rate a newbie's whole system (before its installed and i can still return it)

[frankiebones 10+ year member]

here we go, 2003 Audi A4 w/o Bose upgrade, quick note, the rear deck speaker is a piece of sh*t 8" sub that will be cut off, so I just did 2 sets of components for the doors. This is my first car audio 'anything,' so if I forgot anything, let me down gently, lol. The parts and wires and whatnot will be taken care of by the installer, I was told to get the speakers, sub, receiver, and amps and to let my buddy (a professional installer) worry about the rest.

Alpine 9856 Receiver w/ iPod link (installed and sounds sick!!)

» CD player with built-in amplifier (18 watts RMS/50 peak x 4 channels)

» Bass Engine (bass cntr freq., width, & level, treble center, freq. & level adj.)

» BBE processing

» three sets of preamp outputs

» Source Tone Memory

» CEA-2006 compliant amplifier

» CD frequency response: 5-20,000 Hz

» CD signal-to-noise ratio: 105 dB

Pioneer TS-C160R Component Speaker Package (2 pairs for the 4 doors)

Size: 6 1/2

Sensitivity: 90 dB

Frequency Response: 25-32,000 Hz

Recommended RMS Power: 60W

Peak Power Handling: 250W

Impedance: 4 ohms

The 4 component systems are driven by a:

Kicker KX650.4 (more than enough power obviously but I will keep it far from cranked)

» 4-channel car amplifier

» 120 watts RMS x 4 at 4 ohms (170 watts RMS x 4 at 2 ohms)

» 325 watts RMS x 2 in bridged mode (4-ohm stable in bridged mode)

» cooling fan

» 2-, 3-, or 4-channel output

» CEA-2006 compliant

» Tri-way capable (Tri-Way Crossover required)

» speaker- and preamp-level inputs

» variable front & rear high-/low-pass crossovers

(variable 50-200 Hz, 12 dB per octave)

» variable bass boost (0-18 dB) centered at 40 Hz with wired remote control

» three-way protection circuitry

Single 10" Alpine Type-R SWR-1042D

» 10" 4-ohm subwoofer with dual 4-ohm voice coils

» Kevlar-reinforced pulp cone with Santoprene rubber surround

» cast aluminum frame with perimeter venting

» frequency response: 26-600 Hz

» power handling: 200-500 watts RMS

» peak power: 1,500 watts

» sensitivity: 83 dB

» top-mount depth: 6-7/8"

» sealed box volume: 0.5-0.8

» ported box volume: 0.6-1.3

It will be slightly underpowered, but my boy Vito has the same sub with ~350W pushing it, and it sounds ridiculous.

Enclosed in a Q Logic QLH-1.0010SE sealed box. unfortunately, I was lied to by the salesmen, who offered me a $70 enclosure for a small fraction of the price, and what I was told to be an enclosure with .65 cubic ft of space (which is dead center in the .5 - .8 range alpine recommends) was actually an enclosure with 1.0 cubic feet.

I'm not sure what I am going to do about this yet, and the unnamed audio store was not open today (sunday).

Pushing the sub, I have a Kicker KX400.1 mono amp.

» 200 watts RMS x 1 at 4 ohms (400 watts RMS x 1 at 2 ohms)

» variable low-pass filter (50-200 Hz, 12 dB per octave)

» variable bass boost with wired remote (0-18 dB at 40 Hz)

» switchable subsonic filter (12 dB/octave at 25 Hz)

» speaker- and preamp-level inputs

» preamp outputs

» CEA-2006 compliant

» three-way protection circuitry

I paid only $200 for this amp bc my buddy has given a particular store in NYC a ton of business.

However, 3 days ago, I bought the newer model at Circuit City, the ZX400.1, for $350 including an additional 2 years of coverage through Circuit City's extended warranty program. The diff. in $ is significant, but just in case anyone thinks I should go with the newer model despite the price, here are the specs on the ZX:

» mono subwoofer amplifier

» 200 watts RMS x 1 at 4 ohms (400 watts x 1 at 2 ohms)

» variable low-pass filter (50-200 Hz at 24 dB per octave)

» variable bass boost (0-18 dB at 40 Hz)

» subsonic filter (12 dB at 25 Hz)

» wired remote bass level control

» Class D design

» CEA-2006 compliant

» speaker-level inputs

» preamp inputs and outputs

» fuse rating: 40A x 1

So thats all of it, the new receiver, the 4 component speaker sets, the 4 channel amp to push them, the alpine sub, and the two mono amps I could push that with.

Click to read more...

 

[davidfre21 5,000+ posts]

why not just one set off kick *** comps instead of 2 cheaper pairs?

 

[trevor87 5,000+ posts]

Id up the amp, and build a ported box

 

[MrSector9 10+ year member]

my suggesiton is the same, good 1 good set of comps, ditch the rear fill stuff and build a box //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[2kchevy06civic 5,000+ posts]

if you have time alignment I'd keep the rear speakers, otherwise I'd ditch them. That sounds like a pretty nice first system, you're most likely gonna want more bass than what you have right now but who knows. Ported would yield more output, but it depends on what your goals are with this system.

 

[nauc 10+ year member]

yeah, ditch the rears and get a good set of components

i like Oz Elites, online theyre $299, msrp is like $650 or $600

id also get a 12" type R or bigger, itll get louder/play lower easier

 

[frankiebones 10+ year member]

thanks for everyone's suggestions. I am a hardcore metal-head, I dont listen to rap, and I dont listen to much in the way of house/techno. I am looking for a really really responsive sub, something that can handle extremely fast double-bass drum lines and make each hit distinct and separate.

however, the box has an 'external port plug,' which allows me to convert it to a ported box in a matter of minutes, and then lets me configure it however someone who knew what they were talking about when it comes to ported amps would (not me obviously).

i think u guys may be right about the single set of components and ill see what i can do.

 

[Crown_amps]

nice first system im also a metal head and going sealed is RAD for metal imo

 

[frankiebones 10+ year member]

nice first system im also a metal head and going sealed is RAD for metal imo

rock and fu**ing roll my brotha

 

[frankiebones 10+ year member]

say i get a $300 plus pair of components, can i still do SOMETHING with the rear speakers, or will the wattage not match up or something (talkin out my a**)

 

[Crown_amps]

say i get a $300 plus pair of components, can i still do SOMETHING with the rear speakers, or will the wattage not match up or something (talkin out my a**)

if you can set time correction to the rear sound stage it should be good .

you going for quailty right? thats your goal? then dont cheap out lol //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif

 

[frankiebones 10+ year member]

if you can set time correction to the rear sound stage it should be good .
you going for quailty right? thats your goal? then dont cheap out lol //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif

im not being cheap. however, i dont know what a 'time correction' is and i dont know what u mean by 'rear sound stage.'

put it this way, less than a month ago, i was just gonna add a sub, not even change the receiver. to give u an idea of how new i am, i bid on a 6 channel amp on ebay, not understanding why that wouldnt be something u might use to push a single sub.

 

[AcidicDreams 10+ year member]

not sure why you want rear speakers (rear fill)... think of it this way... it's STEREO... this means it's 2 channels... left and right not front and back... all those cars with eleventy billion speakers are mearly a marketing ploy...

 

[frankiebones 10+ year member]

not sure why you want rear speakers (rear fill)... think of it this way... it's STEREO... this means it's 2 channels... left and right not front and back... all those cars with eleventy billion speakers are mearly a marketing ploy...

i see what ur saying, i play 4 instruments and have been giving drum lessons for 6 years (and im only 24) so its not like i dont know sound. however, i thought it would be a mistake to put ill components in the front and leave the stock speakers in the back, which would get distorted and take away from the high end sound coming from the front.

therefore, i ASSUMED, i would have to disconnect the rear speakers, and then I would have a gap in the backseat without either rear deck speakers or rear door speakers.

i see ur pt, but from a novice/newbie viewpoint, it isnt exactly elementary to do just the front

 

[AcidicDreams 10+ year member]

i see what ur saying, i play 4 instruments and have been giving drum lessons for 6 years (and im only 24) so its not like i dont know sound. however, i thought it would be a mistake to put ill components in the front and leave the stock speakers in the back, which would get distorted and take away from the high end sound coming from the front.
therefore, i ASSUMED, i would have to disconnect the rear speakers, and then I would have a gap in the backseat without either rear deck speakers or rear door speakers.

i see ur pt, but from a novice/newbie viewpoint, it isnt exactly elementary to do just the front

are the speakers in the rear under grilles? if so I'd pull 'em anyways... if you leave them back there un powered with a sub they'll sound like crap because the sub will push the cone around..... if they aren't under grilles you can hook them up to deck power and fade them out rather than amping them and distorting them....

and as for rear seat passengers think of how often you REALLY have them... I think I have someone in the rear seat about 3 times a year... and they can still hear the front speakers fine...