General SQ upgrade.

[stewartfan]

What's up? I'm gonna start off with the fact that when it comes to car audio, and audio in general, I'm pretty noob, but at the same time, I'm not that stupid. With that said, I'm looking for better sound quality in my car. Currently, I have a Pioneer DEH-7300BT, with Infinity Reference 6032cf (60W RMS/2ohm) 6.5s in the front, and 9632cf (100W RMS/2ohm) 6x9s in the rear. What I was told, is that upgrading the speakers isn't the next step for what I've got, but instead, I'd be better off amping them. A couple questions about that, though:

Amping the speakers doesn't remove any of the bass response from the speakers, right? I'm thinking about just trying the amp first, and if I'm happy with the quality, just leaving it.

However, a sub is a possibility, I just don't like the idea of taking all that space in my trunk, plus, I don't like loud bass in a car. If I were to go that route, though:

Can I run a sub and all 4 speakers from a single 5-channel amp?

Sealed or ported enclosure for good, clean bass, NOT loud bass?

10 or 12" sub?

I was thinking a Kicker ZX700.5 amp, any other suggestions?

Then, for the sub, I'm thinking I'll stick with Kicker. Any suggestions on that?

Thanks for any advice in advance!

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[TaylorFade 10+ year member]

5 channel and a small sealed sub would be a great upgrade.

Gonna need a budget to make suggestions though.

 

[Strangirs 10+ year member]

What's up? I'm gonna start off with the fact that when it comes to car audio, and audio in general, I'm pretty noob, but at the same time, I'm not that stupid. With that said, I'm looking for better sound quality in my car. Currently, I have a Pioneer DEH-7300BT, with Infinity Reference 6032cf (60W RMS/2ohm) 6.5s in the front, and 9632cf (100W RMS/2ohm) 6x9s in the rear. What I was told, is that upgrading the speakers isn't the next step for what I've got, but instead, I'd be better off amping them. A couple questions about that, though:Amping the speakers doesn't remove any of the bass response from the speakers, right? I'm thinking about just trying the amp first, and if I'm happy with the quality, just leaving it.

However, a sub is a possibility, I just don't like the idea of taking all that space in my trunk, plus, I don't like loud bass in a car. If I were to go that route, though:

Can I run a sub and all 4 speakers from a single 5-channel amp?

Sealed or ported enclosure for good, clean bass, NOT loud bass?

10 or 12" sub?

I was thinking a Kicker ZX700.5 amp, any other suggestions?

Then, for the sub, I'm thinking I'll stick with Kicker. Any suggestions on that?

Thanks for any advice in advance!

I wouldn't get a kicker sub... They can't hit lows for crap.. Besides maybe there really expensive subs..

If you're set on kicker then I would say get a 10"

Also, if you live in chicago area I have a old old pair of kicker 12"s in a sealed box i'd be letting go for cheap..

I like audiobahn over kicker and here's a nice deal.. 2 Audiobahn AWC12Q Subwoofers 500 Watts ea Dual 4 Ohm Voice Coils | eBay

I'd say only run ones of them though since you don't want to give up space, and run a sealed box with some breathing room though..

For speakers get a nice amp, Go for the 5 channel if you're thinking about adding a sub and not running alot of power to it.. If you just decide on speakers go with a 4 channel!

 

[winkychevelle 10+ year member]

If I were in your shoes an infinity reference 10 in a .6cube box on a decent 5 channel would sound nice

No amping your door speakers doesn't take the bass out I them although we usually cut the bass frequencies so the door speakers can handle more power. With the sub low passed to 80hz your speakers no longer need to play anything lower than 80hz.

Jbl makes a 5channel ez-series amp that I would choose over the kicker because it has a clip light and a set up cd which since you are new to audio is a great thing. The kicker is good but it is larger with less features and my bet more expensive. You could always go with a 4channel and mono block seperate just means more wiring which can add up In cost but 4channel amps generally have better crossover features and the minis are usually more powerful.

One thing to note is you have 2ohm door speakers which means the amp is working harder to push them. Running the full range side of the amp at 2ohm and the bass side at minimum impedence may cause the amp to overheat and go into protect. A quality amp should handle this fine but cheap amps are known for this.

 

[stewartfan]

5 channel and a small sealed sub would be a great upgrade.
Gonna need a budget to make suggestions though.

I'm looking at about $1,000 at OEM price for Kicker components, and if I were to go any other way, I'd be looking at about $700 at OEM/Major retailer price.

I wouldn't get a kicker sub... They can't hit lows for crap.. Besides maybe there really expensive subs..If you're set on kicker then I would say get a 10"

Also, if you live in chicago area I have a old old pair of kicker 12"s in a sealed box i'd be letting go for cheap..

I like audiobahn over kicker and here's a nice deal.. 2 Audiobahn AWC12Q Subwoofers 500 Watts ea Dual 4 Ohm Voice Coils | eBay

I'd say only run ones of them though since you don't want to give up space, and run a sealed box with some breathing room though..

For speakers get a nice amp, Go for the 5 channel if you're thinking about adding a sub and not running alot of power to it.. If you just decide on speakers go with a 4 channel!

If I were in your shoes an infinity reference 10 in a .6cube box on a decent 5 channel would sound nice
No amping your door speakers doesn't take the bass out I them although we usually cut the bass frequencies so the door speakers can handle more power. With the sub low passed to 80hz your speakers no longer need to play anything lower than 80hz.

Jbl makes a 5channel ez-series amp that I would choose over the kicker because it has a clip light and a set up cd which since you are new to audio is a great thing. The kicker is good but it is larger with less features and my bet more expensive. You could always go with a 4channel and mono block seperate just means more wiring which can add up In cost but 4channel amps generally have better crossover features and the minis are usually more powerful.

One thing to note is you have 2ohm door speakers which means the amp is working harder to push them. Running the full range side of the amp at 2ohm and the bass side at minimum impedence may cause the amp to overheat and go into protect. A quality amp should handle this fine but cheap amps are known for this.

Alright, so would the ZX700.5 be a good amp, or is there something better that could be worked into my price range?

And, given this:

70 watts RMS x 4 at 4 ohms + 210 watts RMS x 1 at 4 ohms

85 watts RMS x 4 at 2 ohms + 420 watts RMS x 1 at 2 ohms

Does that mean I can push up to 85W to my speakers, since they're 2ohm?

 

[Kingstroker 10+ year member]

amping your speakers will give them way more punch and pronounced bass. That being said you can't compare that to adding a sub but depending on you personal preference you may not need one. Answer to your 2ohm question: yes and no. It depends on what your amp sees. By that I mean ohms your amp "sees" = speakers ohms + wire resistance. Generally speaking you will get more power to the speakers than if they were 4 ohm.