Help me out (Not a CA.com N00b)

[dvrmstrng 5,000+ posts]

I've been around this forum for a while (see join date/post count) but got out of the audio scene for a while when I was busy with other things. New car and it's probably been a solid 2-3 years since I had any type of audio equipment in a vehicle I owned. Looking for some input.

Vehicle: 2008 Trailblazer SS

Want: Looking for a decent SQ setup that can bump a little when I need it to. I don't ride around playing music at maximum volume with the windows down and I'm not looking to do a full fledged SQ car. Budget SQ/SQL would be fine.

Past Setups: I have had everything from a single 18" FI Q in 9.3 cubes to a 2x 18" setup in 7.5 cubes sealed. At one point I had an active rainbow front stage with an Eclipse 7200MKIII? and two ID8's in small sealed box's in a GTO.

2008 TBSS specs:

Headunit: Can do a single or a double DIN. Don't feel the need for NAVI so single would be preferred. Something that can accept a thumb drive or a front facing AUX would be fine. Don't need to hardwire something to an ipod in the glove box because usually the interface of the device (ipod, cell phone) has been easier for me than using the headunit.

Fronts: 6.5" from what I am reading. Look's as though maximum depth is around 3.849"

Tweeters: 3" up on the dash and apparently plenty of room if you want to mount with the 6.5" in the door as seen here. Trailblazer Stereo Replacement

Subwoofer: At this point I think I would be happy with a single 10" or a single 12" and want to have as close to 1000 watts to it as possible. My dog rides in the back so the smaller the box the better so either something that can utilize a small ported enclosure or one that does well sealed would be best. I would be thrilled if I could find someone to make me the same spec box as the JL stealthbox and put it where the factory bose amp is.

Amps: Does anyone make a multi channel amp with a solid 1ohm output for a subwoofer anymore? At one point I owned an eD nine.5 which did the trick.

What do you guys thinks?

Thanks.

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[TaylorFade 10+ year member]

HU- look at the Pioneer 80prs. Sick deck for the money. 3 way active withi plenty of EQ

Amps- tough to beat the PPi phantom amps for price to performance right now. Or if your budget allows, Phoenix Gold makes a bad *** 5 channel with nice power on the sub channel. Most I've seen outside of a Big Belle. Of course... JL has the HD 900/5, but it'll cost you a left nut.

Drivers- you can save some money here and go DIY since you will be or can go active. Look at Dayton RS180 or Silver Flute. Since you have a large space for tweeters, you can get a large format tweeter like the Vifa XT25.

Subs- well... it's pretty wide open there. Pick your favorite nuthugger brand or go DIY with a Dayton HO or something. Obsidian Audio has some tasty looking 10's for a nice price. Probably the best you'll get for less than $200 or so. IDMax is still a sick sub. Plenty of SQL in that one. Maybe an IA Flatlyne.

 

[dvrmstrng 5,000+ posts]

HU- look at the Pioneer 80prs. Sick deck for the money. 3 way active withi plenty of EQ
Amps- tough to beat the PPi phantom amps for price to performance right now. Or if your budget allows, Phoenix Gold makes a bad *** 5 channel with nice power on the sub channel. Most I've seen outside of a Big Belle. Of course... JL has the HD 900/5, but it'll cost you a left nut.

Drivers- you can save some money here and go DIY since you will be or can go active. Look at Dayton RS180 or Silver Flute. Since you have a large space for tweeters, you can get a large format tweeter like the Vifa XT25.

Subs- well... it's pretty wide open there. Pick your favorite nuthugger brand or go DIY with a Dayton HO or something. Obsidian Audio has some tasty looking 10's for a nice price. Probably the best you'll get for less than $200 or so. IDMax is still a sick sub. Plenty of SQL in that one. Maybe an IA Flatlyne.

Thank you for the reply. I don't think I want to go active for this setup (between limited time spent in the car and budget)

I used to have an 880prs, is the 80prs worth looking at if i'm not going to go active.

I am looking at the PPi amp now. It doesn't list how much power the sub channel is making at 1ohm ill have to look around.

If i was going to go with a passive component set, what would you recommend for budget and SQ? I remember I think there was a set of PG components back in the day everyone ran.

 

[dvrmstrng 5,000+ posts]

Found the PPi power rating now. If I bridge the 4 channel I can get 230x2 @ 4 ohms and 440x1 @ 1 ohm out of the sub channel. Hard to believe you can get that for $250 (roughly) but if you want an amp that can do 1kw @ 1ohm in a 5 channel the price jumps up to $1000+ on that PG.

 

[dvrmstrng 5,000+ posts]

PG RSD components were the one's everyone had back then. Do they still make them?

 

[TaylorFade 10+ year member]

Found the PPi power rating now. If I bridge the 4 channel I can get 230x2 @ 4 ohms and 440x1 @ 1 ohm out of the sub channel. Hard to believe you can get that for $250 (roughly) but if you want an amp that can do 1kw @ 1ohm in a 5 channel the price jumps up to $1000+ on that PG.

Exactly. Lol. Or you can step it up a bit and get the 900.4 and the matching 1000.1. That will run you almost $400 for both, but it's a nice step up in power. Or... since you want to run passive, get the little 2 channel. It's cheap as dirt.

JBL makes some awesome little amps. I forgot about those. The "EZ" line makes a ton of clean power for the price. And they make a 3 channel. Score. Probably not enough power for you though.

Components with passsives... top of the list is probably the JBL MS62c's. Followed by the Tantric HD's. I hear good things about the Polk mm6501's, but I've never heard them and I don't personally care for Polk too much. Also, the new Sundown components look awesome. I forget how much they are but they should be right there in the mix. The B2 Audio set is super nice for

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

You could do the clarion cz 702 or the pioneer dehx 9500 for around $200 also the cdt hd 61a components at $270 the American bass of 5100 fr 5 channel. 800 rms to the sub and 120 rms x 4 at $369. Just do Mids or coaxes for the rear. Cdt also makes a 2" mid tweet for $160 for the dash. Then you'll need an amp kit (wires) $100 dash kit and integration $100+ ,box $150 and sub. This wil depend on how much room you are willing to use. But a decent sub will be $200+

 

[bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts]

Memphis makes some great 5 channels...I've got this one: Memphis 16-MCH1300 (16mch1300) 1560W RMS, The Memphis Belle 5-

and the sub channel is more than enough with a relatively small footprint, plus plenty of power for the other speakers.

I'm doing a spacesaving/SQL install right now with that amp and a single 12" eD sub and it sounds great. I built a custom fiberglass enclosure to maximize space so that's always an option but it's a lot more labor intensive...

 

[dvrmstrng 5,000+ posts]

Ah I know all about the Belle, the old school one too. They don't still make them do they? I think I also had an IA DP 5 channel at some point that was discontinued. Same thing with my eD nine.5.

 

[gckless 5,000+ posts]

Don't forget about those Boston GT amps. They are pretty good for the price.

 

[dvrmstrng 5,000+ posts]

Actually the amp selection may be complete. Just sent a PM offer on here for a Memphis MC5.1400

With that in mind maybe we can whittle down the selection. That leaves me with:

RMS power 4 Ohm(w) : 75W x4/275W x1

RMS power 2 Ohm(w) : 115W x4/550W x1

RMS Power 1 Ohm(w) : 1100W x1

What are those second measurements on the RMS of 4ohm and 2ohm? 275 watts x 1 channel and 550 watts on 1 channel?

 

[neo_styles 10+ year member]

That's your power on the sub channel. Definitely beastly.

 

[dvrmstrng 5,000+ posts]

I am still confused with that one. Help me out.

If I run 75x4 for the components I only get 275W out of my sub channel?

 

[dvrmstrng 5,000+ posts]

So right now its looking like

Head Unit: ???

Fronts: JBL MS-62C

Amp: Memphis 16-MC5.1400

Sub: ???

 

[TaylorFade 10+ year member]

The sub channel is independant of the others. You can run 4 ohm on the other channels and still run 2 or 1 ohm on the sub channel. They're just listed by ohm load in the specs.

To answer your earlier question... yes, I think the 80prs is still worth it even if you don't run active. Or the Clarion cz702 as MyLows mentioned. Both have more control than your average deck.

If you've got 1k on the sub channel and want SQL... IDMax, IA Flatlyne, Tantric HD, Sundown X... I mean the list goes on and on.