ninjatek
10+ year member
Ninja Member
I've always had a fetish for car audio. I remember working on my dodge omni that I was given for my first car, before I turned 16, so that I would have the stereo installed the day I could drive it. I had a decent alpine deck, a 75x2rms infinity amp pushing a set of Boston Acoustics 6.5 coax's, an Orion XTR 300rmsx2 amp, and 2 10" Orion XTR subs in mdf boxes. Since it was a hatch back, it actually sounded really good, especially since the coax's were amped. The bass was insane.
Moving on, I've been through quite a few cars, having all kinds of gear. I had a civic with Focal components and 2 10" boston pro subs. I had an accord with even better Focal components and 3 10" infinity perfects.
Now, I have a bmw z4, so I don't have room for subs. The car came stock with 3 way components and 2 x 6.5 "subs" behind the seats.
Here is what I did.
I pulled the HU out of my accord (i totalled the car). I spent some time researching the best deck for the money (i like sq) and found it to be (at the time) the Eclipse CDA 8445, based on reviews, this forum and what I heard in demos.
This time though, I didn't do the install myself. The car is under warranty and I didnt want to take any chances (especially with a $40k car). I had a professional installer (not Best Buy, but a reknowned local installer that works on yachts, ferarris,etc) do the install, and it cost me about $600 (just for labor). The HU actually wouldn't even fit in the space correctly, so we had to retrofit the adapter place and leave the HU sticking out about 3/4 of an inch.. (doesnt look bad at all).
He used all the original wiring (stating that it was more than good enough and there was no reason to run new wire that would cost alot and maybe not even be as good of quality). But everythign was soddered in (sp?) and done right.
Unfortunately, the original equipment wasn't very aftermarket friendly. The factory HU was impossible to interface to an aftermarket amp (aka proprietary adapters) and the speakers and amps used non standard impedances. So in order to install anything, it all had to go.
Here is what I used.
HU - The Eclipse CDA 8445 http://www.mobileonesales.com/product_p/cd8445.htm
Component Amp - Alpine PDX 2.150 http://www.alpine-usa.com/US-en/products/product.php?model=PDX-2.150
Sub Amp - Alpine mono block 600x1 rms amp (wired two subs together).. (this link is to a newer similar model) http://www.alpine-usa.com/US-en/products/product.php?model=MRP-M500
Components - Hertz HE HSK 163 3 way - http://www.hertzaudiovideo.com/Doc/pdf_hsk163.pdf
Subs - kept factory speakers
-----------------------------------------------------------
The HERTZ 3 way is not the same as the 2 way. It has a different 6.5 that wipes teh floor with the 6.5 that comes with the 2 way. It is a different monster. Another customer of the shop where I bought the hertz, he had 2 pairs of the 2 way with more power and my 3 way sounded richer and hit harder. THe 6.5's that come with the 3 way are nearly twice as heavy as the 6.5 that comes in the 2 way.
Between the head unit, the amp, and the components, the sound is just amazing. I have the 2 subs behind my seats, but I have the gain on the amp at like 10% and the non fader as low as it will go. Granted, the amp I am using (I already had it, didnt buy it just for these speakers) has wayyyy more power than the speakers can handle, but I still have them turned all the way down. I'm tempted to remove them all together and sell the amp.
I have the low pass on the components at 60 with a 12db slope. ****.. do they hit all the way that low without struggling. I thought about spending the extra money to "go active" but I honestly don't feel a need to. It sounds fine the way it is. The low/mid bass that these components put out is just disgusting. I've actually had to sweep out a decent part of the eq between 100-500hz because the midbass was just so overwhelming in the small cabin of the car. I'll post pics soon. It's a very clean install. All you can see is the HU. Everything else is in its factory place using factory grills, etc.
I'm completely satisfied, and for the first time in my life, I don't have any desire to add more gear or play with it. It sounds amazing the way it is, better than I could ask for, and I'm glad I'm finally able to provide myself something so nice and feel satisified with it. All in all, it wasn't terribly expensive.
$400 for the HU
$600 for the components
$300 for the Component amp
$200 for the sub amp
$600 for the install
If anybody is in the St. Louis area... let me know, I'd love to demo it.
Moving on, I've been through quite a few cars, having all kinds of gear. I had a civic with Focal components and 2 10" boston pro subs. I had an accord with even better Focal components and 3 10" infinity perfects.
Now, I have a bmw z4, so I don't have room for subs. The car came stock with 3 way components and 2 x 6.5 "subs" behind the seats.
Here is what I did.
I pulled the HU out of my accord (i totalled the car). I spent some time researching the best deck for the money (i like sq) and found it to be (at the time) the Eclipse CDA 8445, based on reviews, this forum and what I heard in demos.
This time though, I didn't do the install myself. The car is under warranty and I didnt want to take any chances (especially with a $40k car). I had a professional installer (not Best Buy, but a reknowned local installer that works on yachts, ferarris,etc) do the install, and it cost me about $600 (just for labor). The HU actually wouldn't even fit in the space correctly, so we had to retrofit the adapter place and leave the HU sticking out about 3/4 of an inch.. (doesnt look bad at all).
He used all the original wiring (stating that it was more than good enough and there was no reason to run new wire that would cost alot and maybe not even be as good of quality). But everythign was soddered in (sp?) and done right.
Unfortunately, the original equipment wasn't very aftermarket friendly. The factory HU was impossible to interface to an aftermarket amp (aka proprietary adapters) and the speakers and amps used non standard impedances. So in order to install anything, it all had to go.
Here is what I used.
HU - The Eclipse CDA 8445 http://www.mobileonesales.com/product_p/cd8445.htm
Component Amp - Alpine PDX 2.150 http://www.alpine-usa.com/US-en/products/product.php?model=PDX-2.150
Sub Amp - Alpine mono block 600x1 rms amp (wired two subs together).. (this link is to a newer similar model) http://www.alpine-usa.com/US-en/products/product.php?model=MRP-M500
Components - Hertz HE HSK 163 3 way - http://www.hertzaudiovideo.com/Doc/pdf_hsk163.pdf
Subs - kept factory speakers
-----------------------------------------------------------
The HERTZ 3 way is not the same as the 2 way. It has a different 6.5 that wipes teh floor with the 6.5 that comes with the 2 way. It is a different monster. Another customer of the shop where I bought the hertz, he had 2 pairs of the 2 way with more power and my 3 way sounded richer and hit harder. THe 6.5's that come with the 3 way are nearly twice as heavy as the 6.5 that comes in the 2 way.
Between the head unit, the amp, and the components, the sound is just amazing. I have the 2 subs behind my seats, but I have the gain on the amp at like 10% and the non fader as low as it will go. Granted, the amp I am using (I already had it, didnt buy it just for these speakers) has wayyyy more power than the speakers can handle, but I still have them turned all the way down. I'm tempted to remove them all together and sell the amp.
I have the low pass on the components at 60 with a 12db slope. ****.. do they hit all the way that low without struggling. I thought about spending the extra money to "go active" but I honestly don't feel a need to. It sounds fine the way it is. The low/mid bass that these components put out is just disgusting. I've actually had to sweep out a decent part of the eq between 100-500hz because the midbass was just so overwhelming in the small cabin of the car. I'll post pics soon. It's a very clean install. All you can see is the HU. Everything else is in its factory place using factory grills, etc.
I'm completely satisfied, and for the first time in my life, I don't have any desire to add more gear or play with it. It sounds amazing the way it is, better than I could ask for, and I'm glad I'm finally able to provide myself something so nice and feel satisified with it. All in all, it wasn't terribly expensive.
$400 for the HU
$600 for the components
$300 for the Component amp
$200 for the sub amp
$600 for the install
If anybody is in the St. Louis area... let me know, I'd love to demo it.
