w1n78

I finally found a shop to get my audio upgrades. I left the car today for a tint and after that, one of the installers took a look at my amp setup. I left them the service manual so that they don't have to guess how to take apart sections. Here's what I will be getting:

Alpine MRD-M605 amp for the sub
Alpine Type R 12" sub

Alpine MRP-T220 amp (can't remember if this was the right model or another)
Alpine speakers to replace the insides

Monster cap, wires, etc (I will provide these since I've been saving them for the TL)

Including install, it will be $2200. I will be browsing online to get actual prices and compare before I do anything. So far, the threads I've read here, the install labor is around $900. What I'm excited the most is that they can integrate everything to the HU. The stock amp will still be used but only for the center speaker, so I shouldn't loose the surround sound, plus no other knobs to control bass.

I'll get the exact model numbers tomorrow when I go back to the shop. I was gonna go Boston Acoustics for the speakers, which was recommended by a friend, but we have different musical taste, so I may be better off with the Alpines. This shop was recommended by the dealer I go to, to do maintenance, so hopefully everything will turn out fine.

More info tomorrow

TL-Rocket

Let us know how this goes (or sounds).

TL-Rocket

ludachrisvt

iTrader: (2)

awesome man ... Make sure you get details on how they did this (if you can!).

- CB

2LOW4U

Any reason you went with all Alpine? The decks are second to none, the amps are ok, not a lot of hard raw power, and the speakers imho suck. Should have gone with a JL sub and MBs, JLs, Focals, or CDTechs.

w1n78

I just left my car at the shop. Here are the details:

Amps
Alpine MRD-M605 Amp for sub (400 watts x 1 at 4 ohms - 600 watts RMS x 1 at 2 ohms)
Alpine MRV-F545 Amp for inside speakers (125W x 4, V12 High Power Amplifier, Mosfet power supply)

Speakers
Alpine SPR-174A
Alpine SPR-135A

Sub
Alpine Type-R SWR-1242 Dual 4-ohm

Will be using Monster cables and capacitor. He suggested a second battery, but think the cap should be enough for the night time driving.

He'll be using a floating high-low adaptor and will be getting the door dynomatted. I left him my digital camera so he can take pictures while doing the install. The shop is real cool, they even gave me a ride to and from work during my tint yesterday and my install today. I'm hyped up right now and can't even work .

2LOW4U: The reason I went with Alpines is because I have a friend with a similar setup on his Accord. Sounded nice, similar space inside. Was thinking of JL subs but I had a 12" in my Civic and it was just too loud. Trunk vibrated and was too much of a sub in a sedan for my taste. Also looked into MBs but from what I understand, they no longer make them in Germany. So the quality has dropped while the price stays the same. I also looked into Boston Acoustics but stayed away for 2 reasons:
1) for the type of music I listen to, it may not be the best to go with. Yeah, with the Pro and Z series, you'll hardly get any distortion but...
2) for a pair starting at $499 (low end series) I can live without them

I'll post pics either tonight or tomorrow. Hope he doesn't forget to use the camera

kyle-wdp

Boston Rallys and JLs can't beat them for the money IMHO.....I'll be doing a similar setup shortly except 1 10" and a JL 4 chan amp with Boston or Focal seperates up front.

Turbowhat2

the swr 1242 is a sexy sub. Was it really necessary to install a capacitor for your 400w sub amp???

I am running a 600watt mono amp for my subs, and i dont have a capacitor installed....

Do you think i need one... my lights dont dim or anything.

w1n78

if you're lights don't dim, you may not need it, but if you hear somewhat of a humming sound, then you may want to consider it. i'm only using one coz i already have one lying around. on my 2000 civic, i didn't use a cap. i have 2 12" sony subs and a DHD amp, can't remember the specs on it since i don't drive it anymore. my lights were fine at night but i did hear a humming everytime i accelerated . see if you hear that humming sound.

the setup on the civic won't even compare to what this TL will get. more budget to play with. thx federal tax return even though you rape me every month, you gave me a good enough return to consider this upgrade.

just picked up my car, but it's not finished . what they did today was install the back speakers and wiring and dynomatted the rear deck. i have pics but i'm still at work. i'll post them when i get home. the rear speakers aren't hooked up yet so i'm gonna be driving home listening to the factory sub and front speakers i was hoping it would be finished today, but i guess i shouldn't rush it . man i'm so excited!

Turbowhat2

should i have the volume turned down when i listen for the humming? wheres the humming coming from? ANd what is the humming?

w1n78

when i was driving my civic, it sound like it came from the front-passenger side. i asked a friend what that meant and he said it's maybe coz i don't have a cap to regulate the power in the car . my friend had a similar set up in his 92 diamante but he went with the fosgate setup and he used a cap and no humming. turn it up maybe around 15-18 or a level where you can hear your cell phone ring and drive around at night and see if you here it when you accelerate. i only heard the humming at night or when my headlights were on. so that led me to believe that the power wasn't regulating through the components properly. elduderino would know more about it.

how are those infinitys holding up? read your thread and how your Type S gave way. was looking at infinity subs too but thought it maybe to much bass for me. i may have to get the trunk dynomatted too but i'll see once the install is finish.

akura2

usually humming when accelerating is caused when you have a ground loop... not because you have a cap or not.... if your stereo hums... check your grounding...

w1n78

thanks for the clarification

Turbowhat2

The infinitys are great. They are 1230 watt peak each. THey are rated 300watt rms each and im puttin about 360watts rms to each. They are pretty loud and you can hear them from like 3 blocks away with the trunk open. I have the 1230W model, which are the entry level subs. I actually think the infinitys sound clearer than the alpines, but that might be because i was underpowering the alpines.

w1n78

was gonna post pics but my night was ruined with a flat and the misplacement of my wheel lock key. on top of that i'm gonna have to wait an extra day to get my install. hope i can knock out everything early enough to make it to the shop and work

here's the thread w/ pic of my blown tire https://acurazine.com/forums/texas-319/any-dallas-area-meets-july-22-thread-retired-50312/#post1166449

ou sig

exactly. I have a little over 1100 watts RMS with my system and have a smaller alternator than you guys (3rd gen) 105amps vs 130amps I believe...anyway I didnt need a cap with mine. When I blast the stereo, have heated seats on, ac, navi, and lights...the voltage meter on the cap never drops below 12.8. so you could put a 1500 watt system in w/o a cap and have no problem

but I understand why you put it in if you had it around - I would have done the same thing. But good luck with the system, I was really excited when I finally got mine also! I drove around all the time, like I was 16 again

Twenties

$900 for the labor, what a joke.

here's a more realistic breakdown: install amp $75 each x 2; install speakers $60 x 2 sets; install cap/add wiring/add parts $80. Total $350.

Call Makin it Custom in Los Angeles: (213) 453-0567.
Tell them Emahn referred you. they do excellent work (if not the fastest) and can get you the speakers/amps cheap as well.

website coming soon www.makinitcustom.com

Twenties

typo... it is www.makingitcustom.com

BlueTL

What's the name of this shop and location thanks. please post pix.

vidoprof

just an fyi I am running 2500W in my setup and I don't need a cap at all.

The humming is a grounding problem.

Speakers, get the cheapest things your ears can deal with. But get the best you can afford.

I love my setup (all DLS) but I spent way too much because I wanted it LOUD and CRYSTAL CLEAR. I can hear the difference.

Ryan

2LOW4U

Yes caps are important at anything above about 300 REAL watts RMS... he did good.

2LOW4U

Guys, the humming has NOTHING to do with the cap, all the cap does is stablilize the voltage when the amps require a power spike, it is a small resvoir or power in reserve to keep your battery and altenator happier. My dad has a 15 farad bank in his Stang, with about 3000 watts, so I know a little about stereos. My Teg hit 147 dB with only 2 12s with the gains on the amps turned all the way down tuned for sound quality.

I have been into stereos for about 13 years, have stereos in two of my personal cars, and one in my dad's, his being the loudest, and sold stereos professionally for over a year, so if you guys have any problems, shoot me a PM.

Turbowhat, I used to work for Earmark, if you know where that is. That humming sound is comong from the altenator and is caused by the RCA wires being too close to the power or speaker cables. It is a revirbiration of harmonics I used to call altenator whine or noise. The easiest way to fix it w/o upgrading to more shielded wires or re routing the wires is to turn the gain down on the amp...

w1n78

today should be the last day of install, i'd post pics but i left the digi cam at the shop so he can take pics during the install. the front doors won't be 5 1/4 speakers, they had to use 6.5. i'll have the pics posted tonight if everything gets done today . so far there are 10 pics. i'll probably grab my dv cam and take videos too. hope it captures it well enough to show how the system turned out. they also installed a circuit breaker in the engine bay.

w1n78

as promised, here are the pics during the install. the door speaker holes had to be resized a little bit but the stocks will fit if i were to put them back (never!). i've only got to listen to it about 10 minutes (drive from shop back to work) and i'm . everything works the way it should

- navi voice and bluetooth phone still plays in center console
- the left/right/front/rear/treble/bass,etc controls the new setup

the cd plays great, xm is so so (compared to CD), ipod w/ tape adaptor but these are expected. didn't try FM radio yet. dunno when i will since i hardly use it. base is set to -3 and sub to -2 center is 2 bars from max and treble is 3 bars from max.

i turned it up to 15 and am finally contempt. i hear a lot of rattle from the trunk though, so i will dynamat it or use turbowhat2's peal and seal technique

i will take more pics and probably video when i get a chance - probably on a new thread since this thread says "planning"

any questions, fire away, but remember i'm a computer geek not an audiophile

GoBig

Looks like a very professional job! Yes, for some reason, our XM does really suck. I compared it to my freinds setup and for some reason XM is not nearly as good. Have you tried a DVD-A disk yet? Let us know how that sounds in comparison to the old setup.

w1n78

actually, i kept listening to XM more and it turns out it was the current song i was listening to. as soon as i switched to different channels it got better, though i have to turn it up a little more just to get a similar experience.

navi info: as i left work, i had my navi give me directions to my gf's house. since the center speaker is hooked to the factory amp the voice output was low to hear. the volume of the radio was set to 8 and as soon as the voice came on, it lowered the volume yet it's still low to hear lol.

bt phone conversation: i don't remember if sound only came from the center speaker but now my phone plays in all speakers lol, a lot better IMO

i tried 2 DVD-A on the way to work: Usher - 8701 and Linkin Park - Reanimation. i can easily tell from CD to DVD-A. for my ears it sounds great. i leaned over a couple of times to see if i can hear the center speaker, maybe easier for me to adjust the settings and have it play just the fronts

after a day with the new system, i think i'm getting old. i can't listen to for more than 10 minutes while the volume is set at 15. i have it mostly on 8 or 10. maybe i'm not used to it anymore. good thing i didn't go with the JL W7's. too much bass for my taste

rattling: besides the trunk, the only other thing that rattles is the passenger side sun shade, which was already an issue before the upgrade. i'll probably stuff a napkin between the mirror and the cover to see if it helps any.

comparison between old and new: i usually have my volume set to 20 with the old setup and base/sub to either -1 or 0. now i have the volume between 8-15 and base/sub to -3 and -4. i like it alot and wished i did the upgrade a lot sooner. but i'm picky when it comes to my car. took a year to find this shop.

hey GoBig, we can meet up tomorrow, probably at victoria gardens or something. i just gotta get another tire and my friends are trying to persuade me to buy a bike with them so i'll be checking out a bike shop. i should be free around lunch time or after that

GoBig

Yes...I'll be around this afternoon. Did they use something similar to JL's Cleansweep?