Car Audio


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i am starting to replace/update the stereo and speakers in my car. i have a 1992 Ford Escort. I all ready have and installed (with the help of Best Buy and a friend) what you see in the pictures i added to this message. you should see a pair of Sony Xplod speakers for the front (xs-v1632) and the cd player stereo is Pioneer (deh-p4400). as much as i've all ready been enjoying them, do you all think i made a wise choice on both? are they a good combination? due to a problewm with a connection in my car since before i got it, i can only use one speaker in the back. it's because of some wire we can't either get to easily or figure out, so my friend put a 12 inch sub in the back. i never heard of the brand before (American Bass) but it sounds all right. all i need is an amp. i'm all ready considering one of two amps at Best Buy that's in between $80 and $90. I can't remember both brands, but one is Pioneer. I'm sure some of you could suggest a good amp for a car like mine. I'm sure only being able to use one speaker in the rear of your car don't matter to most people, you all usually use back there for subs anyway, right?

XS-V1632_product_image.jpg

DEH-P4400_big.jpg

Edited by SuperSaiyajin2Gogietto
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:huh: hmm, so what amp should i get? :blink: and what's best way to have it hooked up, what all is involved? :wacko: is it easy to do yourself, or should i take it somewhere and have it done professionally? :unsure: i heard rumors about not going to certain places (i don't remember where) because of a lack of trust in people because they're known for stealing systmes form people's cars. :blink: i wish i could edit my onw topic name, i want to change it becuase i'm also going to ask a slightly off topci question now. where can i find those "neon" lights a lot of people have all over there cars? i've seen them under cars, inside cars, tires, licenses plates, antenneas (spelling?), virtually everywhere. :woot: now i want to go after thoses. :yes: how are those hooked up and for how much? :D and is there a limit (due to connections involved) in how much you can hook up? :rolleyes: and do they turn off and on with the car or on a seperate power supply? :p i know i used a lot of the smile faces. i'm kind of obsessed with them right now. sorry for that! :blush:

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ok. i decided on this amp.

lightning audio b.150.2

450 watt max power

2 channel amp

6db juice boost

variable crossover

50 watts x 2 rms

so with this and the pioneer cd player stereo and sony explodes in the front, what kind of subs should i get for the back?

how's this for a sub? it's not the one my friend loaned me, but the same brand:

frntpg_set.jpg

Edited by SuperSaiyajin2Gogietto
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I don't know if I should reply or not...seems like you are answering your own questions! :D

Personally I like MTX subs. I have had two sets now (first set was stolen) and they both have given good performance. Plus they are little less expensive which is always good! ;) If you are only gonna buy one you could spend a little more and get something like JBL or Infinity.

I just saw a ton of the neon light accesories in the latest Crutchfield magazine. You could probably find them online at their site:

www.crutchfield.com

As far as hooking up the amp it is not all that hard. Basically three wires plus the speaker wire and the RCA cables. Yes it will turn on and off with the car as long you hook up the system remote wire. If you or your friend have never hooked up an amp you may want to have someone do it for you. Good luck! :p

Don't have a picture of my subs but here is my amp setup in the back of my Durango

amps.jpg

Edited by dr3w2k3
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Kickers are good speakers - i have 4x100w (K525's) - they have v good sound and a lot of bass - I only have 400w in my car cos the 106GTi's engine doesnt like too much excess weight - so I try to keep it minimal

but my next car is a 2 litre turbo so im gonna shove everything in there :)

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well, i got rid of the american bass 12 and put in two 15 kicker comps. those seem real good. nice pictures. anyone else have suggestions for subs? all i have left is to find a good deal on a sub or subs. thanks again for the help.

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JL Audio is nice, but can be very expensive, for someone that doesn't need a top of the line system, and someone who is on a budget.

It all depends how much money you want to spend.

Lightning Audio sounds good for the price, and they make great amps, I wouldn't however recommend buying their subwoofers.

Depending on your Price Range, here is my list of recommendations for Subs; (From cheapest to most expensive)

Jensen

Kenwood

JBL

Infinity

JL Audio

Eclipse

The list goes on, but gets ridiculously expensive. Also if you plan to get an amp more than 600 watts, you'll probably want to invest in a Power Capacitor, such as the Rockford 1Farad seen in one of the pictures above. (the thing that looks like a big ass D battery)

I'm currently running in my Van:

2 500 Watt PA speakers powered by an 800-watt American Legacy Amp

2 12" Kenwood Subs Powered by a 400 watt Jensen amp

1 Rockford Fosgate 1 Farad Power Capacitor

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thanks again for the advice. i forgot about the earlier post about jbl audio. i guess you really like it :) i have one last question. what happened to my fader control after my amp was hooked up? is the fact that there is a sub back there making me no longer be able to use my rear speakers? or is it because of some silly way it was hooked up? i can turn of my sub, but still can't use my rear speakers. i have no idea how they hooked up the amp. just that even with rear speakers hooked up somehwere in the back i still can't use them. maybe soem connection still ain't right in the the back of the stereo? how should i go about making sure i can still have the ability to use rear speakers and get my fader ability accessible agin on my stereo? :huh: :blink: :wacko: :unsure:

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  • 1 month later...

ok, let's review. i still have what was originally mentioned above in my messy, lack of structure post. and i am still experiencing that problem where my two original rears from my car do not work at all after i put them back in.

i was told by best buy they solved the one problem i used to have where my rear right channel never worked, some cord or connection was missing or something. but now neither work even when sub is turned off on my stereo.

could this be because of the fact i told them to go ahead and at the time to have the amp hooked up to the rear connection then the sub on it, so maybe my stereo is hooked up to consider the amp/sub the rears?

is there a way to have a setup where i can have the rears and the amp/sub hookup working both, maybe the stereo can have the rears come on when i tell it to turn off the sub?

maybe this is why there is no longer a fader option?

hmm, okay, tomorrow i am considering getting a 15" Earthquake brand sub to replace a blown one that never worked. is that brand good?

magma15.jpg

here are what my sony explod almost look like(they are xs-v1632), saw that the picture wasn't working anymore:

XS-V1633_product_image.jpg

i still have this cd player stereo:

DEH-P4400.jpg

so do i have a good setup in general here?

yes toxikk, i considered jbl at the time

kicker comps are sexcellent! it is what i have now....

722f81534e69bb9ce99b71d2da2ac157.jpg

well, something like that one, it is an older one in a box with another i am replacing soon.

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You have a 2 channel amp? :s Explain.

well, i will try to. not sure what exactly you want me to explain

here is what is on the front of the box:

B.150.2 Amplifier

450 maxx watt power

2 channel amp

6db juice boost

variable crossover

50watts x 2 rms

so yes it is two channel amp, the subs on it were 2 channel but one never worked. it is getting replaced in a day or so, so yeah, it will get full use now, since it never did before.

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seeing this thread reminds me... i got some pics of my new toy. i got a capacitor for my birthday and it makes my stereo sound so much louder. i also upgraded my wire to this phat ass 6 gague wire. also, made the wires going into my sub 10 gague wire to make better flow there also. overall, im very happy with my new sound and am so glad that i can finally drive at night and bass without my lights dimming from the bass hitting so hard. wheeeeeeee. it sounds totally louder than it looks though. i love it. :hump:

here da pics.

1.jpg

2.jpg

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Hey

Dunno if anyone is interested, but I use speakers/amps/subs from the Monacor "CarPower" range. They run a green series (like infinity) and do sound awesome for their price.

You can't but from Monacor as they are a supplier, but loads of local stored (UK) stock them.

And before anyhone asks, yes I do have an interest in the company, but that is NOT my reason for posting.

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Oh man, those Sony Xplodes suck. My buddy just got new speakers, and we were in the store listening to them for a few hours, and those were by far the worst.

Anyway, go to a real car stereo store and get the rear speaker fixed. 4 working speakers with high handling load is much better than 3 speakers and a half-assed sub. Not to mention the fact that most people don't even need subs in there car, let alone use them right ... arghhh, don't get me started.

If this is completely for your enjoyment and not to be "cool" and have a loud car, you probably don't need a sub. If you want to show off, then yeah, 15'' subs will do that :rolleyes:

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Oh man, those Sony Xplodes suck. My buddy just got new speakers, and we were in the store listening to them for a few hours, and those were by far the worst.

Anyway, go to a real car stereo store and get the rear speaker fixed. 4 working speakers with high handling load is much better than 3 speakers and a half-assed sub. Not to mention the fact that most people don't even need subs in there car, let alone use them right ... arghhh, don't get me started.

If this is completely for your enjoyment and not to be "cool" and have a loud car, you probably don't need a sub. If you want to show off, then yeah, 15'' subs will do that :rolleyes:

thank you, I agree with all you just said. when i have the time and money again, i have considered taking it to a real car audio place.

i was just still curious as to what other people's opinions are and what'd they'd do, the ones who've probably had "systems" longer (and better) than my own.

I've only begun mine last winter.

Thank you again guys, for your thoughts. More are welcome! :)

btw, those particular pictured Sony Explod speakers are not mine, just look like them. I couldn't find the actual picture anymore. :rolleyes:

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  • 1 month later...

been enjoying it all up till now. i gotta return the borrowed kicker comp i had on a loan from a friend.

so now i need to be reminded if there's a way to make a 2 channel amp into a mono amp.

meaning how could i hook up one sub to a two channel amp as a single mono connection and have it like it's been a mono amp all along, with no losses (besides the fact i'd only have one sub now).

best buy had it like this when i first got it all setup, because at the time even though i had 2 subs, only one worked, so they connected the one sub into it as a mono amp. but i have no idea how they did it. well i did, but now forget.

i hope i am not confusing anyone. i'll translate if necessary.

i have 2 channel amp, but one sub. need to hook it up properly like it is a mono amp and hopefully not lose any sound quality.

oh and i'll also be returning the "box" the kickers came in, so i'll need to go get one of my own for a 15. how much do they run for? or could i make my own? i hear you can't really. they need to be air tight or something and are rather expensive.

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