Miscue, help me with my car audio!!!

[AssassN]

I'm saveing up for either a 2000 Eclipse, or hopefully a 2002 WRX (hopefully). I'd like to get a really nice sound system but I'm not sure what brands to get for each part ex (pioneer amp or sony, etc).

Price isn't to big of an issue because I can get damn near any brand for half price.

I just need your opinion on the brand with the most bang for the buck.

Thanks in advance, I saw your other threads but the massive amounts of words was kind of confusing.

BTW I'd rather it sound good than set off car alarms, loudness is a plus though.

[Mango]

If money is no object, buy either Alpine or Eclipse for your headunit. Alpine makes some dynamite amps also. Personally, I would use all Alpine (speakers and all). But thats just me. Sweet..sweet stuff. I used to have an all Eclipse system with PPI amps like 4 years ago. Loved that system.

[FalconGuy016]

Go miscue! He saved me!

[AssassN]

Originally posted by FalconGuy016
Go miscue! He saved me!

Your post inspired me.

Anyone know a company that makes nice custom fiberglass dash boards? I have the uberiest idea for a dash.

[Miscue]

What do you want the system to do?

SQ? SPL? Competition?

How much work are you willing to put into it?

How willing are you in dismantling the interior of your car?

How much money? Under 10K? Under 5?

[banzaimf]

For decent sound with a little boom.

I would reccomend, a Clarion deck (best bang for the buck ratio out there IMO.) or an Alpine deck.

For Amps, I would go with Alpine or Phoenix Gold.

Speakers would be Boston Acoustic or Polk Audio. (depends on your ears preference) for the doors and a JL Audio Stealthbox for Subwoofer.

It would give you a pretty decent sounding system that will not break the back. Depending on how crazy you want to get with Head Units and Amps, you could be under 2500 pretty easily.

[jdev]

on headunits,

hands down, alpine. they make the best head units out IMO. you may pay a little more for it, but you'll know where that extra cash went.

interior speakers.

despite what others say, I would have to say a set of boston acoustic component speakers and rears would desimate all. I used to work in car audio installations, both freelance and for circuit city. most of the times I would recommend those serious about it to go get a set of BA components from tweeter, since CC didnt sell them.

amplifiers..

you have a very wide range of choices here. split them up accordingly.

for your interior speakers. you can suffice with a decent infinity amp, or a smaller amperage alpine amp.

for subwoofers, many more choices. as mango said, PPI (precision power insturments) is a great company for subwoofer amps. I would have to say up in range would be kicker or alpine. excellent clean power.

i think that pretty much covers it. the only names I recommend staying away from are JVC and Pyle. never been a big fan of thier equipment..

for subwoofers.

so many subs, so little time.

personally, I had a setup with 3 mtx thunder 6000s, and they could reach an SPL of 140. if you ask miscue, thats pretty decent.

kicker and orion would be my 2 other choices for subwoofers.

[Miscue]

That's cool Joey D.

My uber-system has been put on hold... basically, I'm waiting for my job stuff to be squared away, and I need to take about a week off to do my system. I'm also thinking that I'll wait until I get a car, I don't want to go all out with a truck... although I'll do something simple with it when I have the time and money.

This is how I'll do my install... it will begin with dismantling the interior of the car. Going to sound seal the crap outta it... floor, doors, roof, trunk, license plates if necessary, etc... and use acoustic foam stuff to remove all vibrations. Will test it on road for a while to make sure I got everything. Will temporarily put in speakers and run test tracks/tones to see if I can get anything to vibrate/resonate. When I'm happy with that, I can put my car back together.

Next I'll be making fiberglass kickpods for my 6.5-7" fronts and tweeters. This is a pain. You have to first make brackets and temporarily mount speakers. I'll probably spend a day or two at least, adjusting the angles and placements to tune my front stage... using test tracks. Then you gotta mold those suckers and hope they come out good... or do it over again.

After this point, most of the really hard work is done... you have to be very careful because it's not easy to change later. The rest is a matter of further tuning that can be done across several weeks... using various meters and stuff checking for sound cancelation, standing waves, and stuff like that... that you can clean up with your processors and EQ. "Step away from my EQ... I will beat you."

It's a lot of work... but what you end up with is something amazing that most people have never had the opportunity to experience. There's a stark difference between an uber-custom setup, and something BestBuy installs... or even most car audio shops... simply because of the work involved.

[AssassN]

SQ? SPL? Competition?

Mainly SQ, but SPL is a plus. No competition. Most of my money is goig into the engine so I'm trying to keep the sound system price low.

How much work are you willing to put into it?

Really as much as it takes, I want my car to look and sound good. When I get all the audio stuff I'm getting a fiberglass dash so I'll have it custom made to fit the speakers. If I get to a point that I can't do the work, my dads company can install it.

How willing are you in dismantling the interior of your car?

Interior will be all new when I'm done so it doens't matter to much.

How much money? Under 10K? Under 5?

I'm just trying to get it to sound as nice as I can without spending a whole lot. Keep in mind all the prices will be 40-50% off of what they normally are.

Thanks veryyy much for helping.

Ohh ya, my dads company sells that foam that keeps vibrating down so I have that covered.

Do you have pictures of work you have previously done?

[cheetah256]

sorry to hijack the thread, but miscue, would you happen to know the best way to get in touch with eclipse? i've emailed them a few times with no response, and their website is almost unuseable. i've got an older deck that i need to clean, and don't have a manual.

[Miscue]

Well, the reason I asked about dismantling the interior is because that's what it takes to sound dampen it. Sound dampening is VERY good to do, but it's a pain and takes a long time. You don't have to do the whole thing, but might want to at least do the floor and doors... and think about the trunk where needed.

Otherwise... I've already made recommendations in another thread that you've probably seen.

Get a nice head unit, a nice multi-channel amp, one musical sub and appropriate enclosure, a good wiring kit, best front speakers you want to pay for, and decent rear fills are good enough. If you don't want to seal your car, at least seal your front speakers and/or use dampening pads. You'll be good to go. My guess is under 2k.

[AssassN]

Any car audio related questions are fine by me.

[Miscue]

Originally posted by cheetah256
sorry to hijack the thread, but miscue, would you happen to know the best way to get in touch with eclipse? i've emailed them a few times with no response, and their website is almost unuseable. i've got an older deck that i need to clean, and don't have a manual.

I have no idea. You might want to get on rec.car.audio and ask around for help.

[AssassN]

What I was kind of asking is what brand.

Like for example "Alpine makes the best front speakers"

I basically just need a list to guild my buying.

I have heard alot of good stuff about Alpine, Eclipse, Audiobahn (sp?), Pioneer, Rockford Fosgate. I can get the biggest discount off JBL and Infinity, are they any good for what I need?

Thanks for the help. I saw your other thread but was confused with all the posts.

[AssassN]

Also, do you make your own fiberglass peices?

I'd like to have a fiberglass dash and console etc but I haven't found a company I like that makes them.

Also know any companys that make custom guage pods? I'm looking for some to sit in the center of my dash.