jong

iTrader: (5)

Hey,

Anyone have any good info. sources on setting up a stereo system? I'm looking at replacing the stock speakers, head unit, and adding two 12's in the trunk. I have no idea what I need (how many amps, type of speakers, etc.) or even how to set it up (wiring), so I can't really gauge the cost. If you have any advice/info./sources just to point me in the right direction please let me know- I need to start getting smart on the subject. Thanks for the help.
Peace.

Forbiden

Judging by what you just said I would suggest asking a friend who knows a lot about stereos to do your install, but I insist that you make him show you what he's doing.

As far as products and stuff, check out Sound Domain.

If you're confident doing the installs by yourself check out This Website.

Edit: If you know what you're looking for as far as your budget, sound quality or SPL (or both), amount of space you wanna use, etc let me know I'll give ya some of my insight.

jong

iTrader: (5)

Thanks for the links- looks like some good info. I have a basic working knowledge of electricity and wiring, but no real experience. I have some friends with some good experience who offered to help with the install, but I need to know what kind of materials to get, and need a general idea of how to get it done first. Obviously, the more I know about it, the better. Again- thanks for the links

Sentinal

I would check out a few local stereo shops they can show you whats out there and give you a good idea on what its going to cost to do it...

you can get a cheap *** system in your car for 1000 bucks but you get what you pay for some people I know have droped 25,000 into stereo setup it just totally depends on what your looking for and how much out of it you want.

a few good tips are:
If you want good sound quality-
make sure you use good wires and connectors for all parts
If you run a lot of power to your subs also run a lot of power to your speakers
TUNING IS EVERYTHING - its the little things that make a system good or bad... the way your gains are adjusted the way the stereo is tuned the way the crossovers are set up

a few good brands to keep in mind:
Alpine, Eclipse, Diamond, premier, zapco, Focal

a few brands that IMO should stay away from (if you want sound quality)
jensen, aiwa, MTX, low end kenwood or pioneer (their upper end stuff is really good but their low end stuff is junk IMO)

If you have any other questions feel free to ask or pm me

jong

iTrader: (5)

Thanks I will read what I have been given so far and try and come up with a list of stuff- then y'all can tell me what you think. I have one question before I start though (don't have my car with me at the moment) how many speakers are in the evo and what kind are they? I need to know what to look for. I'm thinking they have the tweeters up front, along with the midranges, and then the woofers in back? So that would be like 6 all together right? Sorry I guess it's pretty obvious I don't know anything about this subject, and being about 1,000 miles away from the car doesn't help me out much Thanks for your patience.

Sentinal

yes your correct there are component speakers in front (tweeters and mids) and coaxals in the back
as far as sizes go 6.5" will fit perfect in the back and you can fit 6.5" in the front with just a slight bit of shaving. If you really don't want to shave 1/4 inch off you can fit 5.25" mids in the front. But personally I would just put the 6.5" all the way around.
get a component set for the front (which includes the A-piller tweeters and crossover) and you can get coaxils for the back or if you want to cut out tweeter holes and do a custom job you can do tweeters in the back too but its probably not necessary seeing as how the majority of your sound should come from the font

Focal 165 speakers are what I put in mine 6.5" all the way around and they sound awesome!!!! way better than my infinity's in my last car I power them with a 4 channel JL audio Amp and I used all JL audio wires and connectors. The signal is VERY clean and sound quality is exellent.
let me know what you decide to put in I'm excited for you I know how much fun a new system is

jong

iTrader: (5)

Okay so I did some looking around and I think I'll go with Rockford Fosgate components up front (Rockford Fosgate Power T162S) and then RF coaxials in the back (Rockford Fosgate Power T162C). This way I keep the customization to a minimum (too much stuff for me to screw up). I am not sure about the subs, but I think I want to go with two kicker solo baric 10 inchers (Kicker Solo-Baric 02S10L54). Shoud give me good sound without the hesistation of the 12's. I listen to alot of rap and hip-hop, but I'll also listen to some alternative and punk (ya I know, I know- I blame suburban america).

So I guess now my question would be what kind of amps and head unit should I get to give the speakers the required amount of power. The components are rated at:

Size: 6 1/2
Sensitivity: 89 dB
Frequency Response: 60-22,000 Hz
Recommended RMS Power: 100W
Peak Power Handling: 200W
Impedance: 4 ohms

and the coaxials are:

Size: 6 1/2
Sensitivity: 88 dB
Frequency Response: 60-22,000 Hz
Recommended RMS Power: 75W
Peak Power Handling: 150W
Impedance: 4 ohms

Should this cause any problems? Admittedly I haven't read much on the subject yet so i will read the site given to me above and hopefully that will help out. I am confused as to the watt and ohm requirements for the speakers as they relateto the amps and head unit. I am looking at the Pioneer AVIC-N1 (that would be freakin' sick) but it costs a lot of cash so I may end up going for you every-day head unit or maybe just a cheaper DVD touchscreen model. ANyway, let me know what you think. Thanks.

BillAce

iTrader: (2)

Forget Rockford. You don't get what you pay for. There is a huge marketing budget attached to the cost of their stuff, and it's built in the same factory as many "Flea Market" brands. You need, the best set of front components you can afford. They will be 90% of what you hear. This is the most important part of any system. CDT and Infinity are not high end speakers. You need a CD player. I prefer Eclipse, but the differences in sound quality from one brand to another are small. You need a subwoofer, meaning (1). Subs are not sold in pairs, are usually run mono, and adding a second woofer will make your car 3 decibels louder. You are better off spending the money on a better amp and getting the extra volume that way and adding less weight to your performance car and taking up less room in the trunk. Use the stock rears if anything, they are fine for "rear fill" even though I think they are pointless and you'll get better bass response if they are removed. Buy a good 4 channel amp or a couple of 2 channels for Front/sub and your set. You can't go wrong with Zapco, they are the best amplifiers made and you get what you pay for.

jong

iTrader: (5)

Thanks for replying. That's an interesting opinion. I am curious what others think about this. Also what does everyone else think about the rockfords. If they are pieces of junk I may just get the focals since they are rated the same and everyone seems to like them (read some reviews on them too). I think I would still want to replace the stock rears with some nice coaxials though.

I have also been thinking of putting the sub facing toward the roof in a cutout right behind the backseats. Can this area fit a 10 or 12 inch sub? Has this been done before in an evo? I have seen things like this in books/magazines/other cars but I forget how big that area is in evos and I am far away from my car right now. How does this impact sound? Are there any special considerations I should make if I go this route? Thanks.

BillAce

iTrader: (2)

Technically, the direction you face a sub has no bearing on output. The shortest sound wave your likely to get from a subwoofer is 12.5' the longest would be around 27'. Since your sub will have an obstruction well before these distances, there will be reflection. This can cause certain frequencies to get louder, (known as transfer function) depending on the size and shape of your interior. There is also a possiblility of cancellation or standing waves. They are locations in the car that have like frequencies in opposing phase colliding. The result is a dead spot at that frequency in that location. Overall volume should be pretty consistent since the size of the interior and the amount of air being moved is always the same no matter where the enclosure is inside the car.

v8killer

iTrader: (1)

Get a deck with a good voltage output (4+ volts is good), it will help keep the signal clean, escpecially if you are going to run two amps of a large wattage. I prefer Alpine, I have had many others, Eclipse are very nice as well. I have had 5 Alpine decks in a row, and I have not had a single problem with any of them, and I am not that easy on my stuff!

Zapco do have great amps as well as JL Audio, Crossifire (SPL), and Precision Power. I have used Rockford in the past many times, I do believe that brand has watered down there products soo much and they are in the whole Best Buy/Circuity City market. The brands that you can't normally can't find at Circuit city or Best buy and can only get at a shop are tend to be higher-end.

If you are not worried about SPL so much, get a single 10' or 12" sub, he is right all things equal another sub will increase your DB by 3, which doesn't sound like much, but an increase by 3 decibles is effectively twice as loud! Good luck!

Don't forget with Car Audio as most anything else, more $$$ does not mean better quality, it may just mean more $$$$$! last but not least, like mentioned above, the equipment used is only as good as the wiring and accessories used! Don't skimp on the wiring or cables (RCA), a 1000 watt amp wired and grounded with 8 gauge cable is usless. Overkill is better than underkill!

kdogg

iTrader: (3)

Check out crutchfield.com. They don't have the cheapest prices, and they don't carry a wide variety of high end audio. It's website is great for reference shopping. You can learn about the differences of individual specs and features. I never buy from them, but it's a great starting point for information.

jong

iTrader: (5)

Thanks for the help. You've given me a lot to go on. I will try and take a closer look into which products to buy and how to set them up.

Gabriel Knight

I went to install a set of Rockford Fosgate 6.5's in the front doors of my 05 RS. The Window would not clear the back of the speakers. The Installer said the speakers were about 15cm deep, and I only had about 10 to 12cm of depth to work with.

I put in two amps in the back, one 4 channel for the speakers and one for a single ten inch sub. I'm currently looking for a set of 6.5's or 5.25 fronts that will fit in those front doors. I'm thinking about Diamonds.

v8killer

iTrader: (1)

use crutchfield.com they will tell you how much mounting depth we have to work with.
Diamond Audio has some very nice products.