Need help from A/V guys

[MSpeedNB]

What's up? Here's my dilemna.. I have a spicy orange MSP.. and I have my old sound system that I had in my Corolla before. Here's a list of all the parts I have. Basically what I'd like to know is:
1. What would be the best way to use as most hardware as possible(both from the Kenwood stuff I already have from the car and the other audio/video stuff I have.

2. Is it a good idea to mix stuff like that.

3. Should I get rid of any of it?

4. What would you guys do?

Pioneer 6 1/4 3 ways (200W Max/50 W nominal) 4 ohms

Pioneer 6 1/4 Separate 2 ways(6 1/4 woofer + tweeter) 150W max/50 w nominal with HPF > 80 hz 12db/oct and 4 ohms

Pioneer AVH-P6400CD headunit(50W X4) 4 Votl preouts(front, rear, nonfading/sub) A/V inputs. Motorized LCD screen, Doesn't read MP3's nor DVD's, basic CD player

Innovatek(yeah I know) MP3/DVD/DivX player with inputs for aux a/v

PS2 and/or Xbox

2 Pioneer 12" subs 800W max/400W Nominal - Dual 4 ohm voice coils

2 JBL P180.2 Amps 90 W X 2 @4 ohms / 180W X 2 @ 2 ohms / 360W X 1 @ 4 ohms bridged and minimum impedance is 2 ohms

1 JBL BP600.1 Amp 300 W @ 4 ohms / 600 W @ 2 ohms, minimum impendance is 1 ohm but there's not output increase over 2 ohms rating

Optima Yellow top battery

1.0 Farad Capacitor

2 power inverters for video games

all the stock MSP Kenwood sound system parts.


PS - Obviously the yellow top will be in front to replace OEM, unless anyone really thinks I should run a two battery system wich I have the battery isolator for already. The cap will be on the sub amp.

Hope someone can help me! Thanks!!

Lawa

 

[1sty]

What's up? Here's my dilemna.. I have a spicy orange MSP.. and I have my old sound system that I had in my Corolla before. Here's a list of all the parts I have. Basically what I'd like to know is:
1. What would be the best way to use as most hardware as possible(both from the Kenwood stuff I already have from the car and the other audio/video stuff I have.

2. Is it a good idea to mix stuff like that.

3. Should I get rid of any of it?

4. What would you guys do?

Pioneer 6 1/4 3 ways (200W Max/50 W nominal) 4 ohms

Pioneer 6 1/4 Separate 2 ways(6 1/4 woofer + tweeter) 150W max/50 w nominal with HPF > 80 hz 12db/oct and 4 ohms

Pioneer AVH-P6400CD headunit(50W X4) 4 Votl preouts(front, rear, nonfading/sub) A/V inputs. Motorized LCD screen, Doesn't read MP3's nor DVD's, basic CD player

Innovatek(yeah I know) MP3/DVD/DivX player with inputs for aux a/v

PS2 and/or Xbox

2 Pioneer 12" subs 800W max/400W Nominal - Dual 4 ohm voice coils

2 JBL P180.2 Amps 90 W X 2 @4 ohms / 180W X 2 @ 2 ohms / 360W X 1 @ 4 ohms bridged and minimum impedance is 2 ohms

1 JBL BP600.1 Amp 300 W @ 4 ohms / 600 W @ 2 ohms, minimum impendance is 1 ohm but there's not output increase over 2 ohms rating

Optima Yellow top battery

1.0 Farad Capacitor

2 power inverters for video games

all the stock MSP Kenwood sound system parts.


PS - Obviously the yellow top will be in front to replace OEM, unless anyone really thinks I should run a two battery system wich I have the battery isolator for already. The cap will be on the sub amp.

Hope someone can help me! Thanks!!

Lawa

I would use the screen and the kenwood headunit. Get the $20 kenwood aux in adapter and then you can feed the audio from the Xbox to the kenwood, and feed its video to the pioneer.

If the system already has enough bass for you then stick with what you have otherwise reuse your old stuff.

If you really liked the pioneers then swap the speakers aswell and either way, add your 2 channel amp onto the front speakers.

 

[servoeyes]

^^^
Agreed on all points. Nothing further...carry on.

 

[willisbr]

I had a few comments:

I'm a huge pioneer deck and LCD fan but not for speakers. JBL needs to go to. Any optima battery or farad caps will kinda be for show...the pioneer subs wont need any of that. You can mix and match with your Kenwood but again...I'm a pioneer guy. Seeing that you own such a nice car and you have a farad cap and yellow top...I'm guessing that your wanting to push serious sound. Consider JL subs. Dual voice voils are nice but budget coils are great. Rockford Fosgate is a great choice to push JL at the price. Sell your Pioneer speakers and JBL. If you want...also toss the Kenwood. Get on Ebay and get the Pioneer DVD/VDC player and mount both DIN decks in your dash. I have the same screen as you do. Thats the exact setup I've used for the past two years and it's solid. Keeping your hard components under same name brand gets rid of the "To many remotes in the car Syndrom"a. Lastly, your not going to need two batteries at all. In fact, a .5 farad cap should sufice if you went with 2 JL 12"s.

Hope some of this helps. It's all opinion.

Brian

 

[MSpeedNB]

I forgot one thing - I don't wanna spend a lot of money. I've spent too much already in another car and this one is gonna be built more wisely. I like 1st MP3 idea, it does make sense, but here's an idea I had.

Kenwood components stay in front doors/mirror, powered by a JBL p180.2 amp, then I get my Pioneer components in the kick panels with the other p180.2 amp. Now the rear speakers need to be figured out... maybe run the 3 ways on the rear deck for rear fill by running them from the H/u at 50W each. That would leave me with one set of Kenwood to get rid of. is it possible to be running two amps for the front? The subs will more than likely be run like before, so the two Pioneer with the JBL amp.. is there a way to maybe incorporate the Kenwood sub/amp? is it worth it? Since a 8" and 12" reproduce a different sound it could maybe cover a bigger range???

For h/u, I pretty much though of the Kenwood with Pioneer setup.. but how would I wire it? Do I rig the sound to be output by the Kenwood or do I feed it to the Pioneer and then it outputs to the amps/speakers?

Sorry for all the ?'s, trying to work on a budget, thanks for the feedback so far.

Lawa

 

[servoeyes]

leave the kenwoods in the rear doors for fill. That's actually the recommend location for rear fill speakers, and not the rear deck. It's not about how many speakers you have, it's the quality of the install. If you think the pio seperates sound better than the Kenwoods in the front, just switch them. Then just keep running the rears off of the HU.

As for the subs, if you like the pioneers, then just stick with those. If you think that they can't hit high enough then just get a better sub (Adire shiva, RE .SE series, Elemental Designs 10k or 12k, JL 10" or 12" w3v2 all come to mind)

 

[MSpeedNB]

But would it be possible to run two pairs of components(the kenwoods and the pioneer) off two amps? I would think no since they are both in front and I only have one set of RCA coming from the h/u?? Let me know. The Pioneer subs will be fine.. I hit close to 125 DB's with them.. But I ain't into db drag, just want a good overall system.

Lawa

 

[servoeyes]

Stick with the pio subs then and forget the Kenwood POS.

As for two comps up front...you don't have two comps. The kenwoods in the car are not components, so you can just run them off the HU. Then run the other set off the amp...but I wouldn't. It's not a good idea to mix speakers in that manner. It's fine to mix brands all around, but to have a set in kick panels and in doors without a crossover controlling the whole set isn't a great idea. Ideally, I'd use which ever speakers you like best...you have to pick one. Just sell off all the stuff you don't need and use it for something else. If you like the pioneer components, then just replace the kenwoods with those. Like I said, you really don't need too many speakers. In a car the minimum is three (a set of components and a sub) and the optimum is probably five (components up front, rear fill coaxials, one sub). Everything beyond that is just show, and if you don't install it right, then it'll only decrease the sound quality of the system.

 

[1sty]

Kenwood components stay in front doors/mirror, powered by a JBL p180.2 amp,

Ther not components. They are coaxles with standard Mazda tweeters.

then I get my Pioneer components in the kick panels with the other p180.2 amp.

If you go to the time and expense to build kick panels for pioneer speakers.....I'm gonna smack you.
That setup would sound REALLY bad as the kenwoods in the doors and the pioneers in the kicks are each full range and each playing the same thing but they will noticably sound differrent. Not to mention you'll have insane cancelation issues.
Pick one set of speakers to use in the front and if you want something better then get a better set.

Now the rear speakers need to be figured out... maybe run the 3 ways on the rear deck for rear fill by running them from the H/u at 50W each.

I would suggest just reusing one of your 6.5" sets up there. There is no reason to use 6x9s.

is there a way to maybe incorporate the Kenwood sub/amp? is it worth it? Since a 8" and 12" reproduce a different sound it could maybe cover a bigger range???

If the 8" was upfront and you could bandpass the signal then yes, that might have some benefit but its a very diffucult thing to tune. Use one or the other.

 

[MSpeedNB]

Ok, so from what I've collected so far, the best thing would be:

Pioneer h/u in upper sleeve, no audio, just video?

Kenwood h/u in lower sleeve, audio and gaming system(s)

Pioneer components in stock speaker location, fed by JBL p180.2 amp

Kenwood stock in rear door or Pioneer three ways, fed by h/u or would the other JBL amp(P180.2 )be good for it? Bad sound stage?

2 Pioneer subs with the JBL bp600.1, what would be the best way to have the subs face? In my rolla I had them backwards and it was pretty good, but facing forward was pretty much the same.

Forgetting something?

Lawa

 

[servoeyes]

everything looks good there...skip the amp for the rears. Yeah, it would throw off the sound stage. It's funny...I was ijn my mom's Chevy Malibu and the rear deck speakers overpower the front door speakers even at stock power. Talk about sucking...ugh. I didn't realize how much better my set-up was until I heard that.

Also, with the subs, I have mine facing back, with the back of the box right against the rear seat. You can also have it right at the back of the trunk and facing forward, but that generally takes up way to much room. Your best bet is to just build a test box (or 2 if you want to have the subs in seperate enclosures) and move it/them around to find what works best.

 

[MSpeedNB]

Is it possible to power the speakers and tweeters(Kenwoods) with my JBL amp? From what I'm reading, you're saying they are separate?

How would you compare my Pioneers to the Kenwoods ?

Lawa

 

[servoeyes]

the kenwoods are their top of the line...I don't know about the Pios, but the bottom line is how you like them. If you like the sound of the pioneers better, then put those in. I usually recommend components over coaxials, though. They can just provide better seperation.

As to powering the Kenwoods with an amp...I did it for a few months. It really made me realize what I didn't like about them. The tweeter in the sail panel is wired in parallel so it's not really a component set. Your best bet is to try both and see which you like better. I also recommend disconnect the tweeter in the sail panel if you amp the kenwoods...in my experience it sounded much better.