New to Car Audio: Completely Clueless

[hlipps 10+ year member]

I am trying to get some audio equipment for my new vehicle but I have never done anything involving car audio before.

The Vehicle is a 1997 Dodge Ram 1500 Sport Ext. Cab 2 doors not 4, with a 40/20/40 split Front Bench seat, and a foldable Rear Bench Seat.

I am looking to run two 8 or 10" subs with an amp per sub,

4 Speakers, with an amp per 2 speakers.

and probably an Alpine, or Pioneer Deck.

I am looking for Sound Quality, but still want them to hit decently hard. Anyone have any suggestions on brands? or setup?

I have heard that tweeters are needed what is the difference between tweeters and just regular 6X9 speakers?

Any help with this is greatly appreciated.

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[nauc 10+ year member]

alpine deck

cdt speakers

fi subs

audioque sub amp

alpine amp

http://www.woofersetc.com

http://www.ficaraudio.com

http://www.audioque.com/aq/index.htm

 

[MysticStyl3z 10+ year member]

use the search

 

[BumpinTypeR 10+ year member]

is there a reason why you wanna run so many amps?

 

[bigaudiofanati2 10+ year member]

alpine deckcdt speakers

fi subs

audioque sub amp

alpine amp

http://www.woofersetc.com

http://www.ficaraudio.com

http://www.audioque.com/aq/index.htm

X2 you read my mind:laugh:

 

[hlipps 10+ year member]

I only wanted to run that many amps to make sure everything had enough power. Anyone have any suggestions on fi model subs? never heard of fi before

 

[nauc 10+ year member]

I only wanted to run that many amps to make sure everything had enough power. Anyone have any suggestions on fi model subs? never heard of fi before

for sq, the SSD or Q

the former big cheese of RE Audio (some of the sickest subs ever) started up Fi

RE Audio = http://reaudio.com/home.html

 

[Pyro_By_Nature 5,000+ posts]

alpine deckcdt speakers

fi subs

audioque sub amp

alpine amp

http://www.woofersetc.com

http://www.ficaraudio.com

http://www.audioque.com/aq/index.htm

What a way to jump on the boner bus //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif

 

[DidUHearThat? 10+ year member]

I am trying to get some audio equipment for my new vehicle but I have never done anything involving car audio before.
The Vehicle is a 1997 Dodge Ram 1500 Sport Ext. Cab 2 doors not 4, with a 40/20/40 split Front Bench seat, and a foldable Rear Bench Seat.

I am looking to run two 8 or 10" subs with an amp per sub,

4 Speakers, with an amp per 2 speakers.

and probably an Alpine, or Pioneer Deck.

I am looking for Sound Quality, but still want them to hit decently hard. Anyone have any suggestions on brands? or setup?

I have heard that tweeters are needed what is the difference between tweeters and just regular 6X9 speakers?

Any help with this is greatly appreciated.

IMO, If you interested in SQ, you should get the best 6 1/2" componenet 2 way speakers you can afford for you front doors. "Component" means a set of seperate tweeter, 6 1/2" woofer and an external crossover device for each of your front doors. Look at Boston Acoustics, Morel and Focal. Spend liberally on this item, skimp on other parts of the system. Dynaudio's are great if you can afford them. Get a decent, but not too expensive amp for them in thier power range or slightly more powerfull than they are rated for.

Two 10" subs will be easier to get the thump you want when you do want to get loud. There are many brands and models. Look around, don't blow your budget on them, even cheap or mid priced models will work well.

Get just one amp for the subs that will provide enough power for both at thier combined ohm load. You don't need 2 amps just for subs. One sub amp, one front stage amp.

Any Alpine that has the features you want will be great. Don't blow your budget on this item either.

You will also need decent power wire, either 4 gauge or 0 gauge depending on how big your amps are, and learn to wire the Big 3.

Front door 6 1/2" componet speakers (called front stage) and quality installation (by you or proffessionally) is where you should blow your budget.

Skip the rear speakers.

Read lots of threads here and other forums to learn what is needed for a good install and read review of gear before you buy.

 

[DidUHearThat? 10+ year member]

alpine deckcdt speakers

fi subs

audioque sub amp

alpine amp

http://www.woofersetc.com

http://www.ficaraudio.com

http://www.audioque.com/aq/index.htm

What a way to jump on the boner bus //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif

He forgot to include Knukonceptz.com wires.

 

[macq32 10+ year member]

ditch the 6x9s get a set of ID, Boston, or Morel components. What I'm trying to say is spend the cash you had intended for the 6x9s and get a decent set of component speakers instead, wont find much SQ in some cheap comps

 

[Pyro_By_Nature 5,000+ posts]

Or do what most don't do, put the time into researching going with the DIY active route. You can get much more bang for your buck, have more adjustability, and you'll learn something in the process.Quite a few high end Alpine decks are active capable. There are also a few good external crossovers to choose from, but for simplicity sake I'd stick with finding an active capable head unit.

You can fit a pair of 10's sealed under that seat relatively easy. I wouldn't worry TOO much about sub choice because most subs that will fit will be close in performance.

And if you're looking for real SQ, don't even think about rear speakers. Focus only on the fronts.

 

[hlipps 10+ year member]

Thanks to anyone who has put there input in.

Would 2 10" JL Audio W6v2 subs be good for sound quality? looks like they call for 500 watts RMS each so how big of an amp would I need to correctly power them?

To accompany this the JL Audio ZL650-CSi speakers. again not sure on the amp to power 2, or possibly 4 of these.

Would this be a good choice to go with? My options are somewhat limited living in Alaska. The only dealers I have around here are MTX, JL Audio, Rockford Fosgate, and Alpine.

My other choice would be 2 10" Alpine Type X Subs, with Alpine SPX-17PRO

6-1/2" Component 2-Way Speaker Type X speakers, don't know about the amp, would like to keep within the same brand for looks purposes.

Any other ideas or suggestions?

When choosing an amp what is it that you need to look for involving watts to the subs? do you need to only send enough power to achieve the RMS on the subs/speakers or a little more?

 

[okiedokie 10+ year member]

look into theses also^^^^^^

http://www.soundsolutionsaudio.com/zencart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2_21&products_id=39

the 10w6v2 are good but i think you can find a really nice SQ 10 even cheaper.

I wonudn't buy jl comps, the alpine comps are getting good reviews.

http://www.iqcaraudio.com/rainbow_audio.html

or

http://www.hertzaudiovideo.com/default_en.htm

look around before you buy.

you'll also need speaker wire,dist block, deadener,fuses, etc.....

 

[hlipps 10+ year member]

What is the difference in flatwind coil, and copper coil in the Fi subs?