Car Audio - tips and advice please?

[wez1007]

Hi guys still fairly new here but not new to the idea of forums.

i posted a thread up over at the PCF forums but i thought id post one up here as well just to get a few more opinions.

Basically im looking at putting a kit together for my car. A single 12" sub, a set of splits for the front and a decent-ish amp to power the lot. im going to try keep it all to one brand (come on you have to admit its pretty neat when you can say: "i have all Alpine components" ) but if someone suggests a decent amp of better quality then it would be great.

So far this is what i have come up with:

First up - Head Unit:
Alpine CDE-123R --> Clickety
This is most definitely my choice, seems to have everything i want and some. I have been quoted sub R2k for one of them.

Next up the Components:
ALPINE SPS-610C --> Clickety
opted for the S-type instead of G/E simply because they cost the same and apparently are better

Now for the Sub:
ALPINE SWS 1222D --> Clickety
This happens to be a 2010 model of the S-type sub. cool thing is apparently it has a 2Ohm voice coil. I will probably run this at 4 ohms though.

Lastly the amp:
ALPINE PMX-F640 --> Clickety
Now this is probably not going to be the one. i would like something with more power since the whole system is slightly under powered but if i do happen to see a nice 2nd hand amp ill ditch this one (or the idea of it) in a sec.

I was going to post the list of components from Hertz that i wanted but it seems the only guy in kzn that sells them wont even answer his cell so i wont be listening to a set anytime soon...

Total cost: under R6400

I will build this up in stages firstly Head Unit and splits, then ill be saving up for the amp and sub and hopefully someone will be selling an amp with a lil more budge to it.

comments , crits and advice all welcome

original post can be found here

~wez

 

[spiderz]

Where are you located. (spotted kzn)
What car are you putting the sound into?

Head unit, 6.5" Split system + 12" sub. Might get away with a single 4 channel amp.

Also take a look at Starsound. They are good for their price.
I'm using a Sony head unit, Starsound competition splits, Pioneer DVC subs (running @ 1ohm). The amp on the sub's name I can't remember, but the other amp is a Starsound.

 

[The_Ogre]

OP, just take note the sub you're looking at is DVC.

 

[naasier]

You cant go wrong with Alpine. Some of their headunits you can wire up to a laptop and actaully fine tune it. You could look at JL Audio and DLS

 

[wez1007]

@spiderz, I did want to get a 4channel amp and a mono but its a procey setup and i would rather keep it simple for now. ill be putting this all into a 1999 VW golf MK IV and i will be redoing all the wiring.

I'm not so sure on starsound.... aren't they a lower spec cheap brand? i know the Alpine amps have some nice features built in that prevent the amp powering down when over heating a such..

@ grav80, Thanks i knew that. plan on running it in series giving me 4Ohms (2+2) its an old model type-s and there aren't any SVCs.

@naasier, didn't know that was possible. +points to alpine for that! I've done some research into JL audio. not much though

EDIT: oh and yeah im from KZN (more specifically Eshowe, a small area in the bush) its close to Richardsbay

 

[naasier]

@naasier, didn't know that was possible. +points to alpine for that! I've done some research into JL audio. not much though

However, you need to buy that range of headunits and get the imprint controller I think, not too sure about it. An installer selling Alpine should be able to do it for you and pay them a fee rather than paying for the unit itself. Your setup is gonna sound awesome

 

[wez1007]

aaaah yes! thought it would be something along those lines.... I'm sure there is an opensource version that someone has come up with (based on Ardunio and the likes). would be crazy if it could be done DIY style!

i sure hope it sounds awesome! was working out some sub box sizes and dimensions.

A sealed box for that sub needs a max of 42l so i designed a box that would fit on the left of the boot and only extrude 22cm out.. ill do a sketchup or something and post back. should prolly make this a log of the project

 

[Wasp_21]

Knock knock, don't want to steal the thread, but on a similar line, does anyone have any experience with the slim line sub/amp setups? you can get a single sub or dual setup. Have zero space in my bakkie, and wondering how good the sound is from these slimline units? Thanks.