Hey guys,

Plz contribute thoughts.

Polk EX-3560's in the front and in the back. These are 6-1/2" component speakers.
US Acoustics USX-4085 Amplifier. 85w x 4 RMS.
Sony XS-L1036 Subwoofer. 10"; up to 250w RMS.
Q-Logic 10" Single Sealed Subwoofer Box.
Alpine MRP-M200 Subwoofer Amp. 150w RMS.
Scosche Wiring
First Choice HU: Blaupunkt Pasadena CD Receiver.
Second Choices: Good Mainstream Receiver (Alpine, Pioneer, Sony...)

Thanks,
Ben

 

If you want correct sound staging I suggest you don't put components all around. Just put some decent 6.5" in the back for rear-fill.

 

What if I just leave the stock speakers in the back? It would mean I could put that $200 towards MB Quart Premium PSD 316 3-way components up front.

Let me know,
Ben

 

replace the rears with a pyramid 3 way or something cheap like that, their higher (cough, cough) line is still crap but is better than the stock paper speakers, and since its only for rear fill and rear passangers it still gives decent sound and midbass. They cost about $40 wholesale canadian for the high lines, so I mean, you should be able to pick it up for like $2 (our dollar sucks the big one..nah, more like $20 usd)

As far as the sony sub and q-logic box, I would suggest listening to some other subs first, I don't think the sony amps are good at all as they don't cleanly put out their "rated" power. You might be better off spending a bit more money on a nicer sub and then getting the box made/tuned for you at an audio shop rather than the pre-fab ones.

-Rage

 

oh yeah, and dynamat that front door, at least the speaker kit. B-Quiet is a cheaper and effective alternative as well (www.b-quiet.com). It'll give better response and you'll drown out some road noise in the process.

-Rage

 

Polk EX-3560's in the front and in the back. These are 6-1/2" component speakers.

run just one set up front - use that money saved toward better components. Most people will agree that rear speakers are not necessary. I wouldn't buy a three way component set....they must be setup properly to sound good, and personally, even in an optimal install, I don't find them to be too impressive. A good 2 way component set will be great.


US Acoustics USX-4085 Amplifier. 85w x 4 RMS.

excellent cost : perfromance ratio here -- good choice This is a solid amp, and can power a whole system with ease.


Sony XS-L1036 Subwoofer. 10"; up to 250w RMS.

use saved money from no bass amp for an IDQ12 -- trust me. It's happy in small enclosures, and is an extrememly accurate subwoofer. In the sealed box I listed, it plays strong down to 20Hz....and beyond - Sounddomain.com is the only authorized dealer. They can get you that and the box for a fair price. There are cheaper places to get it...but no warranty.


Q-Logic 10" Single Sealed Subwoofer Box.

bump that to a 0.85 box to fit the larger sub


Alpine MRP-M200 Subwoofer Amp. 150w RMS.

don't need it - use the other amp to power the whole thing...bridge the two rear channels of the US, and it will have more power then this amp


Scosche Wiring

that's fine...make sure it's 4 ga power. I would go to knukonceptz.com They have excellent prices, and the quality is top notch. They are very popular on other boards


First Choice HU: Blaupunkt Pasadena CD Receiver.
Second Choices: Good Mainstream Receiver (Alpine, Pioneer, Sony...)

get something with an internal amp, and run your rear speakers with rear output on the headunit. It would also be helpful to have a subwoofer output. Personally, I would stay far from Sony, and would choose an Alpine.

After taking a look at your setup, it appears that you are doing all your shopping at Crutchfield. That is definitely not the #1 place to do your shopping.


[Modified by rcurley55, 6:27 PM 7/26/2002]

 

Thanks for the help everyone. A couple questions: first, rcurley55, are you saying that 3-way components are not going to sound as good as 2-way components, or that they are not worth the price jump or that they need a lot more fine-tuning to sound perfect? second, i was going with a smaller sub - originally planning on an 8" or dual 8" - because I'd rather have accurate, tight, well-blended bass than distorted, loud bass that drowns out the real music. I can get two Sony 836's for $99, and on epinions.com, the Sony 1036 got excellent reviews. Would it be better to get dual smaller subs or one bigger sub? My only problem with the smaller subs is that they don't go all the way down to 20 Hz - and call me strange - but I don't want to miss out if there really are notes there and I'm spending this much total. Third, no, I'm not doing all my shopping on Crutchfield, though they seem excellent as far as online retailers go. I've been to my local Best Buy and Myer-Emco. Soon I will go into Auto Radio Center of Rockville and see what they have to recommend and their Blaupunkt selection.

Thanks for the dynamat and speaker advice, o_Rage_o,
Ben


[Modified by mr_mbuna, 4:26 AM 7/27/2002]

 

DO NOT GET DYNAMAT! **** is more expensive than it's worth. Give this guy a email. He sells RAAMmat. The best sound deadner around at a good price.

His email is: raam@raamaudio.com


[Modified by ebonyks, 5:08 AM 7/27/2002]

 

Here's the deal on 3-way components...first, kick panels are a requirement. The next thing you mentioned are Q-forms kickpanels...while they may be ok...personally, I don't find a piece of plastic a suitable place to mount a speaker. At the same time Q-forms are a mass produced product....they are not optimized for any particular component set....kick panels are not a formula...each car, and each comp set will perform differently. Second...the crossover point between the 4" and the 6" is too high on prefabbed 3-ways IMO. This will cause your stage to "wander" when listeneing to music.

As far as dynamat is concerned, skip it. Raammat was mentioned. I know Rick McCallum personally, and I stand behind his product 110%. He's an excellent guy and has a true love for car audio. I support his product.

You can get tight accurate bass from a 12" driver. The statement that a smaller driver is more accurate is a myth in car audio, and simply is not true. A large driver in the appropriate box can yield excellent results. If you get an 8" driver, while it may sound fairly good, it will be missing the low end extension provided by a larger driver. It's a matter of physics.

If you want a good sounding system for miniumum hassle...I seriously suggest that you follow the outline I posted above. What I listed is a proven plan, and will yield good results.

There are multiple ways to achive sonic bliss...I feel that what I listed will do that while keeping you bank account as large as possible. Don't be afraid to look off the beaten path...Sony is not the end all, be all in car audio....feel free to PM or email me if you have more questions.

 

Just a little update: I now will be using a Blaupunkt CD70 "San Francisco" head unit and a set of MB Quart Premium PSD 216 component speakers up front for sure. I found both of these for great deals - 299 and 229 respectively, new - on eBay, and they are what I wanted. So now that those choices are set in stone, does that change any of the other component selections?

Thanks,
Ben