New System

[GKS_UO 10+ year member]

I went to circuit city.com last night and looked around at some of their car audio supplies.

I picked out what I thought was the best for a descent price, let me know what you think. This is for a 97 Eclipse.

Pioneer In-Dash CD Player $200

Brand/Model: PIO DEHP4400

Kenwood 2-Channel Amplifier $300

Brand/Model: KEN KAC929

KENWOOD 6.5 in. 2-Way Car Speakers $70

Brand/Model: KEN KFC1677

PIONEER 6 x 9 in. 3-Way Car Speakers $100

Brand/Model: PIO TSA6975

ALPINE 10 in. Car Subwoofer (x2) $120 each

Brand/Model: APN SWS1040

I don't know much about car audio, I just went by the sound quality ratings, let me know if there is anything better

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[Phatillusion 5,000+ posts]

Shop around a little more on the net, you should be able to find better prices. I would go with infinity for your hi's & mids, I have a pair of infinity 4's w/ 900 hz bass blocker in the dash, and they smoke the hell out of my friends pioneer set up, and he has 3 pairs of speakers set up running off an amp. The infinity's are very clear and loud, but they will cost a little more. Check around though, you might be able to find a good component system. As for the Alpine 10's, they aren't the best, but they aren't bad, if the price is right i'd say go for them

 

[natem33 10+ year member]

There are internet sites where you can find the same or very similar products for cheaper like the phatillusions guy said. What you have now is not bad. If it sounds good to you then I wouldn't change anything out. They are all decent products. Alpines have one of the best reputations in car audio. The only suggestion that I have for you is that your Kenwood 6.5 and Pioneer 6X9 speakers will be sensitive to distortion and may be easily damaged. Don't try to push the internal amp on the CD deck too hard or it will create the damaging distortion. Somewhere down the line it would be benificial for you to purchase a 4 channel amp. Even if it's not a huge amp, the amount of distortion will be less then what your HU creates.

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

Originally posted by natem33 The only suggestion that I have for you is that your Kenwood 6.5 and Pioneer 6X9 speakers will be sensitive to distortion and may be easily damaged. Don't try to push the internal amp on the CD deck too hard or it will create the damaging distortion.

I'm fairly confident when I say there is no possible way that you're going to damage your speakers with 15 watts rms off your head unit. The only problem will be that you won't get very loud before your speakers distort badly. To the best of my knowledge, the only time distortion becomes a speaker killer is when it is near or above the rms rating of your speakers. But I do agree that a small to medium sized 4 ch amp or even a decent 2 ch. amp running at 2 ohms should be your next plan of attack. That will increase your sq tremendously.

 

[IASCA pro 301-6 10+ year member]

Kick in a little extra cash in the Head Unit department and get yourself a Kenwood Excelon head unit...LOOK FOR THE SYSTEM E's. This is a device that will allow you to run all your highs with deck power, but with an electronic crossover protecting them from the low bass.

I have an Excelon in my tow rig, where it pushes a set of MB Quart Referenz Components, and the sound quality is great. For the extra cash moving up to an Excelon, you could not find a decent amp that will give you the same results.

Look Here: https://www.onlinecarstereo.com/caraudio/product.asp?sku=10715

This deck has everything, and only $279, you'll never find an amp for $79 that will sound as good...

 

[natem33 10+ year member]

n2audio - In my younger car audio years I had an Alpine deck - 16 or so watts rms. I quickly realized that even a small amp can damage speakers with even a small amount of distortion. I used to turn my HU up until it was clearly distorting and then back it off a couple of notches so that it sounded alright. I blew the woofers and/or tweeters on a pair of pioneers, 2 pairs of Infinity References, and a pair JBL components. it wasn't until I started using a 4 channel amp that I stopped blowing speakers with my HU. I have found from my research and experience that any amount of distortion can damage speakers. If there is any other reason that these speakers may have been blowing I would like to know. I'm not trying to sound defensive about this, I just don't want anyone else to waste nearly $500 worth of speakers like I did.

 

[AlpineGirl 10+ year member]

First off, stay away from Circut City/ Returning and trobuleshooting ahything with them is terrible. Word to the wise purchasing things off the internet voids the warranty with some companies so research it first. My opinion on systems is the Pioneer head units are okay but i found Alpine to be better. Alpine products are some of the best products no matter what you choose.

Alpine Girl