Daily Driver: Should I Even Do A System?

Maybe I'm getting smarter with my money, or tighter, or whatever the case may be, but I can honestly see two sides to this question. Thinking about it right off the bat, I'd do what I've been planning on, throwing a moderately nice system in the daily driver. It'll never get modded with performance or appearance in mind, and I will be spending ALOT of time in the car (two hours a day, five days a week MINIMUM). So I think to myself, whats a little cash for nice sounds since I will be spending so much time in it. As the signature suggests, I'm considering an Alpine HU (can't decide whether I want cheap and bare bones or nice and good tuning features, the difference is about $180 or $280). Then I want XM since I'll be driving so much, but can't decide whether I want to get the Alpine XM tuner so I can control XM through the HU and add that kind of convenince ($250), or if I want a little add on unit with a seperate control unit ($120).

Once I figure out that decision, I need to decide if I just want a HU and XM, or if I really want to throw a system in there. I've already got a set of Koda components, but no amp to push them ($225). I'd also need to pick up a sub ($200) to anchor the low end. That would round out the system, but thats also $425 that I could save, spend on other more important things, pay off some credit card debt, and the list could go on. One part of me says get an amp and a sub and throw all that and the Kodas in, while another part of me says just get a HU and XM and use the factory speakers, and just be content with that and save your money.

Like I said, I'll be spending alot of time in the car so I can somewhat justify spending the money that I'll still need to spend to get an entire system up and running (looking at about $500 for an amp, sub, wiring, and deadening, not to mention the money I'd have to spend on a HU and XM), but at the same time, 2003 was not a good financial year for me, I pissed away alot of money (estimated at $1000 of money flat out wasted, lost, or ripped off with nothing to show for it) and I'd like to make 2004 a bit better. It's either about $300 for a cheap HU and XM add on and be done with it, or another $800-$900 on top of the $200 I already dropped on the used Koda comps, for a total of $1000-$1100, thats a huge difference. Since I'm mainly going to be listening to XM and not CDs, I really wonder how quality my system needs to be make the music bearable. I suppose the logical thing would be to start out buying and installing piece by piece, starting with a nice HU ($280-$330) and the XM add on, see how that works for me, and moving on from there if I want more quality out of the system. It's just such a hard decision, and I'm split down the middle.

Someone, help me. I'm freakin out on this end. :blink:

 

Equipment I'm looking at:

HUs:
Alpine 9805
Alpine 9811
Alpine 9813
Alpine 7894
Pioneer P5500MP
Clarion DXZ535
Clarion DXZ835MP

Amps:
Phoenix Gold Octane (75x4, 300x2)
(2) USAcoustics (50x2, 150x1 or 100x2, 300x1)

Those are really where my two big decisions lie. The XM unit is either an Alpine tuner for an Alpine HU at extra cost, or a Delphi Roady unit on any of the above units aux inputs. Already have front stage. Really isnt alot of money to be saved anywhere in the chain, everything is already pretty much dirt cheap (amp choices range from $150 total to $250 total, HU choices range from $180 total to $280 total, sub choices are all $150-$200).

 

Good point Honest Bob, I was bored today and started looking at the total cost and it kinda freaked me. If I do like you say, and take it one step at a time, then it's only an extra $100-$200 a month or every few months as a little gift to myself, then it wont seem like such big lump of money, plus this isn't money down the drain like that $1000 that was wasted this past year, but money towards something that I will enjoy. Since I wont be making the daily driver faster or doing anything to make it look better, my little system will be a little something to keep me interested in the daily driver.

 

<~~ Hardcore SQer that can't stand loud bass, so nope, not a boomer, but I'll still have a little security system just for piece of mind. I think I may try to get ahold of a 7894, I really want that HU because it has the one feature I really want (time alignment) and it's also selectable green/amber illumination, and amber will match the daily driver, and I'm a stickler about that type of thing.

Also, I'm working around the factory HU in my Trans Am because it's a quality piece, but I dont think the Neon's factory HU is worth keeping, LoL. Plus I want MP3 in the daily driver.

 

LoL, I'll admit, I ran a few SPL comps, they were at MECA Boom & Zoom events and I needed a little bit more than the high 130 dB mark that all my sealed setups were hitting, so I ran SQ with my sealed 12, then for the Boom & Zoom where they meter you while you're lined up in the staging lanes, then after you meter, you run down the strip, I dropped a Resonant Engineering SE 10" in about 1.2 cubes ported tuned to the mid 40 Hz range, threw in a 52 Hz tone, had an RE 35.1D on it, cranked out a 145, it was pretty fun, I wont lie, but I'm not a bass monkey by any means. Loud systems are cool for short periods of time, but I can't stand loud bass for any extended period of time (more than a few seconds), just messes with me. I like my music to sound the way it was recorded

 

Thanks, may take you up on that but I'm waiting to see what Adire, RE, and all the other guys bring out at CES. The sub will be the last thing I buy, and I'm going to just go one piece at a time. Might be May before I have everything in, but I'll probably pick up the HU and XM tuner before January is over, already have the Kodas, February will be wiring and deadening bought and installed (deadening doors and trunk lid and thats it), then in March I'll grab an amp, and maybe in April grab a sub. Might get done a month or two sooner than that if money allows, might get done a month or two later if money gets tight, but that'll be the basic outline for now that I'll try to stick to.

 

Credit cards are the devil's currency :angry:

 

It turns out that the car is in such great shape, and such a nice car really, that I'm going to keep it for quite a while. And if I'm going to keep it for quite a while, might as well have fun with it. So a new plan has been devised. I'm still going to look into a low line head unit, and add the lower line Eclipse decks to the list as well, but I'm going to get a better amp, probably something like a Phoenix Gold Tantrum 600.4 (100x4, 300x2). The front channels will of course go to Kodas, and the rear channels will go to my subs. I've never had a multi sub setup, it's always been a single sub. I'm sick of it and I want multiple subs, regardless if they are cheap or not. The plan is to pick up not two though, but FOUR, yes FOUR cheap little 8" subs and port them low in the trunk. It wont take up much space or add much weight, yet I'm willing to bet it'll hammer. Granted I'm not that big of a bass monkey, but I do like my rock music loud with alot of impact, and I need some good bass to keep up with the Kodas, so I'm thinking something like four RE8s or four Tang Band 8s ported to 27-30 hz with 75w per 8 will be just the trick. The other option is a pair of 8s in an ABC enclosure, but I think I'd rather just have the quad ported. You dont often see four 8s, just something I've always wanted to do and now probably will since I've got a trunk car that can take the four. They'll either all be right behind the seat or possibly two on each side of the trunk, either way it should be nice.