Hi, I'm a complete newbie in audios. So bear with me.

I'm thinking about getting new audio system for my car, including tweeter, front, rear speaker, amp, sub, sub amp. Are these all needed to get complete audeo setup? I have Sony WX7700MDX HU. What's the brief price range for each of these components? I don't want all high ends, but I'd expect at least some good bang for the buck at mid-price range.
I'm a little interested in Dynaudio for speakers and tweeters, and JL sub and amp. one 10" sub will be enough for me. But I'm not sure about any other components including wiring, new battery maybe, dynamat and etc.

Also, what's the brief figure for the installation cost?

I'm thinking about ~$2500 max including everything+install.

Sorry about the vague question, but I don't have much background knowledge in this matter.

Thanx!

Regards,

Sean

 

http://www.350zfrenzy.com/forum/show...&threadid=3357

 

Thanx!

Anyone else?

 

The 1600 bucks I spent bought a really good system but not top of the line. For $2500 you should expect to get the best.

(If you do spend the 2500 & are in Sacramento, stop by; I'd luv to hear it!! LOL!)

 

Hmm. $2500 for all components including front&rear speaker, amps, tweeter, subs, and installation? (I already have HU)
I just did a little research and found out that people in this forum generally spend more than my $2500 budget for whole system.
Well, if $2500 can get me some good stuff, then why not!

BTW, Brick, I'm in Indiana right now. Hate weather here.
Gonna move back to Cali sometime I hope.

 

Well, I'm not the last word on anything automotive but a $2500 budget ...with you already having a HU.....seems like a lot to me.

Budget for you:

$750.........JL 2 10" woofer with enclosure to fit under rear brace
$500.........Your choice of door speakers (I spent $300 on my JLs)
$400.........Replace back speakers (I kept the stock ones)
$400........Amp. (about what I paid for mine)
$450........install ( I paid $275 )
--------
$2500.........Seems generous to me

I feel your pain on the midwest; I spent my first 30 years in Detroit, Mi including 7 as a truck driver. I don't care if I ever see another snow flake!!

 

I see... Wow, since I saw that JL woofer enclosure deal under $750 (saw gb deal or something, but almost all retailer will sell below MSRP anyway), and I think $300-400 range for front and rear each ($600-800 total) and I think I can find some good stuff well under $2500 budget then.
So do I need only one amp? I thought I'd need two of them (1 for sub, 1 for speakers) Am I right? If I only need one, then that's even better story.
Well, gotta research more for what I need.

Any recommendations for front/rear speakers with amp that fits in the pricing category stated above?

 

Again, I'm not the last word & I do see installs on here with more than one. But the Eclipse I have seems to pump out plenty of power.

 

I used top notch components and equipment and spent about $2k, but did all the work myself. I think you can get a nice system with quality install for about your budget price, if you carefully shop for components. Don't get too cheap, but don't but the high end stuff either, especailly if your are a NEW-b. Just shop around to make sure that the store where you are buying is not ripping you off, and DO NOT goto Best Buy or Circuit Sity for your installation...pay more and get it done right at a professional shop with a good reputation.

 

Thanx. Yeah, I do every research about the product and price over the internet before I buy to make sure I won't get ripped off. And I don't do anything with Best Buy or Circuit City either.
I guess I gotta keep shopping around and try to find the best setup for my budget...

 

I know this is a little different, but I put a nice Alpine system in my BMW for about 1000 in parts...i spent about 400 on the install but thats cause i was stupid and put the stuff in at different times (an entire system install with subs should be about that if not a little less). Granted I don't have subs...but here's my list of stuff and what i paid for them (Ebay is your friend when making a system)

Alpine CDA-7995 HU - 300
Alpine MRV-F340 Amp - 375
Alpine Type-R 5.25" Component Sets - 180 x2

I had planned on adding:
Alpine Type-R 12" Sub - 100
Alpine MRD-M300 - 250
Alpine 12" Enclosure - 100

Different people have different opinions about Alpine products. I personally love them they are high quality (not the best on the market) but you can get them at prices that make the bang to buck ratio outstanding. For 2500 you should get an outstanding setup (might want to look at MB Quart components or something of that caliber)...the reason some people spend considerably more than that is for custom enclosures and fiberglass work etc. Do your research on what parts you want and then I highly suggest you use Ebay to buy the parts you can find top of the line NEW parts for essentially wholesale...it will allow you to get a much nicer system.

 

Here is a thread on speakers:

https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....threadid=60090

Be sure you visit two or more really good shops and listen to various combinations in their showroom. I was lucky enough to find a knowledgeable sales guy who liked the same music I do.

Also, when you do decide on a shop, every other sentence ought to contain the words "no rattles"! My shop did a great job but I made a pointed point that any rattle was not acceptable. I don't know that it helped but I don't have any glimmer of a rattle.

 

I think you got some good advice for so far and the best bet would be to find a really friendly and reliable shop. Since you're getting it installed you also want the quality as well.
Talk to the people, get to know them. Also check to see what you REALLY need and don't need.

I spent about $3,500 on my system, but it also included a security system, Alpine navigation system, and lcd display. A lot of the other owners, like myself, also had custom fibreglass work done for some parts of their system. For me specifically I had a custom box made for the JL 10w6v2 sub in the rear left corner of the "trunk."

What you should look out for are shops that only install products they sell, or those that will install even those that you bring in. If you can buy from ebay or other sites and then bring them to the shop that'll be good too.

For my system I have a PPI amp running the JL sub, and all the speakers being run off my Alpine HU. Sounds solid and I don't need another amp to be put in, although I wired the car in case I do want one later.

You can take a look at what I got and some photos of my setup .

here

 

Nice setup!!! I plan on doing the exact same setup for my subwoofer next week. Are you happy w/ the JL10w6v2 ? Also, do you have any rattling in the rear hatch as a result of the sub? Any suggestions or feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

 

There's no rattle from the trunk. And I've pulled things in and out over and over again. The plastic panels are cake to take out and put back in (Snap off - Snap on). The sub enclosure is fibreglass with a MDF ring for the sub and a MDF side that creates a "V" shaped that molds around the spare tire. So I get to keep my spare tire to boot!

The back used to rattle when I threw the front license plate back there for storage but I wrapped it up and tossed that in with the spare tire now. No rattle from that.

The enclosure was then bolted in. It's a pretty sweet setup. FBlade1 has one as well. We both got ours done at Tweeter in Towson, MD. The idea for this sub location I got from onecoolee though.

The best thing about this setup? It's pretty light (the sub isn't) but its bolted down and secure. When I hit the road course I don't need to remove it.

 

Wow. I see some really nice setups out there.
Thanx guys! It's a great help to me.
Still got some plenty of time until I actually jump on streo stuff.. (All my funds are going to show and go so far)
Now..the homework is finding a good installer/shop around this town..
Oh, and can you guys give me some links to good sources for speakers/amps and stuff? I basically have almost no idea what stuff is good and etc. Need to get myself a little educated.

 

Hmm. I found Dynaudio 240GT Component speakers for $325 at ebay. (Still bidding so price might go up) And another same 240 GT was listed at $465 at buy it now price.
Is this good speaker and a deal?It's 6.5" so it would fit in the door panels right?
Also, what kind of speakers should I get for rears? Do rear speakers definetely need to be replaced? or it is ok to leave them if I get a good component speaker on the front?
What's the difference between front and rear speakers? What type of speakers should I find for each?
Man..the question seems like being repeated but I'm learning..

Also, what kind of amp should I get for the whole system? Some people just get one and control all speakers/sub, and some people get more than one. If I just want to get one amp and control the all system what kind of amp should I use? (1,2, or 3way?) I still don't have clue about what the heck I'm saying...so bear with me for asking some stupid questions.

 

Definitely nothing stupid about asking questions and finding things out before hand.

As for your amp question. There are many ways to go about it:

• The single amp set-up. The one amp runs the entire range of speakers, while possible it may not be a good idea if you're thinking of running a JL sub. Those things suck power to no end and keep asking for more. My JL 10w6v2 is taking down 500 watts from a single PPI amp. What you can do is run a single amp in your car to power your sub, hook your speakers into the HU and see how you like the sound. If it satisfies you, no need to get another amp. If it doesn't then plug in the other amp. If single to power everything then you're looking at 5 way. The 5th being for the sub-out.
• The dual amp route. One amp for the sub and another amp for the speakers (Front and rear). Good set up. Definitely nice to get the interior speakers more power and sounding clearer, depending on your amp. One amp is 4 way and one is 2 way. This is what I'm currently running in my Camry. Larger cabin volume so I ran the interior speakers with an amp. PPI all around.
• The multi-amp set-up. One amp for the sub, one for the fronts, and one for the rears. Over kill? Possibly, being done? Yeh, you bet. I've never seen this up close so don't know what the wiring scheme would be.

Do a search for your type of speakers, add in "review" to your search. See if there are sites that have reviewed your speakers. Check out audio specific forums. They'll get you more information than you'd ever want.

You don't need to replace the rear speakers, as they just provide filler. But if you want to, you don't need to get anything really great. Something that plays clear sound is good enough.

6.5" front components fit. 6.5" for the rears as well.

 

Wow, very informative post. Just got cleared a lot of questions in my head. So that was what amp does.. I see.
I also just found the Boston Acoustic Pro series off the ebay, they incluse 4 speakers and 2 tweeters.
Here is the link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=32819

2 6.5" speakers will go into front. And is it okay to put 4" speakers in the back?
$550 price seems quite steep for me but they have 2 pairs of speakers so I won't need to buy rear speakers as long as 4" fits in the rear (don't see the reason not to fit though)

Well, I've been leaning to Dynaudio speakers because my father, who is a biggest Homd Audio maniac I've seen in my life used to use Dynaudio speakers, and he also currently has Esotar series for his homd audio speakers. (Yeah, they sound incredible, but price is incredible too) But it's a little bit too expensive I think.

So, any recommendations for good quality amp with good price?

 

Everyone has their own preferences for manufacturers depending on components. Back in my undergrad days I was a big Kenwood fan; clear sound for a reasonable price. One thing I've found out is that Kenwood durability and reliability is sketchy at best, but that's just my experience. I've gone through 2 Kenwood Excelon HU's for my Camry, my brother 2 for his Accord, my cousin 3 for his Accord, and my friend 2 for his Accord.

I've gone with Alpine HU and Alpine fronts for the Z this go around. They sounded clean and strong in someone's car that I sat in. So I figured to go ahead and give them a try. I've been nothing but pleased with their quality and performance.

For speakers, my Camry runs MB Quart front components and Infinity rears. My Z is running Alpine front components and MB Quart rears. Boston Acoustic produces some great speakers, on par with MB Quart in my opinion. One thing you need to take into consideration is that some people think that the MB Quarts and Boston Acoustics tend to sound a bit high. For some people it's too painful to bear, like a loud bird chirping in your ear consistenly.

For me they sound good, gives great clear instrumental and electronic sound. I listen to techno, eurodance, trance, rock, and some rap.

I find infinity and JL speakers to be pretty toned down with more bass. Some of their higher ends are nice and clean but their mediocre stuff doesn't have good highs to my taste.

I despise Rockford Fosgate.

For amps, that's a sticky situation. Plenty of good amps out there. I love PPI amps and use them exclusively. Great performance, quality, durability, and form. Since I've only delt with them, I unfortunately can't tell you about any of the others.

My PPI amps were around the range of $500 a piece.

Here's a bit NOTE:
If you can, try to head to a Z meet or some car gathering. Z would be great. Check out what other people have done and take a listen. See which setups you like best.


- thai