Would this fit in our car? Also advice!

BlackCherry

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2002 Mazda Protege 5
Would this fit without modification?
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_17137_Eclipse+AVN62D+-+AVN6620.html

I'm looking to do a fairly basic sound set up, I won't want to get too intensive on it.

I'm looking to get this or some other double din headunit, a 4-channel amp, infinity kappa speakers for the front, stock speakers in the back, and two subs in the trunk. Does that sound reasonable do-able? Can anyone advice a decent amp and sub pair to go with my set up?

I'm going to buy all new wires too, would I need a capacitor?

I'm fairly new to the whole sound system thing, thanks in advance!
 
That deck looks nice, I would love to have a screen. I would just be afraid of leaving the car since it doesn't have a factory alarm. I absolutely love my Infiniti Kappas btw.
 
you would probably only need one amplifier for the subs bridged or not.

the deck already has 20w x 4 outs but would barely be enough power for those kappa speakers you are planning on getting...

remember with speakers you more likely to blow them from not enough power than too much.. especially if you plan on turning it up some
 
I am running this amp

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_11535_Kicker+08ZX700.5.html

But it's only a good idea if you are planning on replacing the rear speakers as well ( which I recommend). It will power everything in the car including the subs. Plus, it actually fits vertically on the back of the rear passenger seat!


More realistically though,

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_11548_Kicker+08ZX300.1.html

This amp is a perfect match for the subs. Wired @ 2ohm this will provide the exact power requirement.
 
I'd recommend the alpine m500, 500w RMS @ 2ohms, can probably find one for 200 or less.
with those kicker subs you'd have a 2ohm load with them wired in parallel. It'd meet the specs perfectly
 
Eclipse is over-rated and overpriced. Get quality and go with Alpine or Clarion, both priced well under Eclipse and just as good.
 
Eclipse is over-rated and overpriced. Get quality and go with Alpine or Clarion, both priced well under Eclipse and just as good.


I must disagree. I currently have the Eclipse CD7000. Ive had multiple alpines in the past, a few garbage pioneers, a Panasonic from 10 years ago that had to be one of my favorites because it was well ahead of its time. The eclipse far surpasses all of them in the most important aspect. Sound quality. Alpine is definitely a premium brand, but they typically have poor internal EQ's with only 3 bands low, mid, high, obviously some have 6 or more, not to mention low pre-out voltage among other things. I can't say much about clarion because I haven't messed with them too much. I will say for the low end eclipse, I would pass it up for some others. They share a lot of common components with JVC which is a no go.


Not to mention for the price of that eclipse...... Nothing compares.
 
I must disagree. I currently have the Eclipse CD7000. Ive had multiple alpines in the past, a few garbage pioneers, a Panasonic from 10 years ago that had to be one of my favorites because it was well ahead of its time. The eclipse far surpasses all of them in the most important aspect. Sound quality. Alpine is definitely a premium brand, but they typically have poor internal EQ's with only 3 bands low, mid, high, obviously some have 6 or more, not to mention low pre-out voltage among other things. I can't say much about clarion because I haven't messed with them too much. I will say for the low end eclipse, I would pass it up for some others. They share a lot of common components with JVC which is a no go.


Not to mention for the price of that eclipse...... Nothing compares.

To each his own, I guess. I had one well over price Eclipse headunit that wasn't very impressive by itself, a few higher quality Alpines that never gave me trouble, and a couple Pioneer throw-aways that could be had for pocket change.
 
To each his own, I guess. I had one well over price Eclipse headunit that wasn't very impressive by itself, a few higher quality Alpines that never gave me trouble, and a couple Pioneer throw-aways that could be had for pocket change.

At least we agree on pioneer! lol
 
So wait should I get an amp for the kappa's? Also I heard that I shouldn't replace the rear stock speakers? What're my options with those. Would i need a capacitor with this set up or should I be good?
 
Yea those will fit in the rear, assuming there aren't any depth issues. Why did someone tell you not to replace the rears? The stock speakers are paper garbage. Replacing all of them will give you a nice balanced clarity. Just replacing the fronts will improve sound quality for sure, but they will also throw off the balance of the system as a whole.


An amp is going to protect the speakers in the long run. The deck you were looking at has an RMS power rating of 20 watts. The speakers you are looking to install require 75-100 watts RMS. Running the 20 watts will work, however you will get noticeably more distortion at lower volume levels which in turn will kill the speakers. Its the distortion that will kill them. A 4 channel running within 80% of the recommended RMS wattage range, (minimum by my standard, so in your case 60-80 watts RMS or more), will give them the power they require and add exponential amounts of clarity and life to the speakers. If you are definitely doing the sub and all 4 speakers, the 5 channel I posted previously will be more than adequate for what you are looking to run for the entire setup.

On a side note, Infinity makes a very high quality speaker, but from my experience they tend to be a little on the bright side, meaning very powerful highs. IMO if you go with them a subwoofer is a must have. They are a great compliment to a system with a sub though and you said you planned on getting some anyway so it looks like you are on the right track.
 
I've never installed a double-din unit into my P5, but I would look into how they're secured and stabilized into the dash.

As for a basic sound setup, I think you're headed in the right direction for the most part. I myself have a Pioneer head unit, a single Kenwood 4-channel amp powering my front Polk Audio SR components and a JL Audio W3 sub. This is a basic setup that I'm confident will be good for the sort of application you're looking for, and there would be no need for a capacitor because you're not installing a high-power system. I don't have a capacitor; my amp is pushing 120 watts to the each of the front components and 300 watts to my subwoofer, which is a very good amount of power for what I want and gives me no issues.

I'm going to kindly disagree with u812many73 regarding rear speakers. The front speakers are the ones you want to focus on. For many car audio enthusiasts, the rear speakers are so unimportant that many don't have rear speakers at all. Some would even argue that having rear speakers will actually throw off the balance of the system as a whole because they'll interfere with the front sound stage. However, I will say that a lot of people like having rear speakers because they like having a surround-sound type of experience, and certainly having rear speakers will help with that sort of thing. Personally, I have no rear speakers in my P5 and I'm completely fine with it.

If you'd like to have rear speakers, either because you like the surround-sound experience or you often carry passengers in the back, you can certainly keep the stock ones. In this case, however, I'll agree with u812many73 and say that the stock speakers are mediocre. One alternative is to buy an inexpensive pair of speakers, perhaps an Infinity Reference set, and just run them off of head unit power. Either way, since you're amping the front speakers and hearing the music predominantly through them, the kind of rear speakers you have (if at all) will play a pretty small role in your overall experience. The rear speakers are located in the bottom of the doors, so at most you'll feel their presence more than anything.

As for the subs, two might be a bit of overkill, especially from the impression I'm getting of what you're looking for. If you're looking for a hard-hitting system that will make people notice you down the street, then multiple subs will fit the bill. If you're looking for sound quality, I'd advise going with either a single 10" or 12" subwoofer. You'll still get a lot of bass, no doubt about that, but it will sound a lot more musical than going with two. Besides, a P5 hatch is pretty much open to the rest of the car, separated only by that cloth-covered cardboard hatch cover. A single sub will make its presence known.

Now before I make any recommendations, I'm wondering what sort of Infinity Kappa speakers you were interested in. Were you going with coaxial speakers or components? And were you sticking with the 5x7/6x8 size for the front, or did you want to go with round ones? Component speakers are more often preferred, but that would also mean more work to install the tweeters. Coaxial speakers are a lot cheaper, a lot easier to install, and can sound great, though the sound stage is lower because the sound is coming from the bottom of the doors. Components are more expensive and are generally better in sound quality. With components, you can install the tweeters higher up (mine are in the sail panels), thereby raising the sound stage. I've installed both coaxials and components in friends' cars and both can be satisfying, though if you can afford to and are willing to take the extra time to install them, try to go for components.

As for oval (5x7/6x8) or round speakers, the debate rages on. In my experiences, the difference is marginal to the point of being inaudible. Since you're not competing in sound competitions and you're looking for a basic, nothing-crazy type of setup, you can make the install easier by going with the 5x7/6x8 size.

Regardless if you're going with coaxial or components, a very nice amp for the Kappa speakers is the Pioneer GM-D9500F. This is a just-released 2010 model from Pioneer that incorporates the newer, more efficient Class D digital amplifier technology. What this basically means is that you can have an amp that pushes a lot of power more efficiently and emitting less heat, while also being very small. This Pioneer amp is compact, at about 9"x8"x2.25". Plus Sonic Electronix has it in-stock at a really great price. Digital Class D amps tend to be expensive, so this is a great deal. As an example, Alpine has a PDX-4.100 that has similar specs at over double the price.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_22382_Pioneer+GM-D9500F.html

And for product page with images:
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/P...eo/Amplifiers/GMDigitalSeries/GM-D9500F?tab=B

The Kappa speakers run at 2 ohms, which means that it will draw 100 watts from the amp, which is what the speakers are rated for. Bridging two channels will give you 200 watts for the subwoofer, which is substantial power for a single budget-priced sub, especially a 10" one. My sub experience is limited to JL Audio, Polk, and Alpine, and any of those that are rated for 200-350 watts RMS will be good. I've also heard good things about Infinity subs, though I've never had one or installed one personally. The Infinity Reference subs would be a good way to go, in that case. Matching RMS power ratings is recommended, but there's a LOT of leeway to work with. u812many73 mentioned a good rule of thumb, working within 80% of the recommended RMS range, which means that you would look into subs that are rated for up to 250 watts RMS. However, I have a friend who currently has an amp that pushes 200 watts RMS bridged to a JL Audio W3 10" sub that can handle up to 500 watts RMS, and it still sounds good. Granted, the JL Audio sub is a high-quality sub, but I give you that as an example that RMS power matching isn't absolutely necessary.

A list of decent subs to look into, based on power ratings and what's in stock at Sonic Electronix:

10"

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_18573_Infinity+Reference+1060W.html
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_19638_JL+Audio+10W0v2-4.html
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_8758_Rockford+Fosgate+Punch+P1S410.html
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_20057_Pioneer+TS-W253R.html
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_11797_Alpine+SWE-1043.html
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_18188_Polk+Audio+db1040.html

12"

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_18622_JL+Audio+12W0v2-4.html
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_11841_Alpine+SWE-1243.html
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_20058_Pioneer+TS-W303R.html

Most of these with a matching sealed enclosure will cost you less than going with the Kicker subs you mentioned and the added cost of a dual sub enclosure.

Sorry for the long post, but I think it's good to be thorough. Let me know how it goes.
 
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