6G Celicas Forums

thanks for basically describing my system, only i dont have the rears...i have some other 6.5"s that i picked up... and my 10" is a 12. and i second it, i havent installed it all, but ive heard it all, and i agree...i think its pretty nice.

I guess I 'll throw in my 2 cents as well.

First off, I respectfully disagree with what a couple posters said:

1) Sensitivity IS related to db. Sensitivity is the measurement of how loud a speaker plays given an amount of power. This is not a big deal if you're interested more in SQ but if you're looking to get the most volume for your buck then this is a spec to consider.

2) DO NOT match speakers and amps by their PEAK power rating. Peak power is what it can handle for a split second while RMS power is what it can handle continuously. I've seen peak power ratings for speakers and an amp that were the same while the RMS rating for the amp was almost DOUBLE that of the speakers. Try to match the RMS ratings and it won't hurt to have the amp be a little bit more.

3) As someone else said, I would not be too concerned about matching brands. Although Alpine does make good stuff, they're not the only ones. Some other good brands to check into are Eclipse, JL, Boston Acoustics, Diamond Audio and Precision Power. I'm sure you'll get many recommendations from many people, just do some research and keep an open mind about brands that you've never heard of before.

Some final tips:

When looking for a hu, look for a pre-out voltage of 4 volts or better

Stick with the factory rear speakers and spend the extra money on better front comps

Consider using the stereo's own amp to power the rears thus possibly eliminating the need for a second amp or at the very least allowing you to bridge to get more power

so this is how I should set it up right?

1st:
CD Player and Rears (factory)

2nd:
Sup and Components on the amp

What happens if I add rears, does that mean I have to add another amp because on the amp I'm getting only has 2 speaker connections on the back.

see:
http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/products/...RDM105-i-1.jpeg

I'll most likely go with the Type X components thou but I doubt I buy them this week it may by a week or 2 for that.

This is basicly my problem now, this and enclosure. I just don't know which type of enclosure to get, type: 1, 2, or 3.

With the HU RCA voltage, yes, higher will be better, but >4V isnt entirely neccessary. It will give a slightly cleaner signal, but I doubt you'd be able to hear this. Antyhing really above 2V would be adequate.

That amp I'm sure if a mono amp, i.e. only for running the sub/s. To run components, you'd need either another 2 channel amp, 4 channel amp (either to run the rears as well), or only a 4 channel amp, to run both the fronts and sub.

This post has been edited by ShadowFX: Mar 9, 2006 - 6:28 AM

ok, I'm starting to get it. Mono is ment only for woofers. So I can't hook up a speaker to it. So for me to hook the speakers up (including rears aka aftermarket) then I need another amp which has 4 channels. This right or did I misread?

This post has been edited by JonCars17: Mar 9, 2006 - 6:47 AM

Thats right. A sub only carries one channel. It reproduces a mono sound.

Fronts and rears carry two channels each, i.e. stereo sound. So to run 2 sets of speakers (not sub), i.e. fronts AND rears, you need 2 channels for each set, which means 4 channels for your 2 sets of stereo speakers (A Sub is also a speaker btw.)

This post has been edited by ShadowFX: Mar 9, 2006 - 8:27 AM

Does that mean I can have 2 subs per mono amp?

The reason why I ask is because I may want to add another sub later on.

Sorry for all the questions

This post has been edited by JonCars17: Mar 9, 2006 - 9:51 AM

Yes you can BUT the amp has to be 2ohm stable.

If you look at mono amps on Crutchfield, a lot of them will list a 4ohm and a 2ohm rating, for example 150 watts x 1 @ 4ohms and 300watts x1 @2ohms. What you will do is wire the 2 subs in parallel. This is basically hooking up 2 speakers to the same terminals. It may seem strange that you can do this but you can, as long as the amp can handle the load.

I'm sure you've discovered by now that there are A LOT of different stereo configurations that you can have.
For a very good SQ setup I would recommend 1)a very good head unit 2) as good a set of comps that you can afford 3) a high quality amp ( or amps ) and 4) at least 1 sub.

What I was suggesting in my previous post about running the rears off of the head unit is that MOST people with a good set of comps up front fade heavily to the front so that the rears are just providing ambient sound.
IF you decide to go this route, then why waste an external amplifier powering the rears when they're not using much power? My suggestion is to get a high power, high quality 4 channel amp and use 2 channels to power the comps and the other 2 channels to power the sub(s). Then use the head unit's built-in amp to power the rear speakers.

Again, there are a lot of different ways you can go but YOU have to decide what's the best setup for you.

what do you mean by "A very good unit"? The one I chose isn't the cheapest but isn't the highest either.

on choosing an amp, do I add up the RMS like say I have a speaker at 70 rms and another for 75, do I need a amp of atleast 150 RMS or an amp of 75 rms minimum? This is my main problem, this is why I chose a mono amp to begin with 1000 rms at 2 ohms.

As far as sound qaulity goes, what is the difference between a mono amp and a normal amp other than what was stated above (meaning mono is meant for subs only)?.

This post has been edited by JonCars17: Mar 9, 2006 - 4:11 PM

By very good unit, I mean a well-respected brand like Alpine or Eclipse that has 4 volt (or better) pre-outs, high signal to noise ratio, wide frequency response and low total harmonic distortion. Generally, buying one of those respected brand names gets you all those things but it's always good to actually check the specs. If you're buying ffom Crutchfield, they should have all those specs available for you on their site. This way, you can compare, say a $200 Alpine and a $400 Alpine and see if the price difference is just features.

Amplifiers are rated to deliver power into a certain number of channels. Most are 2 channels but there are also 4,5 and 6 channel, and mono amps are -you guessed it - 1 channel. You'll see these ratings expressed as 75 watts x 2, 100 watts x 4, 300 watts x 1, etc. If you have 2 speakers rated 70 rms and another pair rated 75 rms and are looking to power them all with the same amp then I would look for an amp that is rated at 75 watts rms x 4 channel.

As far as sound quality of amps goes, I was just trying to make the point that there is more to an amplifier than the power it puts out. There's a lot of junk out there that promises lots of power but if you're amplifying a noisy signal then all you'll have is very loud noise. Check out the THD, signal to noise and frequency numbers and more importantly read user reviews online.

Ask around, search the internet and get a general idea of what quality brands to look for BUT go listen to these brands if you can. Check out every car-stereo shop in your area and listen to all the different head units, speakers and amps that you possibly can. The bottom line is that you have to be happy with how it sounds.

Like runriot said, you just have to make sure you have the correct load shown to the amplifier. You can (theoretically) run as many subs to the amp as you want, given that the overal impedance given by all the subs is safe for the amp to run.

Adding a sub later on is generally a hassle. Unless you plan on running your amp now at 4ohm, i.e. you run it now at 2 ohm, its tough to add another sub, to give you an overall impedance of 2 ohm to the amp again.

q1 - there isn't really a point of putting an 8 inch sub up front unless you got the money and time to do it cause you would have either find a really really shallow 8 or do alittle fabrication to your door panel by cutting out the ciricle and then adding like a .75 inch ring or so so you can still roll down your windows and then dynamating your doors to keep for to much rattling

q2- the cheapest way to do it make still make to pretty damn good would be to get a kenwood excleon head unit problably one for around 250 or so for componets either boston acustics or alpine type s and rears try to stay with the same brand. note - if you are going to add a componet set then you will need to amp your high end i recommend the new alpine 4 channels not to expensive round 199 i think for one that will more then you could ever want. for amp i would reccomnd um... either an alpine for 199 or possibly a directed d800 for about 199 i would stay with the alpine. then either buy an alpine type s 10 or i would reccomend a jl 10w1 for $120 or a 10w3 either the v2 or v3 they run for i think 199 or so then a custom box that cost like 100 - 125

q3 - get well known brands don't go cheap and try to stay away from rockford poducts cheap products pioneer, dual, lightening audio, and cheap sony.

q4 - like i said try to get a well known brand on amps you get what you pay for if you pay 100 for an amp that does 1400w won't work for a ten you won't need more power then atleast 400w max so i would use just a decent amp remember if you pay like $300 for a 500 watt amp its should be pretty good

q5 - dynamat dynamat dynamat tighten spoiler, dynamat whole car, and can i say dynamat type products

hope this helped if you have ne other questions email me audio_earthquake@yahoo.com peace

kindof late but thanks anyway

this is the system I'm getting:

CD Player:
Alpine CDA-9856
Price: $200
RMS Watts: 18 Watts, Peak Power 50 x 4 channels

Component Speakers:
Alpine Type-X SPX-177R
Price: $450
RMS Watts: 75, Peak Power: 300

Speakers:
Alpine Type-R SPR-17LP
Price: $150
RMS Watts: 50, Peak Power: 250

Sub:
Alpine SWR-1242D
Price: $200
RMS Watts: 500, Peak Power: 1500

1st Amp:
Alpine MRV-F545
Price: $650
100 watts RMS x 4 at 4 ohms (150 watts RMS x 4 at 2 ohms), 300 watts RMS x 2 bridged output at 4 ohms (4-ohm stable in bridged mode)

2nd Amp:
Alpine MRD-M1005
Price: $550
RMS Watts: 700 x 1 at 4 ohms/1000 x 1 at 2 ohms

I've already bought the 2nd Amp (mono amp), Head Unit and the 12" SubWoofer.

i have 2 type r alpines (1500 watt max)and 2 power acoustik (980 wat) amps one to each of them i got my car alongwith the system last august ive had the amps up the whole way as long as ive owned the car and never had any problems. i think as long as u dont go over peak watts u will be fine

mines standard except the lil sub in the rear seat lol that is barely noticable