Car Audio Novice Looking at Tahoe Upgrade

Marcinko7

Gentleman,
I have very little experience in car audio, in the past I have just shoveled out money and had other folks do the install. I came to these forums for home theater and got wonderful advise and steered in the right direction so I'm hoping to do the same thing with the car. I have a factory installed 2001 Tahoe w/Onstar that I'm looking to upgrade. Crutchfield shows my speaker enclosures at 6-3/4" but only show the SR5250's as an option, not the SR6500's. Is there much difference between the two? They show the 12"SR sub as an option but I'm not sure it would fit in the factory enclosure. I'm planning to install a Kenwood KVT-812 DVD Receiver as the 8120 does not fit. I'm hoping to find out how tough the speaker installation would be and what would be the best amp for the outfit. I'm dead set on the Polks, it kills me when young salesman say to "go kicker 'cause the Polks ain't much". I've got a blown right front speaker and would like to install the speakers first, would a factory receiver even get sound out of the SR's if I bought the components sequentially? I appreciate your expert advice.

exalted512

The SR 6500s will fit, not sure why crutchfield says they dont.

Are you wanting to keep your onstar?

The factory sub is an 8", but I wouldn't put an aftermarket sub in a factory enclosure anyway. They use plastic instead of MDF.

You really cant get much easier on installation than that truck.

Your factory radio will play the SRs, but I wouldnt turn the volume past half until you have an amp on them.
-Cody

Marcinko7

Thanks for the reply.
I don't use the onstar its expendable. Where would you put the sub?

exalted512

On some tahoe's, we have been able to completely take out the factory sub and put a new box with a 10" sub in it...or you could just get a small sub/box and put it in the corner of the cargo area in the back.
-Cody

Marcinko7

Good Deal, Last Question - What amp do you recommend for this setup?

cadenceclipse

nice 4-channel for highs and mids. nice monoblock for 12". got a budget?

Marcinko7

No set budget, if I have to buy the setup piece by piece I will to spend the money on the right system. I'm thinking in the area of $4-$5K for the whole deal.

Marcinko7

Polk's vehicle fit guide does not allow for the SR6500's either, I guess that extra 5/16" in depth creates a problem. Is there much difference between them and the 6500's?

exalted512

You can buy the 5.25s if you want, but like i said earlier, the 6500s will fit.
-Cody

cadenceclipse

get the 5.25srs w/ nice 4-channel first, theres plenty out there, cadence, polk, etc. then sub and sub amp. get a sr 12 build yourself a nice box that will fit and you could have a complete killer system for like a grand...

Marcinko7

Does anyone have experience with the JL 600HD/4 and JL 750 HD Sub amps? Reviews so far look good, hoping for a little more feedback before I buy.

cadenceclipse

if your set on JL, why not go for slash v2 amps? afraid of 1000wrms? sr isn't. not to mention would 150wrms on tweets b too much? kicker sx(killer sale, crutchfield), cadence ia

Marcinko7

The slash v2 sounds good for the subs. Can't you attenuate the signal to the tweeters?

cadenceclipse

doesn't that sound to u like not getting what u r paying for? w/ slash v2 u'll get what u pay for, rare w/ jl... i say attenuate on kicker sx or cadence ia4 only, u know, since your not really paying for it anyway..

angiethom

well guyzz i am angie thom. i just bought a new car audio and looking forward to install it manually. As i heard car audio installation is not tough like it seems to be. Also, i ll get to learn from it. Can anyone please guide me the processor to install it manually.

cadenceclipse

start a new post angie. like u said its easy, we'll help u. any relation to -thom-? wifey?

Marcinko7

After planning and scheming for a year and nine months my Tahoe system is complete. Thanks for all the good advice along the way. Thanks also to Custom Car Stereo in Charleston, SC. They have a great reputation for a reason.
Head Unit - Alpine INA-9000. JL Audio Amps - 1000/1 slash v2 for sub, 400/4 for speakers. Speakers - SR 6500's front, SR 5250's rear, SR 124DVC sub. I'm happy, the neighbors aren't. Nuff Said.

Juice75

Nice!!! How do those SR's sound with the tweeters in the stock locations? I've been considering switching over to them from my Focals, but have heard the tweets sound much better on axis.

Marcinko7

Sounds great to me. I fought with the decision to move them up to my A pillars. My installer advised me to leave them. He said it might raise the front stage but it would kill the imaging. Being as I have only heard them in this config I really can't compare. You will play hell getting a pair unless you already own them. They are no longer on the market. I had to go with the 5250's because I couldn't find another set of the 6500's.

JoshParsons84

Polk SR6500

Juice75

I've been watching eBay for SR6500s. Since you have both the 6500 and 5250, can you tell much of a difference between the two? I've actually read that the 5250 has better midrange, but haven't heard both side by side to tell for myself.

And Josh - I called Woofersetc awhile back, and they said they didn't have any of the SR6500s left, but tried to sell me something else. Think it's a little case of bait and switch.

MacLeod

The 5250's are more "neutral" so you can get more accurate midrange out of them plus they play a little higher so you get a little better imaging as well.

That being said the 6500's have tremendous midbass and will play 40 Hz with authority. Overall the 6's do sound a little better due to their mid and sub bass. But if you've got midbass drivers or aren't worried about total up front bass or simply can't fit the 6's, the 5's are a great choice.