After hours of online research, it is easy to get overwhelmed by the choices of new speakers / amplifiers. So, I decided to take my own advice and go listen to different options at local stereo dealers. The problem is that they were very, very limited in what they carry; and they push it HARD. One of the places featured Kicker -- almost exclusively. Whatever I asked about, they showed me the Kicker equivalent, that of course was better. Another store had tons of Sony and Rockford, but little else. Anyway, in lieu of hearing it first hand, I would really appreciate constructive criticism and guidance on spearker / amp combos.

From reading this forum, I am particularly interested in:

1. Elemental Designs - eDi 6000s v.2 components in the doors and the 13.Kv.2 sub. Apparently, you get a package deal if you buy their 4 channel sub along with this, but it is backordered. I'm guessing that the front two channels would drive the components, and the rear channels would be bridged to drive the sub, correct? Would that be enough power to drive that sub???

2. Polk momo components and 12" sub (2124). I have no idea about an amp to match with these. One friend of mine swears by Phoenix Gold, and his car sounds great. The Octand R8.0:4 seems like a logical choice, but again, I wonder if it is enough to power the sub. I would really prefer to go with one amp to simplify things; but if I have to go with two, I will.

3. Infinity components (6010) and sub (1250). I've heard nothing but good things about them, and they are relatively cheap. Again, I don't know which amp.

I also have read great reviews on CDT 61A components and wonder how they stack up against these choices.

My preference in music is all over the place -- mainly rock, blues and country. Even talk radio when NFL season rolls around. BTW, this is where the Bose sounds the worst -- like people are talking into a pillow in the next room. Arrrgghh!

I know I should follow my own advice and go hear this myself to decide; but that may involve a road trip to civilization, and a day or two off work. In the meantime, I would really appreciate your input!

Kirk

 

I am still collecting my components(one more sub box to go),but am using Infinity Kappa component speakers in the front, and Kappa coaxials with crossovers in the roof pillars driven by an Audiobahn 4 channel amp(100 watts/channel@ 2 ohms).In the rear I have 2-10" Infinity Kappa dual voice coil subs each driven from a seperate Audiobahn class D amp (300 watts each@2 ohms).I liked the Audiobahn amps because they have built in cooling fans instead of relying only on passive radiation to cool them,and since they will be in a boxed amprack between the wheelwells I thought that might be important.

 

You've narrowed it down to a decent list there and unfortunately it comes down to personal taste. I don't know the specific speakers, but in general Infinitys lean towards bright and forward, where Polk is a more laid back sound. I haven't heard the ED's at all, though they're well spoken of around these parts.

And just to let you know... that pillow over the speakers thing for talk radio isn't all the speakers fault... Sirius and XM both sound awful. They sound different, but they sound bad. XM has a veiled sound, "music under a table cloth" is the best description I can come up with. Sirius is more forward in their sound, but it's digitally compressed into nails-on-a-chalkboard sound. Like you I listen to alot of talk radio, especially during the daily commute, so I don't mind it for that, but for music *shudder*.

 

IMO the infinitys are a good cheap speaker but I would pass on em the other stuff is levels above the infinity. Infinity tends to be very bright and there subs I find to be overrated on power handling.

Now first off that PG 8.0:4 amp is a good amp but its just not enough power for this application. Forum member DPG had the exact amp and just upgraded for something with more kick. The elemental designs nine.4 can power components and a sub no problem I did an install with this amp in the fall and it sounded good but you could tel more power wouldnt have hurted. For a killer 4 channel check out kicker 650.4 and 850.4 either the kx older line or zx. The 850.4 is great if you have room but its a tank of an amp. The polk momo c400.4 is a also a nice amp, i use that for my components and coaxials in my car. Now as far as the polks vs the elemental designs I have polk components in my daily driver and wish I could fit the elemental designs in but they are just too deep for my car. I think either way you will be happy, but I put all my money on the elemental designs components and subs. The 13kv2 sub deff walks all over the polk momo's i would know I went from 2 momo 12's, to 2 13kvs and was very happy sounded way better.

 

Pentavolvo - Thank you very much for the info. I just ordered the KX650.4.

On the Crutchfield site, it says that a tri-way adapter may be needed with this amp, but the link was broken. Will I need something to run this amp with one set of components and 1 sub?

Thanks,
Kirk

 

what everyone already said about the speakers...
for amps, i know penta always praises the nine.4 but for me I would never go that low on power. with only 65wrms you don't have much headroom and if you have a vert or any mods that make your exhaust louder you may be finding yourself pushing the system to it's limits more often then not. I had an xtant 603x and it sounded great, but with the top down and on the highway it left a lot to be desired. now if you have a coupe or frc that is well deadened then that is a different story, 65-75wrms should be fine but 100-150 would give you plenty of headroom and improved sound quality.

The kicker was probably a good choice for the money. I've never heard them personally but they should do fine if you give them a nice clean signal.

 

Thanks Scott, The clean signal is yet another thing. The signal out of a computer is virtually powerless, correct? Initially, I will probably just run off the onboard sound; but eventually I would like to get a USB DAC setup.

I ran a pretty good sound card in my home theater PC for years, and was never completely satisfied with the sound. When my old receiver finally went up, I bought one that had a direct USB connection. What a difference!

Thanks,
Kirk

 

do you have 50 bucks to spare on a soundcard?

 

The reason I mentioned the USB option is because I want to go with a laptop. I know there are a few different options, but I'll deal with that later.

Kirk

 

then reason i mention 50 bucks is that i have a really nice dac sitting in my room right now that i would sell it to you if you wanted it. It's a coustic dac and has some pretty nice specs. you'll need toslink or spdif output from your laptop though.

 

Doh! I must have been zoned out when I read this the first time -- sorry!

For now, I'm just going to concentrate on getting this thing up and running without breaking the bank or screwing up my car. It's been a fairly steep learning curve so far.

Thanks,
Kirk

 

Penta just did my set up with edi comp and sub w/ 650.4 Kicker amp. I also ordered a flush mount box from Dave at NCR with vette match carpet and honestly I couldn't be happier with everything! Trust what these guys have to say....