help me out, recommend some stuff / setups

[livinlegend 10+ year member]

thanks a lot. i'll probably be taking your advice with all of that stuff and buying it in a matter of time now.

as far as getting a box built, what info would i have to give someone who does that and what criteria? i should ask for them to port it, right? should i measure my trunk and have the box fill out my entire back seat perfectly or what, not quite sure on the specifics of that part.

oh, by the way, what does SQ stand for?

 

[jjski78 10+ year member]

thanks a lot. i'll probably be taking your advice with all of that stuff and buying it in a matter of time now.


as far as getting a box built, what info would i have to give someone who does that and what criteria? i should ask for them to port it, right? should i measure my trunk and have the box fill out my entire back seat perfectly or what, not quite sure on the specifics of that part.

oh, by the way, what does SQ stand for?

SQ=Sound Quality.

You should measure your trunk area. Tell them the max width and the max height. Tell them you want it 2.0 cubic feet tuned to 32 hertz. That's what Ascendant Audio recommends for that sub. With that info, they should have no problem building you a nice slot-ported enclosure.

 

[livinlegend 10+ year member]

thank you so much for all the info. guess i'm all set then. ill post how it eventually came along since you helped me so much.

oh yeah one last question. i'm going to be using my ipod with whatever HU i pick up (probably the last eclipse one you recommended). the ipod is gonna connect to an AUX line, correct? Will this affect my sound quality at all? or just stick to mp3 discs? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[jjski78 10+ year member]

thank you so much for all the info. guess i'm all set then. ill post how it eventually came along since you helped me so much.
oh yeah one last question. i'm going to be using my ipod with whatever HU i pick up (probably the last eclipse one you recommended). the ipod is gonna connect to an AUX line, correct? Will this affect my sound quality at all?

You can hook your iPod up to any of those HU's one of two ways. First, you can buy the iPod adapter made for that HU. That will allow you to control it through the faceplate. Alpine has the upper hand here, their iPod integration is second to none. Second, you can just run a cable to the Aux input of the HU. Disadvantage here is that you can't control the iPod from the HU, and to me, it's a bit of a pain to scroll through the pod instead of via the HU. And it won't charge the battery while you drive. Either way, you're not gonna lose any SQ.

 

[Torgus 10+ year member]

you have 2 choices do it the right way or the easy way.

easy way: buy factory speakers.

right way: upgrade to a 3 way component set($500), buy an amp($300) for em, and install them($125). and forget about the rear. if you must have rear fill buy a cheap component set($100)

it is very easy to do all yourself. the install price of $125 is a diy price. at a shop they would **** you because you are driving a bmw. therefor you have $$$. ask on a bimmer board i'm sure there is a walkthrough with pictures. or ask a friend easy to do.

edit:buy an eclipse HU. specifically a 7k i wish i did...but thats cuz it's a bit better. and i like to think i would notice the difference in sq(doubtful).

 

[jjski78 10+ year member]

you have 2 choices do it the right way or the easy way.
easy way: buy factory speakers.

right way: upgrade to a 3 way component set($500), buy an amp($300) for em, and install them($125). and forget about the rear. if you must have rear fill buy a cheap component set($100)

it is very easy to do all yourself. the install price of $125 is a diy price. at a shop they would **** you because you are driving a bmw. therefor you have $$$. ask on a bimmer board i'm sure there is a walkthrough with pictures. or ask a friend easy to do.

edit:buy an eclipse HU. specifically a 7k i wish i did...but thats cuz it's a bit better. and i like to think i would notice the difference in sq(doubtful).

Actually, you didn't list the right way or the easy way. You listed the expensive way, and the more expensive way. I would definitely say for him to get a set of 3 way components, but for what he wants to accomplish, with a budget of $1000, it's just not realistic. And IMHO I don't think it would matter if he went with 3 way components, or 2 way components. The way his sound system is right now, a set of Xplod coaxials would be an upgrade.

 

[Torgus 10+ year member]

buying the factory speakers off fleabay or craigs list or randomly calling audio shops or junk yards would be the cheapest way imo. the stock system isn't that horrible imo.

for around 1g installed you can get amped 3 ways in the front. and a sub in the rear.

 

[livinlegend 10+ year member]

those eclipse HUs are ridiculously expensive. wouldnt it be more worth it to just go with the nice alpine one for $170?

 

[jjski78 10+ year member]

those eclipse HUs are ridiculously expensive. wouldnt it be more worth it to just go with the nice alpine one for $170?

The Alpine CDA-9856 is a very nice HU that will do everything you want. Would be my choice if the Eclipse unit's price scares you.

 

[budahbuddy803 10+ year member]

ok.

HU: Alpine or Pioneer (with front and sub pre amp out puts)

Front Stage: 6.5" component set (2way because they are cheaper)

Component amp: class a/b 2ch. (putting out the RMS of the component speakers)

Sub: 12" w/e you want

Sub amp: class D powers the sub to its rms potential

Sub box: print 2.0@32hz off molestors "sticky" thread and ask a local to build it for you

Rear fill: coaxils if you want

Wires: speaker wire/0ga/distibution block(0ga. input- 2 4ga outputs)/ 4ga wire