What i got

[wmbeaver]

ok, obviously, im new

so, hello, ill post pics of my car once i get them





so heres the deal, bought me a protege5 a couple days ago, everythign stock, except wheels, exhaust, and a new air filter, its got 36k miles on it, leather, real nice, no sunroof though



ok, so, im only 16, and my mom wants to drive my new protege5 for the first year, then its mine

so, i got about 3 grand in the bank, gaining like 5.5% at the end of the year, got real lucky


so, i dont plan on doing anythign the first year, since my mom is gonna drive it, and i get her mitsubishi montero sport



ok, im all about sound quality, i know you hear that a lot, but i work in pro audio, not dj audio, and im used to some seriously amazing sounding stuff, i love my job


so, im all about sound quality, its an '03 protege5, budget, idk yet cause im gonna be makin some more cash this year, so id say around 2 grand, or a little more, depends,

o yea, i'd rather have a smaller sub enclosure simply cause i like still having the functionality of the trunk, but like i said, it would be preferred


i dont know anythign about car audio, except some of the basic concepts (maybe), and some simply rules of physics




advice is greatly appreciated

 

[1subs1amps]

Hey mate im kinda new to this forum but not quite so new to car audio. my first recommendation would have to be, if your serious about sound quality go for FOCAL speakers. they are about the same price range as some decent ALPINE speakers but in my opinion they blow alpine away with quality. for around $450 (AUD) you can get an insane pair for splits for your front doors. pumping about 75w True RMS. for speakers that is all you will need, if u visit the rear speaker discussion here u will see alot of controdictions, however i personaly have heard a profesionaly setup car with just stock rear speakers and a $450 pair of focal splits in the front. the soundstage created and the quality will blow you away, these are definatly the way to go for mid-high end quality car sound. But as always trust your ears over someone elses.

Good Luck buddy

 

[wmbeaver]

Hey mate im kinda new to this forum but not quite so new to car audio. my first recommendation would have to be, if your serious about sound quality go for FOCAL speakers. they are about the same price range as some decent ALPINE speakers but in my opinion they blow alpine away with quality. for around $450 (AUD) you can get an insane pair for splits for your front doors. pumping about 75w True RMS. for speakers that is all you will need, if u visit the rear speaker discussion here u will see alot of controdictions, however i personaly have heard a profesionaly setup car with just stock rear speakers and a $450 pair of focal splits in the front. the soundstage created and the quality will blow you away, these are definatly the way to go for mid-high end quality car sound. But as always trust your ears over someone elses.

Good Luck buddy

ok, glad to know peopel are very active on these forums



o yea, music i like to listen to:

progressive metal, power metal, epic metal, things along those lines

 

[chuyler1]

Welcome to the forums

So you want advice on a system you are going to purchase and install a year from now?

I'm not going to go into details or drop brand names on you. Instead I will point you to the search function and the stickies in this section. There is already plenty of information on this forum and no matter what you are planning, I can almost guarantee someone else has already done it. Prices and equipment change all the time so even if I did recommend something, chances are it won't be available a year from now.

Also keep in mind that there is more to life than car stereos. Just because you have 2K in the bank doesn't mean you have to spend it all. As you read through the $500 and $1000 audio challenge threads you will see that you can do alot with a little. Save the rest of your dough for college tuition and other things a 16 yr old might need money for.

 

[wmbeaver]

Welcome to the forums

So you want advice on a system you are going to purchase and install a year from now?

I'm not going to go into details or drop brand names on you. Instead I will point you to the search function and the stickies in this section. There is already plenty of information on this forum and no matter what you are planning, I can almost guarantee someone else has already done it. Prices and equipment change all the time so even if I did recommend something, chances are it won't be available a year from now.

Also keep in mind that there is more to life than car stereos. Just because you have 2K in the bank doesn't mean you have to spend it all. As you read through the $500 and $1000 audio challenge threads you will see that you can do alot with a little. Save the rest of your dough for college tuition and other things a 16 yr old might need money for.

yea, id really liek to stay under 2k, which i do think is possible


and i also do have a separate college account, which my parents control

and all this is money ive gotten from working, im a saver, so im thinking about doing this a year form now also to see if my wants/needs will change, and if they do, well then i wont be running short on cash


btu thanks for the advice

 

[Rogue]

o yea, i'd rather have a smaller sub enclosure simply cause i like still having the functionality of the trunk, but like i said, it would be preferred

Look into getting a Mazdaspeed subdeck. Yeah, it's small and only holds a 8" sub, but it mounts up and out of the way. I'm working on that set up right now. If you come out one night I'll show you.

 

[wmbeaver]

Look into getting a Mazdaspeed subdeck. Yeah, it's small and only holds a 8" sub, but it mounts up and out of the way. I'm working on that set up right now. If you come out one night I'll show you.

ok, sounds like a deal, dont know when i can come out though, i guess i can PM you when i will be available, and we set somethin up

 

[1sty]

Being a year off, I would start by doing general research at this point. Start going to decent car audio comps and stores and start turning your ears. Chances are that half of what you find and like this year, will be unavailable and replaced next year. So start with structure.

In other words really focus on testing speakers and seeing what you like and dislike about each. Same for head units. Figure out what features you really want. Then amps, do you want 1 to do it all or several to get the extra power and control.

Take some extra time to spend on subwoofer. This is the most over done and wasteful part of car audio. More poepl waste money on subs then anything else. So try to get in as many cars with different sub combos as possible and figure out what is the right amount of bass for you.

Lastly find out your insurance coverage for all this becuase once you go on the net and tell people you have gear plus you drive around with it on, its going to get yanked. Do let the alarm BS fool you either, not one on the market today is flawless. However you may want to consider one.

Although I have the same reaction to your age and money as Chuyler did, I really can't preach as I spent about $2K/year from ages 16-22 on car audio. After that I spent more!

Looking back, what I got out of it was an education and a lot of cash I wish I had back but I would just waste it on something else.

 

[wmbeaver]

Looking back, what I got out of it was an education and a lot of cash I wish I had back but I would just waste it on something else.

yea, i generally rarely spend money, thats why i have so much, the last major thing i purchased was my mp3/video player, almost a year ago, and that was to replace a previous one i bought, after it was in the bottom of my suitcase w/o my knowledge, and got dropped from a 3 story bunk bed on a church trip

so yea, kinda my fault, but anyways

all in all, i have a lil over 3 grand in the bank, and i plan on adding more once i get a new job (cause i dont like driving an hour to work, and only being able to work on holidays and such)
and i dont need too much cash for gas. cause i dont commute,

ive been doing a little research on the basics here and there
but thanks for the guidance everyone

 

[AlaskaP5]

If you can, do your research now and go shopping. If you find peices throughout the year that sound great to you and are marked down, it may be advantageous to purchase at that time, but do not install for a year. Also keep your eye open on the for sale section in this forum. Sometimes some REALLY nice stuff comes up for a great price.

 

[chuyler1]

I would advise against the 'buy-now-install-later' technique. The most important part of your purchase is the warranty. None of the car audio companies have a perfect track record and people have been known to get defective gear. If something breaks, it will happen in the first couple of weeks. Do you want that first couple of weeks of use to be at a time when the warranty has already expired? I sure don't.

If you do go this route, you should plan to install the gear in your current car, but make a point to hold onto all the stock gear so you can reverse your install a year from now and transfer the equipment to the Protege5.