I have been reading the info available here and after initialling thinking of upgrading the back speakers and adding a sub have come to the conclusion that ditching the entire Bose system is likely the best decision in the longer term as i will not likely be happy with the compromises otherwise.

As a result I am looking for comments on my preliminary system choices as my audio knowledge is not that strong. I have narrowed things down to:

Head unit: Alpine CDA-D857 1.5 DIN (non current but still available)
2 pre-outs, 4Volt pre-out, 45x4 MOSFET Amp, no XM, No MP3
I prefer the full space face versus the 1 DIN. Vette is 1.5 DIN right?
Otherwise the Alpine CDA-7897 to get XM & MP3

Amp: Phoenix Gold TI500.4, 4 channel x 75W @ 4OHM or 2 x 250W bridged
I assume that this will be enough power bridging 2 channels for sub
and the other 2 channels for the front speakers, no rears planned,
but if I did, could they be driven by the head unit power?

Sub: JL Audio 10" 10W3 Stealthbox

Speakers:Not certain yet but heard the Focal K2's in a car, WOW

Option 1:Focal 165K2, MBQuart QM218.61Q or Dynaudio 240 (7") or 260 (8")

Option 2: Focal 165W or 180W, MBQuart QSD216, or Dynaudio 340 or 360

Am I right that 75 watts will power the Focal's the best & MB Quart's the least.

Thanks to 92TripleBlack, 99HT, Indypace 78 & others for posting advice/comments on previous threads as it has helped a lot.

 

for your front soundstage, focal utopia is your best bet.. i dont like kevlar's tweeters, but utopias tweeters are the best on the market. Rainbow makes the best midranges, but they are WAY EXPENSIVE. 75watts is not enough for System Utopia, MHO. yu want at LEAST 100watts to them. Focals have a very clean rich sound to them.. dynaudios sound "hollow" to me, and MB Quartz sound generally clean, but stale. Definately listen to all of them. It's subjective anyway, best to one is worse to another.

 

Just installed Alpine CDA-7892 over the weekend.....I have it running to Kenwood xcelons...Have no experience with the speakers you mention, but I am blown away by my new system.....you'll like the Alpine HU. :) :)

 

Well, my ear tolds me that Focal Utopia speakers are good, but somewhat brash. Dynaudios to me, were very rich & full sounding, crisp & extremely clean, but also brilliantly bright when needed. I went with them.
The 360's 3 ways :yesnod:

 

Thank you for illustrating my point.


Go listen to some components.
:crazy:

 

Thanks Kale & Indypace78. I think you are right and I am increasing the power perhaps up to 150W per side upfront. I may go with an additional 75W x 4 channel bridged to drive the sub and the other 2 channels to drive rear speakers for sound fill. I am getting varying opinions on whether I should bother with rear fill speakers and the additional cost to drive them. You know, front center stage, imaging, fuller sound etc. Comments appreciated from those that have gone one way or the other. Anyone else go with a 1.5 Din Alpine unit? Thanks.

 

Everybody has a different ear. What you've listed are great choices. I would also look into A/D/S amps and speakers. They are both top notch. The best bet is to listen to them first hand and compare so you get what sounds best to you. Bring a CD with a female vocal you like as this is the most difficult sound to reproduce and compare side by side the ones you are looking at. It may take a few different shops to get them all. The PG amps are good but there are better. Again, A/D/S is my preference for mids and tweets. They have a killer 100x4 and 150x4. I would use someone else for subs though.
Hope this helps.