Best car audio setup?

[RSI]

Would you go with one company or diff ones? One company for all the equipment (amp, sub, speakers, head unit, etc etc?), or would you buy an amp from company X, sub from company Y, etc.. ?

In your opinion, what is the absolute best quality car audio setup you can buy for a decent budget (let's say $2k)?

 

[crawford]

i definetely dont think you have to match the components like going all the way with infinity or something, but i would prolly go infinity for speaks, adire for subs, jbl for amps and things like that. 2k is a really good budget and you can go far with it.

 

[Adul]

I prefer mixing and matching accordingly.

PPI for amps
IDQ or JL AUdio for subs
infinity, MB quartz, polk audio for highs, alpine or better for deck, etc...

 

[Nefrodite]

headunit amp don't matter. speakers um, well if you mix two speakers that are really different its going to sound odd like if you have harsh sounding tweets in the front and less so else where.. or whatever i have polk in the front, infinity in the back. both silk dome tweeters. they sound a bit different from the infinities i had in the front b4, but they generally mesh. i tried the cheaper metal tweeter polks and they totally didn't match

 

[Z24]

Ok, well, lets get specific. What car do you have, and what is your goal?

The car matters because it will determine what can fit. As for your goal... are you aiming for sound quality, or SPL? With good enough equipment, you can get both -- it will come down to how you tune it / set it up. (example, if you turn the bass boost way up on your subs, it will play really loud bass, but it will sound like crap. now, on the same subs, if you turn the bass boost down, it'll sound a lot better, but the bass won't be as strong.)

A couple of specific things to think about:
-do you want flashy, or simple/plain looking (relates mostly to head units)
-can/will you modify anything in the car to make stuff fit (eg, i made a mounting bracket for front speakers in my car. i had to drill holes to attach it. i would have cut inside the door if i needed to, but it wasn't necessary.)
-is useable trunk space important?
-if you had to pick one: pound-you-in-the-chest bass, or absolutely amazing sound quality, which would you choose?
-will you purchase online? (cheaper) what about from online/non-authorized dealers? (cheaper still)
-do you have any preferences on brands (or any "hookups" that get you certain items for cheaper?)
-does the $2k include professional installation, or will you be doing that yourself?

Answer those questions, and we'll be able to put together quite a good system in your budget.

 

[glen]

Best system I have ever heard:
http://www.sounddomain.com/member_pages/view_page.pl?page_id=134802&page=1
A pair of EQTs and my own 1/3rd octave RTA help tremendously.

 

[Z24]

 

[Shockwave]

OMFG!!! Someone mentioned Adire!!!
Thats what I use!
Anyways, I would definately mix n match. The setup I'm looking at and hopefully will have (Its a bit pricey)

HU: Ecplise (One of the ebst out there, right on par with Nak's, probably not quite as good as Denon)
Amps: Want Arc Audio, but expensive. Probably do JBL, Orion or Phoenix Gold
Mids / Highs: CDT 3 way's up front, some nice 8's in rear door
Subs: Adire Audio Brahma 12", one of the best subs on the market, combined with the cost probably makes it the best for price / performance.

 

[Deftones94x]

Just dont mix and match speakers and Subs sizes and brands, they'll be on differant frequencies, and really sound bad.

Like, don't use 2 10"'s and 2 12"'s

 

[StattlichPassat]

If I had $2k to blow on a new car audio setup, my design would be something like...

Alpine CD/MP3/DVD LCD headunit
Alpine 12disc CD changer
Alpine XM radio equipment
Polk Audio speakers
JL Audio subwoofer(s)
a/d/s amps

Mmmmm... :Q

 

[Shockwave]

Originally posted by: Deftones94x
Just dont mix and match speakers and Subs sizes and brands, they'll be on differant frequencies, and really sound bad.

Like, don't use 2 10"'s and 2 12"'s

Not frequencies, but cancellation. All speakers will play the frequency (ie..you can have a 12, a 10 and an 8 all playing a 80 hz tone just fine) but you get into a problem of cancellation, which can end up bein a pain in the ***WOOOO***

***EDIT*** Ok, I'll lay out exactl what I would do with 2k, since you did ask in your post...
HU
Eclipse $500 - Any mid end CD player. I'm a Eclipse die hard, so I will be biased in any assesment, but regardless, these are right up there with the best
Nakamichi CD 45z $329 - For a long time the industry standard for decks, recently replace by Denon. I have heard that these decks suffer from a bad
loading mechanism, in that occaisonaly it wont fully erject the CD but does get it about half way out
Mids/Highs
CDT 642DT w/ Silk dome tweet $699 - I've never heard bad about CDT, right up there with Focal only not as expensive. I also like a silk dome
tweet, you can get them with metals if preffered. I think silk sounds less harsh myself.
Infinity Kappa 60.5cs $349 - Only a 2 way set, CDT is 3 way. Still Infinity is generally regarded as a very good brand, you wont have any complaints with
them.
Subwoofer
Adire Audio Brahma 12" $369 - Essentially, this is in the running for top sub right now. Its a SQ sub with enormous SPL and highest DUMAX on the market.
Comparable to a JL W7, differnece comes down to personal preference (The W7 starts at over $500....)
Audiomobile Evo-R 12" $299 - A good all around sub, not the best out there. The owner (Matt Overpeck) is a complete 4ss, but he makes good subs. I
cant stress enough to SERIOUSLY look into Adire's Brahma......
Amps
JBL1200.1 $329 - 1200 watts for the sub. Nuff siad. The Braham will soak it up and smile, it likes, WANTS, power. The Audiomobile may be beyond its limits
so be careful if you chain this sucker up to it.
JBL80.4 $264 - 160.2 bridged, just right for those CDT's

Primary options total cost: $2161
Secondary options cost: $1570

i recommend doin the install yourself if you can. Note that I dont give secondary options for amps, cause JBL is the cheapest good quality power you can buy, anything else in the 1000+ watt range is almost double price up to 4x as expensive. Keep in mind, this is just one route! Theres so much equipment out there, you could do a thousand options! Thats just stuff I would look into.

 

[Viperoni]

Originally posted by: Shockwave

Originally posted by: Deftones94x
Just dont mix and match speakers and Subs sizes and brands, they'll be on differant frequencies, and really sound bad.

Like, don't use 2 10"'s and 2 12"'s

Not frequencies, but cancellation. All speakers will play the frequency (ie..you can have a 12, a 10 and an 8 all playing a 80 hz tone just fine) but you get into a problem of cancellation, which can end up bein a pain in the ***WOOOO***

***EDIT*** Ok, I'll lay out exactl what I would do with 2k, since you did ask in your post...
HU
Eclipse $500 - Any mid end CD player. I'm a Eclipse die hard, so I will be biased in any assesment, but regardless, these are right up there with the best
Nakamichi CD 45z $329 - For a long time the industry standard for decks, recently replace by Denon. I have heard that these decks suffer from a bad
loading mechanism, in that occaisonaly it wont fully erject the CD but does get it about half way out
Mids/Highs
CDT 642DT w/ Silk dome tweet $699 - I've never heard bad about CDT, right up there with Focal only not as expensive. I also like a silk dome
tweet, you can get them with metals if preffered. I think silk sounds less harsh myself.
Infinity Kappa 60.5cs $349 - Only a 2 way set, CDT is 3 way. Still Infinity is generally regarded as a very good brand, you wont have any complaints with
them.
Subwoofer
Adire Audio Brahma 12" $369 - Essentially, this is in the running for top sub right now. Its a SQ sub with enormous SPL and highest DUMAX on the market.
Comparable to a JL W7, differnece comes down to personal preference (The W7 starts at over $500....)
Audiomobile Evo-R 12" $299 - A good all around sub, not the best out there. The owner (Matt Overpeck) is a complete 4ss, but he makes good subs. I
cant stress enough to SERIOUSLY look into Adire's Brahma......
Amps
JBL1200.1 $329 - 1200 watts for the sub. Nuff siad. The Braham will soak it up and smile, it likes, WANTS, power. The Audiomobile may be beyond its limits
so be careful if you chain this sucker up to it.
JBL80.4 $264 - 160.2 bridged, just right for those CDT's

Primary options total cost: $2161
Secondary options cost: $1570

i recommend doin the install yourself if you can. Note that I dont give secondary options for amps, cause JBL is the cheapest good quality power you can buy, anything else in the 1000+ watt range is almost double price up to 4x as expensive. Keep in mind, this is just one route! Theres so much equipment out there, you could do a thousand options! Thats just stuff I would look into.

Ladies and Gentlemen, TEH WINNAR!!!!111

There's no reason for $2k system NOT to have a Brahma. And a JBL 1200.1
Go with the Primary options, maybe get slightly worse components from CDT, or get a Focal Polyglass component set ~$400 or so.
But bump the Brahma up to a 15incher. No reason to go with a 12 when you can get a 15

You will also need a 1/0g wiring for the amp, no questions asked.

 

[Shockwave]

Thanks Viperoni, I figured I'd be flamed to hell and back for not saying JL Audio. Dont get me wrong, JL is damned good stuff.

Anyways, theres one otehr thing I forgot to add. Ideally, dont look at name OR price. Essentially, ideally, you want to walk into as many different stores as you can with blinders on. Remember, car audio is, in its most basic form, about what you HEAR, not what you see or the names. The gear I recommended? LISTEN TO IT FIRST IF YOU CAN!! I can assure you 100% that my listening tastes differ from yours. Thats why when talking audio, everyone can agree on SPL, you can measure it. But sound quality is another thing all together. Its subjective. What sounds good to me may very well sound horrid to you. Another thing, install is JUST as important as the gear, if not more so! A good install can make bad equipment sound good, but a bad install will make the best equipment in the world sound like trash. DONT overlook the importance of a good install! Doesnt have to be flashy. Dont have to have fiberglass and neon, or even a carpetted box. On the other hand, the equipment I recommended is considered by most to be pretty high end. In other words, if you bought what I listed, AND have a decent install, it WILL sound good. Maybe not to your liking, but still good. But rule #1, LISTEN TO IT, rule #2, DONT SLACK ON INSTALL!

 

[yakko]

It depends on how much money I have to spend on the system. If cost was no object I would have a full McIntosh set up.

 

[Ns1]

if i had money flying outta my arse, get a alpine dvd player, alpine processing unit (for 6 channel time correction, which is godly btw), alpine 13 band eq, diamond s500a's in the front, any diamond speakers in the back, 2 diamond 10" tdx's, 2 jbl 1200.1's, and a diamond 100x4 amp.

2800++ watts of sq glory

 

[Beau]

If I had $2k to blow on a system, here's what I'd get:

Kenwood KDC-M919 MP3 reciever $400
JBL BP1200.1 sub amp $500
2x Infinity Perfect 12 4ohm wired @ 2ohm
QLogic QLH12BP.4 dual 12" sub 1'x1' bandpass box
Infinity Kappa series component mids and tweets

Edit: Oh, wait, that's what I have

 

[Z24]

A bit of a sidetrack, but since Eclipse was brought up...

Has anyone noticed how their new decks are getting a little flashy? I really like the 'plain' look. I with they would stick with that.

 

[blahblah99]

Here's what I'd get if I had 2k to blow on a sound system:

Clarion Proaudio HX-D10 $299.99
Alpine ERE-G180 Eq $249.99
PPI PCX-440 4ch amp $270.00
MB Quart 6x9 DSC series $120.00
MB Quart 5.25 component RSC-213 $250.00
-----------------------------Sub total: $1550

That's everything minus the sub, sub amp, and sub box.