I have BA 6.5 Rally's in the rear and a JL Audio Stealthbox driven by a JL Audio 250/1 amp. I have decided I am definitely getting the Eclipse CD3424 head unit. I was looking at the Alpine Type R component set for the front (right now I have stock), but was wondering what you guys think would compliment the system and if I should drive the speakers with an amp. Thanks

 

First of all anything Alpine is gonna compliment your system. There are better sounding components on the market but they usually are alittle more $$$. You are gonna notice a big improvement in SQ over the factory speaks I guarentee it. I deffinitly recommend that you amplify them. Most aftermarket HU's usually say they are what 40x4 or 50x4 but in reality really produce lets say around 20-25w RMS into each channel. With that little bit of power your more likely to produce distortion then you are with too much power. So even though you component's might sound good running off the deck, they could sound alot better with a more adiquite power supply.

 

Yeah, I did some research and it looks like that component set is the best bang for the buck. I had an infinity reference component set in before and it just didn't do it for me, but I love the Boston Acoustics I have.

 

There are better components out there. Like the ARC Kar series which I just purchased. Not very expensive, but you get a great sound.

If you're going to run components and the rears, I'd suggest getting a 4 channel amp with about 400 watts or so. And many companies make 400 watt 4 channel amps.

 

Yeah, I already have an alpine 4 channel amp to run the speakers

 

I believe the new Eclipse 3 series line is the CD3434.

 

Theres a 3404,3414, 3424, and 3434- difference is the 3434 has a beefier internal ampthan the rest, the same full face display screen as the 5444 and 8454(same display as 5444) and face folds down for CD insertion/removal

My brother has this unit and he loves it- it sounded amazing right out of the box when we put it in- and it has a SVC function I dont have on my '03 8443 , not super sure what it does, but it makes the output louder and cleaner between the different sources (radio/cd)

Manincognito....Its good to match all speakers in the car , so if you are happy with the Boston's you should them in the front as well- the sound will blend in nicer and not compromise the imaging by diff materials/tweets around the car

 

I can get the infinity kappa perfect component set for the same price as the BA Rally component set, my friends seem to think that the kappa perfects will be a better choice than the BA's, but they have no experience with the BA's

 

I was blown away by the Rainbow Pro's i just got from Don
I have had many component sets b4 (Focal, DIamond Audio) and these are the best sounding to me thus far

 

nice.....Rainbows rock

but I'm not sure hes in that budget, although Rainbow Dream/Sound lines are

 

How much do the Arc components run for?

 

the Kar series? or the Rainbow made Arc ACS?

 

well got the rainbow pros last week, it rocks big time... All thanks to Don.... Just give him a holla...

Hen

 

Both of them and which one is better?

 

ACS is their top of the line 110rms, Kar series 70rms- both underated and very pleasant/warm silk tweets

 

Type R comp set sux. Try: CD Tech, Image Dynamics, ARC, Adire Audio, Oz, Crystal Mobilesound

 

just get the apline type x. not alot more expensive, driver is made from hemp fiber i believe and the tweeter is very smooth to the ear. crossover is very well made as well, and it has off axis compensation which is a cool thing depending if you mount the tweet and driver more than 4-5 inches apart.

 

i should be receiving a set of cdt ef-61's on saturday. i'll put them in and tell you how they are.. i'm upgrading from infinity reference comps...which are mediocre, they get loud but not for me, extremely harsh tweets, weak but punchy midbass. i also upgraded my speaker amp tho to avionixx from pos profile

 

CDT and Dynaudio. I have Dyns in mine, and CDT's in the GF's maxima.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...723084508&rd=1
With the exception on Rainbow and Arc, nothing else comes close................

 

Hmmm lets see. How 'bout Seas, Scan Speak, DLS, Morel, RS, Alpine F1 and type X, Genesis, Focal, Phass, etc. Just cause Rainbow makes the most expensive speakers doesn't make them the best.

 

Scan Speak makes the Alpines. Morel is good, as is Seas. I'm not basing my comments on price, but experience. I dont care for Focal. Too much like MBQ with tweeters that are just a bit too bright for my tastes. I think they should stay int he high end home market. The Seas Lotus I havent heard, so my previous comment should have stated that. Although I will say this. I have heard the Rainbow reference once. And yes at $8k a pair when I heard them, they were the most $$$, but also the best sounding speakers I have ever heard in a car......

 

$8000 speakers are worthless if the install is flawed.

 

I agree with you about Focal. However some people really like the sound and I don't think they are as bad as Quart. My problem with Rainbow is price. I'm sure that they make good stuff, but every product line that they sell is overpriced. I can most likely find something that sounds as good or better than any Rainbow product at a fraction of the cost, or at least so close that the sound difference will come down to install. Also, no componenet set over 200.00 should use iron core inductors.

 

True but no one that spends that much for speakers is gonna screw up the install.

 

ok i arleady got my cdt ef-61's but the basket is jsut way too big to fit in the ghetto bracket. This thing is so much bigger than my infinity references it's ridiculous, so beefy. can't wait to get it installed. if it sounds like what everyone was ravin about and it's better than the cl-61, i'd say these ef's could be dollar for dollar the best speakers (they're only 170 bucks lol)

 

JL XR653CS, good crossover, 6.5" mid-bass simple baffle makes for tight sound), 4" mid, 1" titanium dome tweeters (not 'tinny' at all when used with good clean power high S/N ratio and low THD <.05, clean HU, high headroom and proper placement), marvellous SQ, more-than-fair price, JL quality and warranty...just a thought, and you may be able to find them very cheap because they've been around a while.

 

Where did you buy them? When are you planning to install them to say your opinion?

 

oh sorry i totally forgot about this thread. i already put them in and they are sick to say the least. i would say they were worth every penny and it was worth every minute modifying the brackets FURTHER to make them fit. i got them off djdilliodon. msg him on AIM or PM him on caraudio.com or sounddomain forums

 

Your setup is similar to mine. I would suggest an amp that is no less than 50x4.