# My audio... *caution* I suck...



## dry (Oct 21, 2002)

Here is my audio set up, I am looking for feedback, as I dont know ANYTHING about car audio... I'm just looking to get things as cheap as I can and have it sound decent... here goes:

Head unit:
Pioneer DEH-2300
Mosfet 50x4
(paid 60 dollars shipped)









Up Front: 
Infinity 605cs
90 watt RMS component set
(Paid 60 dollars shipped)









Rear Speakers:
Infinity 652i
60 watt RMS 2 way speakers
(paid 55 dollars shipped) 










to thus far I have paid 175 dollars for audio and I am now looking for a *decent* subwoofer and a *decent* amp. As you can see I am not looking for the best stuff here, I just want opinions.. I hear to stay with the same brand speakers... does this mean I should choose an infinity sub? I only want one 10" so what exactly should I be looking for in an amp and a sub... also should I amp my front speakers to get the 90 watts rms out of them that they can, milk them for what they are worth... or just use the 50 watt amp the HU comes with. All feedback is appreciated... -James


----------



## HuMMerMan (Jan 22, 2003)

DryBoy said:


> *also should I amp my front speakers to get the 90 watts rms out of them that they can, milk them for what they are worth... or just use the 50 watt amp the HU comes with. *


The "50 watt" amp that comes with the HU is only about 22-23wrms. I would suggest putting at least 50wrms to those front components, maybe even 75wrms.


----------



## ImportCarTuner (Jun 9, 2002)

DryBoy said:


> *I hear to stay with the same brand speakers... does this mean I should choose an infinity sub?*


 If you're goning to go with Infinity subs, I'd suggest looking into the Kappa Perfect's. They're a bit on the pricey side but you might be able to find them cheap on eBay.


DryBoy said:


> *I only want one 10" so what exactly should I be looking for in an amp and a sub*


Make sure the RMS on the amp compliments the RMS on the subs. Having too much RMS a sub can handle will deteriorate the subs life and will eventually blow.


DryBoy said:


> *should I amp my front speakers to get the 90 watts rms out of them*


Definately amp the front speakers if you want the full potential of the speakers. 75 RMS x 2 amp should do you it well. If you decide to amp all four speakers, get a 50 RMS x 4 amp.


----------



## dry (Oct 21, 2002)

what about ohms... I know nothing so help me out... I see some amps are 25x4 at 4 ohm OR 50x4 at 2 ohm... I'm confused.


----------



## ImportCarTuner (Jun 9, 2002)

I believe all car speakers run at 4 ohms... so when looking for an amp for the speakers, look at the RMS for 4 ohms.


----------



## Chicago Tony (Apr 15, 2003)

The speakers you have now are pretty good. I have the same componets as you and they sound very good with some power. For a sub you can get a pair of Kicker Comp VRs for less than $150.00 and for an amp JBL 600.1 for less than 200.00. Will sound very good.


----------



## SuperSentra4203 (Dec 17, 2002)

The Kappa's are awsome. The headunit sucks, but it's still a Pioneer. For subs, go for the Infinity Perfect series (not called Kappa Perfect) IF you want an amp that is Infinity, you might be able to find some Kappa series. I had a Kappa 102A that I ran both my 6x9's and 6 1/4's for a while until I got my subs. I don't think Infinity make amps anymore, but I haven't been looking for a good amp in a while. You speakers are all 4 ohms. The component set should be run off of a sperate amp from your rear speakers. For best sound, run as close to the rated RMS as possible, without exceeding the peak by 20% unless you can keep them cool. For good subs at a cheap price, I had a set of 12" Kenwood's that had awsome SQ, but they do need a good 400 watts of RMS power to sound the best. My Kappa amp was only pushing 300 watts RMS and they hit extremely hard, and that was with one of Clarion's first CD headunits that didn't have amp preouts (I had to buy a peaker level converter).


----------



## Fonque (May 1, 2002)

man you all are throwing out some pricey responses, if he paid 175 for his headunit and 4 speakers i dont think he would be willing to spend 180 - 300 on a sub, like the kappa perfects go. If youwant cheap go to http://www.thezeb.com

they sell crap and they sell SQ competition grade stuff. but its all cheap check out their specials on subs.

RocFos HE punches going for 65 a piece, and some pioneer subs going for 40 a piece. Obviously this is not top of the line stuff, but i dont think top of the line is what you are looking for


----------



## SuperSentra4203 (Dec 17, 2002)

You want cheap, yet good shit, here is what may be best and readily available.

2 12" Kenwood subs 
Cost about $120 pair 

Pioneer os Kenwoos amp
Cost about $100-$200

Have a friend make a speaker box
Cost about $30

You cheap junk hitting as good as others who paid wads of cash
Priceless


----------



## dry (Oct 21, 2002)

thanks fonque... I am definately looking to go cheap, but good sounding... I'll probably get all my stuff second hand anyway, since thats the way it all is already... I dont know about running an amp to the components and an amp to the rear... and an amp to the subs... thats 3 amps, thats a lot of money I dont want to spend.


----------



## Fonque (May 1, 2002)

you only need one amp, althougha 6 channel amp is not cheap, at least ive never seen a cheep one. but 1 4 channel and 1 2 channal or mono amp can be had for pretty cheap


----------



## ImportCarTuner (Jun 9, 2002)

If you're looking for good and cheap subs, Crutchfield had a "two-fer" deal going on right now on these Infinity Reference subs... sounds like a great deal... http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S-sDefqTXp80a/prodview.asp?i=1081220W.


----------



## McLaren F1 2003 (Jan 2, 2003)

SuperSentra4203 said:


> *For subs, go for the Infinity Perfect series (not called Kappa Perfect) *


dude, the series is called kappa perfect http://www.infinitysystems.com/caraudio/category.asp?Cat=SUB 

anyway, infinity is an awesome choice, great sound quality at all volume levels


----------



## SuperSentra4203 (Dec 17, 2002)

Don't buy the Infiniti Reference!! Buy the Kenwoods if you decide to get new subs. I have proven these subs to take an amazing beating. 
As for the Kappa Perfect. I remember when they were first being developed, they were going to be ccalled Perfect Series. Thanks for the info tidbit man.


----------



## dry (Oct 21, 2002)

two for one is great but I only need 1 sub  plus those go on ebay for like 50 for one (and thats after shipping) well thats for the 10 inch and I want to save as much room in the trunk as possible. (and save as much room in the wallet too!)


----------



## Chicago Tony (Apr 15, 2003)

You can get a 12" E design sub for $150.00. That sub will pretty much kill any of the subs listed in this post. All it needs is 1^3 sealed box or smaller


----------



## SuperSentra4203 (Dec 17, 2002)

I don't blame you. I'm about to drop some serious cash today for a system. Headunit, amp, 12 sub, box, all wiring. I'm looking at $900 easy.


----------



## mirrortints (Aug 15, 2002)

I got some infinity perfect 10's for sale, only 4 months old, got 4 of em.


----------



## SuperSentra4203 (Dec 17, 2002)

How much??

Tomorrow, I will be purchasing Kenwood's new Class D amp. 1 ohm stable, needs no cooling fan, and runs at about 500W rms, not sure though.
Any thoughts on what headunit I should get. Looking to spend about $350 (new). Has to play MP3.


----------



## ImportCarTuner (Jun 9, 2002)

SuperSentra4203 said:


> *Any thoughts on what headunit I should get. Looking to spend about $350 (new). Has to play MP3. *


 Kenwood eXcelon KDC-X869... it'll be a great compliment to the Kenwood Class D amp you're getting .


----------



## mirrortints (Aug 15, 2002)

The subs are $140 each, you should buy 2!


----------



## SuperSentra4203 (Dec 17, 2002)

I'll look into the eXcelon deck. I am going to ABC Warehouse to get my amp, gonna try to talk him down to $225. Gonna have the power, ground, and RCAs ran and the amp hooked up (i'll do it) I am going to bolt it down to the frame, with padding underneath. THe Kenwood sub, I can get them for about $110 new, ABC Warehouse loves to beat Circuit City's prices, they are after all only 1/4 mile apart. I could get those subs, originally mine, back from my friend for $100 in the $150 Q Logic box I had bought for them. Since my MD headunit is some good shit, and amp ready, I can wait to have a nice MP3 headunit ordered. Nobody around here carries eXcelon series or Pioneer's Premeir.


----------



## mirrortints (Aug 15, 2002)

Man, you can't seriously compare the infinity perfect to the kenwood sub. Maybe the reference series, but not the perfect series. And for $225 you can get a much better amp than a kenwood.


----------



## SuperSentra4203 (Dec 17, 2002)

I'm a firm believe in Kenwood, I have compared them to many others. Check out the amp I am getting.

http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/...=0&cc=01&g=130&id=essential_info&i=113KAC8151


----------



## mirrortints (Aug 15, 2002)

Okay, so you must not be goin for bass, right? And no wonder you won't need a cooling fan, that thing doesn't put out many watts.


----------



## tomcat (Sep 25, 2002)

smaller car speakersrun at 4 ohms. some of the better subs run 2ohms. if you bridge a amp meaning 
2 channel: take the positive from the right channel and the negative of theleft channel, you make a amp put out 2ohms.
Make sure that your speakers are 2 ohms compatible. it should say it on the box if they are.
I ran two percision power (ppi) 12s with a power acoustic 840 watt (gothic series) amp. brand new cost me $500. pretty cheap.
right now i down sized i have a 200 watt hifonics amp and a kove 12 in a isoberic box.( the kind with a peice of plexy glass on the front.) cost me $250. I have some more info just dependson what you want to know. hope this helps


----------



## mirrortints (Aug 15, 2002)

It doesn't matter what the speakers are, whether 1 or 2 or 4 or 8 ohms, the ohms only depends on the amp. You can't bridge a speaker, you can only bridge an amp. A 4-ohm sub is just that, even wired in parallel or series, it's still a 4-ohm sub. Please don't post stuff like that again. And ANY sub can be 2 or 4 ohms, some are 3 ohms, some are 1.5 ohms, it doesn't make a sub better if it is more ohms or less ohms, single voice coil or dual voice coil, that just makes the options for installing that much greater.

And, power accoustik sux, might as well go buy a california profile amp.


----------



## mirrortints (Aug 15, 2002)

And please tell me where you bought your combo from, cause I'd imagine that a hifonics 200 watt amp would be about $50, maybe another $50 for a kove sub, enclosure, maybe $30. That's $130, what happened to your other $120???

BTW, I saw a power accoustic 1200 watt amp at a garage sale for about $100, I could always go back and pick you one up, if you want it.


----------



## SuperSentra4203 (Dec 17, 2002)

First all, the amp has an output of 500watts RMS @ 1 ohm, 1000 peak @ 1 ohm. Peak power is your base, rms is your constant which helps the sub return to the neutral position. A good amp will have the RMS 50% or higher than it's peak. This amp will put out some serious bass, I heard it with subs in the store that have been abused by stupid ass customers for 2 years. The reason for no cooling fan is because it is class D. Class D amps must be 95% or more efficient, they produce less heat and suck up less current. Don't get this confused what Rockford calls their class D amp, which is really notheing more than a class BD. Somewhere arounf 70% effiecien, that is why Rockfords have a habit of overheating and going into dormant mode.
Ohms do not depend on the amp, that is a load of monkeyspank. Ohms are the measurement for impedance, which is resistance in an AC circuit. Yea, a 4 ohm sub is a 4 ohm sub, but will become a different impedance when directly connected to another subwoofer, or act like one at least. Thruely, bridgeing has to do with the subwoofer, because it is the most affected by the bridge.
Also, I don't want a used piece of shit, I will buy my new Kenwood, which is a name that has proven SQ and overall manufacturing quality.


----------



## mirrortints (Aug 15, 2002)

I think even my 4 y/o daughter knows the difference between peak and rms. I was just statin a case that 500 rms into 1 ohm is WEAK!!! 

And you didn't say anything to disprove my post that the amp is more dependant on the ohms than a sub. If I hooked up 4 4-ohm subs into a 1 ohm load, each sub "sees" 4ohms the amp is the only thing seeing 1 ohm, the ohms might drop to 3.9 ohms, but who gives a flyin f*ck, that argument is just as stupid as your arguments against a bd1000.


----------



## SuperSentra4203 (Dec 17, 2002)

Uhh, are you lost, the speaker is the load. The amp also is costing me about $250


----------



## mirrortints (Aug 15, 2002)

What??? I said if you put 4 subs into a 1 ohm load. I was talkin about the subs. And come on man, $250. I do like kenwood as a HU, but that's about it, their subs are in the middle of the pack, stuck with sony, and their amps are maybe a lil better than sony, especially in cost per watt.


----------



## SuperSentra4203 (Dec 17, 2002)

For the price, they are great. Anyways, I didn't get them. I bought off a friend for only $200> 2 12" Kicker Comps, sealed box, 600W Pyramid amp. I am using the Kenwood amp and the Kickers, good lord does it pound, very hard. I will eventually use all of the amps power, but I don't want to attempt to blow the subs. Sweet, 1000W peak and absolutely no dimming of headlights what-so-ever. The reason for not going for a massive power amp is because I want SQ, not SPL. Since I suffer from chronic migraines, I can only handle so much SPL unless is has awsome SQ. The disturbances of high SPL with low SQ will land me in the hospital. Definately not what I want.


----------



## superfro86 (May 15, 2002)

the different ways to wire a sub (series-parrallel, parallel-parallel, series, parallel) has to do with with how much of a load the amps see. All the different wiring configurations create different impendance loads and the amps put out power accordingly. The reason why your amp would be 95% efficient is because its only putting out 500w and thats at 1ohm and probally 14.4v. thats not hard for class D. It would be a little different at 1kw. it like how its easy for to make a 100hp per litre N/A with a B18C5 buts it would be alot harder to have that efficiency with a 5.7 litre v8 with variable valve timing. Peak power doesn't have a thing to do with returning a sub back into place or whatever jibberish you were talking. peak power is just the most amount of power a amp can put out given 14.4v or higher, and the right test tone. Thats why most of the good companies don't even bother telling you the peak except under the certificate or something because most people with that level of equipment know that peak power doesn't mean shit unless its in a SPL contest situation


----------



## SuperSentra4203 (Dec 17, 2002)

Agh, I wrote my post wrong. I know that peak power is what makes the bass. For $250, that amp is a deal. I'm using it right know and it may be too powerful for my subs, so I'm switching to my Pyramid Crystal DP-480.


----------



## superfro86 (May 15, 2002)

NOOOOO!!!!!!! peak power is just the maximum amount of power amp puts out.


----------



## dry (Oct 21, 2002)

if I was to buy an amp that was 200 rms and 400 peak, what would be the setback of running it at 250 watts??? I'm just curious because I think it shouldnt cause a problem. I dunno. -James


----------



## superfro86 (May 15, 2002)

can u rephrase your question because it isn't making sense. you can't run a 200watt rms/400 peak amp at 250watts. you can't turn a knob or anything on how many watts it would put out.


----------



## dry (Oct 21, 2002)

AH gotcha... well I meant run it on a 250 watt sub. I did caution you that I sucked!


----------



## superfro86 (May 15, 2002)

OK now i understand. it would just be giving a 250 watt sub 200 watts which is perfectly fine.


----------



## SuperSentra4203 (Dec 17, 2002)

You can actually go over (and is recommended) by a marginal precentage. I think it's like 5-15%, but you shouldn't exceed the peak rating of the subs.


----------

