Okay kids, here's what I'm trying to do...

I want overkill. My goal for the system in my car is to be competition quality, but also be somewhat frugal in the pieces. I listen to various types of music (basically everything except country), so I need a setup that will accomodate my style.

From reading the posts here, and from what my own audiophile friend has told me, a convertible is really not a good platform for an audiophile setup. And I would tend to agree. Little sound dampening, and the open top with wind noise would kill and really good quality at speed. However, if I were to compete, my car wouldn't be moving, so that's another story in itself. At speed I want to be able to hear the music well too.

I have already purchased the S-Pods and a sub. The S-Pods are for the clarity at speed issue that I wanted to address. I will probably fade most of the sound to the front, because I know what they'll do to imaging. I thought about rear speakers with the Lucid panels, but I really need my full seat movement because even at 5'10", my seat is all the way back as it is to make it comfortable for me to drive. I was hoping to figure out a way to completely disable the S-Pods if I were to compete. I suppose fading all the way to the front would be one solution, or maybe even putting a switch on the amp to cut power to it. I haven't decided. Trunk space is so limited that I may just go with 1 amp for the front speakers, which would kill my switch theory.

As for the sub, I purchased the Image Dynamics IDMAX 10" V.3 D2, which is their 2ohm version of their IDMAX sub. The smallest sealed enclosure (which I planned on going with), is 1 cu ft. I'm hoping that that will fit in the trunk well once I remove the toolbox, if not, I'm going to come up with another system to get the sub to fit. I'm heading out now to take measurements and photos of my entire trunk to get a feel of the space I have to work with. I'm really in love with the sub. I used ID (not their MAX) subs in my last car, and I absolutely loved them. They sounded good and were extremely loud. With a 500watt 2 channel amp powering 2 12s, I hit 151.3 in a Cavalier without sound deadening.

Aside from the S-Pods and the ID sub, I'm open to suggestions for a component set, amps, HU, and EQ, plus any other equipment that this project will require. The sub is a 1000watt RMS sub with 1800watt peak, so I'm going to need a class D to make it work.

For the HU I planned on either the Eclipse 8055 or whatever their top-of-the-line is w/o the internal amp, or the Alpine 9815. I like the Alpine because of the satellite radio option, MP3 playback, and future control of the iPod. Also, the I-Personalize appeals to me because I can burn a backup CD of my sound settings so if I ever disconnect the battery in the future (which I know I will, I store the car in winter), I can have my settings saved and restored easily. However, not many will argue with the Eclipse sound quality. I'm not sold on the looks entirely, but it'll be hidden by the radio door most of the time anyways.

So that's where I stand right now. I'll keep you all up to date as things progress. I'm buying the pieces one at a time until I get everything purchased, and hopefully have this project done by mid-summer, or earlier. Any suggestions or comments are appreciated. Thanks guys!

 

So basically you just need speakers and amp correct??
Will you do the install yourself or shop???

Also....do you want the spare (I advise against it....few reasons)

1. Its a pain to change the spare in the first place...gotta do 2 tires if you flatten the rear.

2. If you have a sub in the toolwell, you wont be able to carry the flat.

3. How far away from home do you drive on average? 20 miles....just get AAA.

Now.....
They have a Davinci amplifier on ebay (from millionbuy.com, which I use all the time) for 859.00



This is a 7 Channel amp that would power EVERYthing in your car. Since you have a sub and 4 speakers, there really is no point on going with 2 amps. Plus, 2 good amps will cost more than this. Let me know what you think of this idea. Here is some more info on the amp.

http://www.soundstream.com/sub/products_am...ps_davinci.html

 

I just re-read your post....and here to shed some light.

1000rms going into a sub in an s2000 is asking for problems. Because of the soft roof, and unfixed hinges, your car will be nothing short of a rattle box. Second, since most of the bass in an s2000 enters the cabin, your speakers will have a hard time keeping up. Next, you would need to get your alternator respun. There is no need for remotely that kind of bass in an s2000. Plus, Phil will explain this to you in further detail, but class D amps are usually not the best. Finally, I take it that since you wanted 1000watt amps, you dont care about space, which is good, gives us more options to play. Think about that...

 

I planned on dumping the spare anyways. I have AAA (even though I had a bad experience with them as of late). Most of my trips are close to home, but I do make some trips of distance periodically, and any car show or competition worthy of going to around here in BFE would involve a long trip anyways.

Yeah, you are correct, I need the speakers and the amp. I'm not sure if I'm going to put the sub in the toolwell. That's where I had originally planned on it going, but after I take measurements today I'll know for sure.

I like that amp, but it states only a 500 watt channel for the sub. Can I use 3 of the channels to power the sub? It's a 1000RMS sub.

Yeah, and one amp would be cheaper than 2 good amps, and also save on trunkspace, which isn't really important to me, but I want to get everything to fit and make it look good in the process.

Would an external EQ be a logical purchase as well?

 

One more before lunch......



The way I figure it ....

its got 7 channels.......100x2, 50x4, 400x1
You can have 100 to each door, 100 for the SPODS, (bridge the 4 channels) and 400-500 for the sub. I think thats a nice amount of power dont you???

You can always go with the Phoenix Gold Ti 900.7, but its a shame to let an amp like this slip away with this price.....2600 bucks used to be the best price DaVinci's went for.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by NFRs2000NYC
I just re-read your post....and here to shed some light.

1000rms going into a sub in an s2000 is asking for problems.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by NFRs2000NYC
One more before lunch......

 

This amp has so many EQ knobs you will spend 3 days doing it. If you really need 1000rms for the sub, you can use this amp, and get a tarantula amp (also going for peanuts on millionbuy.com)

Another idea I can pitch to you.. sound like a salesman....would be to whats called as stair-stack 2 amps....

So you would get a Tarantula TR1600.2 and a TR500.4
The TR1600 outputs 800x2 at 2ohms.....which is more than enough for your needs.

The TR500.4 outputs 125 at 4ohms...perfect for powering components.

To mount them....you would stack them....imagine one flat on the trunk floor, and the other a little higher and offset towards the front of the car. Ill try to draw a diagram for you....

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Chadwick

 

You've got NFR (DAVE) going. . .
If you want a competition system he's your man.
BTW : I'm trying to talk my wife into losing the spare.