Car Audio

[grizzlyman]

Has anyone in hear messed around with car audio before? If so what kind or speaker,amp, subwoofer, and head unit did you use? I thinking about getting Polk speakers for my truck but there are mixed reviews for them. I really like Polk in home audio speakers and was just wondering if they were as good in car audio.

 

[EJ1]

Here's what I have and love it:

Headunit: Alpine
Speakers: CDT Audio (components)
Amp: JL Audio
Sub: JL Audio

You can get a lot of help at http://www.sounddomain.com if needed.

 

[bandphan]

jl audio for power and sub, mb quart for speakers, head unit is subjective, i used a passive nakamichi.

 

[joe68]

Apine head and amps , pioneer subs and speakers , But I would of bought better speakers If I could have.

 

[Halon451]

I use a Panasonic head unit, Infinity speakers, MTX 4-channel amp, and two MTX 10" subs, and seperate MTX crossover unit. Great sounding system - I don't think you can go wrong with MTX for car audio, and those Infinity speakers are some of the best I've heard - extremely clear and detailed and can handle lots of power.

 

[trnqk7]

I had MB Quart Reference series in the front and back with a Rockford Punch 35x4 amp and a JL Audio 250x1 amp with a JL Audio 12W3v1 sub in a sealed box. Used the top of the line JVC headunit at the time...909 or something rather. It wasn't the important part IMO. For a long time, my car sounded better to me than anything else I had access to. I've since sold the car and it is no longer true, but I still miss that system every now and then...sigh.

 

[Highbar]

Head units Pioneer and Alpine, Alpine gets the nod as which was better. I loved the Pio's display but the feature of the Alpine were better laid out and seemed to work a little better.

Speakers; Pioneer, Kenwood, Kicker, and Infinity. Infinity being the top. The sound was clear and controlled, and Kickers were good but not great, they were a space constraint buy for an ex's ride. The Pio and Kenwood both had good and bad points, I would buy either again, just not as clean as the Infinity's.

Subs were Infinity and Alpines. Alpines if you can get a good deal on them, not the low end ones mind you, were incredible. Infinity's were no slouch, just didn't dig in like the Alpines (could have been the fact that I had a different amp driving them, same box tho).

Amps; I had a Kenwood mono amp driving the Infinity's that I loved and was rock solid. The Alpines had an Alpine amp behind them with more power, it was also rock solid and I never had a problem with it. As a matter of fact the only issue I ever had was keeping alternators in the car, I kept killing the biggest ones my uncle could at the shop Oh well don't have the car anymore and don't have anything fancy in the Jeep.

T

 

[bandphan]

links from my previous post

http://www.mbquart.com/en/produkte/car/reference/produkt.php?nr=rvf_216

http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_subs.php?series_id=5

http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_amps.php?amp_id=438

 

[AUtiger]

Let music Drive you

Great success w/ Alpine

I have Alpine head unit and Alpine amp, clean strong power.

Speakers MB Quart and Boston Acoustic are te best I've heard w/o going overboard. I have the Boston pro6.5 (separates) and have driven them pretty hard for 10 years and they still sound great. Would love to get newer models but hard to justify $ when they still sound good.

Sub is Kicker but JL is probably a better sub. Haven't seen any reviews but HSU has 1 http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/asw-1203.html and they make strong home subs.

 

[annunaki]

In the past I have used Alpine almost exclusively for headunits (Anything made in 2004 or earlier). If I were to do something now I would probably do Clarion, Kenwood, or Eclipse.

For speakers, they are always subjective. I have found that JL Audio and Boston Acoustics tended to be the most neutral. Alpine's higher end speakers were very nice a few years ago (vifa and scanspeak designs). Infinity seems to design some nice speakers as well.

For amplifiers, I find it tough to go with anything but JL Audio. Their designs and build quality are top notch. JBL and MTX are pretty solid amplifier manufacturers too.

For subwoofers, JL Audio & Infinity are top notch. JBL does a reasonable job, as does MTX, Resonant Engineering, Elemental Designs and a few others.

 

[mouettus]

Pioneer head: lotsa features like multiple crossover settings (with slope), 11-band eq, high-pass filters for front and back speakers separately, low-pass filter and gain for subwoofer control, 5v outs, usb-in, ipod control, motorized face plates, nice displays, etc.

Speakers: Infinity reference components all around.

Sub + amp: infinity reference 12" in sealed enclosure powered by Rockford fosgate 200w amp (not enough I know).



For those of you who added an amp for their speakers, did you notice a big improvement over the head unit's amp? (yes i know... 12w rms).

 

[trnqk7]

Yes, but in the sense that you could play music a lot louder without any distortion from clipping and reaching the limits of the head unit. Dynamics also seemed to improve, for the same reason I would assume, when listening at moderate to loud volumes. Low volume listening seemed mostly the same.

 

[Halon451]

My amp is a beast, but it's only used to power the two subs in the back of my SUV. I run the speakers directly off the head unit, and I can get the volume up to near ear-splitting levels without distortion or clipping, so I see no need to try and push them harder with a seperate amp. I like a bit of oomph to my music, but I'm no punk kid driving around blasting music out of his window. It's just good, clean powerful sound. Plus, my head unit has a built in HPF/LPF adjust w/sub level control, so I can dial in a good overall system response.

 

[mouettus]

My amp is a beast, but it's only used to power the two subs in the back of my SUV. I run the speakers directly off the head unit, and I can get the volume up to near ear-splitting levels without distortion or clipping, so I see no need to try and push them harder with a seperate amp. I like a bit of oomph to my music, but I'm no punk kid driving around blasting music out of his window. It's just good, clean powerful sound. Plus, my head unit has a built in HPF/LPF adjust w/sub level control, so I can dial in a good overall system response.

The main reason why I asked that question is to know if bass from my speakers would improve to blend better with my sub. I'm listening to music at very high SPLs in my car and I was wondering if I would see a difference. Cause yes I can play them very loud but the bass seems weird. That or the fact that the door's interior is too large as a cabinet (air).

I have hearing problems at 22 and it is my fault. Loud music and a trip in a sesna. Since then, I can't go underwater more than 5ft.

 

[trnqk7]

My old MB Quart reference series did like a little power to get going, but the amp I had driving them was only 33W RMS-not exactly a huge thing. The head unit I had was 22W RMS (claimed anyway). Besides-punk kid is usually called out b/c of his subs, not his mids and highs How often can you hear what the kid is playing, besides "bump, bump, bump"?

 

[Fancypants]

I personally love my pioneer head unit, it has a digital input for accessories, and have installed an IPod dock in my wife's explorer that is cool, because it digitally interfaces with the IPod and charges it at the same time, it isn't just an aux. jack. As such, you can change tracks on the IPod from the head unit, and it will also display track information on the OLED screen.

As far as speakers go, I was on a budget, but wanted quality, so I went with Clif Designs, they are a relatively unknown company (to me at least) but these things are awesome. Her SUV, being a Ford, had 6x8's and the Clif Design QX5768's are awesome, with tweeters that you can adjust directionally. I also got her a pair of Clif Designs CD109W's which are 10" subs that can handle 300 watts RMS each (600 watts peak). Overall, I turned her terrible factory, government work truck model Explorer into a machine that she loves to drive and sounds incredible, and all on a budget. The hardest part was finding an amp that would drive those subs AND was affordable.

**Edit**

To reiterate what mouettus previously mentioned, the EQ and crossover settings on the Pioneer make it an awesome choice as well. Using the High Pass Filter and Sub crossover settings on the head unit allowed me to not have to worry about getting an amp with crossovers and such, just use the amp for... amplification.

 

[Matt34]

Alpine 9883- Ipod in glove compartment
Alpine MRP-F450(bridged pushing the Bostons)
MTX mono amp(forgot model number)
Boston Acoustic S60
Alpine Type R Coxial- rear doors
2x Treo SSI 10" subs

 

[Halon451]

The main reason why I asked that question is to know if bass from my speakers would improve to blend better with my sub. I'm listening to music at very high SPLs in my car and I was wondering if I would see a difference. Cause yes I can play them very loud but the bass seems weird. That or the fact that the door's interior is too large as a cabinet (air).

I have hearing problems at 22 and it is my fault. Loud music and a trip in a sesna. Since then, I can't go underwater more than 5ft.

Well, I can say that with the way I have mine set up currently, the speakers do blend rather well with the subs, and my Panasonic claims 50w RMS per channel. In your case, providing more amplification would probably push them a bit cleaner, sure and at lower frequencies without muddying things up, but like home audio, you have to experiment and see what works best for you.

A car's interior is hell for acoustics by default. I notice a significant difference in lower frequency response when I have the windows cracked, versus when they are closed all the way. You can pick up a decent 4 channel amp for your speakers at just about anywhere for cheap that will be more than sufficient for driving some satellites if you choose to go that route. Especially if your head unit has pre-outs - makes it that much easier.

Claiming bad hearing and yet you listen to your music at high SPL's?? Might be wise to start turning it down a few notches.

 

[cbraver]

The main reason why I asked that question is to know if bass from my speakers would improve to blend better with my sub. I'm listening to music at very high SPLs in my car and I was wondering if I would see a difference. Cause yes I can play them very loud but the bass seems weird. That or the fact that the door's interior is too large as a cabinet (air).

My regular cab Dodge RAM1500 has MB Quart Premium components powered by a Kicker 700.5 and an Infinity Kappa Perfect 12" powered by a Kicker 600.1. My headunit is a Kenwood KVT-911. Powering the components made a big difference, not just in terms of volume, but in dynamics and it certainly woke up the midrange and lower midrange. The lower midrange is where your "punch" comes from, moreso than from your subwoofer even. I think you would notice a big difference with getting components.

Old pictures, but... oh well...

...can't find a picture of the amp rack. They are behind the passenger seat.


I also Dynamatted the pretty much the whole truck, and that made a HUGE difference. When I shut my door now I can feel the pressure, haha. No rattles and the bass stays IN the truck, rather than travelling out of it. Plus it is extremely quiet when I drive, which is nice.

I have hearing problems at 22 and it is my fault. Loud music and a trip in a sesna. Since then, I can't go underwater more than 5ft.

Maybe car stereo isn't the best hobby then. But, a nice system sounds good at low volumes as high volumes. Actually that's another reason to Dynamat, it lowers the interior noise levels where you end up keeping your volume lower.

You mean Cessna? Like the airplane? Why would that hurt your hearing? I've been in all kinds of Cessna's... from 172s to Citations, and my hearing is fine.

 

[mouettus]

I also Dynamatted the pretty much the whole truck, and that made a HUGE difference. When I shut my door now I can feel the pressure, haha. No rattles and the bass stays IN the truck, rather than travelling out of it. Plus it is extremely quiet when I drive, which is nice.

Maybe car stereo isn't the best hobby then. But, a nice system sounds good at low volumes as high volumes. Actually that's another reason to Dynamat, it lowers the interior noise levels where you end up keeping your volume lower.

You mean Cessna? Like the airplane? Why would that hurt your hearing? I've been in all kinds of Cessna's... from 172s to Citations, and my hearing is fine.

Car stereo is not my main hobby but I like it yeah. I have to have a good system everywhere I go! Even at the gym I carry my big headphones!

My car is not dynamatted as I don't want to put much money in my car. Audio is almost fine as it is. I have some dynamat put around the speakers to prevent the door vibrating (9x9in squares). The reason for high SPL is the feeling you have. I crave for mid-bass punches in metal music and techno. I like good sound but when the speakers come alive, that's my thing.

For hearing problems, I've always had them. As long as I can remember, I was 5 and when I laid down in bed at night I could hear a slight hiss in both ears. Same as what you hear when you stick your head behind a tube tv (crt). Maybe a trauma I don't remember or something. The plane just didn't help. Now the hissing is a little bit bigger and it caused me some problems because of medical exams I had to take for the police force. They put you in an enclosed space with a headset and you press the button when you hear tones at low volume. How am I supposed to know the difference between high-frequency tones and the hissing? So I was pressing on the button randomly haha.

BTW, wiring in the car is not a problem but the only think I hate is that I only have 2 pairs of RCA out. 1 for my subwoofer and 1 for the front speakers. So I'll lose the ability to fade the sound front/back. The other reason being that if I put a second amp, my battery won't like it so I'll have to buy a capacitor. $$$ again.