I've had a run of good fortune the past month and have saved a good sum of money. Ever since I purchased my 2k max (withthe bose system), I've wanted to get a good system, but due to circumstances, i didn't have enough available money. I was looking at crutchfield.com and found a set of two 12" infinity kappa perfects, and an Infinity Kappa 255a
Multi-channel car amplifier that seemed like a good deal, but being a novice in car audio, I was hoping to get some advice on what to get. Also, I looked at the Panasonic CQ-DRX900U CD player/tuner with CD changer controls. I was thinking of putting the subs in 2 separate boxes instead of a single enclosure. Are there any problems with doing this? Should I also look into speakers? I'm looking for a clean crisp overall sound with hard, clear hitting bass. I'm also shopping around for a CD changer. Thanks in advance.

 

But I always refer people to http://www.theautophile.com . The owner is Peter Lufrano, and if you give him your budget and listening tastes and he'll help you out. He helped me, including recommending equipment that he doesn't carry because it fits my tastes. No matter what you do, stick with the K.I.S.S. rule and not only will you save money, but will also have a better sounding system. Try to buy equipment that is known to work well together. I don't like putting brands down, but i will say that Clarion has one of the best sounding, most attractive, and reasonably priced equipment out there. You wont go wrong with it. I enjoy Tube Driver amps as they are among the best sounding on the market. You can currently get the TD275 for around $480 at wwwcarmedia1.com. As far as speakers go, I own Dynaudio ( which work VERY well with Tube Driver) and also like Focal, CD Technologies, And Diamond Audio. I do not care for MB Quart, although many others do. With 2 of those amps, a good set of speakers, ( I prefer to keep OEM in the rear for fill running of the HU) A good HU, cables, and subs, you should be able to build a very nice system for under $2500 (even less if you hunt for bargins) Just my 2 cents...

 

i dont know about you guys, but i'm looking at the total for my system to be about a little over $1000.

thats $120 for my HU
$160 for front speaks
$65 for rear 6x9s
$50 for subs
$30 for box
$95 for sub amp
$180 for 4ch amp
$40 4awg wiring kit
$50 RCA cables
$50 misc expenses

 

I've owned a couple of those First system was Majestic and Pyramid...

 

thanks for your replies guys.
I'm not really on a budget so price isnt that much of a factor. But I'm not really raking in the big bucks, just had some good fortune .. so I don't want to go overboard, but I DO want a really awesome system. I would say I would spend approximately $4k on everything.

 

Then definitly talk to Peter. I would recommend All Dynaudio, with tube Driver amps. With everything, including kick a$$ cables you should be no more than $3k, unless you want to go A\V. And I would still recommend Clarion. The high end HU's are top notch...

 

thanks for the replies again. ill definitely try giving him a call this week. But I'll also be checking some other ites to see whats hot.

 

Clarion A/V SUCKS big time ever since they got their a**es sued. Other than that good recomendations for brands. However, Eclipse makes excellent head units with 8V pre-outs. Check out my Alpine/JL/Xtant setup at either <a href="http://php.indiana.edu/~dlehrner/new.html">My Homepage</a> or <a href="http://members.sounddomain.com/xtantmaxima">Sound Domain</a>. Good luck. Any questions email me.

 

the key is to get out and listen to different types of speakers. the front componants are the key. on the high end of componants you have metal vs silk dome tweets, varying midbass capabilities with noticable sound differences.

different sounds/styles for different tastes. other recs.

hifonics, DEI, Presision Power, a/d/s amps

a/d/s, Orion, Image Dynamics, componants

Boston Accustics Pro, Eclipse Alluminum, Image Dynamics subs.

everybody loves the stuff that they own, make your own choice. For 4 Gees you can kick butt.

 

just for clarification, it's not a so called ghetto system... its a sub $2000 project and i managed to get most of the parts at less than wholesale from a friend at best buy and some at our local audio shop....

i'll let you know how much it sucks later.

Gavin

 

Peter likes to pimp his new Brax and Helix amps these days. But the new Butler Blure tubedrivers would also be sweet.

 

HU- Alpine 7864 - $360
Front Speakers- Infinity Kappa - $95
Rear Speakers- **** 'em, you don't need them
Sub- 12" Kicker Solobaric L7 - $235
Amp- Alpine V12 MRV-1507 - $360
Farad Capacitor PHOENIX GOLD - $60

Total= $1110

If you want to go a little further, spring for a CVA-1005 or Kenwood P907. I guarantee you that amp and sub will offer you more bass than any Infinity Kappa subs or any other piece of **** subs you could buy. The square technology is amazing, if you live in S. Florida you can listen to mine.

 

Ack!!! $1000 spend on an audio system with no rear speakers and you're suggesting he spend under 10% of his funds on front speakers? You must be a basshead

 

HAHA, you know it~!

 

I agree with WhiteMax, and have talked to Lufrano. I don't believe you'll be disappointed with anything he sells. He'll tell you though to trust your ears, and buy what you like. My Dream system from Autophile would be Nakamichi head, Brax amps, Focal Utopias. Give Peter a call.

 

Head Unit: Eclipse 4502
CD Changer: Eclipse 5083 & 5962
Main Amp: McIntosh 440M
Bass Amp: Precision Power
Component Speakers: a/d/s 336i
Subwoofers: JL Audio 12W6
Mid Bass: JL Audio 8W6

 

I agree with you all the way....I love my kickers...now I just need to get a better head unit..

 

I like my system right now, not really expensive, but I think it sounds really good.

HU - Nak 45z (switching to a Pioneer 8200r)
Subs - 2 x Infinity Pefect 12s (switching to 3 Perfect 10s, or 3 IDQ 10s, or something like that)
Fronts - Infinity 60.2cs 6 1/2" kappa component system
Rears - Infinity Kappa 6 1/2" 3-ways
Speaker amp - DEI 250
Sub amp - DEI 1100D

 

Well since everybody seems to be listing:

Alpine CDA-9762 HU
Alpine CHA-1214 12 disc changer
Alpine MRV-F303 V12 4-channel (bridged to components)
Alpine MRV-T707 V12 2-channel (rear deck)
Alpine MRV-T707 V12 2-channel (bridged to sub)
Polk dx3065 Components (doors)
Polk dx6 6.5" Coaxials (rear deck)
JL Audio 10W3 10" Sub (sealed enclosure)
Mess of Esoteric Audio cables, RCAs, etc

Thoughts?

The system sort of grew on me, I started out with Infinity Reference speakers, and a single alpine 4 channel amp. The Polks, extra amps, and JL came later. Headunit is new due to an unfortunate break in. :<

I've stopped for now. (I hope!) Sounds good, but a bit bright in the highs. I need to play with the crossovers some more.

 

i see youre looking at infinity perfects..good choice. that is the setup that i run in my car so check out my webpage and it should give you some pretty good ideas about a good stereo in a maxima.