BronZy

Hey guys, looking to replace all of the audio gear in my Z over the next few months. First is the head unit, then speakers, then sub.

It's a 2003 Touring Spec with the Bose System, no nav system. My budget in USD is around 2k.

I have already purchased a Pioneer MVH-P8300BT head unit:

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_130MVP8...300BT&skipvs=T

That sorts out my connectivity, I can hook up my iPod and android for music / hands free. I've only ever had good experiences with Pioneer head units so I pretty much went straight to them.

For the speaker system I was initially wanting to go with all Rockford Fosgate gear just because I have experience with it. T2 components in the Fronts, T1 full-range rears and a 10" T1 Sub. T600.4 Amp for the speakers and T500 mono block amp for the sub. However after a bit of reading I am more open to suggestions along the Focal / Boston path.

I am also unsure what to do with the rears now. I'm leaning towards just putting midbass drivers in there but I don't know what the standard is for those.

I've spent a few days scouring various forum posts and I can't find any build discussions for well-rounded systems specific to the Z. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Just for some background, I listen to a wide variety of music. I'm not interested in enormous bass, I've just got rid of my last car with a ridiculous 15" sub in it. I'm after clear detailed sound with crisp punchy bass.

Thanks !!

Ak48z

iTrader: (2)

2k without a head unit is easy.

I deleted my rear speakers, as you can get a better sound with just the fronts... but if you are watching movies or something some rear fill is nice.

I have CDT HD62 comps and I love them, you might look into the CDT brand... or some lower rainbows, I do like a few sets of Boston too, never been a huge fan of how focals sounded for some reason.

You can find a nice set of comps for $300-500 , an amp for $200... add a Fi Q 10" for $230 and an amp for that for $200-300...

Adds up to be right around $1000-1300... add some change in for wire and the box and your at $1500ish.

gvulakh

iTrader: (2)

The head unit looks pretty good. I always liked Pioneer but i like Alpine a little better.

With your budget I would try to squeeze in some DLS UP6i components and leave the rear speakers out of the equation. I haven't payed any attention to Rockford in a long time so I really can't say good or bad. I installed a set of the DLS comps in a TSX and they sounded great. Your install in the Z is going to dictate how good your comps will sound. Stock locations...not so great. Check out http://simplicity.elitecaraudio.org/ His installs are amazing and he is geared toward sound quality. He is/was a member on this forum. Search for 16psibrick. Some of his Z installs are mapped out in his posts.

For amps check out Alpine PDX. I use one now and have heard them in other cars. Good equipment for the money.

For a subwoofer, again Rockford is off my radar. If i was in the market for a new sub I would be looking into FI Audio.

bmccann101

iTrader: (16)

^^^
agreed.

Alpine PDX FTW
Boston Pro 60s up front FTW
Wicked CAS door pods for said speakers.. big time FTW.
Rear speakers? Yep.. might as well..
time correction and proper tuning by a true professional? TOTAL FTW>

BronZy

Some of that gear looks really nice. Looks like the 2ch Alpine PDX is discontinued, if I got a 4ch (PDX F4), bridging the spare 2 channels would probably be a bit light on the sub right?

Don't particularly want to pay for a 4ch amp and only use 2 channels, and bridging it to the components will probably overpower them.

So what would you recommend?

Get another similar 2ch amp (any recommendations?). I would then run a mono amp to the sub.

Go with the 4ch and plug in some mid-bass drivers - I like this idea, I am hesitant to throw away the rear speakers. Again I would run a mono block amp to the sub.

Go with the 4ch and bridge the second 2 channels to the sub - will be a bit underpowered, but I’m only having to run one amp.


Edit: Just a reminder that the sub will be the last thing to go in, so the sound might be a bit lacking without rear speakers in the month or so between upgrading speakers and upgrading the sub.

bmccann101

iTrader: (16)

I'd not chinse it. Buy a sub amp and a four channel or just buy the pdx 5 amp
.IMHO

BronZy

There are a few comments around that Class-D amps will not offer as good sound quality to higher frequencies. Would hate to splash out for high end components and not drive them properly. I'll probably stick to two amps, an AB for the speakers and a D for the sub.

bmccann101

iTrader: (16)

True of older technology ..my pdx amps are fantastic. And I'm used to a set of Martin Logan's at home that cost as much as my z did.

gvulakh

iTrader: (2)

Going with the 4 channel powering the front comps and a midbass in the rear locations should work out good. Don't try to bridge the rear channels of a 4 channel to the sub. Doable but not ideal.

BronZy

Ok Cool, so probably looking like:

Pioneer MVH-P8300BT Head unit + iPod interface ($379 from Crutchfield, bought already)
DLS UP6i fronts (seen for $295 on eBay, can't find them anywhere else)
Unknown midbass drivers in the rear, some suggestions would be great ($100 ish)
Fi Q10 sub ($230, where can I find this?)
Alpine PDX-F4 for the speakers ($320 ish on Amazon and eBay)
Alpine PDX-M6 for the sub ($320 ish on Amazon and eBay)
Sub box (Approx. $120)
Wiring, fuses, bit of sound deadening (I’ll allow $200 I guess)

$1964, plus shipping to New Zealand should be about $250 with www.ship2me.com

So a little over budget but looks like very good gear, I just won’t buy it all at once. The input from you lot is much appreciated.

PS:
I bought the head unit from Crutchfield because they included the necessary mounting hardware and wiring harness. They seem like a really good dealer but a little pricy, since I live outside of the States anyway I’ll probably go with Amazon or eBay for the rest of the gear. Or maybe http://www.onlinecarstereo.com, they seem ok.

PPS:
Are midbass drivers marketed as “midbass drivers” or do they have another common name, there don’t seem to be a lot of options for them but I may not be searching correctly…

gvulakh

iTrader: (2)

FI subs are built to order right from their website.https://ssl.perfora.net/ficaraudio.c...dex.shopscript

Make sure you order the high qts sub if you're using a sealed enclosure.

For wiring check out knukonceptz.

For proper wiring sizes and fuses check out www.bcae1.com. They have calculators where you plug in your amp's rms wattage, wire distance, and more to give you proper wire sizes and fuse ratings for your set up.

As for the midbass drivers they are hard to find seperately. You might have to buy a budget set of components and just use the mids.

Ak48z

iTrader: (2)

If you want a cheap set of components to take the mid bass from check out the PG RSD 6.5's .... their tweeter is crap but the mid basses actually are pretty decent, you will see alot of good reviews about them. I've used a set of them myself at one point.

It's just going to be for rear fill anyways.

You can find cheaper amps as well if you want to save some money. The PDX's are cool little amps but they come at an expensive price.

BronZy

Cool I'll check out those 6.5's, thanks.

As far as wiring up the sub, I have a hard time getting my head around ohms despite a fair bit of reading up on the subject. But since the Alpine amp is 2 ohm stable, I gather I should get the 1 ohm DVC setup for the Fi Q10 and wire it to 2 ohms. As so:

http://www.the12volt.com/caraudio/wo...1&I=12#results

faiz23

Check out DIYAUDIO.com and spend some time.

Look at boston acoustics, hertz, focal, diamond, dynaudio, rainbow, ADS, Morel

Look at Amps from

Zapco, Xtant, PPI, MCINTOSH, Soundstream, Old Skool Phoneix gold.

For sub

FI, RE, JL, DD

Wiring: Stinger or Knuconcept and just go with 0 agu and call it a day. Do big three upgrade.

Ak48z

iTrader: (2)

That would be correct... and I just looked up the PDX M6 and that is ridiculous, $320 for 600 watts.

The sub is rated for 1000 watts, and will handle that all day if you want to. They also have the SSD model which is 600 watts RMS.... if you want to tone down the subwoofer a bit and save a little money.

The Fi Q's are amazing though.

You can get a AQ1200D for ~250, twice the power of the PDX... or I would get a Sundown 1000D for ~320 before I got that PDX amp.

BronZy

That Sundown amp has been discontinued, its successor is the 1200D. At 2ohms its rated to 720w RMS, not a massive gain over the Alpine. However it is 1ohm stable to 1200w. I guess that would mean I could run the 2ohm DVC Fi Q10 wired to 1ohm, 1200w.

How will 1200w at 1 ohm sound compared to 600w at 2 ohms? Some of the stuff I have read seems to say that all you are doing is drawing more current, the speaker/sub wont actually be any louder and in fact the sound quality may decrease. Is there any truth to that?

bmccann101

iTrader: (16)

Most ppl including myself use Alpine Apr coaxs in the rear..fully sufficient.

cubu

iTrader: (21)

don't mean to get off topic, but i've yet to understand why one would install a 'high-end' audio system in a Z, the only time you could really appreciate the music or hear the improved clarity, soundstage, coverage, etc that you pay a premium for is at a stop light i guess you can install insulation around the cabin...

gvulakh

iTrader: (2)

I turn mine up when I don't feel like hearing my loud a$$ Top Speed exhaust. I can hear my stereo just fine at highway speeds with the windows down.

Ak48z

iTrader: (2)

The change sound quality difference of running at 2ohm ot 1ohm will not be noticeable in a subwoofer... 1 ohm is what most people run for their systems, hence why there is a huge market of 1ohm stable subwoofer amps.

Now if you run components at 2ohm and 4ohm it would be much more noticeable.

1200 @ 1ohm > 600 @ 2ohm all day