system thoughts
 

Ok everyone, Ive put together a list of the equipment I want for my setup. Here it is tell me what you think
Head unit:
Pioneer Preimer Avic-f90bt (when it comes out)
Amp:
JL Audio 500/5 100x2 to mids,25x2 to tweets(active xover) ,250x1 subs
Fronts
Pioneer Premier ts-c720rps 6 3/4 componets (crossed over by the amp active)
Rears
pioneer Premier 6 1/2 (not sure if they will even be needed, or they will be powered off the deck)
Subs:
JL Audio
(3) 8w3v2 in sealed box

Full sound deadening roof and all.

I already have the jl amp and the 3 8's from my old setup but Im not sure if I should keep my 3 8's or do a single 10. Im really not a bass head, Im more of a SQ guy. Overall I just want the music to blend together. Let me know what you guys think. Ive never had subs in an open air (van style) vehicle before so I dont know if the 8's will overpower the fronts.
thanks
-nick

i have 2 10w3's and theyre great with my focal setup.

if you go with 1 im sure you will be fine.
im not sure how 3 8's will sound though. pretty clean i suppose. do you believe the pioneers will even out the sounds?

when I had the 8's in my suby, it hit really hard and was punchy. they played rock and dance very well. I just dont want them to be to overbearing.
thanks for the response.

I have a very similar setup. I have a 5 channel amp with front components ran active and the 5th channel for the sub. Initially, I left the rears stock, but ended up throwing some 6.5" Pioneers coaxials in the back powered by the deck which did help out a little bit for the people that I ride in the back.

IMO, a single 12" in a sealed enclosure will do the job better than 3 8s. I have had (3) Elemental Designs e8a's back in the day (equivalent to a 8w7s) and it was okay. For SQ, definitely go with a 12" sub that's efficient enough to only require 250W. I'm running an Image Dynamics ID12 with that much power and I still turn it down to blend in more with my front stage. Also, a single 12" sub will be a lot easier to make and a lot less complicated than 3 8" subs.

Ive seen your setup and it looks sick. Im not a big fan of 12's I ran one a while ago on this same amp and it wasnt all that great. I believe it was a jl 12w3 it was a while ago. I know the ID series are great speakers. Maybe Ill look into those. Are you still running the Chameleons in the front? For some reason I thought you had DLS's...
thanks
-nick

I chose the Chameleons because my fiance preferred a brighter sound and this was supposedly going to be her car. If it was up to me or had I known the car was going to be mine, I much would have preferred the laid back sound of a nice DLS speaker. I have DLS Iridium 8.3s in my bimmer which have a tweet, dome, and a dedicated 8" midbass that sounds pretty good. However, there's no way in hell I'm going to ____ my money away on a super expensive system when I know the gains get smaller and smaller the higher end you go.

My only advice is buy the best component speakers up front you can that your ear likes. Once, I had Focal Utopia 5.25" components and after 1 year of denial, I finally admitted I didn't like them. I also learned that I'm not a fan of MB Quarts top of the line stuff either. Do you ever hang out at DIYmobileaudio.com? I like to go on there and lurk, because a lot of those guys came from the old elitecaraudio.com forum that I used to go to a lot. Lots of stuff to learn there and lots of things to look at to get you inspired...

give cdt components a try. i recently installed them to replace some polk db's i had and i couldn't be happier. the difference was night and day. you can find them for a steal on ebay.

Yes Im on the diyaudio board and I posted the same thread.:lol: I only have a few good stereo shops out by me and its hard to get a salesperson honest view letalone a good sounding sound board.
-nick

The car audio business attracts some seedy characters. Good and friendly shops are difficult to come by anywhere. Most are only interested in taking your money.

I've heard wooferetc.com is a good place to buy. The prices are good and they carry a variety of quality levels. The Pioneer TS-C's are supposed to be great. I can't steer you away from them. For the rear, get the TS-D. They were recently reviewed by CAE and did great for the price.

i got my cdt stuff from woofers. i got great service from beginning to end.

Yeah i got my CDTs from woofersetc too, great speakers at a great price, mine were upgraded with the tw25 silk domes and they are totally worth the little extra cash. Ive never been a fan of any hard material tweets like titanium or aluminum, too harsh for me. Hopefully be doing my system build over the next few weekends and ill even post some pics if possible