So in my car I currently have:
Pioneer AVH p4000 head unit
Alpine SPX 13 Pro Components in the front running on a 2 channel amp (Jensen Power400)
TMA 500.1 amp (500W mono amp for single sub)
Cerwin Vega sub (not sure what model)
I have a budget of $400-500. I'm looking to upgrade my system a bit but not sure what direction to go into, I'm looking to get the best sound quality out of what I've got and whatever I can improve it with, I would definitely prefer a clean sounding system to a louder one.
First though I have a question about the rear deck speakers; would it be worth it to replace these? The components I have in the front sound awesome and clean on their own, but when I run the rear speakers the sound seems to get to muddy and the rears distort a "low" volume. Although running the front components seems to have less of a "full" sound. Would I be missing anything (such as fill in the music) if I were just to ditch the rears altogether? If upgrading was a better idea, then I guess which 6.5s would be a good pair that I could run straight off the head unit?
So I guess the options I've been considering are
1. Replace the rear deck speakers (hopefully I can go without these, what do you guys think?)
-If I do this though I would run them off of the head unit
2. New sub and box (possibly a single sub that I could run with the same amp)
3. Dampening maybe kickpods as well
- My last thought was to go with dampening the doors and the trunk. If I did this though I would probably change around where my components currently are and look at moving them into the kickpanel as well. They currently are in the door where the stock speaker was.
-And yea yea i know i should just make my own kickpods for them, but I don't know If I can put myself up to another project like that with my schedule right now. I had made some fiberglass kicks for my old cavalier, but I have since gotten a newer cavalier that's a manual and they wouldn't fit with the clutch. And I know if I end up making kicks I'd hate myself if I didn't put the time to do a quality build, but I have very little experience with fiberglass as of yet. If I got kickpods I would most likely go for the plastic ones you can buy on crutchfield or wherever and just fiberglass the back of them.
Well any help would be appreciated, sorry this is so longwinded
Well with about $500 and not wanting to replace too much, I recommend dampening to be FIRST on the list. Dampen your doors and make sure to cover as many of the access holes as you can. Try to completely seal that door. It will give a much better midbass response.
After that, focus a lot on tuning, and a better amp for your fronts. I could get you into a nice 2 channel Rainbow iPaul amp if you wish, but there are some other midlevel amps that are going to be better than the one you have.
if the sub is doing its job picking up the lows, and the box is fit for it, focus on tuning that amp and keeping the amp/sub combo. If it aint broke, why fix it?
As for the rears, remove them completely and dampen your rear deck really well. Focus first on the rear deck and doors. With anything left over, or any more purchased, dampen the trunk lid next and anywhere you are getting panel resonance.
Your head unit and amps are where all the music is coming from to go to your speakers. Make sure that tuning and settings are where you spend the most time. You can get gold sound from dirt products if you know what you are doing. And you already have some nice front comps and a half decent head unit. With the right amp for your fronts, and the right tuning know how, I think you can improve greatly.
if you want price quotes on some nice cascade sound dampening, or a higher end amp for your fronts, let me know.
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
Liquor is not a drug John, liquor is not a drug.
Yea man be I'd interested an amp.
And how much dampening (sq ft) do you think it would take to do the doors and rear deck? I was looking at getting something like the bulk pack 40 sq ft pack of Second Skin damplifier or the damplifier pro.
As far as tuning goes, do you have any resources you could point me to in order to understand it better, I have a basic idea but really any experience doing it.
Yea man be I'd interested an amp.
And how much dampening (sq ft) do you think it would take to do the doors and rear deck? I was looking at getting something like the bulk pack 40 sq ft pack of Second Skin damplifier or the damplifier pro.
As far as tuning goes, do you have any resources you could point me to in order to understand it better, I have a basic idea but really any experience doing it.
If you go with Second Skin, get the damplifier pro. it's a FAR better product. The bulk pack should be more than enough for both doors and the rear deck, and probably trunk lid too.
As for tuning, there are resources here and there on the internet. Check out caraudio.com/forum to start. A lot in tuning will come with practice, but you can get a rough idea as a beginner, just need to know a good general idea of how to do it
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
Liquor is not a drug John, liquor is not a drug.
Thanks for the advice, I decided to go with the bulk pack of damplifier pro.
I was looking around at some different amps really quick; have you had any experience with the Focal Solid 2? It's a little on the upper end of my price range though. Another one I was looking at was the Alpine PDX 2.150. Anything else you would recommend? I'd like to keep it under $300
And if you have some time, JLAudioCavalier, could you answer another question for my friend? You seem to really know alot about car audio and I appreciate the help you've given me so far. My friend has a 2005 Jeep Cherokee and wants to put in an amp and two ten inch subs. He's looking to spend around $500. He was looking at getting two Alpine type R's and an m1000 amp. He has at pioneer hu already (I don't know what model). I told him he'll probably end up spending more than that, but he can probably get away with it if he's getting it all from online. However, would he be better off doing something like getting a 4 channel amp to run a set of 6.5s in the front in the front and a single sub in the rear? would his budget cover that?
Thanks for the help
$500 budget? I'll see what I can come up with. need more info on his goals. Just all around making the music cleaner, crisper, louder and fuller? I will poke around. I'm getting swamped with purchases and installs locally right now. I literally, in the last week, have booked a Mustang, Supra, Impreza, Civic, and Sequoia lol.
Anyway, as for your amp question, you are looking for a 2 channel with similar power to that PDX 2.150 for $300? Sure... here are some to think about:
Rainbow iPaul 2 channel is at the TOP of my list. I will double check the price of it with my dealer though. I THINK it's around $300, but might be more.
Those focal Solid2 amps aren't bad, but I think they're ugly as sin lol.
Here are some that I found online to give you an idea of slightly better:
1.
http://www.soundsolutionsaudio.com/store/products/Sundown-Audio-SAX%252d125.2.html (OMG Brian, I recommended Sundown! lol)
2.
Much higher end, but $100 over budget lol
http://www.woofersetc.com/p597/REF3502--Zapco-Reference-2-Ch-350-Watt-Amplifier.htm
3.
http://www.woofersetc.com/p244/300-2--JL-Audio-2-Ch-Amplifier.htm
4.
And here's the iPaul
http://www.woofersetc.com/p7469/iPaul-2400--Rainbow-iPaul-2Channel-800-Watt-Amplifier.htm
That is a little over budget on that site, I am fairly sure my dealer is cheaper though(and ACTUALLY authorized. There's a long story, but woofersetc is NOT an authorized dealer for Rainbow products. It's all overstock)
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
Liquor is not a drug John, liquor is not a drug.
The price my dealer just gave me is amazingly unbeatablke. Will pm u tonight after work
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
Liquor is not a drug John, liquor is not a drug.
Check out anything Zed audio, old or new. if you go newer, get it with the burr-brown on it.
Weebel wrote:Im to smart to go to strip clubs.
Any decent made zed amp is gunna get pricey lol but they usually are stout and quality buit amps!. Btw, serious about that pricing my dealer gave me on that rainbow ipaul. Its in your given budget. And u can get it in all glkoss white instead of the black/silver.
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
Liquor is not a drug John, liquor is not a drug.
JLAudioCavalier wrote:Any decent made zed amp is gunna get pricey lol but they usually are stout and quality buit amps!. Btw, serious about that pricing my dealer gave me on that rainbow ipaul. Its in your given budget. And u can get it in all glkoss white instead of the black/silver.
That's the truth! How are the rainbow amps?
Weebel wrote:Im to smart to go to strip clubs.
AMAZING. I really like these iPaul amps. Like any higher and SQ oriented amp, tons of adjustments and fine tuning can be done right at the amp. Anything from their 4 channel to their mono, just adjustable as hell, sleek, simple, compact, and anything you would expect from an amp in or above it's price range. I don't recommend specific brands for any reason other than knowing how well it performs. I'm not endorsed lol.
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
Liquor is not a drug John, liquor is not a drug.
i say a good set of components up front ampd of corse and no rears
rears are just fill and for those back seat drivers we all dont like
i run components in my doors and 2 10"s in the trunk sounds mint and clean
if anything i say just upgradeing to higher quality stuff is all that i would do
Well since he is on a tight budget...anybody had any luck with "peel n seal" its roofing sealer that is real close to dampiners,and its cheap at any home depot. I have a friend that used it in his maxima and it gained him 1.5db. I don't know how that stuff would work as far as sound quality goes but I did ok in spl...he did from the firewall back in his car for like 50$...I did fatt matt and did my doors,sunroof and rear deck and spent like 150 on the fatt matt. But I'm not sure if anybody else has had any luck with the roofing stuff?
Wow dude no. Thought u were in the audio business? There are a million reasons why audio damper is better. Its specifically made for the application for one. Also, peel and seel will smell and not stick as good. Everything about it is inferior. Then the foil backing is a useless joke. If u can't afford real damper products, keep saving. Never come on this forum acting like u know a ton about audio(which u might) and then recommend a roofing material for car vibration damper.
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
Liquor is not a drug John, liquor is not a drug.
im all for going cheap on dampening products. something me and jl disagree on. but even i won't suggest the crap thats at hd or lowes. it smells like tar and most of the glue on that stuff doesnt hold up and will start falling off panels after a short time. if you want to go cheap on damping but still get decent stuff, look into things like what partsexpress.com sells. its basically like the first years dynamat slightly less mass so you have to put more on, but its still quite cheap.
with your budget and wanting the best sound id just sit in the car and decide what is lacking in the system. i agree if the box is built right and your not getting any noise in the sub from the amp then work on your mids and highs since thats where 90% of what you hear comes from anyway. a good quality amp (if i was looking for new stuff rainbow would be on my list to possibly buy) and high end componet setup in front. kicks if you have the cash for pods since you dont want to make your own. honestly though if you want the sq that kicks provide your much better off building your own kicks so you can work the angles to get the best sound.
so do some damping to get rid of vibration. rattles and vibration really bring a quality system down fast.
ditch the rear speakers
concentrate on your front stage with a good amp and componet set.
worry about your sub later down the line.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sndsgood/ https://www.facebook.com/#!/Square1Photography
Jason said some good stuff there. But jason, I know ur cheap, but have you ever tried ss damp pro or cascade vb? Just saying, its quite a bit more but the material, glue, and backing are all worlds better. It offsets the price quite well when you see how muvh less you need
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
Liquor is not a drug John, liquor is not a drug.
i agree with jl and sndsgood
get some descent damp material and save up for some good components and and nice amp for them then worry about the sub
but thats just my $0.2
I'll even say with the right amp and tuning, keep tos components. They can sound great. Those type x comps are one of the very few alpine products that I think are awesome, outside their head units
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
Liquor is not a drug John, liquor is not a drug.
JLAudioCavalier wrote:Jason said some good stuff there. But jason, I know ur cheap, but have you ever tried ss damp pro or cascade vb? Just saying, its quite a bit more but the material, glue, and backing are all worlds better. It offsets the price quite well when you see how muvh less you need
havnt used the ss damp stuff but when i need to spray i use cascade vb, thats what i used for back around the rear wheel well that i couldn't get to with damping sheets, each side got a can or so each and then acoustical foam shoved back up there as well.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sndsgood/ https://www.facebook.com/#!/Square1Photography
the vb also comes in mat form.
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
Liquor is not a drug John, liquor is not a drug.
