Ok so im planning on upgrading my stock headunit/speakers in my 2005 scion xB - i have read a few other posts regarding the same topic and have gained a general understanding (or so i think) of what i should do.. i listen to heavy bass electronic music , very very bass heavy - and im wanting some high quality sound, comparable to the sound of bose home theatre systems, but in my xB :D And the cost isnt too much of an issue, quality is whats important.. And i dont really know anything about car audio, other than what i have come to learn the past few days reading up on all this.. but this is what im thinkin..
replace the headunit with an Eclipse (not sure which one, was thinking the cd3200 over the cd1200 cuz the 3200 has more power, but dunno if its worth the price diff).. and replace the front 2 speakers with Infinity Kappas (http://www.infinitysystems.com/car/p...=US&Region=USA) <-- are those what i need?? THEN hah, i was going to replace the 2 rear speakers with Elemental Designs EU700s 6.5" subs -- and to do all this i would need an amp correct??? so i was thinking either Eclipse, Orion , or Elemental Designs for that... but dont know what kind of amp i need ... Any help would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks in advance, Smiley

 

If you like bass, the 6 1/2's aren't going to cut it. They're good for mid-bass, but for the lows below 50 Hz a larger sub works best. Also, they may be too deep to mount in the stock rear locations. I'd run a fullrange front and rear like the infinity you picked. If space is an issue, try the under-seat box, either this:

http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_...roducts_id=464

or this:

http://www.shopatron.com/products/pr...r=94435/1451.0

Audioformz also makes a sub and amp enclosure that replaces the rear cargo floor. You do lose the spare tire for doing this and they don't come with a sub.

http://www.audioformz.com/xbrack.asp

For the head unit, make sure it has three sets of preamp outputs. The Eclipse CD3200 is the cheapest with three sets of preamps, or you can go with the Alpine CDA105 for $200.

For amps, if you're sticking with Elemental Design the NINe.4 will work for the infinity's and the NINe.2 would work for the sub box.

 

k so i need an amp for the front and rear and another amp for the sub?

 

the kappas are nice here is what i want in my box soon as i can get everything. going to ..to give a example..

deck: kenwood or alpine

front: kappa component set

rear:kappa

sub:one 12 jl audio w6/7

amps: 3 jl audio or maybe soundstream amps

 

Deep, heavy, electronic, very bassy... you're speaking my language there buddy.

Main thing about head units... don't bother looking at how much power they provide. If you can get the same features from different units where one has less power than the other for a much better price... go with the lower priced unit.

Sound staging is huge if you want to do it right. Depending on the type of home audio you are looking at, a bose equivalence may not be worth it... you might want to strive for better. Vettereddie made some great suggestions as well. Here's what I've done for my system...

Head unit I'm using is still the Kenwood listed in my profile... the internal amplifier on the unit is off. The front components I've got are bi-amped from a JL 300/4 using TR-650CSi and the tweeters have been upgraded to the silk domes for cleaner audacity. The rear speakers are not connected anymore, but it's the same set. For the subs I'm pushing 2 JL 8W7s from a 500/1 amp. To enhance the quality of the sound, I've installed more than 120sq ft. high quality sound deadening (hushmat) on every surface I can. The back hatch has been deadened even more with 6+ pounds of polyfill. The hatch area and around the tires has multiple layers of sound deadening material. On top of that covering all of the floor is a closed cell foam barrier to help eliminate the higher pitched white noise. The same closed cell foam is covering the doors. Keep one thing in mind with all of this though.. you can't build a listening room out of a car... but you can get close enough to make it worth the expense.

 

hey spr0k3t how do ya like the jl sub's? my buddy has a 10 w3 and my brother has a 12w6 and sound so dam nice...i dont think ive ever meet ya i was with kc scikotics,

 

The JLs are the cleanest subs I've had in my car. I've had Rockford, Memphis, Alpine, Pioneer, MTX, and even the junk like Audiobahn for less than a day. If you are ever back in KC area... drop me a note and I'll let you have a listen.

 

True, JL's do have capabilities but depends on where you're going with them. I've got MTX highs and mids (great), and a T9512-04 on a TA8502 2-ch amp (unbelievable bass!) I ran a JLW6 & W7 (superb sound) but switched back to my T9512.

Here's an idea to get you thinkin':


JLW7 vs.
MTXT9510-44
Mechanical Parameters
Xmax
(one-way)
.90"
1.00"
MTX has 10% greater linear excursion
Xmech
(peak to peak)
2.8"
4.00"
MTX has 42% greater peak mechanical excursion
Electrical Parameters
Power (RMS/peak)
500/1000
Watts
750/1500
Watts
MTX has 50% greater power handling
Enclosure Design
Smallest Usable
Enclosure Volume
(sealed/vented)
1 ft3/1.125 ft3
0.625 ft3/0.75 ft3
MTX requires 37% less enclosure volume
Additional Data
Voice Coil Diameter
2.75"
3.5"
MTX voice coil is 27% larger
Cone/Dust Cap Material
Black Poly
Aluminum Vapor Deposition Over Carbon/Exp Poly
MTX Carbon Expanded Poly Cone is stiffer without adding weight
Surround Material
Foam
NBR Rubber
MTX rubber surround handles vehicle's environmental extremes
Aluminum Shorting Ring
No
Yes
MTX Shorting Ring reduces distortion/acts as heatsink
Heat Sink
No
Yes
MTX heat sink is additional protection. High SPL woofers get HOT and heat has to go somewhere
Installation
Complex
Standard
JLW7 uses time-consuming o-ring mounting with non-standard hole and screw pattern. Requires installation training. Some disassembly required. MTX uses a standard, intuitive hole pattern, can be installed in about the same time as traditional woofers, and uses installer-designed terminals
MSRP
JL10W7 $699.00 JL12W7 $849.00 JL13W7 $999.00
T9510-44 $564.95
T9512-44 $674.95
T9515-44 $774.95
MTX Thunder9500 is a better value. You do the math!


I'm not saying go ditch JL and go MTX, we all have our perspective on what we like in sounds and some of us have deaf ears on others. I got a Pioneer HU that I'm not thinking of replacing any time soon, MTX Separates for the F/R running on a TC4004 4-ch and the T9512-04
running on a TA8502 2-ch w/1.0 F Cap. All under $600.

Remember...Sd x Xmax = Volume Displacement

Volume Displacement Is To A Sub What Horsepower Is To An Engine

Hope this helps and hope I don't sound like an A$$...LOL!

 

OMG! You said: "w/1.0 F Cap."

No caps please... If I needed a peak/valley normalization filter, I wouldn't use the amps I've got. Either that, or I'd break out the old Adcom rack filters I've got and rig them up for DC power. Even with the extremely high quality caps specifically made for the power/draw I'm running, I'd still use them as nothing more than doorstops.

Seriously though... MTX is definitely of the better speakers in the bunch, however when you break it down to listening to classical music such as a four part string concierto... I found it hard to determine the difference between the violin and the viola. There was either too much warmth/ambiance mixed with undertones for the violin recording or the viola fealt too bright with no body behind it. In a double blind test with the MTX components I listened to vs the JL components, there was definitely a huge difference. Now then, I'm not your average car/audiophile. I'm more into the accurate reproduction of studio quality recording than I am to just listening to the radio. I just like to do it while driving. I believe a silk dome tweeter and foam surrounds has something behind the ambien reproduction.

One thing you need to be careful of is marketing speak you read in comparisons (especially from the company website in question)... For example... a larger magnet does not magically mean the results are going to give better quality, same holds true for a smaller magnet. It's the neodymium iron boron value you need to look at (NdFeB), if you want to compare magnet envy sizes... generally you find that part marked like so: "N42SH". The later part of the indicator determines what type of operating load it will accept for the value in kelvin on a cross reference chart from high temp to low temp (kind of like the speed rating on a tire).

I'm going to stop right there before I start sounding like too much of a dork. I guess it's too late. I could pick the whole post apart showing you exactly how much of it is marketing speak and what isn't. The end results are best found by listening to what you like to listen to before you know what you are listening to (double blind test study). The thick of it all after saying that... I didn't buy JL for the brand.

"Let the music speak." - Carl Magnus

 

for sure,if i can get some cash i want to drive out there for world of wheels show,i was in the show in 07 and 08 visited last years ,was to much snow on the roads and this year well the cash is sucking with this economy..

 

Can we try and stay on topic and help this guy out, there are countless other JL rulez, JL is teh sux threads on these and other boards. The general concensus has been beaten to death already, that JL have great sound quality, there's better options for raw SPL, and though quality they're overpriced unless you're buying from eBay, used, or from a non-authorized reseller.

Smiley, yes, you will need two amps for a full audio setup. One is a full range, four channel amp using the front and rear RCA inputs. The other amp should be a single channel or mono that uses the head unit's subwoofer RCA outputs.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're not looking to compete in dB drag or blow your glass out, you just want a nice sounding audio system. For the fronts I'd suggest running a seperate tweeter to mount in the dash, the mounting plate is easy to make out of plexiglass or any rigid plastic, or even aluminum if you have a hacksaw. I'm doing the same for my daily driver, and am going with the following system:

Head Unit:
Alpine CDA-105 - $180
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...e+CDA-105.html

Front Speakers:
Alpine SPR-17S - $150
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...e+SPR-17S.html

Rear Speakers:
Alpine SPR-17C - $90
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...e+SPR-17C.html

4-channel Amplifier:
Alpine MRP-F600 - $240
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...+MRP-F600.html

Mono Amplifier:
Alpine MRP-M500 - $180
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...+MRP-M500.html

Subwoofer:
JL Audio 10w3v3-2 (2 Ohm version) - $150
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...+10W3v3-2.html

Very important, if you get the 4-ohm version it will half the power from the amp since it's a single voice coil. Another option would be the Alpine type-R, which has dual 4-ohm coils that can be wired in parallel to 2-Ohm.

Alpine SWR-1042D - $110
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...+-TYPE+R-.html

Total cost: $950 - 990

For the box I was just going to custom make a wedge to fit behind the smaller rear seat (driver's side) so I could keep the fold-down capability on the passenger side.