[qib]

Hi guys,

I know this is not a car audio forum but i was hoping you audiophiles could give me advice as to the brands of car audio systems that are good for clarity and bass. I am getting an alpine cda-9887 installed tomorrow and i might just get the whole lot as well if i feel buying on an impulse. What would you guys suggest i get? Clarity and good bass is what im looking for at a $2000 budget. Could you guys recommend me good Asian brands to go with, as im in the south east Asia and the only European brand that i know of is Rockford fosgate. Advice on the subs and tweeters and mids are welcome. Thanks. Hope you guys can help.

EDIT: Also i was looking at two sets of amplifiers, one for the bass and the other for the mids or treble? As you can see i know next to nothing about car audio, but still desperate for audiophile quality while driving. Car is a lancer EX if that helps. Thanks.

 

[Lapwing]

Hi qib,
I would highly recommend JL Audio XR component speakers, two 12" JL W3s, a 75W RMS X 4 amplifier for the components speakers, and a 500w RMS monoblock amp for the subs. If you like very deep, thumpy bass put the subs in a tuned bandpass box or a large tuned ported box. If you like tight and accurate bass (good for rock music) then put the subs in a sealed box. The setup should cost right around $2000 installed.
I had a JL XR system for many years and loved it very much.

 

[Lapwing]

You might also want to ask this question at: Car Audio and Stereo Forum

It's my favorite forum for hi-fi car audio.

 

[compuryan]

Go to the car audio forums. I could recommend some things but I don't want to point you in a direction when there are lots of possibilities. My general advice would be not to skimp on quality. Buy good brands and take your time to do a quality install. You will be happier if it is nice and tidy and not wires sprawling everywhere.

 

[btbluesky]

I'm in the same boat, and even after I read all these forums, I still come out totally undecided.

Car audio do not get nearly as much attention these days. Cost vs SQ return are not nearly as good as home and head. But I hope what I gather can help

- diymobileaudio got tons of info. But some are just too technical. Plus some members are not too friendly to answering noob questions.

- Run the component ACTIVE, not passive, gives you more control, thus can fine tune it in the car, for sure u'd need it. Sorta like bi-amping. Alot of people after going active, they never do anything else. Your alpine can run active, meaning use it for just front stage, tweeter comes out of its own set of RCA from HU w/ its own amp at say..3000Hz-20K, woofer its own, RCA to amp at 120hz to 3000hz....The head has crossover builtin already, and if the DAC chip is up to the task, why not use it and split the mid and high right there. A good components runs you 1-2k. A pair of good woofer+tweet are much cheaper....plus you can throw in more power.

Some quality woofer (Seas, peerless, B&C ...) for cheaper price but better than...say a Boston component. 8 ohm drive are perfectly fine in car as long as its higher sensitivity, because the 4/2 ohm amp can drive anything >4/2.

- Tweeter, take a look at the seas neo tweeter, does 2800-20kHz, made in norway for..(drumstick...) $35 a pop. Its 1 inch drive, can fit any car setup, not like a usual 3 inch bookshelf tweet. I don't believe in the car audio speakers price since ...never.

- EQ,Crossover, the alpine has its own package (forgot the name), with a mic and a program that you can do auto eq online or with program. Try that along with the xover in the HU. Or if you going for long hual, skip its crossover/eq function and roll a alpine701 extrenal DAC+crossover+eq. Or audiocontrol unit. NO...I repeat...no good installation doesn't have eq in car, simply because a car cabin is a twisted place to listen good SQ sound.

- amp is where there are tons of good selection for low price. BUT not all the new ones are good, soem old school ones actually are much better. One good measure that make sense to me is the damping factor/force. The higher the better, as it can have more control over the woofer, meaning it can move the air more rapidly...thus clarity. I got sitting in my room a Italian-made Audison 65w, a Tru technology 200w for woofers (still waiting to buy a worthwhile car to do a good install). Old zap and Arc audio are good. the thing is look at the damping force. ALWAYS throw at least 1.5 - 2x of clean power to the woofer spec rms.

- power. upgrade your battery first. If not enough, try wut they call the "big-three" wire upgrade. The 3 wires between the engine, the alternator and battery. Its cheap, just change them to some 0 gauge. If still not enough, well...a high v alternator is in order if you gonna keep the car.

- Installation, this is the most difficult part. The shop has to be experienced, willing to work with you to tune it. If you use equip to measure a fresh install, 99% the graph is horrible. Tuning in very limited space is the key. fiberglass kickpod fabrication would be in general better than door install (you don't listen your home hifi sideway, yet ppl do in the car for 2 hrs commute...)

Hope the info helps.