Acquired SR5250, what else do I need?

Cosmic_American

This is the first piece of aftermarket car audio equipment I've ever purchased and need some advice. I've just begun to put together my first 2 channel music system and figured I might as well upgrade my car's music capabilities while I am at it (a music nut tired of mediocre sq)

I'm currently using an aftermarket cd player that my brother had installed when he owned the car, but it's a POS so I know I will have to replace that. From what I read the SR5250 is quite the car speaker, what I need to know is what else am I going to need to have music nirvana on wheels...is an amplifier absolutely necessary? Will I also need a sub? I would love some suggestions on potential head units as well as anything else you guys think I need to consider.

Spent $300 on the SR5250s and would like to keep the complete system under a grand if possible. Thanks for any and all advice/suggestions!

arun1963

Good luck on your dual projects. Home audio is simple. Buy the right stuff, hook it up, maybe angle the speakers and you're good to go. now your biggest worry is 'do cables really make a difference' .

Car audio is different world. Here, you're constantly trying to overcome one issue after another. Takes a bit of an OCD personality to make things really work in a car. That and lots of processing power as mentioned, decent speakers (you've got great ones), the placement of your drivers and your ability to cover the entire audible spectrum (read sub). Yes an amplifier is absolutely necessary along with the other stuff mentioned. For level you want.

Of the 1K budget I would reserve 45% for the hu and distribute the rest between one 5ch, or a 4ch+mono amp, sound deadening, wiring, sub, and install.

Only problem is that there aren't too many sq hu's around anymore. So you may have to look at 'used in great condition' stuff like the p-800/880, or the 9887 plus imprint etc. If you can find this stuff bnib, so much the better. If you do find this stuff used it will cost less than the 45%. So you'll have more for everything else.

Cosmic_American

W/ a 5ch amp, would I be connecting the tweeters and drivers separately? So that would be one channel each for left/right tweeter, left/right driver, and sub?

MacLeod

Yes. The front amp channels will push the tweeters and the rear channels will hand the rears.

Cosmic_American

Thanks for the help, I'll be back for potential suggestions for amp/sub once I've recovered from my recent audio purchases

Cosmic_American

So I decided to put off my car audio project until I got a new set of wheels; Just got a 2002 Civic coupe and the time has finally come! Obviously I have the speakers but I would love some guidance from the experts on which HU/amp/sub to purchase next. Budget wise I'm looking to spend about a grand on everything including the install. For the head unit I would like to have MP3 capabilities which rules out the previously suggested P800/P880, this seems like a good amp choice, but I'm unsure if it can drive both the speakers and amp. Ultimately sq is my main priority.

arun1963

Thats a mono amp that will only drive your sub.

Cosmic_American

Okay, sorry that was incredibly obvious. I'll probably just stick with all Polk Amps from their ebay store; maybe a PA500.4 for the speakers and one of the mono amps for a single sub, but I'm really unsure about how much power I will need to drive these or what size woofer I should get.

arun1963

I would get the pa 500.4 or the 4000.4 and bi-amp the sr 5250 and get the pa 1200.1 for the sub. For the sub, if you're driving a 3 box sedan I'd go for a 12" dvc. If you're driving an suv, where the sub will be in the same cabin, you can even go with 1 or 2 10" dvc.
See if you can scope the sr subs.

Cosmic_American

I think I'll go for a single SR104, just want some real good clean bass, plus it's a smaller car (2-door civic) would the 600.1 be sufficient or should I absolutely get the 1200.1?

Cosmic_American

Or what about the PA1100.5 to drive them all? Also what is the difference b/w a SR and a SR-DVC?

arun1963

A svc has a single voice coil and will show an impedance of 4ohm to your amp. Dvc subs have 2 4 ohm voice coils which you can connect to show a 2ohm impedance to the amp. Most amps will put out more power at lower impedance. There are exceptions to this rule, eg digital amps that will put out same watts irrespective of the load.

The pa1100.5 will put out 400 watts to your sub at 2 ohms. The 1200.1 will put out 800 watts at the same load. The SR104 dvc can handle 700 watts on a continuous basis (RMS).

It depends on how much bass you want. I have my sub running off 400 watts and I love it. If you're not a bass head and just need some clean low end, I would go with the pa1100.5.

Vital

3 things to concider:

1. PA500.4 and PA1200.1 amps are big in size. They are great amps, i've had them for some time now and absolutly happy with them but you need to make sure you are comfortable with loosing that "real estate" in your 02 coupe which if memory serves me well isn't a big-sized kind of coupe. Other Polk alternatives would be D4000.4 and ....well, depends on #2.....

2. IMHO sub/mono amp should be picked as a combo that mathes each other well. I'm sure someone will disagree but to me it just makes sence - get amp that puts out as much power as sub can handle (if not more). This way you can always "turn it up" or "turn it down" if you think you're getting too little/much bass. Also knowing human nature chances are that you WILL try to turn the gain up to make up for that "lost wattage" your amp isn't made to produce when you know your sub can handle a lot more...

3. Like Arun said "if u're not a basshead...." PA1100.5 might be worth looking into. It is huuuge in size but will save you space compared to 500.4 and 1200.1. but you still need to make sure you have space to install it in you car. Crutchfiled should have amp's size, go out to your car with a tape measure and make sure you have space for it.

arun1963

What are your thoughts on the hu? Anything shortlisted?

Cosmic_American

I'm completely clueless as far as HU's except that from what I've read I want 5 band eq and time alignment. Open to any and all suggestions.

JBD99ERIDE

What part of wanting to play MP3's does the 800/880 not do? I have an 880 and it plays them. Am I missing something?

Seems like amps have been covered but I will second that you dont "need" rediculous power for the sr-dvc subs. I have been running an sr104dvc for years off a c500.1 (older monoblock) 500 x 1 @ 2ohms with plenty of low end to go around.

I would look at ebay for head unit options. I also believe their was a thread around here recently discussing good head units for SQ. Link here
Some anount of BS but some good info too.

Cosmic_American

Looking for a HU with an Aux out to play my Zune HD.

I will keep that in mind as I am still weighing my amp options, still deciding how much I want to drop on this project.

That link doesn't seem to work. Right now I'm looking to spend about $400 on the head unit and the rest of the install (accounting for speakers and amps) From what I've read I think I want a HU with 5 band eq as well as time alignment.

JBD99ERIDE

Oops, sure doesn't. sorry, try this:
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=123549

JBD99ERIDE

I think you mean Aux in. The 880prs has a front 3.5mm mini plug input on the faceplate for the auto setup mic but it doubles as the Aux 1 input, only downside is the faceplate has to be open to use it. Pioneer offers an external Aux in box that will also work. not treying to push this head on you but has great features for the $. there are of course plenty of other very good units available.

Cosmic_American

Okay thanks, the only place I see it for sale however is a site called goods4salz which doesn't look all that legitimate, anyone have any experience with that site?

JBD99ERIDE

I do not and I agree, sounds like a bad idea... It is a discontuinued unit. The only way to get one would be ebay or a forum member here or elsewhere that is selling one. For what its worth I got one off ebay a few weeks ago and the transaction was stellar. Their have also been some "new in box" ones on ebay lately as well, I can only assume they are new old stock units. The 800prs, you may find also. It is fuctionally the same unit just slightly different cosmetically. I can't recall which one is the newer model of the two though.

Cosmic_American

Unfortunately I'm too broke to do this project the way I want to, but I'm tired of my SR5250 speakers sitting in their box while I listen to **** speakers. I'd like to get a good HU for under $200 that I will build around in the future as funds allow. I really don't mind going used as I'd like to get the most bang for my buck and have the best sound possible before I'm able to complete the system with the sub and amps. I just don't know which HU's I should be in the market for outside of the PRS and would love some suggestions. Thanks.

ipartywhenuhurt

Cosmic-america would you sell me you sr5250? Pm me if ur willing