need help for my SQ build

[xtremekustomz 10+ year member]

hey everyone thank you for the quick responses. As for the stock or kick panel install im not sure yet wanna keep it low key but if you get better sound quality from a kick as apposed to stock i would go that route.. i was lookin at the alpine 9887 for a HU but if their is a better one out their for sound quality id go that route.

Definately do kick panels. As stated above, you can get your pathlengths closer. Also, play around with the aiming alot to get the best center image before you do any adjustments.

My car has a sub that came it it stock //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif would eventually replace it but wanna get the components, HU, and amp first. I see alot of talk about the Focals, and BA for good SQ, the focals i was looking at were the K2p or K3p //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif not sure what ones are better, altho i dont have enought to drop on the utopias but **** that would be sweet. as far as how much i have to spend would like to stick around the $3000 mark thats without install.. i could do it myself but im a wuss when it comes to removing paneling from my car, seems whenever i do it never quite fits right again //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif

Here's an option instead of running the utopias. Why not buy individual drivers? For your budget you could go the scan speaker route and do a 3 way with 3" in the kicks, and the 7" in the doors for midbass. They are some awesome speakers and the 3" is one of the best out there. You can find them at http://www.madisound.com

another question i had is should i even bother with the rear deck speakers. or just get fronts which i have seen alot of talk about doing.

I wouldn't worry with rear speakers. Front is all you need. Just run the rears off of a head unit or something. You shouldn't even be able to tell they are back there.

I am new in the SQ feild and not sure what route to go. advice on a good amp would be nice too otherwise i may just go to walmart and get a rampage //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif just kiddin. Once again thank you for the quick responses and all the information

There are alot of good amps out there now some quite expensive. Whatever you get make sure you have more power than what you actually need. Its better to have more than not enough. Some brands are Audison, Genesis, US Amps, etc. There are other mid level models that are very good as well and won't break the bank. Also, go ahead and spend some money on some deadener. I prefer Raamat and it can be found at http://www.raamaudio.com And as for a head unit, i love the one i have now. The Alpine W205 and the PXA-H701 processor is all that you would need to do everything.

 

[SQballin 10+ year member]

Thanks everyone gettin some very good information here. Few questions tho. I thought kick pannel was down at the bottom from of the door near where its hinged //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif.

as for building your own component set so to speak i would love to do that but i dont know where you can buy individual parts like that. If i went that route as suggested above i would do the 7inch mid in stock spot tweet and a 3 inch. Where would you mount the 3 inch at tho? The focals that sound so amazing everyones talking about are they the utopias or the k2ps? just a bit confused on what ones people are talkin about

As for the rears could i get a suggestion on what to get back there i know you dont have to spend much at all but i think a filler as they have been called would be nice if anyone was sitting back there. Does that matter at all? or would a really nice pair of fronts be enough for the whole car.

For the HU I have heard that a deadhead is best way to go for sound quality, as all the speakers would be ran off of an amp. is this just a myth or is there any truth to it?

 

[chillin 10+ year member]

Dont forget about Zapco amps as they make some good sq stuff. And though I havent heard one in a couple years Nakamichi decks sound killer. I have a pioneer 880 right now and it is great. As stated above the best equipement will still sound average if the install is not done right.

 

[xtremekustomz 10+ year member]

Thanks everyone gettin some very good information here. Few questions tho. I thought kick pannel was down at the bottom from of the door near where its hinged //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif.

Kick panels: (taken from another post)

as for building your own component set so to speak i would love to do that but i dont know where you can buy individual parts like that. If i went that route as suggested above i would do the 7inch mid in stock spot tweet and a 3 inch. Where would you mount the 3 inch at tho? The focals that sound so amazing everyones talking about are they the utopias or the k2ps? just a bit confused on what ones people are talkin about

You can buy them from http://www.madisound.com the 3" are $216 each I think and the 7" are $205 each. Put the 7" midbass in the doors and the 3" in the kick panels. You could run the system active and have an amp on each set (2 channels for tweets, 2 channels for midrange, 2 channels for midbass) Also people are probably talking about the focal utopia be.

For the HU I have heard that a deadhead is best way to go for sound quality, as all the speakers would be ran off of an amp. is this just a myth or is there any truth to it?

Amp all your speakers. There are alot of headunits out there where you can turn the internal power off. Usually you can't tell the difference in sound though. I never could.

 

[SQballin 10+ year member]

Kick panels: (taken from another post)

You can buy them from http://www.madisound.com the 3" are $216 each I think and the 7" are $205 each. Put the 7" midbass in the doors and the 3" in the kick panels. You could run the system active and have an amp on each set (2 channels for tweets, 2 channels for midrange, 2 channels for midbass) Also people are probably talking about the focal utopia be.

Amp all your speakers. There are alot of headunits out there where you can turn the internal power off. Usually you can't tell the difference in sound though. I never could.

thank you for the great information but what does active mean? active=amp. also when you say 2 2 and 2 that mean 3 2cahnnel amps or 1 6 channel.. are their crossovers that have a positive and negative port for amp in and speaker out for bass per say mid and tweet? ill look at the sight you posted.. any suggestions on what crossover to get?

and my car is a clutch so would the kick fit on the driver side and look good without lookin cheesy or bad? thanks again for all the information its helping alot

 

[SQballin 10+ year member]

figured it out //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

ooo the utopia Be 6-1/2 three way looks pretty **** amazing tho.. "looks around to see how he can make a quick 4 grand"

https://www.speedsound.com/product.asp?specific=jojpksfno this a good amp to run components?

 

[bikinpunk 10+ year member]

One thing I haven't really seen talk of (other than kicks) is the install.

SQballin, are you planning on doing this install yourself or get a shop to do it? You really need to think about this. Taking the time to deaden, seal, and many other install methods are much more important than simply dropping drivers into a hole. If you're having a shop do it you're going to spend some $$$ on a proper install; and that's where the money should be spent.

I'm going to step out and say that if you go the DIY route as xtreme suggested above (which I completely agree with) then I think you should look at Alpine's h701+headunit option. That setup will cost you a good deal of money up front, but the tuning power you have there is worth more than dropping $500+ on a set of components, and will give you more leeway on the drivers you choose.

 

[SQballin 10+ year member]

One thing I haven't really seen talk of (other than kicks) is the install.
SQballin, are you planning on doing this install yourself or get a shop to do it? You really need to think about this. Taking the time to deaden, seal, and many other install methods are much more important than simply dropping drivers into a hole. If you're having a shop do it you're going to spend some $$$ on a proper install; and that's where the money should be spent.

I'm going to step out and say that if you go the DIY route as xtreme suggested above (which I completely agree with) then I think you should look at Alpine's h701+headunit option. That setup will cost you a good deal of money up front, but the tuning power you have there is worth more than dropping $500+ on a set of components, and will give you more leeway on the drivers you choose.

whats DYI? sorry newb question //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif

hmm i would say this for the distribution 1500 for components 1000 for amp and 500 for HU that sound right? or good

 

[chillin 10+ year member]

DIY

Do It Yourself

 

[bikinpunk 10+ year member]

whats DYI? sorry newb question //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif

DIY = do it yourself

Rather than buying component sets, you pick and choose exactly the drivers you want. So, basically you can mix & match tweeters/mids. This gives you many more options and in all honesty you can usually get more out of this type setup than you can components. The big player here is the processor you use for tuning.

Alot of the DIY crowd will go with home audio drivers and spend less than $300 for a very quality setup. The energy/time/money is spent on the install itself rather than the speaker, and the payoff is usually much more beneficial.

 

[xtremekustomz 10+ year member]

figured it out //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif
ooo the utopia Be 6-1/2 three way looks pretty **** amazing tho.. "looks around to see how he can make a quick 4 grand"

https://www.speedsound.com/product.asp?specific=jojpksfno this a good amp to run components?

You can put together individual speakers that will sound just as good if not better for cheaper. Scan Speak is an awesome route and that is what I am using in the new Tahoe that I will be getting in a few months. That's the plan anyway. I dunno...I might go all JBL and get the ms-8 processor if the thing will ever come out. Anyway, if you decide to go the us amps route, let me know, i know an authorized dealer and I'll see what kind if price i can get for you. Also, when you run active you use active crossover and things like that. That is where the Alpine equipment comes into play. You will need channels for each individual speaker though. Basically, just get as much info as possible about installation and all that good stuff before getting started. No point in spending alot of money and not get the full potential. I wish I knew someone around here willing to spend some money on a sq system. I'd love to help out.

 

[SQballin 10+ year member]

ok well i think i will go the DYI route.. any suggestions on what components exactly tho. as i stated before i love the sone ES series tweets but have never heard the utopia. I dont know what to look for in a good tweet/highmid/lowmid

 

[SQballin 10+ year member]

another newb questions is active mean amps running everything?

 

[chillin 10+ year member]

active means an amp for each piece of equipement. no passive crossovers.

So the crossover will be external or built into the head unit and send a signal to each amp, then each amp will send its signal to just mids or just tweats

 

[explorer2 10+ year member]

check out arc audio for amps