Too much Power?

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  • arun1963
    arun1963 Posts: 1,797
    edited April 2010
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    craigpsu wrote: »
    All,
    I am tempted to return one pair or hold on to them. That is a lot of money to have sitting around.

    If you could use the cash elsewhere, yeah return them.
    craigpsu wrote: »
    The new PDX style amps are hitting the market now. The new PDX amps supposedly amplify high frequencies better. Anyway, I got a good deal I think..

    I dont know about being better for the highs, but yeah they will have a lower noise floor for sure.
    craigpsu wrote: »
    So the dual voice coill give you more flexbility, but does it sound better with my setup than the single voice coil?

    Nope no difference in sound. It just lets you draw more power. Which may not be possible on the pdx but if you ever change the amp...........

    craigpsu wrote: »
    And of course I am still debating my head unit purchase. One of these days I will pull the trigger.

    If you were'nt looking at your i-pod as your primary music source, I would have pushed you towards the pio 800/880. For your application tho the Alpine 9887 is great, if you're only doing music. If you want audio and video then yeah you'd have to look at the av units with the processor.
    craigpsu wrote: »
    Thanks for all the help, I am pretty green in the area of car audio. I have learned a lot over the last couple years for home audio so I assume it will come with time.

    Yup car audio and home audio are two different animals.
    craigpsu wrote: »
    Well maybe if I would open my eyes all I have to do is hit that multiquote button. Seems pretty simple...

    :)
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  • craigpsu
    craigpsu Posts: 106
    edited April 2010
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    arun1963 wrote: »
    If you could use the cash elsewhere, yeah return them.

    Nope no difference in sound. It just lets you draw more power. Which may not be possible on the pdx but if you ever change the amp...........

    If you were'nt looking at your i-pod as your primary music source, I would have pushed you towards the pio 800/880. For your application tho the Alpine 9887 is great, if you're only doing music. If you want audio and video then yeah you'd have to look at the av units with the processor.

    :)

    I don't necessarily need the cash, but I just don't want to get caught with having something I will not get my money back out of.

    Ok I will probably go with the DVC then.

    I wish I could get the bigger HUs with video etc... but I can't fit them in this particular bit of space.
    LSi15s, LSiC, LSiFX, LC80F/X, microPro 4000, Pioneer Elite SC-07, XPA-2, XPA-5, PS3
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  • arun1963
    arun1963 Posts: 1,797
    edited April 2010
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    The sr's are going to be like mozart, rembrandt, van gough et al. All masters, more famous and better valued after their lifespan than during it. :D You surely won't lose money on the sr's if you held on for a couple of years. It's your call though.

    Unless you have kids who will be watching cartoons, so that they aren't a nusiance while you drive, do you really need av? You're not going to get to watch the video programs while u drive.......not unless you get one with a HUD. :)

    I guess you've reached a point where you have to start making decisons.

    OT: You pulling an all nighter or what?
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  • craigpsu
    craigpsu Posts: 106
    edited April 2010
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    Anyone have suggestions for Amp wiring kits? 1,000 Watts RMS for the pair... one with 2x 30 A fuses the other 4x 20A fuses. Each amp calls for 4 AWG wire so I assume I should probably get at least 2 AWG. Any advice what to get?

    Speaker Wire? I have been using 12 AWG Belden Cable in my house for the the rears and I have some left over as well as I need to order some more. Will that work or is there a better solution? I have no idea whether it is OFC or not I just know it is decent cable. But I am willing to buy whatever gets the job done.
    LSi15s, LSiC, LSiFX, LC80F/X, microPro 4000, Pioneer Elite SC-07, XPA-2, XPA-5, PS3
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  • craigpsu
    craigpsu Posts: 106
    edited April 2010
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    arun1963 wrote: »
    The sr's are going to be like mozart, rembrandt, van gough et al. All masters, more famous and better valued after their lifespan than during it. :D You surely won't lose money on the sr's if you held on for a couple of years. It's your call though.

    Unless you have kids who will be watching cartoons, so that they aren't a nusiance while you drive, do you really need av? You're not going to get to watch the video programs while u drive.......not unless you get one with a HUD. :)

    I guess you've reached a point where you have to start making decisons.

    OT: You pulling an all nighter or what?

    I don't need video I just like the bigger screen, but the way this is set up I am pretty sure that anything will intefere with other controls in my car.

    I am actually in Iraq, and will be home in about 5 days so I bought all this stuff to put in my car right when I get home. I am glad I started looking now because i got some deals and I ended up doing more research than I had intended.
    LSi15s, LSiC, LSiFX, LC80F/X, microPro 4000, Pioneer Elite SC-07, XPA-2, XPA-5, PS3
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  • craigpsu
    craigpsu Posts: 106
    edited April 2010
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    That thing is pretty nice, its a little weird that they offer one for 1300 then the next step down is like 300 bucks.
    LSi15s, LSiC, LSiFX, LC80F/X, microPro 4000, Pioneer Elite SC-07, XPA-2, XPA-5, PS3
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  • arun1963
    arun1963 Posts: 1,797
    edited April 2010
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    Yes the p99 would be great. It goes for about $1,900 in local money and that to w/o b/w.

    Call it running a svc on lowish power and a lot of times I'm craving for the extra 100w that a dvc would have given me. I'd just never buy a svc ever again. Situation is different for craig. Yeah he can get either.
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  • craigpsu
    craigpsu Posts: 106
    edited April 2010
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    Should I be running at least 2 AWG for the amps and use a distribution block? Any recommended brands? I have looked at Rockford, Kicker, StreetWires, and metra among a few others. Should I get a cap or just wait and see if I really need it.

    Thanks
    LSi15s, LSiC, LSiFX, LC80F/X, microPro 4000, Pioneer Elite SC-07, XPA-2, XPA-5, PS3
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  • craigpsu
    craigpsu Posts: 106
    edited April 2010
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    DSkip wrote: »
    I've always heard from this forum that caps are generally a waste of money. If you do a dist block, I think I would run 2 gauge into the dist and two 4 gauge out of the dist to the amps.

    That is what I was thinking about. Running 4 gauage to the amps because that is what they call for anyway.

    Once you get over around 600W there are not that many dual amp kits, so I was looking at using a distribution block on a kit. I was also thinking about just buying all the wire and parts and making it myself. Ideally that would save money because the wire is the right length, but a lot of places will put discounts on the whole package deal so I might just get a kit and a block unless I can find one inlcuded. The wire might have to be 0/1 because it seems a lot of companies jump from 4 AWG to 0/1. There are a million kits out there.
    LSi15s, LSiC, LSiFX, LC80F/X, microPro 4000, Pioneer Elite SC-07, XPA-2, XPA-5, PS3
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  • arun1963
    arun1963 Posts: 1,797
    edited April 2010
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    4 gauge for power should be fine. Run it to a distribution block and then split there for the two amps. Skip is right, caps are worthless. Whatever you would have spent on the cap, add that to the sound deadening budget.
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  • craigpsu
    craigpsu Posts: 106
    edited April 2010
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    I take it that the cheaper kits lik knukonceptz are ok?
    LSi15s, LSiC, LSiFX, LC80F/X, microPro 4000, Pioneer Elite SC-07, XPA-2, XPA-5, PS3
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  • Greg Peters
    Greg Peters Posts: 605
    edited April 2010
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    craigpsu wrote: »
    I take it that the cheaper kits lik knukonceptz are ok?

    They sell two kinds of power wire kits at Knu- copper and CCA (copper clad aluminum). The wire in the CCA kits has to be larger than standard in order to have similar properties to the copper of the same gauge, and as such accessories from other manufacturers meant for standard wire size don't fit.

    There were a few series of RCAs from Knu that weren't so durable, but most of the latest stuff should be fine.
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  • craigpsu
    craigpsu Posts: 106
    edited April 2010
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    DSkip wrote: »
    I can't recall hearing anything bad about knu. I can recall hearing several good things about their kits. Sound deadening is a definite thing to look into. At first you may not need it as much, but after those Sr's break in, you will be wanting it. That was always the last thing I wanted to invest in. It's the one thing that you can't really take out of the car, and its not exactly a cheap investment. It is well worth it though.

    Initially I am definately going to do the doors and probably some areas in the trunk (I also have a rattle in one of the pillars that needs to be fixed). The rest I think I will feel my way out on. I have read a few posts about other brands and things other than dynamat, any suggestions? One was about sound deadener or something like that.
    LSi15s, LSiC, LSiFX, LC80F/X, microPro 4000, Pioneer Elite SC-07, XPA-2, XPA-5, PS3
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  • craigpsu
    craigpsu Posts: 106
    edited April 2010
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    Greg Peters wrote: »
    They sell two kinds of power wire kits at Knu- copper and CCA (copper clad aluminum). The wire in the CCA kits has to be larger than standard in order to have similar properties to the copper of the same gauge, and as such accessories from other manufacturers meant for standard wire size don't fit.

    There were a few series of RCAs from Knu that weren't so durable, but most of the latest stuff should be fine.

    If I went with Knu I was going to buy the Knu Flex (the copper type), what I wasnt sure is if I wanted all their parts such as fuses etc... I also looked at JL, StreeWires, but they were a good bit more money.
    LSi15s, LSiC, LSiFX, LC80F/X, microPro 4000, Pioneer Elite SC-07, XPA-2, XPA-5, PS3
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  • Greg Peters
    Greg Peters Posts: 605
    edited April 2010
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    craigpsu wrote: »
    If I went with Knu I was going to buy the Knu Flex (the copper type), what I wasnt sure is if I wanted all their parts such as fuses etc... I also looked at JL, StreeWires, but they were a good bit more money.

    If you go with the copper, you won't be limited to using certain accessories like you would by going with the oversized CCA wire. Streetwires is great stuff if the budget allows, but you can find terminals, distribution blocks, fuse holders of decent enough quality that fit and work well without having to spend huge money.

    Try http://www.parts-express.com/car-audio.cfm ...they have a minimum order, but their pricing is pretty good.
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  • craigpsu
    craigpsu Posts: 106
    edited April 2010
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    Anyone have any experience with HD radio? I am deciding whether or not I want to add HD radio to the Alpine head unit I am looking at. I am also looking into a cd changer, I have gotten very used to having that capability, of course most of the time it would defeat the purpose of the ipod (except in quality). I know the DVD one for Alpine is expensive, but does it work well?

    The downside to Alpine is they make you get everything as accessories. Kenwood and Pio have a lot of things built in. But I have heard that the ipod interface on the Pio's is not as good (unless the newer ones is better). I also am looking at all the sound tuning functions, so that goes into it.
    LSi15s, LSiC, LSiFX, LC80F/X, microPro 4000, Pioneer Elite SC-07, XPA-2, XPA-5, PS3
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  • Greg Peters
    Greg Peters Posts: 605
    edited April 2010
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    craigpsu wrote: »
    Anyone have any experience with HD radio? I am deciding whether or not I want to add HD radio to the Alpine head unit I am looking at. I am also looking into a cd changer, I have gotten very used to having that capability, of course most of the time it would defeat the purpose of the ipod (except in quality). I know the DVD one for Alpine is expensive, but does it work well?

    The downside to Alpine is they make you get everything as accessories. Kenwood and Pio have a lot of things built in. But I have heard that the ipod interface on the Pio's is not as good (unless the newer ones is better). I also am looking at all the sound tuning functions, so that goes into it.

    Another problem with Alpines is that to run multiple devices through the Ai-Net input on the back (changer, iPod, tuner etc) requires the use of a rare and discontinued multiple changer adapter (KCA-400c, KCA-410c) unless your devices have a pass-thru like early XM/Sirius tuner modules. You will be limited on how many accessories you run ;).
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  • craigpsu
    craigpsu Posts: 106
    edited April 2010
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    Greg Peters wrote: »
    Another problem with Alpines is that to run multiple devices through the Ai-Net input on the back (changer, iPod, tuner etc) requires the use of a rare and discontinued multiple changer adapter (KCA-400c, KCA-410c) unless your devices have a pass-thru like early XM/Sirius tuner modules. You will be limited on how many accessories you run ;).

    Yeah I know about running all the accessories, it makes it a pain. I know Pio makes some good head units but several have complained about the ipod interface and I have not heard much about kenwood, they are a little bit cheaper but maybe that is because the qaulity is not as good.

    Anyone familiar with HD radio? How well will it work with a good system (SQ wise)?

    Thanks
    LSi15s, LSiC, LSiFX, LC80F/X, microPro 4000, Pioneer Elite SC-07, XPA-2, XPA-5, PS3
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