Unsure what to do ATM : Cheap Sub + Box or Componants

[Ruffy 10+ year member]

I know aeveryone hates these types of thread but I'm at a standstill. So onto a slight introduction and some general Info. I Bought a Chrysler 300m. It has the 11 speaker Infinity II Package. But the front woofers were blown. So I replaced them with some Kenwood KFC-1789IE for the time being. I Originally bought 4 of these and had them in my Jeep grand cherokee Amped.

The 300M Has a 360?watt amp in the back running all 11 speakers(Blah) Has a built in unadjustable crossover in the amp for the front so the 3way speakers are only getting lows now. And they sound like crap. They sounded great in the jeep, but they were amped properly at the time.

Specs on what I got here

[b]Speakers Kenwood Excelon KFC-1789ie[/b]
Product Features 
pearl-mica injection-molded polypropylene woofer
rubber surround
1-3/16" PEI balanced dome midrange
3/8" PEI dome tweeter
power range: 2-55 watts RMS
Technical Details 
Model: 1789ie
Item Package Quantity: 1
Speaker Type: Car speaker
Speaker Amplification Type: Passive
Speaker Crossover Channel Quantity: 3-way
Vehicle Speaker Size: 6 3/4"
Speaker Maximum Output Power: 220 Watts
Speakers Response Bandwidth: 25 - 30000 Hz
Speaker Connectivity: Wired

[b]AMP Clarion APA450[/b]
Built-In Variable Low-Pass and High-Pass Crossovers 
50-250 Hz Crossover Frequency 
Crossover Frequency Multiplier 
Line or Speaker Level Inputs 
2 Ohms Stereo / 4 Ohms Mono Stable 
Bass Extender 0, 6, or 12 dB Boost Control 

Multi-Channel Amp Specifications 
Amplifier Type: Multi-Channel
RMS Power @ 4 Ohms: 50W x 4 @ 14.4V
THD at 4-Ohm RMS Power: 0.1 %
Bridged RMS Power @ 4 Ohms: 200W x 2 (maximum)
Speaker Level Inputs: yes
Built-In Crossovers: HP/LP
Bass Boost: 0, 6, 12 dB
Frequency Response: 20-20,000 Hz

Now after hooking them up I realized one thing, I can't live with this sound for long. I want a full sound system eventually. But cant afford it now. Here's my future Budget plan

$200-300 For Components up front

$50 to replace the blown center channel(Believe its 3.5" midrange)

$100-200 To replace Rear 6x9's

$100-150 To replace rear door speakers(4.5" I believe)

$200 For Subwoofers (Dual 10"s or 12"s)

$100-200 for a custom box(either fab myself or buy it elsewhere)

So far we're talking about $1000 Just on speakers alone. Granted if I could go less then great.

Amp's I don't know. From the looks of it I could use 3 amps

Lets say $200-350 Per amp. The subwoofer amp will prob end up double that for all I know.

I'm still decided on the HU. I want a CarPC and was thinking i'd go that route. but for that i'd have to fab my own LCD Bezels and such. Was also thinking of the Chrysler/Alpine GPS Unit RB1. It's a direct fit replacement for my car. But it sit's alittle low for my taste. Then theres the Pioneer AVIC-N1,2,3/Z1 and so on. Big money but I've seen and used them and liked it alot. In any case the HU is at least a year and a half away before I purchase it so lets not worry about it.

Now for the real question

Should I build a budget sub setup ($200-300) To help tide me over for the time being. Reason is I just don't have the money I need right now and was planning on upgrading slowly. I almost bit the bullet and bought an Infinity Basslink to help ease my transition into real Sound. But after reading here I saw I could build what excelerater dubbed the "basslinkilla" For around the same cash ammount.

Or I could go ahead and replace my 6x9's or Components for the time being. The problem with that is

A> I'd probably still be lacking bass

B> I'd be running off my Clarion Amp or the factory amp. And that just wont push a good set well

C> The factory front door speakers are 2ohms for the woofer, 4ohm for the tweets and everything else is 4ohms. The kenwoods are also 4ohm so That might be another reason why they sound like ***.

excelerater's basslinkkilla

http://www.ikesound.com/product-product_id/483 BOX 23.00

http://www.ikesound.com/product-product_id/1281 AMP 125.00

http://www.ikesound.com/product-product_id/3008 SUB 73.00

Now the Amp is no longer available there. I can get it on ebay or elsewhere. Anyone else know of any good cheap entry level combos? I Have a 12" JL Sub my brothers not using but I'd only get to keep it for a short while. So I'm looking for a box/amp/sub.

I just can't seem to decide. Don't know how a single 10" would sound in my trunk as I have a large trunk.

Click to read more...

 

[Ruffy 10+ year member]

Also my trunk space is rated as 18.7 cu. ft.

Picture of my car soon.

 

[Ruffy 10+ year member]

Forgot to mentian. I want tonal quality over boomyness. If theres 43 instruments playing at once and then someone taps lightly on a triangle I want to hear that triangle!

Clean tight bass, non-shrieky highs(Guess no metal dome tweets) And nice mids(I was looking at the Infinity's but have since changed my mind)

 

[pwnt by pat 10+ year member]

Try this instead

$200-300 For Components up front$50 to replace the blown center channel(Believe its 3.5" midrange)

$100-200 To replace Rear 6x9's

$100-150 To replace rear door speakers(4.5" I believe)

$200 For Subwoofers (Dual 10"s or 12"s)

$100-200 for a custom box(either fab myself or buy it elsewhere)

$200-300 For Components up front

$400 For Subwoofers (Dual 10"s or 12"s - being waaaaaaaaaaaaay generous)

250-300 for amps, one 2ch for the fronts and one mono for the subs

$50 for a custom box(build yourself + plans)

Here's a plan: Upgrade the front speakers and add an amp. Deaden your doors and you'll have some decent midbass. Then later add subs.

 

[Ruffy 10+ year member]

Try this instead

$200-300 For Components up front

$400 For Subwoofers (Dual 10"s or 12"s - being waaaaaaaaaaaaay generous)

250-300 for amps, one 2ch for the fronts and one mono for the subs

$50 for a custom box(build yourself + plans)

Here's a plan: Upgrade the front speakers and add an amp. Deaden your doors and you'll have some decent midbass. Then later add subs.

that would greatly surpass my budget of $200-300, Which is something I can afford Now. If i spend it on the components then I can't get a good amp for them. And the sound deadening is out the window unless it's Peal n Seal from Lowes

 

[pwnt by pat 10+ year member]

then wait

 

[954runner 10+ year member]

sounds like you want everything now, but dont have the money???

so, you cant.

buy a good set of comps like was mentioned. then wait.

buy a decent headunit. then wait.

get an amp to power them and hook them up. then wait.

get some deadener and apply. then wait.

buy a pair of subs. then wait.

get some wood/plans for a box. then wait.

buy an amp to power them. then wait.

 

[Ruffy 10+ year member]

sounds like you want everything now, but dont have the money???so, you cant.

buy a good set of comps like was mentioned. then wait.

buy a decent headunit. then wait.

get an amp to power them and hook them up. then wait.

get some deadener and apply. then wait.

buy a pair of subs. then wait.

get some wood/plans for a box. then wait.

buy an amp to power them. then wait.

thats the problem. I don't want to wait! The current setup is driving me insane. I can't stomach it for much longer. Without proper music i'm liable to snap and run over little old ladies

 

[MBrock4u 10+ year member]

Hey ruffy. 954 runner has the right ideal. Now hold on a miniute now and lets see why. Increase your front stage first. You will notice a very nice difference in your system, trust me. Next upgrade your head unit. After this you should have good sound and you will be off to the races. I built my current system little by little. It was a really good way to go because after evey upgrade i have a better and different sounding system. It takes some money to do all of this and life got in the way lol, so i just had to pace myself and I know that is not easy. So when it was all said and done I have a system I really enjoy. Don't sell youself short just because you can't wait. Just remember you have a better system after every upgrade so try to hang in there. You will be glad you did. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[nourkah 10+ year member]

Why do you need 2 subwoofers? You seem to care more about sq than loudness so one sub would be fine. Look at getting a single 12 or even better a 15.

 

[954runner 10+ year member]

trust me, if you save up little by little and get each piece like you like it, you will save SO much money than buying something to just throw in there.

for instance... you could go spend $80 on a pair of pioneer coax's. sure, it would be better right now and you would be happy, but they are not in your final plan. so then you have to save up another $250 or so for good comps up front, but in reality you spent about $330 on the comps... less the amount you resell the coax's for. if you did that for each piece of equipment, you would spend a lot more than you wanted in the beginning and the additional wait will be worth it.

 

[Ruffy 10+ year member]

Heres what I don't get. if I buy the comps for the front then they wont be amped.

And then theres the whole Ohm issue. 2ohm to woofer, 4ohm to tweet. I'd have to buy 2ohm 6.5" components which are more expensive, and even then they wont be running anywhere near their RMS for a good while.

I dunno. *continues looking at component choices*

 

[pwnt by pat 10+ year member]

Then save up for comps and a head unit. Then run power from the head unit to the doors.

Also, you don't have to run speakers "at" their rms power. Typically when you listen to music, you are running under their rms anyway. In simple terms, rms is maximum sustained power (or the voice coil's heat load). When the volume goes down, it's still audible and probably more enjoyable.

 

[pwnt by pat 10+ year member]

Here you go, this is what you want/need:

RMS Power @ 4 Ohms: 50W x 4 @ 14.4V

Bridged RMS Power @ 4 Ohms: 200W x 2 (maximum)

 

[audionewb 10+ year member]

Dude, if you don't have the money, save up and get what you want. I understand that you can't stand your current system, but that is life. I would like a Ferrari and a mansion with a yacht docked out back...I just can't afford it. I wanted to redo my system last year but could only get a new head. Now I am looking to do the rest.