Help building a new system for ~$1000-$1200

[Tezumos]

Hello everyone,

I've never built a system before and am pretty new to the technical side of car audio so I'm looking for help putting my system together. I'm building it for my 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse. The car currently has stock speakers (as far as I know) and some old Pioneer HU that has one pre-amp out and no auxiliary input. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

Here's my plan so far:

1. Head Unit - Pioneer DEH-P7200HD (I already ordered this and it should get here tomorrow. I wanted a HU with HD radio and 3 pre-amp outs and opted for one with 4v outs. It gets pretty good reviews but let me know what you guys think. I bought it directly from Amazon so I can still return it if someone highly recommends another HU.)

2. Front Speakers - Image Dynamics CXS62 V2 6.5" 2 Ohm (I've been told you want to put more money into your fronts ideally. I'm also not sure if I should go with 2 or 4 ohm. I've read that 2 ohm is better but it depends on your HU and amp. These speakers come in 4 ohm too, and I'm open to any speaker suggestions.)

3. Rear Speakers - CDT Audio CL-69X 6 x 9" 2 Way Coaxial (I was looking at these but I'm not really sure.)

4. 4 Channel Amp - Kenwood KAC-8405 or Pioneer GM-D9500F (I basically know nothing about amps. I was just looking at these.)

5. Mono Amp - I don't really have anything in mind here yet.

5. Sub - I'm thinking a single 12" will be perfect for my car. What do you guys think?

6. Sub Enclosure - I'm open to either buying one pre-made or building my own.

7. Wiring - Any suggestions on brands or retailers?

8. Custom dash dock for my Galaxy Tab 10.1 - I'm currently working on building this and am waiting for the tablet's USB adapter to come in the mail before I finish it. The tablet will slide in in front of the HU so a double DIN HU would largely be a waste. Also, I'm using the empty DIN under the HU for the dock. Everything on this will be internalized in the dash so the tablet just docks and will be able to charge, connect to a hidden USB HDD or flash drive, and output to the car speakers. Unless I'm using the radio, any audio playback will take place on the tablet, so I'm thinking a second volume control knob mounted somewhere might be nice, but the tablet has a volume rocker on the top. Oh, and an in dash install is impossible since my dash isn't big enough to accommodate a 10" tablet and definitely not the tablet and HU.

I'm looking to build the system for around $1000 - $1200, not including anything related to the tablet dock. Again, I'm completely new to car audio, so any advice/help will be extremely useful to me. My main questions are regarding the 2 vs 4 ohm issue and the overall system component selection to make sure all the watts and everything go together well. Other than that I'd like to see what specific components you guys suggest. Any other suggestions/comments are appreciated too! Thanks for reading my post. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

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[SQ is my deal]

Well that's a huge post with a lot of variables to ask for advice on, but I'm actually doing the same thing right now, so I'll let you know what I am doing. I figured roughly $1200 since that's what the "premium sound" option cost on my car that I declined since you can build something much better for less. (It may creep above the $$ a bit) I'm doing a budget SQ build, but I've been into car audio for almost 17 years, so I'm not comepletely new to this. I've been out of it for a couple years though and some things have changed for sure.

So far I've decided on (after much research):

-Alpine head unit, probably the CDA-117 (I was looking for something with 3 sets of RCAs and 4v pre's with 24bit dac's and time alignment..plus I've always liked Alpine)

-Kicker 4 gauge ofc wire and dist. blocks (From what I can tell Kicker, Rockford, Stinger and knukonceptz have the best wire, copper only for me)

-RE 10" *** D2 Subwoofer run in 4ohm in prebuilt ported box with an appropriate volume (Custom will blow the budget)

-36sq ft. Stinger Roadkill deadener (I'd always allow some of the budget for this important part)

-Sundown Audio SAX-1200D run in 4ohm (bought used)

Still need to decide on RCA's, 4 channel amp for mains and component set. I'm leaning towards either Alpine PDX or Soundstream Ref series for the 4 channel amp, and maybe Helix for a 6.5" component set and rear coaxials. I think installation is key, as long as you install it well, you can make anything sound pretty good. Installing it yourself will save you much money for your budget as well and allow you to get a better system. Good luck on your choices!

 

[ZO6killinsbf 10+ year member]

If you look up my build from some months ago it was a budget build. I think I even did a price break down.