It's been years since I've had a system in my car (probably 6-7 years) -- I used to have a really nice SQ system consisting of some Alpine Type-X components, Infinity Kappa Perfect (and then later JL Audio) 10" subs, and the old school really nice Xtant amps (the chrome ones with all the little squares cut out, before Xtant was sold), a dedicated SQ-competition-grade Alpine HU, and of course a bunch of miscellaneous wiring, caps (gotta love the Batcap), fiberglass, etc.

I want to get back into it now, but I'm not sure where to start these days. I don't know if the same companies are still on top of sound quality systems the way they were 10 years ago. I don't know if I should start with switching out my stock HU (I have the base audio system), or do like Crutchfield recommends and start with swapping out the speakers first.

Looking for recommendations on great SQ components, tight realistic subs, clear amps, and a head unit that will make it all sound great and make my life a little easier. Please chime in!

 

There was a guy that was building a whole system not too long ago. He stopped posting, so I'm not sure where he ended up, but I gave him a lot of advice. Look for that thread and I'll watch this one. It's probably no further than page 2 of this section of the forum. I'd be happy to help. It's just that I posted a LOT in that thread and don't want to re-type it all haha. Are you installing or taking it somewhere?

 

Yeah I checked out that thread, it doesn't really apply to me but good advice.

I've had an SQ competition system before, so I understand imaging, sound deadening, etc. FWIW I also agree with only running the front components.

What I'm really looking for is advice on what brands are now on top of the SQ world, as I haven't really bought any car audio gear in years.

I LOVED my Alpine Type-X components, but I can only find them in 6.5" two way components, which apparently won't fit in the doors? That seems a little suspect, since the Shaker system has 8" woofers in the doors, but I don't know if it would involve trimming the panels to get them to fit with the base stock system.

For amps, I'm looking for clarity. The old school Xtant amp I had was amazing, it didn't distort the sound at all. That is as compared to an Alpine and a JL Audio amp I had in there before. Not going back to JL Amps, as one of them blew (only running at 50% load), taking out about $6k worth of stuff in the process. Just left a bad taste in my mouth.

For subs, I loved the Infinity Kappa Perfect 10s I had, but they don't make Kappa Perfects anymore. So looking for some tight, natural-sounding bass that can still hit hard if I want to listen to some hip hop or techno.

And I don't want to pay a bunch I am estimating that it will cost me about $2k to build this system (sans head unit) with me doing the install myself.

So for right now, here's what I'm looking at doing, please critique and add suggestions on brand:

Big Batcap running power to the whole thing (essentially a second battery)
Alpine Type-X components in the front, massaged into the stock openings
Infinity Kappa 4-channel amp bi-amping the front components
2 Infinity Kappa 10" subs
Infinity Kappa 2-channel amp running the subs
Assorted fuses & wiring of course

I'm a big fan of running 0-gauge wire from your alternator to the battery, really helps with this kind of power draw. I will most likely be doing all of this install myself, I am fully capable, have friends who would love to help, and honestly it would be fun to turn the clock back 10 years to when we were building systems.

I want to keep the stock head unit for now, because I would much rather spend $1000 on getting the sound the way I want it than on having Nav and DVD playback (which I won't use). I will eventually go that route, but for now, do I need a line driver to signal the amps, or is it just a waste of time trying to use the stock head unit with this setup?

 

I have a Memphis audio 5 channel amp audio powering 1 JL Audio 12w6 with JL audio speakers with factory radio and i disconnected the door subs. Now it sounds really clean.

 

Here's a pic

 

If you won't use all the features of a new head unit, stick with the stock one and get an external processor - which I mentioned multiple times in that thread.

You're on the right track, but the brands you are mentioning are hardly too quality SQ stuff. The Type-X comps were very good bang for your buck, but I'd take a look at the Hertz HSK line and Audison amps. You will want to go at least partially active on the components, and I'd recommend the JL ZR800 8" mids for the door woofers. I'm not a huge fan of JL, but those mids, their HD line of amps and of course the W6 subs are top notch. That should get you going for now...

 

Yeah I saw you mention that in the thread. My build is different than his, as I'm going for SQ, and didn't know if the stock HU was going to be up to the job. It would be convenient to just leave it in for now.

I'm really not a fan of JL, as I mentioned several times in this thread. Their stuff is ok, but I had 2 12w6 subs before and they were probably the least impressive subs I had (between them, the Xtants, and the Kappa Perfects). They didn't have the boom of the Xtants or the punch of the Infinitis, just kind of an above average all around sub. Nice if you want a "jack of all trades, master of none" kind of sub, but that's not what I'm looking for -- I want tight, punchy bass that can hit hard. Plus that JL amp that I had was probably the worst amp I've ever had.

I did own an Audison amp, I forgot about that brand. Glad to hear they're still making good stuff. Some brands in car audio will really fall off after time.

I will check out those components though. I'm not looking to do 3-ways with 8"s in the doors, the Mustang doesn't really have anywhere convenient to put the 6.5" and tweeters if I do that, without doing a lot of custom work.

 

That was one thing the original OP of that thread and I couldn't agree on - tweeter placement. Really, if you've done fg work before, you should have no problem getting them onto your A-pillars. 6.5s in stock 5x7 location, 8s in doors. Ultimately, you'll make your own decision, but that is what I would do.

For reference, I'm running the Hertz Mille comps in my Escape - 1/3" two-ways glassed into the A-pillars, 6.5s mounted in the doors (which admittedly are not done with deadener yet - I only have 1 layer of cascade on the inner skin :-/) and the Hertz HX300 high energy 12" sub in a 1.0 cube sealed box. I listen to EVERYthing and this sub is pretty dang punchy. It gets decently low on the dubstep stuff, but I was on a budget - I wish I had gone with the Mille sub too, but for the price, it does the job. I'm running the whole system off my old school Alpine CDA-9835 and Audison LRx5.1k - channels A&B are the 1/3" comps semi passive, mids are bandpassed, and then the sub.

 

The JL slash amps weren't the best, the HD are much better. And which W6s did you have, what kind of enclosure, how much power to them? The W6 is rated as one of the best all around subs out there, but its time has come and gone. I would go ID/Incriminator Audio/Hertz/Audison/Focal over them now.

 

Hmmm, I'm confused then. I thought that I had to choose between putting etiher the 8"s or the 6.5"s in the door, I didn't know there were places for both of them?

I would rather not fiberglass the pillars just yet, the car is brand new and I really hate to just start messing with it right now. That being said, I don't really have another place to put them!

I did see a good episode of whatever the West Coast Customs show is called where they were putting a system into a new GT for Shelby. They made custom fiberglass enclosures for the 8"s in the doors, and then a custom fiberglass box in the trunk (filling the spare tire hole) that housed three 10" subs. I didn't see where they put the tweeters, I didn't actually see any components go in, just the 8" woofers.

I'm shy about the components you suggested, as I don't like bright speakers. The ones you have have aluminum dome tweeters, I tend to go with silk or poly dome tweeters, such as the Alpine Type X or the Focals. The Type X components that I had were the 3-way F1s BTW, so I don't know what you mean about being a good "bang for the buck" component. They were like $2k new! Unless car audio parts have gone up considerably since I stopped doing it, maybe I'm in for a shock on my budget build here!

The only way I could see the HD amps being good is if JL had someone else make them. Those original amps they made were . . . well, you know my feeling on them. I had two 12w6s, I think they were the v2s, in a sealed box with somewhere around 1 cu.ft. per sub. It's been like 6-7 years, hard to remember. Maybe not enough room for them, but they were not terribly impressive. I had 500w going to each of them off of a JL amp, and then later an Xtant x1001.

Ratings are subjective, what sounds fantastic to some people is trash to others. For instance, I hate really bright components, so I can't stand certain brands that other people think are amazing. I also think that ID subs were overrated (they became some kind of cult internet favorite for some reason), but I will defnitely check all of those out. I don't really have a budget for Focal stuff right now, but looking to plan this in stages.

So what should I do for my first stage? I'm thinking:

Stage 1 -- 6.5" Components (and 8" woofers if I can fit them) and Amp (3 or 4 channel so I can add sub later) with line driver to run off of factory head unit. Also run a Batcap for power, a giant fuse box, and some heavy gauge wiring for everything I want to do. Approximate cost - $1500

Stage 2 -- One 12" sub on the right side of the trunk running off the amp. Sealed box, and something I can take out easily for track duty. Approximate cost -- $400-500

Stage 3 -- Kenwood Nav unit and Scosche dash kit, plus Premium steering wheel. Approximate cost -- $1200

Does this seem reasonable, or am I leaving out steps/components/cost?

 

That's a good looking install, thanks for the advice! I'm between going with one or two 12"s right now, how much power are you running to that one 12"?

 

Anybody know the approximate volume of the spare tire well? Thinking about doing a custom fiberglass box in that well, I'm debating between going with 8" subs or 10" subs, just trying to figure out what will fit/sound good in there.

Any help appreciated, thanks!

 

This is what I'm talking about (this is the West Coast Customs/Shelby collabo from 2007):



It has 3 10"s in the trunk, it looks like they're glassed into the spare tire well, am I looking at this correctly?