Help wit my first system

[Sureman]

Yo i was wondering if you guys could advise me on what equipment to buy for my 02 Dodge Stratus. I'm pretty inexperienced with car audio, I've been lookin around these forums and reading reviews, but i could really use ur suggestions.

I'm looking for good sound quality without blowin too much cash

Here's what i was thinkin of getting:

Head unit- a new Eclipse (CD3000?) or older model Alpine (CDA-9835?)

Amp- Pheonix Gold (powers speakers and sub, for not too much)

Speakers- i found a pair of Alpines and a pair of Pioneers on crutchfield, they seem allright.

Sub- I dont know jack about subs, im lookin for nice bass without having my car rattle and sound like shit. I listen to rap and love blastin the bass, but i'm also into all types of other music, and dont want that to be ruined.

any advice would be appreciated, thanks

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[billabongcr 5,000+ posts]

Yo i was wondering if you guys could advise me on what equipment to buy for my 02 Dodge Stratus. I'm pretty inexperienced with car audio, I've been lookin around these forums and reading reviews, but i could really use ur suggestions.
I'm looking for good sound quality without blowin too much cash

Here's what i was thinkin of getting:

Head unit- a new Eclipse (CD3000?) or older model Alpine (CDA-9835?)

Amp- Pheonix Gold (powers speakers and sub, for not too much)

Speakers- i found a pair of Alpines and a pair of Pioneers on crutchfield, they seem allright.

Sub- I dont know jack about subs, im lookin for nice bass without having my car rattle and sound like shit. I listen to rap and love blastin the bass, but i'm also into all types of other music, and dont want that to be ruined.

any advice would be appreciated, thanks

sub= 1 Fi SSD 10 on 1k watts in 1.5ft^3 ported. you will be envied

EDIT: http://www.ficaraudio.com SSD +flatwind coil to handle the extra power (SSD RMS= 800, flatwind coil holds additional power) $199 shipped to your door

 

[scplayboy00 10+ year member]

Good luck on finding a 9835 for cheap.

 

[Sureman]

Good luck on finding a 9835 for cheap.

**** i was hopin to pick one up on ebay or sumthin.

It seems like everyones saying the new alpines are shitty

i might get a pioneer, they seem good but cheaper...

 

[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

There are lots of complaints about Alpine's '06 HU lineup. Seemingly (and I only have hearsay to go on here as I'm not an Alpine guy so don't quote me on this) the only real advantage to most of Alpine's newest stuff, excepting their top-end offerings, is their new high-speed iPod control. Outside of that most users report the '06 Alpines to be rather lacking in several areas.

The CDA-9835 is a much more capable HU than Eclipse's CD3000. Consequently you'll likely pay considerably more for that Alpine than you would the Eclipse. Keep in mind, however, that you do truly get what you pay for when talking about car audio gear so paying a bit more for admission, in this case, would likely be worth it in the long run. This isn't to say that the CD3000 is garbage...quite the contrary....but the 9835 is simply much more deck.

Phoenix Gold makes some really solid stuff. Try to stay away from the Octane-series gear, however, as they are more often than not a bit problematic in the quality control department. Outside of that particular model lineup, though, you should be pretty safe with a PG amp. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/thumbsup.gif.3287b36ca96645a13a43aff531f37f02.gif

After you've found some speakers you favor from Crutchfield see if you can source the same stuff for less money elsewhere on the web (such as eBay as you mentioned before) I've done heaps of business with Crutchfield through the years and I'm certain I will continue to do so but there only real advantage(s) to doing business there is outstanding customer service and valid warranties. If those two things are of no real import to you then Crutchfield's sticking to MSRP on most items can make them prohibitively expensive.

Now when talking about subs and not wanting to rattle and sound like crap please realize that the presence (or lack thereof) of that annoying rattling can potentially (read that as: usually) much more dependent on the install itself rather than the specific gear being installed. A good install job including quality sound deadening/dampening will generally eliminate those rattles. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif