I have been planning a fairly simple system for my S and am in the process of acquiring the pieces. I have been reading a ton of old posts- thanks to all for the countless, helpful tips and discussion. I am looking for a clean system that can play louder & clearer than stock and add some tight bass. I mostly listen to dance/techno and old school rap. I don't want to loose truck space and will mount most of the equipment in the spare tire location.

Here's what I am looking at:

Alpine 9855 headunit
XM Terk Unit & Alpine Adaptor
KCA-420i for Ipod
Modifry's wired Alpine DCI
JL 8w3v2-D4 in Wlaurent enclosure
Amp-? see below
KnuKoncepts RCA's

The plan is to install the above mentioned equipment now, run all the wiring and later install a set of new components for the front.
My concerns are:

1. Should I step up to the new Wlaurent 10" sub box (I already have the JL sub)? Does the 8" provide enough bass or do owners wish they had more?

2. If I keep the 8" JL, would I be better to give it a dedicated amp (since it will be run at 2 ohms) or get a multi-channel amp than can power the sub now and a set of fronts later?
Given the JL power limit of 250w RMS and the 2-ohm load, are there any amps that could power this and still provide 100w x 2 at 4-ohm for future components?

3. Should I plan for more power for future components? This may not be possible to determine without selecting speakers but I am concerned about the space to mount 2 amps.

4. Is a capacitor needed for this small of a setup?

Any other thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

You can get a 9855 + KCA-420i. Or you can wait for this:

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=346667

CES 2006 is right around the corner so all the new stuff will be public knowledge by January but maybe not out for a few more months. Just sayin'...

Peter

 

Personally, I would go with a 10" sub. that is what I have now, and even it leaves me wanting a bit more (but then again, I am sort of a bass freak). i would also go with a single amp, just for space reasons...I still use my trunk regularly.

This is just my opinion, though. Do what you think is best.....you might want to get the WLAURENT 8" enclosure, and if it is not good enough bass for you, just sell it and get something else.

John

 

Thanks John,
I am going to go with the 8" and see how I like it.

If I understand correclty, a 4-channel amp can not support a pair of component speakers at 4-ohm and a bridge load from a 2-ohm sub at the same time.
Why is this?

 

just popping in on the convo:

when you order the WLaurent enclosure, contact William in advance. he can probably (and i'm just saying probably, as i am speaking for him) size it for an 8" and make it so you can upgrade to a 10" in the future. i think that's much more feasible now w/ his new design.

you understand incorrectly. this is very possible, and a few here are doing exactly this configuration.
that being said -- it's VERY particular on the amp you choose. the amp would have to be 1 ohm stereo / 2 ohm mono stable, and those don't grow on trees - you'll be confined to a limited number of amps. and those amps (2 ohm mono stable amps) are generally more expensive.

that being said -- if you want to run a single amp, i'd recommend you try to get a configuration where you can run the sub mono @ 4 ohms, and meet your power needs there, as it is much more flexible down the road.

(bugger, i just noticed, your 2 ohm sub question/issue comes from your current sub.... i'd consider planning on either a 2 amp configuration and buy a 2 ohm stable mono sub amp for now, or you can buy a 2 ohm stable sub amp for now, and sell it for a different amp if you change subs.)


all in all though, that doesn't look like a bad system at all. you get a nice start w/ a good foundation, and leave yourself for plenty upgrades down the road.

 

Thanks for the comments.
I am set on exchanging the sub for a 2-ohm or 8-ohm DVC so I can get it to 4-ohms and simplify the amp selection. Is there any advantage to parallel down to 4 or series up to 4?