HU Alipne CDA-9815 Opinion

geralopez

They are smalls round and conical pieces with a big magnet (MM6). I'll use in my limousine, you know the rear seats are insulated of the front.

Well I'm not talking about Sub's, it will come later. I'm talking about: the rear sound is needed anyway. In my specific case , I travel several times per year with my family (wife, sons, dog, bird, cat, ****%#^ mother in law) and some times you need to send the total audio for the passengers. That's why I'm asking about...
Yes... about REAR SPEAKERS.

MacLeod

Lately Ive been thinking about doing away with my rear door speakers entirely. This would make things a lot cheaper! Rather than buying a $550 Xtant 4 channel, All I need is the $350 Xtant 2 channel!! Yippee!

This thread got me thinking about it. Im driving a Ram Quad Cab so its not like Ive got a cavernous interior to fill with sound. When I have rear seat passengers theyre usually bitching about the volume anyway so why spend $300 on a set of rear speakers and an extra $250 on a 4 channel amp when its for something thats only going to be heard by people that wont appreciate it anyway?

PoweredByDodge

you're prolly gonna want at least mid bass drivers in the back though - even on low power (1/4 to 1/3 of the fronts). it'll "flesh out" the sound.

MacLeod

Yeah I was thinking about that but my sub is so close to the rear speakers that its almost pointless. They get drowned out now with a mere 140 rms on the sub. Once I bump that up to around 300 rms I figure it wont make any difference what kind of speakers Ive got back there. They will pretty much be washed out by the sub.

Ill figure it as I go I guess. Right now Im just going to concentrate on an amp for the fronts and then reconfigure my sub situation. Then Ill move on to the front stage (either Focal, MB or CDT) and then see how it sounds at that point.

sntnsupermen131

why not just run the rear speakers off of deck power?
-Cody

TonyPTX

I agree w/ Cody here...

Get yourself a nice 4 channel amp. Bridge two channels and run a sub, use the other two channesl to run your highs in the front and the HU can power the rears...

Tony

TrappedUnder Ice

Why bother with door /rear speakers at all...unless you have an Olds battle wagon or a full size suv...? spend that money on good fronts/amps/install and be done...

sntnsupermen131

Originally posted by TonyPTX
I agree w/ Cody here...

Get yourself a nice 4 channel amp. Bridge two channels and run a sub, use the other two channesl to run your highs in the front and the HU can power the rears...

Tony

i was thinking the same thing
get some mm6s
find a 150x4 amp
or a 3 channel
-Cody

MacLeod

For an area as small as the inside of a Quad Cab Ram, I dont really think Ill need rear speakers. They are so close to the front seats and the back seat area is so small that they pull the sound stage to the back even at very low levels. I was thinking I might try my hand in some SQ competitions at the amateur/novice levels and so imaging is about as important as tonal quality. A lot of competitiors run either no rear speakers or just a plain ol midrange running at low levels. Once I get the front stage and my sub squared away, Ill see how it sounds.

My initial plans call for Focal Polyglass 6.5 (or maybe MB Quart Premium) comps in the front doors ran by an Xtant 2.2 amp. For subs I was thinking about a Diamond Audio 8" fed 300 rms by an Xtant 3.1. That may change as I change my mind daily. And since it takes time for my poor **** to save up the cabbage, Ive got plenty of mind changes yet to come.

geralopez

I have bought all my car sound stuff for my boat. Here is the list of everything. There is nothing missing for the installation, everything in home now, well not all, as I said before: Just TIME!!.

MY FINAL STUFF:

SIGNAL & SOUND PROCESSING:
Head Unit: Alpine CDA-9815
CD Changer: Alpine CHA-S634, 6 cd's magazine. MP3 capability

MEDIA SOURCES TO PLAY:
CD's, CD/R's, CD/RW's (MP3, WMA), Radio

SIGNAL DISTRIBUTION:
Tsunami 4 Channel male to male RCA Cable twisted-pair wire (17 feet)
Tsunami 2 Channel male to male RCA Cable twisted-pair wire (17 feet)

POWER DISTRIBUTION:
Tsunami 3 Farad Capacitor w/voltage indicator
Raptor 4000W Wiring installation kit:
* 200 Amp fuse holder, water proof w/ 1/0 terminals
* 1/0 wires for (+)&(-), running from bat. to back distribution box
* 4 ga wires for (+)&(-), running from distribution blocks to amps.
* (+) Distribution Block w/2 100 Amp fuses
* (-) Distribution Block for (2) 1/0 and (4) 4 ga terminals

AMPLIFIERS:
Autotek Stealth XS-900.4, 4Ch X 110 W RMS @ 4 ohms
Autotek Stealth XS-1600.1, 1Ch X 1600 W RMS @ 1 ohm w/remote control


SPEAKERS:
In Front Doors POLK-MOMO=
Highs: MM6 tweeter, 2-1/2", 150W RMS
Mid Bass: MM6 woofer, 6-1/2", 150W RMS
Divided by: a MM6 2 ways passive crossover
In Front Center Channel (dashboard position) INFINITY=
Mid range: (3) 3-1/2", 40W RMS
In Rear Doors POLK-MOMO=
Highs: MM6 tweeter, 2-1/2", 150W RMS
In Rear Deck POLK-MOMO=
Mid Bass: MM6 woofer, 6-1/2", 150W RMS
Divided by: a MM6 2 ways passive crossover

In Rear Center Channel (center console position) INFINITY=
For the Mid Range: (1) 3-1/2", 40W RMS

SUB'S
Polk-Audio (2) MM2104 Subwoofer, 300W RMS in a sealed box
Polk-Audio (1) MM2104 Subwoofer, 300W RMS in a bandpass box

Customized Sub-Box (according speaker manufacturer specification)


MISCELLANEOUS
Metra Car Stereo Adapter 99-6504
Customized Machined Steel Grilles for MM2104 Sub's
Customized Machined Steel Grilles for MM6 rear deck woofers

PEND.
Neon Lights: No yet selected
Tsunami PP880-BTY Yellow Top

I hope to share with you some pic's soon.

-GLopez

geralopez

I reed the complete 9815's owner manual and I didn't find where is the gauge of power wire specified. Some posts from somebody said that it have to be 10ga. but at this time I can not find that information.
In my opinion, probably the unit needs to be wired with that gauge if it is intended to be used as power source for the speakers (27 x 4 = 108 W RMS) plus adding the power required to feed the preamp outputs (4V) for the subs and additionally if a changer unit is connected to this HU, I guess the 10ga. it's really required.

Here are some notes coming from the PDF OM about the power supply:


From the wiring diagram=
(9) Choke Coil with Fuse Holder (20A)

From page 34=
When making connections to the vehicle's electrical system, be
aware of the factory installed components (e.g. on-board
computer). Do not tap into these leads to provide power for
this unit. When connecting the CDA-9815/CDA-9813/CDA-
9811 to the fuse box, make sure the fuse for the intended
circuit of the CDA-9815/CDA-9813/CDA-9811 has the
appropriate amperage. Failure to do so may result in damage to
the unit and/or the vehicle. When in doubt, consult your
ALPINE dealer.

The manual do not specify the max current draw at the max load but the wire gauge can be calculated looking to the capacity of the fuse of the unit (20amp).

If you read the next paragraph you will see a recommended wire gauge for the: MRP-T220 2/1 Channel V-Power Series Amplifier.

Per channel into 4 ohms (0.08% THD) ... MRP-T220: 50Wx2
From pag 7=
Battery Lead (Yellow) (Sold Separately)
Be sure to add a 25 amp fuse as close as possible
to the battery's positive (+) terminal. This fuse will
protect your vehicle's electrical system in case of a
short circuit. If you need to extend this lead, the wire
gauge should be 8 AWG or larger.
MRP-T220 ... 20 amp fuse

Comparing the current required for this amp, it is similar in power consumption to the HU, but as I said before if is used as power source. I haven't the OM of pioneer, eclipse or others HU but if you have one of these units you can check if your unit has a 20 amp fuse to protect it, if fuses are equal, I believe all the units could be wired with the same ga.

-GLopez

MacLeod

That Alpine amp is putting out a considerably larger amount of power than that head unit is. The amp on your head unit is tiny by comparison. that Alpine is putting out 50x2 rms and max at 75 x2 with 2 ohm loads at 70x2 rms. Your head unit aint even in the same ballpark so of course its going to need a thicker power wire. As far as a power wire for your head unit I have never used anything thicker than the stock wire coming in from the dash. But then again Ive never used my head to power speakers, at least not for very long.

I know you didnt ask but heres what I would do. I would dump the center channels. Ive never been a big fan of them. Ive never heard one that really ads to the imaging and usually takes away from overall sound quality. About the only reason I would say to use one would be if youre hooking up a 5.1 surround system. But even then I wouldnt use a rear center channel. On top of that, Infinity is a completely different sounding speaker that the Polk. Trust me, Ive had both. The Infinity is very bright and can be tinny and thin sounding on some music. The Polk is very warm and smooth and almost too light in the highs. Theyre as different as night and day and I guarantee ya, having them mix would screw up your SQ. Anyways (I do have a point), dump both center channels and the plan to use the head as an amp. you have some good amps and some great speakers so take advantage of them. Run your Polk components off the 4 channel and be done with it. I guarantee ya, youll be more than happy with those Polks carrying the show.

geralopez

I'm not really planning to use the HU as an amp as part of my setup , at the beginning was the idea to feed the center channel with the HU, but after I read the manual I change my mind. I'm going to take all the advantages of preamp RCA outputs, I'm planning to add an extra small amp in mono to feed the center channel but it will be after I test the system. Maybe you are right about center channel. I'm just trying to keep the same setup of the original car sound (called: Spatial Imaging Sound) probably it is just a bad idea, but you know everyone is trying to find something different in this Art of car audio setup.
Thanks for your opinion Mac

-GLopez