Audio System Advice/suggestions

[Fry_33]

Hi,

I am not hugley into sound but I would like my car's audio system to sound as good as it can on a modest budget. So I am basically after some advice/ suggestions on which way to go.

I have an R33 series 2 with a Kenwood MP6029 MP3 deck, JL Audio TR650-CSi 6.5" splits and some older pioneer 120W rear 6" 2 ways. I am looking into getting an amp and possibly a sub. I would be running the front splits and a sub (bridged) off the amp and the rears off the deck.

I am looking to keep as much boot space as possible so the amp will go above the fuel tank next to the battery and the sub will be put to the side of the boot in a box (possibly removable).

I was just talking a guy at JB Hifi and he suggested a 4x50W amp or slightly higher and a 10"-12" sub.

He was suggesting an Audiobahn A6004T 4x75W amp $398 as it was a similar price to similar cadence, coustic 4 x 50W ones but a much better amp.

He also said the Audiobahn 10" Sub AW100T (~$200) might be worth getting, then make a box, or just buy one to fit it.

I am wondering whether to just get a jaycar 4x50WRMS response amp (AA0422) and save $200.

Any thoughts of advice from the audio gods out there wuld be much appreciated.

Thanks

Edited April 29, 2006 by Fry_33

[gts25t4door]

I have used the full Jaycar amp range and they kick ass, the 4x50w may not cut it, I would suggest the 4x100w jaycar response amp. I have used this amp on many occasions and it will power a set of splits and smallish sub perfect. Sub wise I would suggest that you just get a boxed sub from Autobarn or WOW or JBHiFi, just a cheap one is all you really need, as it wont be powered by a huge amp. Somthing like a cheap pioneer or even lightning audio will give a good sound.

My current setup in my car cost less then a grand and it kicks ass. Its not the cost of the gear that you use, its how you set it up.

Chris

[mr 32]

i have used the jaycar amps a few times and they have been very good and even better value. a cheap option for an amp that is great bang for your buck is a brand called cutting edge not sure if they are still round.

as for a sub i am a fan of the 10 or 12w3v2 from jl audio for mild to mid set ups but again you should choose the sub that sounds best for the type of music you listen to.

what ever sub you get it should be in a box that is the correct size etc etc.

as for the install you might want something like in the last post here http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...opic=106866&hl=

mr 32

Edited April 29, 2006 by mr 32

[Fry_33]

Thanks heaps for the info guys.. I just have a few more questions about all this stuff that would be great to know, so hopfully you could help me out again.

I realise the 4x100W jaycar amp would be a bit better, but I don't want the amp to be overkill. My splits are rated for 50WRMS so I thought the amp would match it best?

Alright, as for the sub.. if I decided to go with the 4x50W Jaycar amp would I be better off getting a sub which has a smaller power rating to match it? I will try and explain myself..

ie If the jaycer amp is used, bridging two channels it says it should put out 160WRMS. The audiobahn sub that was suggested to me handles 400WRMS. Does this mean that the amp running @160WRMS will only be running at about a third of it's potential? The 160WRMS is a maximum and I dare say I won't have the gain on the amp set at its max so it could be at <100WRMS.

Would I be better off just going for something like:

CS2342 - 10inch 4 Ohm Subwoofer - Double Magnet (power rating - 150WRMS)

or

CS2278 - 10" Precision Response Carbon Fibre Subwoofer (power handles - 250WRMS)

or Infinity 1040W, or some other similar pioneer one etc.

Would these perform better with this smaller amp?? ie run more efficiently as it would be a better match? no point me having a 1000WRMS sub and driving it with 160WRMS right..

I could always get a box made up by myself or someone else, or just buy one.

At this point I'll say sorry for all the questions, but I won't know unless I ask

The CS2278 jayar sub says it has dual voice coils, what diff does this make, does it have to be wired up differently?

Is there a basic rule of thumb that can be used with the specs of sub to match it to typres of music?

ie certain frequency ranges match doof doof, and another matches rock etc and another, classical.

Anyway I've asked enough.

Thanks for your time.

Phil

[RANDY]

Get the 100 or 130wrms jaycar amp man. Leave the gain down, and you won't be clipping your speakers.

Anything less, and your sub will probably distort....

[gts25t4door]

I dont know any "rules of thumbs" but I can say that you are right if you have a 1000W sub and run it with 160w then it can do damage to the amp and therefore damaging your sub. Cause you will need to run the amp harder to power the sub so it will start to clip. What you need to do is get a sub that handles a similar power to your amp. ie, if you have a amp that is rated at 160w RMS then you would really want to run it with the gain turned down a bit to reduce clipping so you would get a sub that is rated at about 200 - 300w RMS as 140w RMS or so would power it all day and would sound good.

I would still recomend that you 4x100 amp, not only will the splits respond better it will give you more bass from the sub as it will technically have twice the power as the 4x50. But get what you can afford dude, after all you are purchasing it, either way it will work.

Box size is important and so is the design of the box. Always offset your sub in the box so it is not in the center (this stops noise cancellation) and talk to the person selling you the sub and get thespeaker specs and the ideal box dimensions. I have a sealed sub box that is 800x400x300 and it pumps. I am not suggesting that you make your box this size but make sure when making sub boxes that you base your box on the specs on the sub driver, as this should give you the best sound. I suggest a sealed box wuold be best for smaller boxes like you are after, line it with dacron (not sure on the spelling) to make it think it is in a larger box.

Anyother questions just pm me.

Chris

[RANDY]

Chris is on the money. The box for the sub is important. Most (if not all) speakers and subs will have a recommended sealed box size, and ported box size. You need to keep to this to have the correct frequency response. Too large, and the driver will flop around to its maximum throw, and kill the voice coil. Too small, and the pressure behind the driver will stop the cone from moving as it should.

Some drivers come with a rating in "VAS" (I think that's Volume Air Size), which is represented in Litres. Smaller subs may say 10L box ported, 12L sealed.

Get a good amp, as good as the money you have will buy, then select speakers as you see fit, then get a reasonable sub and make sure the box is the correct size. You should come up trumps!

[Fry_33]

Thanks again guys for your input, its a big help.

I am steering toward the AA0425 (4x100wrms) or AA0426 (4x130wrms) jaycar amp.

As you say these should work the splits better as even when the gain is down to say half it will be around the 50wrms mark (i guess). Do you know if these amps have a multiple gains, to control seperate sections? it looks like it might. That way you can set the splits and sub at different gains yeah? Could be totally wrong there.

If so then you can have the sub channels a little higher to help move the subs cone.

The AA0426 (4x130wrms) puts out 2x 380wrms bridged which would steer me towards something like the jaycar CS2366 (10" 250wrms) sub or CS2278 (also 10" 250wrms).. these are both dual voice coil units so i think that's just a different way of wiring it up. Don't worry will look into it before installing.

Anyway will ponder over all this info and slowly come to a decision.

Thanks

Phil

[gts25t4door]

The amps do have seperate gain controls for each channel. You can bridge one channel and leave the other channel standard to make it a "3 channel" amp. I would suggest that you wire the duel voice coiled sub in series. This is achieved by connecting the + of the amp to the + of one voice coilst then connect the - of the amp to the - of the other voice coil, then connect the - and the + of the 2 voice coils together. This will drop the current draw down to 2 ohms which will give the amp less resistance and therefore give yo umore power output. I would reccomend the Response AA0425 (4x100wrms) as it is a full digital amp and will use less power to create the same output and lots less heat. It is also smaller and will fit neater beside the battery in yor car. Because the model of Kenwood head deck has a dedicated subwoofer RCA preout you can use this amp with the head deck.

It is all fairly straight forward hooking it all up. I sware by the Jaycar Response gear it is the best bang for buck mobile audio equipment available today (and no I dont work for Jaycar or Response).

Good luck

Chris

[Medium Dave]

I would absolutely agree with both Randy and gts25t4door, apart from running the sub at 2 ohms, running less than 4 ohm is only good for sound comps, the extra load will increase the heat in the amp and lower the power output, and you will reduce its lifespan.

I have worked for Jaycar and used a lot of the gear - my car is full of it, and in the 2.5 years I was there I saw only 2 amps come back faulty - and we sold lots of them! - thankfully they got the audio gear right before the place turned into a supermarket...