Looking at a first-time "serious" build.

[Garrett Morgan]

Howdy y'all, let me apologize in advance for what seems like is going to be a lot of text.
I'm pretty new to the whole audio system thing. I've done the basics before, a new head unit, some (decent) speakers, but never a comprehensive system working in tweeters, amps, and sub(s).

I've been studying up on as much of the basics - everything I think I need to know to at least get started in the right direction. I've put together a little spec sheet of a build plan, though I'll likely be buying piece by piece and doing small batches of installs at a time. I'd really appreciate any time you guys can take to look over this build. Yes, it is a pretty cheap build, but I think it gives me a good amount of room to upgrade things as I go, and gives me a good platform to start with.

Just a couple of other things;
- It's going into a 2009 Honda CRV
- I'm aiming for a decently loud system (loud enough to feel kinda surrounded by the sound), but really looking for decent balance of sound.
- I'd really like to run a single power and ground from the battery, and included what I think I'd like to use to split that properly.

Below I've just listed the build sheet, with links that (hopefully work).

For my highs/mids, I've gone with:

• Kicker 46CXA360.4T
• 4 channels, 65w RMS at 4 ohms, and says it has a "best frequency range" of 10-20k Hz.
• Calls for a 40 amp fuse.

This is powering two sets of speakers .

• Polk DB6502 component + tweeter set
• 6.5" speakers, fits my front doors. tweeters fit in my existing dash locations.
• 100w RMS and 300w peak, 4 ohms, says that the kit is good for 35-23k Hz.
• Comes with crossovers that seem to allow you to choose between 0, +3 db, or +6 db using jumpers.
• Polk DB652
• Two component speakers, fit the rear doors.
• 100w RMS and 300w peak, 4 ohms, says that the "Frequency Response" is 40-22k Hz.

For my bass needs, I've gone with:

• Rockford Fosgate R2-500X1
• Mono channel, 500w RMS at 2 ohms, and says it's "best frequency response" is 20-250 Hz.
• Calls for an 80 amp fuse.

Subwoofer:

• Rockford Fosgate P3D4-10
• 10", 4 ohm DVC, wired in paralles for 2 ohm impedance
• 500w RMS, 100w peak, "Frequency Response" 28-250 Hz.

I intend to power both amps using:

1 1/0-gauge power wire, splitting to 2 8-gauge power wires

2 8-gauge ground wires from the amps, combining to 1 1/0-gauge ground wire

• Using this distribution block to split/combine the 2 sets of 8-gauge wires:
• T-Spec v12 Series VDB2

And using this 1/0- to 4-gauge wire dual fuse block, in conjunction with two 125 amp fuses:

EFX DFB0 Delta Dual Fuse Block

Click to read more...

 

[mahc 10+ year member]

Are you dead set on this or you want suggestions?

 

[Garrett Morgan]

Are you dead set on this or you want suggestions?

Definitely open to suggestions (read as please help). What I've got there is really the roughest idea, simply what numbers matched up.

The only reason I went with the Polk speakers is because I have a set that have been with me and/or my brother since ~2009 and they're still kicking, and I've read that the rockford fosgates are generally decent.

It prices out to a little under $1,700, and I think I'm still trying to stay around that in price at this point.

 

[spokey9 5,000+ posts]

CLEARANCE Dayton Audio UM10-22 10" Ultimax DVC Subwoofer 2 ohms Per Coil

Dayton Audio UM10-22 10" Ultimax DVC Subwoofer 2 ohms Per CoilDayton Audio UM10-22 10" Ultimax DVC SubwooferExperience the Apex of Subwoofer DesignThe Ultimax Series of dual voice coil subwoofers, from Dayton Audio, are not for the faint of heart. Built using the latest in subwoofer technology...

www.parts-express.com

I think that's a better sub than the p3 and it's on clearance since they released the ultimate II

Stinger Audio MT-1000.1 1,000 Watt (RMS) Class D Monoblock Car Audio Amplifier

Shop 1000W Class D Monoblock amplifiers for your car today! Features include adjustable low-pass filters, bass boost control, and a remote control.

stingersolutions.com

That's a solid sub amp

That's about $200 cheaper than the rf stuff you posted and imo will perform better.

I'd use the savings to deaden your doors some so the 6.5's will sound better

 

[Garrett Morgan]

CLEARANCE Dayton Audio UM10-22 10" Ultimax DVC Subwoofer 2 ohms Per Coil

Dayton Audio UM10-22 10" Ultimax DVC Subwoofer 2 ohms Per CoilDayton Audio UM10-22 10" Ultimax DVC SubwooferExperience the Apex of Subwoofer DesignThe Ultimax Series of dual voice coil subwoofers, from Dayton Audio, are not for the faint of heart. Built using the latest in subwoofer technology...

www.parts-express.com

I think that's a better sub than the p3 and it's on clearance since they released the ultimate II

Stinger Audio MT-1000.1 1,000 Watt (RMS) Class D Monoblock Car Audio Amplifier

Shop 1000W Class D Monoblock amplifiers for your car today! Features include adjustable low-pass filters, bass boost control, and a remote control.

stingersolutions.com

That's a solid sub amp

That's about $200 cheaper than the rf stuff you posted and imo will perform better.

I'd use the savings to deaden your doors some so the 6.5's will sound better

So, I'm still relatively new to this, would there not be an issue with the amp outputting 1000w at 1 ohm and 700w at 2 ohms since the sub is only rated for 500w and could be wired to be either 1 ohm or 2 ohms?

Do you have any other recommendations if I'm not able to swing it on clearance (or before they run out of stock)?

Also, do you have any recommendations for deadening materials? I've seen some people recommend the NVX baffles, how does that play into the deadening/setup?

Sorry for all of the questions.

 

[Old_Slapper]

Those are good brands, but here are a few suggestions. The Precision Amps are known as being really reliable and are made in Korea, where the quality is much better than China. The subs you picked are 500 watts each. Therefore, you will need a 1000 watt amp, or two of those 500 watt amps.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09V2S252L/?tag=caraudiocom-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09V2RRHWC/?tag=caraudiocom-20

Polk Audio is decent. They are not nearly as good as their home stuff. However, get the speakers that give you the sound you like.

For a sub, this single 12" will give you a lot of bass. It moves a lot of air and sounds really good.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CX3JWGK3/?tag=caraudiocom-20

 

[Garrett Morgan]

Those are good brands, but here are a few suggestions. The Precision Amps are known as being really reliable and are made in Korea, where the quality is much better than China. The subs you picked are 500 watts each. Therefore, you will need a 1000 watt amp, or two of those 500 watt amps.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09V2S252L/?tag=caraudiocom-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09V2RRHWC/?tag=caraudiocom-20

Polk Audio is decent. They are not nearly as good as their home stuff. However, get the speakers that give you the sound you like.

For a sub, this single 12" will give you a lot of bass. It moves a lot of air and sounds really good.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CX3JWGK3/?tag=caraudiocom-20

Thanks for the suggestions.

The amps are listed as "vertical", does that effect anything in any meaningful way as far as mounting and such goes?

Also, do you think that the 12" sub is the way to go for that kind of "punchy" bass feel? I've got another car that I'd added my Polk 6x9s to the rear deck to function as faux subs, and there's this feeling of like the individual hits on the bass drums (rock, metal), or on like the accented notes on the bass lines (rap, dubstep), in my chest, that I've become addicted to. I'm sorry to ramble on about it, but I'm not sure how to achieve that with a higher quality system.

 

[Old_Slapper]

Thanks for the suggestions.

The amps are listed as "vertical", does that effect anything in any meaningful way as far as mounting and such goes?

Also, do you think that the 12" sub is the way to go for that kind of "punchy" bass feel? I've got another car that I'd added my Polk 6x9s to the rear deck to function as faux subs, and there's this feeling of like the individual hits on the bass drums (rock, metal), or on like the accented notes on the bass lines (rap, dubstep), in my chest, that I've become addicted to. I'm sorry to ramble on about it, but I'm not sure how to achieve that with a higher quality system.

If you will be running your amps flat, check out these.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09V2S5GTL/?tag=caraudiocom-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09PQK5WHN/?tag=caraudiocom-20

For punchy bass, it depend on how big of a box your are willing to go with. That single 12 will be punchy as heck. Especially in a 1.5 cubic ft box.

 

[spokey9 5,000+ posts]

So, I'm still relatively new to this, would there not be an issue with the amp outputting 1000w at 1 ohm and 700w at 2 ohms since the sub is only rated for 500w and could be wired to be either 1 ohm or 2 ohms?

It'll be fine...just set the gain lower. The upside is you won't be pushing the amp to the max

 

[spokey9 5,000+ posts]

Also, do you think that the 12" sub is the way to go for that kind of "punchy" bass feel?

More displacement is always "better" so the more air your subs move the louder they'll be. Truthfully though better is a pretty individual taste thing. A good 10 will be more than enough for some and not even in the ballpark for others

So it really comes down do you want just good sounding music or some added giggle factor for your stereo

 

[Garrett Morgan]

If you will be running your amps flat, check out these.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09V2S5GTL/?tag=caraudiocom-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09PQK5WHN/?tag=caraudiocom-20

For punchy bass, it depend on how big of a box your are willing to go with. That single 12 will be punchy as heck. Especially in a 1.5 cubic ft box.

Did you have any suggestions for mid amps? Should I check out Precision for that as well?

 

[Old_Slapper]

Did you have any suggestions for mid amps? Should I check out Precision for that as well?

The 4-channel is for the mids and highs. The mono block is for the subs. Were you looking to run a separate amp to the tweeters?

 

[Garrett Morgan]

The 4-channel is for the mids and highs. The mono block is for the subs. Were you looking to run a separate amp to the tweeters?

Ah, I just don't know how to read lol. And no, I was just planning on tying them into the front speakers with crossovers, though in the future I might try to add some smaller coaxial speakers in the dash for mids.

Would the 60w rms (x4 @4Ω) be enough to reasonably drive the 100w speakers? I'm not entirely sure exactly how that works, aside from trying to avoid too powerful an amp. Wouldn't the amp be in a high state of use to power those? I'm really not trying to be critical, I'm just trying to understand as a lot of this is still very new to me.

 

[Old_Slapper]

Ah, I just don't know how to read lol. And no, I was just planning on tying them into the front speakers with crossovers, though in the future I might try to add some smaller coaxial speakers in the dash for mids.

Would the 60w rms (x4 @4Ω) be enough to reasonably drive the 100w speakers? I'm not entirely sure exactly how that works, aside from trying to avoid too powerful an amp. Wouldn't the amp be in a high state of use to power those? I'm really not trying to be critical, I'm just trying to understand as a lot of this is still very new to me.

I would recommend the A700.4D over the A400.4D, but I was going off of the wattage of the Kicker amp.

https://www.sonicelectronix.com/item-200679-Precision-Power-PPI-A700.4D.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PLA&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaignid=21740837457&utm_matchtype=&utm_keyword=&utm_device=c&utm_content=&utm_devicemodel=&utm_network=x&utm_loc_physical_ms=1013953&utm_loc_interest_ms=&utm_placement=&utm_adposition=&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw68K4BhAuEiwAylp3kqqpjljFlDPf3qQaXPiQQEVV1PmgcPkeUmbXJZuWmdclpZFKreLDaBoCcAUQAvD_BwE

Again, there are cheaper and more powerful amps out there. The only problem is, reliability is not the same. Some will get 5 years from those amps, while others will get much less. The Precision Power amps are not as good as they were, back in the day, but they have still proven themselves as being very reliable.

I have the Precision Power (PPI) PC1000.5D amp in my F150. I have had it for almost 2 years with no issues. I purchased the A1800.1D and A700.4D for my kid's Ranger. It will be driving an NVX sub and NVX speakers. I am that guy that has to buy quality because my wife will only let me buy it once. LOL...

 

[Garrett Morgan]

I would recommend the A700.4D over the A400.4D, but I was going off of the wattage of the Kicker amp.

https://www.sonicelectronix.com/item-200679-Precision-Power-PPI-A700.4D.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PLA&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaignid=21740837457&utm_matchtype=&utm_keyword=&utm_device=c&utm_content=&utm_devicemodel=&utm_network=x&utm_loc_physical_ms=1013953&utm_loc_interest_ms=&utm_placement=&utm_adposition=&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw68K4BhAuEiwAylp3kqqpjljFlDPf3qQaXPiQQEVV1PmgcPkeUmbXJZuWmdclpZFKreLDaBoCcAUQAvD_BwE

Again, there are cheaper and more powerful amps out there. The only problem is, reliability is not the same. Some will get 5 years from those amps, while others will get much less. The Precision Power amps are not as good as they were, back in the day, but they have still proven themselves as being very reliable.

I have the Precision Power (PPI) PC1000.5D amp in my F150. I have had it for almost 2 years with no issues. I purchased the A1800.1D and A700.4D for my kid's Ranger. It will be driving an NVX sub and NVX speakers. I am that guy that has to buy quality because my wife will only let me buy it once. LOL...

Thanks again, I really wasn't expecting to get a lot of help, I checked the Car A/V reddit first and got nothing back from them.

Do you have a rec. over the polk sets? I'd originally been thinking of Kicker, but a lot of my purchases are going off of user feedback and reputation, since I don't have a great way of going to hear how the different sets perform.

 

[Old_Slapper]

Thanks again, I really wasn't expecting to get a lot of help, I checked the Car A/V reddit first and got nothing back from them.

Do you have a rec. over the polk sets? I'd originally been thinking of Kicker, but a lot of my purchases are going off of user feedback and reputation, since I don't have a great way of going to hear how the different sets perform.

I would never give a recommendation on what speakers sound best. Everyone has a different opinion on what sounds good, just like what tastes best, or what's your favorite color. The best thing to do is go down and listen to them. To help you with tweeters, I can tell you that titanium tweeters will give you a higher tinny sound, where soft dome tweeters will give you softer highs. Basically, if you like really high highs, go with titanium. If you lift crisp, smooth highs, go with silk dome tweeters.

 

[Garrett Morgan]

If you will be running your amps flat, check out these.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09V2S5GTL/?tag=caraudiocom-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09PQK5WHN/?tag=caraudiocom-20

For punchy bass, it depend on how big of a box your are willing to go with. That single 12 will be punchy as heck. Especially in a 1.5 cubic ft box.

Edit: I guess for whatever reason, the links don't actually work.

What are your thoughts on 5 channel amps? It seems like it could help reign in the budget and foot print a bit.

For instance the Precision A1000.5D
~200
- 4 ohms - 60w x4 + 250w
- 2 ohms - 100w x4 + 450w

Or for roughly the same price (I think) of running two amps:
NVX VAD11005
~$320
- 4-ohms 80w x4 + 350w
- 2-ohms 125 x4 + 600w

I'm also looking at the 5 channel amps and realizing that I don't really think I need to be pushing the speakers all the way, and that even pushing them at 60-80w is still going to be a vast improvement, and a good experience.

This kinda effects my sub choices a bit, and trying to shop by price, and with how few people leave reviews, it's kinda hard.


JL 12" SVC 4-ohm 75-300w RMS, 600 peak | ~$150
I think this one works well with the Precision

Kicker 12" DVC 2-ohm 150-400w RMS, 800 peak (wired series for 4 ohms) | ~$130
I worry a bit about this one with the Precision, seems like it may be underpowered, seems fine with the NVX

Kicker 12" DVC 4-ohm 500w RMS, 1000 peak (wired parallel for 2 ohms) | ~$145
I think this is solid for the Precision, and I'd need to watch the gain with the NVX

Pioneer 12" DVC 4-ohm 600w TMS, 2000 peak (wired parallel for 2 ohms) | ~$180
Seems like a solid pick for the NVX, but I'll be honest, this is only because it's the cheapest on Crutchfield, and the budget is just bad.

Alpine 12" DVC 4-ohm 600w RMS, 1800 peak (wired parallel for 2 ohms) | ~$220
Seems like the better choice of the two, and I've liked my Alpine (Coaxial) speakers in the past, but is like the next cheapest on Crutchfield.

I think This Crutchfield kit works with both, 4 gauge, up to 1100w, with the proper fuses.

 

[Cee]

You'd need at least $300 in sound deadening alone for a 09. The doors on these are awful for sound, worse than most. Not much wiring to tape up quiet but one giant hole and super thin metal to deal with. The floors almost as bad until later models, after 2011, with better factory soundproofing. Rear hatch and cargo area very easy to quiet.

I've heard nothing about the head unit, amp integration or a subbox. Those can get spendy. Does your crv have a factory navigation screen?
Is there a subwoofer under your passenger seat?
Do you have speaker grills or cover for factory dash locations?
Are you using a PAC/Stinger wire harness, or a iDatalink adapter?
Mainly what's the source? I'm guessing not a bose factory system. And how will you be integrating the amps in? Aftermarket HU already installed?

If you plan on keeping that 09 for some time, hold off on equipment and sound deaden the entire thing first.

For subs and sub amps go Skar. Whether a basshead or not, it's the best option to save money for more the important components. I've had JLs best subs and I've had skar subs. I could only tell the difference, or hear any major differences, when subs were used in a pass through system where the subs are actually in the cabin and facing forward. For trunk or hatchback subs more properly placed and tuned, I could tell zero difference. What I'm saying is you don't need big bucks to get loud quality bass, if there is such thing.

The majority of build budget, unless you're a total basshead and only care about SPL, should be going into the front theater.

 

[mahc 10+ year member]

For subs and sub amps go Skar.

 

[Cee]

View attachment 60830

That's what I expect from audio elitists.

The skar dual 12" pre-built keeps up with the dual JL 12w6 subs in custom enclosures. How do I know? I own both. Definitely not the same unique sound the JLs produce, but they do the job. $700 vs $2500.

I guess you haven't learned the simple rule, of the law of diminishing return. Throw up another meme instead of replying with some intelligence and logic.