n00b that needs help

Ekul

ok i just got my first car and i wanna install a cd player in the dash and subs. i've been tryin to research online but it is a bit overwhelming. one site i have been lookin at is crutchfield, looks like a lot of ppl recommend that site. anyway i just want a decent player with an aux input on the front so i can hook my ipod up to it easily. i have no clue about subs and an amp, i've read to pay attention to RMS and stuff like that but i'm no expert. i heard polks were pretty good, especially the db212-2 but that's outta my price range =/. i just want some loud **** subs that can shake my car and sound good, i listen to every kinda music rap/rock etc. one setup i was lookin at were these http://www.crutchfield.com/S-5O0t9iLqcSI/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=510&I=028V123BP not sure if they're that good since it's kind of a generic brand. i can make my own box for the subs to so they don't have to come enclosed. i have a friend that can help me install all this stuff if i can't figure it out by myself. budget wise i wanna pay less than 500 for all this. thx for any help

MacLeod

Less than $500 for everything? That aint gonna be much and youll definitely not get anything that can "shake your car and sound good" for that.

A decent head unit will cost $200 and that only leaves $300 for speakers, amp and subs.

Just pick out a head unit, preferably Alpine, and get some Polk DB coaxials thatll fit in your doors, run them off your HU and look for a Profile amp for the sub (all this stuff is on Crutchfield's site) and then put em together with that Visonik sub and thats about all you can do. Hell thatll still run you abot $750.

1996blackmax

Ebay is probably going to have to be your friend here.....

Ray Zenz

ya, ebay is probably the right choice for your price, at least for the head unit....i probably wouldnt get an alpine head unit if i were you, unless the newer models have high pass filters and other EQ settings, because the one i have i one of my cars isnt very customizable and im not very happy with it, but i got it for free so im not goin to complain a whole lot.......oh and an option better than ebay..is there any flea markets by you?..some can have very good deals...

MacLeod

Tweeters mounted by your ears?!?!?!?

hexon

MacLeod wrote:

Tweeters mounted by your ears?!?!?!?

Ouch...!

The db212-2 isn't that expensive at all when you look at the price of the subs and then compare them to other companies. Then, the box itself is awsome, and when you subtract the price of the subs the box is only about $80.

Are you looking at the prices on polk when you are saying it is too expensive? Look at crutchfield.com.

You could probably make due with a profile amp doing 500 watts @ 2 ohms.

You are going to have to raise your budget a little if you want loud.

1996blackmax

That's going to eat up most of his budget. He could get a sinlge sub and make a ported box. By using a good sub with the right enclosure things can still get pretty loud.



I still think Ebay is his best bet....

Greg Peters

The first time I stumbled across the db212-2, I was in Circuit City looking at software. While I didn't notice their price on it, they had it just pumping and you could hear it through the whole store, so I walked over to have a look.

They had it hooked up with a less than stellar amp (so it was a little sloppy in the bottom end), but even without the transfer function you would see in a car, the db212-2 made you sit up and take notice. It was very loud, and the right amp would have cleaned it up a whole bunch.

They may have it priced for less than MSRP, or might even put it on sale from time to time, so if there's a CC near you it may be worth checking out.

You could always buy the raw drivers and build your own box for them, but a ported enclosure as good as the one it comes with would take some work. CC often has a "buy one sub, 2nd one half price" type of sale, which could save you some more $$ if you did want to build your own box for them.

CC used to have a thing where they would demo a sub box in your car for you, which gave you a pretty realistic idea of what you could expect for performance. While not my first choice for installers, they have some decent middle range audio gear at reasonable price points.

Greg Peters

MacLeod wrote:

Just pick out a head unit, preferably Alpine, and get some Polk DB coaxials thatll fit in your doors, run them off your HU and look for a Profile amp for the sub (all this stuff is on Crutchfield's site) and then put em together with that Visonik sub and thats about all you can do. Hell thatll still run you abot $750.

On a semi-related note, I heard the new Alpine CDA-9856 in my brother's second system...not too bad SQ wise, but gone are most of the advanced Bass Engine controls. You get basic bass/treble controls with a moveable Q and center frequency for each, no X-over. The 2V pre-outs didn't seem to cause his two mid-priced amps (1100 rms total) to suffer as badly as I had guessed.

I also took a Mac/iPod rabid co-worker shopping for a new HU, and he fell in love with the CDA-9857 (due to no additional interface or cable required for the iPod). I set it up for him, and was expecting more sound control than in the 9856, but Nooooo. SQ was also good, Bio-Light display was decent, and built-in animations were distracting.

I didn't care for the detachable "flap-face" on these units- they take some fiddling to get the face back on with the exposed gears.

For the price points, the '06 Alpines get you a reasonably good sounding HU with minimalist tuning ability, but would probably be better than some of the competition in the lowest price range. An older Alpine from Ebay may be a better choice for a higher end system down the road, or save for a new Pioneer or Eclipse unit.

1996blackmax

Reason I picked up my older CDA-9835, still has the Bass Engine Pro.


I have to give it to Alpine for making their HU's very easy to use, the main reason I am using one again. Something that I cannot really say for Eclipse or Pioneer. I am talking about the top of the line gear for these companies.

I think the Biolite display is the best one on the market right now. Very easy to see, even in direct sunlight, and not at all flashy. It does appear that it is smaller on the CDA-9857.

Greg Peters

1996blackmax wrote:

I think the Biolite display is the best one on the market right now. Very easy to see, even in direct sunlight, and not at all flashy. It does appear that it is smaller on the CDA-9857.

Though the option of no animation is present on the 9857, the animations do undermine the biolight display. You have a choice of two very similar fonts for text, and no Ipersonalize option.

The '06 Alpine line is great for teens and "mature" types who need a HU but would never figure out a parametric EQ. There isn't really anything top end unless you drop well over a grand for the DVA-9965.

There are a couple of new 9855s kicking around at local dealers, but they want top dollar for them. I bought one for a friend's system 4-5 months before Mac got his, for a good price.

One salesman made a comment that Alpine is intending to completely phase out production of head units in the next few years (due to OEM systems designed to hamper replacement). I hope he is seriously misinformed- it would be nice if they were to put out some more top-tier HUs for the serious car audio nut in the $400-600 range again. I'd love a NIB 9835.

1996blackmax

I was hoping that Alpine would turn around in 06. Pretty sad when their current gear can't really surpass the setup that I had from around 1997-98 as far as SQ goes. This excludes their F1 stuff.

I recently thought about going with a CDA-7998R and pairing it up with the old PXA-H600 processor that I had via the 7998's optical output. That processor produced great sound. That thing had a four band PEQ for the front and rear, time alignment, subwoofer x-over, and four 20bit Burr Brown DAC's for the main speakers, and two of Alpine's 1bit DAC's for the subwoofer section. It also had an automatic noise cancellation/subwoofer tuning feature. This was carried out after the processor measured the frequency response via a microphone. It was supposed to help clean up low frequency phase shifts, bass reflections, and cancellations. I did not really like how it sounded with the automatic setup, I mainly used it for the sound it produced and the other features.