[jayusa77]

Technic and VP Electricity, you guys are by far the most knowledgeable when it comes to stereo installs. I have an aftermarket AVIC z110bt (bought kit from srcstc, which is awesome by the way) and I am now unhappy with the speakers. My questions to the experts are:

1. Because i have an aftermarket deck which puts out more power(i think), do i need to run an amp to my speakers?

2. What speakers would best fit this job? I understand that the front speakers cannot be more than 50mm in depth.

3. So basically, what should i buy to make my stereo sound awesome? Price in the 1000 dollar range.

I have done hours of research but all the cars had the stock stereos, so i apologize if this has been asked before. Thank you in advance.

Jay

[fdriller9]

Type of system will help.

[jayusa77]

Duh right, you are correct good sir. I have a 2010 335i with that standard speaker system. no hi fi, no L7, just good old standard stereo.

[VP Electricity]

Originally Posted by jayusa77

I have a 2010 335i with... no L7... I am now unhappy with the speakers.

1. Because i have an aftermarket deck which puts out more power(i think), do i need to run an amp to my speakers?
Jay

You have deck power. Some decks have a little more power than others, but basically you have 12W at 4 ohms at 1k.

Originally Posted by jayusa77

2. What speakers would best fit this job? I understand that the front speakers cannot be more than 50mm in depth.

You have 6" POS speakers under the seat in 8" openings (big frame/adapter).

You have 4" mids and NO tweeters.

Regardless of which ones you get, you need new tweeter sail trim.

You have a few options, which are budget driven...

Originally Posted by jayusa77

3. So basically, what should i buy to make my stereo sound awesome? Price in the 1000 dollar range.

Awesome?

OK, lemme mix it up on you a little.

- Tru Technology S44 60wx4 amplifier (made in USA)

- Helix H234 100mm comps (from Germany)

- Earthquake SWS-8 woofers (2 ohm)

There's my 1K system (plus shipping)

I'd run the factory rears.

[wareagle900]

i vote you save your money till you have around 2 to 2.5 thousand to spend and then you really can make it sound awesome.

[jayusa77]

Okay, so now i have a good place to start. Im not looking for the best stereo on the forum, just a stereo that surpasses my current setup. I will take all the info you have given me and start to pick up the parts. I have to ask though, whats the difference between different amps, im obviously ignorant so forgive the question, but shouldn't a sony or alpine or JL work similar to every other amp. I guess im asking what the perks of buying this amp are. Just trying to learn something before i go out and spend the extra money, Thanks again VP, i appreciate your time.

Jay

Originally Posted by VP Electricity

You have deck power. Some decks have a little more power than others, but basically you have 12W at 4 ohms at 1k.



You have 6" POS speakers under the seat in 8" openings (big frame/adapter).

You have 4" mids and NO tweeters.

Regardless of which ones you get, you need new tweeter sail trim.

You have a few options, which are budget driven...



Awesome?

OK, lemme mix it up on you a little.

- Tru Technology S44 60wx4 amplifier (made in USA)

- Helix H234 100mm comps (from Germany)

- Earthquake SWS-8 woofers (2 ohm)

There's my 1K system (plus shipping)

I'd run the factory rears.

[808MGuy]

Originally Posted by jayusa77

I have to ask though, whats the difference between different amps, im obviously ignorant so forgive the question, but shouldn't a sony or alpine or JL work similar to every other amp.

You are going to start a war with that question Some people will say a watt is a watt while others will say that they can hear differences between amps. All I can tell you is that having previous experience with Tru amps, I would totally rock that system that VP suggested. For the budget you gave, I don't think you will get significantly better until you spend about double that. JL makes good amps too but they are in the same price range (if you're comparing JL HDs to the Tru) so you're not saving much there. Sony car audio is about the worst thing you could ever buy period.

[Lee Rambler]

if you'd like it to be stealth (other than the z110 in your dash, but maybe you still don't want to see amps in your trunk), a JL XD600/6 can fit where the oem L7/hifi amp would have been. Plus with 6 channels, you can cross the midbasses over, the fronts, and use the 5+6 channels for either rears or a true subwoofer (I'd definitely go the sub route). I know how much VP dislikes the Quarts, but for the money they can be had for I really don't think you can beat the RUA213's, and I think there are definite benefits to the larger mid. They can be had for $130 from onlinecarstereo, add that to the $500 for the JL XD6006, $150 for a JL10W1 in a box and $100 for decent cables, some power wire, some dynamat for your front doors (while you're doing your speakers), and you are under your budget - even going to your local JL dealer for everything but the quarts. It helped not having to worry about cleaning up the signal going to the amp =). You could substitute the less expensive morels for the quarts and still be around your budget. You would still be running the stock midbasses at this price, but you should be able to pick up a set of L7 underseats for $100-200 used, or pick up a set of the new shallow dayton 8's from parts express for $200 (or if you want they have morel mw266's on sale for $99 too, but they are 8 ohm - madisound has 4 ohm mw265's left for $120 or so). If you do a true subwoofer, I would steer clear of the SWS's though, as their midbass performance is not so great. If you don't want a sub in the trunk, then you could do the sws's and bridge 4 channels to two on the xd6006 for more bass power (or do the xd4004 to save $)

[rkm3]

If you are interested, I have an Alpine Retrofit kit for sale that I have installed. I caught the bug and want to upgrade even more. There is a lot on this site and UK site about this kit. You can see this in the for sale posts.

[jayusa77]

Thank you guys for chiming in and helping me with this, the ideas are rattling in my brain and I feel like I'm getting closer to this install. Guess I will ask since eveyone keeps telling me that this is the best I can get for my budget, if I save for a couple more months, what should I buy if I had 2000 to spend? I'm hoping this opens the floor for even more ideas. Should I piece better speakers one piece at a time or just wait until I have enough money to buy it all at once?

[808MGuy]

Originally Posted by jayusa77

Thank you guys for chiming in and helping me with this, the ideas are rattling in my brain and I feel like I'm getting closer to this install. Guess I will ask since eveyone keeps telling me that this is the best I can get for my budget, if I save for a couple more months, what should I buy if I had 2000 to spend? I'm hoping this opens the floor for even more ideas. Should I piece better speakers one piece at a time or just wait until I have enough money to buy it all at once?

The jump to $2k will probably open up the possibility of an external sound processing device like an Audison Bitone or Zapco DC Reference amps. This may or may not be a good thing for you. While it gives you ultimate control over every speaker in the system, DSPs are notoriously difficult to use properly if you're not experienced in system tuning. It doesn't sound like you have a lot of tuning experience so I would only look into this option if you have a dealer close by that you trust to do the tuning for you. Otherwise, you end up doing more harm than good with the DSP. The additional budget could also open up options for a true trunk mounted sub. VP has a subwoofer enclosure that integrates nicely into the corner of the trunk.

[VP Electricity]

Originally Posted by 808MGuy

DSPs are notoriously difficult to use properly if you're not experienced in system tuning. It doesn't sound like you have a lot of tuning experience so I would only look into this option if you have a dealer close by that you trust to do the tuning for you. .

Or you could work with someone who pre-programs them for your vehicle

[jayusa77]

Originally Posted by VP Electricity

Or you could work with someone who pre-programs them for your vehicle

Talk to me VP, I see where your going an I'm interested. Wouldn't be for a few months until I could afford it but I'm deffinately interested

[808MGuy]

Originally Posted by VP Electricity

Or you could work with someone who pre-programs them for your vehicle

Wanna give me a program for mine? Once I receive my SLB-Us I'll be retuning. BTW, is there a way to see what program you're actually on in the software. I've got three different presets now but I have no idea which is the one currently loaded to the amp.

[wareagle900]

Originally Posted by VP Electricity

Or you could work with someone who pre-programs them for your vehicle

Or you could buy from someone who cares, namely VP, and they can help you!



VP FTW

[quality_sound]

Originally Posted by 808MGuy

Wanna give me a program for mine? Once I receive my SLB-Us I'll be retuning. BTW, is there a way to see what program you're actually on in the software. I've got three different presets now but I have no idea which is the one currently loaded to the amp.

You can use the controller from the DSP6-SL but you'd have to call Robert and order it as a separate piece.

[fdriller9]

About the differences in amps...I just swapped out my JL 500/1 with an Alpine MRP-M500 powering my 12" Type-R in the trunk. The JL hits a lot harder and cleaner. I took the Alpine out right away lol.

[fdiprete]

sorry for the thread jack - but

vp - what do you think about replacing the 4" speakers with co-ax speakers to save the cost of the door sails, (infinity or others) , replacing the 6" with 8" sws, and using a 6 channel amp to power the lot. I just installed a jl G6600 and for $280 it rocks.

Curious how you guys feel about using co-ax speakers for budget minded people.

[808MGuy]

Originally Posted by fdiprete

sorry for the thread jack - but

vp - what do you think about replacing the 4" speakers with co-ax speakers to save the cost of the door sails, (infinity or others) , replacing the 6" with 8" sws, and using a 6 channel amp to power the lot. I just installed a jl G6600 and for $280 it rocks.

Curious how you guys feel about using co-ax speakers for budget minded people.

I would say its a significant compromise unless you're using higher end coax speakers that have separate crossover modules and maybe even bi-amp inputs. At that point, you are in the same ballpark as a mid level component set in terms of cost. The door sails are less than $100 for the pair so its not really a big cost item relative to everything else.

[VP Electricity]

Not only that, but with a smooth set of tweeters, they are a very strong part of the sonic potential of the car.

For rear speakers, OK fine, rear speakers are a commie plot anyway, but fronts, poor money-saving strategy... better off with a 4-channel amp.

[Lee Rambler]

I cant think of a coax off the top of my head that is inexpensive enough to warrant a savings - especially when quart rua213's can be had for $130 (I know how VP feels about the tweeter, but I think tuned properly they sound very good - especially for $130). The morels are the only thing that comes to mind, and they aren't really that much less expensive than the components - at least not enough to justify not using the components. JL's C2's aren't bad, but I think they are too deep.

[zenmaster]

Originally Posted by VP Electricity

- Tru Technology S44 60wx4 amplifier (made in USA)

- Helix H234 100mm comps (from Germany)

- Earthquake SWS-8 woofers (2 ohm)

VPE - It seems that the S44 amp may be a little under powered for driving 2 SWS-8's @ RMS 150W (300W max). They recommend a min of 75-90% RMS. How did you calculate? Thanks for the help.