For all u stereo nuts

[SkylineSII]

Hey i know nothing about car audio and i mean nothing at all.

I have around 1000 dollers to spend on my car audio plus extra to install it. Im not into listining to full heavy music so loud that people 3 blocks away can hear it, but the standard speakers are just crap. The type of music i listen to is linkin park, ditsturbed and so on.

Currently i have a clarion head unit which is good enough i think it was already in the car when i got it. I am just after a better sound quality. Down the track soon i want to install a dvd player into my car, so needs good sound to listen to a movie and so on.

Will 1000 dollers get me anything half alright? the guy i have spoken to at jb's on the coast said something about new speakers in front and back splits or something and a 2 way amp thats it for 1000 dollers. He reckons leave the head unit.

[ferni]

what model headunit?

how many RCA out?

What rear speakers at the moment?

Grab a nice set of splits for the front with an amp to power it, and a sub and amp, leave the rear speakers running of the head unit as rear fill...

look for 2nd hand gear for that money, caraudioaustralia.com

[paulr33]

yeah find out how many rca's youve got and also if they are preout and what voltage if so. what current speakers do you have? jbhifi are shit dont get your stuff there, they are shit and will do gay install and rip you off. do you have a local garys car radio? find out if your head unit has sub out also

get some 6" splits in front

some 6" coax in rear

get 4 channel amp and amp all the cabin speakers

then get an amp and sub (or two) if you have enough

2 x 12" or 1 x 12", dont get 10" for grunge/rock/punk 12" is more suited

for best quality listen to cd's not mp3s or if you must mp3 then 224k bitrate

check to see if it has line in or an aux in and then you can run your dvd player to that later on, any dvd movie sounds awesome with 6" splits and a good sub or two

ive got apline cda9807, 6" splits front, 6" coax rear, 2 x 12" in boot, 4 channel amp for cabin, monobloc amp for subs with tv and dvd and its awesome, $1800 fully installed. that was all installed for $1800 (except tv and dvd) all the gear is alpine

[dangerous_daveo]

yeah find out how many rca's youve got and also if they are preout and what voltage if so. what current speakers do you have? jbhifi are shit dont get your stuff there, they are shit and will do gay install and rip you off. do you have a local garys car radio? find out if your head unit has sub out also

....

I went to JB HiFi for my Sub. They were well priced, very helpful, easy to talk to, answered a few stupid questions that I had. They also fixed up the abomonation (sp?) that another car audio shop did, IE reinstalled the headunit so it looked like it should be in the car, and rewired it, it now sounds a LOT better. I think it would depend on the store tho, I know of the installer at this JB store and he has a good name in the industry.

Anyway, as I listen to similar music, try and learn from my slight mistakes.

Get a decent set of splits for the front, and a decent size (I have 5 1/4inch they I feel are too small) On the off chance you can get some odd size like 6 1/5inch, or 7inch etc, I would say try and get them, and now I have a sub, Id have to say you pretty much need one, Id suggest a 10inch, if you can pick up a GOOD one 2nd hand it would in my oppion be the way to go, but a not so good 12 would make up the difference (ie my 10inch goes loud, but a cheaper one wouldnt, get a cheaper 12, it should technically be louder than the same cheaper 10) And get amps that have enough to power both spits and sub (ie more power than the speakers can handel)

Id leave the rear atm until you get the DVD player.

Also ask if any of the stores have exdemo stock they want to get rid of, it still should have full warrenty, be at near on cost price (or cheaper) and hopefully already run in, and run in properly.

Just my thoughts. Try and get the budget a bit bigger if you can, you really do get what you pay for, quality lasts, and sounds so much better.

[paulr33]

yeah dangerous dave has good points

avoid:

1000watt amps = overkill and shit and waste of money

6x9s or 7x10s = shit

get the car audio buff to recommend amp for the system you are buying and listening pleasure. take a cd of your favourite audio tracks to your local car dealer and go here show me how this sounds on xyz splits etc....

cos you are used to how it sounds in your current system, at least this way you wont be any worse off

[SkylineSII]

Ferni i dont think there are speakers in the back its not on the rear parcel shelf to be honest i havent really looked in the back.

Alright i get all that thanks for all the help people much appreciated. I have just saved this page so i can re read it lol. I wont be getting i till about feb maybe save a bit more money for it by then.

What i will do is go to a few places on the coast and get them to write down exactly what i am getting brands and such and post it all in here if thats okey and u guys can tell me what will be the best way to go.

avoid:

1000watt amps = overkill and shit and waste of money

6x9s or 7x10s = shit

i hear the word 6*9's a lot i thought that would mean they would be good but i will stay away from them if thats what u suggest

[dangerous_daveo]

6x9s are just a cheap option. I feel anyway. If your getting a sub, no need for them really, I just had the ones that came with the car until I got the sub in, now I've pulled them out. I did have them running with the sub just to see what it did, not too nice aye.

[hippy]

yeah u just need a sub and front speakers ... get a 4 channel amp and bridge 2 for a sub ...

regarding splits ... i've had a couple of good splits ... top of the range JL and some focals... they're very good ... but to be honest for the high cost it isn't really worth it if your budget is tight ... u can get some good coax which is also easier to install .. u dont' have to mess around with the tweeters ... consider that ...

[Fro-Daddy]

he said helistens to disturbed n stuff, they have no bass what so ever...linkin park is kinda limited there aswell...but for movies you will definately need it!

so either just amp 4 good quality speakers and when u get the screen and dvd also get another amp n sub (that will fit your budget now)

ive got fusion 4" splts, and they are awesome! still running off the h/u aswell! that will change soon though

[hippy]

4" splits? thats a bit small isn't it?? there would be no mid bass at all??

[SkylineSII]

Yeah i was thinking i wouldnt need a sub for the type of music i listen 2 but definetly need one for the dvd player.

Time for u all to have a good laugh alright what are splits? and what do they do, i just guessed they joined the speakers or something as in the better the splits the better sound between the 2 speakers? that was a guess.

[hippy]

splits are just speakers ... they have a seperate tweeter and woofer ...

for sound systems u can basically split all the sound into 3 different sections, very low frequency, mid-range, and high frequency.

the base is very low frequency, u use a sub to do that. maybe below 150Hz

midrange between low and high i can't remember the specific frequencies

splits seperate the mid and the highs, small tweeters make the high freqs and a woofer (usually 6.5 inch) makes the mids ... u can still get OK base out of woofers but they definitely dont' sound as good or low as a sub.

eg of splits http://www.everythingav.com.au/product.asp...?productid=1013

just an example .. this particular set probably isn't very good but it shows you everything. those funny looking circular blue things (usually they aren't shaped like that) is just the crossover, ie it just filters out the different frequencies to each speaker.

hope that helps

[SkylineSII]

hey yeah that does help esp with the pic. Now i wont look as stupid when i go into the shop lol

[someonestolecc]

For roughly around price you could have something like my setup:

(not included in price as you said you're leaving your HU)

focal 6.5" kp2

pioneer gmx 414 (4x75wrms)

generic brand 2x200wrms bridged (don't know don't care what ohms it's running at)

marathon bass sub (cost me $20)

stock 6x9 speakers running from HU as rear fill (gonna rip em out and put in phillips 6.5 mids when I can be bothered)

I know. It's a crap setup but I'm getting there, and more importantly it's on a budget so you can have ok sound for under a g. Not including the HU that's well under a g and that includes about 4kg of dynamat sound deadening and all streetwires cabling.

For future I'd like to upgrade my sub+amp - then look into why my fronts aren't as loud as I'd like them to be - I'm assuming you'd probably want to upgrade one or two things later too.

Also my advice is to checkout CAA (caraudioaustralia) and see what they're talking about in terms of value for money. There are millions of posts like "What setup should i get for $1000" and stuff. If you read up (and trust me there's a lot to read) you'll be learning and sweet in no time.

I wouldn't goto jb/strathfield etc either.

Oh - finally, you may have to re-evaluate all that if your head unit is crap. All sound starts at the HU so if it were up to me and I had a crap HU, I'd prefer a GOOD HU, then 1 pair of GOOD speakers up front. Then roll around like that for a while till I could afford a good amp+sub. This is simply as there's no point getting good fronts, 6x9's, doof doof sub and then having it all sound crap.

*shrug* that's my 2c anyway.

Good luck

[eXc]

go to a shop, listen to the same song(s), on the same headunit, with all the different speakers. work out which u like the sound of most. Find out if they are amped, if they arent, maybe u dont need an amp.

Personally i wont ever buy alpine speakers again. That is my choice tho.

For under a ground u can get sum decent gear. If sum1 says "yeah xx brand is the best" that is their choice, u gotta hear it for yaself....

My choice is 'Focal' but if u get decent speakers u will want a decent HU. U wont get a decent focal setup for under $1000...unless u only want the speakers amp.

As for subs. Generally speaking, the smaller the sub, the tighter (punchier) the bass. I have 2x12s which was cause i used to listen to rap, now i listen to punk.metal and the 12's cant keep up, i will be going for 8's in the doors my line IF i do a system.

[SkylineSII]

I just checked my headunit and this is what it says. clarion DX425 high power 50w*4 magi-tune so is that the info u need to tell me if its any good?>

Also as i said down the track i want to install a dvd player i am 90 percent sure it is one of the ones where the screen comes out from the headunit simply becasue i dont want to secure it to my dash and have it seen the whole time. I am guessing they will be expensive but i have been told i can play my music through that HU so i wont need my clarion anymore? So if thats the case maybe i wait a bit longer so i can buy my dvd one at the same time and fling my clarion off to the bin.

[dangerous_daveo]

he said helistens to disturbed n stuff, they have no bass what so ever...linkin park is kinda limited there aswell...but for movies you will definately need it!

so either just amp 4 good quality speakers and when u get the screen and dvd also get another amp n sub (that will fit your budget now)

ive got fusion 4" splts, and they are awesome! still running off the h/u aswell! that will change soon though

Dude, that music has heaps of bass. Bass riffs, all the druming etc. 4inchs just will not cut it at all. They just dont have the size for decent lower midrange. Trust me, it sounds better with a good midrange speaker and a sub, thats pretty much ALL the music I listen to, Id never go back to anything off the head unit, and never run a system without a sub again. As I've mentioned my speakers dont cut it (partly set up) and they are MB Quart discus 5 1/4inch, RMS rating of 90watts (not cheap and nasty), and they are just lacking.

As I say my oppion, but I've had both set ups, and I know what sounds better, sounds more full etc.

[Fhrx]

One thing you'll certainly benefit from before you confront salesmen is get online and research the subject much more. If you like, start with the FAQ's on my website. It just helps you sort out which salemen are full of crap and which are genuinely interested in your aural pleasure at the end of the exercise.

[someonestolecc]

And unfortunately most are full of crap (then again that's what the get paid for).

Daveo is also on the money once you amp and sub you'll never go back

[Menthu_Rae]

he said helistens to disturbed n stuff, they have no bass what so ever...linkin park is kinda limited there aswell...but for movies you will definately need it!

so either just amp 4 good quality speakers and when u get the screen and dvd also get another amp n sub (that will fit your budget now)

ive got fusion 4" splts, and they are awesome! still running off the h/u aswell! that will change soon though

linkin park, limited bass? ha! what kind of system do you listen to them on? I had a 15" sub in my last car, and Linkin Park had TONNES of bass... and I listen to a lot of trance... so yeah, I dont agree with you sorry...!

Anyway, my advice for $1000... GOOD HU (at least 2 RCA pre-outs, ~$400), GOOD splits (~$250), GOOD 2ch AMP (4ch if you want a sub later... ~$350)