8 awg will work with the power u are using and 14 awg speaker wire is fine

a remote wire if its not already with ur rcas

 

Get 4 gauge wire. Always better to over-engineer just in case you ever want to upgrade.

16 gauge speaker wire is fine, no need for 14.

 

Here's what I'm looking at now. How does this look to you guys, and am I missing anything?

Alpine IDA-X200 Receiver with iPod Protocol
$224.99

Pioneer TS-A1702C 6-1/2"/6-3/4" 2-way Component System (front)
$159.99

Alpine MRP-F250 40W x 4 Car Amplifier
Save $50: Was $199.99 $149.99

EFX Amplifier Wiring Kit 4-gauge w/Patch Cord
$59.99

Blaupunkt GTx662 6-3/4" 2-way Speakers (rear)
$49.99

StreetWires UCT14 per foot 14 gauge Blue/Copper Speaker Wire
$0.50 per foot

The Pioneers look like a decent component setup for the front, but they are rated at 50 watts RMS. Is this plenty or should I consider something like the Infinity Reference 6020cs for only $40 more? 90 watts RMS but the freq response is worse. (I will probably be bridging the 4-channel amp for the fronts so it will be capable of 100 watts RMS.)

Pioneer TS-A1702C vs. Infinity Reference 6020cs
Sensitivity 90 dB vs. 93 dB
Frequency Response 31 - 35k Hz vs. 53 - 21k Hz
RMS Power Range (Watts) 2-50 vs. 2-90
Peak Power Handling (Watts) 230 vs. 270
Impedance (Ohms) 4 vs. 2

 

Sounds like a decent setup, but 14 gauge wire is still overkill, and at $0.50/foot, you're getting ripped off.

Knukonceptz.com has speaker wire at $0.25/foot.

 

better yet look at one of there kits it should give u all u need but u may need to buy some extra speaker wire

 

also look at ebay for ur items u can get them brand new from dealers for damn cheap

 

Hi Vquick. i am a professional car audio installer and have been for 20 years now. I think if you can afford it, some bass, say maybe a single 10" sub with a 100 watt (or more) would really add to your listening enjoyment but otherwise you are on the right track. all amps have a gain control as well as on the deck so you can control how much bass you add. You can also use half of the 4-channel amp you are looking at to run the sub.

 

Thanks for the link, DJ. I'll get my speaker wire from them. BTW how much speaker wire do I need? Amp will be under front seat, and I will run the rears direct from the headunit. Maybe 40 feet?

25hrsdy, thanks for the advice. Yeah, I have gone back and forth about getting a subwoofer or not, but I think I'm going to start without, and as you said I can add one later and still use my 4-channel amp. With the extensive sound dampening I'll be doing, I think the bass from the 6-3/4" woofers will be fine, but we'll see.

Any advice on the component speakers I'm looking at?

 

well, evryone hears different. if you have a chance, listen to every pair of components you can. Pick the ones that you like. Power handling won't be a problem with the amp you are thinking of. People put way too much emphasis on this meaningless specification. At what frequency are they testing it at? 1KHz? 50Hz? who the hell knows? you are getting a decent amp so chances are your speakers (whichever you choose)will be very happy.

 

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Produ...01&i=107DB6501
Those are what I bought strictly from the reviews alone. I have yet to hear them, but from all that I have read, they better be pretty friggen awesome.

 

I believe for speaker wire, full runs for the Maxima for an amp install are in the 70-80 foot range.

And, only thing I can say about the Pioneer comps is that many of us find the highs to be a bit harsh. I agree with 25hrsdy, listen to as many as you can and make your decision from that.

 

i've read good stuff on the polk but idk. I heard some in tweeter and they were decent. Let us know how they are tho. I was looking at them before.

 

It's going to be a long time before those get installed, so don't hold your breath.

 

fair enough. I think I'm going to get the alpine x pro's anyway.

 

OK, I'm going to order everything tomorrow. I'm going to get the speaker wire and amp kit from KnuKoncepts (thanks for the link DJ).

How important is a battery terminal? I have an Optima Red Top with side post adapters in both the + and - but with my grounding kit they're pretty full already. Should I get a positive battery terminal for the amp power wire? I wouldn't have any use for a negative battery terminal, correct?

 

Battery terminals are mainly for looks, especially if you have a red-top with side posts. If you're sure you can't squeeze another wire on your side posts, then get the terminal, but it's a judgement call on your part.

No need for a negative one either, except for looks as well.

 

OK, I should be able to fit it on one of the posts I have. I really appreciate all your help!

I should have everything installed by late May and I'll let you guys know how it goes.

 

I've got the rear speakers in and hooked up to the headunit. As planned I will be bridging the amp (4 channels) for the front speakers. It looks like the speakers just connect to the "bridged" speaker out slots. But I'll need to buy two RCA Y-adapters for the amp input, is that correct?

 

I finally got the front speakers hooked up to the amp and they sound good. No electrical noise. Thanks for everyone's help getting me this far!

I'm thinking that I may get a subwoofer after all. The woofers in the doors don't hit very hard at all (I suspect if there were some way to port them they would hit vastly harder, but that's not practical). I actually mounted them in the stock Bose plastic housings, figured I'd start with that before making something custom. I also have 3 layers of RAAMmat on the outer door shell behind the woofers.

If I were to get a sub, that would bring my front speakers down to 40W x 2 and then the sub would be a bridged mono input, which my amp says is 100W at 4 ohms. Would that work fine with a small single sub like this? I want a shallow enclosure because I'd like to keep as much trunk space as possible.