Ok I've got everything pretty much decided except for what amp to go with. I'm running Boston Pro 653 up front and a single Boston 10.5lf sub. Shop recommended a Fosgate 4x125 amp but I'm a little skeptical. I think the fronts need more like 200 watts rms., 250 is probably enough fo rthe sub. Anyway I am looking for suggestions for amps that have a good price/performance quotient. I don't want to compromise the speakers with a cheapo amp but I also don't want to overspend.

 

No rear speakers? If you want to kill, get an A/D/S PQ40.2 for the front and a JL500/1 for the sub.
A single less expensive option is an A/D/S Ph30 amp.
A/D/S underates their power.


[Modified by 92TripleBlack, 11:34 AM 7/3/2002]

 

From my experience ... the rear speakers in the C5 are useless. Unless you move them into a more useful location, their installation only wastes money.

 

Makes sense. If you got seperates, you could at least easily relocate the tweeters to get better imaging from the rear.

 

I know a/d/s is a respected brand but they are claiming .10%thd at the rated power for all their amps, which is higher than the typical .07% - .08% most mfg's claim. I was planning on going with Digital Audio because they claim .02%thd at the rated power and a s/n ratio of 100db on their HC amps. Is a/d/s just the only honest mfg and everyone else blowing smoke??

I like a front soundstage and my experience is that a good quality set of fronts and a tight 10" sub with proper amplification is the perfect setup for a coupe like the C5. I'm willing to bet my little Boston Pro 653's and 10.5LF with a proper amp will yield extremely high fidelity and also blow the doors off almost any multi-speaker system with tons of amps and subs and so forth. From what I have read you can throw 500 true watts at the Bostons and they will not distort, period.

 

A/D/S is the cleanest amps I've ever heard and owned period. My last one was stolen from an old mustang I had. I've been installing and following autosound for 15 years now. As to the power handling, yes, the boston will be a great sub. Mine goes to ear bleed without distortion.

 

Thanks for your advice. It's looking to me like harmonic distortion claims are kinda like power ratings, some manufacturers just claim whatever outrageous numbers they think people want to hear. Unfortunately a/d/s doesn't have any authorized dealers online so it's impossible to find any good deals on their amps, I'm going with Soundstream. Actually checking into a used reference 1000 & 664 that I came across, if that doesn't work out I found a place in LA selling brand new Soundstream Picasso 880's for $279. (!!) http://carstereotime.com/.

 

Oh my GOD!!! I just went to my local stereo shop and saw the Boston Pro 653's ... the crossover is HUGE! ... it looks soo cool and they sounded better than the MB Quart 3-way's I planned to buy ... you have given Boston a new customer ... where do you plan to put the crossovers? ... I can't even believe that they are good for upto 500W ... I only plan to bi-amp them with 150WRMS each side ... will that be enough?


[Modified by NewVetteLover, 8:25 PM 7/5/2002]

 

You might want to check out this ebay auction. I know Hifonics is not a high profile brand, but it is quite clean. This is cheap dollars for this amp new.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=1364536668


[Modified by Jay Axson, 10:58 PM 7/5/2002]

 

Anyone have experience with Audiobahn amplifiers? They offer a 300x2@4ohm amp that looks pretty damn nice for the price ($370)

http://carstereotime.com/audiobahn/a3201q.html

What's the cost on the BA Pro 653's?


[Modified by ZippoMan, 3:16 PM 7/6/2002]

 

I've heard a few people say you need 200watts but I bet you'll be fine. They are pretty nice huh? I was going with the 6.5 2 ways originally but I just could pass up on the 3 ways, might as well do it right if you're going to the trouble. I will be running them with 160watts per side. I'm pretty sure anything over 100watts if it's good clean power will drive them pretty good. I'll know for sure in a couple days.

 

I was considering audiobahn until I read all the negative reviews on http://www.carreview.com. Lot's of people have had problems with those amps. I have found a couple discounters selling soundstream amps for pretty reasonable prices. I finally decided to go with a Soundstream RubiconII 550-5 for $399. http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/carau...42&q=&start=26 - unfortunately the price has gone up to $429 but that's still a good deal for a respected quality 5 channel amp.

The Boston Pro 653's are not cheap, they list for $750 and good luck finding them for much of a discount. Kinda makes you gulp at first but the reality is that spending an extra $300 or so for the difference those speakers will make to your system is pretty trivial compared to the total cost of your system with install. I have heard a lot of people say they are the best front components around at any price.


[Modified by buddha, 4:29 PM 7/6/2002]

 

They are really nice speakers ... the Boston Acoustics website says they will work fine with 20 to 500 watts ... so I should be fine ... if I get them ... $700 is kind of expensive ... the JL Audio 300/4 is highly underrated ... my friend tested his at 98Wx4 ... so 200 per side is not hard ...

Do you plan to install all of the 3 speakers in the door or separatly ...

Thanks ... do you know of any stores online that sell them cheaper than $700???

 

I haven't been able to find any BA stuff on the net :sad:

Someone post here if you know of any good sources.

 

Actually ... http://www.tms-electronics.com has them I think ..

 

Most installers (including mine) will tell you mounting the tweets anywhere but down in the door will result in seriously messed up imaging. The head unit I'm getting has 6 channel time delay for tweaking the stereo image based on speaker location and interior acoustics, but even so I'm mounting everything in the doors. I don't know how much this applies to car audio but in a home system the ultimate goal is to have a single point source for each channel so in general the more you position your drivers for each channel further away from each other the messier things get.

Boston seems to have it in for Internet discounters, I couldn't find them actually listed at a discount anywhere. I decided to buy my amp and head unit online and get the speakers and sub from the the guy who's installing it all so he can make some money. I saved something like $800 on the head unit and the amp so I don't feel that bad about paying almost list for the Bostons, plus the installer will be happy too.

After 3 days of research my final system is: Alpine CDA-7897, Soundstream Rubicon 550-5, Boston Pro 653's and Boston Pro 12.5lf sub. I'm pretty excited, this is going to be an extremly high fidelity system that will also probably push 130 db and be pretty bulletproof.

 

Yeah, most of the high end stuff doesn't like to be discounted like Boston, A/D/S, Focal, etc. The TMS site is the only one I could find with a discount. Their site is http://www.bostonacoustics.com
Good luck with the new setup!

 

FWIW,
I recently changed from very clean Phoenix Gold amps, to absolutely operating room steril ultra ultra ultra clean (haha), Zapco Competition amps. Cleanest & highest rated amps, technically & sound quality wise, by
most stereo magazines & other judging authorities.




[Modified by indypace78, 8:28 AM 7/7/2002]