Mecha

Hello,
I am trying to plan out my first real system, but I dont know a whole hell of a lot, however I am picky. Anyways, I would like to get some feedback on this system. I dont plan on spending more than $1800 MAX.


Overall Plan: Excellent sounding, but not super high-wattage Polk Audio system that leaves room to easily upgrade. Almost as important is how it looks, this is my first big project on my car and I want it to look stunning - trying to plan a box for 1 or 2 10" subs and 2 amps. The box goes between the rear strut-brace and the seats.

Now the specifics:
Clarion Headunit - DXZ745MP $289.95
Rockford 150watt sub Amp - P3001 $250.99
10" DVC Polk/Momo sub - MM2104DVC $119.95
Rockford 150watt 2-chan amp - P3002 $179.95
6.5" rear Polk/momo speaker - DB650 $99.95
6.5" component Polk/Momos - MMC6500 $299.95
Polk sub-grille (sexy) $19.95
Total for Parts: $1260.69

Now the vagues:
Custom box $200
Amp Wiring Kit $75
Other crap and install (im prolly off) $150
Total for Vagues: $425

Total Parts and Installed: $1685

Questions:
1) is this a stuipid combo? I dont need to be the earthshaker, but I want something significantly louder and tighter than the crap Bose.

2) If i go with dual subs, is it bad to go with a good 2-channel amp? Are you supposed to only use mono-channel amps for subs?

3) With this spec, the "crappy" rear speakers are powered by the head unit. Since these are the only speakers the head-unit powers will they get effectively double the power? Im guessing arround ~36 watts RMS to both rears, am i guessing wrong?

4) Lastly, what is dual-voice coil and do I want it? Does it concern getting a pair of matching subs or is it just the way the speaker works?

Thanks!

enhanced250

I would say scratch the rockford sub amp and the 2ch amp. For the price u listed you can get alot better amps like an alpine phoenix gold with more power more power less money always a good thing =). Also i would go with a 4ch amp for the interiors.

If you not looking for anything crazy (bass wise) than the sub is a decent choice considering that your going with polk seperates. The main think i would change is the amps, and shop around for subs and component speakers you can find a good deal on speakers alot cheaper than momos. Thats just my opinion good luck!!

Brett

dannichols

If yer gonna run all the Amp wiring, might as well power all speakers from amps instead of the head unit. Alpine makes affordable 4 channell amps.

Mecha

The guy at Audio Express said Alpine = lame amps. Howcome people claim rockfords are so much better? Is there going to be a difference in sound-quality with the Alpines?

enhanced250

The most basic thing to look for in an amp is its power output (at your ohm load) at 12 volts becasue thats the lowest most constant voltage your car will run the amp at.

Then you will look at the THD or total harmonic distortion basically the measurement for accuracy for amps (lower percentage the better)

Signal to noise ratio- the amount of background noise you will hear often a hiss or crackles (a higher db the better)

hope this helps anything else pm me and i can get more into detail.

Mecha

Ok well, I went to fry's because they have Polks and I wound up with a Polk amp 100 watt X 4 chanels for $400 - thats pretty good right? This gives me 100 watts to each component speaker, and 200 watts to the 10" sub. This leaves the poor rear speakers to be powered by the head unit. Also the rear and components speakers changed to Db's instead of momos :*( but they are pretty dope all the same.

Does this overall system sound good?

Mecha

Do I want the DVC 10" sub? what is DVC?

enhanced250

use the 4ch amp only for the components and get a seperate amp for the sub you can get cheap monoblock amps on ebay pretty decent companys for the price are mtx,alpine, audiobahn etc.

DVC stands for dual voice coil this allows you to drop the ohm load to your sub thus a 4ohm DVC sub could be droped to 2ohm leading to more power can be recieve from your amp.

Mecha

Very interesting about the DVC... I have seen all over the amp specs that if you use it at 2 Ohms then its almost double the wattage. Whats "wrong" or unpreferable about using a sub at 2 Ohms with double the power? Im assuming clarity and noise caused by less resistance/weaker signal? Thats a total guess, please correct me.

motown

Yeah, but IMHO the practical difference in sound quality approaches inaudible. If your amp can do 2-ohm MONO load, this is what you should shoot for. As for your sub question, I personally don't really have a preference as to DVC vs. SVC. So long as you get the correct end load, use whichever is cheaper is my opinion. Just make sure you match the RMS power of the amp at 2-ohm to the speaker's RMS handling. Oh, and make sure your amp can handle the load. Amps that can run at lower ohm loads tend to be more expensive due to the higher quality interior components and engineering required. But, well worth it IMO. enhanced is absolutely right about what to look for in an amp. Very key factors. Also, if you do go with 2 subs, a 2-channel amp may be perfect for your set-up if it is bridgable (sp?). I think Phoenix Gold make great amps. I'd stay away from any newer RF amp. I think they're mass-produced garbage these days. Really, best thing to do is to read through this forum and the other sites. Look at what others are running and see what they're saying about the combo's they've chosen. I personally value the review of someone that's got the equipment quite highly. Good luck with your component hunt!

Ahsmo

iTrader: (13)

That 4 channel running the components and the subs sounds like a good idea. I had a similar set up for the longest time(except less wattage to less sensitive speakers). I think it sounded as good as my newest set up even after throwing a few more hundred dollars at it.

After having 500 hundred dollar speakers in the rear I realized it was a waste. Dont worry about rear fill. If your speakers are set up correctly you will not know where the sound is coming from.

Those momo components sound good, Ive heard them in person but I wouldnt spend 300 bucks on them. Ebay has some super high dollar speakers listed for bellow that price level.

However, if you dont want to mess with ebay,which is understandable, those components will make you smile.

Like people are saying about DVC vs SVC...just match up the ohm load for your set up running two channels bridged on the rear.

Ive been where you are, feel free to ask questions from me

*edit*
Please please please please please do not join the masses and put MBquartz/JL audio/Infinity kappa perfect in your car. Everytime I see a "check out my setup" thread I already know what is in their car... Its always the same. So again please do not put what everyone else puts in their car cause its by no means the best. You dont need to spend a ton to be different trust me.

No offense ment towards those who do run that equipment in your cars its good stuff just a lot of you have it.
*off my soap box*

Mecha

Hey Ahsmo,
thanks a lot for the advice, good to know that I'm not going in completley the wrong direction. I am pretty happy with shelling out the extra buck for the momo stylings, and I think in the end having all the speakers be matching momos is going to look amazing and sound pretty damn good, even if it doesn't bump like a JL. Currently I am trying to design a super sweet custom box and have someone pro build it. When i get the plan figured out a little better I will post and ask you to check it out .

My only question right now is, my sub box is looking to be a VERY strange shape, and I'm worried that it is going to be a pain to design/bulid, but is going to sound bad even at the appropriate volume.
Heres the plan: bototm peice is only 6" wide while the top is 13" due to the shape of the space just in front of the rear strut tower. This also means that both the front and back of the box are going to be at outward angles, making the whole box kind of a V shape from the side. Is this going to destroy acoustics? Other option is to build it to be 6" on top and bottom and then have a "cover" at the top to hide it all.

enhanced250

Itll be fine as long as it is the correct air space for the sub and by the way your describing it it sounds like your building a box where a jlstealthbox would go good luck keep us posted.

Ahsmo

iTrader: (13)

That box design will be fine as it is a sealed box...the interior of the box isnt nearly as important as it would be with a ported box but even then.

Sounds like you are going in the right direction

Mecha

So how do you guys find the exact angles of tricky areas? Its really kicking my ***...
I am trying to find the dimensions of the area just in front of the rear strut -between the rear strut and the rear-speaker hump.
Check out the diagram of what I've got. Can anyone verify these dimensions? Especially the angles, thats what I dont know how to find accuratley.
Thanks

stu46

PM tractng. He's selling his PG Octane amps that would rock with your system.