Upgrading VT sound system

[vinda69]

Gday guys,

Now I have learnt from my last post to provide more information. So here it goes.

I am looking to upgrade my whole sound system, speakers, amp, sub and head unit.
I just need a bit of help with what to get.

Firstly, I have a budget of $5000 which should get me a nice system.
From the head unit, i am looking for a touch screen double din with everything. Ie. Bluetooth, navigation, cd, dvd, usb etc etc.
The speakers I have been told to just get for the front. But since I drive around a lot with my mates, I will be looking at either installing some 6x9" in the parcel shelf, or some 6" in the doors. I haven't really investigated this yet so I will need to know quote a bit in regards to which way will sound better and perform better...
I have got in mind to amp the speakers, so I will be looking at a 4 channel amp. Maybe?
With the sub I am looking at two 12" type x's. But I have had mixed reactions from people that I have told. A lot of people say not to get them because when the voice coil goes, you cannot replace them. But on the other hand, they put out some good bass and the quality is really crisp. I am also looking at some rockford fosgate D1's. What I am really looking for is high rms, ie. ~1000+, but if I can get some that are just below 1000 rms but still sound great that will be fine. I am looking for equal bass and quality as too much bass just frowns the music out, and too much quality doesn't give you the real boom...
And of course I will be looking at a mono block amp to cover the subs rms, so something like the soundstream 3000 rms mono block.

I think I have covered most things in that. Just that the head unit I have seen the alpine IDAX...not sure of the rest, but that does everything.
Cheers

[Kernal]

Ok firstly one of those all in one headunits will set you back about 2k. Pioneer make some good double din imo but shop around and find one that you like in regards to appearance, functionality, price etc.

Regarding speakers. Its pointless going 6x9s with subs. I would say a good set up is splits at the front and 6" in the back running of a 4 channel amp and 2 12" subs in a ported box off a mono. Look for the rms on the amps and speakers to match. Before you buy any speakers go to car audio shops (not auto barn and supercheap). I recently listened to some JBL 6" 3ways at strathfield car radio and these mother####ers were loud and crystal clear. Pick out what you like/ what sounds good to you.

Once you work out what you want, get some prices from different shops and leverage their prices against each other. I saved $500 by doing that when i bought my system.

Im not too sure on what specific speakers are good atm coz i bought my stereo 4 years ago. And with my 4 year old system i won a sound off a few months ago. iIt just goes to show a well thought out system with quality components kick arse for many years, Ive also never had a problem with any components, they've never missed a beat.

[vinda69]

No worries mate,

Thanks for that, it helped a heap.
I have always been into sound systems but am only really starting to get the money to be able to buy decent components.
I will look around and see what I can find.
Cheers

[MAG00]

He's got some of it correct, but not all of it.

For $5000, you can get yourself some brilliant equipment.

For the headunit, this choice is really up to you. Browse the stores and find one you like the look and feel of, test the menus to see how well it functions, take a CD and iPod to see how quickly it loads etc.
Generally Alpine and Pioneer are the big two for headunits and it may cost up to $2k for a headunit with those features. One question, do you actually see yourself using all of those features? A headunit of this calibre takes up close to half of your budget, I highly doubt you could work 2 subwoofers (and twice the power that you need to power them) into a budget that is half taken by the headunit. An alternative question to this, do you really need 2 subwoofers? Adding another woofer only increases the overall volume by ~3db, which is quite small for such a large outlay. I chose to work this budget around one subwoofer and the expensive headunit.

For front speakers, favoured options include: Morel Dotech MKII 6 ($568), Cresecendo Opus 7B ($559), DLS R6A ($499), Focal 165VR ($479), Boston Acoustics SR60 ($499)

For back speakers, favoured options include: Focal 165CV Coaxials ($299), Morel Tempo Coax 6 ($228), Boston SC65 coaxials ($249).

Back speakers really wouldn't be necessary, if you have to have them I'd almost be tempted to just have them run off of the headunit and have a decidicated switch/es to turn them on when you have mates in the back and back off when it's just you.

For subs, to be blatantly honest I wouldn't touch the Type X's with a ten foot pole. For the price you pay, you pay a lot for the Alpine name on them, in that price range there are far better subwoofers.

For subwoofer, favoured options include: Boston G512 (Hard to find, $469), JL Audio 12W6v2 (~$700), Image Dynamics IDMAX 12 v3 ($799), Morel Ultimo / Ultimo SC ($898 / $498) Polk SR-124 (hard to find, ~$550).

For speaker amp: Clarion XH5410 ($400), Option Audio OAC160 ($279) and many more.

For subwoofer amp: Clarion XH7110 ($499), Option Audio OAK1200 ($339) Option Audio OAX2000 ($660) and many more.

In this price range, you definitely want to sound deaden your panels. A bulk pack of Dynamat for ~$220 should cover you. Also be sure to seal your doors like in this thread.

Those components should make for a great system, if you feel that the headunit is a bit overkill, the extra money could go towards a bigger sub amp, another sub or a better set of front speakers.
Try to listen to the components before purchase. Haggle if you buy several items from one store. You won't need 6x9s. ALWAYS try to have too much power for your sub/speakers, you can turn your gains down, but you can't get extra power out of thin air. If you push an underpowered amp too hard it will clip the signal, which can cause damaged to the amp and the speakers/subs hooked up to it.

The main thing that makes for a good system is thorough installation, if the installation is top notch the difference in sound quality will be huge. With those components there is a bit of money left over for wiring. At a minimum you will need 4 gauge wiring, if you run two subwoofers you will need 0 gauge wiring from the battery to a distro block.

Don't be afraid to ask more questions

[sweefu]

I agree with the post above, but with your budget you could consider a headunit with active cross overs (spend a little more money here) and then go a DIY front stage for amazing results, $250 on a DIY front stage installed well will easily rival any splits in the $500 - $100 price range.

[MAG00]

I knew you would mention DIY speakers, hence why I left them out aha

[sweefu]

Haha can't beat DIY for quality v. price, but the install and tuning takes a monumental time compared to off the shelf. Though, if you install as best as possible in all circumstances you will always get a better result.

[2LOUD2OLD]

Haha can't beat DIY for quality v. price, but the install and tuning takes a monumental time compared to off the shelf. Though, if you install as best as possible in all circumstances you will always get a better result.

I've created a monster lol