Post your speaker set up.

[new2sr20]

Broafield-my setup is mb quart onx216 w all panels sealed w dynamat. I am running the stock head unit still, is this the reason for distortion im getting w high volume? I am runing cross overs with no additional amps other thrn the oem clarion.

[Broadfield]

Originally Posted by new2sr20

Broafield-my setup is mb quart onx216 w all panels sealed w dynamat. I am running the stock head unit still, is this the reason for distortion im getting w high volume? I am runing cross overs with no additional amps other thrn the oem clarion.

You need an amplifier to push them if you want any sort of decent volume. It would be like expecting your 240 to runs 8's in the 1/4 mile with only 100hp. Your stock radio has at best 12 watts or so per channel. Even a new aftermarket radio will only be 18 watts RMS x 4. I would highly recommend the ARC Audio Xdi 804 to power everything(80 watts RMS x 4)... let me know if you need any pricing. It's an amazing amp for the money. It also comes in a very small chassis, so you can easily mount it under one of the front seats. Also, those MB Quarts are actually not a very good speaker. The company use to make very good speakers 20 years ago... but now it's under totally different ownership and it is Chinese made product. Regardless they will sound worlds better with a good amount of power.

[new2sr20]

Im not looking to make it sound like a comp. Car. Just upgrade over stock. Yeah pm me a price. My battery is going in the trunk, ill probably mount the amp in the upper deck area in the trunk. The ddx is like 250ish. Any better suggestions for a double din dvd/cd combo under 300?

[Broadfield]

Originally Posted by new2sr20

Im not looking to make it sound like a comp. Car. Just upgrade over stock. Yeah pm me a price. My battery is going in the trunk, ill probably mount the amp in the upper deck area in the trunk. The ddx is like 250ish. Any better suggestions for a double din dvd/cd combo under 300?

Well, I don't sell radios that are 4 years old, so it's kind of hard to compare pricing since I only sell current models. Although you can check here for pricing on my current JVC models... I have a couple in that price range:

http://zilvia.net/f/electronics/4786...nits-sale.html

The ARC Xdi 804 would be $249 shipped.

[MuteTurkey]

Need a little advice. I got a Sony CDXGT56UI deck for my s13 and now I want to upgrade the speakers because mine are old and sound awful. I need some that can handle high volume because my car is unfortunately straight piped and sometimes I like to listen to music pretty loud. Looking for great sound quality, not too worried about base because I'll be getting a sub for that. Thanks in advance.

[Broadfield]

Originally Posted by MuteTurkey

Need a little advice. I got a Sony CDXGT56UI deck for my s13 and now I want to upgrade the speakers because mine are old and sound awful. I need some that can handle high volume because my car is unfortunately straight piped and sometimes I like to listen to music pretty loud. Looking for great sound quality, not too worried about base because I'll be getting a sub for that. Thanks in advance.

The speakers will not get loud without an amplifier. So having speakers that can handle more power than what you are pushing is pointless. So if you are just using the power out of the Sony, which is no more than 18 watts RMS per channel, then a 100 watt speaker will not get any louder than a 20 watt speaker. And most likely the opposite. The 100 watt speaker may actually be more quite because there will be a good chance it is less efficient than the 20 watt speaker. Now if the speakers you have now are blown or partially blown, then yes, the new speakers will probably give you a little more volume. I always recommend Hybrid Audio. Let me know if you want some pricing... but I would highly recommend an amplifier to push them. The other question is do you have a sub amp yet? Because ARC Audio has a killer 5-channel that's a little beast for a REALLY good price. It would run 80 x 4 to your highs and 400 to a sub.

[MuteTurkey]

I don't have a sub yet. The speakers I have are loud enough, they just don't sound good. They are all partially blown. So I don't need any that get louder, just some that can handle being loud. And I would like to have a sub that could be louder than 400 watts unless that's a good amp and can give true or close to 400 watts to the sub. I would like a single 12 for space and I prefer the sound of a 12 over a 10.

[Broadfield]

Originally Posted by MuteTurkey

I don't have a sub yet. The speakers I have are loud enough, they just don't sound good. They are all partially blown. So I don't need any that get louder, just some that can handle being loud. And I would like to have a sub that could be louder than 400 watts unless that's a good amp and can give true or close to 400 watts to the sub. I would like a single 12 for space and I prefer the sound of a 12 over a 10.

This is where a lot of my customers are misinformed about car audio. If it doesn't sound good at the volume you want to listen to it at then you do not have enough power. If you had more power then it wouldn't distort or sound bad at the volume you want to listen to it at. This is assuming the speakers you have are not blown. If they are blown then you obviously need to buy new speakers regardless. But you won't know if you need more power until you get them installed and demo it. But buying one decent speaker over another is not going to change your overall volume... not anything the human ear could really detect anyway.

Anything I sell/quote will be RMS power ratings. I don't jack around with garbage peak #'s that tell the consumer absolutely nothing. On top of that the ARC amplifiers are actually underrated. Here is an example of why the ARC Audio XDi 805 is such a good deal:

ARC XDi 804 (80 x 4) = $249 shipped
ARC XDi 600.1 (600 x 1) = $249 shipped

Total: $598 shipped for 80 x 4 + 600 x 1



ARC XDi 805 (80 x 4 + 400 x 1) = $369 shipped

Total: $369 shipped for 80 x 4 + 400 x 1

As you can see the 805 is heck of a bargain at only 200 watts less on the sub channel. Also consider it's all in one chassis that is only 3" longer than the 804. On top of that you would only have the wiring for one amplifier... so no need for extra power and ground wires etc. So you would save even more money there. It will easily fit under one of the front seats out of sight. Keep in mind, 400+ watts is very respectable when only running one sub. Your average quality 12" sub will typically only handle 500 watts RMS anyway.

[GSXRJJordan]

I LOVE the fact that Toby took over dropping knowledge in this thread, I'm 100% with him on all of this stuff. The Arc amps are rad, and I'll probably end up getting the 4ch for the car if I put audio back in.

Also, head unit-powered components sound like garbage - you just don't have the control that you need. Almost ANY crap amp will sound better than even a rad head unit, and the difference is even bigger when you have a nicely prepped front stage and some really nice components.

Cliffs: if you have components powered by your head unit, remove head from ass, buy amp.

[Renelovesnike]

Dont know much about audio but i was wondering about SOUND DEADNING!

has anyone had any bad complaints about QUICK ROOF from a local lowes/homedopet?

or is it just crap and just stick to dynamat?

any words of advice possitive or negative are welcome since ive never touched the item.

just thinking about purchasing to lower some exhaust noises in the cabin.

[GSXRJJordan]

I'm sure Toby will chime in eventually, I'm very happy using SecondSkin Damplifier Pro and Luxury Liner. Damplifier Pro is a mass-loaded vinyl (like Dynamat Extreme) that stops panels from resonating, commonly used on roofs and trunks, but I put it on just about everything. Luxury Liner is a closed-cell foam that 'soaks' up noise inside the cabin, designed for floorboards, trunks, wheelwells, etc.

Another thing that's nice is DEI's Floor and Tunnel shield, which does sound absorption and heat. We're a dealer for DEI and their BoomMat products as well.

[MrChow]

My new sub <3
I have it some crap ass box but it sound freaking amazing!

Now I just need a real box...

[MuteTurkey]

What is that? Looks like a beast.

[Creww562]

I run hertz everything and sony or pioneer hu.. If anyone wants really good shit really cheap lmk what you need and ill get you some prices... can get anything thats audison, hertz, sony, or pioneer..

[MrChow]

Originally Posted by MuteTurkey

What is that? Looks like a beast.

SA-10 And it is a beast wish I had a real box and lil more power.

[azienbabyboi]

head unit: alpine double din w505
front and rear speakers: polk audio MM 6.5
speaker amp: kicker 400.4
sub amp: mtx 2000.1 mono block
sub: kicker 10" L7

[Chapabig]

Great info in this thread, i need advice, If i go with the 5 channel amp pushing 80x4 RMS and 400x1 mono, would i need to add a capacitor, and if i do, how big? I dont want to get another battery if i dont have to, sorry if its a newb question, i just want a nice a neat sound

[Broadfield]

Originally Posted by Chapabig

Great info in this thread, i need advice, If i go with the 5 channel amp pushing 80x4 RMS and 400x1 mono, would i need to add a capacitor, and if i do, how big? I dont want to get another battery if i dont have to, sorry if its a newb question, i just want a nice a neat sound

No, you will be just fine without a capacitor. Typically we don't do caps until we get to the 1000+ watt RMS mono block amplifiers. Even then, if it's a quality amplifier it will have a fair amount of capacitance built-in. Your average car audio consumer won't even notice the difference with a cap anyway.

[MrChow]

Originally Posted by Broadfield

No, you will be just fine without a capacitor. Typically we don't do caps until we get to the 1000+ watt RMS mono block amplifiers. Even then, if it's a quality amplifier it will have a fair amount of capacitance built-in. Your average car audio consumer won't even notice the difference with a cap anyway.

what he said having done the Big 3 and a decent battery helps out.

[Chapabig]

Thank you for the help guys.......

[Milspec180]

Post your Aftermarket Stereo Setup here!!!!!!!
Looking to see what everyone tries and likes.
what are you using?
-Amp
-Sub
-Speakers
-Head unit
-Location of each(i.e head unit in glove box)
-Capacitor
-Uses(i.e Track or DD)
Thanks for your inputs in advance!

oh and Im starting with a completely stripped, welded diff, DD s13 hatch any suggestions?!?!

[Milspec180]

nadda bump!

[Reece]

My first suggestion would be put your interior back in

[xHeavySS]

is the xdi805 400watts rms or peak?

[kasperjd4]

Don't laugh, I'm not a pro in any way or claim to be.. but this is the piece I made to fit in the back of my vert. I bought the car with no interior at all so I thought I'd do this instead of trying to find original vert parts.

The whole thing cost me less than 20dollars. The amps and sub were already in the trunk of the car. I just built the box:






Almost fitted perfectly, just had to build some support to hold it in perfectly.

[Broadfield]

Originally Posted by xHeavySS

is the xdi805 400watts rms or peak?

The 5th channel is 400 watts RMS at 2 ohm. You will never, ever see me rate something in peak/max power

[kingkilburn]

As a person that does sound for raves I HATE how speaker and amp companies rate their products. Shit is all over the place and I don't trust any of it

[xHeavySS]

what would be a good set of components to go with the arc 5 channel and a jl10w6? i always wanted to try out the sundown set, looking for best quality for under 200

[Broadfield]

Originally Posted by xHeavySS

what would be a good set of components to go with the arc 5 channel and a jl10w6? i always wanted to try out the sundown set, looking for best quality for under 200

Your not going to find any components that are above just average for under $200. I could do the Hybrid Audio Imagine series for $249... which these will compete with other manufacturer's component sets that cost twice as much retail.

http://hybrid-audio.com/imagine/

[Milspec180]

Originally Posted by Reece

My first suggestion would be put your interior back in

Well let me rephrase. I have door panels and a dash.