This is the system I plan on getting. I already have purchased a Pioneer Premier single DIN bluebooth headunit. Please let me know your thoughts, experiences and suggestions. I want to stay with Pioneer Premier for all the major components. I have a 99 TL-P by the way.


Pioneer Premier PRS-D1200M Class-D Mono Amplifier with 1200 Watts Max Power
$299.00

Pioneer Premier PRS-D4200F 1200 Watts PRS-Series 4-Channel Full-Range Class FD Amplifier
$299.00

Pioneer Premier TS-D602P 6-1/2" 2-Way 260W Car Speakers
$75.00

Pioneer Premier TS-D720C 6-3/4" 260W Component Speaker System
$139.00

Pioneer Premier TS-W3002D4 12" 3500W Dual 4 ohm Champion PRO Series Subwoofer
$159.00

Dynamat 10455 Xtreme Bulk Pak - Contains Nine 18" x 32" Pieces Of Dynamat Xtreme
$145.00

Bass Slammer BS112S Single 12" Unloaded Sealed Enclosure
$59.95

Boss Audio DFB4 Distribution Fuse Blocks
$19.00

Clarion EQS746 7-Band Rotary Equalizer
$58.00

Kinetik KHC600 600W 12 Volt Power Cell -The Cap Killer
$127.00

 

Ditch the EQ and cap

 

What other suggestions do you have? I'm going to need a cap running these amps for sure and this EQ has 7V preouts whereas the HU has 4V.

 

Switch the Dynamat Extreme for Second Skin Damplifier Pro. It's a much better product, even though it will probably be more expensive.

Also, sell your Optima Red Top, don't buy the Kinetik, and spend the money on an XS Power battery that will fit in your stock location. I've run the HC600 before, and they're not that impressive. Switching from a stock equivalent and an HC600 to a single D5100R, I hold voltage better than before. XS Power is a much better battery for the money than the Kinetiks.

Also, if you're going to run a sealed enclosure, you can build one for a lot less than $60. Assuming you use 3/4" MDF, you can build one for around $15-20 for materials, then an hour or two with a table saw, and you're done.

As for the EQ, I've run that model a couple of times. I've had some problems blowing the inputs on them. Just a heads up. And the secondary input has nowhere near the output voltage of the primary. Again, just a heads up so you know what you're getting into.

 

So XS Power Battery, like this one? XS Power Batteries D1000 http://www.summitracing.com/parts/XSP-D1000?
This battery would replace my car battery and act as a cap so to speak to power my system without voltage spikes and lights dimming? Regarding the box I don't mind spedning the money even though I love building things. I just don't feel like building a sub box when I can spend that time working on something else. I apprecaite your feedback on the EQ, I think I'll pass on that then.

Regarding the Second Skin Damplifier do you think a their bulk pack 36.5sq. ft. will cover the entire trunk area in my TL?

 

also, in my opinion ditch the pioneer sub and amps. for substage, get a aq1200d and maybe a audioque hdc3 if you want to spend it, or a type r if going on the cheaper side. both will be louder than that. order online and not from a shop for cheaper prices.
also if you build a ported box, which will be larger, it will get alot louder

 

So you guys don't think this sub/amp combo is very powerful? I don't want it to be extremely booming, just hit real hard as I listen to mostly heavy metal. You think an Alpine Type R would be louder than this Pioneer sub, really? I'm really set on having an all Pioneer Premier system, don't want to mix and match as I do believe running all the same brand will produce better sound quality.

 

i dont have experience with that particular sub. i just know r's get loud for cheap. id suggest going a level up in quality, but if your going from nothing to that, youll prob be ok with it

 

The D1000 is a 16v battery, not to mention last years model. This is not good for a 12v setup in a car. You're going to want one of their 12v batteries, like a D2400 or around there. The best place (lowest shipped price, as well as authorized distributor for XS, so you get the 3 year warranty) to buy XS Power batts is Mechman (www.mechman.com). That being said, 1 XS Power batt will be more than enough for your planned setup, even if you go to an AudioQue 1200. I've run my Sundown 1500D (1500w rms) at .5 ohms (lower than they're rated to do, which means more current draw and lower efficiency) on a single XS Power D5100R and my stock 85A alt. So yes, 1 batt will be more than enough for your setup.

As for the Damp Pro bulk pack, I don't know if it will completely cover the entire trunk, but it should cover most of it. I have a little under 1 door pack covering both of my outer door skins, and I gained .5db in my SPL testing from before to after the deadener. This proves that even a little bit of the Damplifier Pro will do quite a bit. You may not need to completely cover the trunk to get the results you're looking for. You'll also want to put some deadener in your doors, since you're upgrading to components. Even if it's just the 1 layer on the outer skins like I have, it will make a big difference. I'm extremely happy I spent the time to put that deadener in.

As for your sub comparison, a Type R will get louder than that sub, but imo, it will sound a lot worse. The Type R is one of the worst sounding subs imo. Does it get loud for cheap, yes, but there are subs that will get a lot louder and sound a lot better (the AQ HDC3 that was mentioned is one). Will this setup get loud, in the right box, yes, it will get loud. In a pre-fab sealed box, it might be enough for you, but for some people, it won't be. I don't know what is loud to you. A smaller (~1 cube for the Pioneer sub you're looking at) ported box, tuned in the high 30s should sound great and get pretty loud, especially for heavy metal.

The AudioQue 1200D and sub (I'd go with an SDC2.5 personally) would be a better sounding and probably louder setup than what you're currently looking at with the Pioneer setup. The AQ 1200 puts out it's rated 870w at 2 ohms, which wiring the SDC2.5's coils in parallel gives you that 2 ohm load. Put a single 10 (or 12 if you're set on that size sub) in whatever enclosure DJ (owner of AQ) suggests, and you'll have a winner. I might be using the HDC3's in my rebuild for my car. I have a couple of more things to consider, and a couple more opinions to get, but that's the current front runner for my new subs, currently ahead of custom subs due to costs.

Another amp/sub combo that might work well would be a Sundown SAZ-1000D and Sundown SA-12 sub. The SAZ series of amps are extremely solid, and do rated power and then some. The SA subs are tough as nails, even though they're rated at only 600w. Just another option for you to consider. I know you said you wanted to keep everything the same, but there is better out there for the money. I know the MSPR on the SAZ-1000D is high, but you can get them for around $200-250 on forums or a bit higher from distributors. You just have to know where to look.

 

Mattastick, I really appreciate your ideas and opinions. This is what makes this forum awesome and why I've been a member for over 5 1/2 years now. I have to admit my knowledge on car stereo's is primitive now that I've been out of the scene for 5-6 years. The damplifier pro sounds like a winner, I'm nixxing the EQ and will get a nicer ported box for the sub. Honeslty I'm not looking for hair shaking bass, but close to it. I used to have 2 Orion 12" DVC 500W RMS subs in a nice large sealed box and they were very loud and pretty deep. I was hoping to accomplish a similiar effect with a little more low end out of one more powerful sub.

The XSPower S3400 looks like the most powerful 12V battery they make right now, about $250.00 each. So one of these will power my car and the stereo without a hitch huh? If that's the case then I am sold!!!

 

The XS D3100 is actually their most powerful battery. It's a beast. When used as a second battery, it's capable of supporting 5kws+ rms. I can't wait to run 2 in my car for my bassrace build. It'll be nice to be able to play full tilt for around 15-20 minutes.

That being said, you should be fine with a D2400 if you can fit it in the front (I'm going to be cutting on my air intake box to make one fit) for around 2kws rms. I doubt you'll end up running that much power, but it's better to have more electrical than you'll need.

You could probably out-do those 2 Orions with a single 10 and enough power. A better bet would likely be a single 12 and a decent bit of power. The AQ 1200 and SDC2.5 would likely out-do your old Orions. If you're willing to give up the space, you could do an HDC3 12 in a larger box, with a nice big port, and it should get extremely loud. Like I said though, call up DJ and tell him about your situation. He's extremely helpful and will walk you through everything. Not only that, he'll also design your box for you when you buy a sub from him. AQ has some of the top customer service in the industry. Him, Jacob (Sundown Audio), and Rusty (DC Sound Labs) are tops in the industry.

 

I have a CAI so making room for this battery will be easy. So basically running a S3400 will power my car, my system without dimming or power draining issues at all? I'd rather get the best battery possible so I'd go with the S3400. How is their reliability and cold starting?

 

depends on the application. for a bassrace run, maybe. for a daily driver, hell no. if you want to run 5k daily, then your going to need a HO alt. theres no way youll be running 5k for more then a few min on a stock alt

 

I run a D5100R (group 51) in my Acura CL daily, and it starts great. I've been using through 2 realatively cold winters, and it's held up great. I'll be moving this batt to my 91 Celica when it becomes my DD, My Acura will be getting the D2400 up front, when I can afford the 2 D3100's.

They list those ratings assuming you have enough of an alternator to power your 5+kws. And a few mins is longer than the 30 seconds of a bassrace run, fyi...

 

I wouldn't go with Pioneer as far as sub and amp, but if you are going with their double din, indash flipout, or just str8 cd deck thats good. Sub an amp...I would say Audiobahn, Kicker, Punch, or even PowerBass. I currently have two hct2150 two channel 2400 watt audiobahn amp pushing two Audiobahn Immortal series 12s running 2000 watts rms. You get what u pay for, don't have step on the audio system. If you wanna see how serious these amps are look up audiobahn immortal on youtube. There is a clip of guy who has two just like me an put a cd on one of the ports and it snap the cd from the air pressure.

 

go for something you like the sound of for subs, go to a few stores and try some out
i hated alpines and a few others, just wasn't what i wanted my system to sound like
i loved the JL w6v2's, but settled for some w3v3's and they sounded pretty damn good in my car...
granted tho, most good subs, especially the ones mattastick will recommend are not gonna be found in stores, so you probably won't be able to have the chance to hear them before you buy them...
as far as amps, don't cheap out, get a good quality amp, like what mattastick recommends (as he knows his shit) or others like Alpine, Rockford Fosgate, just to name a few that may be more well known to you. Good quality amps will be underrated and preform more than their manufacture's specs imply.
don't forget to price out all of your wiring, as it can get quite costly aswell... now do your research, and good luck

 

Thanks Mitch. Another extremely important thing that will determine the sound of the sub is the box. A simple sealed box will probably give you the easiest result for the most wide variety of sound quality, but will lack the output of a ported box.

Good call for the wire Mitch. OP it does get expensive quick, especially if you're going to be running more than 800w or so, for which I would suggest nothing smaller than 1/0 wire. The average cost for 1/0 that I've seen is anywhere from $3.50 to $7.50 a foot, depending on what brand and where you buy it from.

 

I'm going with a dual ported box for the sub. I'm not set on the Premier sub but want something good for under $150.00. Premier amps have pretty good rep and are well built from my past experiences and friends that've run very powerful systems. I think a lot of people look down on Pioneer, but Premier's are a totally different level IMO. I don't like Alpine subs at all. Kicker I'm not a fan of either. Eclipse Titanium's are super nice and the best sounding subs I've heard, but they seem to be very hard to come by now. Seems Eclipse has gone cheap and lessened their quality in recent years. As far as the Pioneer Premier door speakers I've heard these amped and they sound amazing especially for the price. I've heard Alpine components, Boston components, Infiniti Kappas and MB Quart components and they didn't sound as clear and have the range the Premiers did. It's all about personal taste and I truely appreicate all of your opinions as it's helped me evolve my thinking regarding what I'm going to get next. Here is my updated list.

Car Audio System:

http://www.hifisoundconnection.com/S...id/0/SFV/30046 $104.95 x 2= Stinger amp wiring kits with 2 5 farad capacitors


http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAu...ppingCart.aspx $971.00= Speakers, sub, 2 amps


http://www.hifisoundconnection.com/S...id/0/SFV/30046 $57.83= Stinger Distribution fuse block

http://www.hifisoundconnection.com/S...id/0/SFV/30046 $27.43 x 2= Stinger Battery Terminals

Optima Yellow Top= $180.00


http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...ox-+1SA12.html $64.99= Dual Ported Sub Box


Opinions always welcomed. I'm not looking to buy in store items, I'm buying everything on-line. Best bang for your buck.

 

I'd still go with an XS Power batt over the Optima + cap(s).

Also, I'd use Knu Konceptz or Shok Industries wire instead of Stinger, but that's just me. Knu is a lot more expensive though.

Also, we can't see your sub, speakers and amps choices since they're in your cart. I do agree with you about Pioneer speakers though. I've done a couple of Pioneer speaker setups, and loved the way they sounded, even for the lower lines.

 

I am now leaning towards Alpine Type R componets for the fronts and Type R co-axials for the rears powered by a JBL GTO1004 amp. Sub Kicker CVX124 sub 750watts RMS in a vented 1.8 cu. ft 3/4" MDF box. Powered by an Eclipse XA1200 class-D mono-block amp w/0 ga Stinger wiring and a 5 farad Stinger Cap. I'm also leaning towards a Kinetik HC1400 battery. Total RMS being pushed will be 1000. Do you guys feel this system is within the stock alternators capacity given the cap and battery upgrades? I do not plan on going bigger and louder. This will be about the max I go, at least in this car. Also please chime in regarding my new choices. I can get everything I listed for about $1150.00. I really don't want to spend much more as I'm remodeling my kitchen very soon.

 

XS Power is better than Kinetik. Hands down. Been proven in several drop in tests in insanely loud competition systems. If you run an XS D5100 or D5100R (whichever will fit, or bigger if you can fit/afford it) will be much much better than the Kinetik and almost any cap (excluding something like a 50+ farad cap).

XS D5100: http://mechman.com/store/product_inf...369daf748b5070

Kinetik HC1400: http://www.kinetikaudio.com/2009/pro...?C=1&P=KHC1400

Get the XS, 1 run of 1/0, and Big 3 in 1/0 and you'll be fine. On that exact setup, I ran a Sundown 1500D at .5 ohms daily with a stock 85A alt and had very minimal voltage drop. At the time, I was also running my RF Punch 450.4 bridged at 4 ohms to each of my mids, so a grand total of around 2200wrms if I had to guess. The XS may cost a bit more money, but it will be very well worth it. If you buy from Mechman (best shipped price online) you get a 3 year warranty. Kinetik can't touch that, especially since the guys at Mechman and XS know that their batts will be pushed to the limits, and still offer a no questions asked return policy. Again, something Kinetik can't touch.

How much are you getting the Stinger wiring kit for? Check out this kit: http://www.knukonceptz.com/productDe...prodID=KFX-PK0 It's a much better kit, IMO. Knu is very nice wire. Not staying Stinger's not, but I've always had great luck with Knu.

As for the sub, that's your call. What kind of port area and tuning are you going to do with the box?

 

I'll look into the XS batteries again, but they don't seem to be that common. The stinger 0/1 amp kit and 5 farad cap is $105.00, to be that's an increeible deal that I couldn't find for a better price anywhere and I trust Stinger products as that's all I've ever used (not saying it's the best but it's damn good). The sub I'll have set about 8-10 inches in behind the rear seats which will leave a good foot and a half in front of the sub which will be facing the rear bumper. I've got 2 ga wiring in my engine bay everywhere, did that years ago so that should help. When I had my 2 Orion's pushing 500watts RMS my headlights never dimmed even at idle. Hopefully with a better batt and cap 1000WRMS won't effect the car either.

 

I'm definitely buying that XS Power D5100, $235.00 for 2000watts that's a steal. I'm sold.

 

Where do I get the top post bolts/extenders as the picture makes the top posts look very low. How would I connect the battery terminals?

 

XS Power has a very strong following in the competition lanes. Similar, if not more impressive than that of Kinetik. Personally, having used both, I can say I like the XS product much much much more. I even cut my current intake and battery tray to be able to fit a D2400 in there, instead of the D5100R that was in there (and currently in my daily driven Celica). Going back to XS Power's following in the Competition lanes, of the top bassracers in the country (I'm talking 59.9+ guys here) The A-Team Clay (silver Jimbo, also runs SS 5+) runs XS Power, along with most (if not all) of Team Sundown, which one of their cars is doing 160db at 34hz, using 8 16v batts. 8 batts to power 12 2kw amps. Again, not too shabby. Look more into the competition game, and you will see XS Power in most off the top cars. They are well worth the extra money.

And the Knu kit is $90+ship. Much better deal since you won't need the cap.

As for the box, I'm wondering the area and length of the port. Just because the enclosure size is correct, that doesn't mean that the sub will perform well in the box.

 

As for the battery connections, either the short connectors (Part number 580) or the Tall connectors (Part number 586) will work with stock battery connections. I personally have the 586's on my D5100R, and they work great. It's really a matter of clearance. If you can fit the 586's, there's really no reason not to get them. But the same can be said for the 580's.

 

thanks man. So the D5100 will fit in the stock battery tray wihtout needing to cut it? If so that's great, if not I'll cut it

 

Sometimes I swear Matt works for XS

 

Get the dimensions of your battery tray, and then go to XS Power's website (4xspower.com) and pick the biggest batt that fits. That's the one you'll want to buy. If the D5100 fits, great, but you might also be able to fit something slightly larger, like a D2400. If your battery connections are like mine, however, you'll need the D5100R which has the reverse polarity. Just something to keep in mind.

Sorry, Chris. When I find a product that works, I stick with it. I've used Kinetik, and they don't work up to my standards. That's why you'll never find another batt besides XS Power in my cars.

 

Do you Matt?

 

No I don't. I work for a company in Blue Ash, Ohio called the Sheffer Corporation.

 

Since you're a Pioneer fan and plan to have an EQ, go with the DEH-9200 DSP unit. I've had that EQ in 3 different cars and can't live without it! The level of adjustments are wonderful to have at your disposal.

 

I figured you didn't just messing with you. I really do appreciate your help and willingness to give me some good advice.

 

It's no problem, I'm just trying to make sure you don't waste a lot of money like I did... I've spent way too much money from trial and error for systems that are only OK. If I had known what I know now, I'd be in a much better spot financially, or my car would be a lot louder.

 

I just got the XS Power D5100 battery. In the instruction card that comes with it, it says it needs to be charged before being used. Is this true and if so how do I get it charged?

 

Check the voltage. It should be between 12.8-13.2v. If you're in that range, go ahead and install it. If it's below that, then grab a battery charger, and get the voltage up a bit. My 5100R rests at 12.8 and my 2400 rests at 13.0 (unless it sits in the car in the garage without being charged for a week, then it's down to about 12.8, which just happened). Besides that, I have yet to charge any of my batts before installing them.

 

i was about to get my whole system from onlinecarstereo.com but their warranty doesn't cover if your speakers blow and that's the warranty u pay for the one u get for free is 30 days and only covers malfunctions before u install it long story short once u hook it up if it anything breaks u have to buy a new one use amazon you can get the same stuff and have piece of mind if it breaks

 

In most cases if you blow your speakers it's operator error. I can't recall ever blowing anything in the past few years except a coil out of my old dd 15. And that was cuz a crappy amp and the alt went bad and surged causing everything to get wacky. I never worry about warranty's except on amps. And yea I wouldnt order anything from oct.com i've heard so many bad things. Amazon is not bad though. I just buy my stuff straight from the manufacture, or a sales rep better deals that way.

 

I got the stereo installed today with all of the above, accept i got a XS Power D5100 batt, still got a 5 farad cap to boot. Also got a Stinger distribution block, stinger 4 ga wiring kit for the speakers and some very nice Tsunami nicle plated batt terminals. Let me say that this Pioneer HU is awesome. I've got an IPOD line in my gloebox to eliminate clutter (installers credit not the HU) and a A-pillar mounted speakers for the bluetooth feature of the headunit. The EQ on the HU is very good IMO, not elite, but very good for the price. The sound quality is amazing. The Alpines are crystal clear even at 55 on the HU and produce nice clean highs that are not thrashy. The mids are also very good and so was the bass. The Kicker sub is phenomenal for the price I paid, which was $150. It is very clear and accurate and gets very loud. It's sonic range is very flexible as well. I truely love this setup and can't wait to fully explore it. It's still fresh so time will tell, but I;ve got to say I've very happy!!!