My Budget Setup..

[Hintzyboy 5,000+ posts]

go with the kickers. you might save $30 by going with the PGs, but you get a full warranty through Crutchfield.

 

[mlstrass 5,000+ posts]

i disagree whole-heartedly.... these are very nice sounding coax's for the price. Hollow? they are known for good midbass and ok highs.

Highs are decent, almost bright at times, but the midbass is MIA. I've deadened the doors and EQ'ed them to death and still not there. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/furious.gif.fc81ca146dbff91fede3ed290dbc4f4c.gif

The REV's or Kicker KS's will kill them in clean sounding output.

OT: what is your set up that got decent midbass out of them??

 

[Frankensuby 10+ year member]

First, on the subs, I could get a pair of those Phoenix's on ebay for $65 shipped each on eBay. The kickers I had were buy-one-get-one-free for $150 from Crutchfield.com. I am wondering if I should go ahead and buy the kickers and spend an extra $20 knowing I am buying from a reputable website, as well as a name brand. However, I could be 100% wrong because I do not know that much about car stereos that is why I am asking. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

For the subs, once again it is personal choice. From everything I generally hear about both Kicker and PG, they are fairly on par with quality. Kicker is a tad inflated prices for name, BUT, don't get me wrong, Kicker is a GREAT company, specifically their amps, and of course the *** cube known as Solobaric.

 

As far as the subs, I suggested the ZR line of PG because they were close to what you are looking for power wise, and they have greater efficiency per watt. Also, you are not going to be using the subs to their full potential if you do not get an amp that can provide 400 RMS (for the Kickers). The amp you showed was going to do 200 RMS, so it is important to get a speaker with higher sensitivity.

 

Basically, if a Sub A has a sensitivity of 82, and Sub B has one of 91, Sub B would sound louder on the same exact power and settings than Sub A on the same setup.

 

Try to find an E-bay store with a high numer rating, and the term 'powerseller' on it. These are the good places to buy from. Also some places that have actual online sites also use E-bay, such as Millionbuy.com Also, sonic-electronix, etc....

So you are saying I should go ahead with the stock head unit until I can afford the one I want. So I should buy the pair of subs, a sub box, an amp for the subs, a pair of speakers first, and just run the speakers off the Head unit? And later add an extra pair of speakers and an amp for the speakers and a head unit?

Thanks for any more advice.

My personal suggestion :

1. Deck (the one you crave for too)

2. Door speakers. Make sure to buy something of good quality

3. Door speaker amp (4 channel is suggested; more versatility)

4. ALL necessary wiring for your finished system. This includes spool of 16 gauge wire, Install kit, 3 sets of RCAs, and anything else you may want.

5.Save up and get the Box, subs, and amp all at once. This way you can do everything at once and not extend your install stress over a few days. Or in my case, a few months //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif

 

Any one of these steps can be done in whatever time frame you wish, or can afford, such as in my case. But I cannot stress how important it is to do your research and get the Deck you want. Everything recieves signal from this audio centerpiece, so you should not skimp on it. Assuming your anal about your sound //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

Also, research your products. Such as: does this DVC (dual voice coil) sub sit at 4 ohms, 2 ohms? Can my amp handle the 1,2 or 8 ohm load? What does the amp I am interested in bench at?

 

When you are looking at features per dollar, online stores are great. In example, Kenwood does a HORRIBLE job of giving great detail on what their units can do on their website, but online stores have the packages and list what the package says. Best thing of all is to play with the actual units you want, but it is hard to find good audio shops, and even harder to find one with your desired equipment and testable boards.

 

As far as amps, your best bet is to search on a forum such as this, and search keyterms such as 'reliable', 'bench', 'benchtest', in coordination with the name of your amp (I.E Xenon 400.1, or SL2-2000, etc...).

 

I hope this helps //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif Sorry; I tend to get long winded sometimes //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Frankensuby 10+ year member]

go with the kickers. you might save $30 by going with the PGs, but you get a full warranty through Crutchfield.

This is also sound advice. Especially with the Deck. If you are not great at wiring or this is your first time, you should definitely find a place that you can get a warranty through. The only item I bought at a store was my deck, and I blew up the RCA-preouts. Warranty saved me then.

As far as speakers, you usually do not have to worry about that, assuming you can set amp gains and keep your finger off of the Bass Boost feature.

Amp wise, I would research warranties. If you can even get a 1 year manufacturer warranty through an online site, that would be great. If any online source says that they can honor warranties, returns, etc... makes sure to save that somewhere for just in case down the line.