Suggestions and Advice for a Pathfinder R50 Build

[DJDESI]

Hi,

I would like to request your help in suggesting and advising an awesome sound system for my car. I have no idea how car audio setups work but I will take your word for it and will eventually build my system.

Following are a few details about my vehicle:

Nissan Pathfinder R50 2001

Head Unit: Its Sony XAV64BT

I have tweeters in A-Panel

1 Speaker front driver side

1 speaker front passenger side

1 rear passenger both sides

What I am looking for is:

I use my car as a daily drive, its also used as an offroad vehicle on regular basis and is always stuffed with car recovery gear, kitchen setup, ice box. Those are permanent things in my car.

What I am trying to ask is that I need a sound system that will keep me company on the road. I love trance, techno, instrumentals or anything else depending upon the mood and the road. I am not into competitions. I just simply wanna have a good sound system that will be soothing down or pump me up.

What can you recommend me and what will I need? I do not live in US. I am across the planet from you in Qatar (Arabian Gulf). I will order most of my equipment online and to save the shipping costs which are too expensive, I will go crazy one time lol... While you are suggesting, please note that I will not be changing my system for a long long time to come so i need something durable, and awesome sound quality.

Your recommendations for wiring, amplifiers, woofers, speakers, tweeters, fuses, sound deadening, lugs and whatever else is needed for the system will be highly appreciated. I am noob and I have no idea with terms and the lingo.

Budget: I have no idea what to expect but I will really appreciate it if its easy on the pocket.

I just wanna make sure that I am getting a good purchase and I will also be doing the Big three installation. Any other recommendations and suggestions or anything else I need to be aware of?

What about sound deadening and wiring?

I know, too many questions but I am really grateful for all the help you can offer.

Regards,

DJ

PS: An extremely cool and helpful person here suggested JBL GTO and Precision Power for Amplifier but even in JBL GTO, there are too many options and choices and thats the confusing part.

Click to read more...

 

[disturbed471985 5,000+ posts]

Good set of comps and if a must just some decent coax for the rear. Ran off a small amp like a nano or like that can be mounted under rear seats.. Yes on Dead no need to get aftermarket speakers unless u plan on putting them in a environment that they can excel in.

What brand do u have in your area that can be had thus killing the high shipping charges that will come if you buy from say a US based company??

 

[DJDESI]

Good set of comps and if a must just some decent coax for the rear. Ran off a small amp like a nano or like that can be mounted under rear seats..

I dont mean to be spoon fed but that is whats confusing me . Too many brands and then too many model options within those brands... Can you kindly plz be specific with a model name so I can have a look at it?

Almost anything and everything is available here but problem is with lack of variety or newer models. Pioneer, Sony, Kenwood, Panasonic, Clarion are a few "good known brands" here.

Regards,

DJ

 

[Kai Winters 10+ year member]

I'd like to hear a bit more about the "off roading"...sounds interesting.

But to get to your questions...Start with answering these questions

1) What is your budget??? you MUST give us some dollar parameters or else suggestions are worthless

2) What online source will you be using??? Your sources may be far different from those of us in the States and you may not be able to get what we consider normal stuff. Give us a link to use.

Just looking for specs on your head unit already causes a bit of a problem...In the States that is no longer available at Crutchfield.com...it is an older model replaced by this one...Sony XAV-W650BT DVD receiver at Crutchfield.com for the same price.

It's specs are ok but nothing to scream about...it also has the standard low power internal amp meaning it will play efficient/low power speakers but that is about it...spending money on speakers requiring more power will leave the sound lacking.

My suggestions:

If you like the head unit, I've no complaints with Sony stuff, go ahead.

Get a decent amplifier, I'm using a JL Audio HX/280/4 mobile amplifier which is a very small class D amp that pushes decent power in 4 channel mode and can run the front speakers and the rear channels can be bridged to run an efficient sub woofer. It is also relatively inexpensive for the power and quality.

Get a good pair of component speakers for the front...forget the factory tweeters as they are quite old and probably not sounding as good as they did in the past. Front stage is the most important...you really don't need more than that for quality sound. I'll tell you what speakers I prefer based on what I have available and can listen to before buying as speakers are the most difficult to buy as we all hear a bit differently. I an currently using JL Audio C5-650 components. They sound wonderful to my ears but are not cheap, they retail for $500.00 per pair at Crutchfield and many consider JL speakers to be over priced but few complaints about how they sound. Do not cheap out on speakers...they produce the sound...you can have the best components but if you are using cheap, crappy speakers you will get lousy sound...period.

Get a reasonable sub...I suggest a modest 10 inch sub in a sealed enclosure...you will not need a ton of power to run it and you will get a nice tight bass that will complement your sound but not overpower it.

You will need an amp wiring kit...not expensive...you may need wiring harnesses/connectors/antenna connector/wiring/etc but that is all dependent on what the vehicle has/uses. You may/probably need a dash kit for the head unit to fit into into the vehicle.

Sound deadening is fine but is dependent on the sounds you are trying to block out...We have good roads in the states and not a lot of deadening is really required but certainly does help, in some cases, to reduce outside noise...the biggest noise is generally from the tires...If you are running aggressive tires for off road uses and they have a nice hummm...or not so nice...you can add all the deadening you can buy and it will not "remove" the tire humm...it will reduce it but that is about it...I'd put some deadening in the front doors while you have them apart for speaker installation but I'd not go crazy, I'd rather put the money into better quality components.

Why the "big 3"? Unless you are going for really bit power amps and/or are running a lot of power hungry accessories off the vehicle the stock system will run a system as I've described with no problems...I'm running my system off the stock electrical system in my 2012 Honda CRV LX with no problems at all...As long as you have a battery that is in good condition you will be fine unless going high draw gear...Perhaps a stand alone battery charger/portable??? will be more useful to you as you describe going off roading with a lot of camping kit...I'd hate to have a dead battery in the middle of nowhere...

So that sums it up:

Head unit you have chosen is ok but not most chosen by most in the states as there are better offerings.

4 channel amp running the fronts and bridged to run a modest sub woofer

Good pair of components.

Dash kit, amp wiring kit, harnesses/etc.

Deadening material for a bit of garnish.

Good luck and keep us informed.

PS: you haven't said where you music comes from...USB stick, mobile device such as an iphone, Android phone, CD's, etc. That is helpful for the head unit choices.

 

[DJDESI]

Thank you so much for your detailed response.Am extremely thankful for the insight.

Not much into rock crawling but gimme a sand dune any day... next to a beach and its a picture perfect setting for 1001 Arabian Nights

Here's a YouTube link for what we usually do on a weekend:



Now back to the topic:

Budget is 500U$ maximum at the moment and will try to keep it lower then that if possible. This does not include the head unit. Head unit will eventually be changed but not right now. The future HU should have a GPS Navigation so I can use it while traveling overland to Oman, Saudi, UAE or anywhere else if possible but then again, that will be in future.

Right now, I am only concentrating on:

Sound Deadening / Wiring / Heat Insulation (These things will be purchased locally)

Front Speakers

Tweeters

Rear audio

A subwoofer in trunk (not too big). Maybe 8"-10"

Amplifier

My source of online purchases is Amazon and eBay.

The components you have mentioned are way out of my budget though. I was suggested the following instead by another awesome person:

JBL GTO609C for front with tweeters and crossovers Amazon.com: JBL GTO609C Premium 6.5-Inch Component Speaker System - Set of 2: Car Electronics

JBL GTO Co-Axials which turn out to be JBL GTO629 Amazon.com: JBL GTO629 Premium 6.5-Inch Co-Axial Speaker - Set of 2: Car Electronics

JBL GT5-10D 10-Inch Dual-Voice-Coil Subwoofer Amazon.com: JBL GT5-10D 10-Inch Dual-Voice-Coil Subwoofer: Car Electronics

Suggested Amplifier: PPI ion 520.4 Amazon.com: Precision Power i520.4 520-Watt 4-Channel iON Series Class D Full-Range Digital Stereo Bridgeable Amplifier: Car Electronics

I am choosing a 10" woofer because, eventually, i will make an integrated box for it to go with my drawer system in my car. The drawer system will have my kitchen, recovery gear and a fridge.

Why the Big 3?

I will be running a power inverter to power other electrical things in my car like camping lights and the fridge and wanna do the wiring and sound deadening before I install all these things. Wiring will all be hidden and concealed. Wanna do it once and for all //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif Before getting to this community, I had no idea about the Big 3 but now it makes all the sense so thank you CarAudio.com

Sound Deadening:

Roads are awesome over here too but am trying to make my car an expedition vehicle. I will also be heat insulating my car as the temperatures here can go up to 56c or 132F in summer and sometimes beyond that. So while I do the deadening, i might as well insulate the interiors too

My music usually comes from a USB stick and sometimes streaming from my android phone via a Bluetooth but rarely from a CD.

Regards,

DJ

 

[Kai Winters 10+ year member]

Thanks for the video DJ...it looks like a lot of fun and a great group of people.

The Big 3 is a great idea for your needs as is the heat insulation.

Whew must be a lot of maintenance for the air intake sysems...I imagine the filters take a beating with all that sand/dust in the air.

The audio parts all have good reviews and will probably fill your needs at a reasonable cost within your budgets.

Good luck and keep us posted...a slide show of the work would be awesome...

 

[DJDESI]

So finally I took the plunge and ordered the following from Amazon:

JBL GTO609C for front with tweeters and crossovers

JBL GTO Co-Axials which turn out to be JBL GTO629

JBL GT5-10D 10-Inch Dual-Voice-Coil Subwoofer

Precision Power i520.4 520-Watt 4-Channel iON Series Class D Full-Range Digital Stereo Bridgeable Amplifier

They will hopefully arrive in a month or so. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Which brings me to my other questions... WIRING

I need help with wiring please.

What gauge wire will go where and of what length. Its a 4 door 4x4 Nissan Pathfinder 2001 R50. Waiting for my dual battery kit too so I will be doing the Big 3 or a Big 4 upgrade too.

Or am I asking too many questions...?? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

Regards,

DJ

 

[the727kid 10+ year member]

$500 budget and you live in Qatar? I thought that country was drowning in $$$.

 

[DJDESI]

$500 budget and you live in Qatar? I thought that country was drowning in $$$.

Lol, saving for my overland travels and not trying to shake the money tree

Regards,

DJ

 

[DJDESI]

So finally I took the plunge and ordered the following from Amazon:
JBL GTO609C for front with tweeters and crossovers

JBL GTO Co-Axials which turn out to be JBL GTO629

JBL GT5-10D 10-Inch Dual-Voice-Coil Subwoofer

Precision Power i520.4 520-Watt 4-Channel iON Series Class D Full-Range Digital Stereo Bridgeable Amplifier

They will hopefully arrive in a month or so. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Nothing arrived so far unfortunately and I have no clue. So did a regional search and found a few of the items available in Dubai (UAE) so going to purchase from there.

These are availble so I will purchase them from Dubai:

1 - JBL GTO609C for front with tweeters and crossovers

2 - JBL GT5-10D 10-Inch Dual-Voice-Coil Subwoofer

This is not available:

1 - Precision Power i520.4 520-Watt 4-Channel iON Series Class D Full-Range Digital Stereo Bridgeable Amplifier

Can you plz recommend any other amplifier suitable for the above mentioned system? Preferably from Kenwood, Pioneer and maybe Alpine.

2 - JBL GTO Co-Axials which turn out to be JBL GTO629 is not available either, instead JBL GTO638 120W 6.5" / 6.75" 3-Way Grand Touring GTO Series Speakers are. Do you think this is good?

Thank you for recommendations and suggestions.

Regards,

DJ

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

Nothing arrived so far unfortunately and I have no clue. So did a regional search and found a few of the items available in Dubai (UAE) so going to purchase from there.
These are availble so I will purchase them from Dubai:

1 - JBL GTO609C for front with tweeters and crossovers

2 - JBL GT5-10D 10-Inch Dual-Voice-Coil Subwoofer

This is not available:

1 - Precision Power i520.4 520-Watt 4-Channel iON Series Class D Full-Range Digital Stereo Bridgeable Amplifier

Can you plz recommend any other amplifier suitable for the above mentioned system? Preferably from Kenwood, Pioneer and maybe Alpine.

2 - JBL GTO Co-Axials which turn out to be JBL GTO629 is not available either, instead JBL GTO638 120W 6.5" / 6.75" 3-Way Grand Touring GTO Series Speakers are. Do you think this is good?

Thank you for recommendations and suggestions.

Regards,

DJ

I can send you anything and everything you need if you pay the shipping