Need Advice For My system JL Audio?

[JlAUdioGuY 10+ year member]

Wassup Everyone, i need help gettin my system together, i need some advice, iv got a lincoln navigator, and i like hip hop. I want my system to be hella loud and clear, and the bass to be boomin. I want my system to be heard from outside. This is what i have so far, a kenwood kvt-911 for head unit, with a Kenwood graphic equalizer, JL audio xr-653 3 way components in the front doors, Jl audo xr-650 2 way components in the kicks, and xr-650 components in the rear doors for rear fill, dont know what amp to power these speakers, 2 JL audio W7 13's powered by 2 Fosgate BD 1500. What do you guys think? Is that enough bass for an suv? Will those speakes provide me with amazing sound even at high volumes? Any suggestions? Please, help, i don't know what to go with, and yes i am aware that i am going to have custom fabricate for the speakers to fit. Anyone have a suggestion for speakers or differents subs? Any help would be nice, also wat do you guys think i can hit with these two 13's? THanks

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[Gauntlet 5,000+ posts]

Have you bought the 13W7s yet? If not, i'd recommend something like the Brahma, XXX, Shocker Audio, Stroker, etc, purely for the price. If you are loaded and price is not an option, then go for the W7's. Just dont be bought into what your local shop tells you - look around and reseach different products and decide what you want before making a decision. Two Brahmas or XXX's powered by something like an Orion XTRpro 2400 or Crossfire VR2000D would POUND and be much cheaper than the W7s. Plus you could go up to the shop who tried to sell you the W7s and show them up, which although immature, is very fun //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

As far as interior speakers, JL Audio make very very nice speakers and sound great when they are amped, but theyre a bit pricey in my opinion. What kind of power from an amp are you looking for to push them? Do you want a 4 channel and a 2 channel, or three 2 channel amps?

 

[JlAUdioGuY 10+ year member]

These are the recommendations from jl audio for the components:

70W Continuous Power Handling

Rec. Amp Power: 25 - 150 Watts

I dont know, but i guess i want about 100 watts per channel, maybe a little more for the 3 ways. I wanted to go with fosgate, but i hear bad things about their amps. Are fosgate's good for my subs? How about for my speakers? Do you think that with the current setup that listed will have people hearing my system from far away? I want people to hear my system from a block away. I was talking to another place, and they recommended me focal speakers? Anyone? pplease help......

 

[Gauntlet 5,000+ posts]

I dont know, but i guess i want about 100 watts per channel, maybe a little more for the 3 ways. I wanted to go with fosgate, but i hear bad things about their amps. Are fosgate's good for my subs? How about for my speakers?

If they are only recommended for 70W continuous power handling, do not go over that. You have 3 sets of component speakers, right? Maybe a setup like this:

Power your set of 3 way comps - US Acoustics 2080 - http://www.sounddomain.com/sku/USAUSX2080 -

Power your other 2 pairs of comps - Cadence Z4000 - http://www.cardiscountstereos.com/Catalog%20Page.asp?Product+%23=Z4000

Both those amps are great quality amps and are much reliable than the Rockfords. Older model rockfords are **** good, but the new model ones leave a lot to be desired. What ive listed would work great for your setup, you dont need 100 watts out of your interior speakers. If you get something similiar to the amps above, youd be pushing be close to 500 watts out of your interior speakers - that is way more than enough, and I stress the word way.

As far as your subs, Id lean towards something besides rockford.

Orion XTR Pro 2400 - http://www.thezeb.com/caraudio/orion.html scroll all the way to the bottom.....a freaking amazing amp. It sounds like youve dropped some major cash into the system so far, you might as well go all out. You could also get a Crossfire VR2000D....I cant find any links online, but I'm sure your local shop carries Crossfire. Or you could get two separate 1000 watt amps for each sub...look around the forum, there was a post called '1000 watt one channel amp' that had a ton of great amps listed.

Whatever amps you get, keep in mind youre gonna need a boat for an alternator, maybe even 2 alternators. You are gonna be putting some serious strain on your electrical system.

Do you think that with the current setup that listed will have people hearing my system from far away? I want people to hear my system from a block away.

Maybe this is the purist in me, but why do you want this so bad? I dont want people to know I have a system, this is why me and countless other people spend a lot of money on sound deadnening material, so for the most part you can only hear the system in the car. Especially in your case, rolling around in a Navigator and people hear you from a block away, they are going to automatically assume you have a badass system since you have an expensive SUV, and thats just like screaming at people to come and steal your ****. Not to mention the noise pollution tickets you could get. My old system got jacked and it didnt cost nearly 1/3 of what yours is gonna cost and I have a shitty car, and let me tell you it fuc*ing ******, if I were you id do everything possible to make sure people outside couldnt hear the system. Maybe thats just me though, once you get your **** stolen you become obsessively protective of it. I know people that have completely arc welded their trunks shut to try and prevent theft //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif I digress though, the point is, if your goal is for people to hear you from miles away, your goal will ultimately be buying a new system because it will get stolen. Youd be suprised at how much car audio equipment is stolen nowadays, I've met people that make a **** good living off of stealing equipment and reselling it to local people and on eBay. Dont fall victim to this.

 

[JlAUdioGuY 10+ year member]

I really appreciate your advice, but i would like to stick wit one brand of amps for my system for visual purposes when i install them, can you give me an example of amps for my mids/highs staying to one brand? I want the sound quality to be excelent, money is not a big factor but i dont want to go broke just buying the amps, thanks i appreciate your input, also wat do you think about the layout of my speakers..... 3 ways in the doors with the tweeter in the a-arm, 2 ways in the front kicks, and 2 ways in the rear doors. Do you think that i should add speakers to the sub box to create even more rear fill? Do you think that this setup will be hella loud and good bass? Thanks

 

[2theMaxx21 10+ year member]

I have been a fan of JL Audio subs for years now, but I was kinda sceptical when they started making amplifiers, but I checked them out, and I think they are pretty sweet. I put a couple of them in my wife's car along with a single 12W3, and it's one of the best sounding systems I've ever put together! The amps were real easy to install and adjust. They have a lot of flexibility, and a lot of very clean power. They are also very efficient. The JL 500/1 or the 1000/1 is a sweet sub amp!

You just can't beat a couple JL subs, JL mid-ranges, and a couple JL amps. It's a sweet combo!

 

[JlAUdioGuY 10+ year member]

I wish that i can go with jl amps, they are just too expensive...unless someone knows where to find them for cheap....

 

[2theMaxx21 10+ year member]

Oh, and if you want some good Sound Q and a good sound stage, don't put tweets in the A-pillars. If you spread your speakers all over the place it's hard to adjust the sound and move your sound up front for a realistic sound stage. My choice would be to spend some good money on a good pair of coaxials or components and put them in the kick panels. And a head unit with a good EQ, digital time alignment, and high pass filters would make it absolutely perfect!

Take my word, the simpler it is, the better sounding it will be. A nice head unit, one pair of speakers up front, one pair in the rear, a good sub or two, a couple nice amps, some good quality wiring and cables, and a good install.

 

[2theMaxx21 10+ year member]

Check EBay. Always!

 

[JlAUdioGuY 10+ year member]

I dnno man, the place wherei went to recommended to put the 3 ways in the door with the midbass and midrrange in the door and the tweeter in the a-arm, and 2 ways in the kickpanels for the front stage. They said that having the kickpanels are the best for the system, and that having tweeter in the a-arm is the best for accurate highs? Man im so confused now, i dont know how to layout the system, im gonna go to another local shop and get their opinion, thank alot man ... appreciate and yes im planning to get some of my stuff off ebay but the jl 1000.1 amp runs 700 dollars, which i dont have.... i was gonna get a bd1500 for 450 and run i bd 1500 into each 13 inch sub (the subs are 3 ohm, and its hard to find an amp that will deliver 1000 watts at 3 ohms) THanks 2themax and guantlet appreciate

 

[Gauntlet 5,000+ posts]

As far as sticking with one amp, although I dont fully understand the purpose of it - quality is quality - I'll try and help you out.

First off, if you want to run the same brand amp for everything, don't get Rockford. Second of all, you dont NEED 1000 watts per subwoofer, 700 per sub would be more than enough. Now onto the good stuff, here are a couple setups you could go with (keep in mind all amps listed for subs, you will need 2 for them unless specified otherwise):

Number one - Phoenix Gold

Amps for subs - Phoenix Gold 1200.1 - http://www.sounddomain.com/sku/PHOT12001 . This pushes 1200 watts from a 2 ohm load, meaning you could get about 800-900 watts per subwoofer with a 3 ohm load.

Amp for speakers - 4 channel - Phoenix Gold Tantrum 600.4 - http://www.sounddomain.com/sku/PHOT6004

Amp for speakers - 2 channel - Phoenix Gold Tantrum 250.2 - http://www.sounddomain.com/sku/PHOT2502

Number two - MTX

Amps for subs - MTX Thunder 8100D - http://www.sounddomain.com/sku/MTX81000D . This pushes 1500 watts from a 2 ohm load, meaning you could get around 1000 watts per subwoofer with a 3 ohm load.

Amp for speakers - 4 channel - MTX Thunder 4244 - http://www.sounddomain.com/sku/MTX4244

Amp for speakers - 2 channel - MTX Thunder 4202 - http://www.sounddomain.com/sku/MTX4202

Number three - JBL

Amps for subs - JBL 1200.1 - http://www.etronics.com/product.asp?stk_code=jblbp12001 . This pushes 1200 watts into a 2 ohm load, so youd get 800-900 watts per subwoofer with a 3 ohm load.

Amp for speakers - 4 channel - JBL 80.4 - http://www.etronics.com/product.asp?stk_code=jblp804

Amp for speakers - 2 channel - JBL 180.2 - http://www.etronics.com/product.asp?stk_code=jblp1802

Number four - Soundstream

Amps for subs - SoundStream Picasso 1400.1D - http://www.etronics.com/product.asp?stk_code=soupic11400d - This pushes 700 watts from a 2 ohm load, so youd get about 900-1000 watts per subwoofer with a 3 ohm load.

Amp for speakers - 4 channel - SoundStream Picasso 640.4 - http://www.etronics.com/product.asp?stk_code=soupic4640

Amp for speakers - 2 channel - SoundStream Picasso 320.2 - http://www.etronics.com/product.asp?stk_code=soupic2320

There are some other options out there, but I dont feel like looking around for all of them. But if you were to go with one of these setups, I would not hesitate to say go with SoundStream. They make some of the most efficient and reliable amps on the market today, and the price is very reasonable. After SoundStream i'd go with Phoenix Gold. MTX and JBL are a slight notch below these 2 brands.

As far as the placement of speakers, number one do not add speakers to the subwoofer box. I myself dont worry about rear fill too much, i'm sitting in the front so I could give two shits about whats going on in the back as long as its decent. What you have right now should be way more than enough to satisfy your needs.

 

[JlAUdioGuY 10+ year member]

dang gauntlet! Thanks sooo much man u really helped me out, i really appreciate your help man, if you ever got a second, get me at aol instant messenger i got a cuple more questions..you seem to know your stuff....THanks again

 

[Gauntlet 5,000+ posts]

I'm here to help, holla at me on AIM, my SN is GauntletXG.

And just to reiterate, if you have any doubt, go SoundStream //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[2theMaxx21 10+ year member]

You don't need a ton of speakers in your doors. If you have speakers spread all over then the music will be originating from lots of different points and it will be much harder to set a good sound stage and make it sound realistic. And go easy with all the tweeters. One good pair is more than enough. 3-ways, 4-ways, 13-ways, and all that crap is a waste. They try to squeeze too many drivers into one speaker. Just get a good component set, which is a good woofer, tweeter, and crossover. Plus it will be cheaper and take up much less time to install than the setup that you're wanting to do. Take it from me, I know what I'm talking about. I've won several Sound-Q awards at IASCA.

If you don't beleive me about going simple with your speaker setup, then just check out a good car audio magazine and see what kind of setup that the Sound-Q guys have in their car.

If you don't really care how accurate your music is, and you just want it to be loud, then go ahead and add all the speakers you want.

 

[JlAUdioGuY 10+ year member]

This installation is actually going into my x5, where would you(2themax) place speakers in this suv? And all he above speakes are component sets, they arnt coaxials if thas what your talkin about. Anyway if you can help me out, please reply or instant messege me on aol. By the way, the doors in my x5 (stock) has a tweeter opening in the a-arm, and and a 5 1/2 opening for a midrange, what i was planinng t do was put the tweeter from the component 3 way in the a arm and the midrange into the 5 1/2 opng, and put the midbass in a custom openng. Anyway thats just want i thought of, this is my first install, so any help would be nice, thanks 2 themax!