tquint14

like the title says. looking to START my audio upgrade and $500 is my budget. interested more into SQ since im ok running a single 10"sub. im leaving the rears alone and will be upgrading the fronts in the future. my dilemma is in the amp set up.this is what im thinking pls chime in. thx

choice 1.
this would run rears off stock amp. for now i would run front stage off the 4.125(until more $$ comes in to upgrade) and would use the remaining 2 channels to power either one of these subs since both are DVC. Got a friend running the RE audio subs and i must say i was blown away by the sound. one 10" does the trick for me lol, so not looking for much bass.

Mb quart ONX4.125 aprox $170
4x125w @ 4ohms

RE audio REX104D sub aprox $80
rms 250w im assuming 125w per coil

Alpine SWR-1043d sub aprox $130
dvc sub

Choice 2
Leaves the door open to upgrade the rears since this is a 5 channel amp, again looking at the possible upgrade in the future of the front stage.

Soundstream RUB5.800 $230
4x70w @ 4ohms
1x200w @ 4ohms

Alpine SWR-1043d $130
single voice coil

budget is for equipment only. still haven't thought abt labor as im not sure if i wanna tackle this myself or pay some one to do it. i realize i still have to spend abt $150 in misc for LOC, cable/rca, dist block n stuff. as far as a box goes i have an old ported box that will have to do for now. was tuned to 38hz i believe but my plan is to buy one from the vendor on this site that puts the box on the side and out of the way. when the time comes to upgrade the front stage will prob go with the ID CTX65CS, again budget related these only run abt $160. other option i have is to use $600 worth of Best buy gift cards(got them from work lol)only thing is that their prices are SO MUCH more expensive and their selection is limited.figured i can always use the gift cards later down the road for other things. pls chime in with any suggestions. thx fellas

Trunk Monkey

iTrader: (1)

Don't do rears. Don't do MB quart amp.

PPI p900.4 is $180 after coupon code right now (@ SonicElectronix)
-- coupon code: PPI10

Purchase a sealed box from Sonic also. I wouldn't do a ported box at 38hz unless you're looking for one-noted, kinda boomy bass. Any judging by 1 10" being enough...I don't think you're after SPL.



PPI p900.4= $180
Audicontrol Matrix = $80ish
Sub w/ box = $100
Components = $140

Use BB gift cards for the install.

PLENTY of options....I'd check out DIYMA for used personally.

tquint14

I didnt think BB did install on equipment they didnt sell. As far as ppi goes i thought their amps were no longer that good, i remember 10yrs ago or so i had the old skool a600 n they rocked. Thx trunk monkey ill loom into these.

jda123

The new PPI stuff is not like the old. They are still not bad, but I doubt that people will be talking about 2012 PPI amps like they are talking about the amps from years ago.

I would use your BestBuy money for a sub and spend your real cash on components. You can get an sub setup in your range at BestBuy, but I doubt that they would have anything even on the level of ID CTX.

You could always look used too. Just yesterday on our local craigslist was a JL 12w3 in a box, 250/1 for $100 with a wire kit. You can gather up used gear for pennies on the dollar if you are patient and have cash to pay with. There are always Fosgate, JL and Kicker subs, amps and wiring kits for cheap out there. All of these brands will have subs on par with the RE that you are looking at... now if you are talking about the more powerful stuff, then RE will be different.

Trunk Monkey

iTrader: (1)

PPI definitely seems like they're on the right track again. I'll install mine next weekend and likely write a review on here or DIYMA

I hate cars

That PPI amp is awesome for the money.

If best buy has Alpine, the type R is a great sub for the money and just a great sub period. Go with the 15 if your budget and space allow. There are nothing but positives for going with a larger sub except for space.

No rears, spend the money on better front components, this is the hardest to get right.
Stock rears if you use rear fill willl be fine. It would be hard to tell the difference with an aftermarket speaker back there.

Over on Diyma, there are a pair of Image Dynamics IDQ15v2s for sale for about $300. Very good SQ subs and for $150 each its a decent deal.

tquint14

so ppi amp over mbquart or soundstream?

Trunk Monkey

iTrader: (1)

That's up to you, but I've seen too many problems with these new Quart amps. Dont know much about Soundstream, but it seems like their higher stuff is all that's decent. Look at the PASMAG review of the PPI P900.4. Does rated + some, etc. TONS of power for $180 shipped with 1yr warranty

Trunk Monkey

iTrader: (1)

http://www.pasmag.com/car-audio/test...004-amplifier-

jda123

I would buy an amp that has been out for a while. The MB Quarts got good initial reviews too, but are having issues a year, or so, in. The older PPI stuff was outstanding. I have a art 800 around somewhere that pushed 1000w to a pair of subs for 8 or 10 years in my brothers car yet has no coloration or noise floor today - not even my JL slash amps have lasted this long. They are up there with some of the original RF amps and Zed IMO.

Spend an extra hundy and get something like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rockford-Fos...#ht_4517wt_949

They are 1 ohm stable in mono, which means that you can roll 2 ohms bridged with them.. maybe 500-600W at 2 ohms on the bridged channel (they don't list the rating). 100W per channel at 4 ohms later on. The amp is probably 20-25% underrated. The T series amps are bad asses in my book - very good quality and power with no noise. T400-4 is a bad ass too.

Type R is fine at best buy. I would put it a sealed box in the upper part of the range (1.25 cu ft).

Pay attention and see if the amp that you select will accept a balanced differential signal. If not, then you will need to factor in the cost of a Audiocontol Matrix, Fosgate BLD, or the like in the range of $75-150. If the amp accepts balanced signal, then you can spend that much more on quality.

Trunk Monkey

iTrader: (1)

T600-4 is also a great amp! Accepts balanced too! I'd be a little wary of a Refurb, especially when it only carries a 90-day warranty through the "ebay company". I looked them up at BB, but they're CRAZY expensive there. No wonder they don't sell shit at BB. Almost 200% markup

I picked up a PPI a600.2 (the older white one's with art work on them) on Craigslist awhile back for like $20 haha. Used it for a little while and it sounded beautiful. So airy and light with no distortion or coloration. Sold that sucker for $120 shipped. Shouldn't have...dangit. Still wish I would have kept my 100.4, but I'm thinking this PPI will still make me happy. More power and all reviews I've read have nothing but good to say about the SQ of this line. If not....it'll go back and I'll pick up something else.

KJ TL-S

iTrader: (9)

AudioControl Matrix for $80? Got any thoughts on where one could pick that up?

tquint14

Im confused. Does the ppi 900.4 accept the balanced signal? I really wanna stay away from using the matrix. Found ou BB will install equip not bought from them

KJ TL-S

iTrader: (9)

I'm fairly certain we've determined the PPI 900.4 does not accept balanced signals, which is why I had to move on past it. Altho I wanted to only run three channels with the sub channel at 2 ohms, and this amp is not 2 ohm stable bridged, so that didnt work for me either.

Currently, I'm looking into the JL XD500/3 to power my sub and front components because its small and accepts a balanced signal.

tquint14

So if an amp does not accept a bal signal then a matrix is a must

jda123

...or the like. There are many options that can do it.

The JLs all accept it that I know of. The recent Fosgate Power line do too according to their web site. I have a T400-4 from 2009 and it does not. My black Audison LRx also accept a balanced signal. If you are unsure, call the manufacturer and ask them directly.

tquint14

looks like i figured which way to go. will run the the jl audio xd500/3 since it accepts a balanced signal ($299) this will save me having to spend extra $$ on a processor and since i only need to amp the front stage and need to power one sub this amp should be enough. for the sub wanna keep it the same n will run the jl 10w0v3-4($89) this sub will do just fine for me. should i run the LOC preamp/post amp or since it accepts a bal signal it can go straight to the amp? thx for the help

eggyhustles

500 budget

...chooses JL

Trunk Monkey

iTrader: (1)

pre

MrMilano

One of these:
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...AC-7005PS.html

Two of these:
http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAu...L_GTO608C.aspx

& One of these:
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...4-10CVT84.html

Shake Vigorously!

Let the flames begin!

I hate cars

I've heard good things about those comps.

I heard one of those kicker subs and it sounded terrible (only 50-80hz) but it was in a very small box. I've always wanted to try another in a larger box to see if I could get it to sound good.

I hate cars

I wish I had saved all of my JL stuff I've thrown away or sold. I would ship it all to your house to give you nightmares lol.

Trunk Monkey

iTrader: (1)

^ lol

KJ TL-S

iTrader: (9)

Nice amp choice....like I said, its high on my list as well. Just still a little pricier than I'd prefer to spend since I can't seem to find it used anywhere. Did you by chance find an authorized dealer selling for that price?

So here's a good question. As you mentioned to me earlier, I PMed niebur3 to ask about that Arc Audio amp. Unfortunately, I was a day late to the party, and it's sold. But while talking to him about the balanced input issue, he said the signal is balanced from the headunit to the stock amp, but post-amp, the signal is unbalanced. Is there a reason you say to take the signal pre-amp? If we could use the post-amp signal, we then wouldn't need to worry about the balanced/unbalanced issue, correct?

tquint14

not an auth dealer i guess. have had luck in the past buying from this place figured ill give it a shot...it does have me thinking now though


where do u guys think the best placement will be?. under pass seat or trunk. i will upgrade the front stage with comps so that will prob require running new wire to them. if i inst in the trunk is it better to extend speaker wire from pre amp plug and splice into RCA or splice right at the plug and run long RCAs?

KJ TL-S

iTrader: (9)

Yea, from what I can tell, if you want it from an authorized place, you gotta pay for it, and that seems to mean $420 - $450. You looking to get it from Sonic?

Also, the entire reason I'm looking at these types of amps is to be able to install it under the seat, but thats just me.

tquint14

yes from sonic
wonder if anyone has had luck using the same speaker wire for the sub when upgrading. this will prevent running a wire to the rear and of course the pain of removing the seat

jda123

You can use the post-amp speaker wire for the sub. Many do. You will be constrained from about 30-80 hz with a drop off of about -9db/oct under 50 hz, but you can work with that. Once you get your front signal run, you can just use it for both.

I would use the pre-amp signal when you do the components - this signal is MUCH better.

If you take the money that you save buying from non-auth dealers, refurbs, not buying extended warranties, etc. and throw all of that money in a bucket... even after you have to replace an item or two, you will still have a pile of money left over. I buy refurbs all of the time.

KJ - the post amp signal is cut and boosted to work with the stock components - it has significant deficiencies around 1000hz that you could not make back up without a processor.. Other than being low voltage (around .9, or so), the stock pre-amp signal is full range (goes down to about 20hz) and very flat - it is very good for a stock HU.

DiamondJoeQuimby

iTrader: (2)

Side note, you don't need an LOC with the 500/3.

KJ TL-S

iTrader: (9)

So how exactly would the install go, as is, what would be connected to what?

tquint14

I was thinking abt using something like this by splicing the pre amp plug

http://www.jlaudio.com/car-audio-rca...-interconnects

Trunk Monkey

iTrader: (1)

Removing the rear seat isn't necessary for running speaker wire. I fit a set of RCA's, and 4 strands of speaker wire through without removal of the seat. Just take a wire hanger, bend it and extend it out straight. Then, just tape it to the end and feed it through the bottom corner of the back seat and into the trunk. Pretty easy and will save time

Trunk Monkey

iTrader: (1)

Why can't you mount an amp on your sub box, or on the rear seat? Open up some possibilities...

Easiest way to go pre-amp to RCA's....

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...SL-09ZISL.html

NIGHTEHAWK

Dont know much about audio but ill sell you my alpine R10's with custom ported box and MTX amp 1500W rms for $500.

Trunk Monkey

iTrader: (1)

Shipping on that would KILLL

NIGHTEHAWK

Wow, you're right, shipping is expensive, but maybe for $50 I can have my dad meet him in phoenix, he's a truck driver and is usually in arizona.

KJ TL-S

iTrader: (9)

Mounting to my Uncald4 enclosure would be mighty interesting...And I couldn't find any great way to mount to the back seat and leave the pass through accessible. Plus I want everything to look as stock as possible, a big part of the reason I opted for the enclosure.

Thanks for this link. I think I'll be using them whenever I change my set up next.

As another amp choice, anyone have any experience or thoughts about this one?

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...lon-XR-5S.html

I hate cars

In before mod intervention lol. Just a heads up, you might want to post a link to a BM sale.

NIGHTEHAWK

True, sorry, don't mean to break any rules, I will post in BM.

tquint14

Anyone know if the jl audio jx360/4 accepts bal signal? $169 sounds tempting