krz4runner

From what I have read so far about the factory bose system I have figured that I will not even mess with ANY of the factory wiring. I hear it is strait wire not braided and you would get noise.

Right now I have nothing for a system But I am planning and researching "the perfect SQ system". When I do the Install I will not use any wire already in my car. I am going to run fresh (12ga)pos(to the batt), neg (to the chasis), and ignition (to the ignition switch) for the Head Unit. I do not want ANY noise in my system!

From the headunit I am planing to run RCA's to my amps, and run new 12ga or 10ga wires for each speaker. Could I use Cat5 cable for the speakers bacuase of its design to keep out noise? I am plannning on only having a front stage and subs. (because that is the way SQ systems are set up, or thats what i'm told).

Now here is what I was planning on running:

Panasonic GHOST cd player (for now)(free) I can't remember the model.

Run a new alternator wire to the battery (4ga).

Add a Yellow top Optima battery.

0 guage power to the trunk.

For Highs and mids: MB Quart PCE 216's

http://www.mbquart.com/2003/en_US/pr...&model=PCE+216

And I would power the tweeters using a JL Audio 300/2
and the Mid's by another JL 300/2 using the amp's built in crossover.

http://www.jlaudio.com/amps/3002.html

For Subs: 2 12" Orion XTR Pro's (already have)

Powered by a JBL BP1200.1 (already have)

http://www.jbl.com/car/products/prod...er=POS&cat=AMP

Would all of this make sense to do?
Does anyone have any suggestions?

proaudio22

**accidental post**

proaudio22

The factory wiring is fine now, no? Do you hear any noise in the stock system? Didn't think so. Extra noise comes from improper wiring (not understanding the Bose system) and equipment that isn't protected against noise.

That's silly. The only reason you would need to run another power wire to a head unit would be if you planned on using the POS "amps" inside it. In a super high-end system, the seperate wire business might sound a tad better, but not with anything close to your selections. Any head unit worth $0.10 will have an RF choke on it's power leads, and a DC-DC convertor built in - it will be noise free.

There is no reason to run that heavy of wire to your mids/highs. 16ga should be fine. DO NOT use Cat5. It's 26-28ga, WAY too small. The twisted pair design is of ZERO use on speaker leads. The only way you are going to get noise in the speaker leads is if you lay a 480v 400a load across it. Not very likely. Also, having only a front stage is debatable. It's not gonna kick ass anytime soon with the speakers you choose below. Not enough mid and lower mid. You need something in the rears to supplement that.

Why do you think you need a yellow top? Unless you plan on bumpin with the car off, forget about that. A red top might be ok just b/c it's a superior battery to any other type. Batteries DO NOT do a damn thing for your system. In order for a battery to help power your system with the car on, you would need to draw enough power to dip the alternators output to 12v. If that were the case, a battery is just a shitty band-aid and you are going to burn the alternator up soon. The solution is a larger alternator. Def run new wire from the alternator to the battery. There isn't any reason to run larger wire to the trunk than what you run to the alternator - remember, that is where the power is coming from. A capacitor will help the peaks on the bass, but it also doesn't provide power all the time. If your system draws 100 amps, there should be 100 amps available from the alternator all the time.

There is no reason to bi-amp those speakers. Unless everything else is top notch in a system, there is not going to be an audible difference, esp with a front stage this small. Also, there is no need to push that much power to the highs. They take 10% of the same power that the mids take. So if you push 100 watts to the mids, you only need 10 to the highs. The passive crossover should be plenty fine for you, adding a second amp would be a waste of money IMO.

krz4runner

I have read this post :
http://www.acura-cl.com/forums/showt...se+factory+amp
Which gave me the thought bypassing all stock wiring would be better. The time that it would take doesn't matter. Why would it hurt to run all new wires?

I guess I could use the new tsunami twisted wire anyway. Not a big deal. I just don't want to redo anything over if it was not good enough. What components would you suggest if the MB Quarts are not good enough?

I do listen to the stereo often without the car on, thats why I figured the Yellow top. I had one before and it never died while being tortured so I was planning on getting another.
Later on I will look at an alternator. But not as of this moment. As for a capacitor, I techinically shouldn't need one since I am not going for SPL. Would it still be worth it? What about those "BatCap's" hear anything about those?

proaudio22

I wasn't advocating that you use the stock wires. It just seemed that you dismissed using the stock unit b/c of the wiring issues. I was just pointing out that if you still wanted to use the stock unit, it can be some and sound just fine. I plan to keep my stock head unit. If you a replacing the headunit, def use a real set of interconnects. I was simply pointing out that if you want to keep the stock unit, it's quite possible.

I didn't mean the Quarts were not good enough, those a fine speakers. I just mean that I do not believe they will be able to fill in the lower mids and give you a nice sound stage by themselves. A good set of 6x9s in the rear would fill it in enough IMO, and you could even time align the two to give the perception of the sound only coming from the front.

Ah, gotcha. Yellow tops are fine, I just see too many people buy a $150 battery to band-aid their alternator. SPL peeps have many caps, just one matched to your amp (1 farad should do) will help tighten the bass lines. The more reserve an amp has, the less stressed it will be. Two 12"s and a conservativly 1200 watt amp will draw some current, and the cap will even out the peaks.

One more thing, do you plan to compete? Even if you are not, you need an EQ to tailor the sound. A 1/2 din 5 band should do pretty well, altho if you plan to compete you should consider a dual 31 (or close) band.

krz4runner

Image Dynamics has a specific "mid--bass driver" If Iwould add one of these to the front stage for the mid bass that you say I am lacking will it sound better? I have heard the JL XR components agains the MB Quart discus speakers; I thought the MB Quarts were muchh more realistic but they did seem to have more lower end. I was figuring they may be lacking in a range where the subs would come in, if tuned correctly.

http://www.imagedynamicsusa.com/webs...s/midbass.html

I have an MA Audio cap that is a few years old but when I sold my car I took it out and It sounded like it was filled with liquid. I was wondering if it was like that when i installed it or if I toasted it over the years?

I do eventually plan to compete. I do not have enough knowledge with EQ's Is there any you would suggest to look at? Could you tell me what I am exactly looking for In one also?
Thanks for your help.

krz4runner

Anyone? any thoughts?

Nicky Pass

I like my JL XRs.....but then again, I am partial to JL. I've heard the Rainbow Pros sound REALLY Good!!!

krz4runner

I am all about JL's subs... but I heard the MB Quart Discus speakers against JL's XR650. I was impressed with JL's overall sound, but it sounded like it may be picking up too much lows. I was thinging if you would do only components and no subs the JL's would rock. But I thought the MB's sounded more real. I was thinking with a sub it sould fill in the empty area. Or am I all wrong about this?

MB Quart's PCE216 has:
Frequency Response 38 – 32.000

JL XR650CS has:
Frequency Response: 48 Hz - 25 KHz ± 3 dB

So souldn't the MB have a lower end? If I am wrong about this can someone help me red speaker specs and help me understand what makes a speaker good?

Titand19

I'm trying to get go SQ also. Kick panels are the way to go. Unfortunately, I can't have them because I need my dead pedal.

I'm going to be running:
MB Quart Q series front and back. Powered by a 100x4
Kicker 8" Midbass drivers, powered by a 200x2
(1) 12L72 powered by 750x1
Amps are Hifonics
(2) RF Caps
Yellow Top

Right now I'm running the stuff in my seg through a Alpine ERA-G320. I plan on using a PXA-H700, forgive me if the model number is wrong, too lazy to look it up.

I've done a lot of thinking about my system and talked to a lot fo the gusy I work with. This seems to be a good setup for a reasonable price. Compare what you have to mine and see if you feel you are missing anything.

proaudio22, what do you think?

proaudio22

Sorry krz4runner and Titand19. I've been busy lately. I gotta run now too, but I read your last tow posts. krz4runner, it's not just about low freq extention, I'll explain later. Titand19, that doesn't sound bad. I'll post more later, I'm just pressed for time now.

N.O.6speed

i know it is played out already, but you cant go wrong with quart for highs, and jl for bass. 1 -12"w7 on a 500 watt amp would slam way louder than xtrs. Use big power cable 4gauge minimum, and also good rcas, monster cable, etc. Shit would be rollin.

Titand19

My battery is in my trunk, so I'm running 0 guage right into a Dis block. Then 4 guage out to my amps.

Using StreetWires RCA's, so I'm good to go.

q2slinger

Those mb quarts with one jl amp will rock. You'd be even better off with the q series. You don't need rear fill. Rear fills will add more sound for rear seat passengers at the cost of your stereo imaging.

proaudio22

It's not about freq response, or how low it goes. No doubt that the MBQs can go plenty low, I think even a 4" could. The problem lies in the fact that there is one driver for a large range of frequencies. For SQ, this can be important. Say you cross your subs over at 65Hz (about right for a true subwoofer). The range from 65-250 or so Hz is the hardest and more power robbing range of the mid speaker. Your amp and mid driver and going to be working hard to pump out that lower mid range, while the upper mids are getting the back seat. The better way to do this would be a mid driver (6.5" or 8") to carry the lower mid range from around 60-80Hz up to 250-300Hz (depending on the speakers, etc). Then your mid can take over from that point up to the highs x-over point. Now, I only suggest doing this if you (or someone you know) knows how to tune this setup. Otherwise you can fock up levels and your SQ bigtime. You need an x-over that is capable of 3-way (or 4-way if you go all active) distribution.

proaudio22

I have the same problem now. Also, our cars really aren't large enough to really get the full advantage of kick panels. I don't see what the point would be if your legs are right in front of it. How tall are you? You might could do some horns with just a single mid bass in the door (horns go quite low compared to tweets). Horns have a HUGE image. Many IASCA teams use horns for this very same reason. Be prepared for the $$ tho lol.

That sounds like a nice setup. The Kicker mid-bass speakers - I assume you mean the RMB8. The 8" subs ARE NOT the proper driver to use for mid-bass. Most people make this mistake. Where are you going to put the 8"? They use an 8" sub, and wonder why it sucks at mids. You said above that you had the battery in the trunk? The only batt or a second? Why do you need the second? You really don't need the 0/1 wire either, but it looks cool.

Like I said above, it sounds like a nice setup. I repect guys like you that actually research what they buy, not just go buying JL or w/e b/c everyone says it's good.

My setup in the CL is gonna be close to this:

5.25" components, either Crossfire X series or Boston Pro (maybe 6.5s, depends on what fits right. I really like smaller drivers in the upper mids)
6.5" Crossfire midbass drivers
Probably somthing in the rear for a tad of rear fill
12" Crossfire BMF12 (I really like the sound of this thing)
5 ch Crossfire amp, 50/100x4, and 300x1

The whole point is fairly good SQ, plus the ability to bump a lil if I want. Seeing what some of the other guys in the shop got, I should be able to get around 140db with just that one 12" and 300 watts. It's all about placement (sealed to the cabin) and the box. I really like the sound of the Crossfire pieces, and cost on them is fairly reasonable.

proaudio22

That is comptely FALSE. Rear fill can add or take away from your image, it depends how well you tune it. Delays can help this phenonenoly. The main reason to throw a set of beefy 6x9s in the rear is to add to the lower mid range of the front components. This is an easy drop in solution that can sound quite nice.