unknownmf

I finally bought my own 4th generation Prelude!! I want to replace the headunit, get subs, amps, and speakers. I was looking at Alpine products but i found out the total for the headunit, subs, and amps would be around 1100. What other subs, amps, and headunit would you guys recommend?? Im looking for maybe 2 10" subs (or 1 12" that REALLY BUMPS), 1 or 2 amps depending on the subs and a nice headunit. What company would you guys recommend for all this?? I heard a lot of good things about Alpine--but it doesn't really fit my budget now. I was looking for subs that are around 500-650w Peak power each, and an amp that can handle those 2 10" subs(or 1 12"). Im planning to spend no more than $750 on the subs, headunit and amp(s). What would you guys recommend that fits under $750 and has a good amount of bass??

Thanx

sixate

If you get a good head unit with plenty of power you won't need an amp for the mids and highs. I've tried about every head unit and I love Alpine. They have the best stereos. For a sub I'd go with Kicker. That's my sub of choice also. They are the only subs that I haven't blown. JL Audio are great too, but expensive. Kicker Comp-VR would probably be great for what you want. I have three of the Comp-VR 10's in my Civic and they sound great. I can get them at my local stereo shop for $90 each. If you want some dope subs go for the Solo-Baric L5's. They're square woofers which means that 10's have more suface are than a round 12" sub. That will produce more bass because bass is all about the amount of air you move. They cost about $35 more than the other subs though. For an amp I'd also go with Kicker. I've used Kicker amps for the past 8 years and never had a problem. I have a 400 watt Kicker amp on my subs now. I would suggest the KX302.2 for the subs. I just checked a few prices online and it looks like for around $220 -$250 you can get that. Plus the good thing about this amp is it has a built in bass control knob. I bought an equalizer that I really didn't need so I could have that same knob and turn my bass on and off or just keep it low. This amp will give you 300 watts if you get two 8 ohm subs and bridge the amp down to 4 ohm mono. So lets just say you have about $450 spent now and have $300 for a good head unit. I just looked up a head unit too. Check out the Alpine CDA-7892.
Here are the specs of the deck:
<center>50W x 4 MOSFET Amplifier
• Bass Engine® Plus
- Media Xpander™
- 4-Channel Digital Time Correction
- 3-Position 12dB/Octave Crossover
- Subwoofer Level Control with Phase Selector
- Bass Center Frequency and Width Control
- Treble Center Frequency Control
• XM Satellite Radio Ready
• CD-R/RW Playback
• Versatile-Link™ Ready
• KCA-410C Multi-Versatile Link Terminal Compatible
• MaxTune SQ Tuner
• Regulated 1Bit DAC
• 4 Volt Subwoofer PreOut
• 3 PreOuts
• Swing Mechanism with Detachable Face
• RUE-4187 Wireless Remote Control Included</center>

That's not their best unit, but it's pretty good. I'm sure that'll be more than enough. Now all you'll need is a box for the subs and some wires which should cost about another $115 (much less if you build the box yourself). That should cost about $800. I wouldn't replace the factory speakers right away. It will sound better with a better head unit in the car. You can always upgrade those speakers later when you have more cash. Do yourself a favor and hook it all up yourself or have a friend that knows what he's doing help you out. Installation costs are a bitch. Good luck.

unknownmf

thanx sixate!! I was planning to still get an Alpine headunit. I was wondering if i get the Alpine CDA-9807 would it still be good? Im pretty sure they are almost the exact same thing, but i just like the silver Alpine's more. Here is a link to the specs page Alpine CDA-9807 I can also get the 9807 headunit for $212 on hookedontronics.com. Thanx for your help.

Mook

I agree with the Alpine deck. I have one of their high high end ones from 2 yrs back, and it's sound is still one of the cleanest in comparison to other decks I've tried.

__________________
Na na na na na na batman.

ltdaywalker

Yeah I'd go with the Alpine head unit, cause you can always upgrade your subs and amp easier and usually cheaper than your head unit. But realistically getting a sweet sound system costs money, I spent $2100 and the sound is worth it esp. considering how much time i spend in my car. I have a Pioneer deck, 2 pioneer 6x9s and 2 Infiniti Kappa 4x6s. As for the boom, i sport a Fosgate 1000bd mono amp with 2 Cervwin Vega 15" subs. I love it, but seriously I think as long as you get a semi decent amp you dont need two of them to power any 10-12" subs that are in your price range. Oh and I def. agree with Sixate on the self-install, its not that difficult and can save alot of money, and once you get handy with it you can make a little cash by installing systems for friends. Ive done a couple of my friends systems and we both appreciate it!

sixate

That's a pretty good unit also. Actually I like this one better. Plus, it's silver which makes it look much better.

unknownmf

thanx guys!! If i get 2 Alpine SWS-1041D subs what kind of amp would you guys recommend??
Click here for the sub specs.

Tech

i also highly recommend Kicker subs, probably L5 for you. they are awesome. i also recommend the two 10"s over the one 12" you will find that while your 12 can bust out the lows, the high bass will be quite lacking, so it's really only suitable to a smaller area of music with those certain tones. 2 L5s will run you about $400 (as quoted from Crutchfield).

as for amps for the $$$, i recommend MTX or US Acoustics. both are very good amps at a reasonable price. there are many good amps out there (Kicker, Memphis, Phoenix Gold, etc etc etc) but if you are working on a budget then those might be out of your price range looking to run two 10s (or a 12). if you go MTX or US Acoustics you're probably looking to save several hundred dollars for the same output. yes, the other amps are better, but these are by no means crappy amps. both are very reliable as long as you don't overheat them (as with any amp). your amp will be your most important component. there are a lot of amps out there that are no good so be careful. on your budget i would recommend the US Acoustic USB-2150 which is 150W x 2 for $169. that would be plenty for your subs. you might also look at the MTX Thunder 502 which is 125W x 2, but that's $349.

head units: alpine IS the best you can get, but once again you are paying more for it. you can get a panasonic, Kenwood, Pioneer, or JVC and all should run your car just fine as long as you get a nice enough model (looking at probably $200-300)

also you have to remember to count into effect a box and wiring. wiring will generally run you about $60 and the box is generally under $100 (sometimes kicker will throw in a free box) or you can build your own if you want.

so in conclusion...
2: Kicker L5 10's... $400
1: US Acoustic amp 150W x 2... $169
1: head unit of your choice... $200(ish)
wiring, etc: $60

total: about $830
i know that's above your cost but my advice is find what you want, then look for sales. you can probably scrape $100 off that if you find the right places.

btw, if you are interested. i have a Panasonic Head unit with a MTX amp running about 250W to an Audiobahn Alum-10 (top of their line, but found it cheap).

__________________
-Tim-

~I swear sometimes i feel like i'm married to a child.
~You better watch who you're calling a child, Lois, cause if i'm a child than you know what that makes you? a pedophile. and i'll be damned if i'm going to stand here and be lectured by a pervert.

sixate

Get these. Kicker subs are much better than Alpine. The bass is much better and they can handle more power for the same price.

<center>AMP</center>

Get two of those dual voice coil subs. Wire them so they are actually an 8 ohm sub then mono to the amp so the amp runs 4 ohm mono. You'll get 300 watt RMS with a bass volume knob. That would be perfect.

Tech

p.s. i shot up a post for you in the carsound.com forums...

http://www.carsound.com/cgi-bin/ubbc...=003028#000000

you can see what those guys suggest, some of them know more about car audio than i ever will

__________________
-Tim-

~I swear sometimes i feel like i'm married to a child.
~You better watch who you're calling a child, Lois, cause if i'm a child than you know what that makes you? a pedophile. and i'll be damned if i'm going to stand here and be lectured by a pervert.

unknownmf

thanx guys!! And ill keep a look out on the link you showed me tech. I think ill sign up also, cause then i can just ask any further questions i have later. THANX though.

brandon11983

sixate:

I will agree with you on your support for Alpine decks. I have a CDA-7995 and absolutely love it. Now the disagrees...

For a sub, I would go with JL. If you're really on a budget, go with a W0, if you wanna spoil yourself a bit, try a W3v2, or if you want to be the envy of everyone, kick everyone's ass with a W7. Tests have shown that a 12W7 will NOT blow at THIRTY THOUSAND WATTS at 80 Hz. On to the square Solo's. Yes, more cone area does mean more bass. But more cone area also means more cone mass, and more cone mass means more power to get that more bass. Sure, they hit harder, but you gotta amp the shit out of them to get them to do it. I don't think they are very musical, they sound very fat at about 60 Hz.

I'm a firm believer in JL amps, too. No other amp makes more real world power than a JL. Period. JL amps make their advertised power from 10.5v to 14.4v at 1.5 ohms to 4 ohms.

On the installation part, if you and content with shoving a pair of subs in the trunk and calling it a system, then by all means, go for a self install. If you want to set yourself apart from the crowd a bit, enlist the help of a professional.

Pics of my system to come soon.

__________________
Well behaved women rarely make history.

Tech

another suggestion i have...

you don't really need two 10's if you buy QUALITY subs. if you bought one 10, say a Kicker L7 or a JL W7, you will have PLENTY of bass. people have the misconception in car audio that more is louder, but that's not always true. two crappy subs will not equal one nice sub.

since you are working on a budget, i would suggest looking at maybe only getting one 10 and being able to spend more on it and have better quality. just a thought.

__________________
-Tim-

~I swear sometimes i feel like i'm married to a child.
~You better watch who you're calling a child, Lois, cause if i'm a child than you know what that makes you? a pedophile. and i'll be damned if i'm going to stand here and be lectured by a pervert.

brandon11983

good point. I currently have 1 12W7 on a 500/1 and it is more than enough with the music I listen to.

__________________
Well behaved women rarely make history.

DerBlitzkrieger

dude, honda makes one of the best stock stereo systems you can get in a car. why bother changing it? unless you really enjoy making others teeth rattle in their heads, and just generally being an inconsiderate person when others around you dont really care what puff daddy has to say as he plays at 140 dB over your new loudspeaker system...

but thats just my take.

__________________
300,000 Kilometers per second: It's not just a good idea. Its the law.

Dougie

Best Car audio system?


Bigblock and open headers. Radio Delete Baby!

sixate

Excellent choice on the deck!

I said I like JL's. I just prefer Kicker. Plus he's on a budget and Kicker subs are a little cheaper. Same with the amps. I've tried about everything out there and have never had problems with Kicker and Alpine. My loyalty is with their equipment. I wish I had pics of the system I had in my S-10 a few years ago. Some dickless cocksucker stole it, twice

I don't agree about needeing more power for the sqaure subs. There's really no need for more than 150 watts of power to a sub. I've tried it and I just don't like the sound when you apply more power than that.

One last thing. I'd like to see a link about the JL subs not blowing at 30,000 watts. I don't belive it. If it can it's only for a period of a minute or so at low volume.

Atomic Pinkie

hehehe

Well, if you had more money i'd say go with Eclipse


but thats just me, i've had my deck for 4 years and it still kicks ass

Works great with my 500 bd Rockford Fosgate and my 1 12" Alpine Type R....the mother fucker pounds hard in my acoustically gifted Jetta, you should've seen some of the faces when I said I had 1 twelve in there!

Oh also, if you want LOUD go with a ported box, if you want tight, go sealed

__________________
Where dem bitches at?

BoCo

My only suggestion on top of what sixate told you is to get a CD player that plays MP3s.

__________________
Activism is a way for useless people to feel important.

brandon11983

The review was done by Car Sound magazine. I checked their site and found nothing, so I'll scan the pages out of the mag itself. Oh and get this... not only did it not blow at 30k, it didn't distort either!!

__________________
Well behaved women rarely make history.

soccerchamp76

Best head unit (no concern for money): Alpine F1 Status CD Receiver. This thing is simply amazing, the best cd player you could ever buy. The best in the world. Price tag of 2-3g.
Best subs: JL

brandon11983

found the mag!! scans to come soon.

__________________
Well behaved women rarely make history.

mysterhe

There are other things to consider here. But before i start i just want to say that You get what you pay for in car audio. that being said i will tell you what i think that you should get for your car. I really strongly believe in Infinity Kappa Perfects. I dont believe in 10's however. 12's have so much better bass in almost all aspeccts of audio sound. You can get 2 12" infinity kappa perfect subs for about 300(DVC or SVC). those subs are 1400 watts peak each at 75-350 watts rms. Then i would buy an amp like the MTX 421d that you can get off ebay for 180 shipped. that leaves you about 270 dollars for a h/u....Well there i think that one should look into what pioneer has to offer and you will be fine. anyhow thats my input....You have a freakin prelude though dont skimp on the system....your just going to spend more later....


Mysterhe

madsenj37

If you are getting an amp the power ratings of the head unit will not matter. Get a head unit that has a quality cd reader. Get an amp with more power than you need and only turn it on to 50% power. After 50-75% distortion kicks in.

When you say best, what do you mean? Best quality? Best bang for buck? Because brands like sony, apline, etc are not the best in terms of pure quality, but they are good for price performance ratio.

I personally have 6 mb quarts speakers, a 450 watt crossfire amp (same guy who designed for zapco), a 12' lanzar sub, and a pioneer head unit.

__________________
"Only two things are certain: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not certain about the universe."
-- Albert Einstein

WarWagon

Ample or MA Audio for the amps. Best bang for the buck IMO, and we would sell the amples like they were going out of style back at the shop. For reasonably priced subs that hit hard, we sold a lot of American Bass DX's, Onyx, and IMO one of the best bang for the buck subs, Protech.

cr25ovet

i would suggest either alpine or nakamichi head unit. dynaudio speaker (expensive but worth the money) and i like the mtx amps.