amp and sub advice (im new dont flame me!)

[sciguy007]

new to the board, im dumb, help an idiot out =)

i just ordered my pioneer deh-p6300 head and now im thinking of the amp, subs, and box. what i had in mind was a kenwood Excelon KACX401M to send 300 watts to each of two 4 ohm subs. im not sure about subs, but i was thinking cheap -JBL GTo series 12's. how will that sound? also, for door speakers i was thinking of going for 5.25" infinity kappa's, and run them off the head without an amp. i have heard that those are power hungry, but will the size i want need more power? hmm, i think thats it. i know these are pretty basic questions, but ive looked around and i still dont know. thanks.

also one more questions, what is the difference between a 2 volt preout and a 4.4v preout?
thanks again.

 

[Brian's98XLT]

I tell you what if you want some great subs for the money try the Kenwood DB 12" I have done alot of them at work and they just crank.

 

[JTang]

Don't get the GTO's. They're really old and pretty bad. I know that they sell them at like Circuit City for dirt cheap now, as well as Crutchfield, I think. Almost like for a 2 for 1 deal. The problem is that their cones are really heavy and thick, so the bass is really sloppy and muddy (in my experience). For that entry level price, you could pick up a way better sub even for that small price. In that range, I'd recommend the MTX Blue Thunder legends. They're inexpensive, and all round pretty good, winning lots of praise when they first came out. They're dirt cheap on Crutchfield now I think. I went to a JBL/Infinity outlet, and the salesrep tried to sell me some GTO's. When he demo'd them they sounded so bad, the guy looked embarrassed.

The Kenwood DBs are good too, they got a great rating in a recent car audio mag, "Mobile Entertainment". It's a bit more expensive though too, prolly just above entry level.

 

[sciguy007]

ya ive been leaning away from JBL now. what about getting 2 infinity perfect 10s in a sealed box?

and what are good infinity speakers for my doors that i can run off a 50x4 head without an amp?

one more question. is this the amp bypass piece i need for my audiophile system ( the one with the sub and 2 amps in the back Ford/JBL):
http://www.sounddomain.com/shop/item.pl?sku=SCOFD08B&vq_id=
if not, which one do i need?

thanks

 

[Brian's98XLT]

MTX stopped making Blue Thunder a couple of years ago. The Kappa Perfect 10 are a great sub. If you are spending that type of money on subs I would go with the new Kappa 5x7s. These speakers are so much better than the last Kappa line. If you are going to be running a 4 channel amp to your new speakers do not bother with the bypass kit, run new wires from the amp to each speaker.

 

[sciguy007]

i heard that the kappa 5x7s need lots of power to get good sound from them. im not going to be running a 4-channel amp, just my 50x4 peak HU. will that be good enough or should i just go with smaller infinity's?

 

[leenjen]

Originally posted by Brian's98XLT
MTX stopped making Blue Thunder a couple of years ago.

they started making them again in 2000 (i dont know why).

 

[leenjen]

Originally posted by sciguy007
i heard that the kappa 5x7s need lots of power to get good sound from them. im not going to be running a 4-channel amp, just my 50x4 peak HU. will that be good enough or should i just go with smaller infinity's?

you really should go with 5X7s/6X8s. but if you are not going to give kappas the power they need, then go with something else. since you are getting two good subs (kappa perfect), you dont need bass from your door speakers. just go with some pioneers (bright highs and midrange) to run off the headunit. the subs will handle all your bass.

 

[espnfreak]

leenjen will those kappas work with a 60X4 headunit, is that enough power?

 

[leenjen]

Originally posted by jas84
leenjen will those kappas work with a 60X4 headunit, is that enough power?

they will work with any aftermarket headunit, but they might sound a little "tinny." it's hard to describe, but the sound is much better with more power. when a headunit is rated at 60X4, that is the max power. the RMS for that headunit is probably between 20 and 28 watts.

the kappas are great speakers, but not as efficient as others. so a kenwood, pioneer, blaupunkt, etc.. would sound a lot better running off the headunit.

 

[espnfreak]

ok whats the advice for running off the hu

 

[leenjen]

polk speakers sound nice off the headunit. if you dont have a subwoofer, then kenwoods provide nice midbass response. if you have a good subwoofer, then i recommend pioneer. they handle a broad midrange and high frequency range without distortion, even at high volumes.

 

[espnfreak]

2 or 3 way?

 

[leenjen]

i go with 2 way, because i have seperate components. but if you dont, you might want to try 3 way for the front and 2 way for the rear. that's the way most people like it. it provides a clear front stage, and a nice rear setup. if you watch movies or play video games in your explorer, this setup is highly recommended.

 

[Brian's98XLT]

I am talking about the new C.M.M.D Kappa speakers not the old crappy green cone ones. The new ones have a greater sesitivity than the old one. The have alot more bass output than the old ones and the treble is not as harsh as the old tweeters.
I hated to sell the old ones to customers when they asked for them.
As far as the Polks go they do take alot of power to play loid I have them in my wifes car. Got them free from Polk during a contest.
As far as Blue Thunder goes I looked through my 2001 one dealer product and cost guide and they are not listed.I even went back 2 years and they are not listed.

 

[leenjen]

they do make the blue thunders. look in the new crutchfield. they sell the blue thunder 10" for $69.95

 

[JTang]

Well, dang - I just suggested the blue thunders cause I thought you were looking in that price range. If you can get perfects, well, then, heck, there are TONS of subs to recommend. Also, I think they're on sale (the infinitys) at sounddomain.com right now. check it out.

They reintro'd the Blue Thunder legends cause they were best seller in their line for a while, now I think they replace the crappy road thunder line, blue thunder being far superior, even as the entry level sub.

 

[sciguy007]

thanks for the help everyone! one last thing i know im pathetic but what are a good choice for the pioneers? which 5x7 models will sound good? and will a kenwood excelon KAC-X401M be a good amp for the two 10" perfect subs? why does the site give it power ratings at 12v and 14.4v? which one will i be working with? sorry for all the questions, but you guys are helping me more than any of the idiots at stereo shops ive been too. thanks again...

 

[JTang]

Hey Sciguy,

I think most of the Pioneers sound pretty similar. I'd say go for any of 'em that are 6x8s over the 5x7s and nothing more than three ways. I know they have 4 ways now, but really, with three tweeters in the middle of the cone, it covers up the whole cone, and the extra super tweeter doesn't really help much. If you start going up towards those expensive ones, then there are other speaker brands that would do just as well if not better as 5x7s or 6.5s in my opinion.

 

[Brian's98XLT]

The 401 is a graet amp forsubs. Make sure you hook up the Sigma Servo if you by one. It will improve the sound quality greatly. The reason the give both is because it is not a fully regulated power supply. It will put out more power at 14v.