Dude....based on your posts, you obviously arent too informed about car audio, so be careful. You arent going near competition, so get that out of your head. You cannot run Focals at 2ohms. You can Biamp them, but then you are using all 4 channels on 2 speakers.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by NFRs2000NYC
Dude....based on your posts, you obviously arent too informed about car audio, so be careful.

 

I've been narrowing some things down, and this is what I'm thinking. Any feedback/suggestions would be most helpful.

Headunit:
Alpine 9831

Mids/Highs:
a) Focal 165V2 6.5" - OR -
b) Diamond Hex - OR -
c) Something else??

Sub:
a) JL Audio Stealthbox with 10W3 - OR -
b) WLaurent's 8" sub enclosure for side of trunk (1 or 2?) - What type of subs would be best? Eclipse 8"?
c) Custom enclosure with 10" sub (Eclipse or other)

Amp(s):
a) JL Audio 300/2 for mids/highs and JL Audio 250/1 on bass
b) Diamond Hex 600.4 (150w on mids/highs, 300 on bass)
c) Phoenix Gold Ti500 (run at 2ohms so I get 150w on mids/highs and bridge 3/4 for 300 on bass)

So, my question is based on some of the above, what would you recommend? What will work together without problems and sound good?

I'm set on getting the Alpine 9831 unless there is a reason I shouldn't.

I like the idea of doing the JL stealthbox for simplicity sake and I trust JL. Any objections or better options?

I'm still open for suggestions on mids/highs and an amp.

THANK YOU!

Nate

 

The only issue with the JL stealthboxes that I have seen is that they tend to be cookie-cutter. Meaning that while they simply drop in, they may not be the most cost effective way to get quality sound. That Eclipse sub, or the elemental, or treo, or many other high quality subs will offer far greater sound quality and quantity than the sub that comes in the stealthbox for similar money. Or you could get a sub that sounds similar to the stealthbox for much cheaper. Since you do seem interested in saving a few dollars, I would not suggest tossing out performance for the sake of convenience.

As for the amps, you really need to decide on the sub before you make the final choice. Depending on whether or not you choose a vented or sealed cabinet, and depending on the actual sub, you may want to give it more or less power.

I think your choice of speakers in the front is likely to make you smile though. One thing I did notice, is that the amps you're looking at are 4 channel, meaning that you are looking at bridging the sub and using the other two channels for the front speakers. This option might be somewhat limiting if you decide that you just can't live without rear speakers. To that end, I'd suggest adding a dedicated sub amp, and buying a 4 channel for the cabin of the car. This is a marginal extra expenditure in the grand scheme, but it saves you time and money on an install if you later decide to install rears. I've battled this myself, and have decided that this is the route I will take. You're needs may be different, I'm just tossing it out there for consideration.

In my own case, I am looking at a 4x150 amp for the cabin (primarily because I drive with the top down most often) and something between 500 and 1000w for the sub but only because I will be driving a high volume sub in a sealed enclosure.

I wish you the best with your system and will be eager to see what you finally end up with.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by natedoggs2k
I've been narrowing some things down, and this is what I'm thinking. Any feedback/suggestions would be most helpful.

Headunit:
Alpine 9831

Mids/Highs:
a) Focal 165V2 6.5" - OR -
b) Diamond Hex - OR -

 

I didn't realize until he mentioned it in the previous post that the Focals were 4 ohm speakers. I thought you could run an amp at 2 ohms with pretty much anything out there.

So in that case, if I went with the Phoenix Gold, I would run it at 4 ohms and have 75w to the front speakers.

If, however, I go with the JL or DiamondHex amps, I'd have 150w at 4 ohms to the front speakers.

Ideally, I want to push 150-200w to the front speakers. So, if I go with two amps (one for mids/highs, the other for bass), should I go with the JL amps? Or are there some others that would be better (and small).

If the JL Stealthbox doesn't offer that much sound/performance for the money, then I will need to look into some custom boxes with an Eclipse or other sub.

If the Eclipse 10" aluminium or titanium series is highly recommended and will give great sound, then I will go that route. But what about a sub enclosure? Will I need to make it myself? Or, can I buy it for my car already made?

Maybe I'll go ahead and order my Alpine headunit, as that seems to be the only thing we've all agreed on!!

I'm still unsure of what speakers will be best, especially for high-quality sound when I'm cruising with the top down at highway speeds. Obviously, I'm going to lose much sound, but, I know there are some setups that would be better than others.

I'm not sure if I will ever put in rear speakers, as I think if I'm running good components in the door with enough power (150w or more), I should be good to go. Otherwise, it would be costly to get a four channel amp (150w x 4) and an additional amp on bass vs. doing the two JL amps. Of course, the stereo shop did recommend the JL 500/1 (I think that's the one) if I decide to add rear speakers, as it's rated for something like 100w x 2 to the front, and 25w x 2 to the rear speakers, and then the rest for bass.

Damn. This gets more confusing the more I try to figure out a nice sounding system!

I just want good sound. There are so many different companies and products out there, that I'm not sure what is good. I see that many people use the Infinity or DiamondHex speakers. I always thought Infinity's were crap. But I guess not! And I never heard of DiamondHex, but I hear that they are as good as MB Quart and others.

So what do you do?

 

actually -- i think the Diamond 600.4 amp is also a 75 Wrms x 4 channels @ 4 ohms amp.
all i found was the D5 600.4 (no Hex amp), so unless there is a Hex amp i am not seeing...
http://www.diamondaudio.com/MobileAudio/pr...tInfo.cfm?id=77

the JL would provide you w/ 150 Wrms for the fronts. but, you've chosen the Focals which are only rated for the 75 Wrms range. while i sometimes recommend over amping speakers, i strongly encourage you to stay below 125% of the speaker's max RMS rating. you're at 200%. definitely in the range of causing major speaker damage. and in all honesty, while doubling the power sounds like a huge gain, the audible increase in volume will really only be barely noticable.

check out this page: http://www.crystalaudiovideo.com/tips.asp?...000000000024.EN
just read through it a bit. there's a ton of info on it about power, output levels, and sensitivities. notice -- a 3 dB/W/m increase in sensitivty equates to a change similiar to doubling of the power. (ie, a 90 dB/W/m speaker w/ 150 Wrms will sound about the same volume as a 93 dB/W/m speaker at 75 Wrms.)
then use the table in 5. they have provided and the power levels you're considering to predict your dB @ 1 m (approximate distance from the speakers in your car). then compare that to the equivalent sound levels in 3. for normal loud sounds.
here's another table showing normal sounds on a decibel scale: http://www.coolmath.com/decibels1.htm
and if you don't already know -- a change of 10 dB is equivalent to the sound volume doubling. so 80 dB is 2 times as loud as 70 dB and 90 dB is 2 times as loud as 80 dB.


the stealthbox w/ a JL 10W3v2 in it should have a similar or slightly less output as to what an e8a in a WLaurent box. there are very few 8" subs that can do what the e8a does... so, don't anticipate an 8" sub to rattle fillings. it will generally only be a solid deep fill to flush out your sound.

the shop probably recommended the JL 500/5 (JL's slash amps are all listed as (total power)/(number of channels).
and the 500/5 is actually not a bad amp for your needs, but you'll have to look towards high efficiency subs that don't need a lot of power to work.


and this is all very difficult to manage b/c you have a lot of open variables that all need to be balanced and compromised around.

the best thing to do? can you get to shops that have these speakers on the wall? some people SWEAR by MB Quart speakers. love them.... me? i'd rather listen to my daughter bang a metal spoon on a pot! i think they sound like crap! why? because speakers are the direct translators that change the electronic signals to sound waves. there are many ways to make that conversion, and how the speaker sounds is a very subjective experience.

i know -- this is a TON of info. but please, take a few moments to go through it... it probably took me longer to put together than it will for you to read through it. but hopefully you'll come away understanding a bit more about what you're choosing.

 

PJK3, thanks for all the info!

Overwhelming! But I will read through it and get back with any questions I may have.

There are just so many choices out there. It's "easy" having a stereo shop make recommendations, but they may not always be in your best interest of sound. But at least they usually know what works, what doesn't and how to combine it all.

The Diamond amp I was referring to is indeed the one you mentioned. The stereo guy said it would put out 150w to my front channels, but he never said if that was at 4 or 2 ohms. So he probably said it in regards to running it at 2 ohms and doubling the power! Which may be okay for some speakers (he recommended MB Quart and Diamond), but not others (Focal).

Let me read up and get more info!

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by SCoach

I think your choice of speakers in the front is likely to make you smile though.

 

the sad thing is .... lots of time the sales guys don't know how to read the power outputs and whatall on those amps....


so they pick the biggest number they see and try to sell you that, hoping you're all impressed and everything...

and i don't mind -- just let me know if you have questions.