I have a '01 Integra coupe and I'm trying to put a budget system together with the following criteria.
-MP3 Capability
-Some bump in the trunk, while at the same time, keeping the rattles to a minimum
-Nice tight bass...SQ is what I want from my understanding of the term
-Component speakers where the tweeters won't make my ears bleed
-I want a sub that's portable so I can take it out when I go to the track

Here's what I've come up with so far keeping in mind I know nothing about audio. Please let me know if any of these compenents are sub-par and/or will not fit my criteria. Also, please comment on how good the prices are. Thanks!
-Eclipse CD3413 $149.99
-Boston Acoustics RC620 $209
-JL Audio 10W08 or 04 10" W0 (08 has 8ohm voice coil and 04 has 4ohm voice coil...what's the diff?) $99(w/o enclosure)

Now here comes the questions.
-Is it necessary to upgrade the rear speakers? If I don't, will the stock quality speakers' output degrade my upgraded components?
-What's the best way to power the Boston Acoustics components and JL subwoofer? (single amp...multiple amps)

Help the clueless. Thanks!

 

hey man hows it going. i'm an installer and i get this question all the time. seriously man if i were you i would spend a lil more on the deck (this is going to sound stupid but trust me, i do this for a living) don't do the speakers yet. get the sub and amp though. well i would recomend a pioneer deck, great sq options, go with like the Pioneer premier 560mp. i would recomend a pioneer because for the money you can get alot more options on the deck. all pioneer deck have a 3 pand eq low mid and hi, better than the normal bass and tre. also has 3 preouts, front rear and sub. sub preout is cool, you can control the sub level, sub frequency, and turn the sub on and off all form the radio. also has hi pass filter to filter all your bass out of the speakers and into the sub. allowing you to get it up a little louder still with the sq your looking for. the 10W0-4(10inch 4ohm sub) by jlaudio is a great sub, use the 4ohm, ohms has to do with how much power you amp is going to put to that sub. but thats a whole nother post dude. use it in a sealed encloser for sq bass, then i would recomend the JL audio e2150 amp. its a 2 channel amp w/plenty of power from the 10. its only 150 watts bridged at 4ohms but thats enough believe me. thats the one nice thing about jl, compared to most subs that don't take as much power to pound. and that would be my suggestion. i work at a shop who caries eclipse, jl, pioneer, and alot more brands, but if your on a budget thats what i wuold do. and i know your still thinking "this dudes on crack, telling me not to replace the speakers" but replacing the headunit and a little bit of tuning they'll sound better than you can believe. that systme right there at my shop would prolly run you about.....$660. just a rough estimate, and another $55 for install. if your interested and willing to drive to the portland area let me know i'll try to get you a little more specific price. cool i hope this helps man and good luck with the system.

 

I would echo a lot of what is posted above....only I would do things with an upgrade path in mind.

I would do that headunit first, plus the sub too. Why? Well, with a little more power factory speakers don't sound all that bad - what they are really lacking is bass.

If I was you, I'd go with Image Dynamics before the W0 - the IDv3 is a superior woofer IMO and is right around $100 authorized from sounddomain.com

If it was me, I'd look for a 75 x 4 amp (something like the PG Tantrum 600.4 at sounddomain on sale). Bridge the two rear channels to the sub. Then when you can save some additional money, add front components and power that from the other two channels of hte amp.

This kind of a simple system can sound GREAT. I ran a similar setup for a while and it was great.

Just my $0.02

 

Thanks guys for the quick response. Here are some of my thoughts about your suggestions...

a.) The features of the Pioneer 560mp sound really great. I like how you can turn off the sub from the headunit but the visual appearance turns me off. Are there similar headunits out there that have the same features but come in a lower-profile color like black? The shallowness in me wants the headunit to match somewhat my interior.

b.) Rcurley55, you recommended that I bridge 2 channels on the PG 600.4 amp to the ID 10" IQv3 sub. Woudn't that feed 300RMS power to a sub that recommends 250W of RMS. Will that blow anything up?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CPR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Thanks guys for the quick response. Here are some of my thoughts about your suggestions...

a.) The features of the Pioneer 560mp sound really great. I like how you can turn off the sub from the headunit but the visual appearance turns me off. Are there similar headunits out there that have the same features but come in a lower-profile color like black? The shallowness in me wants the headunit to match somewhat my interior.

b.) Rcurley55, you recommended that I bridge 2 channels on the PG 600.4 amp to the ID 10" IQv3 sub. Woudn't that feed 300RMS power to a sub that recommends 250W of RMS. Will that blow anything up?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I don't know much about that head unit, so i can't comment...perhaps an eclipse or alpine head?

no you won't blow that sub...or you could drop to a 50x4, or go up to a 12...regardless, you will be fine