YACT: Review my potential car audio setup

[bubbadu]

Alright guys, after hours and hours of research, I am about to make a deeper plung into my car audio system.... heres what I have so far:

Headunit
Alpine 9807 Got this a couple of weeks ago.. works excellent.k

Sub/Enclosure
Polk MM120
After consideration, I decided to jump on the polk momo sub with box. I was talking to Shockwave here and he recommended the Adire Brahma, but I just cant see myself needing that much bass. For the price I paid for the polk with the enclosure, I am sure I will be happy with the bass.

Heres what I plan on buying to finish up the system.
JBL 1200.1
First purchase will be the amp, which is going to be the JBL 1200.1, which puts out 600watts RMS @ 4 ohms, which is plenty to power the 500watt sub.

Second will be new front 4" speakers. I decided to stick to 4" in the front because it will be alot harder to mount bigger ones in the front vs. it being pretty easy to put 5 1/4" or 6.5" in the rear. I am thinking about the JBL in the front.

For the rears I am thinking about geting a component setup, unless someone can talk me out of it. I saw the Fanatic Q series, which look REALLY nice. Fanatic Q 5 1/4" Obviously I would need an amp to get the true power out of the speakers, so I thought the Rockford 851X would be PLENTY powerfull enough to power all the speakers.

Does anyone have any tips about this setup and any tips about components? Thanks

 

[bubbadu]

^ANYONE?

 

[brian_riendeau]

the head unit is nice.

the sub enclosure hits good, but overpriced. you are paying for the name and the style. you can do MUCH better for just under $400. the adire sub would be good, as would anything from elemental designs (example http://www.edesignaudio.com/ep2/12k.htm), some of the new image dynamics subs, or a pair of jl subs if you want to spread the basss around.

when you get an amp, there is no point buying the 1200.1 if you are just going to run it at 4 ohm. buy speakers to match the sub or vice versa. while the jbl is great for power output, no sense wasting money on something and not using it to its full potential. you could get the 600.1, and a dual voice coil sub and save some $$$.

for the regular speakers, you have your plan needs some work. you want the good sound coming from the front of the vehicle for good imaging. having all the sound come from behind your head sounds like crap. when you go to a concert, do you listen with your back to the stage? get good speakers for the front, and the rear speakers are usually just mid bass filler and not full range sound. also, since the front is the primary soundstage, get something bigger than 4s. really, do anything you can to get something bigger than 4s.

the rockford components are overpriced as well. again, you are just buying the name. $430 is _way_ to much for the sound you get out of those rockfords. look at image dynamics, diamond audio, cdt audio, mb quart, and directed audio components if possible.

that amp is overkill if you use it just for components which would have the amp bridged into two channels each putting out more than 400w of (wasted) power. and again, you would be paying way too much for it. the rockford stuff is pretty solid, but its all marketing and fancy buzz words. i have known more people to have trouble with rockford amps than anything else. there are TONS of good amp manufacturers out there. have a look at some of the smaller brands for a better deal.

do not get caught up think that you get what you pay for. in car audio, often you are just paying a lot because you are not aware of what else is out there. also, you can do a lot with a decent ammount of power instead of using the hammer of god approach to getting good sound. install and setup is more important than just buying all the best components. for some good car audio deals, check out:

http://www.thezeb.com/
http://www.sounddomain.com/
http://www.woofersetc.com/

fyi, i have a pioneer head unit, directed audio components, jl bass, and xtant and arc audio amps...

 

[MarkW]

It sounds good, but you really need to check what your stock electrical system can handle. That 1200.1 is a beast, if your alternator cant put out the amps, you will be heading into some electrical problems. But once you got that worked out, have fun with it. BTW, I am pretty sure you can find a better deal on that momo sub than crutchfield, and that brahma is an awesome sub if you do want to go that route. Also, if you do want components in the back, check out the CDT Audio. I think thezeb.com has some 6.5" components for 149, which is an awesome price for them, but you WILL need an amp to get them sounding good. Other than that, good luck man...

 

[bubbadu]

Originally posted by: brian_riendeau
the head unit is nice.

the sub enclosure hits good, but overpriced. you are paying for the name and the style. you can do MUCH better for just under $400. the adire sub would be good, as would anything from elemental designs (example http://www.edesignaudio.com/ep2/12k.htm), some of the new image dynamics subs, or a pair of jl subs if you want to spread the basss around.

when you get an amp, there is no point buying the 1200.1 if you are just going to run it at 4 ohm. buy speakers to match the sub or vice versa. while the jbl is great for power output, no sense wasting money on something and not using it to its full potential. you could get the 600.1, and a dual voice coil sub and save some $$$.

for the regular speakers, you have your plan needs some work. you want the good sound coming from the front of the vehicle for good imaging. having all the sound come from behind your head sounds like crap. when you go to a concert, do you listen with your back to the stage? get good speakers for the front, and the rear speakers are usually just mid bass filler and not full range sound. also, since the front is the primary soundstage, get something bigger than 4s. really, do anything you can to get something bigger than 4s.

the rockford components are overpriced as well. again, you are just buying the name. $430 is _way_ to much for the sound you get out of those rockfords. look at image dynamics, diamond audio, cdt audio, mb quart, and directed audio components if possible.

that amp is overkill if you use it just for components which would have the amp bridged into two channels each putting out more than 400w of (wasted) power. and again, you would be paying way too much for it. the rockford stuff is pretty solid, but its all marketing and fancy buzz words. i have known more people to have trouble with rockford amps than anything else. there are TONS of good amp manufacturers out there. have a look at some of the smaller brands for a better deal.

fyi, i have a pioneer head unit, directed audio components, jl bass, and xtant and arc audio amps...

Opps, I forgot to mention prices... I already have the sub/enclouse... it was $150 bucks AR at Circuit City. Not bad for a 380 dollar setup. I just need a good amp to power it, its 500 watts RMS @ 4 ohms. The JBL puts out 600 X 1 at 4 ohms, so I figured that would be a good match up.I am afraid to get an underpowered amp, because last time I did that, the amp was crap and I am now out 300 bucks. On ebay they go for about 260 plus shipping, which isn't that bad. The 4 channel amp is going to be something I will get at some point, but for now the headunit amp is going to be ok I guess. The car (84 Mercedes) has 4"ers in the front and back.. of course all were blown out when I got the car, so right now I just have some pioneer 6.5's in the back. In the front its going to be hard to put anything bigger than 4", maybe I could do a 5 1/4" components in the front and just regular 6.5's in the back. The rockford's can be had for 200 bucks on ebay, half of there 450 dollar MSRP.

You make complete sense about the good sound in the front, so I guess I am going to have to change up my plans... Thanks for the tips though.

 

[brian_riendeau]

Since you posted the Cruthfield links I was thinking you were going to get the items from there All of that stuff is good for the right price, and you could justify the 1200.1 as leaving yourself room for future upgrades

 

[bubbadu]

Originally posted by: brian_riendeau
Since you posted the Cruthfield links I was thinking you were going to get the items from there All of that stuff is good for the right price, and you could justify the 1200.1 as leaving yourself room for future upgrades

Sorry about that. I just used them to show the products. I would love to get another momo sub and box, but I have yet to see what it can really do, so if I get the the 1200.1, that would always leave me an opening to get another. Heres the breakdown on the prices

JBL 1200.1 MSRP 550 dolars: Ebay: 260
Fosgate 851x 4 channel amp MSRP 600 : Ebay 299
Momo sub and box MSRP 380 : Circuit City 150 AR
JBL 4" speakers MSRP 150 : Ebay 80
Fosgate 5 1/4" or 6.5" speakers MSRP 450 Ebay 200

 

[BigPoppa]

If you're serious about your audio, i'd recommend building a set of kick panels to house a 6.5" component set. Drop your rear components. I'm not big on rear fill myself. The momo + enclosure wasn't a bad deal at $150, but I would have gone with a Tempest or Shiva in a self-built ported enclosure. The 1200.1 is a kicking amp, can't go wrong with it. If you stick with your 4" + 5.25 component in rear, you're going to need a 6 channel amp (2 4"s + 2 5.25's + 2 tweets).

 

[nan0bug]

Originally posted by: brian_riendeau
the head unit is nice.

the sub enclosure hits good, but overpriced. you are paying for the name and the style. you can do MUCH better for just under $400. the adire sub would be good, as would anything from elemental designs (example http://www.edesignaudio.com/ep2/12k.htm), some of the new image dynamics subs, or a pair of jl subs if you want to spread the basss around.

when you get an amp, there is no point buying the 1200.1 if you are just going to run it at 4 ohm. buy speakers to match the sub or vice versa. while the jbl is great for power output, no sense wasting money on something and not using it to its full potential. you could get the 600.1, and a dual voice coil sub and save some $$$.

for the regular speakers, you have your plan needs some work. you want the good sound coming from the front of the vehicle for good imaging. having all the sound come from behind your head sounds like crap. when you go to a concert, do you listen with your back to the stage? get good speakers for the front, and the rear speakers are usually just mid bass filler and not full range sound. also, since the front is the primary soundstage, get something bigger than 4s. really, do anything you can to get something bigger than 4s.

the rockford components are overpriced as well. again, you are just buying the name. $430 is _way_ to much for the sound you get out of those rockfords. look at image dynamics, diamond audio, cdt audio, mb quart, and directed audio components if possible.

that amp is overkill if you use it just for components which would have the amp bridged into two channels each putting out more than 400w of (wasted) power. and again, you would be paying way too much for it. the rockford stuff is pretty solid, but its all marketing and fancy buzz words. i have known more people to have trouble with rockford amps than anything else. there are TONS of good amp manufacturers out there. have a look at some of the smaller brands for a better deal.

do not get caught up think that you get what you pay for. in car audio, often you are just paying a lot because you are not aware of what else is out there. also, you can do a lot with a decent ammount of power instead of using the hammer of god approach to getting good sound. install and setup is more important than just buying all the best components. for some good car audio deals, check out:

http://www.thezeb.com/
http://www.sounddomain.com/
http://www.woofersetc.com/

fyi, i have a pioneer head unit, directed audio components, jl bass, and xtant and arc audio amps...

^^^ this man knows what he's talking about.

 

[WHSLacrossekid]

i want another momo. thinking about getting one from CC. they're so cheap

 

[bubbadu]

Originally posted by: WHSLacrossekid
i want another momo. thinking about getting one from CC. they're so cheap

I am dieing to try mine out, my rockford 400s amp is pretty much shot to death and I dont feel like messing with it. I think that 1200.1 will be PLENTY for it, and if I decide to get another, I can get the Momo's down to 2 ohms.