Mobile sound people...

[Matt Attallah]

Ok - I need all your help. I have never had to select any type of speaker system for my vehicle (I have bought the 20/pair el-cheapo speakers to replace my old ones [blown out]) and am totally sick of the low quality sound that I have. Below I have listed what I want (with their RMS power - not their 'peak' power) and want to know how am I doing sofar? Also everything is at 4 ohms. I want it to hit - but not to where I'll kill the guy next to me...

Head Unit - Sony CDX-F7700 unit player:
» CD changer controls » 4-volt front, rear and subwoofer preamp outputs » high-pass and low-pass filter » rear auxiliary input (when not using a CD changer or XM tuner) » clock » wireless remote » 23.2 watts RMS/52 peak x 4 channels » CD frequency response 10-20,000 Hz » CD signal-to-noise ratio 120 dB » FM sensitivity 9 dBf » warranty: 1 year

Both Pair of speakers: (front and rear pair with tweeters)

» 6-3/4" polypropylene woofer with rubber surround » 3/4" titanium dome tweeter with composite surround » surface-, flush-, or coaxial-mounting options » composite ABS/fiberglass basket » outboard 2-way crossover (4,200 Hz at 12 db per octave) with selectable tweeter output » grilles included » frequency response 38-32,000 Hz » power range 60-130 watts RMS » sensitivity 86 dB » top-mount depth 2-9/16'




and now my amp to power all 4 speakers (I want FULL power to all my tones - not just a sub...)

Infinity Reference 7540a



» 111 watts RMS x 4 at 4 ohms (CEA-2006 Compliant) » 139 watts RMS x 4 at 2 ohms » 278 watts RMS x 2 at 4 ohms in bridged mode » 2-, 3-, or 4-channel output » 4-ohm stable in bridged mode » variable high-/low-pass filters (32-320 Hz, 12 dB/octave) » variable Bass EQ (0-12 dB @ 50 Hz) » requires 8-gauge power and ground leads — hardware and wiring not included with amplifier » preamp outputs » preamp- and speaker-level inputs





I when I sell this vehicle (in a few years) I'm going to keep this system - and upgrade/add on where I see fit. Money isn't that HUGE of a deal - but if I can save some here and there I'll take it.

What do you say? Does sound like a kick-butt system? Too much? I LOVE music - and want to listen to it as hard as possible! I like bass - but I like to hear all the other frequencys with it!

ALL types of input is appreciated...

[Andrew Rudolph]

I haven't used the Infinity amplifiers cause to me they are new. I use a JBL amp and for the price its a great sounding amp. You didn't say what kind of speakers for mids and highs you were going to use, just the specs. But i have heard both infinity reference and infinity perfect 6.5 inch components and wow they sound awesome. As far as amplifiers go i have experience with JL amp also, they are superb but a bit pricey. If you want to add a subwoofer the JL subs are amazing as well, w7s are sicko But again pretty pricey. As far as mids and highs go i definitely think the best way to decide on what your going to pick is to go out and listen to as many stereos as you can. Remember though, the displays at the stores arent always the best judgment. Speakers that are aimed at your ears (usually the expensive ones) will sound far superior to the ones on the floor or way above your head, so lean down or stand up if this is the way you go for choosing your speakers. Try to get out to a sound advice or a local reputable car audio store (none of them cheapo 10000 watts for 5 bux places) and they often have a wider selection other than your local best buy.

As far as head units go i tell people to stay away from Sony, i know about 4 people who have had them and have had them break. The best companies i would look at is pioneer and alpine. I couldnt afford an alpine, but a friend of mine who won 3rd place at a national sound quality competition used an alpine head with infinity mids and highs. I have had a pioneer in my car for the last 3 years with no troubles as with my friend who has had his for 4. But most of my friends sony HU's end up having issues with the CD players not loading (great clicking noises) and issues with them just deciding to cut on and off randomly (a quick hit to the side usually fixes it)

[Wetzel]

I'm partial to Infinity, I had some Kappas in my car. Little 4.5inchers though, just to replace the stock ones I blew the week after I put a mp3 player in it 4 years ago.

For comparing diffrent speakers and such, I use Crutchfield, but shop around because they tend to be expensive. I did buy my Kappas from them because the only other place I found them was some random really sketchy place online for $5 less.

Also, I don't know if current mp3 playing units do this, but mine would take upwards of 2 minutes to start playing a mp3 disc when I put one in or turned the car off. I bought the second one out on the market, so they probally have gotten better, but I had no idea it would do that. Made the mp3 just about useless for about town, but still great when I did things like drive to Indiana in 7 hrs.

Wetzel

[Ali Ahmed]

OK. Heres my 2 cents. I have been into car audio for a while and I knew my fair share. No offense to anybody but all the mainstream company's like Alpine,Pioneer,Polk,Kicker, and others are probably on the low side of the car audio spectrum. If you want a kick butt system you will need the best. Foe example, Arc Audio, Morrel, JL, JBL, RE and those. These will not be sold in just any store, but in authorized resellers.

For your amps you will want to go with Arc or JBL. Arc also makes some really good speakers. For your subs you will probably want to go with RE. They make a sub called the "XXX." Let me tell you how good this sub is. On a sub there is a thing known as Xmax which is the measurement of the movement of the cone. On the W7's, the Xmax is 19mm linear. Now the W7 is a very good sub but on the "XXX" the Xmax is 33 mm linear. I think that is quite a difference. Also RE is coming out with "XXX" components which can stomp on most subs. In my opinion, Alpine and Clarion make the best receivers.

But thats just me.

[RudimentaryPeni]

i would agree with ali_rockon22 becuase ive heard JBL's studio stuff and its superior to others. It most likely isn't the same company becuase the ones i heard were from the early-mid 70's and were the last to use cobalt or some element that is illegal to use. but at any rate those are probably the best sounding, im not much of a bass fan so i dont know about subs.

[evulish]

Don't buy Sony. There's a reason it's called Xplode.. (Also, Sony HU's tend to be pretty flashy.. and that will often leave you with a pile of glass and a hole in your dash) Also, the power of the speakers doesn't really tell you anything. An efficient speaker will need less power than a non-efficient one obviously.. so that 1000000w sub is junk and the more expensive, lower power one is probably better. (The Klipsch RF-7 is one of the most well-known flagship towers.. $2.2k for two 150 watt speakers). The higher the sensitivity, the better. And yeah, don't buy brands you can get from Circuit City.

[Andrew Rudolph]

Originally Posted by ali_rockon22

Let me tell you how good this sub is. On a sub there is a thing known as Xmax which is the measurement of the movement of the cone. On the W7's, the Xmax is 19mm linear. Now the W7 is a very good sub but on the "XXX" the Xmax is 33 mm linear. I think that is quite a difference.

XmAx is the linear movement of the speaker, and in sound quality xMax isnt what you want to buy on, if you were doing Sound pressure then yeah, Xmax is a great thing. But i think he is going for sound quality.

My personal opinion for making any choices in car audio is to go out and listen to as much stuff as you can. Because for one person an infinity tweeter might be way too much treble, as where the next person might want more.

[Matt Attallah]

Hmm...

I've been told this many, many times. To go out and just 'listen to various systems' in cars. The in-store ones are ok - but they don't truly simulate the real environment of a vehicle.

Most of the people around here have only bass. That is only one part of what I am reaching for. I want to keep my vehicle looking stock - so that doesn't offer me too many ways to mount stuff or a wide variety of selection. The amp can be done under my rear seats, and the speakers mount right in the door holes (with mounting adaptor brackets -darn chrysler.) The tweaters go in my front dash - pointed at me - so the bass will be down low - and human ears can not detect the location of things at 20hz to 200Hz (don't quote me exactly - but it's something or other like that) so the lows can be in the door. I'm having a hard time trying to locate the mids. I've thought about drilling some holes in my door - but that takes away from the stock look (and it'll clutter up my door panels.)

Only time will tell where this will go...