what to expect from my budget system..? (newbie)

[deltron zero 10+ year member]

oh i guess you didn't see, i edited my previous post since i didn't wanna make another new post, hah. i wanted to spend 100-125 on a head unit.

 

[deltron zero 10+ year member]

i'd prefer not to buy off ebay. it just seems hard to deal with if something breaks.

 

[DJ FURY 10+ year member]

Ebay would be ur best bet for a nice low budget system.as long as someone who knows what their doing installs everything u should be fine.And u can always make sure they have good feedback before u buy as well.U might really want to consider it.

 

[nosaj070 10+ year member]

http://www.ikesound.com usually has some cheap hu's. I would not recomend buying a Used JBL amp. People have had some reliability problems with them, and i would be worried not knowing what the previous owner did to it. It really isn't that much more. If you really want a negative opinion on jbl amps talk to Zane on this board. I personally think it would be a good fit for your setup.

Oh, and about subs handling ohm loads...they don't. The subs create the ohm loads due to their electrical resistence, the amp is what you need to check on whether it can handle the load or not. your subs will always be 4 ohms, but with different wiring methods you can change that.

 

[deltron zero 10+ year member]

oops you're right, i got a little mixed up. but anyways, i picked up that cheap head unit at best buy (pioneer deh-1600, newer version of last year's deh-1500 i think), it was $110 and comes with a free $20 giftcard, so it seemed pretty good. when i get everything installed (my friend said he might be able to do it on tuesday), i'll update with the results. as soon as i get more money, i'm definitely replacing this amp.

oh yea, and one more thing. the head unit i got only has 1 preamp output for the rear...i can hook up my amp and subs through that, right?

thanks for all the help

 

[n2audio 5,000+ posts]

1 pair of rca's is fine for a single amp set up, and you can use y cables to add other amps or use the amp's rca outputs if it has them.

 

[sumone 10+ year member]

also check your amp about the 1 preamp from the head unit. my usx4065 (4 chan.) has a selector directing it to only use the specified input - three switches: 1&2, 3&4, and low. I'm guessing low just means the inputs go to their corresponding output channel.

 

[PopcornPlaya 10+ year member]

to replace the foam that goes under the sub where it mounts to the box, you could go to your hardware store and get weather stripping. if you want the piece thats made for a sub, your loacl audio shop should have tons of those pieces lying around, and you can usually get them for free, or very cheap. assuming im thinking about the same piece that i think you're talking about. as far as the HU, if you really want the 1600, ikesound has it for $95. I'm sure sound domain or the zeb would pricematch (they're authorized dealers) they have the 3600 for $129, and the 2600 for $119. thats just what i come up with on a quick search. here are some sites if'n you want to browse their hu's to find you one that might suit you better:

http://www.thezeb.com

http://www.ikesound.com

http://www.onlinecarstereo.com

http://www.sounddomain.com

http://www.woofersetc.com

theres a few to give you a start.

 

[LBX2G 10+ year member]

yo there is a Jbl 1200.1 for sale right here on this forum.

 

[deltron zero 10+ year member]

ok so everything was installed, except the rear deck speakers. my friend didn't have the time so i just unplugged the old worn out stock speakers. we also didn't have an rca splitter, so only one sub was going until i went to radio shack to get a couple of splitters. after i put those splitters into use, there was significantly less bass coming out of both the subs. i played around with the juice boost (12db boost at 50hz i think) and noticed that when only one of the juice boost switches were on, it sounded the loudest. what could be causing this? my friend used 12 gauge wires to connect the battery to the amp...could this be the problem? i thought that 8 gauge would have been a better idea, but would that affect the sound in this way? i also know that the cd player's rca preamp is 2V.

so basically:

one sub connected w/bass boost: loud

both subs connected w/bass boost: ok..

both subs connected w/only one bass boost: somewhat loud

can anyone offer any advice? any help is greatly appreciated. thanks.

 

[nosaj070 10+ year member]

12 guage is definetly too small i believe, what amp are you powering? Also when you use a y adapter it will cut the preout voltage in half, so you will need to adjust accordingly with the gain. Theres a good chance the amp isn't getting enough power though, if you re run a power line theres no point in running 8, go buy the 4ga kit from walmart.

 

[deltron zero 10+ year member]

i'm powering a lightning audio b.400.4, how much do 4 gauge kits cost? can i just get the wiring off of ebay? i see one that advertises 2ft for 99 cents.

 

[nosaj070 10+ year member]

Its 25 bucks at walmart, you get all kinds of good stuff with it too.

 

[Bodawg111 10+ year member]

Check to make sure the speaker wire from the amp to the subs line up (+ to +, - to -). If one is backwards and the sound is sent to one side it works fine, but both subs at the same time with mixed up wires will become really quiet.

Oh yeah, check out Legacy Amps. I have a 4ch 1000 watt pushing 2 12s and 2 6x9s. Great value and clean sounding. GO WITH THE 4GA. from Wal-Mart!!

 

[BBHP13 10+ year member]

FWIW, I picked up two NOS Alpine amps off of ebay. A 3552 and a 3544. Older stuff yeah, but still very good even today. Both were new, as in never even removed from the boxes. total price....$200. These would have run close to $1000 back in the day. I also picked up a very nice Alpine 3321 EQ for less than $40.

Just don't be in a hurry to buy something off of ebay and always check the sellers feedback. Set the price your willing to pay and stick to it. If it goes over your price, find another one to bid on. Be sure to add in shipping cost too. Some bad ebayers charge way too much for shipping.

For speakers....check out thezeb.com. Great prices.

Good luck with your new hobby. What you have now will never be enough! Even if "right now" is tommorrow.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif