I'll try and make this as short as possible.... First, I'll let you all know the requirements I have set out for myself in building a system for my car. -The amp rack and subwoofer should be able to be removed without much trouble -The entire system should take up the least amount of room possible. -I'm not concerned with SPL. I want an SQ set-up that will at least get loud enough to put crappy local installs to shame. I've picked out the following components based upon lots and lots of research over the past few weeks. Stock HU with a 4 channel LOC HiFonics ZX6400 4 x 85W @ 4ohm amp HiFonics BX500D 1 x 500W @ 1ohm or BX1000D 1 x 1000W @ 1ohm amp CDT Classic Series CL61 6.5" component set for the front pair Stock rear speakers crossed over for low frequencies only 1 10" or 12" Brahma or Koda sub (this is negotiable, and will be the last component, along with the mono amp) Right now, my main concerns are getting the wiring started. My plans are this (all from KnuKoncepts, except for speaker wire) New positive terminal with 4awg wire to ???amp anl inline fuse at battery box 4awg wire to second ???amp anl inline fuse at amp rack (for quick power disconnect) 4awg wire to Stinger T-disro block 4awg wire to both amps 4awg wire from ground to Stinger T-disro block 4awg wire to both amps 4 channel RCA cable from LOC to 4ch amp 2 channel RCA cable from 4ch amp to mono amp Speaker wires then go to each speaker. My questions are these: What size fuse will I need to use? Will 4awg wire be sufficient? Overall, does this set-up sound okay? I'm trying to build a very nice system in my car with a budget of around $1,000. I don't ever plan to compete, and I don't need to hit 130dB on my way to work. All of the install work will be done by me. I'm hoping to make the install look very nice with minimal visible wires and no visible components (unless the hatch is opened). Because this is getting far too long, I'll close by asking you all to critique the hell out of this. I am looking for as much advice as possible, and I want to expose as many holes as possible before I get too far into my installation. Thanks guys!
first save your self the troble and go to a local welding shop for the wire, it will be better wire for less money and no shipping Next run a Single 2 or 0ga wire from the batt to the trunk, this use a distribution block from there to splite it in to 2 4ga to the amps the revese the process (in shorter lenghts) to a common ground spot the fuse should be equal to the lowest amp capacity of the wire(s) it is to protect, the amps have their own fuse to protect them in this case I would say appox 200amp will be fine and since space and mobilty are your concern I would lean towards the Lighter Weight Shallower Koda sub
Be careful with these requirements... Your car insurance likely will not cover "removable" audio systems. To them, technically, that is luggage, and that is not covered by your insurance. On the other hand, a permanent, non-removable install that is integral to the car (bolted down, molded in.. make it obvious ) generally is. Just something to ponder. As far as 'putting local installs to shame', if you mean in terms of SQ... there are 2 things to realize: 1) That's not a lofty goal, as those "crappy local installs" likely are high school kids who haven't put any effort into SQ. In fact, they likely just added some subs and an amp to their system... lucky if they even gave lip service to the other 8 audible octaves. 2) Your SQ is going to be more dependent on the install than anything. Even those kids that have "crappy local installs" with some sort of drop-in replacement "high-end" component set or speakers, you could likely beat them in terms of SQ even using your stock speakers... by being smart about the install, and understanding that many of the weaknesses of your stock system doesn't have anything to do with the speakers that are installed, but rather the locations (and acoustical properties of those locations and mounting surfaces) they are installed in, and how they are installed. Get in touch with Seth (Sandt38), send him a PM. He's an authorized Adire dealer, he gives free shipping, and has ties to this site too. B) There's also a thread around here somewhere also.. I don't remember if it had an expiration date or not, but if you became an elite member here, your donation included an even greater credit at Seth's online shop, Sound Foundations. The elite member status program has changed somewhat since then, so I don't know if any of this still stands... but something to check out, save a few bucks. As far as using a LOC on a stock head unit... I've almost never, ever had luck with them. They nearly always end up attenuating the signal off so much as to actually fundamentally limit your system's output. That's absolutely no good. I know David Navone sells LOC's that are supposed to work well... But I've only had luck two ways, personally: 1) the PAC OEM-1. It is a black box allowing you to add amps, retaining your stock system - and it even provides a remote wire that most LOC's don't. It's a bit more pricey, probably will end up costing you about $75-$80, after you purchase the black box and two cables that you need - but the cabling is specific to your vehicle... it's literally a matter of plugging it in-line with your stock wiring... no cutting, clean, and it works very well. 2) Actually feeding the high-level speaker signal directly into a pair of RCA barrels. Of course, stock systems have likely improved over the years... so this is the riskiest affair, as you don't want to send too much voltage down the line.. but this often works better than LOC's also. This is absolutely one of those "try it at your own risk" techniques, however. Be careful. Check this kit out: http://www.ikesound.com/product-product_id/1468 It's a 1/0 gauge kit. It includes virtually everything. B) It includes the fuse and fuseholder up front. It includes 20 feet of 1/0 gauge wire. It includes a set of 16 foot RCA cable. It includes a 1/0 to quad 4 gauge distribution block. It includes a bunch of miscellanious installation goodies, ring terminals, etc. It's only $55. Yes, it's overkill... but you can't really do overkill, as far as wiring goes. Overkill is good. Alternatively, if you are absolutely positive that you are never going to upgrade, you might be able to get away with 4 gauge... Wal Mart (of all places) sells a Scosche wiring kit, that's just as "all inclusive" as the Audiopipe 1/0 kit, but it's only 4 gauge... and it is under $30. I've only personally used the Audiopipe kit, and I'd recommend it for the extra few bucks. <!--QuoteBegin-zac.carlson@May 24 2004, 07:12 PM Overall, does this set-up sound okay? I'm trying to build a very nice system in my car with a budget of around $1,000. I don't ever plan to compete, and I don't need to hit 130dB on my way to work. All of the install work will be done by me. I'm hoping to make the install look very nice with minimal visible wires and no visible components (unless the hatch is opened). Because this is getting far too long, I'll close by asking you all to critique the hell out of this. I am looking for as much advice as possible, and I want to expose as many holes as possible before I get too far into my installation.[/quote] Those amps seem fine, but I'd check out the Cadence Q3000 (100x2) and the Q2300 (bridges to 500x1 at 4 ohms). The Cadence amps are very powerful and clean, and they can be had for cheap (very cheap) here: http://usacaraudio.com/CADENCE.htm My guess is that those prices are lower than your HiFonics amps, and while the Hifonics amps are nice, the Cadence should even hold an edge on them, in terms of performance. I wish that I could hear the CDT classics (somehow I didn't, even though I was rooming with one of the CDT booth reps at this year's CES show in Las Vegas. :blink: ) Always choose front speakers with your ears. And if you haven't read it already, give these a read: www.betteraudio.com/geolemon/phasing/phasing.htm www.betteraudio.com/geolemon/newmain/battcapalt.htm (or at least, give them a read later... since it seems like our server is down :ranting: ) Well, that's about all I've got for now... I'm sure you'll have some questions.
the Insurance thing the geo brought up is a good one but make sure anything the agent says it IN WRITTING, because there are 2 legal scams in america, Insurance, and Medicane, dont trust either............ Medical Insurance is a worst and side note to geo: Maybe you should switch hosting providers
First off, thanks you sir, that’s exactly the kind of input I am looking for… The car is actually jointly owned and driven between my fiancé and I. I walk to work every day of the year so we have no use for two cars. The only condition I have from her for this install is that it can be removed if we need the space to haul something in the car. Which means that it WILL be bolted to the vehicle at all times, but I will be able to disconnect the power/ground/speaker/etc wires and unbolt it from the car in a few minutes. I guess I should have said, I’m going for a setup that is just to the SQ side of an SQL setup. I want an SQ setup, but would like to to have the ability of getting loud enough to hold my ground when compared to people who walk into their local chain store with cash in hand and say "give me something loud." Oh yes, through reading back a few months worth of posts in this forum, I definitely had Seth on my radar. Because my stock system looks like this (linked for dialup) and there are no aftermarket panels, I’m stuck with stock or lots of custom work that I’m not ready for yet. But I see a PAC OEM-2 on Cutchfield for $29.99. Is the “-2” a different model, or just a second generation I wonder… I’ve got the 4ch amp sitting next to me, $221.00 including shipping, and the mono amp should be about the same. I saw numerous people recommending the Brutus series amps for Brahma’s, so I went with them for both amps. My main concern is durability, and I’ve only heard one or two unverifiable whispers of problems with these amps. Once I get ready to buy some speakers, I want to try and hook up with some of the SoundIllusions.net folks for a listen to some other choices. I think SI is based somewhere around here (Minneapolis, MN). Unfortunately, I’ve had to rely on rave internet reviews thus far. I found some Image Dynamics CSX 2- or 4-ohm 6.5” components that look pretty nice… I think I’ve read most of your stuff linked from here, though I will defiantly take another look. I’m kind of disappointed that I don’t have more questions at this point. I’m pretty confident in my amp choices, and I’m pretty sure I’ll go with the CDT components. But like I said, right now I'm more worried about getting the wiring figured out as that is my next step, and I've got some good ideas from you all. I’m definitely going to take a look at that PAC “black box”, however. I think when it comes down to it, most of my questions will be geared towards my sub install. I have a lot of questions about that, but wont be getting to that until at least mid June…
We don't use a hosting provider. We've got about 1/2 T1's bandwidth worth of DSL going into Bart's data center at his location, several servers on site there. That way, everything is in our control. Only downside is we don't have a clustered server set up... that might be next on the plans. Right now, if we recycle one server, that service is down. With a clustered server set up, it would simply fail-over seamlessly to the other server. Great application, for web serving, actually.
The OEM-2 is a completely different product... I believe it's simply an LOC... requires you cut and splice. The OEM-1 is custom mated to your vehicle, you purchase the OEM-1 box, and then one harness custom mated to your vehicle (it plugs into your radio's harness, and allows your radio to plug into the other end)... and then you purchase the universal RCA harness for the other side of the OEM-1, which provides you not only RCA outputs to feed amps, but also a remote wire to turn them on with. B) This place carries both, you can read the differences there: http://www.tune-town.com/cars/stuff/pac/ B)
The OEM-2 also provides a remote out. That'll be important, believe me. This page tells more about the OEM-1, what cables you'd need if you went that route: http://www.tune-town.com/Cars/stuff/pac/mo...ound_system.htm I've never used the OEM-2... I've had success with the OEM-1, and it's plug-and-play... no cutting of stock wiring. The price is higher when all is said and done, but those reasons are why I'd personally recommend that one.
