Please Critique..

[Councillor]

Hey guys

Been looking at sound systems, and was given a quote for the following, about $2900 all up, please, tear it apart, chew it up and if you feel like spew it back out, or the other way even..

Pioneer DEHP8100BT - Deck

Kicker KS60.2 - Splits (it may be K560.2, depends on if his writing is sloppy or I may be blind)

Kicker ZX200.2 - Two channel Amp

JL W3 12" 500wrms in custom box - sub

JL Slash 500wrms - Mono Amp

Kicker 8 ga and 4ga wiring kits

And last but not least, sound deadener for the doors.

Please let me know if the system is decent, shite, amazing or if you would swap something in for another.

Regards

Karl

[OMGGTR]

meh sounds ok to me .. but ide rather spend $2900 on my engine

[Chris Rogers]

looks ok. also looks very JB HIFI. make sure they can correctly fit it or you will be wasting the money of the deadening.

[Councillor]

Yeah it is a JB kit, which doesn't neccesarily mean it sucks nuts:P

The install is ahome job with a few mates, one of whom may know a thing or two about installs, think he does em for a living or summink

[Chris Rogers]

ok aslong as the deadening is done properly and the gains set correctly I do not see an issue. if you make a false wall you can put all the gear in it (this is the panel in the rear boot that I am talking about.) cabling may be a bit of overkill since the battery is in the boot anyway. one thing- new battery if you have not already done so.

[Councillor]

Haven't got a new battery yet. What would you recommend? Does the above equipment seem alright? Would you replace any of it with something else?

Sorry for all the questions, I'd like to get it all hammered down before I got spend moneys.

Regards

Karl

[Chris Rogers]

something a bit bigger/better than stock will be fine. most of them tned to die after 2-3 yrs of use.

gear is fine.

[Crans]

Install it all your self. And you can get the same sound for alot less money.

Rip off door panels and install deadener you self pretty easy to do.

Install splits while your at it. You will need some mdf to make some spacers/panels for the front speakers.

Do the same for the parcel shelf. Get a 100wrmsx4 amp to run all the speakers.

Then just install off the shelf subs/sub box with a 500wrms amp.

Few $100 in installation parts + cost of stereo.

Did door panels with a mate a few weeks ago, alittle time consuming but pretty easy to do

[YZ250ftw]

You will need to look at the harmonic distortion ratio of the Amplifier , that can determine alot of difference in the clarity of sound. for instance mine is 0.0016 most amplifiers are 0.1% monoblocks 0.2% ( doesnt matter much for subs) you will also need to look at the voltage pre amp output. so you can dial out interference on the amplifier and also get a clearer sound. I use a line Driver so I get a 8 volt output however most headunit only have like a 2 or 3v output. You will also need to look into the frequency range of your speakers and sub etc

My preference would be

Clarion Headunit (great value for money) ~250$ for aux in/usb/ipod

Blaupunkt ODC6.5 (excelent splits sound really really good!!silk dome tweeter, adjustable crossover) ~$200 if you can find them(discontinued)

Blaupunkt GTA280 (great sounding amp, decent RMS output, good harmonic distortion rate and gold terminals etc)suits the speakers really well also (`220$ I think??)

Aepro 4Ga Wiring kit(OFC cables decent RCAs splitloom,remote on etc etc) `80$

Aepro 4Ga splitter (25$)

Aepro ground loop isolater (10$) get rid of some interferance

Earthquake DBXII 12 inch sub, (dual voice coil, LOTS of excursion,good at low frequencies etc)excelent value for money!! I think ours go for under 300$ :s cant remember.

DNA Ported box similar to EQ subs requirements (~80$)

may I ask why not rear speakers?, will sound much better!

[festaonline]

the gear selected is a good choice , i personally would change the speakers for JL items also and keep it all the one brand like that , i can say this as i was a caraudio salesman for JB hifi in my region and what you have listed are great items but i like the JL splits and coax better , im not knocking kicker at all but you did ask lol , do you really need a Deck with that many options ?? will you run the ipod and use the blutooth ?? if not drop a few levels but keep the front/rear/sub outputs in whatever deck you go with , i wont comment about the price as i know what the installation prices are and for legal reasons i wont post on here anything like that , PM me if you wanna chat some more about your choices if you think you need to , other wise if your happy to pay what they are asking you will have a nice sounding system specially with the deadening for the doors

[Councillor]

Hey guys sorry for the late replies, been afk from the net for a bit.

I got my new kit and got most of it set up, aside from the splits. I did change the setup a lil bit..

Pioneer heady, cant remember which one.. 2 rca preouts, no bluetooth or anythin silly and front USB

JL splits, the nice 75WRMS ones, they is hot

JL amps, mono and two chan - shiny

and a JL W3 sub - this thing KICKS.

No rear speakers as the GTR boot is very very well shut off from the rest of the car, it allows more airflow. Though I haven't taken them out yet, been lazy, and the parcel shelf shakes, along with most everything else. So I know what I'm doing this weekend

[Jack88]

You will need to look at the harmonic distortion ratio of the Amplifier , that can determine alot of difference in the clarity of sound. for instance mine is 0.0016 most amplifiers are 0.1% monoblocks 0.2% ( doesnt matter much for subs) you will also need to look at the voltage pre amp output. so you can dial out interference on the amplifier and also get a clearer sound. I use a line Driver so I get a 8 volt output however most headunit only have like a 2 or 3v output. You will also need to look into the frequency range of your speakers and sub etc

My preference would be

Clarion Headunit (great value for money) ~250$ for aux in/usb/ipod

Blaupunkt ODC6.5 (excelent splits sound really really good!!silk dome tweeter, adjustable crossover) ~$200 if you can find them(discontinued)

Blaupunkt GTA280 (great sounding amp, decent RMS output, good harmonic distortion rate and gold terminals etc)suits the speakers really well also (`220$ I think??)

Aepro 4Ga Wiring kit(OFC cables decent RCAs splitloom,remote on etc etc) `80$

Aepro 4Ga splitter (25$)

Aepro ground loop isolater (10$) get rid of some interferance

Earthquake DBXII 12 inch sub, (dual voice coil, LOTS of excursion,good at low frequencies etc)excelent value for money!! I think ours go for under 300$ :s cant remember.

DNA Ported box similar to EQ subs requirements (~80$)

may I ask why not rear speakers?, will sound much better!

Your not going to be able to tell the difference betweena an amp that is 0.010% and 0.10% harmonic distortion when the cars being driven around lol. Just about every name brand amp being sold now days is way below audible to the average joe so its not even worth concerning yourself over.

EDIT: Obveiously it depends how far you push the amp, the harder you push it the more THD it will produce, Hence why a company will rate there amplifier at say 100wrms at 4 ohms @ 0.010% THD then a max power rating of say 200wrms at 4ohm @ 0.10% THD.

Edited April 15, 2010 by Jack88

[Carbon 34]

You will need to look at the harmonic distortion ratio of the Amplifier , that can determine alot of difference in the clarity of sound. for instance mine is 0.0016 most amplifiers are 0.1% monoblocks 0.2% ( doesnt matter much for subs) you will also need to look at the voltage pre amp output. so you can dial out interference on the amplifier and also get a clearer sound. I use a line Driver so I get a 8 volt output however most headunit only have like a 2 or 3v output. You will also need to look into the frequency range of your speakers and sub etc

My preference would be

Clarion Headunit (great value for money) ~250$ for aux in/usb/ipod

Blaupunkt ODC6.5 (excelent splits sound really really good!!silk dome tweeter, adjustable crossover) ~$200 if you can find them(discontinued)

Blaupunkt GTA280 (great sounding amp, decent RMS output, good harmonic distortion rate and gold terminals etc)suits the speakers really well also (`220$ I think??)

Aepro 4Ga Wiring kit(OFC cables decent RCAs splitloom,remote on etc etc) `80$

Aepro 4Ga splitter (25$)

Aepro ground loop isolater (10$) get rid of some interferance

Earthquake DBXII 12 inch sub, (dual voice coil, LOTS of excursion,good at low frequencies etc)excelent value for money!! I think ours go for under 300$ :s cant remember.

DNA Ported box similar to EQ subs requirements (~80$)

may I ask why not rear speakers?, will sound much better!

NOT required unless you use dodgy radio's or the install/RCA is crap. a properly grounded, installed system never needs this (unless the car charging system is bad)

and you can overdrive the input of some Amps or processors to the point of clipping so check the Amp specs first.

I use a 13 volt line driver on mine but the processor downstream can take it and has clipping lights on it to tune with.

[YZ250ftw]

Saphire:

Despite RCAs being shielded, they can stil intercept inteference.. like a stereo I put in last week, we had no choice to route them past the ecu, so we needed a ground loop isolater just to help with that little bit of interference it was picking up.

besides its not like its an 100$ item, if you can get rid of a little hissing for a measly 10$, why not. I know some people that porpously have the input gain set high and use a loop isolater to dial out interference just to get a clearer sound.

Jack:

I can tell the difference between 0.1%THD and 0.01%THD, but I listen for that as ive been instaling for a few years now. but I agree not many people can. especially the older you get.

[Chris Rogers]

NOT required unless you use dodgy radio's or the install/RCA is crap. a properly grounded, installed system never needs this (unless the car charging system is bad)

and you can overdrive the input of some Amps or processors to the point of clipping so check the Amp specs first.

I use a 13 volt line driver on mine but the processor downstream can take it and has clipping lights on it to tune with.

+1

(22 yr veteran btw.)

[Rekin]

I have heard/read that rear speakers dont need to be amped because they dont have any improvements for the driver. If you have decent amped front speakers with a sub, your midbass and subbass is already covered without the need for rear speakers.

Rear speakers are just for rear passengers ye?

[Carbon 34]

+1

(22 yr veteran btw.)

have you beat by a few years Chris...lol

Decided to take my Master installer Test.( MECP) to prove my brain is full of car audio crap..lol and I'm not talking out my ass..lol

[Carbon 34]

Saphire:

Despite RCAs being shielded, they can stil intercept inteference.. like a stereo I put in last week, we had no choice to route them past the ecu, so we needed a ground loop isolater just to help with that little bit of interference it was picking up.

besides its not like its an 100$ item, if you can get rid of a little hissing for a measly 10$, why not. I know some people that porpously have the input gain set high and use a loop isolater to dial out interference just to get a clearer sound.

Have you ever read

David Navone

or

TermPro

these cover a fair bit on why you don't need that crap, ground isolators are a bandaid to a poor install, sorry

I haven't needed one in over 20 years , enuf said

Jack:

I can tell the difference between 0.1%THD and 0.01%THD, but I listen for that as ive been instaling for a few years now. but I agree not many people can. especially the older you get.

You can hear a difference with the silent garage ,engine off, and the right source material(not some crappy MP3), and kick ass speakers.

but most won't hear the distortion over the wind,engine noise till the voice coils melt and they wonder why the speaker won't play or the amp shuts down to protect itself from a dead short.even made in china amps can be very clean THD but get nasty harmonics when pushed

[YZ250ftw]

You can hear a difference with the silent garage ,engine off, and the right source material(not some crappy MP3), and kick ass speakers.

but most won't hear the distortion over the wind,engine noise till the voice coils melt and they wonder why the speaker won't play or the amp shuts down to protect itself from a dead short.even made in china amps can be very clean THD but get nasty harmonics when pushed

Yeah your totaly right!, I have to admit im a bit too anal about sound quality than most.

[festaonline]

nice to hear you switched your choice to the jl's im assuming being the 75rms ones you went with the C5's , they are crystal clear and sound fantastic , and nice choice to keep the amps jl also ... aslong as your happy with the setup you will have many hours of happy listening , hope all goes well with the setup and may you have many hours of listening pleasure in your car ...