Hi everyone, happy holidays and all...

I have been out of car audio for the past two years, just running my stock Bose system to get by. Like everyone here, I feel its on the low-end of being "aight", but it sufficed. Now, I come to find out that my wife had the following packed away in our attic:

• A set of MB Quart RSD 216 Components (w/6.5" woofer)
• A set of MB Quart R CC 116 Coaxials (w/6.5" woofer)
• An Alpine MLV-F450 5-Channel Amp

These are all brand new (albeit old) parts, and were from an unfinished project she had started years ago, and had never gotten around to completing. I knew about the pieces, but never gave them much thought until she asked me if I wanted them (she was going to sell them).

So, while I wasn't planning on upgrading the my system, it looks like I am half of the way there, and would be stupid to pass this up. What I would like is some feedback on this setup. My goals are simply to have a clean sounding system (clear highs, solid mid range, decent bass etc...) My days of door rattling bass are behind me (went away with my old 99' Pathfinder, god rest her soul).

At this point, should I start researching head units/subs and begin contacting my old install shop?

Thanks!

Ryan

 

I say if you are ready to invest in a head and sub, then make it happen. If you have any questions on equipment, feel free to ask and you will get some knowledgeable feedback from the guys here. Good find in the attic.

I remember the day I was cleaning up my ex-girlfriend's basement and found 2 PPI Pro 10's (the old ones with the cast iron baskets from the early 90's). I would have loved to rock those in the Z, but she took them for her G35x.

 

Not to good with all this, good luck.


BUmp

 

Thank you for the info I respect the advice of many on this forum.

What's the weakpoint? I haven't ever used a 5 channel before, nor have I used an Alpine amp. In the past I have used a 4 channel for the mid's and highs, and a two channel to drive the subs.

 

There is nothing bad about running a 5 channel amp if it fits your needs. I ran a 5 channel Crossfire vr705d (50x4, 350x1) in my Xterra to drive Boston Pro comps (bi-amped) and a Boston G510 sub. Sounded really nice.

Pros of 5 channel amps-
*1 component
*1 set of power wires needed
*easier to tune (on some amps)

Cons-
*usually the 5 channel amps aren't very powerful, but are good for modest systems
*can tend to run a bit warmer that 2 separate amps, but usually not a big deal
*1 bigger footprint can be hard to find mounting room

 

MB-Quarts are awesome, but they can have very, very crisp highs. Make sure you get an EQ, or a deck that has a lot of control built in, like an Eclipse. But they will respond very well to bi-amping, or running one channel to each speaker (1 channel to 1 tweeter, 1 channel to 1 mid, etc.).

I would say get another amp and run a single dual-voice coil 10" and you would be good to go.