Audio Noob. This is what I want, whats good?

[Kyle87T]

Ok, well ive spend the last 3 days researching car audio stuff for my Supra, and I haven't really narrowed it down to anything yet. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I previously had two 15" Kicker Solo Barics subs in my car that the previous owner installed along with an Rockford Fosgate Amp, Gold Pheonix Amp, some crossovers, tweeters and Kicker front component speakers. It was a 3 or 4 year old setup and I sold it cause I needed the money last year. I am left with nothing, not even a head unit. Since my Supra is finally getting fixed, I need a sound system again.

The subs were massive and did not suit me because there was no room for the targa.

My main goal is to be able to put the targa in the hatch with two 12" subs. I was looking at the Pioneer shallow mount subs and was wondering if these will sit flush with the hatch carpet with an enclosure? Are Pioneer or Rockford Fosgate shallow subs any good? I know Kicker has some shallow mounts also. JL isnt coming out with theres till third quarter and that is longer than I want to wait.

What amp do you recommend? Will a 4 channel run my components along with my subs?

What component speakers do you recommend? My car will fit 4", but I will probably have the audio guy make me a 6.5" enclosure for my fronts.

I also want to get rear components, so I am guessing whatever I get for fronts will be fine for the rears.

Thank you so much for your help.

 

[Kyle87T]

Ok well I am almost positive I am going to get some Focal 6.5" Polyglass V2 component Speakers.

Still not sure on what amps and subs im gonna get though.

 

[speed]

Okay, I'll do my best to answer your questions. First off, its 'Phoenix Gold' not Gold Phoenix

Are you set on getting (2) 12" subs? Because one single quality subwoofer will be PLENTY loud in our car, and allows you to use less room.

Rockford Fosgate hasn't come out with anything that I'd consider "pretty good", imo its all mediocre paying for the name not the sound. Elemental Designs also has a shallow mount subwoofer that they've just released. I've had 4 eD subwoofers, and all of them have been clean, crips, deep, and loud. Not as impressive as some of the higher end stuff, but its damn good for the money!

I would not recommend using a 4ch amp to run both components and subwoofer. you CAN, but only if you can adjust crossover frequencies for each channel on the amp.

Also keep in mind the rears are 4.5" too, so you'll have to make custom enclosures for those.


I can recommend you certain products, but as always, how much $$ are you looking to spend? Hope this helps.

 

[Kyle87T]

I was actually talking to a few peopleand I was looking at buying the Focal Polyglass V2's or the Focal K2's. They are at a great price on ebay just under $300. I dont know if I really need rear speakers because it seems no one really uses them.

I want to be able to fit my targa in the hatch, so am I limited to only shallow mount subs? I dont think even 1 normal sub will allow me to fit the targa.

My budget isnt bad. I dont have a specific budget set, but if I am looking at buying focal speakers, my budget is pretty flexible.

 

[fiyota]

I'm running those same focal's... they sound absolutely amazing... I have 4" alpine type-s up front and 5.25" focal polyglass in the back (planning on getting 6.5" component's up front down the road)...

for low end I've got a 12" JL-W0 powered by a JL audio e1200 amp.... it's a very very balanced sounding system.. no distortion what so ever and it can still rattle some windows if I really wanted to.. otherwise it's a very clean sound which is what I wanted.

 

[Kyle87T]

Did the 5.25" fit without modification?

Isn't the e1200 a 1 channel amp? How do you power everything on 1 channel?

 

[fiyota]

yes the 5.25"'s fit just fine in the rear locations.. they are running off of a small amp under the seat... only my sub is running off the jl amp. and my front alpines are off the deck.

 

[Chris86.5]

k focals are AMAZING, but unless you want to take time to synchronize them and set em up properly in your car, i would suggest to get something else.

like i'm not downing focal cuz they are top of the line brand for SQ, but you gotta set them up properly or else they wont sound to good, dont get expensive speakers for the rear, you dont need em. your rear speakers are just fillers. the pioneer TS-130R's the 5.25 are amazing speakers from what ii heard so that would be something to get for your doors, you can get them for 400 retail, 200+ on internet or 120 on ebay.


i might get the 6.5 TS-130R components

 

[JL7mgte]

I run JL Audio for my whole system. I use the Evolution 6.25 XR's for the front and Evolution TR's for the rear fill. I had a W3 sub box built for the rear spare tire area (sacrificed the spare). To run all this I used JL's excellent 300/4 for the internals and 500/1 for the sub. I did run everything off the four channel for a while before I had my rear speakers in. The flexability of the amp allowed the sub to operate in it's range. It did, however, sound much better after I switched to a dedicated class D amp for the sub. The bass is <sic> punchier. This may sound like a commercial, but I have found JL's products to be very high quality.

 

[Turbo. Targa. Life.]

I beleive you already said it, but rears are not needed what so ever if you're running a good component setup up front powered by a good 2 ch amp dedicated to the components. As far as subs go, are you set on keeping your back seat? :evil:

 

[Justin]

If you got a good 4 channel you could run the fronts off the two front channels, and the sub off the rear two, bridged, assuming the amp supports it... There's nothing wrong with doing that.

 

[Turbo. Targa. Life.]

aside from the fact that most 4ch amps are AB class meaning they're a LOT less efficient than the class D's. They take alot more power to reproduce the same amount of power as a D class. I.E. say a Class AB takes 40amps to make 200watts of power, the class D will only take 20amps to do the same.

 

[toyo4life]

A Kicker 700.5 kicks ass as a small system amp. Its 75x4 + 400x1 5 channel. It makes for a simple install and has enough power for most. It is also a mixed type amp. A/b for the full range and D class for the sub. A similar amp from any other quality brand would also serve this purpose.

Hey TTL I ended up putting 4 6x8 pioneers kevlar cones in my car. They went in easier than expected. I'm working on the sub enclosure now. It's going to be a temp. setup until I can take the car off the road for a while to really build the maddness I want to do.
The temp. setup will be a small light easily removable dual solo 10" with the amp built into the enclosure.

 

[TbombsGen3]

Not using rear speakers has already been mentioned so I wont comment on that.(i guess i just did) But there is nothing wrong with running a set of components and a sub/pair subs off a 4 channel amp. I have run several setups this way, but they have all been great amps. (older kicker stuff, before Circuit City carried them) Just get a good set of components for the front. And by good, I dont mean go spend $300 plus on a set. There are several options for less money than the focals. I would second the recommendation of Elemental Designs. I have a couple of their subs and the sound is fantastic. I dont even have the higher lineup and my 12 sounds very similar to my old Solobaric D-series (the last great Kicker sub). Their (eD) slim driver gets great reviews.

After getting settled on the components, get either a good 12 or even a ten/pair of 10's. If you get a single sub or a pair, try to find a setup that gives a 2ohm resistance rating. Of course your amp needs to be 2 ohm stable when bridged. This will allow you to get the most of the rear channels power.

I would recommend the following for you front stage: the middle of JL's lineup (I believe the VR series), older MB Quart, Boston Acoustics SL lineup (or older PRO stuff), Elemental Designs (only have 6.5" drivers), Older Diamond Audio (which I have if interested).

All of these you be able to find at a decent price. As far as amps there are tons to choose from. I personally love the older Kicker amps...the ZR and ZX series from the mid 90's. Check on ebay....the 4 channel model is the ZR460 (i have an extra if interested). Older MTX amps, elemental again. I also have an older 5 channel MTX if you decide to have rear fill.

Subs....cant go wrong with eD, older kicker solo's (not square), JL of course ($$) older boston acoustics Pro series, Image Dynamics, ust to name a few.

I know this isnt the end all list of quality stuff, but all of these will give you better sound than you have probably heard without dropping a ton of cash.

I have a lot of equipment laying around, if you are interested pm me and I will give you a list.

 

[Turbo. Targa. Life.]

I second the opinion on eD and Image Dynamic equipment, good quality stuff for a reasonable price.

Most ALL of the older mid-90's stuff will be good. Hell even Rockford made good stuff mid-90's!!

Toyo--why 6x8's?? Oval=Yuck.

 

[JL7mgte]

^^^^ That was the last time Rockford made anything good. Loved my Punch45 amp.

 

[Turbo. Targa. Life.]

Yup lol. Now they're just Rockford Fosbreak :rofl:

I disagree with all this JL blah blah though...but I've already spoke my mind on that before, so I won't dive into the snake pit again!!

In any case...get what sounds good to YOU!! YOU are the only person whose ears matter!!

 

[CFSapper]

As far as subs go, are you set on keeping your back seat? :evil:

hey thats my idea:asshole:

 

[Turbo. Targa. Life.]

Hey! That's been my idea since before I owned a supra!! lol

Did you ever finish yours?

 

[CFSapper]

TTL: yah i know hence the

No I dont have a job right now so there are no funds comeing in and alot going out, but iv started sketching and measuring and hope to have started before i go for my explosives coarse