Potential system

mbdyer12

I've been really curious lately and I'm thinking that I might splurge in the next 5-6 months and go all out on a system for my car. I've only spent chump change as far as quality stuff goes so far and I'm just lacking something (actually, a lot). My budget will probably be around $3500, plus or minus a few hundred. I'm set on getting 2 brahmas, or maybe one ported (what do you think?) for the oomph of the system. Everything else is up in the air. What other stuff would you all get with that budget?

MacLeod

Ah! I love these kinds of questions! It allows me to dream!

If it were me and I had $3500 to blow on a system, Id put together a SQ system as such:

MB Quart Q 6.5 comps

---

$1300
Xtant 4.4 (50x4) bi-amped--$550
JL Audio 12W6

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$450
Xtant 6.1 (600x1)

---

$550

Total is $2850. This leaves you $650 for wires, cables, box construction and other loose ends.

I believe speakers are the most important part of the system thats why I would spend double on speakers as opposed to the rest of the system. And the Q's are the best sounding speakers Ive ever heard!!

Another speaker in that price range would be the Focal Utopia. Other speakers in the $500-600 range would be the Diamond Audio Hex, Foacl K2 Power and the MB Quart Premium.

Other amp choices in the $400-600 range would be JL Audio Slash series, Alpine V12 and Orion.

There are more expensive amps out there to be sure, like Tru Tech, Brax and the like but I really doubt they will sound $500 better where a $1000 speaker will sound tons better than a $500, at least in my opinion.

Im a single sub kind of guy so the single 12 works just fine for me and I believe the W6 to be the best sounding sub on the market (well actually I kind of think most subs sound the same). If however you dig a lot of bass then this set up wouldnt be ideal. It would be plenty stout but I believe it would sound incredible assuming a proper install.

exalted512

if you want 2 brahmas...youll need an aftermarket alternator...even with one youre going to be at the limits of your car's electrical system

Iraggi Alternators
Dominick Iraggi
dominick@tds.net
615-287-7991
615-594-8965

or Ohio Generators
http://www.splmax.com/ohiogenerator/ohio.html

cant go wrong with either, my next truck im getting an aftermarket alternator and im not sure which one im going with
a guy i know with a shop around here put an ohio in his ford...he had a couple of 8L7s and kicker amps...his truck was running at 15.2 with the a/c on full blast...he turned the music up louder to try and get the voltage to go down and it went to 15.3

they range according to your vehicle and how many amps you want it to put out
lets say you get a 250A alternator for $550

http://www.electronicscity.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=16&products_id=259&osCsid=215daeb458dbf57bbec78754da6b0576

that pioneer premier head unit--$400

im going to assume you have 6.5" speakers in the front
youre going to need something pretty loud to be able to keep up with the brahmas
http://www.speedsound.com/caraudio.asp?pg=products&specific=jmnnepgne
those IDs should do you great for $310
those or the Diamond m661...but i dont think theyre available online from an authorized dealer...im picking up a set for $230 at onlinecarstereo sometime next week...theyll probably be a little louder than the IDs and sound just as good...but you wont be buying from an authorized dealer...they do however come with a 1 yr warranty through onlinecarstereo

then of course, your 2 brahmas...$720
http://www.sound-foundations.us//catalog/product_info.php?products_id=30

now to amps
HiFonics for everything
http://ikesound.com/product-product_id/1507

2 of those @ $245 each for the subs

http://ikesound.com/product-product_id/1502
1 of those for the components @ $185
get sounddomain to match those prices

were at $2655

now for RCAs
youre going to have to do what i did and run one set of RCAs for your subs and use y-slpitters and run to each sub amp

so youll need 2 sets of RCAs
if 11.5 feet is long enough...
http://www.cardomain.com/item/STRZN635
$50 each

as far as power wire goes...it needs to be big...youre going to have 3300 watts RMS going through it...
http://www.weldingsupply.com/cgi-bin/einstein.pl?Next::1:UNDEF:OR:terms::PA
go with 2/0 to a distro block, then 1/0 to each sub amp and 4 to the other amp

also, if you dont have a good battery already, go to pep boys and pick up a energizer max...the biggest one they have...
$80

youll NEED sound deadening material
no if ands or buts about it...those brahmas will shake the living crap out of your car...if you dont have sound deadening...its going to sound like crap

www.secondskinaudio.com

the owners name is Ant, tell him what kind of car you have, how much you want to spend, what you want to accomplish, and most importantly--that you were sent from the car audio forums so hell give you a nice discount:D

pretty sure thats under your $3500 mark
you can save a lot of money by going with a single brahma
1 brahma in a ported box will get REALLY loud
so take half off the price of the brahmas and you probably wont need a bigger alternator...so thats another 500 or so
that pretty much covers everything
-Cody

MacLeod

LOL!

Thats another reason I like SQ systems. You dont have to invest in 3 alternators, 14 batteries or power wire as big as a water hose.

Plus its also cool to drive a fullsize truck with its 136 amp alternator stock!

mbdyer12

Haha, yeah. I like stock alternators just fine. Plus that would probably void some sort of warranty on the car. I dont wanna do that. Even if it doesn't, I really dont want to buy one. I suppose 1 brahma would be good. How many amps does a fully loaded down car (A/C, lights on, etc) at idle draw on average?

On that amp you showed...It puts out 1000x1 at 2 ohms...Would I be safer to get the 4ohm dvc sub so I only draw that from the electrical system instead of bringing the amp down to 1 ohm? (They have a 2ohm dvc model, right?)

MacLeod

That would work. However, even at a kilowatt you still may want to upgrade to a bigger battery or maybe a cap. That plus the 200 or so youll be putting into the front speakers would present a hefty load.

mbdyer12

Ah yeah, a cap and an Optima yellow top battery would definately be do-able since I'll probably going for only 1 sub now.

Since I dont think I'm willing to do fiberglass myself, do you guys have any clue how much it would cost to make a ported fiberglass box? I know every place is different but any general estimations? I really dont know much about it. Would it be strong enough for that much power? Thanks.

exalted512

i have no idea about the box...im not sure if fiberglass would be up to it
you might want to give Chris(Geolemon) a call or email...hes on the www.sound-foundations.com website
just tell him you were sent by Cody from the polk forum...hell be able to help you with your box making needs
they only make a 2 ohm dvc sub...
that hifonics amp will do about 1300 at 1 ohm
(HiFonics overrates their amps)
just wire the sub in parallel to get the 1 ohm load and be done with it
also use 4awg to replace the 'big 3'
do a search and u can find it
-Cody

MacLeod

Fiberglass boxes are expensive as hell. I looked into one for my very anti-subwoofer-friendly Ram looking for a small box for a single 10 and it was in the $300-400 range.

LittleCar_w/12s

I think if you build it, it is only about .. I'd guess 5x that of a wooden box.. but for that much power, it Would need much more 'glass.....
-Jerry

MacLeod

You may not need to make the entire enclosure out of 'glass. Use MDF on all the easy flat parts and glass the sections that need to be shaped funky.

This would cut down the cost quite a bit I would assume.

neomagus00

yeah, but for a brahma we're talking at least - at least - 3/4" of fiberglass, and that gets expensive fast; also, on speaker choice - if you want to spend a third of your budget on speakers, by all means do so and get the utopias... however, i'm of the opinion that the speakers that are half the price will perform much better for most people. take the k2 power series of focal for instance. it's a step down and sideways from the utopias... it has higher powerhandling and is less expensive, but it's sq is a tiny bit lower. that tiny bit isn't noticeable to most people, IMO. and if you're porting a brahma, i don't think a pair of utopia mids is gonna keep up volume-wise with that bass... perhaps a 2 or 3 way set of k2's and a pair of their mini-subs for midbass? way loud and very good sound... just an idear...

MacLeod

Ah bullfeathers!

I dont know where this old wives tale of Focals not handling power came from but Im telling ya, it aint so.

The shop dude out in Texas had a set of Poly-Ks (before the K2 Power) running 150 rms to each channel off a JL 300/2.

Ive also seen several competition cars running 100-150 watts per channel.

In fact, I dare ya to find a serious competitor using Focal speakers that is giving them anything less than 125!

Another example would be DLS. Their Iridium is rated at 150 if Im not mistaken and the man Scott Buwalda is running 150 to each tweet, 150 to each mid and 150 to each midbass! Now thats enough power to make even Cody say, "enough already".

exalted512

the 8.3s are rated at 200 watts FYI
and yea...i might say a 900 watt front stage would be...adequate:D
-Cody

MacLeod

LOL! Yeah, I couldnt believe it either. I thought it was a typo when I first read it.

exalted512

boston acoustics makes component sets that handle massive amounts of power...like 400 watts RMS
-Cody

mbdyer12

Lets say I got a pair of 6" subs and tossed them in the back deck for the mid bass...lets say bandpassed from 50-120hz? Would that sound ok or would that bring the soundstage too far to the back?

exalted512

6" subs or mids?
theres only a few ppl that make 6" subs
i think RF might have some, I know Focal does
and it wouldnt bring your soundstage any farther back than subs will
-Cody

mbdyer12

6" subs for the back since the front would be a 6.5 component set of some sort. Just somethin to make up for the lack of the components and be in the back. Just a wild (well, not really) idea.

I'm also not sure if I want to put 6x9's in the back.. I know that'll mess up the sound stage for up front but I occasionally have 3 other passengers and I dont want to give them a beating with the sub with nothing else for them to enjoy.

exalted512

when your passengers start paying for your system thats when you start worrying about them...
i have 1000 watts rms under the back seat of my truck...how do you think my passengers feel?
lol
-Cody

mbdyer12

Seen Howard Stern's movie?

MacLeod

Originally posted by mbdyer12
Seen Howard Stern's movie?

"BZZZZZZZZZZZZZ"

"Oooh Howard"

Nice rack by the way.

Anyways, the main purpose of midbass speakers is to bring the bass up front with you rather than having it all come from the rear. So putting midbasses in the back would defeat the purpose.

It would increase the overall response a little from 100-200 Hz but it would also be overpowering the limited 100-200 Hz response from the components up front. This wouldnt pull the whole stage to the rear, just all the bass and, again, defeating the purpose of using midbass speakers.