alot of questions...

[GreenPic]

i gotta lot of questions to ask seeing how im pretty inexpereinced when it comes to car audio.

ive narrowed it down to the kenwood Excelon KDC-X979 or the Alpine 9815, wich would you prefer? the kenwood comes with a lot of cool options such as SRS WOW Sound Enhancements and Dolby Pro Logic II. While the Alpine comes with the V-drive 60w x 4, its Bass Engine Pro, and i-Personalize. i can find the kenwood for $479 and the Alpine for $368, whats your opinion on wich would be better?

what would be better speakers? i was lookin at the infinity Kappas 5x7 and 6.5 but i heard the speakers in our back doors really dont matter so i thought about gettin cheaper infinities back there to save a few bucks. is this true? i dont know whether this is true or not but i took for grantid that 3-way speakers are better than 2-way, and 4-way better than 3-way so would i be better off with a 4-way or will a 2-way suffice? im wonderin this because all of the infinity speakers are 2-way and i see pioneer 4-way and all sorts of 3-ways. wich is better?

i was also lookin at the Kenwood Excelon speakers, are they any good?

one other thing, i was readin and researchin and i came across people talkin that your better off gettin a component speaker setup. i found a 5x7 component speaker setup by infinity but will a 6.5 component speaker set fit in the front doors? whats a good component speaker set for a good price? im willing to spend some money but id really like to put my money into my engine.

id like to get some feedback on what would be a pretty kicka$$ system without spending too much green.
thx

 

[Poseur]

I've got the 5x7 kappa's and they're by no means crappy, but they could be better, and I'm currently looking for good 6.5" components to upgrade with. You do this by making an adapter plate that's basically 5x7 speaker shaped with a round hole in the middle. As for rear speakers, I'd initially had 6.5" refrence amped in the back, and wound up switching abck to my stock speakers powered off the deck The nice tweets of the infinity's just made more noise behind my head. the stock speakers play a good decent midrange that works great for "fill". This brings me to another thing... Are you wanting to run everything off of your deck power alone? or add an amp for your speakers?

The way I see it you've got a couple options. One would be to stick with your deck power in which case the alpine gives you a good advantage, and then get some 5x7's to drop in (though not the kappa's as they require ALOT of power to sound good). Your other option would be to get an amp and a good set of components. Either way, the only way to pick is to go listent o as many as you posibly can, and I'd make a cd with a sampling of the full range of different types of music you listen to to "test" them all with.

Either way, I personally wouldn't bother with your rear speakers. Keepign them stock is a good way to save $ and time in a place you'll never miss it. Some will argue for the sake of rear-seat passengers, but I've heared my stereo form the rear seat both ways and If anything, again it sounds better with more power up front.

 

[GreenPic]

i was plannin on running off the deck, so with that much power some 5x7s in the front and some 6.5s in the back would do nicely then? also i was lookin at different speakers that alpine has, and some are coaxial. i take it that coaxial would give a better signal with less distortion than regular speaker wire... ive never seen coaxial speaker wire b4.

im leanin towards gettin the alpine 9815, so if im runnin with the HU then infinities wouldnt be for me then. so would alpine coaxial speakers work fine then? also does the HU support a coaxial output for these speakers? how much does coaxial wire cost?

what if i get a 6.5 component setup and put the woofer in the back doors and replance the tweeter in the front doors, that way i have my highs in front and bass in back with my sub. anyone ever do this?

 

[Rider69]

1. ALPINE - The Alpine 9815 will give you alot better quality for the money. Kenwoods do have some reliability issues.
2. Speakers
I would definately recommend going with some components up front and perhaps going with some 6.5" coaxial speakers in the rear doors. I do not run rear door speakers, bet each persons preference is different. For the fronts, off of the deck power, the Infinitys will be sufficient. If you plan on running a larger amp in the future, you might want to go ahead and get some better speakers now instead of upgrading those in the future too. There are some other brands of 5x7/6x8 components out there in the likes of Alpine, Kicker and JBL. These are all available on Crutchfield.com 6.5" component sets would off slightly better sound as there is probably a little more surface area on the 6.5" woofer. They are also more readily available. An adapter plate will have to be made or bought for fitting the 6.5" woofer int he 5x7 hole though. That can be purchased at Sounddomain.com, I believe. If you do decide to go that route (6.5"), there is an excellent deal on 6.5" component set from CDT Audio on thezeb.com. http://thezeb.com/caraudio/specials_speakers.html

As far as What is a Coaxial? It is basically a 2-way speaker that is mounted in the frame. The tweeter is sperate from the woofer part of the speaker (usually in the center) and quite possible has a small cap to crossover the tweeter. There is no coaxial wire, unless you are talking about coaxial cable which is what cable TV runs on.

Hope this helps a little..

 

[GreenPic]

what about braxial speakers? i saw that CDT makes em. what about my other questions?

thx for your posts!

 

[Rider69]

what if i get a 6.5 component setup and put the woofer in the back doors and replance the tweeter in the front doors, that way i have my highs in front and bass in back with my sub. anyone ever do this?

Bad Idea. Well, for better imaging, you want to keep the woofer and tweeter as close together as possible. The woofer in the component set not only produce bass but some midrange too. I would highly recommend againt that decision.

What is your budget for your system? That would give us something to go on as far as recommendations.

 

[Rider69]

what about braxial speakers? i saw that CDT makes em. what about my other questions?

thx for your posts!

"CDT Audio Braxial refers to a bracket mounted assembly of mid/woofer tweeter This apparently simple assembly has huge advantages over the more common coaxial speaker."
Many more speaker companies are going this route with some of their more expensive speakers. The obvious advantages are possible better imaging and a little more woofer movement. The price of the CDT ones are quite high, as much or more than some of their component sets. I think the component set would still be more acceptabel as you have more control over tweeter location.

 

[GreenPic]

roughly 700-600. i was thinkin about gettin the alpine 9815 hu and then the alpine spr 176a component set and and unsure if i will get the alpine spr174a for the rear doors. trying to save money for my p5turbo fund
thx

 

[GreenPic]

ya, i saw how expensive the braxials were! (boom01)

 

[sndsgood]

if your willing to spend that kind of money on a componet set, then you should be getting an amp. because no matter how many watts those headunits claim, it will never be as good as a quality amp with the same amount of power.

as far as coaxials 2 way 3-way and 4-way. when u have such a small speaker, there isn't much need to have 4 speakers, usually they will say it's a midbass and mid and like a tweeter and super tweeter, but there is no need for a super tweeter. so what are you really getting? me personally if there is a 200$ two way speaker and a 200$ 4 way speaker, personally i'd rather have a 2-way (two speakers 100$ each) versus 4-way (4 speakers 50$ each) better to go with higher quality over low quality with more speakers.

as far as speaker placement, u dont want your midbass in back with your subs, you want them in front of you where all the sound should be coming from. heck if you had the abilities and time i'd tell u to mount the sub up front as well. u want all the sound in front of you, just like when u ever go to a concert, the band is in front of you. you never go to a concert, and stand facing the back of the concert hall with the band behind you. so why would u want that in your car?

 

[parks853]

i gotta lot of questions to ask seeing how im pretty inexpereinced when it comes to car audio.

ive narrowed it down to the kenwood Excelon KDC-X979 or the Alpine 9815, wich would you prefer? the kenwood comes with a lot of cool options such as SRS WOW Sound Enhancements and Dolby Pro Logic II. While the Alpine comes with the V-drive 60w x 4, its Bass Engine Pro, and i-Personalize. i can find the kenwood for $479 and the Alpine for $368, whats your opinion on wich would be better?

what would be better speakers? i was lookin at the infinity Kappas 5x7 and 6.5 but i heard the speakers in our back doors really dont matter so i thought about gettin cheaper infinities back there to save a few bucks. is this true? i dont know whether this is true or not but i took for grantid that 3-way speakers are better than 2-way, and 4-way better than 3-way so would i be better off with a 4-way or will a 2-way suffice? im wonderin this because all of the infinity speakers are 2-way and i see pioneer 4-way and all sorts of 3-ways. wich is better?

i was also lookin at the Kenwood Excelon speakers, are they any good?

one other thing, i was readin and researchin and i came across people talkin that your better off gettin a component speaker setup. i found a 5x7 component speaker setup by infinity but will a 6.5 component speaker set fit in the front doors? whats a good component speaker set for a good price? im willing to spend some money but id really like to put my money into my engine.

id like to get some feedback on what would be a pretty kicka$$ system without spending too much green.
thx

I would get an alpine unit.

far as speakers in the back. if you are on a budget dont get them. if you have a p5 just leave the speakers in teh door and power then off the HU. if ou have a sedan then just leave the ones in the rear deck powered off the HU. Get some componetns up front. the 6.5's will work with an adapter. you will need an amp to power any decent components.

there are tons of threads in the audio section about what speakers to get. what amp. which HU. how to make the adapters. I know I posted some pics and things for the adapters you will need for the 6.5's.

Here is some stuff on installing http://www.msprotege.com/vbb300/showthread.php?t=50320

some differetn stuff about components
http://www.msprotege.com/vbb300/showthread.php?t=48908

jsut look at some of the other threads. and do a search you should find tons of info.

 

[servoeyes]

I would get an alpine unit.

far as speakers in the back. if you are on a budget dont get them. if you have a p5 just leave the speakers in teh door and power then off the HU. if ou have a sedan then just leave the ones in the rear deck powered off the HU. Get some componetns up front. the 6.5's will work with an adapter. you will need an amp to power any decent components.

there are tons of threads in the audio section about what speakers to get. what amp. which HU. how to make the adapters. I know I posted some pics and things for the adapters you will need for the 6.5's.

Here is some stuff on installing http://www.msprotege.com/vbb300/showthread.php?t=50320

some differetn stuff about components
http://www.msprotege.com/vbb300/showthread.php?t=48908

jsut look at some of the other threads. and do a search you should find tons of info.

Great response...the only thing you left out is regarding the components: Make sure you listen to them first. Try to listen to them in a car, but at least listen to them on the sound board. Every person's ears and preferences are different. I might like JL and Boston, but you might hate them. As for the Kenwood excelon speakers/components...they sound like ass (and not just to me). But you might like them...ugh.

What you do is you go out and listen to every set of comps in your price range and then a couple that are above your price range. Bring a burned CD of al the types of music that you listen to. Test the speakers with nothing else on (subwoofer off, all EQ stuff set to flat). Always keep the EQ flat, but add the subwoofer to make your final decision. Get the set you like the most...don't skimp on funds (or you'll always wonder...what if?).

 

[JOS3]

i stand by jl and boston when it comes to speakers. as far as the HU, i would go for the 9815. but thats just me.

 

[GreenPic]

hey guys, thanks.

i plan on listening to speakers this upcoming weekend. ill look into a good amp, heard alpine has a good 4 channel amp. plus itll keep it all toward one brand.

and one more thing