Audio system questions/Recommendations

[SleepersOwn]

Hello guys..I have a few questions i'm hoping i can get answered but first i'll give a lil background to make it easier if possible. BTW THIS WILL BE LONG WINDED !!!! LOL.

I'm spanking new to the audio world but i'm learning as I go along. I just purchased a pioneer deh-4900 deck, powering some polk 6.5 6501 components for the front and 6x9 691 for the rears. BTW, this is in a 92 camry. I'm trying to DIY on this project so I installed the deck myself ( pretty easy once i found the right friggin wires... long story ). I took a stab at the 6x9's and realized it doesn't exactly fit without some drilling of the rear pods ( i don't own one ) So, i went and tried the fronts with a friend... We got the speakers to fit as well as the tweeters in the stock pod location but couldn't understand how to hook up the crossover so we said screw it and left it out...needless to say it sounded like complete shit and distorted as hell. ( if laughter generates by reading that, please allow it to subside before continuing ) So.......I just went and got them installed by a shop.

I told them to put the tweeters in the stock door handle pods as i didn't want to put a hole in the A-pillar. I also have the crossover strapped to the door with some zip ties ( i live in phx arizona and i didn't think waterproofing it would be that necessary ). Also, i switched around the lil switch for the db .. it didn't really sound like it did much but ehh, maybe i need an amp to notice a diff...

Now...with this setup, my volume on the deck goes up to 62 max. However, i can only bring it up to around 40-50 the loudest before i start getting pretty noticeable distortion from the speakers. This is with my current settings of loudness set to MID, EQ set to MID 0. This is what i've found by playing with it that is the best i can get as far as a " full " sound at that volume level. If i turn any of the other settings up i get distortion. Now i understand that coaxials in the rear and comps in the front isn't a bass thumper but .. wtf ?


Comment/Question..

Am i doing something wrong ? or is this normal ? I would have guessed that with a deck that only puts out 22rms x4 to speakers that are able to handle 100rms i would be able to have the volume ALL the way up and not hear anything.. input is appreciated.

Comment/Question..

I do plan on getting a 4channel amp ( i'm currently looking at the kicker zx350 and mtx ta3404, tc4004, Hifonics txi4406 and a few others in the $130-180 range ). My guess is that with the amp, i won't have to run the volume up so high to hear it like i want thus defeating the distortion at high volume problem...Am i correct in this thinking ?

Comment/Question..

To round out the rest of my system I plan on getting a nice 12" sub, a mono to power it, and a 1.0 or 1.5 cap.

I was recommended the Alpine Type R in a ported box, if somone could explain the importance/difference between the Dual 4ohm voice coil and Dual 2ohm voice coil, ???? i'd be appreciative.

Last but not least i'm looking at a number of mono's to power that type R if i get it. I'm thinking kenwoods kac 8103D..500rms x2 2ohms and 1k watt max. Sound good ?


Any recommendations on anything i'm planning on getting will be GREATLY appreciated. Also, any help with any of my questions will be appreaciated as well. Thanks in advance.

[Delay_FTB]

What is going on here? LOL

I'm glad to see someone who is a little more into things as far as DIY goes and actually wanting to do things "correct" (being a relative term).

BTW, I'm in the PHX area myself (Gilbert to be exact). What shop did you go to?

First, I'd have to say you would probably want to amp the comps before anything else really. To be honest, you certainly could run them off the HU, but contrary to popular beliefe, it is typically UNDER-powering speakers that causes damage. Surely you're thinking "Oh, its just 22 watts, it can't hurt anything" but the wattage isn't neccesarily the key ingredient in causing harm to speakers, its the signal that is being sent to the speakers (although I think I may be getting a litte ahead of myself here).

Since you're new to the game, check out the stickies at the top of the AV forum for some GREAT resources. BCAE1 is a really good website (I haven't even made my way through the whole thing and learned a ton of "The Basics" about ohm, watts, resistance, wiring, signals, etc...). Before making purchases, I would reccomend (read: require) you to read Cam2xrunner's list of "What's good..." and shop around a lot. There are seriously a ton of threads on this, and other, sites that would be beneficial for you to peruse.

Depending on how DIY you want things to be, and how serious you are about your car (Its starting to consume my life), you can do nearly everything on your own with the proper guidance, and you could turn out a system that will please you. If you want more help, or specifics, just holler, and someone will get back to you. If you're in a pinch, shoot me an e-mail (especially since I'm local) and I'll see what I can help with.

[thereal2x]

thats normal for speakers to do that. get an amp and that will solve everything. i have a pioneer deck too but isnt 50 a little too loud? i keep mine at 25-32 for daily driving.

[SleepersOwn]

Thanks guys...

I'll go through the stickies and try to become more abreast to my situation. I went to some shop where i got my tints done on 31st ave and van buren. Ruiz something is the name of it. I'm kinda in the middle of a bbq but i wanted to check on my thread to see if i got any ans...I'll respond better later after i finish and read through some of the stickies...


THANKS AGAIN !!

Oh, btw i'm in central phoenix. Right off 44th st between Mcdowell and Thomas.

[Corollacrazy42]

Originally Posted by SleepersOwn

Hello guys..I have a few questions i'm hoping i can get answered but first i'll give a lil background to make it easier if possible. BTW THIS WILL BE LONG WINDED !!!! LOL.

I'm spanking new to the audio world but i'm learning as I go along. I just purchased a pioneer deh-4900 deck, powering some polk 6.5 6501 components for the front and 6x9 691 for the rears. BTW, this is in a 92 camry. I'm trying to DIY on this project so I installed the deck myself ( pretty easy once i found the right friggin wires... long story ). I took a stab at the 6x9's and realized it doesn't exactly fit without some drilling of the rear pods ( i don't own one ) So, i went and tried the fronts with a friend... We got the speakers to fit as well as the tweeters in the stock pod location but couldn't understand how to hook up the crossover so we said screw it and left it out...needless to say it sounded like complete shit and distorted as hell. ( if laughter generates by reading that, please allow it to subside before continuing ) So.......I just went and got them installed by a shop.

I told them to put the tweeters in the stock door handle pods as i didn't want to put a hole in the A-pillar. I also have the crossover strapped to the door with some zip ties ( i live in phx arizona and i didn't think waterproofing it would be that necessary ). Also, i switched around the lil switch for the db .. it didn't really sound like it did much but ehh, maybe i need an amp to notice a diff...

Now...with this setup, my volume on the deck goes up to 62 max. However, i can only bring it up to around 40-50 the loudest before i start getting pretty noticeable distortion from the speakers. This is with my current settings of loudness set to MID, EQ set to MID 0. This is what i've found by playing with it that is the best i can get as far as a " full " sound at that volume level. If i turn any of the other settings up i get distortion. Now i understand that coaxials in the rear and comps in the front isn't a bass thumper but .. wtf ?


Comment/Question..

Am i doing something wrong ? or is this normal ? I would have guessed that with a deck that only puts out 22rms x4 to speakers that are able to handle 100rms i would be able to have the volume ALL the way up and not hear anything.. input is appreciated.

Comment/Question..

I do plan on getting a 4channel amp ( i'm currently looking at the kicker zx350 and mtx ta3404, tc4004, Hifonics txi4406 and a few others in the $130-180 range ). My guess is that with the amp, i won't have to run the volume up so high to hear it like i want thus defeating the distortion at high volume problem...Am i correct in this thinking ?

Comment/Question..

To round out the rest of my system I plan on getting a nice 12" sub, a mono to power it, and a 1.0 or 1.5 cap.

I was recommended the Alpine Type R in a ported box, if somone could explain the importance/difference between the Dual 4ohm voice coil and Dual 2ohm voice coil, ???? i'd be appreciative.

Last but not least i'm looking at a number of mono's to power that type R if i get it. I'm thinking kenwoods kac 8103D..500rms x2 2ohms and 1k watt max. Sound good ?


Any recommendations on anything i'm planning on getting will be GREATLY appreciated. Also, any help with any of my questions will be appreaciated as well. Thanks in advance.

I'm thinking that the lack of wattage is causing you to lose some control over your speakers, which is why they dont sound the way they should. With an amp you will definatly be surprised with the results. A headunit alone, to me, can't provide a sufficient amount of power to a set of components to really let them shine, it just isnt possible.

Just wait and get a 4 channel and you will know exactly what I'm talking about, I'm pretty sure you will notice the difference like night and day. I have pretty much the same set as you cept the older version. I have a Kenwood HU atm and it only goes to 35, and i barely push it anywhere past 25, but then... I have my amp gains set to that point. Although, at 25 the speakers are just plain loud, and thats just to the point where they still don't have distortion but one click more and they do slightly.

Given I am pretty impressed with the quality my amp has given me, even though I am getting rid of it soon, I will recommend the MTX Thunder 564 to you as an option. Powerful little amp and would be great for all your speakers. Plus I'm pretty sure they go for cheap. I don't know if you can really find one new, but they are good little amps.

You could also try this particular amp, that some people on a car forum I'm apart of have found quite good for the price. It's a Blaupunkt VA4100. Check that one out if your interested. I know there are a few on ebay for a pretty good price too.

As for a sub amp... I wouldnt so much recommend Kenwood. I would reccomend checking out car audio sites such as, Elitecaraudio.com, Caraudio.com, ICIX.com, and diymobileaudio.com for some good deals on some new and used equipment from people who know alot of stuff about car audio (Not so much Caraudio.com, because the people there aren't nearly as intelligent). However I will let you know that Type R's are power hungry little beasts, and most people would say they lack in the SQ (sound quality) range. But it all depends on what type of sound your looking for.

Also, don't get a cap... they do nothing and it has been proven. You don't have to believe me, but thats just another expense you don't need, unless you like having a voltage meter?!?.. in which case that makes the cap even more expensive so.. pretty useless if you ask me.

When you talk about dual voice coil subs either dual 2ohm, or dual 4 ohm... the only difference is the ohm configuration you can put to your amp.

SO you will have to find an amp that will suit either a dual 2, or a dual 4 specifically.

Dual 4 = 2 ohm load on the amp
Dual 2 = 4 ohm load on the amp

but because its dual voice coil, you can configure it it more ways then one, which is also know as running in series... or parallel

so also...

Dual 4 = 8 ohm load on the amp
*(although this is not common on amps, but all amps should be able to run this independence if need be)*

Dual 2 = 1 ohm load on the amp