Tricking out Sound system for car...

[Walleye]

eventually, im gonna be getting a car pc, so this is hopefully gonna integrate with that. it's gonna be able to fairly quickly transfer between cars.

so what kinda stuff do i need to buy?

i need a sub, i need a cd player, and i need an amp, but what else?

 

[Ns1]

components, lots and lots and lots of wiring, crossovers, eq's, maybe cap's, alternator, battery

 

[amnesiac]

Better speakers.
5-ch amp or 2 separate amps to run speakers/sub
An equalizer does wonders.
Better security system on your car so some foo' doesn't jack your gear.

What kind of car is this going in?

 

[Walleye]

Originally posted by: amnesiac
Better speakers.
5-ch amp or 2 separate amps to run speakers/sub
An equalizer does wonders.
Better security system on your car so some foo' doesn't jack your gear.

What kind of car is this going in?

either a 2000 corolla, or if i dont get that soon enough.....


an '84 camry.

 

[Walleye]

how much the whole set gonna cost me? im going for bargain here...

 

[Ophir]

Try here.

Doing car audio WELL is a tough process.

If you want to do it well, here are some rules of thumb:
1) You need to start out with quality components, this doesn't mean expensive, just not crap. This is most important with amps, as clipping will damage your speakers.
2) You want to separate the components, i.e. head ---->crossover---->amp---->driver.
3) You want to feed each driver as much clean power as possible
4) The most difficult part of the process is tuning the response. An eq. does a decent job of this, but most people don't really know how to use it and should really NOT try. Most eqs just don't offer the sensitivity (1/3octave) necessary to tune well. You'd be surprised to learn that most people couldn't tune w/ a 15band eq any better than they could w/ a 3band (aka bass/mid/treble) eq. Just leave the eq alone and get quality components. Don't try to compensate with an eq
5) 2nd most difficult is the sub. From the enclosure to sealing the trunk/lights (so they won't rattle). For this I'd recommend hitting the sounddomain forums and asking lotsa questions.
6) Most important: Take your time and have fun. It can get expensive, so work up to the tricked out setup. Get the amp and speakers first, then the head, and save the sub til last. You'll want to do this well.

There's more, but I'm tired and probably couldn't help nearly as much as the people at sounddomain.

 

[Angrymarshmello]

Originally posted by: Walleye
how much the whole set gonna cost me? im going for bargain here...

You want to put a car PC and a system in a car on a budget/bargain? That defies the point.

 

[Ophir]

Originally posted by: Walleye
how much the whole set gonna cost me? im going for bargain here...

You can give your existing system a nice lift w/ $300-400:

1) Set of component speakers for front (Focal, Diamond Audio, infinity) - $150
2) Nice 2 channel amp (Orion, Phoenix Gold, PPI) - $130

Then:

3) Quality head (Pioneer, Premier, Alpine, Clarion) - $200-300
4) Quality Sub driver (Alumapro, Focal, JL, Infinity) - $150
5) Custom built enclosure (essential, don't pick up a cheap bandpass box) - $300-400
6) Sub amp (orion, pheonix gold, PPI) - $200

 

[Walleye]

Originally posted by: Angrymarshmello

Originally posted by: Walleye
how much the whole set gonna cost me? im going for bargain here...

You want to put a car PC and a system in a car on a budget/bargain? That defies the point.

i figure i can do that for less than 200 if i get the components from someone... he's gonna give me a lappy with a slim dvdrom, a 20 gig hard drive, and some other stuff. i'll buy one of those 12 v power supplys, one of those mini-itx computers, then i'll get a lcd display, like 5 inch, off hot deals or something for like 50... it'll be great. then it'll be a carputer

and i could run linux on it, and play dvd's, cd's, and mp3's. it'd be great

 

[Walleye]

Originally posted by: Ophir

Originally posted by: Walleye
how much the whole set gonna cost me? im going for bargain here...

You can give your existing system a nice lift w/ $300-400:

1) Set of component speakers for front (Focal, Diamond Audio, infinity) - $150
2) Nice 2 channel amp (Orion, Phoenix Gold, PPI) - $130

Then:

3) Quality head (Pioneer, Premier, Alpine, Clarion) - $200-300
4) Quality Sub driver (Alumapro, Focal, JL, Infinity) - $150
5) Custom built enclosure (essential, don't pick up a cheap bandpass box) - $300-400
6) Sub amp (orion, pheonix gold, PPI) - $200

i heard i can build the enclosure...

i dont have much of a system right now. the speakers in the corolla are aftermarket, though, so i guess i got a little bit there.

 

[Angrymarshmello]

Originally posted by: Walleye

Originally posted by: Angrymarshmello

Originally posted by: Walleye
how much the whole set gonna cost me? im going for bargain here...

You want to put a car PC and a system in a car on a budget/bargain? That defies the point.

i figure i can do that for less than 200 if i get the components from someone... he's gonna give me a lappy with a slim dvdrom, a 20 gig hard drive, and some other stuff. i'll buy one of those 12 v power supplys, one of those mini-itx computers, then i'll get a lcd display, like 5 inch, off hot deals or something for like 50... it'll be great. then it'll be a carputer

and i could run linux on it, and play dvd's, cd's, and mp3's. it'd be great

Well nm then. The car audio part will kill you.

 

[Walleye]

Originally posted by: Angrymarshmello

Originally posted by: Walleye

Originally posted by: Angrymarshmello

Originally posted by: Walleye
how much the whole set gonna cost me? im going for bargain here...

You want to put a car PC and a system in a car on a budget/bargain? That defies the point.

i figure i can do that for less than 200 if i get the components from someone... he's gonna give me a lappy with a slim dvdrom, a 20 gig hard drive, and some other stuff. i'll buy one of those 12 v power supplys, one of those mini-itx computers, then i'll get a lcd display, like 5 inch, off hot deals or something for like 50... it'll be great. then it'll be a carputer

and i could run linux on it, and play dvd's, cd's, and mp3's. it'd be great

Well nm then. The car audio part will kill you.

yeah. i only have 600 so far, and i have so many other places that money could go. like my world record booty call...

 

[Shockwave]

OMFG....

Ok...

Amp brand matters not 1 bit except in features and reliability. They all make power, equally well as long as there run within spec.
Sounddomain has more asshats then any forum I have EVAR been to. I would not recommend it.

And Phir, show me Focals and PG's for 150 and 200, respectivley.

 

[Shockwave]

I'm tired of telling people SD sucks.
Read the sig.

 

[Ophir]

Amp brand matters not 1 bit except in features and reliability. They all make power, equally well as long as there run within spec.

That's the point, moron. Not all amps run CLEANLY within spec. Get a sh!tty amp, and it will clip well before its rating. Clean power is the most underrated link in the setup.

Sounddomain has more asshats then any forum I have EVAR been to. I would not recommend it.

It's still got plenty of info and people do help. There are plenty of post nazi's there though, I'll give you that.

And Phir, show me Focals for 150

Since he's not going for a HQ setup, I was referring to polyglasses. Go here.. They're a buck 70, though. I've seen 'em at my dealer, open box (mint) for ~ $150. Sure you can ebay a better deal.

PG [for] 200

Here and here. I wasn't talking about 500WX2, more like 75-150WX2. This is a fronts, beginner/HQ bargain amp.

I've linked to onlinecarstereo.com, which is the first site I found. Don't know how respectable or suspect it is. As always, YMMV when you don't use manufacturer authorized sellers.

And shockwave, try to settle down before you post.

 

[Shockwave]

Originally posted by: Ophir<br
And shockwave, try to settle down before you post.

Good advice. Its easy to get worked up when it seems history repeats itself of

"Underpowering subs hurts them"
"Amps make all the difference"
"etc etc etc"

As for amps, I guess it depends how you define sh1tty. i wouldnt ever recommend Pyramid, however the budget stuff is (IMO) as good as the audiophile elite stuff for doing what an amp should do. And thats make power.

Wow, they do make a sub 150 PG amp. I really dont like the looks of the Tantrum lineup, but like the Ti lineup. Thus, I never really priced the Ta lines. The Ti's get a bit pricey. For the money I'd rather run JL amps (over Ti's) they seem to have a better feature set.
Still like the looks of the Ti's though.

 

[Walleye]

well, like i said, the speakers in the corolla are good speakers, aftermarkets. good pro install job on them too. apparently the former owner was a dipsh1t, and forgot when he sold it to the dealer that he had aftermarket speakers in there good thing the dealer didnt check it either

so that cuts down my cost significantly.


what's a head?

 

[Shockwave]

Originally posted by: Walleye
well, like i said, the speakers in the corolla are good speakers, aftermarkets. good pro install job on them too. apparently the former owner was a dipsh1t, and forgot when he sold it to the dealer that he had aftermarket speakers in there good thing the dealer didnt check it either

so that cuts down my cost significantly.


what's a head?

Usually dealers dont really jack up costs due to aftermarket speakers, and selling them with the car is a perfect excuse to upgrade. So, I wouldnt call the previous owner a d1psh1t so much as wanting to upgrade

head = head unit. CD player.

 

[Migroo]

With regards to clipping and amps - a clipped pre-out signal from your headunit will reach your speakers no matter how high quality your amp, so its not just down to your amp. Unless your headunit has non-clipping preouts, dont take your volume past about 85% of max to ensure that they dont clip (distort).

Go to sound domain and learn how to get up your amps properly (gain etc) which will ensure that your amps dont clip either (all amps can clip, no matter how expensive they are).

 

[slackerinabox]

How could you afford speakers when you're saving money to go to Australia for a booty call?