Will These Splits Fit My Car? And Which Of These Head Units Will Be The Better Option For My Setup

[N-DAWG]

Hi all

I'm in the process of working out my car audio setup for my 4 Door R34 and am a bit stuck on which front speakers to buy, and also which Head Unit to get installed.

Speakers first:

At the moment the decision is between JL Audio VR600CSI Splits, or the new Alpine Type R Splits.

They will be running of a 4x60wrms Pioneer Amplifier (GM6300F). If I go the Type R splits, I will probably bridge the amp to feed them the juice and focus on the front staging as I am going for a sound quality focused install rather than just what's loud and clear.

Now the question is, will these Type R components fit in the 4 Door R34? Has anyone had any experience with these speakers and skylines?

The salesperson had concerns about the depth of the Type R speakers but said that there wouldn't be any problems with the JLs. However looking at paper specs the surface mount depth of the two speakers are the same?

I would prefer the Alpine speakers and they're also going to cost a fair amount less at the moment which means I can put the money I save towards getting my doors skinned with deadener.

As for the head unit:

I was looking at a JVC KD-AVX11 to get the in between of DVD and a good deck with 7 band Equaliser. Then I discovered that they only had one set of preouts so I disregarded that head unit.

After hearing a 3preout JVC DVD Source unit and then an Alpine equivalent, JVC is now out of the question!

So I've narrowed decision down to the following non-dvd units to focus on sound quality at an affordable price as that's what counts when you're driving and aren't watching the screen:

Pioneer DEH-P6950

Alpine CDA9885

As far as aesthetics and menu layouts etc.. go, I am leaning towards the pioneer, though I believe the Alpine to be marginally better in the sound quality. Note that the Pioneer unit has 7 band equaliser.

Any experience, suggestions, advice on which way I should perhaps go with my head unit suggestion will be taken into consideration. Both are the same price. I'm looking at all aspects from sound quality, to build quality and functions features and what's going to be easier to live with using everyday.

Thanks in advance

Edit: Figure that a bit of a run-down of the rest of the system will be helpful

Most of the components I already have from my previous car so they will be used..at least for now:

GM5100T 2x125WRMS Bridgable

GM6300F 4x60WRMS (will be used to power the speakers)

Lightning Audio Strike 15" Single Coil in 1.5Cu.Ft.

4Gauge Schneider OFC

Gold 4Guage in 2x 8Gauge out Fused Distribution Block

2x Sony RCA Signal Leads

1x Jaycar RCA Signal Leads

I would like to replace the 15" sub with 2x12" woofers as I listen to all types of music and for some certain Genres I prefer to have an in between of tight bass and low deep bass..but that may come later, I'll just use what I have for now.

Edited February 14, 2008 by N-DAWG

[Ryan's 33]

hey!

as far as the headunits go, ive got an alpine CDA 9885i and its sweeeet, plays so well, its never skipped and ive had sum reall scratched cd's in it. features r u can change the colour of ur main opperation buttons between red and blue, u can controll ipod from headunit not from ipod, i think its the same with bluetooth, havnt set that up yet, can have background visuals while lsitenin 2 music, comes up wit notes sayin happy new year, xmas, u can even set ya b-day in it fo it 2 say happy b-day lol as for speakers ive got S type 6.5inch speakers front and back aswell as a 12inch S type sub all amped from a 1200 watt amp and thats loud enought rearview mirror vibrates like hell and cant c out of it when on max vol lol no distortion on front and rear speakers from 2 much bass, crisp & clear music, my girlfriend says she can hear it from her room at the back of the house and can hear word for word, das how clear it is. if S types sound really gewd id think R types or even X types would b crazy!

[infamous_t]

Alpine 9887 ftw!

R-types are good(I've got splits up front, coax up back), but I think you'll need a spacer for the 6.5' speakers, the r-types actually come with some, but I can't remember if they were enough to clear the frame or not, mainly because I already had mdf spacers in there.

[Chris Rogers]

they will clear in a 34 - JUST! sound deaden the doors while you are at it.

[Lil_Bobby_260]

hmm i wouldnt bother bridging the 4ch down to 2 channels to run the fronts. At the end of the day you will be running it through a high pass filter in your SQ install to keep thclraity up, which means that they do not need a huge amount of power. You would do better to run a speaker off each channel ie amp your rears as well, thus giving you an even sound from front and read, as opposedto just a massively overpowered front stage.

pretty sure that ur pioneer 2xh is going to underpower that sub, too. For SQ, you want to have an amp that puts out a highr RS than your sub, then only run it at 1/2 to 2/3 gain so that it isnt maxing out. You get better sound when your components arent at their limits. Plus, a 15 in the boot of a car isnt the best for SQ. They take a bit of power to deliver the punch you need.

[Hotr34]

Type R Fit just but with spacers... and sound like shit, trust me I tried it.... DD liner sound much better. but if you can stay away from /////ALPINE the better.

Edited March 28, 2008 by Hotr34

[N-DAWG]

Hey guys

Thanks for the replies.

I ended up getting the bits mid/late Feb and just remembered I'd posted this thread

Some great replies there too.

I had to lower my budget a bit due to unexpected expenses that managed to pop up but I think i still managed to do well considering how much I saved on the bits I bought.

I ended up buying the Kenwood X8006U Head Unit, saved about $300. It covers the iPod control without purchasing any additional cables etc, has 3pairs of 5volt, covers the tuning aspects that I wanted and leaves me with room for expansion later on.

I installed NV Splits up front and powerplant 2-ways in the rear shelf..the price was right for these parts and they don't sound too bad considering. And yes I had sound deadening fitted for the front speakers, though I'm considering doing the door skins as well later on.

For reference, the NV Splits just fit. The installer had to cut into the plastic on the factory speaker mount to fit the depth, but I was told it just cleared.

I was nearly going to get a pair of Orion splits (ex display models) which would have set me back around $400 a pair, though the saving was quite huge. I can't remember the model of these but they were almost like a miniature sub in design.

As for the 15" sub...I would really like to sell it and buy a pair of 12" woofers (undecided which ones at this stage) and I may even do a custom enclosure to make the most of the R34 boot space. For now I'll just keep the sub though until such time as I'm ready to upgrade it...besides I'm saving towards getting exhaust work done at the moment so the sound system will be fine for now