for used. The 80PRS would only be useful if you are planning on one day going active. Otherwise you can do fine with a cheaper headunit. Don't install the speakers in the rear unless they are coaxials. Have them all in front of you to get the best imaging. 5 channel amp would depend on if you are gonna use the sub or not. I wouldn't even use headunit power because it's weak as heck. I personally like oldschool alpine decks if you can find em'.

What do you mean going active? If I go sub-less I would choose a 4 channel amp, correct?

 

[blazian87 10+ year member]

Look for a HU that's atleast 4v preouts, has a good 24 bit DAC, has good crossover points,and multiple band EQ. Everything else is what you want.. like bluetooth, ipod connection, etc

 

[blazian87 10+ year member]

What do you mean going active? If I go sub-less I would choose a 4 channel amp, correct?

If you go sub-less, yes you can use a 4 channel amp and still be able to run 2 tweeters, 2 midranges, and 2 midbasses. Active means running the signal through an active filter BEFORE you amplify it, whereas a passive setup is amplified full range then cut with filters. It takes alot more work to get active speakers to sound good but can create great imaging if done right. Passives are pretuned by manufacture and you have no control except EQing. Passives are the easiest way to get a good sound and requires less channels. 3 way Active would need a channel per speaker.. So 6 channels. I would not even suggest that because it's way too complicated for a beginner. If you're set on 6 speakers though, you can buy a nice 3 way passive component set and just run a powerful 2 channel amp. That would be pretty kickazz as long as you place them in good locations and treat your doors.

Get a 4 channel amp, run the first two channels with a 2 way component set through a passive crossover, then run the 8" midbasses active and just dial it in with the built in crossovers on the amp (Just like how you would do with a sub). And get a good headunit.

 

[Bakesbaked 10+ year member]

I believe I know someone with a pioneer hu that they bought. Wanted to return the same day and couldn't. And was stuck with trying to sell it for a 100$ I can see if he still has it