I'm looking to upgrade from the Bose system in my 03Z; I've already installed a Pioneer DEH780MP HU, but I'd now like to upgrade the rest of the system and I am unsure of what to get.

What I do know is that I would like to install (1) 12" Sub, and my biggest goal with this project is to keep a budget, and more than anything have a CLEAR sound from the speakers. What would be the best type of speakers to replace the front and rear with? What would be the best output amplifier to match the speakers? Sub?

Basically I'm not looking for anything crazy, just a decent budget project, I'd almost be happy with similar sound of the C6 system.

 

whats the budget

 

No exact budget; I just wanted to express I wanted a "budget" system; I've seen some pretty wild setups on here that look great; but I'm trying to keep as much space in the car as possible and just get a good CLEAR sound with a little bass (1 10/12" sub)

My biggest problem is what type of speakers to get? coax, 3way, component etc. I don't know which one would work best for my goal.

 

I would suggest something like one 4 channel amp, a set of 6.5" components for the front, and a 12" sub.

My list would probably look like:

Alpine PDX 4.100 amp
Pioneer 720PRS 6.5" components
ID IDQ 12" sub
Channels 1/2 to front components, 3/4 bridged to the sub pushing 300 watts or so. Tuck the amp under the non-power passenger seat, pick up speaker plates and a box from one of several vendors on here, and you are gtg.

Penta might have some packages that will fit your needs and he has probably installed the most vette systems on here.

G'luck
Fej

 

In a C5 the center tub is definitely the place for the sub. Check out the available boxes for the available sub clearance before you buy anything so you're sure they match up.

If you want to keep your rear speakers, another option is a 5-channel amp with a dedicated channel for the sub. Check out my sig for what I used, everything but the HU only cost me about $500.

The rear vertical wall (above the center tub) is also a great place to mount the amp if it won't fit under your seat.

Check out the "what do you run" sticky for other ideas.

 

Personally I would do components in front a 10 or 12 in back and ditch the rear speakers. In my opinion it will sound better with nicer fronts and no rears especially with the small cabin of the vette. IMO 5-600 with wiring is 100% doable

 

I was going to say I'm shooting to stay in the 5-600 area: what do you guys think of these parts?

Polk MM1240DVC 12" Sub
JBL C608GTI-MKII or JBL P660C (second are much cheaper)
and a JBL amp to match (i've found great deals on them, but I'm not sure with amp to get to either run everything, or 1 for the sub, and 1 for the speakers)

 

How would this system work?

Polk MM1240DVC, powered by JBL GTO601.1
JBL C608GTI-MKII, powered by JBL PX600.2

 

sry i havent responded to ur pm yet, ill try and get to it by tomorrow morning

 

No problem, what do you think of the setup in post #8?

 

To use that sub/amp combo you'd have to hook it up like this for the amp to see 2ohms, which gives it an RMS output rating of 580w. The sub is rated for 360rms/720peak, so that might not be a good match, but the 4ohm single coil MM1240 looks like it would be perfect for that amp.

The front component/amp combo looks good.

 

This is what I'm seeing specs wise, I'm just not sure how to match different components, or what bridged etc means; but this is the specs I'm seeing (I tried to match the RMS output at the same Ohm rating)

Polk MM1240DVC - 12” Dual Voice Coil 4 Ohm
Power Handling: (Are these at 4Ohms?)
* Peak 800 Watts
* RMS 425 Watts

JBL GTO601.1
424 watts RMS x 1 at 4 ohms

-------------------------------------------

JBL C608GTI-MKII
Impedance 4 Ohm
- 150 Watts RMS
- 600 Watts Peak (So these are at 4 Ohms?)

JBL PX600.2
RMS Power at 4 Ohms 150 W x 2

 

Everything looks good except for the "Dual Voice Coil" part of the sub.

EACH coil has a resistance of 4 ohms. BOTH coils need to be connected to get the best results out of the sub. If you wire the coils in series (like this) the amp will see 8 ohms, so you don't want to do that since it will drop your power output way down. If you wire the coils in parallel (like this) the amp will only see a 2 ohm load. At 2 ohms, the output rating of the amp is more than that sub can safely handle. (I stole those pics from lesson 38 on this site, you may want to check it out.)

The specs I found for the MM1240DVC (click here) show it at 360RMS/720Peak at 4 ohms. The single coil MM1240 (click here) is the one with 425RMS/800Peak at 4 ohms. That would be perfect for the amp you're looking at.

Just to get ahead of a question you might have...
The ohm rating of the coils is fixed. The way you connect them to the amp is what changes the felt resistance to that amp. A single coil rated at 4 ohms will always show the amp a 4 ohm load.
The amount of power that an amp puts out depends on the resistance that it has on it. More resistance to overcome means less power produced. Most amps have ratings listed at both 2 and 4 ohms, but the actual output depends on how you end up connecting the wires.

"Bridged" is what they call it if you use 2 channels of an amp to power a single speaker. It's not uncommon for people to use a single 4-channel amp with channels 1+2 individually powering each of the two front speakers, then bridging ch 3+4 together to put lots of power into a single sub. Most amps that can be bridged will tell you that in the specs, and many will also list the expected bridged power ratings.

Does that clear it up at all? Skim through the BCAE site I linked to above, it will definitely help.

 

Ok, in an attempt to keep the interior as stock looking as possible I tried to find a single amplifier that could power the sub, and components and fit under/behind the pass seat. It looks like 1/2 can power the components and 3/4 bridged would power the sub perfectly. Am I correct on this? Is Power Acoustic a good reliable brand?

Here's what I'm looking at:

AMP:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

COMPONENTS:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

SUB:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

 

none of ur links work

IMO a 4 channel of rought 100x4 rms would be adequate, paired with some decent 6.5" components, i really like the elemental desgins e3.65i or the polk db 6.5's. Im not a fan of the infinity/JBLS. The polk momo sub is great also

 

Links fixed!

 

You want a single 4 ohm sub, IMO that amp is low quality. Im not a fan of those speakers at all, and could recommend other speakers at same price point.

Personally I think there are better speakers for 100 dollars less and put the 100 dollars towards the amp budget. We could all sit here and make suggestions all day as to which models we would use in our own cars. Are there any specific brands you prefer. I have done tons of budget oriented c5 setup

 

Pentavolvo knows his stuff

In a small car like the vette you don't really need gobs of power. If you're on a budget, it seems to me that mid-grade medium power equipment will sound much better than the lower grade higher power stuff that costs the same, even when you have it turned way up.

Something like....

Plok db6501 components

with a 4 channel amp

and a single coil 12" sub

That combo would probably sound pretty good, and easily keep you under $500 for everything but the sub box (for DIY plans click here), speaker plates (also easily DIY), and wires (don't tell anyone, but I used the mid-grade speaker wire from Lowes and a $15 8-gauge amp wiring kit from eBay).

 

Thanks for the help guys! basically what I'm looking for is clear sound a little bass - and I'd like to get parts from a quality brand, that look kinda plain (I'd like to hide this stuff and have the car look as OEM as possible)

The last setup looks great! But would it leave the Components a little under powered? Otherwise I'll get it ordered!

 

The ratings are a pretty good match, plus it would give you a bit of a buffer in the speakers for when you crank it up.

For the power ratings, consider this. The stock radio maxed out at about 20-25w when turned up full blast. Your new HU has a max of 50w of power, but what do you normally keep the volume set at, probably much less than half way. Imagine how loud an amp putting out 75-100w on each channel will be.

Shop around, pick out something you like, there are lots of choices.

The amp I linked to is just an example, but I have it's sister in my car and am very happy with it.

Unless you go with a much more expensive (and smaller) class D amp you may end up having to mount it on the rear wall, but there is more room under the seat in a Z.