Thoughts on my system

[SneeKeeFahk]

Hey All,

Just looking for some input on my system, you all seem to know what the hell your talking about so i figured i would bounce it off you guys and see what you have to say about the setup. I'm not looking to blow the roof of my 99 LTZ hoe, just like it to sound nice and clear;

Head Unit: JVC KD-R820BT
Front Speakers: Infinity 6030CS
Rear Speakers: Infinity 6032CF
Back Speakers: Stock (going to replace just haven't gotten around to it yet)
Sub: 2 x 10" Kicker Comp (No flaming for the Best Buy link, only one i could find)
Sub Amp: Alpine MRP-M500
Speaker Amp: Alpine MRP-F300
Power Cap: 1 x Stinger 1 Farad (No flac for the future shop link either)

 

[BigDaddy13440]

Nice head unit, love the BlueTooth capability and the USB input
Nice front and rear speakers (always liked Infinity sound!) - I assume those are front and rear doors? Why not use two sets of components then? Just surface mount the tweets in the rear.
Back speakers - If you're going Infinity, match 'em to the doors http://www.infinitysystems.com/car/products/product_detail.aspx?prod=REF9632CF&cat=MEL&ser=REF&Language=ENG&Country=US&Region=USA
The Kickers are OK, so much better out there for the $$$... check http://www.soundsolutionsaudio.com/forum/ for some very nice higher-quality gear.
Same with the amps, check out SSA.
As for the Cap, forget about it, practically a waste of $$$. You'd be better off with a larger (or second) battery, and upgrading your power and ground wires to the Big 3.

 

[SneeKeeFahk]

Nice front and rear speakers (always liked Infinity sound!) - I assume those are front and rear doors?

Yea, I guess I should have pointed that out.

Why not use two sets of components then? Just surface mount the tweets in the rear.

I really wanted to keep it as stock looking as possible and having tweets surface mounted would have driven me nuts

Back speakers - If you're going Infinity, match 'em to the doors http://www.infinitysystems.com/car/products/product_detail.aspx?prod=REF9632CF&cat=MEL&ser=REF&Language=ENG&Country=US&Region=USA

Funny, that's the exact set i was looking at, just need to look into to them a little more to make sure they will fit without spacers.

The Kickers are OK, so much better out there for the $$$... check http://www.soundsolutionsaudio.com/forum/ for some very nice higher-quality gear.

I did get a good deal on them, I think around $200 - $250 and for that $$ they sound pretty good.

Same with the amps, check out SSA.

Yea, they aren't the best but once again i got a good deal on them so they will do for now.

As for the Cap, forget about it, practically a waste of $$$. You'd be better off with a larger (or second) battery, and upgrading your power and ground wires to the Big 3.

LOL that's exactly what i thought but when someone gives it to you, you might as well use it. As for the Big 3, that's already done. If i start to have power issues then ill put in a better Alt and Battery.

Thanks for the input, i'm going to have to look into bigger/better subs and amps ... if you had free reign what would you put in my hoe for Subs and Amps ... once again i don't want to blow the roof off it just nice clean & clear sound.

 

[BigDaddy13440]

IMO, if you're going for the "stealth" look (no tweeter components in the rear doors), then a box in the back would stick out like a sore thumb. You could go stealth, and fab up a box to fit in the rear quarter panel, put just one of those Kickers in it. Cover it with matching carpet, and you're on your way. Or, you could modify your center console, build an enclosure between the seats with the sub(s) firing downward at the floor, and remount the console on top. Either way, anyone looking in through the rear glass won't see a big box sitting there, ripe for the picking, y'know?

I also assume you're planning on mounting the amps under the seats?

FWIW, I've got (2) Celestion 15's mounted in the rear quarters of my 96 4-door, and (2) Powerbass 10's in an enclosure between my front seats, with the amps mounted underneath the box/center console. I've got a Lightning Audio 500w monoblock pushing the 15's, and a small Kenwood 250w mono pushing the 10's, with a Kenwood 40x4 pushing the doors and rears. Plenty loud enough for me, probably hit around 135dB, I can barely see out my mirrors when the bass is all the way up. Granted, no hairtricks, but that's not what I wanted - it's loud, and clean.

I use my truck for work (as a contractor) and can't afford to give up any space.

In my next vehicle (probably a Suburban, when my '** gives up the ghost), I'll probably just do the 10's in a center console. Even those are plenty loud.


But, if you're doing a box in the back, by all means, do it RIGHT! Get the optimum enclosure specs, and have it built for you if you aren't comfortable doing it yourself.

A great enclosure can make a mediocre subwoofer sound good, while a ****** enclosure can make even the best subwoofer sound like.... well... shit.

 

[SneeKeeFahk]

You could go stealth, and fab up a box to fit in the rear quarter panel, put just one of those Kickers in it. Cover it with matching carpet, and you're on your way.

I absolutely LOVE that idea, the box sitting in the back does bug me, specially when i try to use that space. You wouldn't happen to have some links to a similar install? i would love to take a look at something similar.

 

[BigDaddy13440]

I don't have pics of mine right now, but here's what I did:

I removed the lower trim panels below the windows, cut the inner sheetmetal of the fenders out - I left a 1" strip below the window to gibe me something to attach the wood panels to. I made panels to fit the contours of the outer skin of the fenders, basically boxed everything in, and gave me flat and squared panels facing sideways into the cargo area. From there, I laid layers of fiberglass inside the enclosures to stiffen up the outer sheetmetal. Having the mounting surface for the subs just about even with the wheel tub, I wound up with just about 2.4 cu ft per sub, before port and speaker displacement. My Celestions needed 2.0, so they are almost perfectly sized. When I was satisfied with the enclosures, I carpeted them in gray carpet, and made grill covers to go over the subs and ports. While not a perfect match, it's close enough so that anyone trying to look in through the tinted windows doesn't see a big box in the middle of the cargo area.

I've actually got enough room so that if I wanted, I could run (2) 10's on each side, in addition to the 10's in my center console. But, I'm happy with what I have, and have no plans to change anything as long as I have this Tahoe.