Good system for carmy?

strossos

Hello, I'm extremely new to car audio and hardly know anything about it, but I am looking for a good system to go in my .
92 Camry.

Since I already have been spoiled by a really good computer speaker system (logitech z560) I'm looking for a car system that can give me a great range of sounds. I heard a component system would be the best for this, and can you give me any recomendations for this, or anything else.
Thanks.

jamas33

Lets see for start I recommend Polk Momo's MM6 all the way around with a single MM12 sub .. well heck here goes
Front: Focal 165 K3P components
Rear: Focal 165 K3P components
Sub: Kenwood KFC-XW1300DVC
Amplifiers: Hifonics XI Colossus to power the front
Hifonics XI Colossuse to power the rear.
Hifonics XI Atlas to power the sub
Head Unit: Alpine CDA 7998

Systems

i also have a 92 camry, i have : DX3065 components up front, EX i dont know the model number, but theyre 6x9's in the back, 2 10" GNX104 subs, with a power acoustic lt980/2 amp, the head unit is a **** jvc. sounds good to me, except that id like a little more midbass up front that could be because theyre in the stock location. so something similar to that might work...

sntnsupermen131

these 6.5" components
$789
2 sets of those, one for the front, one for the rear
so another $789
youll need one of these to fit the 6.5" components in the rear
adire brahma 15"----$439
as far as amps go, go with TruTech
Kenwood Head Unit
$2300\
KnuKonceptz for your power wiring
Streetwires 6.0 patch cables
$115 each
Streetwires speaker wiring
couple optima batteries
$160 each
Mr. Alternator that link it to your vehicle if you have a 2.2L
$225
that should be everything
-Cody

PoweredByDodge

a set of polk db components in front, along with a set of db coaxials in back will be quite nice.. and not break the bank either....

a 4 channel amp doing about 65 x 4 would be nice...

two 250 watt subs in hte trunk (something like the polk momo mm2104 or 2124's) with a 600 watt 2 ohm stable mono amp would be peachy keen.

all in all you can ge tout the door with everything, cd deck, wires, speakers, blah blah -- for under 2 grand retail.... maybe half to 60% of that if you ebay/internet buy it.

strossos

Alright, I was a bit to quick with my first post and forgot to mention that I work at circuit city and I can get deep discounts on some polk audio things. (don't ask how much, I think that violates some sort of company SOP :P)


But anyways, the db690s are listed under the employee sale for a price I defently like, for the back. Then for the front the choices I have according to the "fit guide" are db6500, MMC650 and db650. The only ones avalible for the special discount are the MM6 and the db6500.

For the subs I have lots of choices for the discount, but I don't want to pay that much, so I'm just wondering if a mm21084 would give pretty decent sound.


So right now I am thinking I will go with DB6500 for the front ($239), MM2084 sub ($109), and DB690 rear ($179).

To me, it already seems like a lot of money (ehh, I'm a cheap **** I'd admit ) but does anyone have a recomendation for the CD head unit, I'm defently looking for something that plays CD-Rs, but other than that I don't have much preference besides it being avalable at circuitcity. And then what else would I need, Amp? Wires?

Again, thanks for all this help, I really do appreciate it.

sntnsupermen131

ahh yes, more information
i went to the CC website and came up with this pioneer head unit
thats the LOWEST i would go as far as head units go
thats a GREAT starters head unit for a GREAT price
as far as subs go, is that the 8" sub you have listed? (sorry, i dont keep up with all the model numbers and crap...)
if so, id go with the 10"
i just dont like 8" subs, they dont have much "umph" at lower frequencies...besides...10s look much cooler than 8s:cool:
as far as amps go
if youre going to stick with the 6x9s, id get this alpine
BUT
to tell you the truth, i wouldnt get the 6x9s, id get the adapter plate for a 6x9 to a 6.5" like i have listed in my previous post and get the DB coaxials
why?
1. round speakers sound better than oval speakers
2. IMO, 6x9s are speakers designed for ALL frequencies unlike 6.5s which are designed for 50k and up(well, not necessarily, but thats what i use em for), BUT since youre getting a sub, your low end is already taken care of, so id go with the better sounding speakers
3. its cheaper:
6.5 coaxials are cheaper than 6x9s
and if you got the 6.5s, you wouldnt need a 4 channel amp, you can run them off the deck since they arent as power hungry as the 6x9s
if you didnt go with the 6x9s and go with the 6.5s
id get 2 of these alpine amps
but those are pretty expensive amps
here are some links to some hifonics amps that might be cheaper for you even with your employee discount, and these are better amps IMO anyway
2 of these if youre going to be running 6.5s in the back
one for your components up front, and one for your sub
or one of these if you want to stick with the 6x9s
and still get the other amp for your sub
-Cody

sntnsupermen131

as far as RCAs go, i checked on the cc website, but couldnt find it under several difft. categories in the car electronics section, so i went to crutchfield
youll need 2 of these
theyre cheap and pretty decent RCAs
i wouldnt buy the tsunami rcas
those SW2.0s are the absolute minimum i would do for any install
RCAs are very important
they need to be able to block intereference from your cars electronics
the cheap **** 9.99 RCAs from a brand youve never even heard of arent going to do it
remember, your system is ONLY as good as your WEAKEST part...
good RCAs can also save you a lot of trouble, cheap RCAs will induct noise, and youll have to keep moving them around until you can find a place where they dont induce noise
as far as speaker wire goes, CC carries monster...use that
power wire-tsunami or www.knukonceptz.com
the knukonceptz is better quality wire than tsunami and VERYYYYYY cheap...and you can get almost any color or combination of colors
id run 4gauge from your battery to a distribution close to your amps as possible, then 4 gauge or 8 gauge to your amps
if its about 2 ft b/t your distro block and your amp you can use 8, any longer 4 would probably be best
you cant have TOO big wire, so its better to go bigger than smaller, if you do the 2 two-channels, id run 4gauge to the amp running your subs and 8 to your amp running your DBs
but for whatever the cost difference is b/t 4 and 8, i would go with 4
theres not going to be much of a difference b/c its going to be a short run
but def. do 4gauge to your distro block
id go 4gauge all the way around, its going to be a couple bucks more expensive...not a lot
but yeah, go to crutchfield and pick up those RCAs listed above and this adapter plate for your rear deck and i think youll be a very happy person:D
-Cody

strossos

Originally posted by fairlynew
i also have a 92 camry, i have : DX3065 components up front, EX i dont know the model number, but theyre 6x9's in the back, 2 10" GNX104 subs, with a power acoustic lt980/2 amp, the head unit is a **** jvc. sounds good to me, except that id like a little more midbass up front that could be because theyre in the stock location. so something similar to that might work...

Man, this stuff gives me a headache, crutchfield is saying that for my model of car, 6x9s don't fit.


Alright, I give in, here are the two shopping carts right now:

http://cincygeeks.com/uploads/strossos/march04_001.jpg
http://cincygeeks.com/uploads/strossos/march04_002.jpg



from that, what would I be missing assuming I do go with those 6.5s (cheaper than 6x9s, so.. what the hell )

sntnsupermen131

everything looks good to me
you might want to check out www.sounddomain.com
theyre generally cheaper than crutchfield...i go to crutchfield to look cuz its easier to navigate
go to sounddomain, then at the top theres a blue bar that says home/shop/other crap i cant remember
click on shop
itll have all the brands listed
click on streetwires, polk, and pioneer...they have really cheap prices, so cheap it might even be cheaper than with ur CC discount...and free shipping
the only problem i forsee with your order is that you have the wrong rca's
those are wayyy to short
keep in mind youre most likely going to install your amps in the trunk(im assuming...thats the "ideal" place)
and the RCAs have to go from your radio to your amps
so 3.2 ft is just a tad short:)
you need the 16 or 19 footers
remember, it goes from your radio, all the way down to your fire wall to get under the carpet, under the carpet to your amps
the 16 should be enough, better safe than sorry though
dont mind crutchfield saying theyre not 6x9s
you already have one guy telling you they are from personal experience, plus polk's fit guide is better than crutchfields
and 99% of cars like the camry have 6x9s
-Cody

strossos

Hehe, I guess I would need a longer RCAs then...


And a few finishing questions:

What amp should I get (a cheap one would be nice) and what other wires would I need?

sntnsupermen131

2 of these
they were already listed in a post i made above...
youll need 2 though, one for your DB components and one for your sub
besides speaker wire, power wire, and rca's, youll need a remote turn on wire
remote turn on wire goes from your HU to your amp, it turns on the amp when the radio turns on
the cheapest 22gauge wire you can find will be enough...
quality doesnt matter at all for it...in the slightest way...

MacLeod

A round speaker will have a little better sound quality than an oval one. The reason being is that an oval speaker is not as rigid as a round one and will start to distort sooner at high volume than a round one. The reason 6x9s were born in the first place is that vehicle manufactuerers used them to create more bass in their stock systems. So if youre going to run a sub theres no real need to go with a 6x9.

If you can afford it I would highly recommend moving up to the Momo series. They are head and shoulders above the DB. I think they are some of the best sounding speakers out there. And at $300 for the comps and $175 for the 6.5 coax they are a good value.

As far as Polk goes, I would get it from CC if you can get a discount. Both SoundDomain and Crutchfield's prices are identical to CC. I dont know why they cant get a deal on em. Its the same way with Xtant.

I would prefer a 4 channel amp over a 2x. It will allow you to fine tune your system by tuning your rear output to a level that it doesnt pull your soundstage to the rear, instead just fattens it out some. And boy Sound Domain has got you covered. This beauty is a compeition level amp for a ridiculous price. My guess is that SD has a million of last years models left over and are trying to get rid of em. This thing will give you an underrated 50 rms of clean strong power to all 4 speakers. They have a 75x4 model for $30 more if you want the extra juice.

Go here for your sub amp. Another Phoenix Gold putting out an underrated 500 rms mono. These are awesome amps at awesome prices.

Like I said, these are competition amps, way beyond anything youre gonna find at Best Buy or even Circuit City. Im in the process of upgrading my system and my speakers are first, but if these babys are around when I get to my amp choice I can assure you Ill have em!

strossos

This is looking pretty good thus far, thanks guys.


Now, the worse case scenerio is that I have a money crisis and can't afford all these parts. Hopefully it won't come to that, but if it does would I be able to just purchase front coaxials and rear coaxial 6x9s and connect them directly up to that pioneer head unit? I realize the power and quality would be cut, but It would be leaps and bounds above what I have now. Something like the db650 would work fine for them instead of a component system?

edit: or would a component system still work without an amp and just connect directly to the head unit?

Hmm...

sntnsupermen131

I would not run components off of your head unit, they just need too much power to be run off a HU
if you do run into money problems and know for sure youre not going to get a sub ever...get the 6x9s
if you think you will get a sub later, get the coaxials
youll be without bass for a while, but 6.5s will do you better in the long run
also, if you cant afford an amp now(for the front speakers), but youll get one later, id go ahead and get the components and run them off the HU until you get the amp
but thats if you know youre going to get an amp
coaxials will actually sound better and get louder than components if youre going to run them off the radio
but if you know youll get an amp later, itll be ok, just dont turn it up too loud
you are MORE likely to blow your speakers from too little power than too much, it might sound wierd, but its true
why?
because if you push too little power too hard, itll clip the amp
the amp will send the clipped signal to your speakers thus blowing your speakers
if you have more power, its not necessary to push your amp as hard and it wont clip on you
amplifiers actually extend the life of your speakers if you match the speakers and amps up right
obviously if you throw 200 watts on a 50 watt speaker its going to blow...
but if you do go with coaxials and the 6x9s, id still get a 40x4 or so amp to help it out...
that head unit puts out something like 22 watts rms
it says 50x4, but its 22x4, the 50 is the peak rating, which is absolutely WORTHLESS
NEVER, i repeat NEVER look at the peak rating...
but ull be sooooo suprised how much a little 40x4 amp will do
and you can always throw that on after you put the speakers in, but truthfully, itll be easier to do it at the same time as you install your speakers
if not then youll have to take out all your panels again to hook up the speakers to the amp
-Cody

MacLeod

Good amps are getting ridiculously cheap nowadays so there is no excuse no to get one. Like a Coustic 4 chanel for $150 at SoundDomain.com!!! And high end stuff like an Orion 4 channel for $220 at Acaraudio.com!

Without an amp its like listening to music thru a wall, youre never gonna here all the detail and subtle little nuances that youll hear when your speakers are being pushed like they are meant to be.

AustinKP

I don't know what you will end of spending on your fronts after your discount, but if you want to be *amazed* by the sound, you can get a new set of the MOMO MM6's for around $150+ on eBay. I got a pair of MM6's and a pair of dB650 coaxials for the rear together for $200 even w/ shipping.
If you can afford it at all, I'd totally recommend the best speakers you can get. You'll never wish that you had gotten lower quality speakers. I'm still in the process of building my system. I only had the money to get the CD player and speakers to start, then I'm going for an amp. It'll be a pain to take the doors off to rewire for the new amp, but I'll never regret the awesome sound these speakers make.
As for the CD player, CC also sells the Alpine head units which, depending on your price of course, put out about %20 more power RMS (5 watts. 27 vs. 22) than the pioneers do. Either one would be an excellent choice though. If you are wanting to play MP3's, I'd definitely recommend the Alpine though. The quick search is absolutely invaluable, as you can instantly browse songs and folders. W/ the Pioneer, there is no search, so you have to wait about 1 sec between each song. It sounds ok, but when you have 250 songs on a CD and want to jump ahead 50 songs, it'll take you a full minute. That's the reason I paid the extra $100 for the Alpine. If you're not going to play MP3's, go for Pioneer. My $.02.
-Austin

strossos

Alright, I looked at that alpine and it looks pretty good, I think I will get that instead of the pioneer.

Now my shopping cart is db6500 component system for the front, retail 239.

for the rear db690 coaxials retail 179.


Together with my discount they will total up to 125.




Then the alpine head unit is 250 with discount after taxes.


That looks pretty good for me, how long do these things normanlly last?
(Money issues gave me the ability to take a sorta "middle ground" eh.)