Hopefully this won't be too long, but here we go.

Currently live between two states (DE & PA) and am moving to Florida in less than a month. Needless to say I have a million different things that I am trying to do...still have not even found a rental property 4 me to live in down there yet, plus starting a new business! Sorry, getting sidetracked!

I have been wanting to do a nice stereo upgrade for quite a while. I'd like to do it before I head south. From what I have been told there is really no one down there that does good installs. I want to keep my cost in check as much as possible, but don't want to waste $ by having to do it over.

Wanted to get Farenheit LCD in cubby (but think should be an easy addition later)

-Alpine CDA-9887 HU w/ Ipod adapter
-Image Dynamics 10" sub for my custom corner enclosure
-Zapco 500.1 Reference amp for sub
-Some sort of 4channel amp for mids(any recomnedations?)
-Components (have an older set of new Blaupunkt 6.5" components, ma)

Should I use the Blaupunkts for the rears?
Any recomendations for nice components for the front, prefer warm than harsh?
What about a decent amp for the mids?
Would this be a nice set up for the Z? (in your opinion, of course)

 

CDT audio. If you want to spend some cash I would get these:
http://www.woofersetc.com/index.cfm?...roduct_ID=4367
and I would put the upstage (fill tweeters) in the stock location and put the main tweeters in the kick panels by your feet as near the woofer as you can get them.

as for the rears...they are a PITA to install and not worth the effort. Put that money toward some good front componets. Leave them out, get a good amp to power those CDTs above and you will be amazed. I recommend the Elemental Designs nine.2x I have the nine.4, it has excellent output and very clean signal, im sure the 2x is the same.
http://www.edesignaudio.com/edv2/pro...products_id=46

If you are looking at some less money, CDT still has some great componets that are not gold series. I have the EF carbon fiber models and they sound spectacular. I am Running the CDT tweeters in the kick panels and a set of JL evolution tweeters in stock location for fill. Sounds great, so I can only imagine how bada$$ the gold series componets are.

As for opinions on your current equipment list:
great headunit
great subwoofer
zapco makes KILLER amps
use the blaupunkt's for mini firepits. Thats about all they are useful for.

 

Thanks the info, looking into this stuff now. Regarding the rear speakers, you think I should forget them all together? Disconnect the stocks?

LoL, just broke out the lightler fluid for the Blaupunkts!!

 

yup. Lemme tell you. I did my install and put alpine type R's in the rear, and I wish I never would have done it. Big waste of time and money. I have my headunit balance pushed all the way front and the rears never recieve a signal. It was alot of work for no reason at all. To get to the rear speakers you have to take down the ENTIRE rear assembly.

So yeah, I would just not even solder them into your wiring harness. or if you have already done so, you can just push the balance of your Headunit all the way forward. whichever is easier.

good luck, post us some pics when you start making some headway!

 

Great, will do!

 

i do quality install

i am in Florida

i can put all that in for you if you wish
no sweat

 

Nice, where abouts in Fl?

 

+1 on CDT
i am waiting on 2 sets for my doors and kicks
ES-0621 Gold & ES-521Gold

 

Delray Beach Florida

Palm Beach county

Were are you moving to & what is your new Business gonna be ? if i may ask
thanks Travis

 

Hey Travis, unfortunately your a little too far from where I'll be. I am moving to Ft. Myers, Fl. The new business is a Hearing Aid Center.

 

ft myers is 75 miles north about 1 1/2 hours at the speed limit not far

my offer stands

thanks

 

I tend to disagree. I know that the fronts can more than handle the load and also provide better dynamics but for some reason I like to hear the sound from all around.

 

I am the same way, but have you ever faded your stereo all the way to the back? For some reason Nissan decided to bias it 99% to the front, and you can barely hear anything even when it is faded all the way back. I would just keep the stock rear speakers running off the head unit power, and use a 4 channel amp to power the sub and fronts.

 

If I may add my

I usually recommend against installing rears in the Z. As stated by AroundMyHorn, he prefers the surround effect. This issue is a very personal choice, and you need to make the decision yourself. There are a few guys on here that have said they don't miss the rears, and then there are a few that have tried eliminating the rears, but felt the sound was missing something. My personal opinion is that with a high quality and well tuned front stage, you will not miss the rear fill.

Bottom line recommendation by me would be - hang onto the Blau's for right now since you already have them. Try the install without the rears. If you feel something is missing, drop the Blau's in and hook them up.

As for front components that are warmer, I would suggest looking into:
CDT
Focal
Diamond Audio (with silk tweets)
Elemental Design (I read somewhere that these were rebadged CDT's???)

Front amp, I would go with a 2-channel amp. If you need the rears hooked up, you can run them off the headunit. They are for rear fill anyway and should almost 'disappear' in to the background - so they don't need a lot of power.


You are on the right track for a great sounding system if properly installed and tuned.

 

no rear fill for me

you would not hear them anyway

 

If you do look at Focal and want something warm, stay away from their metal tweets. The Focal K2P's are very well liked (many people prefer them to the old Utopias) and utilize their silk tweeter. They're not cheap. But I didn't see a budget posted.

Other recommendations for "warm" would include Morel and Dynaudio, although both are power hungry and not cheap themselves.

FWIW, I would agree that unless you plan on watching movies, a properly built and powered front stage would be MORE than enough in a Z. But it is a personal taste thing as was mentioned. I've just never personally been to a concert where the band was behind me.

 

They don't have those in Portland? They are all the rage nowadays!!!





just kidding

 

Thats good advice. In general I tend to think that titanium tweeters are MUCH harsher than silk. If you want warm stay with silk.

 

platinum350, you might want to check with Mike from Zenclosures. He is located in Sarasota,,,just north of Ft. Myers. I am sure he could help your install. Great guy and awesome products...

 

Your right, didn't realize that! Not bad, this could help me out quite a bit. I think once I get down there, get evrything, I will get in touch!
Thanks again!