OK I am trying to get some ideas here, have a few vehicles that need some decent sounding stereos and I dont have time to experiment a lot with amps and speakers, so this thread can be the classroom.

First up, vehicle A: a small boxy SUV with spartan interior. Factory system is two 6.5s in the doors, and two 6.5s in the rear. Absolutely super high end sound quality is not as important here as waterproof speakers- need to be able to hose out the interior. Looking at a fairly basic Alpine head unit, I am wondering should I get a 4 channel amp to power the speakers? I have never amplified anything other than subs IIRC in my previous experiments. I really would like it powerful enough to be impressive instead of just being another boring stereo install but I do not want to break the bank here at all. Thoughts?

1/14/2009 10:15:48 AM

Quote :

"vehicle A: a small boxy SUV with spartan interior."

1/14/2009 10:40:17 AM

Putting an amp on the speakers makes all the difference in the world. Back in high school I ran a Kicker Resolution component set. I thought it sounded fine off the aftermarket head unit I was using, but later on when I bought a 5 channel amp and hooked it up to them I couldn't believe the difference. The tweeters would go deafening loud and the speakers got really punchy. 40 watts from a head unit is not the same as 40 watts from a dedicated amp.

As for waterproofing, you might want to just look at a marine stereo. Either that, or get a head unit from Circuit City with their protection plan and just plan on swapping it out from time to time. That's what one of my buddies in high school did with his CJ. Best $30 you can spend. The swap can be done in minutes as long as they don't require you to swap your wiring harness with each replacement.

[Edited on January 14, 2009 at 12:34 PM. Reason : l]

1/14/2009 12:33:16 PM

i replaced the marine head unit on my dad's boat. it wasn't much more expensive than comparable regular head units.

1/14/2009 12:46:26 PM

I liked underPSI's suggestion from the accord carpet/radio thread...

Quote :

" radio: http://www.crutchfield.com/p_500CDE9872/Alpine-CDE-9872.html?tp=5684 add-on power pack: this is a total plug-n-play "micro-amp" that boosts the internal radio amp from 18x4 to 45x4 rms. http://www.crutchfield.com/p_500KTP445/Alpine-KTP-445-Power-Pack.html?tp=115 http://www.alpine-usa.com/US-en/company/pr/pr.php?prid=168&year=2008 and then the speakers of your choice. this setup should be plenty loud with the add-on amp. this way you can have that knock when you want it and the rest of your speakers can keep up. the radio comes with a free ipod adapter in case you already own one or plan on getting one, has a pre-out for the sub amp signal, and alpine's quality. crutchfield also offers free installation kit, wiring harness, and shipping. total is $250 so that leaves plenty left over for speakers and to pay someone to install it if you'd like."

[Edited on January 14, 2009 at 12:50 PM. Reason : .]

1/14/2009 12:50:14 PM

Pick up marine speakers, amp, and HU. Only a small amount more expensive and will hold up to more abuse and water.

1/14/2009 2:47:49 PM

And pick up some of these if it's an open top with a roll bar. Sometimes you just gotta make the traffic listen to your jams from 200 yards behind you. I-40 rush hour party jamz that is.

[Edited on January 14, 2009 at 3:01 PM. Reason : l]

1/14/2009 3:00:11 PM

Its not an open top. No need for a marine head unit, the dash will not be getting hosed off, but the doors/rear area might.

1/14/2009 3:14:30 PM

Marine speakers and a 4x50 marine amp would suit you fine.

1/14/2009 6:58:51 PM

plz to understand, its not really going to get wet, its a mall cruiser

1/14/2009 10:36:44 PM

Quote :

"need to be able to hose out the interior"

do you want to hose out the interior or not?

1/14/2009 10:41:31 PM

i'm guessin this is a a honda element? either way i really recommend polk db speakers all around. they are marine rated, sound fantastic on am amp and aren't any more expensive than any other decent speakers u'd find.

1/15/2009 12:28:09 AM

I know a couple of guys with Polk dbs in their boats. I've seen the ones up in the bow get soaked multiple times when the boat taco'd and keep on thumping like nothing happened.

1/15/2009 12:41:10 AM

Quote :

"i'm guessin this is a a honda element? either way i really recommend polk db speakers all around. they are marine rated, sound fantastic on am amp and aren't any more expensive than any other decent speakers u'd find."

and not his land rover?

1/15/2009 8:37:24 AM

it needs marine speakers- not a marine amp or head unit!

1/15/2009 10:10:48 AM

OK the alpine power pak is looking pretty good...

1/16/2009 10:25:17 AM

looking for a power dist. block, good enough to power the head unit, an extra 12v outlet, etc.

1/21/2009 8:10:19 PM

so, polk db 651 or polk/MOMO MMC 650 ???

1/22/2009 7:03:42 AM

this is what i added to my truck for 2 reasons. a: it protects the factory warranty which was the main reason. b: it makes it easy as hell to add accessories.

http://www.painlessperformance.com/webcatalog/largeview.php?SearchField=70107



i put a pair of the polk db 6.5 components in the front and a pair of polk db 5.25 coaxials in the rear of the wife's highlander. all 4 speakers are running off the alpine's internal amp. sound quality is actually impressive and plays impressively clear and distortion-free at a surprisingly loud volume level. it's in no way a sq competition system even though i've spent enough time tuning it's not far from being one. the tweeters are mounted on the a-pillar and are in-phase with each other but out-of-phase in reference to the midrange. point is if you get the components you can get very good sound out of them just by spending some time tuning them.
i'm installing the polk mm 6.5 coaxials in the rear doors of my truck for rear fill. should sound decent but the only reason i'm installing any speakers in the rear is so my daughter can at least hear something in the back. the stereo in my truck should be competition worthy although i'll never compete. i'm just going for pure sq. i can't vouch for how the mm's sound, though. i just got them in and break-in isn't complete.
one thing to remember is polk's have a rather lengthy break-in period. i doubt you'll be really impressed with them until after about 3 months of playing depending on how much you are in the car. just keep that in mind.

1/22/2009 9:58:35 AM