Hey all,

Okay, after a whole crapload of research, listening to other S2000 installs, snooping around my trunk well, etc., etc., this is what I am proposing for my stereo system, any criticism or comments would be much appreciated before I plunge into this.

Head unit: Okay, I'm buying a used Alpine 7874 from a fellow S2ker up here just as a stop gap measure until I decide on a newer head unit, definitely with MP3 capabilities, maybe an Alpine with integrated iPod controls. Undecided at the moment.

Front stage: Infiniti Kappa 60.5's mounted using Lucid mounting brackets. I heard these in an S2000 install and they sounded very good. Perhaps need a bit more mid range, but it could have been that the system I was listening to was not tuned yet. Plus they are very reasonably priced. I would mount the tweeters in the factory 2002 pods.

Subwoofer setup: I'm considering an Elemental Designs e8a.44 in Lucid box on the passenger side of the trunk (to balance driver's weight a bit). I'm still going to measure to see if I can get my golf clubs in the trunk as well as the woofer.

Amp: Seriously considering the Phoenix Gold Titanium 500.4. I would mount it in the tool well, making a custom holder for the jack, etc, then the amp on top. On top of the amp, I'd make the floor vented plexi to keep everything cool. The amp is rated at 75W per channel into a 4ohm load, which would suit the front really well. It's also rated at 250W bridged into a 4ohm load, and is stable down to 1ohm, so I'd like to do a 2ohm load into the sub, if possible (still investigated this), so that I could get about 400W into it which would really power it nicely.

And that's pretty much it. The only question I have is a stereo installer suggested running the front stage off of the headunit's internal 60W per channel amp. Not sure how I feel about this, as I've always felt and been told that powering the front speakers from a real amp allows for more headroom and less potential speaker damage if you really crank it.

Would a cap help out this system? I'd rather not add complexity and weight if I don't need it. I know the amp has some built in capacitance, but don't know how much it is.

Any comments?

Forgot to mention I'm looking for good musicality and sq throughout the frequency range within the comprimises of owning a convertible.

 

Heh heh...This is a favorite topic of discussion among the tech types in this forum

 

Grrrrrr.........another one buys the hype.

Your alpine doesnt put out 60 watts, so dont worry, it does about 16.

Anyway.....system sounds great. I would.....

1. Get better components that can handle over 100wrms....as the s2000 is noisy and power is the only thing that can overcome noise....if you go with Infinity, Kappa Perfects 6.1 are great......Especially with the top down, you need sheer power to hear the speakers. Good 125wrms in a good speaker will sound great.

2. Amp is great.

3. Sub is great.

4. THe 8" enclosure on the side of the trunk to my knowledge is made by WLAURENT not lucid.

5. Grab your balls and install it yourself.

P.S. A cap for this system will do nothing more than drain your alternator, and weigh the car down.

 

Thanks NFR,

I was pretty sure that the internal amp on the Alpine was not 60w rms, just wanted to make sure.

I will look into upgrading to the Kappa Perfects.

And me and Jasonoff will be doing the install in my heated garage

The only thing I'll have to outsource is cutting the plexi. No big deal. S2kers here can hook me up.

Good to know I don't need a cap. More dead weight.

And yes, it is a WLAURENT sub box, thanks for the correction.

Finally, I am wondering if I can get the amp painted berlina black, and send it back to Phoenix Gold to be rescreened. Some amp manufacturers have done this on other systems, I wonder if PG would be amenable to this?

 

all in all, it looks good imo.

if you think the Kappas were a little lacking in midrange, i'd definitely listen to some other speakers. the Perfects are likely to be even brighter.
Dave loves them b/c he's a tweets kind of guy... still, speakers are very personal -- i'd demo like crazy as much as you can around your area. i've got a whole demo rant included in the S2000 Electronics FAQ, so i won't regurgitate it here.
if i gave you a list of my personal favorites for listening, i'd probably suggest the Focals (PolyKevlars or PolyGlass), Boston Pro series, or Eclipse components - for something w/ a bit more midrange.

the Alpine amp is definitely not 60Wrms. after reading some comments by modifry about the internal amps -- i'm not entirely convinced that the V-drive doesn't achieve higher than 16Wrms though... considering it does have an included outboard DC/DC converter -- higher power levels are achievable. still, no way are you getting 60Wrms/channel. i'd buy into maybe 25 Wrms, which might (maybe, possibly) get you close to 60W peaks.

for the amp -- if you're planning to do a plexi floor (similar to mine), i'd highly recommend you planning for forced cooling into the well... it gets hot in there w/o it... trust me on this one.
the Ti500.4 looks to be 1 ohm stereo stable, which means it should be 2 ohm mono stable. the e8a should work out fine in that application... and 400Wrms x 1 channel @ 2 ohms seems reasonable, but i haven't been able to find any published numbers that support that figure... in theory, you might even get closer to 500Wrms x 1 @ 2 ohms.

regarding the e8a. as best as i can tell from many hours of shopping and searching -- there are no standard speaker grills that will handle the e8a's excursion. so, if you intend to carry clubs back there -- plan on having to build or have built a custom speaker grill of some sort - either that or be ready to pull the sub out when you're toting clubs. if you go w/ a grill, it can be as fancy and expensive as you want it to be... i feel fairly confident that i could put together a grill for myself in the $20 range if i had the need...
if you're getting the plexi for the amp rack outsourced, consider having a perforated or slotted portion of plexi cut a little bigger than the sub's diameter, and then use 4 1.5" standoffs to support it above the e8a. this would be a cheap grill. (before commiting to this 100%, let me know, and i'll take some measurements to make sure this would clear the trunk hinge.)

regarding the amp -- call PG. they are the only ones who would answer that, imo. it would have a nice look imo though... i'm all about black amps...