I've read and read through the forums, but like most newcomers the choices of equipment and speakers are endless which makes choosing difficult. Any opinions on the setup I have choosen would be appreciated. Bare in mind, I'm not set on these items so if you think changing this, that and the other or see additional equipment needed, then feel free to give me some feedback. All recommendations welcome.

Car: 07' C6 Coupe (Non-Bose)
Music: Classic Rock, Rock, Hip-Hop, Alternative

Pioneer AVH-P6800DVD

(1 set)Dynaudio System 340 - Dynaudio 3-Way 7"/3" Component (fronts)

(3)Image Dynamics ID8V.3-D2 - Image Dynamics Subwoofers (rear)

(1)Rockford Fosgate T8004 - Rockford Fosgate 4 Ch. 800 Watt Amplifier (front spkrs)

(1)Rockford Fosgate T8004 - Rockford Fosgate 4 Ch. 800 Watt Amplifier (rear spkr)

I'm in Houston and looking for someone to build a fiberglass enclosure and amp rack. Recommendations needed for this as well.

 

Everything looks good except your amps. There is no reason to run 2 four channel amps. You can use one 4 channel amp to run the front speakers and the subs or two 2 channel amps.

 

I had this done at a Houston sound shop that does the installs on several high end cars. Check out www.customcarstereo.com . Ask for Barry.

Front Speakers: Dynaudio 240 mk II (replaced the bose in the door)
www.dynaudio.de/eng/auto/mobile/240mk2.php

Front Amp: JL Audio 300.2
http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_amps.php?amp_id=253

Sub: JL Stealthbox
http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_s...hp?fit_id=1531

Sub Amp: JL Audio 250.1
http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_amps.php?amp_id=251

Disconnected the rear and center speakers. Added cleansweep AUX connection in the center console for IPOD. Kept the stock HU to keep the HUD interface and stock warnings/bells. The system is low profile and appears near stock, but puts out PLENTY of clean clear sound. The sub really makes the music full.

A couple of install pics:

 

Welcome to the best forum on the internet.
I like the equipment you've picked (Eat Rice is correct on the amps). Shop around, most quality shops will have photos of cars they have done. Most shops will also push their products. Best wishes

 

Looks good except amp selection

 

I am not all that hot on RF amps anymore... they used to be great, but anymore... The last great amps they made were the M series. I had a 500m and that thing would rock. The old (I mean OLD, circa 1990) Punch amps were serious. I had a Punch 45 that put out a **** load more than 45 watts....

If I was looking for SQ, I would look at ArcAudio or JL Audio... there are a few other brands I have no experience with that are popular, too.

 

What do you think about incoroporating some Audio Control equipment into the mix of all this? I guess I'm hinting at building a somewhat entry level comp. system. Nothing too flashy, but something that will definetly beyond a shadow of a doubt make you say "Wow, that sounds incredible".

 

You gentlemen have any recommendations on specific amplifiers?

One concern/question I have is how would I set up a 3-way system in the doors. Do you run the 7" as a midbass, 3" at full range and then the tweeter as a high?

Does anyone out there have pictures of their 3-way's in the door?

 

Threeways should come with a crossover. So you run a full range signal to the crossover and let it sort out the details.

Threeways should fit in the C5/C6 door REAL easy.

To run threeways, I would want at LEAST 100 watts per channel. 150 would be ideal.

 

Here are two of my recent installs:


Dynaudio System 340 w/ Audison LRx 2.250


Focal K2 Power 100KP and 165KBE w/ Audison LRx 4.300

 

That looks really nice and gives me an exact picture of what I was looking for. What is the black material/cloth behind the speakers? Did you make your own speaker mounting plates?

 

The black material is accumat sound dampening, same stuff as dynamat. The plate is made out of mdf and also for the midrange on top, the factory midrange is attached to the door panel, didn't really like that.



Both sets of speakers do come with passive crossovers so you can use a two channel amp and call it a day.

The Dynaudio system uses a two channel amp.

The Focal system uses a four channel amp (bi-amped), channels one and two for tweeter/midrange through its passive crossover, channels three and four for the midbass through the amps active crossover. This give me more control and flexability in controling the gain levels and crossover points.

Right now im working on my own car with three way components in the front and using one Audison LRx 6.9 six channel amp to run the entire front setup. channels one and two for the tweeters highpass, channels three and four for the midrange bandpass, channels five and six for the midbass lowpass with a passive highpass crossover to protect the midbass bottom end.

My reason for doing this is to save space and money compared to using a multiple amp setup.

Hope this helps,

Automotive Entertainment. Santa Monica. California.

 

Oh yeah,

Your speaker and subwoofer selection are really good, I would keep it that way.

As far as Rockford Fosgate, i dont think they'll do justice for your speakers, your speakers deserve something nicer.

You should consider my setup

Audison LRx 6.9 six channel for the front speakers

Audison LRx 1.1 single channel for the subwoofers




Automotive Entertainment. Santa Monica. California

 

What are you thoughts on adding an Audio Control EQ to this mix? Is it necessary, or will the crossovers supplied be sufficient enough?

 

I am with the other guys in saying you can do better power wise than the current RF stuff.

Audison stuff is well regarded. Have to mention Zapco and JL as quality amps as well. I personally love the sound quality and output of the Genesis Profile p5 (5 channel) amp that I am running in my car at the moment. They also make a series III amp that is handmade in England that are great quality (and spendy). I am sure Scott_Fx will mention the Butler tube amps that he will be running in his system. Great warm sound from them.

Rest of the components look good. I do not know the specs on the Pioneer HU but you might want to look into the Eclipse counterpart .. it may offer a bit better SQ.

G'luck
Fej

 

Audio Control stuff is great, i use them in alot of my installs!

For your car I would recomend two things:

Audio Control DQT, the DQT is a 31 band two channel stereo EQ, it will give you 31 bands per channel, 31 bands for the left, and 31 bands for the right, and I also beleive it gives you parametric control. This EQ will give you full control of all the frequencies for your front stage. You can "cut" and "boost" each and every band so you can optain a flat response to use as your base settings (a starting point), I suggest using an RTA to do this, your Audio Control dealer should be able to help you. After the base settings are done you can start tuning with the EQ to your taste. If when tuning things start to head for the wrong direction, you can always revert to the base settings and start all over again. The DQT also has preset you can use for different types of music or you can use them for comparison.


Audio Control Epic Center, this would be used for the subwoofer. The Epic Center is NOT a bass volume or level controller. What the Epic Center basicly does is that it "Makes Bass" or "Restores Bass". When you listen to Mp3's, re-recorded Cd or Satalite radio, do you notice that the output of the bass is alot less than compared to an original CD? I'm sure you have. Thats where the Epic Center comes into play, it gives you back all the bass that was lost. So if you listen to Mp3's, re-recorded Cd or Satalite radio, then i would highly reccomend this to you.


As you can probably tell, I'm a HUGE fan of Audio Control Products. The car is probably the worst place ever for an audio system, poor acoustics, poor speaker locations etc... but to me Audio Control has proven to make things a little bit easier.


Hope this helps,




Automotive Entertainment. Santa Monica. California