just a grasshopper snatching at pebbles

[omardeth]

hi all , i am new here and have some questions about car audio .

i will start with alittle background . in my old car , elantra gt hatchback 2002. i had a system that had a panny head unit , infinity 6002i's in the corners and they ran off a audiobahn 4004t , i had a 2002t running a 10 memphis sub . but it was an ok system but didn't quite give me the volume i wanted .

now i have sold this car with the system to my son . now i am looking to do a system in my new car , elantra gt 05 hatchback . i would like to keep the cost as low as possible with 2k being the top i want to spend .

i think i want to go with an eclipes 5425 head unit .

in talking to the people in the shops a few have told me i need to really put my money into the front speakers . my car has factory components in it so i will replace them with components . now i was told that i really want metal domed tweeters because of the music i listen to , hard rock , megadeth , anthrax , metallica , mostly 80's kinda stuff . i was told that silk domes can't handle that type of music well at high volumes , that was the problem with the last system it just didn't give me the volume i wanted .

now i have looked at these speakers so far

focal 165 v2's
CDT Audio CL-61T
jbl GTO606C
Boston Acoustics SL60
Cerwin-Vega V-MAG 6502
MB Quart RCE 216
orion c6.2 or p6.2
DLS PS6

now i know thats alot to list but i am not sure what to do there . i would like to keep the price down so VALUE is what i am after with great sound .

for the rear speaker i wil just get some 2ways for fill .

as for the amp i am not sure if i want to go with a 4 channel and send it to the corners or bridge it and just send it to the fronts and the the rears off the head unit . or just go a with a 2 channel amp and run the rear off the deck .what do you guys think ?

i am lost when it coes to the amps . i have looked at jl amps , alpine and orion and infinity amps .

as for subs i want to go with two 10's in some custom boxes i will have built so i don't have to lose my hatch space .

here are some pics of the hatch area so you can get an idea of what i am talking about .

hatch

left side


right side


where the carpet is folded up is where the floor comes up to get to the spare tire .i have 9" of depth on the left side , driver , and 11" on the right side . i would like to keep the hatch open so i can still access the spare . i plan on mounting the amps on each side of the hatch area if your wondering .

well this has been long winded and i thank you for reading and adding any imput you can . and we will see how many know where the title comes from . i am showing my age here hahahah .

[Ryan from Ohio]

Welcome to the board.

As far as your system thoughts go...

I would advise keeping some money tied into the front speakers. If you got a 2K budget I would dedicate $200-300 on the fronts. This will provide you with a solid front stage.

I have used CDT before with good success. The ones you mentioned can be had on thezeb.com for $150- which you may know. They are known to sound good but just dont get loud as in dB way. Just something to think about.

As for Amps that all depends on subs/speakers you get. Some brands are more value based than others in certain watts ranges.

Subs all depend on your budget. A hot seller right now is the Ascendant Audio Atlas sub- for $105

http://www.ascendantaudio.com

Also Resonant Engineering makes some decent cheap subs- the RE series.

http://mmxpress.com/jbl/index.htm
They have the JBL GTO 755.6II for $303, a good deal. Plenty of clean power! This will power a set of 160WRMS comps bridged or 60WRMS x4. Just all around good amp for an excellent price.

The box...

We got a few box gurus lurking around (SPL wise). My sugguestion is to put the box aiming towards the tail pushed all the way up against the seats. Have a port firing up into the cabin.

I would not reccomend putting the subs on the sides facing in towards eachother or pointing in at all...

[omardeth]

thanks for the fast reply .

Thanks for helping me chop that list down . Loud is what i am wanting , within reason . what would you sugest then . i have heard the jl and ba speakers . but to be honost i really don't want to spend that kinda money . so what do you think i should do ?

as for the amp . i had 50 in the corners in the last car and it didn't give me what i was looking for . do you think 60 a corner will be that much better ?

[Ryan from Ohio]

Well consider this- Almost all the sound you will hear except the bass is coming from the fronts. The front is the best place to set a sound stage. Now why wouldnt the frotn speaker be deserving of a large chunk of the budget? They are 95% of what you will be hearing :)

Theres a few good sets out there floating around the $250 mark. Sooner has a thread going on right now looking for the "best" to him comp set in this price range...

As far as power- power is dependant on what is needed. If the speakers are rated up to 175 WRMS then 160 will work. If they are rated 100 WRMS 160 wont work, but 60 will

[sinister audio]

for the hard rock music youll defintly want to go with a harder tweeter, in my mustang i have bravox kevlar comps with the aluminum tweeter and those are awsome for like when you want to hear dimebag do a solo or some other hard stuff like that. and i would probaly go with some atlas subs too for the price. or if you wanted to stretch your budget id go with some elevation audio pro 12"s they kick really fast and hard great for rock and get loud but they are 350 each so you probaly wont want them, DLS makes some really nice SQ subs but they come with a higher price tag and they also have some awsome comps.

[6three6mafia6]

welcome to the board with 2,000 $ you can get a TOP OF THE LINE system. Eclipse hu's are very nice definently get one, for speakers i would do a mb quart or a focal or some rainbows, and i would send them there full power, jl audio makes nice amps, i would definently do some inexpensive coaxials in the rear, i have found in my car with so much bass it helps out, i would recommend for subwoofers some adire audio koda 10's(when they come out) resonant engineering se's,jl audio w6v2's,alpine type R's. These are nice subs all of them very much on the same level, the cheapets ones are the type R, i owned the last model(new one is MUCH better) and i tought it was a great sub(for a 100$ best deal). Go for a class D amp for you subs it will be less of a load on youre car.

Bottom line if i were you and i had 2000 i would focus spending most of that in my front stage, i would personally do some rainbows , they are REALLY high end speakers.

[AS&S191]

Howdy all!

Friend of Omar's here & lookin' to help a friend's ears bleed.....(what are friends for, right?). I'm old-school so I'll leave some of my old school opinions out of this, but.........

I noticed a lot of folks have *specific* recommendations for subs, but only *vague* recommendations on the comps........(except for the CDT's). Since Omar's looking to "step up" from what he just stepped out of, I'm gonna push that he go for some higher-wattage comps. Of the short-list, I really like the specs on those Focals. I don't really see anything pushin' much more wattage than those & if Focals are really a quality speaker, then even better.

I tried to push a Sparkomatic head unit on him with some Crunch amps & speakers, but when I told him it totaled about $40 used on ebay, he questioned the quality............whooaoaaaa???..........the friggin' gall!!!

Anyway, I generally agree with the rest here. I think cheap subs & cheap 2ways in the back are gonna suit him fine. He needs serious SPL in front. I'm not a hard tweeter fan so I still recommend soft to him, but it's his choice.

Oh......one more thing.......with so much power, I don't know that I think it's a good idea to run the rear fill 2ways just off the head unit. I think to contribute to even more fullness of sound at such a high SPL, I'd rather see those rears pushed off an amp too, but I'm not in the game anymore & never desired so much SPL, so maybe y'all can recommend which way he go in that regard. (or maybe try HU power first & add amp later if no-joy?)

~Old-school~

[omardeth]

thanks for the imput guys . i understand what your saying about putting the money in the front speakers . ii will go with that plan . it is just what speakers give the best value in price and how they sound . to be honost i have never heard of some of these brands before the last couple of days . and i am not really sure what to go with . i have heard the focal 165v2 and the Boston Acoustics SL60 and the jlxr 650csi here locally but other than that i have never heard the other brands .

i will be getting the equipment online mostlikely , other than the eclipe hu . i found the 5425 for 229 local . if i can get it online cheaper i will do that .

for the amps i was thinking going with the orion 8004 . what do you think of that ? and run it to all the corners . or should i just get a 2 channel and run the rears off the deck and put a crossover on it so it is mostly mids in the rear and let the subs do the base ?

as for subs i really don't wants 12's i don't think i will be able to get them to fit where i want them in the hatch . so i will be going with 10's . i haven't gotten to that point yet picking them out i want to get the front and the amp for them all down in stone first ..

ohh and thanks for all the imput guys ....

[GlassWolf]

nice. a guy with a tape measure! heh love accurate information.

I'd look at the CDT, Focal, and DLS of what you've listed. Listen to them and see what you like.
You're going to want an amplifier to drive the fronts as well. don't bother using the head unit if you want volume and clarity both.
Kicker, MTX, JBL.. all make good and affordable amplifiers.

Look at going with a single 12" or 15" sub in a ported enclosure (2cu ft or 3cu ft respectively) with 300-600 watts RMS of power from a class D amp to drive that sub. That will most likely keep you from needing a larger alternator while still giving you ample power for some good volume while driving.
for amplifiers for subs, lots and lots of choices. forget audioblah and look at any DEI company like PPI, Orion, Directed etc, or Kicker or MTX again. for subs, Ascendant Audio, Alpine Type R, Kicker CompVR.. plenty of good subs under $200-250.

[sinister audio]

oh ya another good sub choice would be elevation audio comp 10/12s the 10s are only 100 bucks each and and need about 150-200 watts and they are pretty decent for low dollar subs.