Looking to upgrade my sound system. Whether it be within the month or by the end of the year. So I just bought the car and this is what it had. I have a JL (10w2?) in the stock sub location and that sounds awful. I also have polk audio db front components but i think one of the tweeters is about to go so I think I'm going to replace it all. And this is all being powered by a Phoenix Gold 475ti amp.

If you want to tell me a little about the amp and if i can use it with my future setup, that'd be appreciated. If I can't, that will be for sale.

I don't know too much about the amp but it is in the glove compartment. If it is being played too loud or on for over an hour it shuts off and stays off for hours, if not a day of time, without the stereo even on. So idk if it is the fact of location or the fact of it working to hard but something is wrong. But with the sub and components in bad shape, I'm probably replacing it all anyway.

Looking to go all Type-R. One 10" (600RMS) in a Zenclosure understrut powered by the mrp-m500 (500W @ 4 Ohms). Also a pair of Type-R Components (110RMS Each) powered by the MRP-F300 (150WX2 Bridged @ 4 Ohms) and 4 Guage Wire.

So a few questions.
-Will the powering of those amps be perfectly safe?
-Will My Gold DieHard Battery be fine with no light dimming?
-Where is the best place to put the amps? Is the glove compartment okay, or should i get the rack inbetween the strut bar and driver's seat?
-And any other things you'd like to suggest.

Oh yeah, I work at best buy, so my selection is limited. (Alpine, Kicker, Polk)

And finally, a Pioneer AVH-P3200BT (Friend has it and loves it)

 

Ok. That old school PG amp is sweet. It's underrated and is super clean.

I have a pgxs2500 I've had for 15 years that I still use. Never missed a beat.

I would do the following:
I would stay away from the R types. I have a set that I replaced and I hated them. Hated.
I would find a nice set of components. Since you work at best buy, spend some time listening to them. People around here are goin to throw all kinds of suggestions at you. It really won't help unless YOU hear them. Eg. I love my setup. I think it sounds awesome. You may hate it, person B may love it. It all depends on what you like.

Spend some bank on some good front components and forget about the rears. Don't run them at all.
Power the fronts with that PG in bridge mode. Run it as a four channel and squeeze some more juice out of it. Run the fronts with it.

Now. I would listen to those components and feel out how much bass you think you need.

IMO unless you are competing. Some stuff is just overkill.

Hell I have a ported single jlw6 that I worry about being UNDERdriven.

The W2 will probably work fine if you put it in a nice tuned box and give it nice clean power. I like elemental design amps. But there are plenty of good amps.

Just figure out the goals you want to achieve and focus your budget that way.

 

Oh. The battery should be fine.

Just do the "big three" upgrade and any battery should do fine.

 

Ok after more deliberation this is what I'd do:

1. Buy a nice set of front components. Spend a good bit of bank on this.

2. The headunit you have picked out is nice and will work fine.

3. Upgrade the big three. Your battery will be fine.

4. Pick up a 10" zenclosure box and the JL should sound fine.

5. Get a nice clean amp to power the sub.

6. Install the tweeters in the kick panels and avoid the factory location. Just unhook them all together.

7. Rock it out.

 

thanks a lot for the input. just a few concerns. With the pg amp bridged it puts out 250W each channel. Should that be a concern on set of components that only handle 100W? (I also like the Polk DSI6500 which we carry) But at the same time I could get a set of expensive kickers (I have access to our kicker vendor through our accomodations.) I'll look tomorrow what I can get. And for an amp I could pick up a kicker as well for the sub.

Any ideas about my amp location?

 

You could put both the amps in the glovebox, or mount them behind the driver seat.

If you picked up the Zenlosure box it would come with an amp rack anyway for in front of the strut bar I think. I would just set them there. Also if you call them, they might be able to wrap the box in vinyl for a little more coin. Might be worth checking into.

I personally hate kicker. I've had bad experiences with their stuff. I would go with top of the line polks. You'll still end up paying out the nose for them though. Just make sure you really listen to what you are going to get before you get it to make the best decision.

Also check the mounting depths of whatever components you decide on getting. Some are just too big for the stock location. Even with spacers. Then you will wind up returning them or getting door pods.

 

What are you wanting to achieve with this stereo? What are your goals?

 

Frankly, I love the polks that are in there now but like i had said the tweeter is starting to go.. and I believe the DSI's are a slight upgrade from the DB's. I'm more worried about the components rather than the sub, but where it sits right now it seems non-existent. So I think i'd be good with that, but I'm most worried about two things.

-I don't ever want to worry about blowing out my speakers (I'm not going to have the neighborhood hearing my music but I play it relatively loud.) And that is why I was worried that the PG amp would over power the DSI Speakers (100W RMS)

-I never want it to overheat so the zenclosure amp rack should do.

So to be simple, Good Components with a solid sub (Not overpowering, I don't care if it "bumps") and most importantly Reliable.

 

Trust any of the installers at your store? If not try using the watercooler fourms at work. I work at Best Buy myself, installing 10 years and counting unfortunately.

First off if you havent heard it and like it dont get it. Speaker sound quality tend to be personal opinion. I love the Alpine type Rs in my car. Dont see in any reason to spend more myself.


Amps - Kicker accom or even some of the old Fosgate stuff if you still have it. Most of the other amps we carry are just not going to have the same raw power and quality is going to be similar.

Speakers - Types R's get my vote but you have to get them elsewhere since we no longer carry them. Infinity has really nice accom prices if you like them but the Perfects tend to be alot brighter than the Type Rs. Polks are not that bad also and we get a nice accom on those also, DX line use to be their lower line years ago DX < DB < MoMo, still not bad though if you like the way they sound.

Deck - That Pioneer is nice but check out the Kenwood accom before you bite the bullet, 50% off retail I think.

Box - Understrut probably gonna give you the best bang for your buck, love the fiberglass box I built for my wife.

Subs - I had a type R 10 in the back of mine and wasnt that happy with it. No idea why but just didnt sound good on the amp I had. Next best bet woud be Kicker accom, solobaric 10 or L5. Even if you underpower it, its gonna sound pretty good and I have two Kicker cvrs in my G35 now that I am going to change at some point.

Amps will probably be fine behind the stock sub location now or in the glove box, sounds like your current amp is having issues or a wiring issue. Using those racks you are just saying "Steal Me".


-"I don't ever want to worry about blowing out my speakers", thats on you, no matter what or how you do it you can blow it, normal sane listening though and it can last you years.

-"I never want it to overheat so the zenclosure amp rack should do", I would replace the PG or at least track down the issue its having and keep the amps hidden.


Now before I go to bed a good story, guy came into my work last week with a 2003 Mercedes C32 AMG. Bought all this really nice gear that he read on forums was great and a good combo. Guy had no idea what he really bought or even the slightest clue how it sounded. Speakers were some nice MBquarts, SoundStream amp and Deck(they have gone downhill in quality). When I got done with it I was not impressed in the slightest. Actually I am willing to bet his stock Bose system probably sounded nearly as good with maybe a slight decrease in bass. He thought it sounded good but I think thats just becuase he had not really heard the old system in months. Moral of the story, take forum info and suggestions with a grain of salt, 9 times out of 10 the person giving you information probably knows less than you do or at least not as much of expert you really want to be taking advice from.

 

Ok so it sounds like you want volume over sq.

Firstly, I would worry more about underpowering things rather than over powering them. Most amps when wired correctly can be adjusted using A voltmeter and then adjust at the HU to prevent destroying them. Usually most overpowered blow outs are caused by cranking too much juice from the amp. Set it at the correct output and then tweak the level at the head unit.

See www.edesignaudio.com the tutorials section for more details. There are good videos there.

I don't care what the other dude said. I HATE alpine Rs. But I agree with him on hearing them yourself. I hated them, but you might love them.

Do us a favor and start a build thread so we can help and add to our knowledge database.

I'm really looking forward to seeing your progress and finised product.

 

Alright, well thanks a lot guys, I'm going to start listening. Unfortunately the only good speakers we have are DSI Coaxials, Kicker Coaxials and Type-S Components (Which I like a lot but i think the polks are better so I thought the Type-Rs would be good. We'll See.)

And as far as our installer goes, he's good and I trust him, but its damn expensive. And what are the forums your referring to? And I wouldn't want him to do it, I want to learn how to install anyway, always wanted to do it myself (got a buddy that has done a few systems and he'll walk me through it)

And I thought the wiring was f**ked up on the PG, i just havent messed around with it, so that definitely might be it, because I definitely thought about the theft.

Any opinions on Dynamat?

 

Best Buy has their own work forums that are divided by department, its called the watercooler. once you log into etk, click the applications button on the bottom left that should bring up a big menu. On the far right at the bottom it should say watercooler and you just click on it and go from there. Its a good work time killer, you read alot about other employees bitching about their job and making fun of customers. Im sure someone at your work knows about it, either the installers or SOs.


We get accom on dynamat also, no idea how good it is but adding in dynamat cant help.

Distortion is what blows speakers. You can under/overpower them all day long but no matter how you set it if you are turning up to the point of speakers clipping or distorting you can blow them.