Kick A$$ System! (or not?)

[Phatmack]

So I'm just trying to gauge what people would think about this system. I've got a 2003 P5 and have been wanting to just upgrade the speaker system and not necessarily add a big sub box in the back as I LOVE my hatchback space. I just checked it out today and wasn't sure what some of the more PRO audio folks in here would say about it. I do NOT have these components, but some day when the $$$ starts rolling in I'm thinking I'll have to get this put together.

Esentially I'm curious how hard this would be to install and also to provide some ideas for those looking to upgrade their system without anything too extreme. So here's my idea:

I think the indash 6-cd changer is about the sweetest thing since sliced bread so I wanna leave my OE HU. Might make install that much more difficult but we'll see.

1st: Infinity Reference 7540A (Link). It's a 520 Watt 4-channel amp that has a bass boost on the rear channels. Which would come in handy here in a second.

2nd: Infinity Kappa 572.5CF (Link). 100 Watt RMS handling, 300 Watt peak. For the (obviously) front two door panels. Leave stock tweeters in there.

3rd: Clarion Component 6 1/2" Woofer w/Crossover and component tweeters (Link). This I think is the sweetest part of this system, something I haven't seen in these threads. Because the Infinity has a Bass Boost on the rear outputs only, I think you could seriously benifit from having these 6 1/2" woofers powered by that amp. Then, take the tweeters, crossover from the amp output and install them up in the (not sure what it's called) plastic trim behind the rear headrests. Any thoughts on if these speakers would be too deep to mount in the rear doors?!?!

I guess I'm curious how the low's would sound with a set up like this. Those Clarion Woofers have got a handling power of 200 Watt max so I guess I'm curious how well this would sound. Long post I know, just wanted to share my findings/ideas with you all hoping to get some feedback. Later.

 

[nsxdemon]

I've got Kappa 5x7s up front and Kappa 6.5s in the rear right now, and they're pretty sweet. A couple of years ago, I was the same boat as you...wanted better speakers and more bass, but no sub since I bike a lot and need the space in the hatch.

I've got an amp delivering 75W to each speaker and the bass is nice considering they're not subs. However, if you really want that extra thump, you'll need a sub. I thought I could get away without one, but it's just not possible if you really want to enjoy house/trance/techno music.

But as far as an upgrade over the stock paper speakers, it's a great way to start! And don't sweat the HU much (I'm still using the stock one too)....there are no RCA outs, but www.davidnavone.com makes some nice LOCs if your amp doesn't take speaker-wire inputs.

Good luck

Oh, don't really consider peak power useage into what you buy, since it doesn't mean much of anything...look at your RMS power, frequency response, and efficiency. (And go to a shop to compare sounds and find one you like).

 

[Phatmack]

Thanks a bunch for the reply! Did you do this install yourself? If so, how hard was it to get those 6.5" to fit in the rear doors? What about taking off those panels? And one LAST question I promise... may be a dumb one... do you have to take out the head unit inorder to access the wiring harness in the back? Thanks for the input.

 

[TrueProtege]

In a pinch you can amp the front speakers, the 03's have a factory tweet.
If your not crazy about sound quality, I think you would be suprised with the sound when they are set up and crossed over properly. I did this for a while before I got my Focals.
My friend has the Infinity ref. component set and only has good things to say about them.
But never forget that it must sound good to YOU.

 

[Poseur]

GOt kappa's myself, They're alright, but they LOVE power, I mean like over100W makes them happy. thatsaid I'm nto the biggest fan of the tweet and the mids could use some warmness. I'd go out and listen to speakers if I were you, and try to do it with similar power to what you'll be using. Either way, disconnect the factory tweets especially if you're amping the setup, they only make thigns worse. They're great to compliment the stock paper cones that lack high end definition, but throw more power at them and they sound ick fast.

As far as amping, Infinity amps have never impressed me much, but it's all up to taste, etc.

And, yes bass responce just plain isn't happening without a sub. There are options such as getting a stock 03.5 subfloor spare-tire setup, or fiberglass (ooh fiberglass) I made my own box form no experience whatsoever and am quite pleased with the results (click the "me-made fg box" link in my sig) IT takes a bit of time, but it takes up NO space that I notice, and I've got TONS of boom. A single 10 would musically keep you perfect, and you could tuck it into that wheel wellwith likely no protrusion whatsoever if you keep to 0.6cuf. Mine wound up at about 1.3 before displacement. Infact, were I to do it again, I'd likely go for a 10 just to keep things cleaner (and I don't really need the output of my scary 12)

 

[Charlie97L]

i'd definitely spring for some components up front and ditch the stock tweeters... other than that, i love infiniti, great clean sound.

 

[Poseur]

oh, and yea, noone's realyl made the point yet, but don't worry about the rear speakers. You really won't get added bass responce as it's more a mechanical limit of the speaker itself than the amp. bass-boosting is fine for low-powered or low-volume listening, but it distorts things when you juice them right, PLUS you'll likely do damage to your speaker pushing alot of low-end power to it. You do NOT need a huge box that takes up all of your hatch, but a simple half a cubic foot enclosure for a simple 10 would do you WORLDS of good in keeping nice clean fullrange sound. If you've got a bit of time to pla ywith it, I'll gladly answer any fiberglassing Questions you may have. It is a labor of love, and won't be a one-evening project, but it's SOOO worth it in the end.

Back to the speaker thing. get some nice 6.5" components upfront, but I'd listen to as many as possible. and just amp the fronts. but don't be afraid to push alot of power (100w or so) Amplified rear speakers create alot of surrounding noise issues that pull your car away from having good SQ.

My favorite speaker for a moderately priced component currently is the JL vr, but definately go listen for yourself. 6.5's WILL fit without a problem, you simply have to make a "baffle" out of wood that will turn the oveal hole into a circle..

if you DO get rear speakers, do NOT put the tweeters up near the headrests. this is a very distracting area, and will be bery predominant over anything else in the car having a tweeter right next to your head. it's best to keep tweeters as close to the midrange as possible.

 

[nsxdemon]

Actually I never really did the install for the amp and speakers, simply because I didn't have the time (and it was kinda intimidating to start from knowing next to nothing). BUT, I've been playing with the car for the past week (and will keep doing so for at least the next month) and I redid most of the work.

I'm also building the fiberglass box for the sub (same as Poseur), and installing the sub amp, and doing all the wiring and stuff myself from now on.....not too bad up to now. The toughest part is building the fiberglass box with zilch experience.

So yea, have at it. There are How-To's on this forum for a lot of the installations, and if nothing else, just do a few Google searches. You'll get the hang of it.

 

[Mr Magnum]

The Infinity 7540a is great amp, I highly recommend, this is one prob one of my fav's. I just replaced my Audiobahn A4004T with it and I have to say it is great.

If you liked the old school JBL amps, then the reference amp is the route is wanna take.

I think it's like 112 x 4 at 4ohm RMS and rated at .088 thd which kinda low for this amp, but good none the less, so get yourself a good pair of speakers, I have components all around by Inifinity.

Circuit City has it now for 3 bills and free install ( I work there) if you ever catch it on sale it will be around $270, if you anyone there that can hook you up with an accomodation, it'll cost you $127.95 plus shipping (add 25 more)

 

[Phatmack]

Circuit City has it now for 3 bills and free install ( I work there) if you ever catch it on sale it will be around $270, if you anyone there that can hook you up with an accomodation, it'll cost you $127.95 plus shipping (add 25 more)

Hey... thanks for the response! Since you work at Circuit City maybe you could answer a quick question about pro install work. Obviously I can get all of these things MUCH cheaper on EBay as this amp runs for $150.00 there. My question is: Say I buy the amp from Circuit City and purchase the component speakers off of the net. If I bring in the speakers, how much would it cost to have the amp and speakers installed (since you say the amp gets a free install)?? I would apprecaite another response! Thanks.

 

[Mr Magnum]

well if you take the speakers to circuit city, they might charge you I think 32.99 + 3.99, but some shops charge more for componenets $50 at most. Amps $65 plus ACC (power wire, RCA's, and hi to low), which will run you an extra 150-170 along installation (why too pricey). Just bring your own acc, from some where else

 

[Poseur]

Take some time, larn how to, and do it yourself. I Garantee you'll be MUCH happier in the end. For one, not trying to insult anyone or anyhting, but cc is not exactly known for the classiest of installs. And prettymuch plain and simple in order to make their money, they're concerned with getting your car in and out as quickly as possible. And thsly shortcuts are made and things are often left sloppy. You can do MUCH better yourself, save some $ and have the satisfaction of knowing things are done right, and you did them.

 

[AODfan]

i have an infinity system myself...i went all perfects, ive heard the difference btw the reference, kappas and the perfects, i love the perfects after them i cant think of anything that can beat them on sq(IMO) other than focal(if you have the money), but i wouldnt get rid of them just for focal they sound great and yes they love the power. they get loud! just have a good amp for them. have good midbass to, my lows come from two 12" DVC perfects. but if you decide to go infinity at least get the kappa series or if you have the money go for the perfects. if you have any other questions PM me! Later

 

[Poseur]

Actually, tonally I prefer the refrence coaxials to kappas, jsut that kappas will handle more power. likely has something to do with the soft vs metal tweeter...

Again, the biggest thing is that you listen to as many as possible.

 

[sndsgood]

i don't suggest running any type of bass boost off o amps either. that is where allot of people get into trouble blowing speakers by using their bass boost and turning it up to high. 6.5's should be used for midbass and midbass only, don't try to get them to play music that a subwoofer should be playing or youlle just end up dissapointed, something as simple as a nice 8 or 10 can do the trick of your sub duties without taking up to much space,

 

[p5tom]

which speaker models did you go with?

Actually, tonally I prefer the refrence coaxials to kappas, jsut that kappas will handle more power. likely has something to do with the soft vs metal tweeter...

Again, the biggest thing is that you listen to as many as possible.

On the References: for a p5 - what did you get?
front 5 x 7 / rear 6.5 ?
People are telling depth issues with the rear 6.5'
And limitions with the fronts.. (lol2)

 

[p5tom]

rear mods

Actually I never really did the install for the amp and speakers, simply because I didn't have the time (and it was kinda intimidating to start from knowing next to nothing). BUT, I've been playing with the car for the past week (and will keep doing so for at least the next month) and I redid most of the work.

I'm also building the fiberglass box for the sub (same as Poseur), and installing the sub amp, and doing all the wiring and stuff myself from now on.....not too bad up to now. The toughest part is building the fiberglass box with zilch experience.

So yea, have at it. There are How-To's on this forum for a lot of the installations, and if nothing else, just do a few Google searches. You'll get the hang of it.

did you have to do any mods to get the rear 6.5 kappas in?
what is the kappa 6.5 & 5 x 7 models did you get? (nana)

 

[p5tom]

did you go with the 6.5 woofer in the rear?

So I'm just trying to gauge what people would think about this system. I've got a 2003 P5 and have been wanting to just upgrade the speaker system and not necessarily add a big sub box in the back as I LOVE my hatchback space. I just checked it out today and wasn't sure what some of the more PRO audio folks in here would say about it. I do NOT have these components, but some day when the $$$ starts rolling in I'm thinking I'll have to get this put together.

Esentially I'm curious how hard this would be to install and also to provide some ideas for those looking to upgrade their system without anything too extreme. So here's my idea:

I think the indash 6-cd changer is about the sweetest thing since sliced bread so I wanna leave my OE HU. Might make install that much more difficult but we'll see.

1st: Infinity Reference 7540A (Link). It's a 520 Watt 4-channel amp that has a bass boost on the rear channels. Which would come in handy here in a second.

2nd: Infinity Kappa 572.5CF (Link). 100 Watt RMS handling, 300 Watt peak. For the (obviously) front two door panels. Leave stock tweeters in there.

3rd: Clarion Component 6 1/2" Woofer w/Crossover and component tweeters (Link). This I think is the sweetest part of this system, something I haven't seen in these threads. Because the Infinity has a Bass Boost on the rear outputs only, I think you could seriously benifit from having these 6 1/2" woofers powered by that amp. Then, take the tweeters, crossover from the amp output and install them up in the (not sure what it's called) plastic trim behind the rear headrests. Any thoughts on if these speakers would be too deep to mount in the rear doors?!?!

I guess I'm curious how the low's would sound with a set up like this. Those Clarion Woofers have got a handling power of 200 Watt max so I guess I'm curious how well this would sound. Long post I know, just wanted to share my findings/ideas with you all hoping to get some feedback. Later.

I like your recipe...what did you end up going with in the front & rear? (2thumbs) (2thumbs)

 

[Phatmack]

I like your recipe...what did you end up going with in the front & rear? (2thumbs) (2thumbs)

Tom:
Haven't actually put this system in. I just wanted to gauge peoples intrest in the Infinity's and see if anyone out there had them and what they thought of the quality of the speakers. I think I'm going to wait until the stock speakers stop sounding decent (aka I blow them) before I replace with a nice system. Maybe I'll have the money for the pieces then. Take care!

 

[Poseur]

6.5's require modification to fit in the rear. mostly the trim panels inside have rings on them taht will hit the rubber surround and will need to be trimmed off. It's honestly MUCH easier to just go with 5-1/4';s if your'e shooting for drop-ininstall And taht said, rear speakers really don't do you allthatmuch anyway, so forget them, nad drop some more$ on nicer fronts.