brainlessAP2

What's up guys,

I want to work on my stereo and want to hear whats out there. I see a lot of praise for the Polk Db6501's and wanted to hear what they sound like amped up as well (without a subwoofer).

I also want to hear a good system with amped speakers and a subwoofer in the trunk (I don't know how a sub would sound in a convertible and am hesitant to get one).

Let me know what you guys have! I'm in Princeton, NJ (central).

Mark

HowS2kru

Ask anyone around, you wanna get a system. Hit me up

2ks2knyc

having done years in Car Audio installs I can say this ...


In a car like the S you shouldn't go super high end because it is a waste IMHO. The S is noisey with the top up and even a HT. Any descent speaker will give you something that you can enjoy. You can have the best equipment installed and once you start to rev high and hit highway speeds you will loose a lot of the sound. The better approach is to ask what you are trying to achieve with a new audio setup.

Are you going for crisp wide range of sound?
Are you going for just a big booming bass systerm?
Are you going for simple budget with decent sound?
So on and so on ...



Example of one of my installs.
Jeep Wrangler (accustics similar to S)
4 two way JBL speakers with being pushed by a 4 channel amp
1 ten inch kicker sub in custom ported box being pushed by a mono amp.

The above mentioned system used to set off alarms as I drove past and sounded clear as day with vocals and midrang frequences. I used to be asked if I had a set of 15"s in the back and how the hell was I able to fit them and still have a back seat in the jeep.

Lastly, if your going to go sub, don't forget to baffle down your plate and trunk. Nothing worst than going overboard and hearing things rattle. Major major fail if you ask me lol Bigger and louder isn't always better.

brainlessAP2

Thanks for that response!

I'm looking for something with a crisp wide range of sound and am not looking to spend a ridiculous amount. At this point I'm pretty set on getting a set of Polk db6501's (they seem to be highly regarded and hit really low frequencies for a speaker. I want to power them with an Alpine MRP-F300. I'm probably going to sound deaden the doors because I am anticipating a lot of rattling with 100W of power going to each speaker.

My goal is to hear everything even on the highway even top down, and to have the ability to turn my speakers up high and not have the bass wash out or sound crappy. I listen to hip-hop, electronic, rock, classical, house, trance, etc.

Let me know what you guys think of the setup i'm considering

2ks2knyc

I too listen to all the genres you mention. If your goal is to have loud and clear in the S dynomat or whatever you choose is a must. Here are some more questions to ask yourself..

-What is a rediculous amount? Some may think 500 some may think 5000.

-What will be my source of media, CD, mp3 on hard drive, ipod? Many times iTunes and Win Media player rip at different settings and some files play awesome while others sound off.

=Will doing the doors be enough? You will hear a lot of noise from the bottom of the car as well as the firewall. Doing just the doors will help but it sounds like you are pretty picky with sound (like me) and you may not be happy with just doing the doors.

My recomendation is that you start off with a basic foundation (which it sounds like you are) and you work your way up from there. No matter what, you will loose a lot on the highway because your hearing will be trying to process a lot of noise along with your music. Unless you seal up your car with a hard top and sound dampening you may be trying to reach some unrealistic goals.

Raising the volume may not cut it and you may not be hear distortion due to the road noise and that could damage your hearing. I think your set up is nice but as for bass and pushing a lot of wattage to smaller speaker than a sub, that may not be ideal in a car like the S for what you are trying to achieve.

**edit
Think of it this way... have you ever used a wide range of headphones and found that the ones that sound better are the over the ear or ear buds? Sound is created with moving air to generate frequences. Ear buds and over the ear can type head phones sound better because you A)remove outside noise B)provide a more air tight seal. Hope this helps and sorry for getting nerdy on it. I can't help it sometimes

brainlessAP2

A ridiculous amount to me is over 750 since I want to avoid getting a sub. I don't want to add too much weight, but will do dynamat on the doors since I already took out my spare. The amp and dynamat is honestly the most weight I want to add onto the car. The added weight of putting it on the floor and the firewall is honestly something I want to avoid. I'm ok with sacrificing some sound quality for the avoidance of adding weight.

I am picky about sound quality, but at the same time realize I won't get exactly what I want SQ-wise from the S2000. Like you said, I am gonna use the speakers and amp (wiring, etc) as my foundation for now with dynamat on the doors. I'm gonna see how I like it, and build my way up from there if need be.

Thanks a lot for the input, and the nerdiness is appreciated. I'm quite a nerd myself haha

2ks2knyc

ha ha .. Nerds FTW!

There are some cheaper alternatives to Dynomat. I forget his user name but I did have someone recommend Fat Mat. The site is super cheesy but he told me it's a lot cheaper and he did his whole car. Going that route will save money and weight since they offer a thinner form of dampening. Google "fatmat" and check it out. The only thing I was able to hear that was pretty nice about the guys car was when he shut his door. It sounded quieter and muffled. An OEM door shutting sounds like a tin can to me and this guys car sounded as quiet as a luxury vehicle.

brainlessAP2

I actually work for bestbuy so I get dynomat for a very cheap price (including my amp and replacement HU since my cde102 alpine doesn't work with modifry). I can get the f300 amp from alpine for $121! lol