Anyone Into Car Audio?

[hulk311]

I'm going to be buying a new car shortly, it comes with the Bose system but I am not too happy with the way it sounded when I test drove the car (I would rate it 3/10 with absolutely zero bass) so I am building my own system however I need some advice.

For speakers I already bought RAINBOW CS 265 PROFI VANADIUMs and an ARC AUDIO FD4150 to power it.

I have a Hifonics zx 6400 amp powering one IDQ12 D2 sub however I am leaving that in my 4runner plus I do not want to get a 12" sub that takes up half the trunk of the new car.

For the Buick Verano, which is about the size of the Chevy Cruze, I want something smaller. I am thinking about going with the SBR-S83V - Alpine 8" Single Ported Enclosure Type-R Subwoofer

WoofersEtc.com - SBR-S83V - Alpine 8" Single Ported Enclosure Loaded with Type-R Subwoofer

I love the look of it and how compact it is. To power it I am thinking of getting the MRP-M500 - Alpine Monoblock 500 Watt RMS Power Amplifier
Amazon.com: MRP-M500 - Alpine Monoblock 500 Watt RMS Power Amplifier: Electronics

So my question is what do you guys think of the sub/amp combo? Will it complement the front stage well? The current car audio system I have that includes the above IDQ12 and hifonics amp I build like 5 years ago and it's going pretty strong. However, now that I'm older I do not want a sub that takes up half the trunk.

Also, what is a good processor to get? I want to keep the stock 7" display in the car. I've heard of Alpine pxa-h800 ($700), jbl ms-8 ($535) and the Audison bit10, Helix P-DSP and Moscini 6to8 but have no idea which one to get.

 

[Thai]

I am way outdated, but i like the JBL MS-8. I would go with that. In fact, it is an 8-channel amp in itself. I would just get average speakers and let the MS-8 do everything...both DSP and amplifying the speakers. Keep it simple in your Buick. I would also consider getting aftermarket 6x9 subwoofers so that you don't destroy the already precious cargo space. This way, you can let MS-8 power the subs too. You can bridge 2 channels for each subwoofer. One channel per front component system, one channel per rear speaker, and then 4 channels for the two subwoofers.

Remember, the tuning and DSP of the system are what makes a great system, not the actual components IMHO. Keep it simple and out of sight.

BTW, i do agree with you about BOSE...zero bass! The mids and highs are decent. If you want to keep it simple, then why not get BassLink or something like that to complement the BOSE rather than gut it completely.

 

[Thai]

BTW, are you getting the Verano Turbo or regular Verano?

 

[SV_Dude]

Slightly!

Here's my 2010 Tundra about a month after I bought it new in August(ish) 2010:

I'm a big fan of the IDQ12's! Very responsive bass and they sound amazing! Both of these boxes are sealed which helps the crisp responsiveness of the subs though.

I didn't document anything on the front stage though but it's a 3-way active setup on a Zapco amp.

I am a huge fan of Zapco (Zapco - The Driving Force) amplifiers. Their sound quality is amazing and they have anything from high end competition amps to every day regular guy amps.

I have heard good things about rainbow but I don't have any experience with them. But, for the price you could get a morel front stage and get known good results. Morel coupled with Zapco is a winning setup.

 

[Thai]

SV, that's impressive install!!

 

[westwind77]

BTW, i do agree with you about BOSE...zero bass! .

My wife has a Bose system in her Miata, that thing has some great bass! I have yet to hear a stock system that beats hers, and it is an 02'!

 

[SV_Dude]

Thanks Thai! The idea was to have a kick a$$ stereo in a truck that looks completely stock. I modified the dash of the truck to put some 3" mid range speakers in the stock location and had to heat and reform the passenger side heater duct to make them fit. I put the tweeters and the mid bass speakers in the stock location as well and tried to aim the tweets as good as I can while keeping the location stock. A buddy of mine built a wire harness to run from the stock head unit to a smbyalink port on the Zapco amp. That harness balances and cleans the signal from the h/u to the amp so it produces a clean signal to the amp to amplify.

 

[hulk311]

BTW, are you getting the Verano Turbo or regular Verano?

I was all set on getting the Turbo version, loaded with sunroof and taxes and destination fees its about $31,000. I went on Autotrader to see if there were any for sale and I have seen several Buick Verano base models for sale for under $20,000! I've seen a couple for sale for $18,500 with very low mileage. I asked myself if a turbo engine, leather heated seats, and heated steering wheel (all the other options such as self dimming mirror, back up camera, cross traffic are useless to me) are worth over $12,000. The answer is no. Plus you can get one of those seat heating pads from Amazon for like $20 http://www.amazon.com/Wagan-IN9738-...F8&qid=1354722585&sr=8-1&keywords=heated+seat so it all comes down to is a turbo engine worth an extra $12,000 or not. All I really care about is how quiet the car is on a five hour trip and it's pretty damn quiet. Plus, if I get the base model I can put a kick ass sound system in it and not feel guilty about gutting out the BOSE system. I can even get huper optic cermaic tint on it with the money I've saved.

Also, I'd like to add that the turbo version has major torque steer, at least from what I've noticed when I floored it a couple of times while test driving it, but I am sure that is something that you get used to.

 

[ndcent]

I'm into upgrading a stock stereo to a nice sounding one but I don't go overboard with it. I don't spend enough time in my truck to really enjoy it.

Here was my set up:

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/audio-electronics/92190-new-pioneer-system-02-sr5.html

I would like to upgrade the sub and front speakers at some point still. The sub I have, while very practical and sturdy doesn't pack quite the punch I had hoped.

 

[Kung]