How about this for my new audio set up ? (amp, components and slim sub)

[Pistachio]

I don't know much about car audio, but I know that my standard speakers are crap! Can't turn it loud enough to hear without getting terrible distortion. I'd also like to take the bass out of the doors to stop rattles, but I don't want a big sub in the boot. So I've picked these Vibe products that seem to be good. What do you think? All opinions welcome

Also need some cabling. Am I better with pre made kits or doing it myself?

Vibe Slick Stereo 4

Vibe BlackAir 6

Vibe Optisound Auto 8


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(I've already got a Pioneer DEH-8400BT)

 

[matt911]

Vibe have there own nice wiring kit which is nice qualilty. I got mine from Halfords quite cheap actually.

 

[DanEdser]

+1 on the vibe wiring kit, I used it and its pretty good, although if your amping the components you'll need an extra RCA cable.

Make sure theres room for the sub to be under the seat as well, as I don't think there will be enough room, as there's also a tray there and people will kick it if they sit in the back.

 

[Pistachio]

Yeah I was planning to amp the speakers and bridge two channels for the sub. I need to have a check under the seat and measure up for the amp. I hardly ever have anyone in the back, and I'm not too fussed if they kick it as long as the connections are out of the way. I'm not sure how to mount it there though. I don't want to be drilling holes in the floor. Any suggestions?

 

[matt911]

Are you wiring the sub and speakers to the same amp?

 

[Pistachio]

Yeah. Bad idea?

 

[DanEdser]

Yeah. Bad idea?

Nah I did this fine.

Where are you planning on putting the amp?

I'm also guessing you're gonna have to hide the wiring under the carpets or something?

 

[DanEdser]

I'm not sure how to mount it there though. I don't want to be drilling holes in the floor. Any suggestions?

Velcro strips are your best bet

 

[Pistachio]

Ahh velcro, good shout. Amp under passenger seat, bass under my seat

 

[matt911]

Yeah. Bad idea?

Depends. If you sub is a power drainer when it woofs you may notice the other speakers loose abit of volume (power).

Ive always been advised to never wire them together.

 

[Pistachio]

hmm well it is a pretty small sub and tbh I don't like the bass too high

 

[matt911]

Yeah i doubt those under the seat ones are powerful. First ive heard of them actually lol. Still rather have my boot of full speakers though!

 

[DanEdser]

Depends. If you sub is a power drainer when it woofs you may notice the other speakers loose abit of volume (power).

Ive always been advised to never wire them together.

I've never had any problems with my setup and the components and sub are running off the same amp.

 

[matt911]

I've never had any problems with my setup and the components and sub are running off the same amp.

So is your sub playing abit of the mid sound along with the low?

EDIT: Sorry i bet a crossover is involved..

 

[DanEdser]

So is your sub playing abit of the mid sound along with the low?

EDIT: Sorry i bet a crossover is involved..

​The amp has crossovers?

And no, it has a low pass filter on it, so only the bass.

 

[matt911]

Ive only ever had a sub on my amp. So i wouldnt know much about it tbh.

Im going by my amp which has only low-full-high settings for the outputs, you with me lol

 

[DanEdser]

Ive only ever had a sub on my amp. So i wouldnt know much about it tbh.

Im going by my amp which has only low-full-high settings for the outputs, you with me lol

Mine has these settings, and EDGE and Vibe are made by the same company, so I'm guessing the amps will be similar, both being 4 channel amps and 800W

 

[matt911]

Ohh, being 4 channel then i guess you can have two different outputs running on the same amp. Ive only used 2 channel didnt know that that was possible lol.

Learn something new everyday

 

[DanEdser]

So yeah, OP: there's nothing to worry about with your 4 channel amp.

 

[Pistachio]

Well I've had the speakers (decided to go for Focal speakers in the end) and amp fitted a few weeks now and have slowly been fine tuning them. The clarity over stock speakers is brilliant. At first I was still getting a bit of hiss (although very minimal compared to before), but after I adjusted the tweeter's cut-off frequency it has reduced it more. I decided not to get the underseat sub because I am considering using the rear speakers as subs. I've still to look at how much room is in there though. While I've had the door cards off, I have sorted out a lot of the rattles that were bugging me before, so it's not completely necessary to have separate subs, but I still think it would be good to have it separate from the mids.

Fitting the speakers in the doors was a lot more work than I thought it would be. Originally I just cut the holes bigger and bolted the speakers to the metal skin, but they fouled the windows when opened. So I then cut 12mm MDF rings to space out the speakers, so that they didn't foul the windows. Also put some sticky foam between the 3 materials to seal it all nicely. And I had to dremel out the inner plastic door cards for the speakers to fit through. Managed to get the standard covers clipped back on though, so it's a complete stealth install
The tweeters fitted in to the standard plastic mounts after filling them a little wider.

I put some velcro on the bottom of the amp and it now sits very neatly under the passenger seat, with just a little blue glow from the LED giving it away. I'm really glad I didn't go for a boot install