ok, I am getting back into car audio now after years of just living with various stock set-ups. Last time I had a complete custom set-up was about 20 years ago and the subs I had required just over 2 cu. ft. each. the box was the size of a small coffin but I had a 1984 caprice classic so the box was maybe one third of the trunk space.
Now I am working on a 2007 PT Cruiser with the standard stock set-up, not the Boston Acoustics upgrade.
So far I have purchased Polk db6501 components for the front. the tweeters will go in the sail panel and not the stock 3.5" dash location. Polk db651s slim 2-ways for the rear door location and Polk dxi350 3.5" 2-way for the dash location. My sub is a Polk MM2124DVC, 12" momo. for amps I have a MTX Terminator TN400/4 and a Terminator TN250/1 mono-block for the sub.
none of this is installed yet, but as soon as some snow melts and the temp is a bit higher than 12 degrees, I will be elbows deep into it. I am going to use the stock head-unit and stock mounting locations throughout the car to maintain a somewhat stock appearance. I have found that this is the most basic and most cost effective theft deterrent known. NOBODY wants to steal a stock PT Cruiser set-up!
so now this brings me to three questions...
1. The MTX amps have "smart engage" on the speaker-level inputs that eliminate the need for line-level converters and a remote wire. This may be my inability to let go of oldschool misconceptions but... back in the day, some amps had speaker-level inputs for convenience and ease of setup but my experience was that the sound output was muddy and nowhere near the SQ if you used line-level. Is this poor SQ issue a thing of the past? should I not bother with line-level converters in the hopes that the SQ will be superior to speaker-level?
2. My interior set-up is going to be the db6501 components up front, db651s in the rear door, and the dxi350 in the 3.5" opening in the dash. The 4 channel amp will power the front and rear doors but the 3.5's in the dash will run off of the head-unit. my thoughts are that the dash speakers will probably be drowned out by the components... but... i was hoping that they might bring the stage up? any thoughts?
3. My sub is a 12" Polk Momo DVC. I know these subs are known for their SQ more so than SPL and that is fine with me. I want accurate responsive bass not boom. This sub though is recommended for small sealed boxes, .88 cu. ft. to be exact. the internal volume of the box I built is 8" x 15" x 14.25" giving me .99 cu.ft. My experience is that I can have about a 10% variance in volume with sealed enclosures with little to no SQ change. My real question is a two-part question... how well should i REALLY expect this sub to perform in such a small enclosure? and is my amp going to be enough to drive it?
the amp is an MTX Terminator rated at 200w RMS @ 2ohm. I have been told repeatedly by multiple sources that this amp is very clean and the 200w RMS rating is a bit underrated.
ANY answers will be greatly appreciated.
