Stereo Reviews! Post your system and your honest review!

[p5tom]

who did your custom kicks?

do you the contact info on who did your kicks and what did they charge yout?
They look great! could you email me the info tdamore@adelpia.net
thanks

Not sure of all the specs on my system and too lazy to look it all up.

Current Head Unit: Pioneer DEH-P9300

2001 top model, lacks MP3 support.
50x4 Amp
3 4V outputs
Various Timing and EQ settings
A good overall unit, but since it lacks the MP3 support and the screen is starting to have some defects, this unit will be replaced soon.

Front Stage: Focal 165K3 Components
6.5" in Door/Mid-Tweet in Custom Kicks

Excellent imaging and sound. Tweeters are a bit bright, but they are titanium. Next set will have some silk domes. Could benefit from some additional Mid-bass from the 6.5"s.

Rear Speakers: Focal 165HC Coaxial in Doors
6.5" Coaxial Speaker.

Sound Quality is good from these coaxials, with decent bass response, highs and mids also sounded good.
Found that these drew too much attention away from the front stage, so they are now faded out of the system. New system will not have rear speakers.



Front Amp: JBL p80.4

40x4 amp bridged to 160x2 to run the Front Speakers
Amp has performed remarkebly well. It is obvious that the power outputs are lower than rated, but not much. Amp has delived clean sound and am quite pleased with it so far.

Rear Amp: JBL p180.2
Looks the same as other amps. 90x2 to drive the rear speakers which as I have mentioned are faded out of the system

Subwoofer: Elemental Designs E12K.44

This sub is mounted in custom built (by MaxxBling) enclosure to the right side of the hatch.
This sub is extremely versatile in that it does not require much airspace and hits really low and loud. I have recommended this woofer to many people and have not heard anything negative about them or the company (except for Asylum's mishap). With the power I am giving it, I expect that I need a better, more capable enclosure though. Next system will probably go with 2 10's or another 12 for an extremely booming setup.

Sub Amp: JBL pB600.1
looks the same as the other amps.
600x1 @ 2ohms
Amp has been really good. It probably has an output short of the 600W which is fine because it is more that the woofer's RMS capability anyway. Haven't had any heat issues or any other problems to think of with these amps.

Wires/Cables/etc: All Power & Ground Wires from Knukonceptz.com along with Fuse Holder. RCAs, Distribution Block and Cap from Streetwires.

All in all, happy with everything so far, but that is never good enough, is it? That is why I am planning out a system with new HU, 2 7" or 8" Midbasses in each door, 5.25" component system in kicks and more, cleaner power to each. 2 10' or 2 12" woofers and more power to them. Everything in custom fiberglass housing and more.

Here is a pics of the current hatch setup:

(rockon) (rockon)

 

[FoxPro5]

HeadUnit:

Alpine CDA-9811
2 preouts @ 4V each
~17 watts RMS?
Sub level control
Detachable face
Aux-in

This HU has been really great. I like the customization features especially the x-overs and the time correction. The sound quality is pretty good despite having an enormously high out put impedence. May upgrade to an Eclipse in the future.
Front Speakers:

MB Quart PCE 216 6.5" Premium Components
38 Hz-32 kHz
60 watts RMS
130 watts Max

These speakers are not really awesome, but they are damn good. Very solid and smooth frequency response...not harsh at all like many complain (headshake . What impressed me most is the build quality on the crossovers. The engineers put a small light bulb on the crossover to burn off excessive power going to the tweeters. It is very usefull when setting gains b/c you can tell when you are pushing them too hard because, well, you get (flame) My only complaint is that they tend to sound "nasaly" especially with female vocals. But, they are eating up the 130 watts i have on them now.(sssh) I have the tweeters mounted in the cone now, and i might bring them up to the sail panels and see how it sounds.

Rear Speakers:

Infinity Kappa 63.3i 6.5" coaxials
45 Hz-22 kHz
75 watts RMS
225 watts Max

I had these left over from my old car so I decided to throw them the rear doors, put 110 watts on them and run them full range without the super tweeter hooked up so that it didn't screw up the imaging. The cones on these things are big and heavy and sort of act like little 6" subs in my rear doors. It really helps with mid bass reponse in the system.

Subwoofer(s):

1 Infinity Kappa Perfect 10.1
350 watts RMS
1400 watts Max
4 ohm single voice coil

I bought this thing used a year ago for $25 and it has been bangin ever since(naughty) I had it in a .5 cu ft box and reciently made a 1 cu ft box for it. It seems to have given it a little more boom. With 425 watts on it there is plenty of rumble for my tastes!

4-channel Amp:

Rockford Fosgate Power 851x
110 watts x 2 @ 4 ohm to the rears
425 watts bridged @ 4 ohm to the sub

So far so good with this guy. Not a bad investment at $.45 per watt of total output power. I will say that this biotch gets hotter than a pistol with the rear channels bridged to the sub. It is ok for now though.

2-channel Amp:

Eclipse PA 4212
130 watts RMS x 2 @ 4-ohm 13.8V

This amp rocks. The sound quality is incredible and it pairs very well with my Quarts up front. Build quality is top notch and for the money it simply can't be beat! I runs ice cold, too.


Other:
80 sq ft of e-dead
Knukonceptz and Stinger wiring
1.0 cu ft custom sub box built by yours truely

Review:

Well, at a total of +/- 900 watts RMS of power and with $1250 in to it, I really like my system so far. I'm still learning a lot about car stereo and electronics and i think my set up will improve as my knowledge grows. Hell not too long ago, I used to have my Infinity Kappas running off a Sony Xplod deck in my old car and I thought it was the s***. My future plans are to upgrade my battery or add a cap because of major dimming problems and to add some carpet padding for additional sound improvement.

 

[MisterT]

Just to update:

I purchased Rider69's Focal 3 way set up and the kicks. I notice a more flat and realistic sound since replacing them as compared to the Boston Pro 5.4 components. I also purchased a Soundstream Rubican 302 from pimpprotege69 and retain the same SQ but with a little more volume as compared to the Soundstream Class A3.0 that it replaced.

Head unit:
Pioneer DEHP7600MP
Amps
Soundstream Rubican 302 (75 watts RMS x2 Channels at 12.6V)
JBL BP600.1 (600Watts x 1 Channel class D mono amp)
Speakers
Elemental Designs
E12K.44 (2-12" subs in a ported enclosure made by gotWake?)
Focal 165V3 3 way components ( 4 1/2" midrange, 6 1/2" midbass, tweeter)
Wiring is Lightning Audio, Sound Quest, and KnuKonceptz

 

[1sty]

Admin can we make this a sticky?

You must explain why in 3 words or less D

 

[1sty]

You guys write too much.

Head Unit
Alpine CDA-9815

Speakers
JL audio XR525csi in kick panels

Amplifier
JL Audio 300/2

The stage height is good, the imaging could be better. The tonal response is excellent down to 70 hz at moderate volume and down to 120 hz at high levels. I can push the deck to 26 cleanly wih CDs and higher with the tuner. The bass response of these speakers really suprised me for a 5 1/4" in a small kick panel. The MB quarts I had before couldn't go anywhere near this low in a kick panels. This is the beggining of my system but I have been lazy and not working to much on finishing the rest. Not to mention I am a bit undecided on how to proceed.

 

[MisterT]

Did u make those 1sty? Damn, that looks great!! Good job with the amount of leg room you have do to the angle that the driver (midrange) sits in the panel. The old kicks I had took up a lot of space to put your feet at.

 

[1sty]

Did u make those 1sty? Damn, that looks great!! Good job with the amount of leg room you have do to the angle that the driver (midrange) sits in the panel. The old kicks I had took up a lot of space to put your feet at.

Yes I made them 100% myself.

I have a how to in progress for them.
http://www.msprotege.com/vbb230/showthread.php?t=84673&highlight=kick+panels

 

[pr5owner]

System under $1000USD (at the time)

Pioneer DEH-6400 HU
IP-BUS --> 3.5mm (Sony MD Player (M2-N510CK), Laptop, PDA, etc)
Aura Pro Bass Shakers
Clarion 5x7 Plate Speakers (SRC5794)
Clarion 6" Coaxial Speakers (SRR1684)
Clarion 400w Amplifier (APX401.2)
Clarion Dual 10" DVC Subwoofers (SRW2581)
Shaker 500W amp (SKA500)
Jensen 500w Amp (XA2250)
Monster Cables and Distro Block
RF Fuse and Fuse holder
MTA 1F Cap (not pictured cuz i can't find a picture of it)

Power ratings in picture are the RMS values (theoretically)

This system sounds pretty good for how much i paid, its very clear, i can turn my deck up ALL the way and i still dont hear distortion. Other people can plug their ipod or mp3 player into it in seconds. Sounds great when watching movies with a laptop or PDA.

 

[MisterT]

Yes I made them 100% myself.

I have a how to in progress for them.
http://www.msprotege.com/vbb230/showthread.php?t=84673&highlight=kick+panels

I remember seeing that thread, but never saw the finished product. Great looking kick panels that you made! Is that in the WRX or in your gf's car? I know you had the MP3 at one time.

 

[MisterT]

PR5Owner, how do the Aura bass shakers feel? I wouldn't mind having some under the seats, esp the passenger seat!

 

[1sty]

I remember seeing that thread, but never saw the finished product. Great looking kick panels that you made! Is that in the WRX or in your gf's car? I know you had the MP3 at one time.

I had a P5 too. The kicks are in my STi.

 

[pr5owner]

PR5Owner, how do the Aura bass shakers feel? I wouldn't mind having some under the seats, esp the passenger seat!

they kick ass! im so glad i got them, i got them off ebay for like $70 bux CDN, it gives the music a totally diffrent feel than what your subs can do