Audio FAQ

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2006 Toyota Tundra DC
Factory Information

Q: What speakers fit my car?
A: This thread lists all factory speaker sizes for all Proteges: http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8940
This thread also lists all the facotry dash kits and wireharness available for all proteges.

Q: What equiptment came in my car?
A: MSP
The MSP came factory equipt with 4 Kenwood Excelon coaxle speakers. Two front door speakers wired to factory mazda tweeter and rear door speakers. THERE ARE NO REAR DECK SPEAKERS IN THE MSP!!!!!! I don't know the exact model number. My guess is the fronts are KFC-5708C and the rears are the KFC-1668S. The power handling specs are pointless as kenwood is listing over a 100 watts. RMS ratting values are likely arouns 50 watts.

The head unit is the KDC-MP919. They provide 22x4 watts rms (not CEA rated), Sub volume control via a 4.5 volt <80 ohm preout, 3 preouts, adjustable high and lowpass crossovers. It does not have a direct aux input but it does have an adapter to use the CD change bus as one. Here is the link to the manual:
http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=71478&highlight=Kenwood+manual

The amp in the back for the subs is the Kenwood KAC-529 or the Kenwood KAC-5201.
It is rated at 120 watts x1 @14.4 volts int a 4 ohm load. However, the Factory subwoofer is a 8 ohm subwoofer, a Kenwood KFC-W2005. THe sub is 8 ohms to avoid over heating issue that are possible with an 4 ohm sub connect to the kenwood amp when it is inverted like in the MSP.

A: MP3
The Protege MP3 also came with 4 Kenwood Excelon speakers in the front doors and on the rear deck. I do not knwo the model numbers.
The MP3 came with either the Kenwood Z919 or Kenwood Z828 Head Unit.
The rear subwoofer is a KSC-WA100, is an ported 10" sub and integrated amp.

A: P5
The Protege 5 came from the factory with all mazda equiptment except for the tire well subwoofer built by Pioneer. It is a singel 5.25" driver mounted in a plastic bandpass enclosure. It has an integrated amplifier good for about 50 watts rms.


Q:Why is there no sound in the MSP rear deck speakers?
A: The MSP does not have rear deck speakers. The rear speakers are in the rear doors.

Q: Can I add speakers in the rear deck of the MSP?
A: Its possible. You have to find few shallow 6x9's though. Not many are buit any longer. I am not sure of the actual depth limitation although I guess 3 inches or less. You will also have to either buy an amplifier to power these speakers or disconnect the rear doors speakers, intercept their wiring and redirect it to the rear deck.

Q: My MSP's sub doesn't work!?
A: There are a couple of known issues with the MSP subwoofer. The simplest to fix is that sometimes the wire connections to it in the sub eclosure simply fall off. YOujust need to remove the screw holding in the sub, then reconnect the wires. Try to compress the conntacts on the wires connection spades so that it will grab batter. Another common issue stems from loosing power to the radio. If the factory radio looses power or resets then it will come back on with the subwoofer output disabled. This will result in the sub not working. Simply hold the AM button down for about 3-5 second and it will come back on. Total failure of either the sub or amp is not unheard of.

Q: What can I replace my MSP sub with?
A: Most 8 inch subwoofers will fit. The JL 8W3v2D2 or 8W3v2D4 are a common choice. If the factory amp is going to remain inverted then I HIGHLY suggest an 8 ohm sub. Otherwise if you are willing to relocate it then a 4 ohm sub will be a better choice and will extract all available power from the kenwood amp.

Q: My MSP's head unit freaked out!?
A: Another common issue is that the stock MSP head unit will stick half way flipped over, sometime without even being told to do so. Usualy resetting the headunit will typicly bring it around. There is a button under the factory face plate and simply disconnecting the battery for a minute will accompish the same thing.

Q: Can I plug in an Ipod or other device into my stock system?
A: Yes, for the mazda radio equipt cars, an FM modulator can be used to intercept the FM antenna and use it as an input into the head unit. The Mazda MP3's with the Z828 should have direct inputs and the kenwood adpater CA-C1AUX or KCA-S210A can also be used. I can not find an adpater availble for the kenwood Z919, kenwood should be conntacted on its availability. The MSP head unit can be used with the CA-C1AUX or KCA-S210A to provide aux inputs.

Q: Can I install an amp or EQ with my factory head unit?
A: With the MP3's or MSP its an easy installation with just some RCA cords to get signal to the amps. WIth the other proteges a high quality LOC ( Line-Output-Converter) can be used to turn the speaker wires into RCA signals that any amp can use. Also some amps have built in LOCs so external ones are not neccissary. I reccomend www.davidnavone.com for a great quality LOC.


General Information

Terms

Q: Whats an Amp?
A: An amp refers to 2 things in car audio. It is most commonly revering to an amplifier. The second is that an amp is the unit of measurement for electrical current. Often you will see that fuses have amp rating. This is how much current they can pass before blowing.

Q: What is Bridging?
A: Bridgin refers to combining two amplifier channels to make a single more powerful channel. An amp has to be capable of bridging, not all are! Typicly this is done by using the positive of one channel and the negative of another. Every amp is different so fallow the manufacturers directions when bridging an amp.

Q: Whats a Deck?
A: A deck is a common term for a head unit, aka radio. It can be a CD player or a tape player.

Q: Whats a LOC?
A: LOC stands for Line-Output-Converter. A LOC uses the speaker froma factory radio and changes them into aline level signal (RCA) that any amp can use.

Q: Whats an ohm?
A: An ohm is defined as A unit of electrical resistance equal to that of a conductor in which a current of one ampere is produced by a potential of one volt across its terminals. Its also the value of resistance in an electrical circuit. In short it is the measure of how much opposition something has to electricity flowing. A speakers have a certain ohm value that sould be considered when buying. A standard door speaker or component set is usualy 4 ohms. A subwoofer can be 2, 4, 6, or 8 ohms. A DVC subwoofer has 2 coils each with its own resistance (ohm). So a DVC can have 2, 4 ohm coils. Amplifiers have a certain resistace they want to see to work there best or at all. Some amps play best to a 2 ohm load and others to a 4 ohm load. Some even hit there sweet spot with a 1 ohm load.

Q: What is RMS?
A: Root Mean Squared, best or atleast simpliest described as average power. RMS wattage is the realistic power an amplifier can give you.

Q: Whats the difference Between Peak and RMS power?
A: Peak power refers to the power an amp can give yu in VERY breif and infrequent burst. In other words, it is a totaly useless statistic and should be ignored. If a peice of electronics only list peak power or does not state if its single power specification is peak or not, then you likely have a bogus product. RMS power is the stati

Q: What is series wiring?
A: Series wiring is when the amps positive terminal is wired to the first subs positive terminal then that subs negative terminal is wired to the next subs positive terminal. Next the second subs negative terminal is wired back to the amplifiers negative terminal. The resistance of the subs is simply added together for the final resistance. R1+R2 = Rt
So if 2, 4 ohm subs are wired in series, they will be a total of an 8 ohm load. If 2 subs with dual 2 ohm voice coils are seriesed together then they will be a total of an 8 ohm load aswell.
series.bmp



Q: What is parallel wiring?
A: Parallel wiring is when each subs positive terminal is wired to the amplifiers positive terminal and each subs negative terminal is wired to the amplifiers negative terminal. With only 2 subs or voice coils, the resistance is simply halfed. So 2 4 ohm subs wired in parallel creat a 2 ohm total load. If you wire the voice coils of a sub with two 6 ohm voice coils then you get a total of a 3 ohm load. If you wire the voice coils of two subs each with two 6 ohm voice coils then you get a total of a 1.5 ohm load. The The actual formula for calacualting parallel resistance is a bit complex. 1/(1/R1+1/R2+1/R3+.....) = Rt
parallel.bmp



Audio Components

Head Unit

Q: Do I need a new head unit?
A: Although some disagree, my feeling is that an aftermaket radio is best bought for features. For Sound Quality (SQ) the factory Mazda head units are very capable in combination with a good quality lock. If there is simply a feature you must have such as MP3 playing ability, seperate subwoofer volume control, built in EQs or satelite radio.

Q: Can I bridge a head unit
A: NO!!!!

Q: What features should I look for in a head unit?
A: Headunit have about 3000 features these days but not all are actualy usefull. The most common features to buy a headunit for are:
- Number of RCA preouts
- Preout voltage
- Preout impedance
- Dedicated subwoofer preout
- Subwoofer volume control
- Internal crossovers
- Adjustable crossovers
- Internal EQ/signal adjustments
- Aux input
- CD changer control
- MP3 playing ability
- Number of radio presets
- Satelite radio
- Internal amplifier power
- Available external components

Q: What are some good brands of Head Unit?
A: THere are a ton of great head unit out there although many people have had varing degrees of success with them. Here are some of the common head units considered to be of good quality. ALthough I would argue against several of them.
- Alpine
- Blaupunkt
- Clarion
- Denon
- Elcipse
- JVC
- Kenwood
- Nakamichi
- Panasonic
- Pioneer
- Rockford Fosgate
 
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Amplifier

Q: How are Amplifiers rated
A: Like any value, RMS power values are rated with certian conditions. You will notice some RMS values are listed at 14.4 volts and others at 12.6 volts. This is the amplifiers input voltage aka the batteries voltage. Most amps make less power at 12.6 volts then they do at 14.4 volts. 14.4 volts is the power a cars alternator makes when running an under almost no load. 12.6 Volts is the resting voltage of a car and is the voltage most cars will drop to once a powerful amplifier powers a strong base hit. Becuase of this it is very important to know the rating of a subwoofer amp at 12.6 volts as that is the voltage is may be getting the majority of the time. Resistance is another rating consdition to pay attention too. Amps will tend to make more power at lower restances (ohms). However, that doesn't mean an amp can play into any resistance. Amps can only handle so low of a resistance, any lower then that and they will go into a protection mode or be damaged.

Q: What is CEA 2006?
A: CEA 2006 is a new power rating standard. This standard is intended to make a customer able to accurately compare amplifier power specifications. ALthough it removes alot of tricks manufacturers could use to cheat power ratings it doesn't remove them all. Also not all manufacturers use this rating system. Look for the CEA 2006 Logo to be sure you are looking at a legitimate power rating and product.

Q: Whay do some amps make the same power at 14.4 volts and 12.6 volts?
A: These amps have what is called a regulated power supply. This means that the amp can adjust to any input voltage to maintain the same power output or at least as close as the manufacturers could get to it. These amps are common in Sound Quality systems where even power is neccissary. These amps are also immune to sagging input voltages do to powerful amplifiers playing subwoofers. The down side is that these amps can not be given a high input voltage to yeild more output power. Non regulated amps can take up to 16 voltage to crank out a TON of power. However at 12 volts they can be far less capable.

Q: Why do some amps put out the same power at differenct resistances (ohms)
A: JL audio took regulated power supplies to the next level in car audio a few years ago when they developed their RIPS circuitry. These circuit allow the amp to output the same power rather you have a 4 ohm speaker or a 2 ohm speaker. This makes it much easier to match various subwoofer combinations to JL amps. The down side is that you don't get the same power increase by running lower resistance speakers like with conventional amps. Or do you? Its been tested that even JL amps with RIPS circuits still increase there power output as you hook them up to lesser resistances. Becuase of their popluarity, MB Quart and Phoenix Gold are fallowing after JL in manufacturing these styles of amplifiers.

Q: Do I need an amp?
A: If you simply need more volume then an amp is right for you. Replacing a factory head unit with an aftermarket one can yeild volume increase but that is not its main purpose. Amps are also a neccessity for adding additional speakers including subwoofers. Although some subwoofers ave built in amplifiers, like the infinity bass link.

Q: Why buy an amp when my headunit has 200 watts?
A: Because your head unit has no where near 200 watts. Head units are mostly advertised with peak power rating, not rms ratings a 50x4 watt rms amplifier is easily twice the amp that any head unit has built in. Also keep in mind that most 50x4 amps can be wired to 2 ohm loads and bridged to 2 channels. That would give you anywhere from 70x4 - 100x4 watts rms or 140x2 - 200x2 watts rms, depending on the amp. No head unit can handle a 2 ohm load and survive.

Q: What size power wire do I need?
A: That depends on the amps being used and the length of the wire. You should total up the possible draw of all the amps in the system. IASCA established a chart for determing proper wire size. Unfortunitly it uses amperege and legth so not many people can understand it. You can find it here though: http://www.mobileaudio.com/rac-faq/ section 2.3
To make it simple, for anything under 350 watts rms, 8 gauge power wire is fine. For between 350 and 1000 watts rms 4 gauge will do fine. 2 gauge will support up to 1500 watts rms. Anthing over 1500 watts rms should be run through 1/0 gauge cable.

Q: Can I run a 100 watt rms amp through the MSP factory power wire?
A: NO!!! The MSP only has 10 gauge power wire. Running a higher powered amp through inadaquate wire runs the risk of burning up the wire, and potentially starting a fire in your car. There are guidlines for what guage wire to use based on how many amps the amplifier draws. These guidlines are not intended so you spend extra money on things you don't need. They are intended for the safety of your system, your car, and you. Not following these guidlines is a very serious safety hazard.

Q: Why is a proper ground improtant?
A:
Proper grounds have a HUGE impact on a system. Improper grounds will literally choke your amp, and make it horribly inefficient. They will lower the voltage the amp intakes, so that will lower the output of the amp. With very large amps, lowering the voltage will cause the amp to draw more current, and if it's too much current, that can cause serious light dimming, and possibly blown fuses. With every part of your system, you are limited by your weakest link. Your ground is not something that you should limit, as it has a direct effect on the efficiency of the amp.

Q: How do I properly ground an amp?
A: The best meathod is to use a crimp end ing terminal on the ground wire, then chose your grounding location. The location must be a flat metal area of primary body metal, aka the floor. Often a seat belt bolt or another factory bolt point can be used. If one is not available you can simply screw into the floor. Be sure to check under the car first to ensure you are clear of fuel lines, the gas tank and anything else you don't want a hole in. Bare in mind that if you perce a fuel line or the gas tank its not only a pain in the ass but you can also get yourself blown up. Once the location has been selected, sand it to bare metal. No paint should remain. Then either bolt the ring terminal down or shoot a screw through the floor fastening the ground.

Q: What features should I look for in an amp?
A: The most important is RMS power at the resistance you are going to be using. Other are:
- Is it bridgable
- Crossovers
- Adjustable crossovers
- Band passable
- number of channels
- What resistance can it handle
- Brand reputation


Q: What are some good brands of amps?
A: There are a ton!
- Alpine
- Brax
- Cadence
- Clarion
- Coustic
- DEI ( ADS, Orion, PPI, Viper)
- Diamond
- Helix
- JBL
- JL Audio
- Kenwood
- Kicker
- MB Quart
- Memphis
- MTX
- Nakamichi
- Phoenix Gold
- Power Acoustics
- Rockford Fosgate
- Xtant
- USAmps
- Zapco

Q: Who makes the best amps?
A: This is a hard question to answer. you need to narrow it down to "what's the best amp for you budget". no sense in looking into brax or sinfoni amps if you don't want to spend the thousands on them. and have reasonable expectations. if you want to spend $100 on a 1000 watt amp, you aren't going to get high quality. years ago the rule used to be a high quality amp cost $2 per watt. then it dropped to $1 per watt. today it's generally between $.50 and $1 per watt, depending on the class of amplifier. class D amps tend to put out a lot of power and have a low price tag. a class AB amp of the same power will have a much higher price, but will have full range capabilities. Although power is an amplifiers primary function, don't overlook that quality circuits like crossovers cot money too.


Speakers

Q: Do I need new speakers?
A: The best reason to replace your speakers is becuase you just don't like the overall audio signals sound. Keep in mind this has nothing to do with voume. Nothing determins how a system will sound, more so then the speakers.

Q: What features should I look for in a set of speakers?
A: The most import aspect of any speaker is how YOU think they sound. As you are the one buying them, you are the one that needs to sample them against others to be sure they are best for you. Power handling is about the only other significant feature. If you have no where near the power to offer a speaker your considering then you may want to look into other option. Power doesn't have to be dead on but you don't want to be powering a speaker like the Boston Acoustic Pros off of a factory head unit. If you have an aftermarket deck then don't be afraid to pair them up with 50 watt rms speaker.

Q: What are some good brands of speakers?
A: Even more then amps. Speakers are the simplest audio compenent for a company to build.
- Alpine
- Boston Acoustics
- Clarion
- Coustic
- DEI ( ADS, Orion, PPI, Viper)
- Diamond
- DLS
- Image Dynamics
- Infinity
- JBL
- JL Audio
- Kenwood
- Kicker
- MB Quart
- Memphis
- MTX
- Nakamichi
- OZ Audio
- Phoenix Gold
- Pioneer
- Polk Audio
- Rockford Fosgate
- Xtant

Q: what are the best speakers?
A: everybody hears differently, so what you like, someone else may hate. go listen to as many different sets of speakers at local shops as you can. if you are looking into high end speakers, go to a decent sized audio competiton and ask the sound quality competitors if you can audition their system. most are happy to demo it for you, and more than likely will help give you pointers and recomendations. do not sit in factory demo vehicles that have multiple sets of components and a ton of flashy stuff. they get loud, but most all the time they do not sound anywhere near as good as the actual competitors.

Q: How much power can my factory speakers handle?
A: Most factory speaker can actualy handle decent power. If you are using a good amplifer with a properly set gain and crossover the its possible for factory speakers to handle even 50 watts rms. However, they will be more quickly damaged by distortion compared to aftermarket speakers

Q: Should I install rear speakers?
A: This depends on how you like t hear music. Some people like to be comsumed by it. Other like to have music mostly infront of them. For the person that likes music to consume them, installing new rear speakers can be a good idea. However most people will argue that spending money on amplifiers to power rear speakers is a waste of money. Again this depends on your listening stlye. At most I'd replace the rear speakers with a quality coaxle that compliments the chosen front speakers.

Q: How do I wire subwoofers?
A: Like any speaker, a subwoofer can be wired in parallel or series. So long as the final resistance is in the range the amp needs to work then your all set. See- What is series and Parallel wiring? Above

Q: what's the best enclosure to use?
A: there is no "best" enclosure. an enclosure type should be chosen based on musical tastes, power available, and space available. sealed enclosures are known for having deep, precise bass. ported enclosures are known more for their harder hitting, take your breath away bass. bandpass enclosures are know for being very loud, but typically don't sound as good as ported or sealed. sealed enclosures require the least designing and calculations. ported requires a few more. bandpass, especially 6th and 8th order require extensive calculations, otherwise they will not sound good.


Capacitors

Q: Whats a Capacitor?
A: A capacitor is a passive device that stores electricty until it is needed. Capacitors can store a large amount of power that an amp will need and when the amp can't get the power it needs from the cars chargining system, the capacitor will release its power to the amp. Capacitor can also discharge and recharge extreamly quickly.

Q: Will a capacitor help my system?
A:
Capacitors will only help your system if your car's electical system can already support your system. in that case a capacitor will help for the split second it takes the alternator to react to the draw from your system, and kicks the output into high gear. Some people swear by capacitors and there have also been tests that show capacitors do not improve the sound quality of a system, or a systems SPL level. If you want to get a group of car audio people arguing, bring up capacitors.

Q: Will a Capacitor help my lights from dimming?
A: Yes, a capcitor can be used to smooth out some head light dimming. I suggest 1 Farad of capacitence per 500 watts RMS your amps can draw. However a capacitor installed by an amplifier will only smooth head light dimming caused by the amplifier drawing power. It will not stop head light dimming caused by the A/C system or the fans kicking on.


Installation Info

Q: How to pull new speaker wires into the doors?
A: This thread has more info then I could even list here:
http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36421

Q: How to run power wire?

Q: How to run RCAs?

Q: How to install a new head unit?
- MSP/MP3
- P5/LX/EX/DX

Q: How to Dynamat?


Purchasing Info

Q: how come i bought something off e-bay, it said it had a warranty, but the manufacturer won't fix it?
A: most every major audio company does not support online sales. there are certain sites that are authorized dealers for certain companies, and you will get a factory warranty with them. however be wary and read all the fine print. some sites warranty the products through themselves, so if you have a problem, you have to pay to send the product back to them, then pay to have them ship it to the manufacturer, and pay to get it back. reading the fine print can pay off in the long run. if you don't care about warranty, then don't be upset when that great deal you got off e-bay dies on you.

Q: where's the best place to buy JL online?
A: nowhere. JL is one of the best companies when it comes to unathorized sales. they do not allow any of their products to be sold by unathorized people, and any place online is unauthorized. you can buy their products online, however you will get no warranty work from JL.
 
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From Senior Wake (rofl)


Q: How do i get some bump in my car?
A: there are many ways to get "bump" in your car. first you need to analyze what type and how much "bump" you want.

if you are not willing to give up trunk space, a good set of front components, possibly even 3 ways, and some 6.5" dedicated midbass drivers in your rear doors. the kicker resolution RMB6 in a door that has been sound dampened with dynamat or another sheet metal insulation will add to the low end output of the system without taking up space or adding too much weight to the vehicle. note that you still have to run them off an amp. another option would be to get a nice set of 6x9's for the rear deck, however not all 6x9's will fit under the rear deck. for example the blaupunkt overdrive dual voice coil 6x9's that are capable of a lot of lower frequency output will not fit under the rear deck.

if you are willing to give up trunk space, you must decide how much space you are willing to give up, and how much you are willing to invest. proper planning of a system will yeild much better results than just picking something out because you've heard it is good, or it looks cool. to pick out what will work best for you, you need to prioritize different aspects of the system:
a) how much do you have to invest. it might seem straight forward, you want a $150 sub and a $200 amp. a system is much more than that. you'll need an enclosure, wiring, possibly a line output converter, and are you going to install it, or are you paying to have it installed. there are so many small details that add into the price of your system. take the enclosure for example, a simple sealed wooden box might not cost very much, but say you want a sealed box made of fiberglass, if you don't know how to fiberglass, plan on spending several hundred on labor. you should plan on spending more on the enclosure than the sub itself. the enclosure can tailor the sound to just what you like. a good enclosure can make a poor quality sub sound good. a poor enclosure can make a good quality sub sound poor.
b) how much weight are you willing to add to your car? a sheet of 3/4" MDF (medium density fiberboard, which is pretty much the standard for audio enclosures) weighs in at 95 lbs. a basic sealed enclosure won't need a full sheet, but if you start working with slot ports and more complex enclosures you will be using closer to a full sheet. an 18" sub in a complex ported enclosure required nearly 2 full sheets of MDF. a 10" sub in a more complex 6th order bandpass enclosure required a sheet and a half of MDF. if you are worried about weight, look into fiberglass. it will cost more, but it will be lighter, in most cases. also when thinking about weight, look at the equipment you are interested in. some of the really beastly 10's on the market weigh over 40 lbs. there are subs that weigh in over 100 lbs. don't forget about the amp(s). some of them can get quite heavy.
c) looks. do you want to open your trunk and people think it looks absolutely awesome? do you not care how it looks as long as it's loud? the nicer you want it to look, the more time will have to be spent building and finishing the enclosure. if you are paying someone to do it, that will add up quickly. if you are doing it yourself, that can add up to some serious frustration from time spent and possible problems.
d) how loud and at what frequencies. musical listening tastes tend to dictate the subwoofers chosen as well as enclosure type. if you like rap, you'll want to use a ported box tuned low. some subs don't peform as well when they are tuned lower, so that will need to be taken into consideration. do you prefer flatter, more consistant output? sealed would be the choice for you. sealed enclosures are also easier for first time builders to try. they are not so picky about design flaws, and making an error in the volume as long as it's not a huge difference, will not cause an audible difference. change the volume of a ported box, and it will totally change the tuned frequency. that brings us to picking a tuned frequency that is right for you. if you want the best sound quality out of a ported system, you'll want a very low tuning frequency, typically below 30 hz. if you aren't so concerned with flat response, and you really want everyone to hear it, tuning between 35 and 40 hz would be a wise choice. depending on the sub, you'll still be able to play down to around 25 hz, but you will have to use an amp with a subsonic/infrasonic filter on it. really low frequencies and higher tuned ported enclosures do not mix. the sub will not have enough resistance behind it, and too much power will easily damage it.

now you have to consider how much power you want to run. higher powered high quality amps are going to cost quite a bit. but can your car handle it? running several thousand watts with a stock electrical system can be a very bad thing. it has to be closely monitored, otherwise you'll be replacing your battery every month, and possibly your alternator. a high quality 10 with 500 watts is more than enough for most people. if you are starting out, start small. research things. listen to other peoples systems. decide what you'd want to upgrade. just cause someone down the block has four 15's doesn't mean you need that, let alone want it. look at it as a learning process. say you do go with four 15's. for most people that would be way too much, and they'd take it out and maybe just run 1. for others, four 15's would be plenty for them, and they'd never want to change it. and for the really sick individuals, four 15's is not enough.
 
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A little heads up on the MSP's front speaker model #: KFC-X688c. They are 6x8s...and the 6s in the rear doors, I used to have the model number of. I think Jrodhotrod should know the model number...her may have even posted it at one point.

Also, I'm not sure about the sub model number because the MAX power on the one you listed was 500W. The surrent one is rated at 125W nom (RMS), so 500W peak would be pushing it, no? ...suffice to say, that it's a piece of crap. Since the cone seperated from the surrond it does make a good change tray. I keep tossing pennies into it now... ;)
 
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servoeyes said:
A little heads up on the MSP's front speaker model #: KFC-X688c. They are 6x8s...and the 6s in the rear doors, I used to have the model number of. I think Jrodhotrod should know the model number...her may have even posted it at one point.

Also, I'm not sure about the sub model number because the MAX power on the one you listed was 500W. The surrent one is rated at 125W nom (RMS), so 500W peak would be pushing it, no? ...suffice to say, that it's a piece of crap. Since the cone seperated from the surrond it does make a good change tray. I keep tossing pennies into it now... ;)
The Sub model number was the closest thing I could ever find. If someone has one out and can look at it that will help. saying a 125 watt sub is capable of 500 is common Kenwood BS. Atleast there not as bad as audiobahn.
 
I noticed there was no info on installing an aftermarket DIN-sized head unit. I was wondering if anyone could tell me what I needed to secure an aftermarket Alpine head unit into a 2001 2.0 ES with the MP3 pocket and crossbar. I know the crossbar holds the rear of the unit up, but is the sleeve that they include with the head unit enough to secure the head unit or is there an aftermarket set of DIN-type retaining clips that I need. I've scoured this site and cannot find any info regarding this. Please help. Thanks!
 
im really feelin this thread right here
i didn see the sony xplode in the good amps section, im bout 2 get a 1000 watt sony amp for $75. Ive had a 400 watt xplode and thought it wuz good, but didn see it in that list.
 
Khoga said:
im really feelin this thread right here
i didn see the sony xplode in the good amps section, im bout 2 get a 1000 watt sony amp for $75. Ive had a 400 watt xplode and thought it wuz good, but didn see it in that list.
Theres a good reason for that. Sony rates there equiptment to power levels they could not possibly produce for more then a millisecond. SOny also advertises there equiptment to catch uneducated consumers with big numbers like 1000 watts, when that doesn't mean anything on its own. NOr is that power level ever obtainable by the amp.
I don't include amps that are immensly over rated to levels the amp could never realisticly achieve. Nor do I include any amp that is more about marketing then sound. Hence, no Sony
 
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Antonio DiMarco said:
I noticed there was no info on installing an aftermarket DIN-sized head unit. I was wondering if anyone could tell me what I needed to secure an aftermarket Alpine head unit into a 2001 2.0 ES with the MP3 pocket and crossbar. I know the crossbar holds the rear of the unit up, but is the sleeve that they include with the head unit enough to secure the head unit or is there an aftermarket set of DIN-type retaining clips that I need. I've scoured this site and cannot find any info regarding this. Please help. Thanks!
To do it the best you have to rig a rubber stopper onto the back of the new radio, there is a hole for one in the main dash support.
 
- Alpine:
Alpine was my former favorite but have lately been cheaping out. There regional rep even told our installer that they no longer offer most of there units with 4 volt preouts becuase people simply don't care about sound quality anymore, which I agree with. TO many people run MP3s and sat radio now which is taking audio quality backwards by about 20 years. Becuase of this, only there top of the line stuff offers the real perfomance and even then its got that glide touch crap that I hate.

- Blaupunkt:
I don't trust any of there products, I have seen to many break. We even have an XM peice of theres that we all refuse to sell.

- Clarion:
Alright product but generaly obnoxious to use. The higher end touch screen headunits suck.

- Denon:
No longer made I belive but one of the best ever sold when they were.

- Eclipse:
Seperaticly problematic. Each year a different model number or 2 is crap for realiability. Absolutely GREAT sounding units though.

- JVC:
Decent reliability, nothing special about them though. No real performance.

- Kenwood
CRAPTASTIC

- Nakamichi
Very few options and they have spoptty realibility like eclipse but are also a great sounding unit. The only way to go if you like things simple.

- Panasonic
Good perfomance per dollar but they become hooky in there higher models. Basicly they are like Clarion in alot of ways.

- Pioneer
The most solid units built today. They perform well and will play discs that no other units will. I would pioneer if I was to buy a radio today. They also have great features per dollar and the features are actualy usefull. They have best tuners.

- Rockford Fosgate
I do not believe they still make any. The originals were great performers but had there problems. The last ones were nothing to even look at.
 
Remove old stereo/tape unit - '95 Protege

I'm interested in installing a new stereo in my '95 Protege. I've had the center console frame off, and I'm assuming there is some tool needed to slide in
next to the sides of the old original factory stereo/tape unit to trip locks in order to remove the unit. I've done this on other cars before, but I don't have
any such tools now, and would like to know if there are good substitutes to do this, and if I am right that this kind of process is correct to remove the old stereo.
Thanks.
 
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I'm interested in installing a new stereo in my '95 Protege. I've had the center console frame off, and I'm assuming there is some tool needed to slide in
next to the sides of the old original factory stereo/tape unit to trip locks in order to remove the unit. I've done this on other cars before, but I don't have
any such tools now, and would like to know if there are good substitutes to do this, and if I am right that this kind of process is correct to remove the old stereo.
Thanks.

You can use wire coat hangers and bend them in a u shape. I have done it a few times in a pinch. I think a set of tools runs around $4 and depending on where you get the head unit they come with the purchase.
 
Starting out mazda6

i am going to start building my system in my mazda 6 and i hope to make a sick system...

suggestions and warning are appreciated
 
Some of those suggestions are seriously dated, not to mention there are a number of new brands along with many of those brands listing drastically decreasing in quality.
 
anyone know where to find what wires are what colors in a 2012 mazda3 i touring? im trying to install an amp but i dont know which wires to connect the input and remote wires to?
 
Some of those suggestions are seriously dated, not to mention there are a number of new brands along with many of those brands listing drastically decreasing in quality.

Well hey buddy hows it goin? Didn't know you where on these forums...
 
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Some of those suggestions are seriously dated, not to mention there are a number of new brands along with many of those brands listing drastically decreasing in quality.

Yes, the lists haven't been updated since 2005. Make some suggestions and we can update it.
 
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