help a noob with a high end sq setup

[toddmcgill]

ok guys,i have my asbestos undies on and am prepared for the fact that i am a noob and am probably going to ask some stupid questions.

that being said , here is my question, i am looking for some advice on a subwoofer amplifier combo for my soon to be system,which will be installed in a toyota fj cruiser.

so far i have purchased 2 sets of cdt es 6.5 top of the line component speakers, and a zapco 1000.4 reference series amp to run them, my head unit is a kenwood cd/dvd/gps/tuner all in one that i cant remember the model number , but it was in the vehicle when i purchased it.

my ultimate goal is to have a really clean tight sounding audiophile quality system with clean tight musically accurate bass,i do not want overpowering boomy muddy too loud to hear the music bass.i want my music to sound as good as it possibly can given the quality of the recording, my budget is somewhere between $1000 and $1500 for amp and sub unless you just cant get the quallity i want for that price,i do want it to match the quality of the rest of the system,

also if you guys have any advice on install of the rest of the components such as placement of the component sets front and rear etc. i would love to hear it, i have never installed a system myself , buti will have the help of my neighbor who used to be a installer at a local shop.

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[ThatChevyGuy 5,000+ posts]

Focal subs, audison amp. Just for the hell of it.

That is all.

 

[toddmcgill]

any particlar models? i have looked at the focal subs, just wondering how much better the utopia is that the k2, and if a 8" which seems to be the biggest utopia would be enough to match 4 6.5" at 150 w rms.

 

[VQ35max 10+ year member]

PE has the 15" Titanic MKIII's on sale for $60 off ($140 each): http://www.parts-express.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?Partnumber=295-420&dotd=121707&orefer=dotd&orefer=dotd

Not quite "high-end", but definitely a very accurate driver that can also get loud if needed.

What exactly are you looking to gain by buying "high-end", are you looking for a specific sound that you think can't be achieved with "regular" drivers? Just asking, because I see you only have two posts so I'm assuming you're a regular joe with some extra cash looking for a nice-sounding system.

 

[toddmcgill]

you assume right i dont nessicarily want to spend more money on high end stuff, however with most things in life i have discovered that you get what you pay for, however if there is an alternative less expensive brand that will give me the same sound quality then i am all for that.

sound quality is really my only concern, i dont care about rattling the neighbors windows, in fact if there was a way to have it sound great inside the car and not be heard outside the car i would be all for that although i realise that that just isnt possible if your talking about loud mobile audio,i just want loud, rich, smooth, buttery, accurate , musical, clean, sounds inside my car,sound quality is my only concern.

 

[fwb_1234 10+ year member]

you assume right i dont nessicarily want to spend more money on high end stuff, however with most things in life i have discovered that you get what you pay for, however if there is an alternative less expensive brand that will give me the same sound quality then i am all for that.
sound quality is really my only concern, i dont care about rattling the neighbors windows, in fact if there was a way to have it sound great inside the car and not be heard outside the car i would be all for that although i realise that that just isnt possible if your talking about loud mobile audio,i just want loud, rich, smooth, buttery, accurate , musical, clean, sounds inside my car,sound quality is my only concern.

You need to budget several hours and $100 at least in deadener.

How much space are you working with?

 

[VQ35max 10+ year member]

you assume right i dont nessicarily want to spend more money on high end stuff, however with most things in life i have discovered that you get what you pay for, however if there is an alternative less expensive brand that will give me the same sound quality then i am all for that.
sound quality is really my only concern, i dont care about rattling the neighbors windows, in fact if there was a way to have it sound great inside the car and not be heard outside the car i would be all for that although i realise that that just isnt possible if your talking about loud mobile audio,i just want loud, rich, smooth, buttery, accurate , musical, clean, sounds inside my car,sound quality is my only concern.

Sound deadener is your friend for keeping the music in the car and reducing rattles.

How much space do you have to work with for the sub box?

I noticed you said you don't want boomy overpowering bass, but the fact is any decent substage can hit 135+ decibels and is going to overpower the highs. I do understand what you mean by avoding "boomy" bass though. Any sub you see on here labeled as an SPL sub is something you will want to avoid in that case, since these subs usually don't have the best transient response or "tightness".

Honestly there a ton of options out there. Do you have any preferences as far as wanting a single-sub setup or a pair or more?

Do you already have wiring run through the car, because if not I'd highly recommend KnuKonceptz for a wiring kit. If you are planning on over 1000+wrms you might want to get the 1/0 gauge kit, anything less and 4 gauge will suffice.

 

[MisterGrubbs 5,000+ posts]

you assume right i dont nessicarily want to spend more money on high end stuff, however with most things in life i have discovered that you get what you pay for, however if there is an alternative less expensive brand that will give me the same sound quality then i am all for that.
sound quality is really my only concern, i dont care about rattling the neighbors windows, in fact if there was a way to have it sound great inside the car and not be heard outside the car i would be all for that although i realise that that just isnt possible if your talking about loud mobile audio,i just want loud, rich, smooth, buttery, accurate , musical, clean, sounds inside my car,sound quality is my only concern.

Well I'll be ****, you can have your wish, sir. Although you wont kill all of that sound, a very very large majority of it can be killed, and road noise pushed off as well.

As fwb said, sound deadener. Search for the Sound Deadener Showdown, it'll tell you anything you want to know about sound deadening and what to pick.

You might honestly spend two or three hundred dollars on sound deadener, maybe a bit overkill but you'll find that you love it so much more than just thorwing the audio in there without it. It willl also help keep your sound pure and kill tons of rattles associated with SUV's.

As for what I think as to your situation, the CDT's are a great start. I'm not a quality guy, at all, so I cant help much in regards to substage of this. I would suggest that you pick up either a nicer single 12" woofer or possible two 10" woofers. Loud enough,s tay clean enough for you as well.

JL W6, Fi Q, XXX(An older one is for sale on the forum, great woofers), Diamond D9

All great sounding woofers although are more oriented with Sound Quality / Output at the same time.

Real SQ guys give this guy some ideas for subs. Best of luck. READ UP on the deadening it will make tons of difference to you.

Moo, got beat to it. Oh well.

 

[VQ35max 10+ year member]

Well I'll be ****, you can have your wish, sir. Although you wont kill all of that sound, a very very large majority of it can be killed, and road noise pushed off as well.
As fwb said, sound deadener. Search for the Sound Deadener Showdown, it'll tell you anything you want to know about sound deadening and what to pick.

You might honestly spend two or three hundred dollars on sound deadener, maybe a bit overkill but you'll find that you love it so much more than just thorwing the audio in there without it. It willl also help keep your sound pure and kill tons of rattles associated with SUV's.

Plus you can kill a lot of road noise if you deaden the whole car, i.e. the floor and doors in addition to the trunk area. Gives the car a much more luxurious ride due to the decreased noise, especially on the highway.

I think the new Mag might be right up this guys alley, but it's not out yet and I don't know if he can wait or not.

 

[benzmansl65amg 10+ year member]

you are local //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif if u need help pm me i can set u up just pm me

 

[BrianChia 10+ year member]

Honestly?

Sell the CDTs.

Dual Aurasound 12s in sealed box. Put it in the cabin if possible.

Scanspeak Revelators mids and tweeters.

McIntosh amps.

Custom install in dash (woofers included).

Ditch the rear components.

Active XOver, active parametric EQ.

Active delay network for components.

Lots of Dynamat and Sonic Barrier. Actually you should line your ceiling and walls and floors with it.

 

[SQChevy 10+ year member]

While the Utopia 8" does do incredible things, it works better as a upper range sub (80 Hz+). I would suggest either the V2 or K2's. Even their Access line is really nice sounding (I run these). That would be my sub suggestion.

 

[toddmcgill]

thanks for all of the replys guys.

i do have 100 sq ft of 80mil deadner and plan to do the entire car.

as for room i have the entire rear cargo area of a toyota fj cruiser if nessicary ,although i have been looking at a custom fiberglass enclosure that fits where the factory sub box goes and has 1.2 cubic ft of airspace and will hold either a single 12" or 2 10"'s

http://www.wickedcas.com/product.php?productid=7&cat=3&bestseller=Y

however im not entirely married to the idea,it would just be nice to still have the cargo area free for it's intended use.

also i hope the deadner i bought isnt junk i was on ebay and seemed to be one of the thicker deadners offered so i thought it would be best now i am wondering? has anyone used this.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300182090504&ssPageName=MERC_VIC_RCRX_Pr4_PcY_BIN_Stores_IT&refitem=300179861766&itemcount=4&refwidgetloc=closed_view_item&usedrule1=CrossSell_LogicX&refwidgettype=cross_promot_widget

watch out for the annoying music on that link.

i also see some brand names here i am not familiar with , forgive me i am a noob to car audio as i said, i am much more familiar with home audio.

so if some one can inform me on the

fi q's

si mags

or sound auras

and maybe give me some links to research them on that would be much appreaciated, i have seen the fi q's and si mags reccomended alot on these forums however when i google them i generally just find references to threads on this forum not a site that sells them? is it perhaps because si and fq are abbreviations for the real company names? yes i realise i am probably looking like an ignorant goober, but you dont learn without asking i guess.

thanks again for all of the helpful replies.

 

[VQ35max 10+ year member]

You can get more info on the SI Mag at: http://www.soundsolutionsaudio.com/forum/index.php?showforum=25 and http://www.stereointegrity.com

Fi info can be found at: http://www.soundsolutionsaudio.com/forum/index.php?showforum=51 and http://ficaraudio.com

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

i do have 100 sq ft of 80mil deadner and plan to do the entire car.

100sq. ft might do the floor //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Going to need a lot more...