Newb To Car Audio Here..

POLKOHOLIC

Hey guys--first time im posting int he car audio forum...
Here is My Setup:

HU-: Sony CDX-MP70
Front Speakers-: Factory Stock
Rear Speakers-: JBL P953 (6x9)

Now I Would Like To Add a 4 CH Amp for the Fronts and Rears. 60W/Ch RMS is More then enough. Some recomendations would be nice below $200 would be awesome.

Also-I would like to add an Infinity Basslink Subwoofer to the system. How would i go about doing these modifications?

Thanks

MTXMAN

first recomendation would be to switch to something other than a sony deck, sony decks are crap, sony speakers are crap, sony amps are crap.
Second would be to replace the front speakers before amping them, even with the sony hu they're extremely overpowered, they were only made to run a couple watts rms.

after that look at online sites like sounddomain.com or speedsound.com and find a hifonics or comporable good brand in that price range, some of the other guys will have more specific amp recomendations but i don't have the time to do the footwork on that atm

gl

POLKOHOLIC

Im not looking to replace anything. Im actually quite happy with the Sony. it matches my interior well and doesnt sound too bad. can i forget about amping the front and just go with a 2CH amp for the rears..perhaps adding bass blockers to the fronts? Im set on purchasing theBasslink i jus tneed to know how i will connect it to the Sony HU.

mbdyer12

You can get some really cheap speakers for less than $20/pair that will sound better than the stock ones, plus you could run an amp to them. You're bound to blow your stock speakers with that much power. The most power I've seen stock speakers handle was about 15watts.

For amplifiers for the speakers, I'd go with Hifonics or Profile since you're on a budget.

And about the Basslink. After you ran a power cable from your battery to the Basslink (putting a fuse in of course) and grounding it somewhere close to the sub (within 4 feet usually) to bare metal of the car, you'd probably just have to run a RCA patch cable from the head unit (pretty much all aftermarket cd players have RCA pre-outs) down to the sub. It might require a remote turnon cable. If so, attach the wire to the "power antenna" wire from the wiring harness in the back of the head unit and run that back to your Basslink too. It doesn't have to be anything less than 16 guage.

MTXMAN

i'm not positive but i think the bass link has the option to either patch into your factory wiring or be hooked up with rca's you'll probably only need to run 8ga wire for power since it's only like 100w and make sure to fuse the power wire within 1 foot of the battery.

if you're not going to replace the front speakers VERY soon, i'd just go with a 2ch amp

http://www.sounddomain.com/sku/SSTTR8802 double the price that you mentioned but when i saw it i thought it was worth bringing up, it's a high quality soundstream amp that normally retails for about 1200 but sounddomain has it for 400 (DAMN!!) at that price for this level of equip it's hard to pass on, it's 220x2 and some damn clean power at that...

http://www.sounddomain.com/sku/HIFNX400
nice hifonics amp that puts out 100x2 for $160

http://www.sounddomain.com/sku/HIFSAMSON
another nice hifonics that puts out 75x2 for $190


www.speedsound.com seems to be down today otherwise i'd have some usamps amps up there but i'll be back with them when the site's up...

btw what's the rms power rating of the 6x9's?

POLKOHOLIC

Can you tell me exactly what you mean by "Fuse the power wire within 1 Foot of the battery"? I think the Infinity Basslink comes with built in fuse protection. The 6x9's can handle upto 110RMS. Should I add Bass Blockers to the fronts? The Sony HU has pre-outs for front rear and subwoofer. can someone show me a diagram exactly what output from the sony hu goes to the basslink?

How is this for the amp: Phoenix Gold

neomagus00

hmm... on amping only the rears - you will pull your soundstage way towards the back, and it won't sound right. you will want bass blockers on any amplified speakers that aren't subs.

use the sub preout for the basslink

fusing the power line - this means that you add another fuse within one foot of the battery that is equal in power to all the fuses on the other end of the cable. ie if you have two amps on the end of the power cable, one with a 30A fuse and one with two 20A fuses, you use a (30 + 20 + 20) 70 Ampere fuse within 12 inches of the battery.

MTXMAN

true, every amp has a fuse mounted to it, but when running the power wire from the battery to the amp you want to put a fuse within one foot of the battery (technically 18" but i use a foot) what this does is protect your car from bursting into flames should the metal of your car ever work it's way through the protective jacket of the powerwire... if that happened w/o the aforementioned fuse sparks would fly everytime the two metals came in contact and could start a fire in the interior of your car, also should this occur you might blow the amp... many people use a slightly smaller fuse rating in the engine compartment than what is on the amp, the amp will (under normall operating conditions) only be pulling around half the current of what the fuse on the amp is rated, if you have an amp with a fuse rating of 60amps you'll typically be pulling no more than 30 amps and sould be good to use a 40 amp fuse in the engine compartment, this will provide a further tier of protection to your amp.

You'll want to hook the basslink up to the subwoofer output and the amp for your rears to the rear outputs( either pick up 2 2ch patch cables or one 4ch, whichever's cheaper) this will provide you with a good level of controll from the hu. you should have seperate controlls on your hu for sub, front, and rear. i wouldn't bother putting bass blockers on factory speakers, just keep it faded more toward the rear speakers.

for running your remote wire you'll want to run a single wire from the power antena or remote wire on your hu (typically blue or blue with a white stripe depending on which it is) then split it at the amps, this can be messy as it doesn't carry much power at all, just get some 16ga (you could probably even get by with 18 or 29 if you realy wanted) wire and run it from the remote turn on lead from you hu along the same path as the rca's to the trunk there cut it and strip the end and attach 2 wires to that one (one will go to each amp) i'd solder the ends together personally but you should be find if you twist them well and tape the hell outa them (btw get the 3m brand electrical tape, it provides much better protection and adhesiveness than most other brands.. i think you want the super 33 tape but i could have my numbers off on that, just go to a hardware store tell them you want the 3m tape and your application and they'll hook you up) then take one wire to each amp. What this wire does is tell the amp that the HU is on thereby turning the amp on. This keeps the amps from running when the HU is off.

You'd be better off with the 100x2 Hifonics which is only about 50 bucks more expensive that the pg amp. Personally i'd trust hifonics as a brand before pg and it's always better to run an speaker close to it's rms power rating rather than underpower it. it will produce a higher quality of sound and underpowering can also damage a speaker.

I hope that suffeciently answered your question, if there's anything else you want to know just ask:)

MacLeod

That Phoenix Gold amp is good but this one is a lot better. Its more power which will make your speakers sound better and its a better PG model than the Octane. The Octane is the entry level amp where the Tantrum is PG's higher end offering. And for $160 its hard to beat!

And dont pay any attention to the Sony bashing. They aint that bad. {Oops, I hope I posted that under an annonymous screen name!}

Jstas

Originally posted by POLKOHOLIC
Hey guys--first time im posting int he car audio forum...
Here is My Setup:

HU-: Sony CDX-MP70
Front Speakers-: Factory Stock
Rear Speakers-: JBL P953 (6x9)

Now I Would Like To Add a 4 CH Amp for the Fronts and Rears. 60W/Ch RMS is More then enough. Some recomendations would be nice below $200 would be awesome.

Also-I would like to add an Infinity Basslink Subwoofer to the system. How would i go about doing these modifications?

Thanks

How's 50W x 4 sound? This Hifonics Warrior Eagle is one of the best amps I have ever used! They are an old design from the early days of Hifonics and the Warrior series is what Hifonics built thier name on. It's a quality amp and exactly what you are looking for. It's on sale for $114 at sounddomain too!

http://www.sounddomain.com/sku/HIFEAGLE


As far as your Sony head unit, if it fits and you like it, keep it. Personally, I have had nothing but bad experiences with Sony. I wouldn't use them but if you like them, that's cool.

However, I'd replace those stock front speakers, seriously. You already have JBL's out back, grab a JBL GTO series speaker for up front or the new Polk DB's would work great too. They are both cheap enough that you can get away with it easily, cash wise.

As far as teh BassLink goes, it's OK but for 400 you can do much better. Since we are going cheap, We can find something that will be much more enjoyable for you and not look so industrial.

Go with this amp:
http://www.sounddomain.com/sku/HIFMERLIN
A Hifonics Merlin, 200W x 1 RMS @ 4 ohms. That's a good deal of clean power.

Grab this sub:
http://www.sounddomain.com/sku/POLMM2104
The Polk Audio MM2104. The Merlin amp is a little low on power for it but if they are built the same way as the old Hifonics they are based on were then that 200 RMS is closer to 250-275W RMS which is fine. That Polk Audio sub is pretty cheap at sounddomain right now and I believe that sounddomain is an authorized dealer so your warranty would stay in tact.

Then grab this sub box:
http://www.sounddomain.com/sku/OBCSS10166
Which is a perfect .66 cubic feet for teh Polk sub. It's regularly 109 but they are having a special on it now at sounddomain. It's probably closer to 75 dollars right now and that OBCOM box is pretty rugged, much more so than the Q-logic and a much better value and buy.

Add that all up and you get $119.95 for teh sub, $154.95 for the amp and even at 109 for teh box, you still have $384.95 which is cheaper than the Infinity BassLink I believe and will outperform teh Infinity, hands down. With money you save on the Hifonics Warrior Eagle amp, you can get teh new fronts and the Polk Audio sub. Installation is easy as pie and I think you will be very pleased with that setup. I don't think you can cut that price any cheaper for any of that stuff though, unless you can get a smokin' deal on a BassLink.


Now, you said you are set on purchasing the BassLink but, I hope that you can be persuaded against that. It's not worth the money they charge for it. As far as connecting it if you got it, RCA cables is the easiest way to do it.

The front speakers, they may or may not need bass blockers. You left out some vital info that no one else who responded ever bothered to ask. What kind of car is this? If you have large front speakers, bass blockers are not needed. If they are small then you might want to look into them.

As far as your "pre-outs for front rear and subwoofer" go, they are most likely not unless Sony specifically labeled them as such. I am betting that they are full range pre-amp outputs and either one would work for your sub.

As far as fusing things, don't worry about that until you make a final decsion on the amps you are going to use.

Hope that helps more than the arguments that have ensued.

Systems

since your on a budget if i were you id defently replace your fronts like every1 said.about the sub thing the momo would be nice but if you want the cheapest you can go buy a polk gnx series 10 or 12 they are the best sub you could probably buy for like 60 to 80 bucks.and buy a box and get readdy for some good bass.iv got 1 10 gnx right now and it sounds better than alot of people's systems around here except my buddies shockers now them pound like no tommaro but you would need some money to get them.

POLKOHOLIC

ok thanks guys, im gonna stay with the Basslink(easier install)--screw the amp FOR NOW. Replace the fronts with JBL Gto. Save up for a 4Ch 100W/CH amp. I also need a little cash for under car lighting..

exalted512

im REALLY glad you decided to get some front speakers
i really dont think you have any idea about how much better they will be
and i REALLY agree with what Jstas said about getting a seperate amp and sub
its not any harder than installing the basslink
the only thing you save yourself from doing is putting the speaker wire in
i mean, i know youre a HT guy, but i think even a home theater guy could do it...:D j/k
and speaker wire is the only thing...
with the basslink you still have to install the rcas, power, ground, remote turn on
i dont really understand why you wouldnt...unless its cheaper...?
looks better, sounds better, cheaper, will most likely last longer...
hell, if you want to, you can go with the GT series subs, theyre my favorite entry level subs and they go for likr $75
id put them against the basslink anyday
by tonight ill try to post up some amps and everything else youll need for your budget
-Cody

C-Man

If you just want some coaxials for your front speakers...

CDT Audio Classic series... On sale at thezeb.com for 44.99 a pair. I bought some for my girlfriend's car and they sound awesome. Made me actually buy a set of their classic series 2 way components for my truck (but I don't have them in yet).

http://www.thezeb.com/detail.aspx?ID=1087

Those are the 6.5 set of coax's, they also have 5.25's on the site for the same price.

Systems

im tellin ya man your goin to thank us if you buy a sepret sub and amp.its goin to be cheaper and better.if you buy the basslink and hear some1 with some good but cheap subs like the gnx series or the baby momos your goin to kick your self in the **** for not listin to us.

POLKOHOLIC

Guys...i seriously am not looking at anything other then the Basslink for the sub. Its the only one i can put under my back seat and not sacrifice cargo room. I can get one NIB for $150. For the fronts im thinking either JBL Gto or Infinity Kappa's(real cheap now) but i may have to go with the GTO's because they well be better matched with my rears. on a side note..what lighting is better Varad LED Fullscans or Streetglow Neons?

mbdyer12

Wow, $150 brand new? Ok, it would definately be hard to beat that. Also it would save some space. I'd say thats just fine if you're getting it that cheap. As far as the front speakers go, flip a coin if they're the same price. Its more fun that way!

neomagus00

to me, the infinitys have a brighter sound, so it may sound harsh with metal-type music. thats just me tho.

and while i'm not partial to lights, i'd pick streetglow cause i hear good things about them.

MacLeod

I have owned Infinity speakers and Neo is right, they are very bright and can sound very tinny with metal or hard rock. However if youre into rap or jazz or the like then Infinitys are a good choice. Personally Id go with the JBL. I used to think they sucked til they started winning SQ comps left and right...now I think I may have been mistaken!

As far as lights, cant help ya cause I think theyre a little stupid, but then again Im only 32 but am already way out of touch with most of pop culture! Whitesnake and Bon Jovi are still cool....right?

neomagus00

Originally posted by MacLeod
Whitesnake and Bon Jovi are still cool....right?

i've never even heard of whitesnake... but bon jovi is still a god, yes

exalted512

Originally posted by neomagus00
i've never even heard of whitesnake...

you're kidding...right?
-Cody

neomagus00

unfortunately, no - i'm pretty much today-music (not like pop/'bubblegum', but newer stuff), and i'm fairly young :cool:, so unless they're huge and in my genre (metallica, led zeppelin) and i happen to have inherited a CD of their's, i haven't heard of em. i'm not terribly literate on musical artists - yeah, i've probably heard songs by them, but never by that name.

sorry to dissapoint...