VS Berlina Ideal Sound System

[Influx69]

hi i got a VS Berlina Sedan 1997 Model and am going to put a stereo system in. I am wanting to buy a fairly powerful system with lots of bass and sound but with a budget of around $1500-$2000. If some people could give me some good ideas on sound systems that would be great.

cheers

[Lumps of cheese]

Post your car audio system and pictures
Try this thread, might give you a few ideas.

[Thomas1]

Can you install it yourself? And by install I don't just mean install it so it 'just works'. There's no point buying good gear and then having it poorly installed.

Go to a decent car audio shop (not supercheap auto) and listen to what they have. Tell them what you want and what your budget is, and they'll help you get started.

Check out the link to my ride below for some ideas. I think my system sounds pretty good

[Influx69]

Can you install it yourself? And by install I don't just mean install it so it 'just works'. There's no point buying good gear and then having it poorly installed.

Go to a decent car audio shop (not supercheap auto) and listen to what they have. Tell them what you want and what your budget is, and they'll help you get started.

Check out the link to my ride below for some ideas. I think my system sounds pretty good

thnx man. umm so like autobahn? or jbhifi?

[Thomas1]

thnx man. umm so like autobahn? or jbhifi?

I wouldn't consider Autobarn a specialist car audio store (but there are a select few that have very good audio departments). JB-HIFI is definately not the place to go if you want good advice

Where are you located? If you're in VIC or NSW I can recommend some places.

[Influx69]

I wouldn't consider Autobarn a specialist car audio store (but there are a select few that have very good audio departments). JB-HIFI is definately not the place to go if you want good advice

Where are you located? If you're in VIC or NSW I can recommend some places.

im in vic in melb

[danja]

Where are you located? If you're in VIC or NSW I can recommend some places.

I'd be interested to know what you'd recommend in NSW?

[holdenboy]

OK....

Head-Unit: Whatever brand/model takes your fancy, spend around $250 and
you'll get something decent.

Front Speakers: VERY important, go into a specialist car audio store and listen to as many component (split) speakers as possible....brands like Kenwood and Pioneer make half-decent models, but Alpines' Type Rs are better in my opinion (especially for the $$$). Spend anything up to $350 here, as this is where you'll be hearing 90% of the sound, you wanna make sure you get good quality.

Rears: Up to you, they arent overly important as you will rarely be listening to them (i assume). You may want to upgrade them, if so spend no more than $50 here.

Speaker Amp: You just wanna be amping the fronts, so something with ~100wrms/ch. should be ideal, even as low as 70wrms will be fine. Again brand choice is up to you, just steer away from really cheap no-name amps ofcourse. Spend around $300 here.


Subwoofer: Most name brand (Alpine, Pioneer, Kenwood etc) will be fine, just as long as you get one with an impedance that matches the amp that will be powering it. Look for RMS ratings around 250wrms+. I would spend $200 on a sub.
You'll also be needing a subwoofer enclosure, somewhere around $100 will get you a single, sealed box...carpeted ofcourse.
These days manufacturers make subwoofer/box combos, which can be quite good, just make sure the impedance and power rating of the sub are as ive said.

Subwoofer Amplifier: A monoblock amplifier is what you need, this is designed just for powering subwoofers. Again brand is up to you, but something with 300wrms+ should do the job, one thing to remember is to make sure the impedance of the subwoofer matches the monoblock. (i.e. if the mono puts out 300wrms at 2 ohm, you'll be needing a subwoofer that has dual 4 ohm voice coils). Spend around the $300-$400 mark.



If youre going to get it installed by a shop, please dont let JB Hi Fi or Autobarn do it, UNLESS you have seen the work they have done in the past and/or they have a good record etc. Alot are shotty, but some are an exception.
They will be able to help you with things like the wiring needed and the matching of subwoofer and monoblock etc. Just dont let the salesman sell you a pair of good rear speakers, they arent really needed and the money would be better spent elsewhere.


In total thats $1500-$1600 before wiring and installation. I would say the wiring and install would be around the $400 - $500 mark.

So theres youre $2k, gone...but if you take my advice and PLEASE, make sure you get it installed properly, it will sound great now and for many years to come

[danja]

^^^ all of that, but if it was me I would amp the rear speakers, otherwise you may as well not have any at all!

[Thomas1]

im in vic in melb

In Melb I recommend the following places:

GL Pro Sound
Phatt Audio Concepts

I have dealt with GL a few times and their customer service is top notch. Phatt have one of the best reputations around

I'd be interested to know what you'd recommend in NSW?

If I lived in NSW I'd take the drive to see the guys at FHRX. I have even bought stuff off them and had it shipped all the way down here

[Luke0011]

as always, holdenboy has provided a very good response to your question. Not many people would go into so much detail. Well done.

[holdenboy]

Yeah, rear speakers is kinda a personal thing....it would depend on what your after,

*Great staging and imaging, go with excellent front splits with atleast 100wrms each.
*Pure volume, go with a good set of 6"-6x9s, again with 100wrms+ each.

In general, unless you go average speakers in the front and 6x9s in the rear, you wont hear the rears much. This is more apparent in the VX onwards when you mount the rears in the doors (stock location).

EDIT: Thanks again Luke0011, maybe we should just write up a "planning a system on a budget" thread thats sticky.......would save me re-typing alot of stuff

[danja]

That would be a great idea (the "planning a system" thread), you could even go a step further and do a few based on what people have to spend, like up to $500 = decent head unit + entry level aftermarket speakers, $500 - $1000 = H/U + good speakers and sub (or whatever you think) etc etc

With rears, I've done a Phreddy mod recently, and at the moment have some ok pioneer components in the front, which are amped at 75w (these will eventually live in the rear once I buy new splits for the front) and stocks running off the H/U at 15w in the rear. I swear I can't hear a thing from the rears running off the H/U, even if I fade it so only they are playing its like a mouse fart till you get over 3/4 volume....

....really gotta buy those splits.

[holdenboy]

Yeah, i might do a thread like you say above danja.....will have to wait untill i get abit of time though, probably over the next 3 or 4 days.

As far as the rears go danja......it dosent suprise me that you can hardly hear them, which is why i say dont worry too much about rears unless you really want to or have a set sitting around already.

[danja]

Mate, if it took 3-4 months it would still be a good thing. You and I both know how often that sort of thing gets asked.

I do like having functional rears, like you say they are only worth about 10% of the total system quality, but they do give some rear fill, which I like. Sub goes a long way, but some mid-range in the rear I like. I tend not to spend money rear speakers though, I just use what I have hanging around, like these TS-D's

[padrickz88]

where about in melbourne are you from? if your from the north/west i have a mate that works at JB across the road from highpoint so he would do a good deal

if you live over on the other side of melbourne it wouldnt really be worth it to be honest.

[2LOUD2OLD]

FHRX already have a what system for $XXXX on their website. also gives a good rundown of brands and models too.

as for the OP also dont be afraid to buy 2nd hand. just do your research and know what you are buying first.
for speakers visit as many specialist stores as you can, not just one and listen to every speaker in your price range. make sure to take a bunch of your favourite speakers that you know well with you. no point auditioning speaakers with music you dont listen to. or you can go the next step which is even better is to listen to other people's cars with speakers you are interested in. a demo board isnt the best suited for auditioning speakers, they do have their uses but tell you nothing about how the speaakers will sound in a car. granted different cars can change the way a speaker sounds as it comes down to the acoustic properties of the car as well as the install.

for amps, yes a 2 channel and a mono would be best however you can also go for either a 3 or 4 channel amp. takes up less space and is generally cheaper. just another option.

also you didnt mention if you would be paying for instal or DIY (sorry if you did and i just missed it) if you DIY it can save more money that can also be spent on better gear, but only do it if you're confident. last thing you want to do is ruin your gear due to improper installation.

and finally, if possible try to fit in some dynamat in your budget. this you can easily do yourself, DO NOT pay to get it done, it is a piece of pi$$ to do yourself. it will make a huge difference to the sound and will help you get the most out of whatever speakers you buy if used in the doors. als look at sealing your service holes in the doors. but once again very easy to do yourself and no need to pay someone else, all you need is some duct tape and 3-6mm mdf

[holdenboy]

Thanks 2LOUD2OLD for your input on this, another persons opinion is almost always a good thing.