Hey there...

first off I'm new to the thread. Recently bought an '04 350Z Touring. I had the same Bose System in my old Mazda 6 and wanted to go ahead and upgrade from the beginning to make sure I don't have the same problems I did before. Now I've never done this, so I have a few questions.

I went to a local Car Audio Shop yesterday. The system that the guy put together for me is as follows...

MB Quarts speakers for the front/tweeters/and rear.

Kenwood 400W 4 Channel AMP

Kennwood Double Din HU

He said I could continue to use the bose subwoofer and should be fine. I told him that I didn't want to be heard from 3 blocks away I just wanted to upgrade the speakers and amp and HU so I wouldn't have problems in 6 month's with anything breaking. Anyways, the price he qouted me out the door was just over $1200. I want to know if for the parts I'm getting is this a resonable price, and is it a decent system? Please give me any advice/help/suggestions you can. I have no experience with this so I'm open to all help. Thanks again...and I must say...ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE Z.


Ben

 

while i am not a fan of MBQ (way to harsh), nor kenwood amps (though recently they have improved), the key by far is in the install, that will make or break the outcome of the system...

is the price he quoted you including labor?

I think some of the 12-1500 dollar sets up i have designed for poeple (sans labor) will sound better than this but again, its int he installation as well

b

 

I appreciate your response. The price does include labor, and the company actually has a lifetime warranty regarding the work they do. If possible would you be able to put together a system in that same price range? Also how will the bose sub sound together with this setup? At some point I know I will look at upgrading the sub as well but the guy I spoke to said for what I want right now I should be fine just using the stock sub. Is this true? Again, thanks for the help

 

I am also not a fan of MB Quartz... a bit too mudy for me.. for the same price range i would go for Diamond Audio Components... that bose sub is garbage.. trust me.. i have it in my car.. it produces no sub bass.. i know 6.5 speakers that hit harder than that sub...

if i was doing it.. i would forget the rear speakers and spend more money towards a better sub and sub amp... you don't need rear deck speakers if you setup your system right.

OT: looking at your name... are you west indian?

 

i wouldn't just forget about the rears, they do add alot of extra fill. People advised me not to get rears and i still did. It does help make the sound complete IMO

 

do you have door pods also?

 

No, I'm actually German. Thanks for the advice. If i wanted Diamond Audio Components would that keep me in the same price range of $1200?

 

? first you didnt put any of the model numbers of the stuff he was going to give ya?? there are many out there so it's hard to know for us what your getting is the double din touch screen/have navigation?etc.etc. i have the diamond audio hex's and i really like them? we need more info. first you should set a budget if just over 1,200 is it then just start looking around? i dont know a good double din would be almost all of that

 

hmm... here is hwat i would for 1200 bucks, but of course, not wth labor:

headunit: something decent single din unit from a major manu.: 250 dollar range, i dont like the look of non-screen double din units

amp: DLS classic CA31 3 channel amp 2x75 for the front, 1x300ish for the sub: $300

front speaker: DLS MS6 6.5" comps in kicks: $450

sub: Elemental designs 11kv.2 10" sub: $125

misc wiring: $75

total: $1200

i personally think this would sound better than what you got offered

as for the rear speakres, if you reallw ant them, hook them off the headunit (wiring up at the harness behind radio, connect input and output wires of the rear channels at the bose amp).

install on someting liket his, say you pick up a Zenenclosures box for 126 bucks, would hoenstly be around 200 bucks or so...

again, making for a total system of around 1500 including labor...

btw: life time warranty doenst mean a lot, many shops offer it, but would you want someone who screwed up your work big time to keep on working on your car? I am not saying thats the case with your shop, but dont get overly thrilled when you hear it ehe

b

 

oh sorry.. didn't pick up on the grmn part... i figured west indian because we always used the term footballer also.. i guess its a non us/non soccer term.. go with 16psibrikc suggestions.. sound very solid.. but yeah.. Diamond Audio Comps and MD Quartz usually run around the same price range

 

The speaker is MB Quart. I happen to like this speaker, although some don't care for it, I wouldn't call them "muddy" sounding. A/D/S also makes a nice speaker.

 

Thanks for all the help. Like I said my problem in all of this is that I have no experience with it whatsoever. The place I went to is the first shop I've checked out. A friend of mine said I should also check out Circuit City, because I could get a higher quality system for the same price. I know to stay away from Best Buy, but how does Circuit City measure up. Also, I see your point regarding the warranty 16psibrick. At the time it seemed like a good deal, but the guy probably figured out that I didn't have much knowledge regarding the situation.

 

No it's ok. You don't meet many people here that are into the sport. Do you play yourself? I had never heard of Diamond Audio Comps before. The only reason I knew of MD Quartz is because it's a German company.

 

yeah i played in High School here.. havn't really played much since then..

Diamond Audio are one of the best kept secret: http://www.diamondaudio.com/content/view/95/

i had the M5 Series.. now the D6 Series in my front door of my maxima.. and i had Hex in the rear deck... amazing SQ ... i found it to be much brighter than the MD Quart...

my cousin is an MD Quart fan.. we both went to an car audio shop with a cd and listened to both of them.. he loved the MD Quart.. i loved the Diamonds

I just bought a set of German Made Components for my Z ... Rainbow .. http://car.rainbow-audio.de/products...n=4&art=231489

should be amazing SQ also..