Hey guys, im a complete, complete newbie to adding new sound capabilties to my accord, this is my second time posting here, so i have some questions, please bear with me, i ran a few searches and found almost nothing.

1) Do you need to have more than one amp in your car? is a Sony XM-5150GSX
40W x 4 + 150W x 1 Car Amplifier any good? http://sm.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S-...XM5150&o=m&a=1 What is the point of having more than 1, or why would you need to have more than 1?

2)All my speakers are bone stock, and they sound good, to me anways, but if i do upgrade with that amp, or any amp, would i need to upgrade my speakers to? If so what would be a good set that is cost effective?

3)Does it matter about your car battery, i mean, will all these things drain harshly on the battery, or does it really matter?

4)What does a subwoofer do exactly? Why does size matter? Bigger = better? Do you need more than 1? Same on the size questions for speakers

I am one of those guys that is a complete tech freak, i like the newest thing out, and im dirt poor, but boy, can i bargain, bitch, and save over money. What do you guys think of the Sony MEX-5DI CD/MP3 Receiver
http://sm.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S-...MEX5DI&o=m&a=1
Yeah, its expensive on that site, but much, much more less on ebay.

I mean is there anything else out there that has the same funtions, and more for less?

Thanks guys, i really appreciate all the help.

-Jon


[Modified by Ideal, 3:18 AM 8/13/2002]

 

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1) Do you need to have more than one amp in your car? is a Sony XM-5150GSX
40W x 4 + 150W x 1 Car Amplifier any good? http://sm.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S-...XM5150&o=m&a=1 What is the point of having more than 1, or why would you need to have more than 1?
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There is no correct answer to this. You will only hear people tell you differnt things about this. You must first figure out what you want and then decide how to get it. You can use a head unit with built in amp and be happy or you can put 5 amps and be happy too. I won't tell you which amps are good but the idea of more than 1 amp is be able to amplify all your speakers if you need more than 4 chanels (Common amps have 2-4 chanels but there are some with 5-6) Example if you have 4 speakers and 2 sub woofers, or it you use component speakers and crossovers etc... You would run 4 speakers with a 4 chanel amp and the subs with the 2 chanel amp. There is a million and one ways to hook up a system, just read around.

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2)All my speakers are bone stock, and they sound good, to me anways, but if i do upgrade with that amp, or any amp, would i need to upgrade my speakers to? If so what would be a good set that is cost effective?

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Again depends what you are happy with but remember your sound is only as good as the speakers can reproduce them. OEW are ok but if you have had them for many years you have an excuse to change them. Also if you increse the power of the source with amps you need speakers that can handle it.

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The battery only matters if you are going to run your stereo for long periods with the car off. Once the car is on, the energy comes from the alternator. My experience is you rarely use the streo once the car is off. If that is your concirn then get a deep cycle battery ~$150.

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4)What does a subwoofer do exactly? Why does size matter? Bigger = better? Do you need more than 1? Same on the size questions for speakers
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A sub woofer is a speaker designed to opperate in low frequencies, in other words bass. It must generate a pulse of sound that is strong enough for us to hear at these low frequencies so thats why they usualy are of bigger diameters. The bigger, the bigger the air pulse it can make and the stronger the sound and effect of the base is. (You can not only hear it, you can feel it). If you "need" more than one, it's a matter of space and preferance. Mid range and tweeters are ok in thier typical sizes because they must vibrate at higer frecuencies and are more efficient if the cone has less mass.

If you want a good deal on a nice unit check out the KDC-MP919 from Kenwood
They sell for about $480. I found mine online for $330. It plays MP3's and has 3 security features.

 

Then what are some good amps and subwoofer setups that you would recommend? Cost effective but with that, just above, umph

-Jon

 

Soundstream 5.0 & 10.2 stable to .25 ohms

 

How bout ZAPCO Competition series amps, their stuff is the best IMO.

 

ZAPCO- very powerful but not very reliable, that s my experiance with them.

 

Ideal, I have that sony amp. Its a pretty good amp. For the money you really cant go wrong. I payed um, 245 shipped ? I had a hifonics 5 channel before that, but it gave me tons of trouble. it would shut off and all kinds of ****. Although I think the sound quality on the highfonics was a tiny bit better.

 

running a 5 channel mtx 4405 300 watt amp, got it for 300 dollars, got nothing but good things to say about it...

 

2 amps got a mtx1500d powering 2 phoenix gold xmax's and a phoenix gold 250.2 tantrum series amp powering my boston rally components......i used to have a kenwood 600 watt 2 channel, (the cheap one) and two MA audio tens, sounded nice but distorted a lot. at first i thought components were unnecessary, but once i got the bostons, i dont mind the long drives to cali, bassless...btw MTX is great, but doesnt work once in a while, it'll just shut off i guess from overheating. (i live in las vegas...100+ weather)


my car wont start up after seriously 17min of use w/car off....sucks *** like a *****....i've actually stopped and tested this twice before i replaced the battery.. ( same style battery, just not all leaking and ****)


[Modified by accordonc2s, 10:38 AM 8/18/2002]