So I'm trying to come up with a master plan for a sound system in my C5 and after reading alittle here in the C5 Audio, it seems like most of you dump the rear speakers and go with a high quality set of components in the front only with maybe 1 or 2 subs in the rear.

I really want the ENTIRE system to be hidden away (in other words, I want it all to be hidden in the rear 3 sections under the covers in my coupe). I saw a couple of guys that have done this in the sticky at the top of the page. So i was thinking about putting 1 10" sub in the center rear section with the amp just in front of it and a capacitor or the cross overs in one of the rear sections. I need the other section for various crap and because it contains one of the modules (1997 had a module in the left rearcompartment). I was also going to put a set of nice components in the doors.

So because i can only have one amp i need to make it good (unless theres a way to fit two amps in those rear sections)...what are my options here? It seems like most components need around 125watts RMS and subs all all over the place as far as RMS. Does bridging an amp reduce sound quality? I was thinking about getting an infinity 5761a 6 channel and bridging it down to 3 channels (front left, front right, and sub)...would this work? I mean, i know it would work, but would it sound great? Any better options? It seems this is the only way to get enough watts to power the components and the sub with one amp...

HELPPPPPPPP!

Thanks guys!

Rian

 

I would consider a 12" over a 10". Just better bass. not sure about going to a 6ch, but I would think that a 4ch should be enough. the front 2 ch and then bridge the rears for the sub. You wont really need a cap. Most people do fine without it. I'm pushing 1000w with my setup and I'm not needing a cap. Just have to do the big 3 upgrade.

 

the 4ch is the best route in your situation. as for going completely concealed, you'll need a stealthbox for your subwoofer and a small 10" Sub. I'd reccomend a Jl10w3 for that. (you'll be able to use your stock center compartment lid)

I don't know of any decent 4 channel amp you could fit in the storage areas... plus there's no good way to mount amps in those areas. The walls of the storage compartments are nothing but formed carpet.

If you're going for hidden, the best place is either under the seats or directly behind them. It's perfectly possible to fit a decent amp under the passenger seat (assuming it's an unpowered seat)

 

Unfortunately I have dual power seats...

I just realized that the guys that had the amp in the back only used 8" subs...that provided enough room to fit the amp in there...hmmm

 

Check out my install in the thread below. All is hidden. I also have dual power seats, and I am 5'11", plenty of room for me in the driver's seat.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1646410

 

ebay kicker kx650.4

 

A Helix 5 channel is about as small as I've seen, they are about 1" thick and can sometimes be found on E-bay for less than half of the original price of $800. I have one and the 500 watts is more than enough with 250 watts for a 12" subwoofer. They are anodized black with a smoked cover over the circuit board. There are switches to select 2 or 4 channels and pass filters. I mounted mine at the rear of the trunk so it could be seen but it could fit under or behind one of the seats.

 

the new alpine pdx amp line is really powerfull and very small plus all the amps are the same size and made to be stackable...

 

By the time you get a decent sized mounting board set with adhesive and an amp mounted on top you start running out of room underneath the passenger side non-power seat. I have a 17" L by 1.5" H amp and it BARELY fits using a 3/8" board at the rear of the seat. Anything above 2" and it would have to be under 12" IMO.

Another option would be to mount an amp along the back wall ... but in all reality it is really hard to hide everything without some compromise in a vette ... just not a lot of room to work with.

I have a 5 channel underneath my seat and a very small 2 channel mounted under my trunk latch (just barely fit with some carpet "reshaping"). I have a cover on the sub in the center compartment and a 3 way front stage. I worked hard to hide it all, and eventually I am going to redo it into a completely removeable setup for auto-X/HPDE stuff since I no longer have to daily drive it. In fact I may end up taking my existing 5 channel amp out and throwing it into my truck to run a nice 2 way there.

It can be done .. just need to decide what things are most important (IE total stealth vs decent power to the sub vs no sub at all etc).

Fej

 

thanks...im still working on my ideas...keep em coming...

 

You may want to consider going with the 8" JL Audio subs. these subs are amazing. You can get these to sound like you have 12's in the car. buddy of mine has 2 of these in a caviler with a sucide trunk and it will lift the truck up when it is latched.

 

how about one of those alpine digital subs that was mentioned earlier mounted behind the wheel well. you can make a facade and mount it in/behind that. i think they are small enough for that area.

something like this (the panels aren't mounted they are just kinda leaning in there right now...it should line up better when everything is solidly mounted):

you could do one on each side even and still leave the center compartment for a nice sub while looking stealth

 

JL 6" subs and 4" components in the doors. Tweets in the door pulls. Hide a 4 channel amp in the center compartment to power it.

 

Keep in mind, tweets in door pulls will give you very bad imaging, and being much closer to yo uthan the mids, might sound pretty bad

 

So here is what i was thinking. I snagged this pic from the "what do you run in your system" thread...this is BAMF...but i realized these are 8" woofers...i now question, what is a good sounding 8" woofer? Or should i do two 8" woofers? HA

Thanks for all the suggestions so far!

 

Why not do two 10"s?

 

I originally wanted to put a single 10" back there WITH an amp but it looks like the only thing possible is one or two 8" subs with an amp (all in the center compartment)...

 

How big is your amp? I can fit an amp on my box if I wanted to, but I have one behind each seat.

 

i dont actually have an amp yet but i was looking at the infinity 6 channel. Its like 18x12x3. I was going to bridge channel 1 and 2 for one front component set, channel 3 and 4 for the other front component set, and 5 and 6 for a SVC sub.

Thats the only way i could get 100w to each speaker (which most components RMS is 100-125w) and still get enough power to the amp (i think the infinity bridges to 287w for the sub)

 

I dont' reccomend putting the amp in the center compartment for 2 reasons:
1) if you have a stealth box and are planning on using the stock center compartment cover, you amp will have a tendancy to overheat, especially somthing as monsterous as a 100x6 channel.
2) If you don't use the center cover, your amp will be in plain sight (which seems to defeat the purpose of a stealth install)

as far as the subwoofers go: A single 10" woofer can easily handle your low end problems. My reccomendation would be the JL 10w6. The W6 will require a flush mount box for mounting depth but will give you excellent bass. While the dual 10" sub setup looks cool, the airspace avalible for each sub is usually far short of the manufactuer's reccomendations. 8" subwoofers will provide decent bass, but nothing spectacular.