I've been reading a few posts about various sound systems that people are putting together and I wanted to see if anyone has any advice or if someone can point me to a tutorial of what parts I need to buy.

The only thing I know for sure is that I want to get the Alpine IVA-D310 with either the 872a NAV system or the Blackbird. I'm not a huge audiophile, but I do know that I want new front component speakers, 2 10" subs in this enclosure and I definitely want to dynamat the car.

My questions (or maybe this can be answered in a tutorial) are:

• Can I run the speakers and subs off one amp?
• What's a cap and do I need one for this setup?
• Can I just use the stock rear speakers?
• Is there anything I'm missing out on?

I've been looking at http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/ but I'm not sure what to order. I'd like to go through a dealer, but after going to Al & Ed's Autoshop and being quoted 6-7000 for the install and all the parts (including the HU and NAV), I kinda got scared off and was thinking of buying the parts on my own and finding an installer just charge me for the labor.

Any help or directions to a friendly installer in So Cal would be awesome!

 

I'll help you install everything. I have tons of experience with all sorts of installs in the Z ... from in-car PCs, touchscreens, DVD Navi and custom fiberglass. I have a few good references on here if you need em

I'm up in the Valley ... not too far away

PM me and I can help you throw something together..

Jim

 

PM sent. Thanks for the reply Jim.

 

You are better off buying the equiptment online, than through a shop 90% of the time.

1.You could run speakers and subs off of one amp, but it is not practical at all. You are much better off getting seperate amps.

2. Do not buy a cap. Did the shop say you should get one? Cap's are pointless and do nothing to help you. Any shop who suggests one is a clear sign they do not know what they are doing.

3. Most good systems do not even need rear speakers. The goal of a good SQ system is something called a "front stage". This creates a feeling of the band playing right in front of you. When you have sound coming from behind it ruins the imaging of the system. The only real reason for rear speakers is if you plan on playing DVD's/consoles in your car.

4. Yes. There is a lot you must learn, however I highly suggest you check out these companies: Elemental Designs, Image Dynamics, DLS, and Adire Audio.

What is your goal for the system? SQ #1 priority? Loudness? 50/50 mix? what?

How much are you looking to spend total? Very improtant questions.

 

Thanks for the advice Hypnoz. It seems like it's definitely a better idea to go with buying my equipment online. Thanks for the advice about the brands, I'd heard that DLS speakers are up and coming so I'll definitely check those out.

As for the caps, I was speaking to someone else and they mentioned that caps are a good idea since it'll make sure a constant amount of power will be pumped into the amps instead of draining it all from the car battery. Is there a reason you wouldn't want to use caps?

Anyway, thanks for the advice. I definitely want to focus on sound quality over just power so I'll probably check those speakers out to figure out which of them deliver the sound I like.

 

buy part online and have the shop install for you.

 

How much are you wanting to spend Pengox?

 

I'm looking to spend 4500 max, including labor and the head unit.

 

wow thats a nice size budget.... honestly id buy a turbo kit, but u sir will end up with a nice system instead.

 

for 4500 i acn put together a system in a Z that can gurantee a decent placing any a regional sq event

b

 

This guy knows what he is talking about and doing.

PM him with your goals for the system, etc and he will cook something up that will blow your mind.

Go with DLS Nobelium's for sure. As far as subs you could do IDMax or Ov.2 (if you want to save a little). For that amount of money you can do something similar to what me and 16psi are going to do....

 

Hey Hypnoz, do you mind sharing what you're planning on doing with 16psi? I finally decided to pickup the eclipse avn7000 HU, but I still haven't decided on everything else.

And is there any store or place I can check out the DLSs other than driving up to San Jose? I'd like to actually hear them before driving 500 miles lol

 

well, go to www.dlsamerica.com

and find a local dls dealer...but remember one thing, hearing it on a sound board is useless, they will sound totally different in your car...

see if you can find a guy with them installed in the car and tuned for sound quality.

as for hypnoz's install hehe, well...lets asy the best of the best from DLS, elemental design will be used, and it should sound phonomenal, kinda **** me off though cause ia m essentially building the same system in my new car as a demo vehicle haha

b

 

Gotta disagree with that statement. A sound board listening test is actually a pretty good representation of what they will sound like in the car (less the bass response due to a larger "cabin". A good, and in this case, extra-ordinary speaker will sound nearly identical on and off axis, being that it has the good sound power dispersion to yeild amazing results in nearly ANY install.

 

hehe, well, my experiences differ, here is a direct quote from Manville Smith , one of hte heads at JL audio:

"As for soundboards... you are absolutely correct that a soundboard will not tell you how a speaker system will sound in your car. Speakers that sound balanced in the car generally sound pretty mellow on the soundboard. Anything that has pronounced, aggressive midrange or high-end on a soundboard will almost alway tear your face off in the car unless you apply lots of equalization."