Sound System

Galzzly · Jan 22, 2008

As a part of my first project, I'm going to add a sound system.

So far I know what head unit I think that I'm going to choose... the Alpine IDA-X001 (I've heard that this is an excellent HU, especially for iPod connectivity.

What I'm not sure of is the sub, amp, and speakers.

All I know is that I would like a 12" sub in the boot with the amp, but if anyone could provide any info on what is best to choose, as well as what speakers will work well, that would be great.

Thanks.

Galzzly · Jan 23, 2008

buxz777 · Jan 23, 2008

hi mate 1st thing i done was upgrade the door speakers youll need 13cms i believe for front and back,please check 1st though , id recomend infinity for this they are very clear

next i bought a stealth shelf to fit some 6x9s got one from ebay carpetted in grey to match my interior for 30 pounds

i went for infinity 6x9s roughly 60-70 pounds alot of people will tell you not to bother with these but i like them when they are hidden i also bolted a little amp under the parcel shelf to power the 6x9s

my headunit runs the new door speakers

then i bought an active 10" vibe sub from halfords which sounds very good for the money active means it has a built in amp which saved me from matching a amp this cost 200 pounds but looks the nuts and inc box sub internal wiring and amp so its not to bad at all and as said sounds very nice and clear

very happy with system

just my 2 notes

buxz777 · Jan 23, 2008

id keep original headunit and parcel shelf for future when you sell the car as alot of people like them standard

nice 1 mate

Galzzly · Jan 23, 2008

Thanks mate, much appreciated, I may have to look for some of what you mentioned.

Galzzly · Jan 23, 2008

And yeah, I plan on keeping the orig stuff when I sell. Cheers

buxz777 · Jan 23, 2008

halfords/vibe also do a 12" active sub and box for 230 pounds was gonna get it but box is quite a bit bigger then my wee 10"

and i wanted a bit of boot left i still have half a booot maybe more with the 10" in there and the sound system now rocks so its a good blend of space and sound

Galzzly · Jan 23, 2008

Ahh yes, boot space, that may be something to think about... might go for a 10" rather than 12" to try and save some space.

Galzzly · Jan 23, 2008

Hmm, just seen some other threads about subs, and people don't seem all that keen on Vibes.

Any suggestions from people on a better sub/setup?

buxz777 · Jan 23, 2008

go have a listen to the vibe in halfords see what you think i wouldnt write it off cus a few peeps dont like them

vibe components arent great but are still ok and there 6x9s produce some very good bass look at the magnets on them they are huge

theyve been making subs quite a while and are pretty good at it the guy who fitted mine said he has a vibe sub from over 8 years ago and its still going, he recomended it over the pioneer sub he was trying to sell me and he didnt stock vibe so he lost out on a sub sale through the recomendation

some people dont like them due to the price and cus halfords sell them lol

ive had a few different brands before

vibe(good)spl (ok)--rockford (good)--infinity (good)--kenwood (pants)--sony(pants)--alpine (ok)--jbl (ok)

everytime i sell a car i leave the sound system in there and have another pop in my new car

i wouldnt recomend it if it wasnt ok

if you got more money to spend go infinity all round,they are very good from my experience but it will cost you anyhows keep your mind open and go have a look around most shops have some subs in boxes that you can pump

allways look at rms wattage not max power output allways some makers only quote mpo not rms ALLWAYS look for rms

by all means vibe are not the best in the world but they are decent subs/boxes that produce vey nice sound this might be due to the box actually being made the right size for the sub rather then buying a sub and plonking it in any box with the right size hole lol each sub needs certain airflow etc to produce its best sound

good luck mate

Galzzly · Jan 23, 2008

Wow, that's quite a reply. Thank you for that.

I think that I'm due for a bonus at work, but I'm not too sure of what it actually is yet, so I think that the system may pend on the result of that.

I will indeed go and have a listen to boxed subs and see what I think sound good.

Again, thank you for your reply.

N!CK R · Jan 23, 2008

Go for this one if you can stretch to it!
http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/alpine-typer-pack-p-4813.html?cadid=3319bef020ba5832c1e10a3a9d06064d

Its what ive got in mine and its brilliant, really good deep sound and doesnt take up too much space.

Galzzly · Jan 23, 2008

N!CK R said:
Go for this one if you can stretch to it!
http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/alpine-typer-pack-p-4813.html?cadid=3319bef020ba5832c1e10a3a9d06064d

Its what ive got in mine and its brilliant, really good deep sound and doesnt take up too much space.

I just took a look, and it doesn't actually look too bad, I'll keep it in mind.

Tigger · Jan 23, 2008

You were right looking at other threads mate - Vibe stuff is what the ICE fans call cheep & cheerful. Going to Halfords is not exactly the best idea if you want advice on what is good and what's not, they just want a sale so can tell you anything they want as the staff aren't properly trained anyway.

Also, going down 2 routes as mentioned aove are both the wrong way to go for quality of sound.

* 6x9s - soooooo 1980s
* Amping (adding more power) to the speakers in the rear

Just thought I'd brush up on those few points before I share some advice;

Your best bet is to get a set of components in the front end and then get an amp for them if you feel the need.
While still running your rear coaxils off the HU for rear fill you can add a sub to the boot - Bob's your uncle!

PS - if you put a small sub/box in your boot, bolt it down!

Galzzly · Jan 23, 2008

Tigger said:
You were right looking at other threads mate - Vibe stuff is what the ICE fans call cheep & cheerful. Going to Halfords is not exactly the best idea if you want advice on what is good and what's not, they just want a sale so can tell you anything they want as the staff aren't properly trained anyway.

Also, going down 2 routes as mentioned aove are both the wrong way to go for quality of sound.

* 6x9s - soooooo 1980s
* Amping (adding more power) to the speakers in the rear

Just thought I'd brush up on those few points before I share some advice;

Your best bet is to get a set of components in the front end and then get an amp for them if you feel the need.
While still running your rear coaxils off the HU for rear fill you can add a sub to the boot - Bob's your uncle!

PS - if you put a small sub/box in your boot, bolt it down!

Thank you very much for the reply.

Now the next bit... do you have any suggestions for what I could use?

I'm trying to take everything into concideration so that I make a good , informed choice.

pete_clio · Jan 23, 2008

ill vouvh for the ida x100 too, doesnt play cds but thats the point. sounds great looks spaceage and does teh trick nicely, run the lead in through the hatch in the back of the glovebox!

Galzzly · Jan 23, 2008

pete_clio said:
ill vouvh for the ida x100 too, doesnt play cds but thats the point. sounds great looks spaceage and does teh trick nicely, run the lead in through the hatch in the back of the glovebox!

That was my plan. At the minute I'm keeping a bunch of CD's in there, and it's hassle to swap round. Whereas if I had the iPod in there, I got my entire itunes lib in there.

I may need to invest in a bigger ipod soon though, lol.

buxz777 · Jan 23, 2008

Tigger said:
You were right looking at other threads mate - Vibe stuff is what the ICE fans call cheep & cheerful. Going to Halfords is not exactly the best idea if you want advice on what is good and what's not, they just want a sale so can tell you anything they want as the staff aren't properly trained anyway.

Also, going down 2 routes as mentioned aove are both the wrong way to go for quality of sound.

* 6x9s - soooooo 1980s
* Amping (adding more power) to the speakers in the rear

Just thought I'd brush up on those few points before I share some advice;
PS - if you put a small sub/box in your boot, bolt it down!

i think you got me wrong mate , i was saying go to halfords to listen to the vibe speaker not get advice of the people that work there, that way he can see what they sound/look like and make up his own mind on what they sound like he could even compare them to some of the other brands they have and see what he thinks its a good starting point and he will have things to compare sounds too wont he -- why is 6x9s the wrong way to go for quality sound?? if the amps got a xover in it then it will work the same as components connected to a xover and amp

and 6x9s come in just as good a quality as components ie db rating rms rating frequency response etc etc

in my ideal setup i would have components in the front and rear doors and dash and 6x9s with an amp to power them in the back shelf with a nice sub or 2 in the boot

dont get me wrong iam not saying components are shite infact the opposite they are very good but so are 6x9s when set up right just like components

i really cant understand peoples probs with 6x9s they produce nice sound and can be hidden easily?? so 80s?? lol ok then

buxz777 · Jan 23, 2008

ipod classic 160 gb all the way

Tigger · Jan 23, 2008

If you want to keep things standard looking, you're after a set of 5.25"/13cm components.

Alpine or Pioneer are a fairly good make for these at a budget level.
Moving on to a higher quality speaker you would be onto the likes of

Rainbow
Diamond
MTX
Focal
High-end Alpine & Pioneer ranges

The HU you mentioned in your opening post is great - a friend of mine (on here) just put one in his 172 last week and swears by it, not at it

Galzzly · Jan 23, 2008

Tigger said:
If you want to keep things standard looking, you're after a set of 5.25"/13cm components.

Alpine or Pioneer are a fairly good make for these at a budget level.
Moving on to a higher quality speaker you would be onto the likes of

Rainbow
Diamond
MTX
Focal
High-end Alpine & Pioneer ranges

The HU you mentioned in your opening post is great - a friend of mine (on here) just put one in his 172 last week and swears by it, not at it

Again after reading other threads, I thought that Alpine & Pioneer speakers weren't too good? Or are there actually specific models that are better than the rest?

Yeah, the HU looks pretty sweet, and every review I've heard/read has been great.

Kneel · Jan 23, 2008

buxz777 said:
Tigger said:

You were right looking at other threads mate - Vibe stuff is what the ICE fans call cheep & cheerful. Going to Halfords is not exactly the best idea if you want advice on what is good and what's not, they just want a sale so can tell you anything they want as the staff aren't properly trained anyway.

Also, going down 2 routes as mentioned aove are both the wrong way to go for quality of sound.

* 6x9s - soooooo 1980s
* Amping (adding more power) to the speakers in the rear

Just thought I'd brush up on those few points before I share some advice;
PS - if you put a small sub/box in your boot, bolt it down!

Click to expand...

i think you got me wrong mate , i was saying go to halfords to listen to the vibe speaker not get advice of the people that work there, that way he can see what they sound/look like and make up his own mind on what they sound like he could even compare them to some of the other brands they have and see what he thinks its a good starting point and he will have things to compare sounds too wont he -- why is 6x9s the wrong way to go for quality sound?? if the amps got a xover in it then it will work the same as components connected to a xover and amp and 6x9s come in just as good a quality as components ie db rating rms rating frequency response etc etc in my ideal setup i would have components in the front and rear doors and dash and 6x9s with an amp to power them in the back shelf with a nice sub or 2 in the boot

dont get me wrong iam not saying components are s**te infact the opposite they are very good but so are 6x9s when set up right just like components

i really cant understand peoples probs with 6x9s they produce nice sound and can be hidden easily?? so 80s?? lol ok then

Tigger is giving his advice based on SQ competitions as he competes IIRC so he knows his stuff, and from my experience 6x9s are wasted if you have a sub in the back anyway and components are a much better all around speaker.
Dont get me wrong you can get very good 6x9s but I used to have them in my setups and now dont bother as I dont feel they weren't of any benefit.

In my opinion, you need to spend some money on some components, budget around £100 and pick a brand along the lines of Alpine/Focal/Pheonix Gold. I have pheonix gold and everytime some-one has asked about speakers I have recommended them, they are very very impressive and imho to get a better speaker you'd be looking at spending a lot of money.

For the sub I'd say budget upwards of £60 and look at similar brands and maybe also Rockford Fosgate and maybe Kicker although I have not got any personal experience of these. Active subs are good as a space saving option but if you're not concerned about the sub being as small as possible I would say to buy a proper sub, if budget is an issue look at JBL as they are pretty impressive and they are also pretty cheap.

For an amp again depending on space you could use a 4 channel amp to run the front speakers and sub (2 channels for the fronts then you bridge the other 2 channels for the sub). Budget as much as you can for this as the amp is obviously a key component, a crap amp will not get the best from you're speakers. I would say try you're best to match RMS powers to the speakers/amp but if you cant overpower them slightly. Try and get an amp with high-pass and low-pass filters to help send the bass to the sub and everything else to the speakers.

A good place to look for this stuff is www.caraudiosecurity.com

Tigger · Jan 23, 2008

Sorry buxz777, I'm not having a go or anything, don't get me wrong either just play it cool.
Just sharing a point that is made countless times when advising people on Sound Quality at high level by professional people.

6x9s - yes they are a VERY cheap alternative to having to get a wiring kit/amp/sub and spend the time setting it up.

Running into Halfords is ok if you know what you are looking for, as you will be bombarded with all the technical jargon and most staff just give the impression that they know what they are doing. (Once again not having a go, just stating the very obvious)

Remember - listening to speakers on a wall in a big warehouse will not be anywhere close to sounding the same inside a car

Tigger · Jan 23, 2008

Kneel - yes I do compete in SQ and will be entering competitions this year as teams of cars (both SQ and SPL) providing I get the install into the new car on time

Galzzly · Jan 23, 2008

Thats a very good reply. When I get a chance at home, I'm going to look around for what I think will be a good setup, probably post it on here, to get views on if it's decent or not.

Tigger · Jan 23, 2008

Tigger said:
The HU you mentioned in your opening post is great - a friend of mine (on here) just put one in his 172 last week and swears by it, not at it

pete_clio said:
ill vouvh for the ida x100 too, doesnt play cds but thats the point. sounds great looks spaceage and does teh trick nicely, run the lead in through the hatch in the back of the glovebox!

:lolup: That's her

By all means, like anything else have a look into everything and shop around. Don't always go by what your hear, and when choosing audio gear most definetly don't always go by what you see.

Out of interest, what is your overall budget for your Sound System?
A budget is a huge guide when choosing equipment - for anything as I'm sure you are aware

Galzzly · Jan 23, 2008

Budget? I'm not counting the HU in this as I am going to get that regardless.

I'm not entirely sure, to be honest, I'd rather know what's good, what's not, what a decent setup is (as in exact components etc) and then budget around that cost.

Does that make sense what I said?

freeserver · Jan 23, 2008

I just changed my old sub and amp for this http://www.bassjunkies.com/index.php?pid=68933&show=expand_image

really impresed with it, much "kickier"/"punchier" bass (which is what i was after), i went to the showroom and payed £160 apparently its been reduced from £250.

Kneel · Jan 23, 2008

Tigger said:
Kneel - yes I do compete in SQ and will be entering competitions this year as teams of cars (both SQ and SPL) providing I get the install into the new car on time

cool! pics and vids

Tigger · Jan 23, 2008

Galzzly - yes it makes perfect sense

Here's my setup to give you an idea of how a competing install looks

http://www.cliosport.net/forum/showthread.php?t=259546
You probably won't go that far though lol

Kneel - keep an eye on here

knightrider · Jan 23, 2008

buxz777 said:
go have a listen to the vibe in halfords see what you think i wouldnt write it off cus a few peeps dont like them

vibe components arent great but are still ok and there 6x9s produce some very good bass look at the magnets on them they are huge

theyve been making subs quite a while and are pretty good at it the guy who fitted mine said he has a vibe sub from over 8 years ago and its still going, he recomended it over the pioneer sub he was trying to sell me and he didnt stock vibe so he lost out on a sub sale through the recomendation

some people dont like them due to the price and cus halfords sell them lol

ive had a few different brands before

vibe(good:dead: )spl (ok)--rockford (good)--infinity (good)--kenwood (pants)--sony(pants)--alpine (ok) --jbl (ok)

everytime i sell a car i leave the sound system in there and have another pop in my new car

i wouldnt recomend it if it wasnt ok

if you got more money to spend go infinity all round,they are very good from my experience but it will cost you anyhows keep your mind open and go have a look around most shops have some subs in boxes that you can pump

allways look at rms wattage not max power output allways some makers only quote mpo not rms ALLWAYS look for rms

by all means vibe are not the best in the world but they are decent subs/boxes that produce vey nice sound this might be due to the box actually being made the right size for the sub rather then buying a sub and plonking it in any box with the right size hole lol each sub needs certain airflow etc to produce its best sound

good luck mate

alpine ok and advising someone to get 6x9's lol. sorry dude but pmsl.

Tigger knos his stuff clearley. Id say go for alpine all round for the money they are the best imo, go for comps up front, no 6x9's as they just distort the sound from the vibrations the sub send upwards, i go for a alpine type r sub with a alpin mono block to run it off. then a 4 channel amp ro run the comp's off and get a decent h/u with a sub out so when your driving home late a night with the mrs everything you listen to isnt boooom boooom rattle rattle, you can just turn the sub right down and listen to normal music.

Also make sure that the amp rms wattage is above the subs rms wattage so it runs properly. None of this jbl 100watt sub with a 250 watt mutant am from motorworld.

knightrider · Jan 23, 2008

Galzzly said:
Budget? I'm not counting the HU in this as I am going to get that regardless.

I'm not entirely sure, to be honest, I'd rather know what's good, what's not, what a decent setup is (as in exact components etc) and then budget around that cost.

Does that make sense what I said?

pm me your budget and ill speck you a decent system for the money mate.

buxz777 · Jan 23, 2008

[/quote]

Again after reading other threads, I thought that Alpine & Pioneer speakers weren't too good? Or are there actually specific models that are better than the rest?

Yeah, the HU looks pretty sweet, and every review I've heard/read has been great.[/quote]

alpine speakerwise are good if you buy their top end stuff they also do some budget speakers that i found toot!!

i find alpine and pioneer king of headunits though

peace out guys have a good evening and stuff

ps my alpine headunit has a amp control built in so i can turn the sub and 6x9s down via headunit which is very handy

buxz777 · Jan 23, 2008

Tigger said:
Kneel - yes I do compete in SQ and will be entering competitions this year as teams of cars (both SQ and SPL) providing I get the install into the new car on time

good luck install and with competing mate

have a good1

knightrider · Jan 23, 2008

amp- http://caraudiosecurity.com/shop/product/products_id/381.html
Sub - http://caraudiosecurity.com/shop/product/products_id/3895.html
comp's - http://caraudiosecurity.com/shop/product/products_id/5324.html run of the hu

not bad for a basic set up but that will give you some hard pounding base but will also be punchy enough to keep up, altho if your a techno bod then go for a 10'

Tigger · Jan 23, 2008

not bad knightrider, don't forget you'd need a wiring kit for that too

pisssst - I seen the Vibe good/Alpine ok thing too - I just bit my lip and said nothing

Galzzly · Jan 24, 2008

knightrider said:
amp- http://caraudiosecurity.com/shop/product/products_id/381.html
Sub - http://caraudiosecurity.com/shop/product/products_id/3895.html
comp's - http://caraudiosecurity.com/shop/product/products_id/5324.html run of the hu

not bad for a basic set up but that will give you some hard pounding base but will also be punchy enough to keep up, altho if your a techno bod then go for a 10'

Yeah that's not too bad, and prices are cool. I could probably go for spending a bit more if I'm honest too.

Tigger said:
not bad knightrider, don't forget you'd need a wiring kit for that too

pisssst - I seen the Vibe good/Alpine ok thing too - I just bit my lip and said nothing

Would you have a spec for a basic setup, after what knightrider posted?

Galzzly · Jan 24, 2008

Can't remember if I've read that these are good or not in other threads, but are FLI subs any good?

Tigger · Jan 24, 2008

FLi & Vibe are much the same - made under same people IIRC.

In that "glamourous category" with the burberry caps an all, that most of us try to avoid lol

I'm heading out now, I'll PM you if you want a bit more advice mate

Galzzly · Jan 24, 2008

Tigger said:
FLi & Vibe are much the same - made under same people IIRC.

In that "glamourous category" with the burberry caps an all, that most of us try to avoid lol

I'm heading out now, I'll PM you if you want a bit more advice mate

That would be why I remember FLI then... infact yes, I do remember it in the other "Which sub would you get" thread, yeah... cheers, I'll steer clear then.

Yeah, if you could PM me with advice, that would be fantastic. Thank you.

Sound System

Similar threads