its hard to design a budget system

[The Camry]

I have this habit of showing friends my audio system, them going holy ****. How do I get that? And me explaining its alot of money >.>

Ive been trying to put together a list of items that'd make a great system for anyone. The issue is. Its pretty **** expensive no matter how you look at it.

Headunit- ive learned in this last year that the headunit you get is in my opinion, the most important aspect of your entire system. Sound quality wise. The change from factory, to a Excelon, wasnt that big of a difference, really just changed my source input abilities if any thing. However the 80prs. Was night and day. Having dsp abilities and Dac built in is crucial. I guess what im saying is that I dont think there is a reason to change from factory(ignore Bose) unless your going to get something worthwhile that actually lets you control your sound. Yes I could go get a $100 excelon unit but for SQ, t/a and eq is absolutely necessary. I could build them a system with a basic head unit. It will save money but they will have no stage and thats the essence I think, of what drives someone to truly enjoy their system.

Whenever I sit someone in my car, I do the same thing. I put them in the driver seat, put on ac/dc live, and let er rip. They all say the same thing. " holy crap, its like im really there" that is my selling point, that is what you get from t/a and eq and i wouldn't want to give them anything less.

Amplifiers: the cheapest I feel comfortable going is the PPI amps that sre budget friendly and everyone rants about. I still dont like them. I still feel squimish telling anyone to get one. I dont buy cheap, I dont like cheap, and I dont want my recommendation to end up being a loq quality or DOA item when they get it, but whatever. Ive never actually tried one so ill risk it I guess. The ppi 900.4 and 1000.1 is what im talking about specifically.

I have considered going with a 5 channel amp which would be cheaper in most cases and save on the power wire front, however my biggest issue with 5 channel is most have pitiful sub channel power. Ive never put anything less than 1000rms to any sub on any system ive built. I have zero knowledge of what anything less sounds like. I kinda have this idea that with less power and proper install. You can get that great high punchy bass but no good lows. Nothing a fan of edm or any music with low sub-bass and bass would appreciate. Im not sure where the line is drawn for whats "enough" power for a beginner.

Speakers. This one is easy. Jbl p660c. Best cheap component speakers for the money IMO

Sub/box: this one is tricky, I could probably get a decent deal on craigslist for a sub and box. Most amatuers dont know good bass from bad or clean from dirty. I never even knew what good bass sounded like until I got a sa-12 and built a box for it. Thats not to say I wasnt perfectly happy with my high tuned, duel 12" kenwoods in a high tuned prefab box. What you dont know about doesnt hurt you I suppose. If I went with brand new, id probably get them a dcon or gcon, depending on the power being supplied and the budget they are willing to go with. Id definitely point out to them the shipping time of SSA and the loudness difference associated with doubling power and such. See where their head is with how much bass they'd want.

Box wise, I could get or make a design, not that difficult. I have no wood tools so itd be tricky. I think I could get my hands on a table saw for the day and bust them out a box. 100$ or so to build the box. Probably less.

Wiring: somewhere between $50-100 for power wire and fuses and rcas. No real way to cheap out on that. I personally run walmart rcas and they work just fine. Power wire would be supplied from knukoncepts. They have good prices and quality is better than what local shops provide.

Misc: ive learned that when building a system. Its hard to ever have a solid budget. Misc crap always pops ip. Connectors, a broken crimper, techflex, possibly dash kits, ect. You just never know.

There is the argument of new vs used. I have good and bad experiences with both. Ive bought from people on here and gotten good gear and ive gotten bad gear. Althought the one bad thing I got may have just been a low voltage from head unit issue. Still, I run the risk of receiving a defective item from a seller and having my install go to **** because of it. Then my clients money is wasted(forget the uselessness of paypal), time is wasted, and my reputation is lowered. I prefer new for any install.

Sound deadener: this is by far the hardest decision. Ive used SDS and and Raamat. Both are great, thats not the issue. The issue is wether or not to set aside the budget for deadener. It vastly improves SQ, helps seal the doors which is crucial and is great for removing rattles.this is hard to justify not using but is expensive.

Pioneer deh80prs: $250ish

900.4 and 1000.1. 327$

Jbl speakers 135$

Gcon plus box (room in here to move around and be cheaper) 300$

Wiring. 50-100

misc-30

All together thats 1100$ and that doesn't include any fee for me to install it.

Im having a hard time justifying the existence of a "budget" system

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[The Camry]

How do you all design a cheaper system?

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[jordon]

Craiglist

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

budget system i've done for people is sony mex 100 bt already has a decent dedicated amp built in, time alignment, 24 bit dacs yada yada all for 200 bucks.

Grab some Tang band 6x9s subs in the rear deck infinite baffle. Press the button on the head unit that turns the rear speaker outputs into subwoofer duty. Time align and EQ and they have a respectable sounding system.

Can trade the tang bands out for something elseif they want to do subs in a box instead of IB. JBL GT5s do pretty well at price point. Just do bigger cone area with bigger size if they want loud.

Front can just use stock components if the have stock tweeters and such, if not, just get some jbl GTO comps. Should be more than enough to impress most people.

for under 400 dollars after tax and shipping and install gear.

 

[dev199505]

Sound Qubed is great budget sub.

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[The Camry]

budget system i've done for people is sony mex 100 bt already has a decent dedicated amp built in, time alignment, 24 bit dacs yada yada all for 200 bucks.
Grab some Tang band 6x9s subs in the rear deck infinite baffle. Press the button on the head unit that turns the rear speaker outputs into subwoofer duty. Time align and EQ and they have a respectable sounding system.

Can trade the tang bands out for something elseif they want to do subs in a box instead of IB. JBL GT5s do pretty well at price point. Just do bigger cone area with bigger size if they want loud.

Front can just use stock components if the have stock tweeters and such, if not, just get some jbl GTO comps. Should be more than enough to impress most people.

for under 400 dollars after tax and shipping and install gear.

But T/A is kinda useless when it has to be ran passive for components..right? Although it lets you t/a the sub as well, which is a start.

 

[Kai Winters 10+ year member]

What is a "budget" system???

Someone may think spending over $100.00 on a head unit is excessive while someone else may not blink at dropping $1500.00 or more on a top of the line unit.

Same for all other components.

That is the hard part when trying to help someone choose a "budget" system...

I've always tried to spend some time, if I want to spend the time, just talking to the person to try to find out what they want, how they will use it, future proofing, etc.

It is not easy putting together a system even if "budget" is not much of a consideration...

 

[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

I've been invloved putting together a system for 400 bucks once.

That's budget minded....meaning not a lot of $$ to spend. (Thought people knew what a budget system is?)

It's all in shopping for deals. Plain and simple.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

But T/A is kinda useless when it has to be ran passive for components..right? Although it lets you t/a the sub as well, which is a start.

Not really, theres a special way to measure it, get the midpoint of the tweets and mids and measure to your ear then fine tune by ear later. Makes a massive difference in staging even with passive comps. The buddies that ive installed this head unit for sound a lot better than a lot of the systems out there that has fancy comps and better amps but arent time aligned. Only thing i wished would change is the 16khz part of the EQ, it would have been better if they used 12.5khz instead

 

[Roland 10+ year member]

Has anyone ever tried a JBL MS-2? I see them on Ebay for $30-$40. Not sure how well they work but...

I was thinking on the super cheap, a 5 channel PPI/p-900.5 $200. Use the amps crossovers. Then direct from the phone, to the JBL MS-2, (Not sure about MS-2 voltage out ?) to the amp, then to your comp-set or stock speakers.

The TB 6x9s Ib subs, or a $110 Pioneer TS-w1200pro in a ported box, which is a really great sounding sub that performs on as little as 200 watts.

 

[dsw1204]

I think a lot of people put their system together piece by piece, according to their budget. Maybe pick up a nice little high end NOS head unit for under $200. Then, when funds become available for an amp, buy the best "bang-for-the-buck" amp you can find. Do the same for the next component of the system, etc. Yeah, you are still going to be around the $1000 or more for the entire system, but it just does not feel like you spent a lot because of the piecemeal process. For those of us who are struggling financially and still have a passion for high quality car audio sound.

 

[Kai Winters 10+ year member]

That's how I've been doing it for years...start with what I feel is the most important piece then as money builds buy the next piece, etc.

But sometimes it's hard to know or decide on what piece to start with.

 

[tymoto21 10+ year member]

If you really want budget you just need to shop around for deals

I have gotten pioneer touch screens with 5v pre outs for under $150

Alpine type s comps for $20

$100 for budget 1k sub amps brand new

If you really take some time and get those cl deals or snag something on eBay you can do a budget build for very cheap

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

If you really want budget you just need to shop around for dealsI have gotten pioneer touch screens with 5v pre outs for under $150

Alpine type s comps for $20

$100 for budget 1k sub amps brand new

If you really take some time and get those cl deals or snag something on eBay you can do a budget build for very cheap

if you want sound quality, it cant be just any touchscreen with 5 volt pre-outs. Time alignment, quality 24 bit convertors and 9+ bands of EQ is needed. Usually people keep those head units for a good reason though. Type S are pretty horrid from my experience with them in comparison to everything else i've ran. I guess there's a standard that I would not go below even when its budget.