I have the JL 500/5 powering my entire system. Look at my sig to see my system. I've been real pleased with the performance of this amp.

 

MB Quart speakers are ok....only their Q series is really spectacular....but for that amount of money, you have a lot more choices....so my advice would be no MB (unless you want to spend 500 on speakers then I would go with phoenix gold, infinity, or Focal.)

Also, the ALpine amp is really good....take 2 of the 5 channels for the fronts and the other 3 to push the sub. If you can find the JL amp for the same price then just pick one...both are great amps....but I know for a fact the alpines are good. But I really do believe that this is a really high quality system, but 100% spend the money on front components and forget about the rears....later down the road....if you are unhappy, get rear components as well. I have just front components and i can do 100mph and not hear my engine with the top down....and no, I am not kidding. So.....think about it....your other choice would be to get 2 amps but with your setup, I think this will MORE than suffice. Let me know what you decide.....my system is in the gallery, so you can see how I set it all up.

 

I've never been impressed with JL's speakers.

Okay, I have. I still haven't heard a better-sounding sub than the W7 (this from a Brahma-owner ) but for the price of one of those, you can pay for a whole system.

If you're gonna go with a theme for your speakers, make it Adire...And if you want a theme for your electronics (deck/amp) make it Clarion

I'm not a big fan of "themes"...A few weeks ago, I had 8 different brands in my stereo system--Clarion, Autotek, JL, ARC, Dayton, Adire, Morel, and Focal...Sure, it's fun to keep everything the same brand, but you can probably save money and get a better system by picking and choosing for each component...

 

posting quite late -- forgive me if this is painful to read... i'm a bit tired...

$1500 is a very nice budget for a system install like this...

it isn't so much that i don't like JL Audio, it's just it always rings a warning bell in my mind when i see someone w/ all their gear from one one brand. just because a company makes one good product, doesn't mean that every product they make is best... while i appreciate brand loyalty, some thoughtful shopping around and looking at what else is out there is also very worthwhile. if a company specializes in only making one type of product (type A)... and another company has its resources split between 20 types of products (type A + 19 others)... who do you think is putting more thought and effort into type A? imo, it is worth the time to consider their product...

and i would agree with the comments above -- the JL component options are just not as cost effective. for the money, i think there are better components out there. i was generally pleased w/ JL subs, and in fact JL was my 2nd choice for my sub. all in all though, JL equipment is typically a bit pricey... good stuff though. i am particularly fond of their subs and amps. still their Stealthbox gear is almost all priced too high. a DIY job or local job should be easily cheaper. $480 for a single average sub (10W3v2 is barely above their bargin line) and enclosure is quite pricey. STILL, if you want a good clean looking enclosure that will sound nice and you're willing to pay for it... the JL box is the way to go.


regarding rears -- they are nice, but i'd (once again) encourage you to hear them first. one of my local club guys has a set. they are ok, but after hearing them, i knew they weren't for me... problem solved that fast. see if someone near you has a set you can listen to...

you cannot bridge the head unit. don't do it.

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RE NFRs2000NYC's suggestions:
while i'm not a huge fan of the Infinities or the JL Audios -- good suggestions all around. i'd add a couple of items to also consider.

take the time to find and check out the Eclipse components. they are in that price range and are surprisingly good sounding speakers for the money.
PAS2KNut's suggestion of the JL 500/5 is also a great amp to consider.
i'd suggest you also see if you can hear an Audioson amp... nice gear and their lower tiers are reasonably priced.

even w/ these suggestions, you can still afford your JL Stealthbox. i always (almost like a broken record i am...) say -- get good internet pricing from a reasonably reputable dealer... and bring those prices to your local dealer. encourage him to at least get CLOSE to these prices if he won't match them. chances are he can't match them b/c he has the overhead of his store.

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if you like the MB Quarts -- GO LISTEN TO THE FOCALS. find them locally... as nice as the MB Quarts sound -- the Focals are a much richer/warmer sounding speaker. you may end up liking the MB Quarts over them, or you might end up the other way around. if you're willing to spend $500 on components -- be sure to throw the PolyKevlar Focals into the mix.

if you want an install that will be loud -- consider the kicker. if you're looking for something w/ better than average sound quality - pass on the Kicker and stick w/ the JL's.

like NYC -- i can also be at 100mph w/ top and windows down and clearly hear music over wind and car noises... i would even say i not only hear the music, the music is still rich and detailed. this was my goal when i assembled my system... and i've met that goal... what's your goal?


in the end - you need to pick a system that sounds good to YOU. you're not buying a brand. you're limited by budget, but not required to spend all of it. you're not buying something to look at or compare specs with... it's to listen to...
continue doing what you're doing... beat the street, listen to gear, and pick the best of what sounds good and what you can afford.

just use us as a good place to get suggestions for what else you should try to hear...

 

PJ......my goal was exactly as yours.....the s2000 is a LOUD car. By all standards.......so I wanted to be able to drown out all the noise with quality sound. I usually blast my music at highway speeds at like 20-22 on my Alpine HU and cannot even hear cars honking at me. (I know...not safe)

I agree about the entire brand loyalty thing........for home audio...you can pull it off....althogh still quite a challenge if you do not have big $$$

I think going all JL isnt necessary. Like everyone said....with a few exceptions....no one makes everything great. Some make good amps, some subs, some components....Companies like soundstream, audiotec-fischer (helix/brax), adire, they make great everything, but you can see it in their prices. For an everyday great sounding system, I think you cant go wrong with any of the above equipment....if you really want to spend 500 on components (which would make the sound remarkable) Definetely give a listen to MB Quart Q's and Focal Utopias. Both are great speakers however are different. MB's have a tinny/metallic sound to them (could be due to the 44,000hz tweeter,) but the Focals are richer and deeper. Some of my friends like brightness of MB's and others like Focal, all depends on your taste. Go listen to them all, and you will be happy. But 1500 bucks will get an s2000 some great audio.


Now imagine we were like the Mercedes/BMW crowd with their 12 speakers....that would cost a little more......

 

ok guys im making some progress.....i am going to listen to the infinities tommorow....so far i have decided to concentrate on the inside speakers....I have a rockford 12" in a tube and a rockford amp, they were in the hatch of my GSR that I traded in for myS....I thought maybe Id put them in the trunk when I have the rest installed and see how they sound before I go for the stealth box....anyway I listened to some infinity 6000s today and they sounded pretty good....havent found anyone with the focals in my area yet....the installer at circuit city said the infinities would not fit in my car and I should go to sound advice and look at the mbquartz...lol....

anyway I have a question regarding the amps.....isnt it much better to get a 1 channel mono amp for the sub, and a seperate amp for the inside speakers?....and as far as rear speakers go, are you guys pushing me away from rears because I originaly said I was going to keep the stock components or because due to the mounting location of the rears (behind the seat) they have little efect on the system.....if its because they dont do very much because of location ill skip them .....

as of right now im thinking....infinty JL or Focal components for the front.....5 1/4 for the rear (same make and similar model as whatever I decide for the fronts)....4 way amp for the interior (possibly alpine or JL 300/4).....or 2 way amp for the interior if you guys think its not worth the $ to add rears...
...and putting my amp and tube in the trunk (If the tube doesnt sound good at least the wires will allready be there and it will be easy to swap out the tube for the stealth or custom box)....

ok how am i doing now....

P.S. I am aware that tubes sound better in hatch backs....but this tube sounded so good in my GSR it was almost too much....maybe it will be enough ,but I doubt it.......

 

Ok....let me try to handle one issue at a time.......

As far as Infinity's not fitting in the car....BULLSH!T
I have the Perfect 6.1's, which is infinitys BIGGEST and TOP OF THE LINE car speaker, and they fit with no spacers or anything....like a glove fitment, so, you just proved one of my points, most salesmen at big name stores dont know jack.....

Next....I wouldnt get a mono amp unless you are going for SPL....which would mean you need a single coil sub. Most subs today for common folk applications are dual voice coil, hence a 2 channel amp is more convenient.

As far as rears go....I say DO NOT DO IT .........YET.........

Put in great components, good amp, good sub, and THEN and only THEN, if you are still unhappy, get the rears.....

Remember, bring your OWN cd.......a lot of times they play certain cd's that AVOID certain frequencies, which in turn, will make the speaker sound a lot better than it actually is. I think (as you can see by all the responses) with the ONLY difference of opinion being the components, the setup I showed you would sound AMAZING and costs well under your budget. Tubes in an s2000 just waste space and wouldnt sound as good at a T-10 with some good "ampage"

You can always add rears later, so dont fret on those.....

If you want to have a failsafe.....get a good 4 channel and a good powerful 2 channel for the sub......so that way, if you want to add rears, itll just be plug and play.

DO NOT LISTEN TO ANYTHING CIRCUIT CITY OR BEST BUY EMPLOYEES TELL YOU.......they work on commission, so they try to sell you a quarter for a dollar. Waiting to hear what you think,....

 

ok that makes sence.....one more question ...how much power should I push to the components...the alpine HU says it pushes 65w x 4.....if im gonna use an amp for the components how many watts per chanel rms would be ideal for something like the infinities?

PS...I know the salesmen dont know shit....Im originally from NY where I was a manager for 5 locations of nobody beats the wiz....long before cablevision bought them and now theyre just "the wiz".....

once again thanx for your input its been a great tool in my quest for tunes................

 

Once again....many will argue, but here goes....

If you can DO NOT USE YOUR HU AMP!!!

Turn it off. Use the amp to power the speakers. THe SQ improves and the sound will be cleaner. And that 60 watt crap is complete BS........The real power of a HU is about 15-25 watts max (per channel)
So forget the HU. A good amp with good controls will go far....

About the power......depending on what components you buy, 100 per channel is pretty safe for all of the above mentioned components....Infinitys can do 150 safetly, as can the JL's, however I do not know about Focal....PJ will help you out on this one......

 

the Alpine head unit is probably about 60 Watts per channel PEAK... not RMS. the RMS rating is something closer to 25 Wrms/ channel.

if you can afford and fit an outboard amp -- do it. there are some good mono D class amp options out there. personally, i don't like them, but for no other reason than just my opinion. they are valid and good amps that run cool for sub applications. optimally, going w/ 2 amps is a better solution for flexibility reasons... but only installing 1 amp can be simpler and less space consuming.
given a choice (which i was) i went w/ a two amp configuration.
a good 4 channel amp should be able to handle your needs for both fronts and a sub. but if you intend to add rears, you'll either have to be prepared to run them off your headunit or you'll need another amp in the long term.

in general, once you've picked your speakers out, you want to stay close to their rated wattage... i generally try to say get your amp's RMS wattage to within 90% to 125% of your speaker's rated RMS wattage.