Amps and Car Audio

[Rand0m Profile]

During the summer I will be buying some car audio things. Although I know whats good sub woofer, cd reciever, and speaker wise I don't know how many watts I need in an amp to power what I purchase. Im planning on getting 2 12" 2400 watt total subs, a 50-52 watt cd player, and 4 200 watt speakers. Anyone know what I will need amp wise. Any suggestion to products also would help.

[Irish]

What kind of car? Hatch back--Trunk--Truck?
How are you mounting the subs or I should say where?
CD changer?
Crossover built into the amp?

Get a car audio magazine and read a few articles before you buy anything.

[Rand0m Profile]

I have a sedan so I am going to get the 2 12" sub box from best buy most likely and put it in the trunk. If by crossover you mean bridgeable than yes Im going to purchase an amp with that feature.

Im a noob at this crap so help a noobie out lol!

[Bullhead]

amps from the head unit are meaningless if you are going to use an amp to power your speakers (which you should be). In that case, what matters are the number of pre-amp outputs on the head unit, usually you want 2 std. ones (front and rear) and a dedicated sub-out.

What subs are you going to be using? Are they Dual-Voice Coil, or single? Is the dual 12" box sealed, ported, or bandpass? (sealed is, well, sealed , ported has one or more ports on it, and bandpass has half sealed half ported)

[Irish]

Well make sure the subs are pointed towards you and the back seats fold down. A shaky trunk is nice but if you can't feel the bass why do it. Not a big beleiver of crossovers built on amps. Let the amp do its job. Plus you want to get to the crossover. I had a separate crossover mounted under my front passenger seat that I could adjust. Subs in the trunk with the amp. Run the wire under the carpet. Appearance is everything. Boston Acoustics makes great tweeters. Don't build a ghetto blaster. Put a nice sounding system together that when you raise the volume it is loud and crisp. Nothing more embarrising than when you turn it up and you have crackling.Tweets and midrange speakers is where I would blow the dough. For subs I would stick with a fosgate set up. Not to bad price wise and decent equiptment.

[Rand0m Profile]

I am probably going to seal the trunk. My friend told me when he was younger and hooked up his system that he bought a piece of rubber/plastic to seal the trunk. You basically lay it out, put a blow dryer up to it, melt it, and your set. This helps not to shake and pop the metal on your doors as some like to do which is an annoying sound. Once the car is on the road, and I have the money I will come back to this thread and take some notes down and get everything. Right now Im trying to see what products are best and how much it's going to cost me.

If the bridgeable amps are crap and you recommend two seperate amps than I'll do that. Music is one thing I can't live without, I want this system to be loud, clear, and have everyone on my street knowing Im on my way home.




Have you ever had a system professionaly installed. Do you think best buy would do a good job at installing it or should I go some where else?

[Irish]

Bullhead may have the specifics for you. My wishlist would be Oz subs and an Eclipse head unit with BA mids/tweets and a soundstream (do they even make this anymore) crossover but I have been out of the game for years.

My box was a 12" kicker in a sealed box with the amp built into a cutout on the box. I used an Eclipse head unit and soundstream crossover. My mids and tweets were stock. At one time Eclipse was the audio for the Lotus. Not sure if its still that way.

Eclipse fan boy here.




Don't seal the trunk. You have to get in there. Maybe you can make the seal tighter but never seal the trunk. Stop focusing on the subs. Clarity is the key. Not two amps. I just liked being able to adjust my streams from inside my car. The crossover will allow only bass to come through the subs and divide up the frequencies correctly. Most ghetto blasters get a sub and blow everything through the sub box including lyrics. Garbage---

[Rand0m Profile]

Originally posted by Irish
Don't seal the trunk. You have to get in there. Maybe you can make the seal tighter but never seal the trunk. Stop focusing on the subs. Clarity is the key. Not two amps. I just liked being able to adjust my streams from inside my car. The crossover will allow only bass to come through the subs and divide up the frequencies correctly. Most ghetto blasters get a sub and blow everything through the sub box including lyrics. Garbage---

Why the hell would I seal my trunk?! That's not what I meant, I need to use my trunk you silly fool. I guess you misunderstood or I didnt clarify, it's just basically rubber padding in the inside of the trunk. It doesn't seal shut so you can't open it up. You put down the sheet of rubber, not too thick, then the carpeting over it and you don't even know its there. I don't know what Im going to do yet. Ill spend probably 500-1100 on it. We'll see how long I can go w/o a hooked up system and how much I get saved. Keep the ideas comming. The latest I will set the system up is August so we have plenty of time to trade ideas.

[SandStorm]

After going through a couple of car sound systems I feel I can provide a little advice.

My first system was basic, being that I was a sophomore in high school and had no money. I had 2MTX - 12"s w/a MTX 400Watt 2 channel amp. All i cared about was that I had a little bass and could be heard on campus:D

Well after a couple of years and a little loss of hearing . I've leaned towards more crisp and clean sound. My current system: Subwoofer is a 1 10" Polk Momo Subwoofer powered by 1 MTX amp. Polk component system in the front with JBL 6x9's in the back powered by a JBL 4-channel amp.

Random, whenever looking at how many watts an amplifier puts out. Look at how many watts it produces continuously(RMS) not just peak power. They try to fool you using that number.

Check out Crutchfield.com, though you can find cheaper prices elsewhere, its a good place to compare different types of amps and subs.

[ticks-&-leeches Profile]

yea i love my eclipse system pwns anything u can get @ bestbuy that and nakamichi really make high quality stuff, live music and your basic mp3 quality hiphop sound perfect.clarity is key i agree totally

what i got in my honda passport 1 ten pounds louder then my buddys 2 brand new audiojunko 10s with neon blue auidojunko amp he spent more on his amp and subs then i did on my whole system for his 2004 gmc denali

(2)6-1/2" driver with 1"silkdome tweeter eclipse component series & crosover
(1)10-"dual voicecoil eclipse 400 watt subwoofer in eclipse bandpass box
40 watt into 4channel eclipse mp3 decoder deck
4/3/2 channel eclipse power amp with sunsonic filtering 490 total watts

i simple mini 5 speaker satellite system not sucking insane amounts of watts from your car i mean do you really need 2500 watts .?

yes have it installed someplace other then bestbuy they have butchered many systems in peoples cars i ride in.i was lucky enough to have a registered eclipse dealer around it also offers year theft and 3 year warrenty on my whole system

[Rand0m Profile]

Well Im not into that much rap and hip hop styles of music. I like mostly rock/alternative/emotional rock/hard core. 2400 watts is a bit much isn't it. The only reason I put that was because I saw 2 12" subs with 2400 total for 87 dollars but they were sony explodes. I want to do this system right the first time. Something that suites my music taste yet will sound good. I still want it to play any type of music good though.

[Bullhead]

1. DOn't let the n00bs at Best Buy (or Circuit City, or Sound Advice, or etc) install it. If you want to pay someone to do it, research around, ask people who've got systems, etc, and find a LOCAL, dedicated car audio shop. You'll almost always get higher quality installs (I could fill this thread with all the stupid shit the above three companies have done to me, or others I've known, in regards to car stereo).

2. Generally, unless you are trying to go thug down the streeet , then the subs aren't the most important. For a rock-based listenig pref., I'd HIGHLY recommend going with a sealed sub box, at most 2 12", maybe even 2 10" subs just to save cost (a trunk acts as a natural enclosure, so it actually gives you more thump). You want the back of the sub facing you, i.e. the front facing the rear, since you get the most bass response on the return cycle of the sub (or so I've been told by others who know alot more than me!). I have 1 10" DVC Rockford-Fosgate sub, and I'm not even running it at 1/2 the watts it can take, and I still thunder. RF subs, especially their mid-to-high end stuff, are solid, reasonably priced stuff. Can't say I know the best here, but I know the Sony Explodes ain't nothing fancy

3. For speakers, Eclipse, Infinity, Boston Acoustics all come to mind, I've owned or had friends who owned all three. I'm a big fan of Infinity's Kappa Line (I'm surrounded by them in my truck). You setup should ideally be a set of seperates in the front (woofer and tweeter), usually with the woofer mounted in the door and the tweeter on the dash, or the top corner of the door nearest the dash. Rear can vary depending on year/make/model, but usally is another midrange woofer or a 6x9.

4. As for Head units, I love my Kenwood eXcelon's, and have for years. Again, Ecplise makes solid stuff here as well. The only brand I really don't like for head units (or anything, for that matter) is Alpine, since they cost more than anyone and don't sound any better (sometimes even worse) than their cheaper competitiors....

As Sandstom mentioned, crutchfield is an excellent resource. It will help you figure out what sizes of speakers you can run in the various mounting locations, as well as custom mount kits if you don't like the options. Their prices are also fairly competitive, often times lower than retail locally. Just keep in mind that they don't stock every brand, or every model of every brand. Some of the manufacturers have good websites for researching their products. Rockford-Fosgate has a slick little install guide for figuring out how to wire up series/combinations of subs and amps, as well as a great forum for asking questions.

I listen to everything music wise (except Country, ugh), so I can relate to your last line

Something that suites my music taste yet will sound good. I still want it to play any type of music good though

. Get 1-2 decent subs, with a solid amp, so you've got good low-end (you'll be surprised how many songs have nice bass, that you never hear otherwise). Spend the money on good amps (especially the speaker amp), good speakers, and a good head unit. Especially the head unit, since it's what you'll deal with the most, and what affects your upgrade potential down the road (like if you want to add an LCD screen, PS2/Xbox, etc).

[Rand0m Profile]

I use 5.1 surround sound at my computer so I hear the bass in every song lol. 2 10" sounds good right about now seeing as I am young and money is the first and foremost thing. Remember Im a noob at this thing. So what exactly do I need?

1 amp
1 head unit
2 subs
1 sealed sub box
4 6 x 9 speakers

?


Well I guess to answer the line you quoted from me I listen to mostly everything with a guitar if that helps. Mostly emotional rock/hardcore....some alternative/rock/etc

[SandStorm]

Random, I was in your same situation.

1. Start with the head unit. This is the 'brains' of your whole system. I find you can't go wrong with Kenwood or Pioneer. They offer great displays, performance, and increase your upgrade capabilities. All while not blowing all your money.

2. Amplifiers. I put this before speakers & subs because their only as good as your amp is. I find MTX and Rockford Fosgate amps to be very good. I've had my MTX amp for 4 years and never a problem. Though your head unit will put out between 20-30 watts to your speakers, a 4-channel amp putting out 50-100 watts makes a huge difference to how your speakers will sound(louder, cleaner, etc..) Your aftermarket speakers are begging for the extra juice and I swear that FM radio sounds like I'm listening to a music CD. If your really tight on money, I would get the amp for the subs before the amp for the speakers.

3. Subwoofers w/sealed sub box. If trunk space is a concern. 1 - 10" sub can do the job. Especially, if you listen to rock/alternative. I listen to a lot of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Flea's bass guitar sounds bad ass even with 1 sub. I had 2 - 12"s and I found the difference to be minimal. Just make sure your amp provides enough watts to the subs, at least 250 watts per channel. As with anything the more the better:D

4. Speakers. (Read Bullhead's post #3) I'm a huge fan of Infinity's Kappa Line also. Since you drive a Sedan you'll most likely need 2 - 6x9's in the rear deck and a component system in the front which consists of mid-range woofer that replaces your factory door speaker and the tweeters are usually placed up near the door handle and dash.

If you go have professionals install your system, you'll have to factor that in to your expenses and I strongly encourage you to install a car alarm if you haven't already.

[Rand0m Profile]

4. Speakers. (Read Bullhead's post #3) I'm a huge fan of Infinity's Kappa Line also. Since you drive a Sedan you'll most likely need 2 - 6x9's in the rear deck and a component system in the front which consists of mid-range woofer that replaces your factory door speaker and the tweeters are usually placed near the door handle

I am a little confused by the number of speakers. It's a sedan, and I think it has 4 speakers, infact I know it does. But why do I only need 2?

Im most likely going to buy 2 rockford fosgate 10" subs or 12" subs after looking online. Either 800 watts a piece or 1000, not sure yet.

As for the head unit, most likely kenwood or pioneer as you said.

If I get the 800 watt subs what amp will I need, if I get the 1000 watt subs what amp will I need?

*edit* just saw an mtx sub, are they any good?