JL or Diamond Audio
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Joined: Jan 2004
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From: New Slowmyrna Beach
NFR, I think Skip has you on this one in a major way. There are dual tens aplenty, and a few dual 12's in the samll trunk of the s2k. But have a screwdriver handy and get ready for some rattles.
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 561
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From: Layton
Originally posted by Gioire
Budget?? Under 6K
Budget?? Under 6K
Favorite Music Style?? All... Everything from R+B - Rock - Country - Classical...
[QUOTE]Desire for system?? I dont want to completely loose all my trunk space so I would like to fit the subs in the tool are. I dont mind If the floor is rasied an inch or so thou. The Amps need to fit in the spare tire area or up against a custom wall...
Super Loud/Accurate Sound quality/Uber Bass ... I want loud and I want bass.. but I do not want to sacrifice sound quality to get it.
Yes this will be part of a show car setup..
Hear music over traffic/wind.. Let just say I want to do the best I can on this subject.
*edited for correct quoting*
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Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 7,584
Likes: 1
From: Baton Rouge, LA
$6K? check. (i'll try to land lower, but may end up close.)
musical tastes... check.
goals... check.
imo... this system is going to be a bit over the top... you can probably do pretty darn good for less... there is definitely a law of diminishing returns that we will have passed.
___________________
alright, here would be my suggestions for this no holds barred sound quality setup (some of which will be wasted to the winds...
) i'll provide estimated pricing for everything... the estimates are just what i'm going to list based on experience and general street pricing:
HU:
Alpine CDA 9835
an Eclipse might be more applicable here, but w/ current DCI related issues.... an Alpine is a good choice still. est. price: $500-$550 installed
the CDA 7990 looks uber sweet, but blowing 35% - 50% of your budget on a HU isn't the best of ideas...
Speakers:
Fronts: the Focal Utopia 165W3 you'll have to have some custom door cutting done to mount the midrange driver (which you will want as close as possible to the tweeter). i haven't heard these specific drivers, but considering i've heard most of the rest of the Focal lineup, i feel confident recommending these. these will give you a very strong and accurate sound, with good clean midrange, a warm feel for muscial reproduction, but still punchy, clean and crisp for hard rock, industrial, dance, rap, etc. they should also provide an incredible soundstage.
est. price: $1,000 to $1,300 including custom install.
Rears:
get a set of S-pods and fill them with more Utopia goodness. this time with the Focal Utopia 136W. again, a great set of very accurate speakers.
est. price: $850 installed including S-pods.
Sub:
this one imo is fairly easy in this situation... the Elemental Designs e12a.22. this sub has been establishing itself everywhere as one of the best and loudest SQ subs out there. you don't need 2 12"s or a 15" to compete with this thing. it is creating the same output levels as the 'legendary' JL 13W7, but with astounding sound quality. it's also got tiny tiny volume requirements, so you should be able to get a fiberglass enclosure made that will sit in the tool/wheel well and leave you with plenty trunk room to spare. you'll need to plan on having a custom speaker grill made.
est. price: $500 including custom enclosure.
there are other speaker options out there... and you should listen to everything you can. but based upon your musical tastes and desires -- imo, these are the best speakers for you. if you had said you love dance and techno? i'd have said Infinity Perfects. if you had said Classical and Jazz, i'd have said Boston Pro's or Z's. but Focals have the abilities to cover a great range of styles...
for subs, you might also consider Eclipse Aluminums or maybe a JL 12W6, but i don't think you'll land this bang for buck.
Amps:
several choices here:
a set of dream amps would be: the Audison VRx 1.500 and the VRx 4.300. the Audison website is all flash driven, so i can't straight link to them, but together they would give you 4 x 110 Wrms to your highs, and 560 Wrms x 1 to your sub. all these are rated at 12V, so you'll get a bit more when powered. i haven't extensively priced the VRx series, but i think this is roughly $3000 in amps. also, they should fit across the back wall. Chadwick looked into them in this thread, but his pricing is in CAD. i sent him to my local guy who gave him some very good pricing (approx 20% over cost), but i didn't get a feeling for what the final $$ was.
est. price: $2500 - $3000 installed.
i found some Brax amps... but you're looking at right at Audison pricing... so, i'm not going to go there...
so, looking at more reasonable amps (those are really pricey buggers)...
there's the: SoundStream Van Gogh VGA500.4 and VGA800.2 which would net you 125Wrms x 4 and 800 Wmrs x 1... these have been coming out w/ rave reviews, and PAS2KNut (Jim) recently got one and loves it. i'm sure even Dave would be proud of me recommending this...
est. price: $1200 installed.
Phoenix Gold: the Titanium line is being retired, but the TI 500.4 and TI 600.2 are still locatable and a great value in sound quality.
these would net you 75Wrms x 4 and 600 Wrms x 1 for your setup. they should also fit across the back wall.
est. price: $1200 installed.
total w/ Audison: that lands your right at or above your $6000 mark. that really doesn't leave enough to money to get the additional alternator that you'll probably need or the yellow top optima battery. and while these are sweet amps, you'll never probably fully appreciate them in the S2000.
Brax: about the same as the Audison.
total with SoundStream: this is more like a $4000 system, which leaves you with some flex room for accessories, and electrical system upgrades. it should sound great and be crazy loud too.
total with PG: this is also a $4000 system... again, quite good sounding, and it should be plenty loud.
hope this helps... and while i blew off some steam (and some work) putting this together -- before buying anything, don't go 100% on my listing here...
musical tastes... check.
goals... check.
imo... this system is going to be a bit over the top... you can probably do pretty darn good for less... there is definitely a law of diminishing returns that we will have passed.
___________________
alright, here would be my suggestions for this no holds barred sound quality setup (some of which will be wasted to the winds...
) i'll provide estimated pricing for everything... the estimates are just what i'm going to list based on experience and general street pricing:HU:
Alpine CDA 9835
an Eclipse might be more applicable here, but w/ current DCI related issues.... an Alpine is a good choice still. est. price: $500-$550 installed
the CDA 7990 looks uber sweet, but blowing 35% - 50% of your budget on a HU isn't the best of ideas...
Speakers:
Fronts: the Focal Utopia 165W3 you'll have to have some custom door cutting done to mount the midrange driver (which you will want as close as possible to the tweeter). i haven't heard these specific drivers, but considering i've heard most of the rest of the Focal lineup, i feel confident recommending these. these will give you a very strong and accurate sound, with good clean midrange, a warm feel for muscial reproduction, but still punchy, clean and crisp for hard rock, industrial, dance, rap, etc. they should also provide an incredible soundstage.
est. price: $1,000 to $1,300 including custom install.
Rears:
get a set of S-pods and fill them with more Utopia goodness. this time with the Focal Utopia 136W. again, a great set of very accurate speakers.
est. price: $850 installed including S-pods.
Sub:
this one imo is fairly easy in this situation... the Elemental Designs e12a.22. this sub has been establishing itself everywhere as one of the best and loudest SQ subs out there. you don't need 2 12"s or a 15" to compete with this thing. it is creating the same output levels as the 'legendary' JL 13W7, but with astounding sound quality. it's also got tiny tiny volume requirements, so you should be able to get a fiberglass enclosure made that will sit in the tool/wheel well and leave you with plenty trunk room to spare. you'll need to plan on having a custom speaker grill made.
est. price: $500 including custom enclosure.
there are other speaker options out there... and you should listen to everything you can. but based upon your musical tastes and desires -- imo, these are the best speakers for you. if you had said you love dance and techno? i'd have said Infinity Perfects. if you had said Classical and Jazz, i'd have said Boston Pro's or Z's. but Focals have the abilities to cover a great range of styles...
for subs, you might also consider Eclipse Aluminums or maybe a JL 12W6, but i don't think you'll land this bang for buck.
Amps:
several choices here:
a set of dream amps would be: the Audison VRx 1.500 and the VRx 4.300. the Audison website is all flash driven, so i can't straight link to them, but together they would give you 4 x 110 Wrms to your highs, and 560 Wrms x 1 to your sub. all these are rated at 12V, so you'll get a bit more when powered. i haven't extensively priced the VRx series, but i think this is roughly $3000 in amps. also, they should fit across the back wall. Chadwick looked into them in this thread, but his pricing is in CAD. i sent him to my local guy who gave him some very good pricing (approx 20% over cost), but i didn't get a feeling for what the final $$ was.
est. price: $2500 - $3000 installed.
i found some Brax amps... but you're looking at right at Audison pricing... so, i'm not going to go there...
so, looking at more reasonable amps (those are really pricey buggers)...
there's the: SoundStream Van Gogh VGA500.4 and VGA800.2 which would net you 125Wrms x 4 and 800 Wmrs x 1... these have been coming out w/ rave reviews, and PAS2KNut (Jim) recently got one and loves it. i'm sure even Dave would be proud of me recommending this...
est. price: $1200 installed.
Phoenix Gold: the Titanium line is being retired, but the TI 500.4 and TI 600.2 are still locatable and a great value in sound quality.
these would net you 75Wrms x 4 and 600 Wrms x 1 for your setup. they should also fit across the back wall.
est. price: $1200 installed.
total w/ Audison: that lands your right at or above your $6000 mark. that really doesn't leave enough to money to get the additional alternator that you'll probably need or the yellow top optima battery. and while these are sweet amps, you'll never probably fully appreciate them in the S2000.
Brax: about the same as the Audison.
total with SoundStream: this is more like a $4000 system, which leaves you with some flex room for accessories, and electrical system upgrades. it should sound great and be crazy loud too.
total with PG: this is also a $4000 system... again, quite good sounding, and it should be plenty loud.
hope this helps... and while i blew off some steam (and some work) putting this together -- before buying anything, don't go 100% on my listing here...
