What do you think of this sound system?
Ok, I'm looking to buy a sound system for my car, looking to spend around 1000-1300.
Im going a really powerful headunit and speakers approuch and average amp/sub. So what do you think:
Headunit: Pioneer DEHP4050UB CD TUNER $400
Sub/amp: Kicker KICKPACK SUB & AMP COMBO $360
Front speakers: Pioneer TS-A1682S 280WATT 4WAY 6 Inch Speakers (Pair) $159
Rear speakers: Some average $60-90 ones
Installation/Wiring: $200
Total: $1190
Because im buying it all from JB, im sure they will take a bit of the price - so maybe $1000. What do you guys think? Do you think I should buy a better amp/sub or what?
Custom Car Stereo Systems
The amp for the sub isnt very powerful...100wrms is what i would be feeding my front speakers, not a sub. The subwoofer itself looks fine, but an amp with around 2-300wrms would suit it better, not to mention go alot harder.
The front speakers arent too bad, but if you can get a set of splits (component) speakers you'll be 10x better off. I mean for an extra $20 - $30 you could get a set i would imagine and trust me, its money well spent.
Installation is VERY cheap tho, i would be sus on this.....i would charge atleast $300 to install those components, including wiring, and thats fairly cheap. If you go ahead with the system and get them to install it, when you pick the car up go over everything and make sure things like door trims and sill panels are correctly fitted, and the components you can see (h/u and sub + amp) are installed properly, and the wiring has been secured etc (including the power cable under the bonnet). I could go on for another line or two explaining other little shortcuts they might take, but they are the main things.
But in general, definately pay a few bucks more for splits in the front.....and a more powerful amp, even if you have to leave the rears as stock to compensate, you can always buy some later on.
^^^great advice, I installed one of these kicker ported boxes into my gf's car and its a pretty good unit for what they cost (gave it 300w RMS), you should notice they have axed almost $100 off the headunit price as well from what you quoted.Originally Posted by holdenboy
I also agree on splits on the front, I would also add if you can afford it to actually amplify them as well this makes all the difference to you system get a 4 channel now and then get new rears when you have some more cash
Hmmm how about that kicker sub +
Pioneer GM6300F 4 CHANNEL AMP
as the amp?
With splits, dont you have to cut a whole in the side to fit the small speaker thing?
i had a sub, h/u and amp installed at jb about 3 weeks ago and they charged about 200 so wud seem about rite i think
no with the splits you can put the tweeter anywhere you like, I would suggest bottom of the A pillar but its up to personal preference.
regarding the 4 channel amp, that would be a good starting point because you could use 2 channels for the sub (300 watts) and 1 channel each for the fronts. The only problem with that is when you do your rear speakers you have nothing to amp them with, but if you dont carry passengers very often this would be your best option
See if you can wrangle out of them a monoblock for the sub ( around 300-400w ) then a 4 channel amp 75-150w per channel. But of course its all upto your budget at the end of the day I know how easy it is to get these things out of hand :P
Swerves for gay koalas
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Haggle hard at JB - in most cases you can literally half the price of speakers, and take a good 20%+ off HUs.
If they play hardball, just walk - try another store or come back when they have a different sales person. There are plenty of JB's around, find one that will cut you the best deal.
Will doHaggle hard at JB - in most cases you can literally half the price of speakers, and take a good 20%+ off HUs.
Id love to but my budget doesn't allow it.. but your idea for the 4 chn amp sounds good, might consider that - cheers!See if you can wrangle out of them a monoblock for the sub ( around 300-400w ) then a 4 channel amp 75-150w per channel. But of course its all upto your budget at the end of the day I know how easy it is to get these things out of hand :P
So its settled, same HU with 3 RCA as above, 6" splits in the front, 6" in the back, 4cnh amp as above and a 12" sub
Custom Car Stereo Systems
Yeah, thats a great starting point....when you have the money you can either upgrade to a monoblock for the sub (~500wrms) and bridge the channels of the 4ch. amp to run the front splits. The rears should be fine running off the head-unit, put them on a High Pass filter at around 80hz (i think these head-units have HPFs).
As far as the tweeter posistioning goes, as rcnugget suggested the bottom of the "A" pillars (corners of the dash) are a great spot and sound good, they can be mounted there using the supplied angle brackets.
Face the sub towards the rear of the car, 99% of the sedans ive done work best this way (even tested with a SPL meter).
Just make sure you check the install straight after its done, i mean dont even start the car before going over everything i described.
Good luck with the haggling
Don't spend the money on half-assing an install - you're only going to end up spending more later. Work out a maximum budget that you're willing to spend all up (include things like wiring and installation) and work from that. First up, do your front sound stage. There's no reason why you should get anything less than splits for the front, the more expensive then (generally) the better. After that, I'd do your headunit. Next, get either a 2 channel amp for the fronts and a mono for the rear, or you can get a 4 channel amp with a bridgeable rear channel to run your sub.
Car Audio Installer
It is always better to get a seperate amp for your subwoofer, reason: because using a 4 channel to run speakers and a sub will result in the woofer stealing bass quality and power from the speakers because they are both running off the same power supply, thus reducing sound quality. Using two amps reduces voltage drop.
thats nonsense, running speakers and a sub off a 4 channel is perfectly fine
as for your system, dont just stick to JB shop around and listen to as many speakers in your price range as you can at as many different stores as you can.
ditch the rears and just use the stock ones off the head unit and spend the extra money on your fronts. the front speakers are THE MOST IMPORTANT part of any system.
install looks fairly cheap for all that, I would certainly be concerened about the quality of work to expect, I have spent $200 on RCAs alone let alone all wiring.
if you feel confident have a go at installling it yourself, it really isnt that hard so long as you think about it as you go. a little bit of forward planning goes a long way.
for head unit, I am not a big fan of Pioneer, except for their higher end range. In the $400 mark I would be looking at Eclipse or Alpine. Much better head units for your money, but that is just my opinion.
Go a nice 4 channel amp, even the Jaycar 4x100 would be perfect, these are great amps for the money. As for the sub kicker are good but also look into the likes of maybe an Alpine type S or maybe Hertz.
Just shop around, you dont have to buy everything at the same store, just pick each component that best suits your needs and your budget.
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