Help me with car audio!!!

Ok, I am very knowledgable with electronics and audio equipment (its my job), but i know nothing about car audio. here is what i want to do:

I have a nice cd deck with ipod hookup, so i dont need that. I listen to power metal, lots of double bass. I dont want huge bass sound like the rap people, just want the double bass to hit good, but short so the double bass is distinct.

Car is a 92 Beretta GTZ, which has a good size trunk, but i dont want these things taking up alot of room. i have a pair of infinnity 693.7i 6x9s i have to put in still, but if someone can help set me up with a good bass sound i would appreciate it

oh, and i want to keep it CHEAP, so used is ok. also, i will not be cranking the sound so my windows shatter, so i dont need a 5000 billion watt amp, just want good double bass. but i want to hear the guitar and singing over it still.

Thanks for the help

I listen to the same kind of music.

I ran an Alpine Type S 10" in a slightly undersized box with an alpine 200 watt amp.

It was fast enough to keep up with anything I listened to.

Smaller box kept the bass nice and tight.

so is that how it generally works? smaller box=faster response? is one 10 enough, i would assume so, but i dont know. any suggestions on brands? i want cheap, but i want it to sound good. dont need a fancy amp

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Originally Posted by devildog

so is that how it generally works? smaller box=faster response? is one 10 enough, i would assume so, but i dont know. any suggestions on brands? i want cheap, but i want it to sound good. dont need a fancy amp

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ive got a alpine type r I'd be willing to part ways with for $50 its never been used before

is that a sub or an amp? is it 10"? any more specs, part number or something so i can look it up and pics?

you can email em to dominikcanova@sbcglobal.net if you want

When buying car audio components, always go name brand.
Pioneer makes some great subs. I'd go with 10 inch subs if I were you. Just try to match the output of your amp (Kicker, alpine, kenwood I think make the best amps) to the wattage of your subs.

And make your own box please. Most of the pre-fab boxes are just press board and will blow up over extented time. And they're expensive as hell to boot.

although i am very carpentry inclined, i know nothing about speaker boxes, what size to make, etc

i use this setup. it'a a 12 inch polk audio db124 sub. i'm also using a 400 watt Crunch PZI 100.2 amp. there are adjusters that allow you to change how loud the sub is, and how long it stays around for. for a bit of reference, i do sometimes like to listen to the loud hip hop/rap stuff and i also listen to a lot of metal. both ways i can have it sound great. you pretty much set the amp so it sounds good with what you listen to. some times you have to set a bit of a midian and use the equalizer in the radio/cd player to get it to sound better. not all music sounds the same with the same settings. this can get pretty loud, i've set off car alarms with it, but also, when i first got it i had it set up where the bass was in the background just louder than subtle.

http://www.polkaudio.com/caraudio/products/db124/
http://www.maxxsonics.com/crunch/PZ_amps_details.html

i reccomend buying a box for the sub. they are usually better made than homemade kits because they are sometimes made for the speaker. and they have some sound dampening stuff built into the box. it's not to make the bass quieter, but to remove some vibration in the box.

if you want pics of my setup i'll take pics tomorrow.

how much wattage do i want? i dont want to set off car alarms, i have my motorcycle for that. i just want some decent double bass, short and crisp, but not really really loud. i like to have conversations with my wife in the car ;) i also am looking for dirt cheap. is there a good car audio forum that sells used stuff? or can someone point me to good products used on ebay maybe?

do i even need an amp or a sub? maybe a nice set of 6x9 will do the job? im trying to keep the price down below 200 for everything, including wires

also, is bigger sub mean harder hitting bass? ill be fine with a 10 if its cheaper

since you don't want it loud, you would want at most 400 watts.
actually, with the 6 by 9's you can probably find a good set of 3-ways or 2-ways that sound really good. i'm sure if i pulled my sub out the audio would still sound good cause i have nice 4 ways in .i got most of my audio stuff from the fry's electronics out by be, seeing as how you are from san diego, i think there is a fry's near you. go in and check out the displays. bring in a cd of the stuff you listen too. they let me put a cd in one of the display head units and check how it sounds on the speakers, so they should let you also.

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Originally Posted by devildog

also, is bigger sub mean harder hitting bass? ill be fine with a 10 if its cheaper

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Bigger subs don't necessarily mean harder hitting bass.

The bigger the sub, the lower frequencys it can hit.

If you want to listen to something with really low, drawn out bass (rap) you want a larger sub in a bigger box.

For punchy bass, you want a smaller sub in a smaller box.

In regards to price: With car audio, you get what you pay for.


As for building a box: http://www.bcae1.com/spboxnew2.htm

All that information needed will be provided with your sub.

ok, good info thanks guys. next question. since i dont want low freqs, i want a smaller sub. what should i look for, a 10? also, i dont really want the bass guitar going on the sub. i only want the bass of the drums going. my 6x9s will play the other lows just fine. is that just how i adjust the settings, or is the gear going to make a difference in that?

is this a good amp?

http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAu...roductID=14737

i found one on craigslist for 60 brand new unopened, and he said its been up for a long time and wants it gone by end of day. im gonna offer him 40. let me know if thats any good....

If you want cheap, good quality audio equipment Pioneer is probably your best bet...they have the same quailty as the other big brands and a lot cheaper...


Only other thing I can really add is stay away from sony Xplod speakers and subs, they do make some nice head units , which i see you already have..but the speakers are not great.



Oh and I would stay away from used audio equipment, unless you know the previous owner.

@neppo1345 are you happy with your alpine? Would you recommend it?

Sorry for being off topic.

I'm looking for a new stereo and I'm leaning towards alpine.

The thing is I've read good and bad. Most review sites cover the good and downgrade the bad. I've read some buyer feedbacks as well and that put me on the fence. Do they ship real melons?

After searching the net I've found a better review. A bit harsh finally one that seems to tell it how it is. What do you think about this Alpine head unit? How bad are the drawbacks?

How hard is life with just one USB? What about the screen resolution is it a pixel war?

Tips?

Necro post ?

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Originally Posted by going_home

Necro post ?

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Holy butts.
1) AO is still around! I'll have to roam around some later.
2) I STILL REMEMBER BY LOGIN!

I think one of my cars has an Apline. Since my first car died, the car I got right after it had a decent audio setup so I never modified it. The second car is an older car, and one of the prior owners put in an aftermarked HU, which I think is an Alpine. I need to work on this one, but house repairs kinda have my funds locked up. I'm not quite ready to drop another grand on audio on a 14 year old car. ;D