[YOOT]

Help me spend $1500 or more on a new stero for the ED.

I have an decent head unit, so its in and ready to go, but I am looking to buy two amps some decent front speakers and a 12" sub in a premade box. I have my old front speakers from my old car in the baclk atmo, they are just Alpine 6.5" splits.

Now what can I get? I am a bit of a veteneran when it comes to car audio so don't spare me the techno mumbo jumbo.

I was thinking so far MB Quart front splits, and JL sub in box but not sure what amps to run. Also tossing up whether to go 6x9 in the back too.

Start feeding me Ideas peoples.

 

[Rmyers]

Fvck the 6x9's, waste of money, just use your old ones in the back and have em runnning off the HU or a small amp.

JL subs IMO are best value for money, I've had the W0 and W3's personally and they really did put ALOT of other systems that I cam across to shame. I bought my W3's for around $340 each. Wasn't very impressed with the JL amps though, and the Kicker amps make me wanna vomit in rage!!! For amps, i'd look into the Alpine v12 range, i've heard alot of good things about there new amps, haven't actaully heard the lower end ones, but if there anything like the previous series, then there definately the way to go.

For speakers, i've always been a focal man, I've heard fairly wide range of speakers and for me they are the best for my taste (trance, hard NRG etc). The polyglass series are lovely sounding speakers and would be in your price range, very musical and bright with the tn45 tweets, with a surprisingly fair bit of mid bass.

Spits and co-axils are really the grey area of car audio, there's no clearly defined better or worse speaker, it's really upto the users taste. Everyone's view is different, many people don't like the focal's, other's swear by them (myself included). It's really best to at least sample the speakers yourself properly if nothing else.

It also depends on how much you wanna spend. Most of the speakers that I've sampled were of pretty high end quality, so my experience with lower end gear may not be too varied.

How much do ya wanna spend on each item? Might be worth looking into some second hand gear, huge savings provided the equipment is in good condition. Go to www.caraudioaustralia.com, there always good for a bargain.

 

[XLS]

as rmyers said its up to you what brand to get. but i would go with focal to. some focal splits around 500$ give or take for a bottom of the range speaker. that is so damn good anyway. a eclipse amp around 700$. that leaves 300 for sub. focal suggest a amp for there speakers but i cant remember what the are.

 

[Rmyers]

focal suggest a amp for there speakers but i cant remember what the are.

I think it may be U-demension from memory?? Audison are another way to go for your front stage amp, in your price range i'd look at the Lrx series, Vrx is way outta your price range but are the amps that I ultimately plan on getting.

 

[XLS]

look at it this way he wouldnt get picked on for having sony.......

 

[YOOT]

Alright - looks like I am on the right track. I am having a look around tomorrow in the sales to see if there are any bargains to pick up. But so far The Focals or similar will be what I get for the front and the JL sub in a box is pretty much locked in.

 

[XLS]

go to the marrooka mile....you know what i mean.......i think its called brisbane car audio?????? something like that... they sell focal....dont be shocked when you point at the shinny stuff and find out how much they cost.. hehe they have some vey good stuf in there.... haggle abit too get some cable and a focal sticker try to knock of a few bucks......if i was up in brissie at the moment i would love to go in there too....



graham

 

[Rmyers]

Some really good bargains can be picked up on CAA, I got lucky, I got my focals which were only used for bout 10 minutes prior to my purchase for $800, retail price is $1400. BEST money I have ever spent, and they never seise to impress the hell outta people when they hear them. I'd pay retail price for them any day, point is, you get what you pay for, you wont be dissapointed with what focal has to offer...

 

[YOOT]

I want to put the tweeters in the dash in the factory holes. I was wondering how to get in there, am I right that you have to undo the black screws at the base of the windshield and pull that vent trim panel off?

 

[joelburden]

how big are the bass drives in the focal 3 ways and where can i find info on the focal range? i am seriously considering a set of utopia 3 ways or 2 sets of 2 ways

 

[Rmyers]

I want to put the tweeters in the dash in the factory holes. I was wondering how to get in there, am I right that you have to undo the black screws at the base of the windshield and pull that vent trim panel off?

Tweeters in the dash aren't optimal as the sound tends to reflect off the windscreen and the highs end up sounding a tad too harsh. The base of the A-pillar is not too bad, get some blue tac before you install the tweets and have aplay around with locations as the location is critical to how it ends up sounding.

how big are the bass drives in the focal 3 ways and where can i find info on the focal range? i am seriously considering a set of utopia 3 ways or 2 sets of 2 ways

The three ways consist of a 2 x 6.5 inch woofer, 2 x 4 inch mid and a 2 x tweets. 2 sets of 2 ways is pretty hardcore, I was going down that path but opted for the 3 ways as a really good deal came up too good to let pass.

http://www.focal-america.com/ that's the official site. Were abouts you live?? Most DEDICATED car audio stores will give ya information bout their range.

That's how I've got mine setup...

 

[Rmyers]

PS tweets are in the stock locations..

 

[joelburden]

shit thats a big crossover! thanks for the site man and i live in geelong. im opting towards 2 sets of 2 ways for the volume. no1 down here seems to stock the range as i realy want to hear them if im spending that sorta dough! how much would two sets cost me? i only know about the utopia splits- none of their lower range. but ill be doing some more research. if you have any info or expeiriences with focal u wana share with me thatd be great. thanks man.
joel

 

[joelburden]

also could u pm me ur msn or wotever itd be easier to chat on there if u want

 

[YOOT]

Well I have a set of 6.5" MB Quart Splits, Reference series. One 12" JL Audio sup in a sealed box, and two kenwood 4x100watt rms amps to run the lot including my alpines.

Spent most of the day installing the shit.

Its funny you mention to install the tweeters at the base of the A-Pillar cause thats where I stuck em cause I cant be bothered pulling the dash out.

Been taking pics, will uplaod them tomorrow prob.

 

[Rmyers]

Time for a signature update me thinks.... Which model JL sub did you get?? Sounds like you got the stereo department covered now, well done

 

[YOOT]

I got the W0 12" - it really hammers!

Got the whole system up and running today, those MB's have a seriously sweet sound! They are very transparent, love em. The sub is nice and smooth with really good deep bottom end, handles the softer mudding bass quite well.

All up the entire system is really sweet.

Thanks for your help Rymers.

 

[YOOT]

What are my options for upgrading the Alternator, i noticed the volt meter flicking a bit when the the volume was up really loud and the sub was pounding. 110A alternator?

 

[Rmyers]

Best thing for now would be to get a good battery such as an optima yellow top and maybe a 1 farad capacitor. Don't know if you've heard about my epic struggle with fitting a 110amp alternator on my car? The problem that you;ll face is the pulley used in the ED belt drive is far to narrow to grip properly due to the increased load coming form the larger alternator. It'll just squeel like a pig everytime you turn the stereo up and will very quickly eat through your belt (my belt snapped in 2 weeks). The only sure way around this was to fit a single drive belt sysytem like on the EF's that use a 6 rib belt. Expensive, yes, but nobody I know has proven a better alternative.

Best thing to do for now after the cap and battery is to install an 85amp alternator if you don't already have one..

 

[YOOT]

It turns out that the ED has a beefed up electrical system, the dipping in the volt meter is merely a needle width at full volume, so 95% of the time it doesn't move.

A capacitor would be ideal but I don't think I need it. At least once I saw an EA and an EB with stereos the same size and way smaller move around 1-2volts at the same volume I realised I didn't have a problem to start with!