Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

a good amp can make a cheap sub sing compared to a lesser amp.

a shit amp driving the worlds most expensive sub will always sound crap.

Budget first, rest will follow.

budget for a "budget" system should along the lines of;

Front Stage $300

Sub $200

Amp $500

double all those numbers and you've got my own system budget :P

if you haven't got $1000 to spend, don't look at amps and subs IMHO. the $100 or so cable costs would likely scare you off too.

well, indeed.

I find most people who want to do a "cheap" system don't even consider the cost of cabling at all!

$100 would cover shit cabling for a very limited system.

I just re-looked at my system list from two years ago;

Deck - $450 ($699 RRP now)

front stage - $560 ($899 RRP now)

sub - $350 ($469 RRP now)

amp - $560 ($999 RRP now) - fark me that was a bargain :sick:

Dynamatt - $290 ($350 RRP)

Cables - $194 (RRP probably double!)

Custom Enclosure - $259

it's basic in terms of complexity, but installed well with GOOD components.

my system is pretty balanced with good SQ and not outrages in terms of install - apart from the boot and the deck, you wouldn't know it wasn't stock until you turn it on.

also shows how easy it is to spend $4K in audio :)

They don't usually include installation either...

Once you deduct all of the extras the budget for gear gets even smaller :rofl:

to install all the gear above took me about 16hrs all up. Dynamatt alone was about a third!

a pro would be half that - with a help, but that is still approaching $700-$1000 to do the work!

You don't need to spend hundreds on cables, read mobileelectronics Australia about the cables arguments if you still think there is a difference in the cable.

A good cheapish amp is probably something from the Jaycar store, but have a look on mobileelectronics Australia.

You don't need to spend hundreds on cables, read mobileelectronics Australia about the cables arguments if you still think there is a difference in the cable.

A good cheapish amp is probably something from the Jaycar store, but have a look on mobileelectronics Australia.

for power and speaker cable all you are paying for is flexibility. ie: softer cables that are easier to work with. cause yes, copper is copper. but 4gauge power is like $10 a metre even for jaycar stuff. you'd struggle to use less than 5m in any install, 1m amp neg, 1m batt neg, 3m +ve amp - so there is $50 right there before you even start. Half the cost if you go for 8ga, which is what most people need really.

you then need 4 ring terminals ($3 ea for crimps) and two spade (ditto), a fuse holder ($15 round, $25 blade) and fuse ($5 round, $10 blade) $40-50 here.

now add 15m of flexi speaker cable for splits, and a few metres of some thick stuff for the sub - $40 easy, even for cheap stuff

then, RCA's - now this is where quality can make a difference, not silly $200 RCA's but it is worth spending at least $20 on a decent pair of shielded RCA's, jaycar 2m ones are $18 - you'll need 2 pair in even a modest install.

thats $150 for a single amp, 5 speaker setup (mids, tweeters and one sub)

it adds up - even for cheap stuff!

i couldn't hear much difference between $30 cables and $250 audision ones.

i guess it all comes down to how much money one has to spend

it all comes down to noise really.

you might not hear the difference between $10 and $200 cables, but spending $50 instead of $10 might be the difference between a noisy system.

speaker and power - copper is copper pretty much.

Okay, to answer the threads original question.

I sell packages where i work, which consist of:

1x KFC-3514DVC Kenwood 12" 400wrms Dual 4 Ohm Sub

1x KAC-8104D Kenwood Mono Amplifier 500wrms @ 2 Ohms

1x 500w 8ga Wiring Kit

1x Aerpro 12" Box

Usually RRP for about 500-600, i sold the last few for about $450.

Nice sounding entry level sub, they unfortunately dont manufacture them anymore, so a great time to buy as most stores are clearing their stock. I had a pair handle over 600wrms each continously in a customers car for over 2 years now, he gives it an absolute hiding, still going.

Stick with brands that have had a mainstream following for over 20 years, IE: Pioneer, Alpine, Kenwood, Sony, JVC, Clarion. As long as you correctly size your amplifiers accordingly with your woofer, you should be happy, and in the event that you aren't, they'll usually help out.

Steer clear of cheap imported rubbish, gear that is made to satisfy a price point only, bargain bin buying (unless its a good brand), buying from ebay, or buying a brand you have never heard of. If its only been around for 5 years its probably a good idea to research it properly first. If it claims to make 1000WRMS for $400, be very sceptical, check the voltage and THD at which their claim was made, and always pay attention to the CEA rating.

it all comes down to noise really.

you might not hear the difference between $10 and $200 cables, but spending $50 instead of $10 might be the difference between a noisy system.

speaker and power - copper is copper pretty much.

if installed properly there will be zero noise even with $10 cables .

Okay, to answer the threads original question.

I sell packages where i work, which consist of:

1x KFC-3514DVC Kenwood 12" 400wrms Dual 4 Ohm Sub

1x KAC-8104D Kenwood Mono Amplifier 500wrms @ 2 Ohms

1x 500w 8ga Wiring Kit

1x Aerpro 12" Box

Usually RRP for about 500-600, i sold the last few for about $450.

Nice sounding entry level sub, they unfortunately dont manufacture them anymore, so a great time to buy as most stores are clearing their stock. I had a pair handle over 600wrms each continously in a customers car for over 2 years now, he gives it an absolute hiding, still going.

Stick with brands that have had a mainstream following for over 20 years, IE: Pioneer, Alpine, Kenwood, Sony, JVC, Clarion. As long as you correctly size your amplifiers accordingly with your woofer, you should be happy, and in the event that you aren't, they'll usually help out.

Steer clear of cheap imported rubbish, gear that is made to satisfy a price point only, bargain bin buying (unless its a good brand), buying from ebay, or buying a brand you have never heard of. If its only been around for 5 years its probably a good idea to research it properly first. If it claims to make 1000WRMS for $400, be very sceptical, check the voltage and THD at which their claim was made, and always pay attention to the CEA rating.

excellent advice :up:

if installed properly there will be zero noise even with $10 cables .

I've seen some pretty shit cables. like, completely unshielded ones where it didn't matter where they were run they picked up noise, even from tiny factory power to things like interior lights. a set of $20 Jaycar ones solved the issue.

one rule of thumb with rca leads.

black and thin, throw them in the bin. they may work fine for home audio, but a car is full of noise and cheap rcas will let down your whole system.

as long as you pick up a decent rca lead like an aerpro double shielded set, you'll be fine. you need to spend accordingly on your system, as long as you pick some that are about 60 for the whole wiring kit, you'll be fine. just dont run the power and the rca leads together (including the remote signal).

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • I bought the model back in Japan in Feb. I realised I could never build it, looked around for people who could build it, turns out there's some very skilled people out there that will make copies of 1:1 cars or near enough. I'm not really a photo guy... but people were dragging me in a group chat for the choice of bumper as someone else saw the car before it was finished as they are also a customer of that shop. I took the photo in the above post because I was pretty confident that the lip would work wonders for it. Here's some more in-progress and almost-done pics. It gives a good enough idea as to what the rear looks like!   I have also booked in a track day at the end of January. Lets all hope that is nothing but pure fun and games. If it's not pure fun and games, well, I've already got half an engine spare in the cupboard 
    • Well, do ya, punk? Seriously though, let's fu<king go! The colour and kit looks amazing on the car. Do you have any shots from the rear? I don't quite follow how the model came around. You bought the white kit and he modified it to match your car? Looks nuts either way!
    • So my car is finally back from paint! This took an absolutely insane amount of work and should get it's own build thread - but I didn't build it. It was completed by Troy @ https://scalekustoms.com.au/ I originally bought the AOSHIMA URAS Type R kit while I was in Japan, it's supposed to look like this when assembled: Now, I thought that was cool enough until I opened the box with Dismay, as there's no way I could possibly have completed it. The thing is 1/24 and has details down to the steering wheel horn button, which is a 2mm diameter sticker. I originally wondered if someone could make it at all, as is - But then things got a little carried away. It's worth noting that the model does not have an openable bonne, let alone engine bay, OR an openable boot. - Troy has worked wonders with 3D printer and presumably better eyes than I will ever have. My photos suck, so I will post up some of his in-progress ones he sent to me during the way. Unsuprisingly, he is very detailed. A lot of these are out of order. But he: 1) Made a LS engine and an engine bay appear out of thin air 2) Made the bonnet removable 3) Printed the rims I will buy in the future (or any rim you want) 4) Printed and added the wing that is going on 5) Tinted my back windows as this is what my car has IRL (privacy glass) 6) Added a licence plate. 7) Somehow did the interior 8) 3D Printed my actual seats 9) Made the exhaust under the car connect even though this is likely invisible. 10) Created a boot with my fking battery box, power steering reservoir, subwoofer and toolboxes back there. To say it's insane is an understatement. And I f**ked it all up because when I was re-mounting the wing (it broke in transit) I spilled glue everywhere and ripped paint up and Gregged the rear half of the car. Which about makes sense. Also, this arrived on the same day. Quite the change from: I spent 16 hours per day over the next 3 days pre-christmas putting the interior back together, mounting lip, fixing various bodykit problems with window mouldings, etc. and servicing, rebuilding my 370z brakes to go on the car 'soon', messing with heights to check clearances for new wheels, etc. I also had a foray into mounting wiper-mounted washer jets which was an absolute disaster. The bodyshop has welded (and painted) over the stock jet locations for reasons unknown to everybody (i.e they forgot) I also wanted to wire in the oil pressure sensor on Christmas Eve which was a BAD IDEA. You do not know terror like pulling your ECU apart, pinning in half-fitting pins that aren't the right ones, but trying anyway because it's Christmas eve, putting your ECU back together and having a no-start condition with a fuel pump not priming. Then you undo all your work and the fuel pump still doesn't prime. So after all that terror and horror and pain and tedious disassembly, the issue was the relay in the boot which seems to have died/stuck when I was turning the car off and on about 700 times testing shitty washer jets. I also re-wired the fuel pump power plug which fell apart in my hands. I am very happy I had 3 extra pre-made ones from a few posts/last Christmas's breakdown. https://bluewireautomotive.com/products/10-x-pcm-ecm-ecu-terminals I have put an order for these in, so I can actually add the pins to the ECU properly. The commodore ECU does not have the pins for Oil Pressure via ODB2. However the ECU can support it if you create the pins and wire them in. So for round two, and somehow attempting to route that into the engine bay through my impossible engine bay grommet is a fight for another day. It's 40C in Melbourne tomorrow, I am half tempted to drive the car with the aircon on to deliver presents to my partner's family and see if it helps with the overheating-on-40C-days-in-traffic-with-aircon-on-only issue that the vents were intended to solve. Do I feel lucky?
    • Yes, while being... strictly unnecessary. Tuning is a bit like quantum physics. You don't need to understand what Schroedinger's equation actually means. You just need to run the computation and accept the answers. With tuning, you just push page up/down until the exhaust tells you that you've got the fuel right. The VE can stay hidden behind the curtain like the Wizard of Oz and you'll never need to know what he looked like.
    • The second part yes, the first part about easy VE calculation is something I've seen a few people talk about online.
×
×
  • Create New...