Audio Questions...and tons of it!!

[Try2Live4God]

Ok....I have a ton of questions about car audio. I'll try to make it as short as possible!

First, I currently have a stock setup in my Integra.
Second, I do want to upgrade but not anything spectacular. I just want to have a lil' better sound.
Third, where should I start?

I know I should start with a new head unit. I was looking at Alpine.....but which one? Can anyone recommend a decent one...?? Doesn't have to be top line but definitely not bottom line either...

I want to upgrade the door and rear speakers. I was also looking at Alpine to do the job. I heard about the Type R's....but any help or recommendation would help.

I'm sure i'll need an amp. I'm totally lost with which amp are good these days. Any recommendations would be great.

Last but not least, subs. I don't want to put extra weight on my car so I decided to just get a 10" sub. Again, I need some recommendations. Not sure who's who out there these days.

I'm kinda new to this and any help would be appreciated!

[Playboy LS]

OK sounds like you just want a nice little sound system which is easy to achive.

First i would recommend a pioneer head unit. They play nice highs and mid range plus the pioneers have a direct rca setup for your subwoofer amp. dont get me wrong Alpine is a very good brand but you can also check out pioneer because thats a proven brand.

For door speakers:
You can get door speakers and run them off the radio and it will still play good but if you want to do the two amp setup then you can get a amp just to play your door and rear speakers and then setup the amp to just play highs and mid range. I would recommed Pioneer 4-Channel Amplifier (GM6300F). Remember if you dont want a big setup then you dont necessarily need a amp to play the door and rear speakers. The speakers will sond good if you just upgrade them with a good head unit.

For subs:
I recommend a 10in kicker comp 100%. If you have never heard Kickers play then you will be amazed to hear how they really kick. I have two 10in kickers and they play better than my friends 2 12in subs. Check this out its definatly worth it:
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Kicke...oductDetail.do

As for a amp to push the sub i would recommend a kicker mono amp,MTX, Bazooka or Eclipse. These are all good brands which will give you a bang. If you want to run a proven setup like mine which is a proven monster you can go with two 10in kicker comp in a vented box which is pretty light and power the subs with a Rocksford fosgate punch.

[Playboy LS]

OK sounds like you just want a nice little sound system which is easy to achive.

First i would recommend a pioneer head unit. They play nice highs and mid range plus the pioneers have a direct rca setup for your subwoofer amp. dont get me wrong Alpine is a very good brand but you can also check out pioneer because thats a proven brand.

For door speakers:
You can

[Playboy LS]

my bad i messed up the post with second one sorry

[spyderman1588]

i have an alpine head until and i love it. very simple to use. its kind of old so im not even sure if they sell it anymore but it is then Alpine CDA-9847. i also have 2 4.25" alpine type-s speakers in the doors and 2 alpine type-s 6x9s in the back. which im really glad i got all of those.

an amp is always good, i have a P6002 Rockford Fosgate amp in my car to my subs and it knocks them nicely. i had a smaller one (P4002) and i ended up blowing the channels on it, that sucked. and the subs i have are two 12" Kicker CVRs which i really like too.

good luck with what you go with and hopefully everything will work out for ya.

[Try2Live4God]

Thanks guys for your feedback!

So if I wanted to have 2 amps (one for door and rear, one for sub) should the head unit I get have at least 2 pre-outs??

[Playboy LS]

Originally Posted by Try2Live4God

Thanks guys for your feedback!

So if I wanted to have 2 amps (one for door and rear, one for sub) should the head unit I get have at least 2 pre-outs??

Essentially you woud want that but it depends on which kind of amp you have and how you want to run your setup. The basic way to do it is the unit has two pre outputs one that is regular for th door speakers and one thats for the amp that will be playing the sub so you can control them separately. If the stereo you have only have one output you can get a amp with a built in crossover and an low output. THen you can run one from the head unit to one amp and from that amp to the other.

Remember your setup is essential to the quality of sound you will get so be smart about it. I would recomend you get a head unit with two pre outputs.

[spyderman1588]

if you get 2 amps then you will have to get another battery too.

[Playboy LS]

Originally Posted by spyderman1588

if you get 2 amps then you will have to get another battery too.

Not necessarily it depends how much power your amp are pushing. If when you turn up the music and you turn on your head lights and they are fadeing in and out then you will need to get a capacitor may be a 1 or 2 fared. You can get a way wwith running two amps and nt needing a capacitor it all depends on how much power the amps are pushing.

[spyderman1588]

i needed a capacitor for my one amp and my lights still dim a little bit if i turn it up loud enough.

[tokidoki]

Originally Posted by spyderman1588

i needed a capacitor for my one amp and my lights still dim a little bit if i turn it up loud enough.

capacitors are only a temporary fix for a car's electrical system. if you are on a budget, then a high output alternator probably wont be within your budget. So I would start by upgrading all the wires connecting to your battery. In the car audio world, we call it the "BIG 3" upgrade. you would replace the wires from the alternator to the positive battery terminal, negative terminal to the chassis, and the chassis to the engine block. replacing these wires with thicker 0/1 gauge wire would increase the flow of electricity in your car, preventing any loss of power. Overall, this is the most cost effective solution, unless you really do have the money for a new alt or a new battery.

Try2Live4God, what is your budget for all of this? car audio is not something you can go into if you have a low budget. you really get what you pay for, unless its some crap like audiobahn, boss, sony, etc...personally I would pick up a 5 channel amp. 4 outputs for speakers and 1 output for sub.

-toki

[Try2Live4God]

Originally Posted by tokidoki

Try2Live4God, what is your budget for all of this? car audio is not something you can go into if you have a low budget. you really get what you pay for, unless its some crap like audiobahn, boss, sony, etc...personally I would pick up a 5 channel amp. 4 outputs for speakers and 1 output for sub.

-toki

I don't have a budget....although I wouldn't wanna spend $2000!!!
I plan on getting everything piece by piece cuz I would have to save up...but I want to say around $1000 or so...

[Ska]

Why would he need 2 amps? Won't his deck be good enough to power the speakers, and then just use 1 amp for the sub?

Unless he wants to completely blast the speakers, I don't see why he'd need a seperate amp if he's replacing his stock deck anyway.

[tokidoki]

yeah, unless you want clarity in your music, you would want to upgrade your speakers, but i don't think you'll be able to notice much. so i also suggest just adding a sub.

[Playboy LS]

Originally Posted by Ska

Why would he need 2 amps? Won't his deck be good enough to power the speakers, and then just use 1 amp for the sub?

Unless he wants to completely blast the speakers, I don't see why he'd need a seperate amp if he's replacing his stock deck anyway.

You can run your speakers just off the radio but sometimes the bass will drown out the vocals wen you crank itup so thats why u need a amp to play the vocals. nothing big just something small. maybe a 500 watt 4 channel