system advice

[motoxhacker]

I'm trying to design a system from scratch, everything, head unit, eq, changer, subs, door speakers, tweeters, amps, wiring, head unit kits, capacitors, etc....

I used to be sort of up on this stuff, but I went away to college for 4 years and I haven't had much money until now to spend on anything new. I have a 2001 explorer sport, with tan/silver interior, so I'm looking for a silver head unit to match the silver trim.

So far I'm kind of leaning towards the kenwood KDC-MP919 because It’s a fairly high end head unit that also supports the KHD-C710 music keg. That’s sort of essential because I'm an mp3 Nazi, I have well over 10 gigs of mp3's, much more useful to me than a CD changer. I don’t know if any other companies make a good MP3 "jukebox", but the kenwood unit looks pretty hot.

I'd also like to know how valuable a good equalizer is? I know they help if you listen to lots of different music, but I wasn’t sure how much they actually improve the sound clarity. Again I was mostly looking at kenwood products, the KGC-9044 looked like a nice higher end graphic EQ.

Is there a kit that will allow me to mount an EQ and a head unit in the double din enclosure that comes stock with the new explorers?

As far as bass goes, I listen to a lot of alternative music, (at the drive-in, Chilly Peppers, Radiohead, Jimmy eat World, etc...) I have a band pass box with a couple of older Rockford punch 12's in it, but I dont want to use it because I think the bass will be just too long and loud. I want short clean hits if that makes sense, lol. Maybe a sealed box with a couple of 8's or 10's. Any ideas on subs that sound good for alternative/rock/indy?

I actually think the stock system sounds ok, are the door speakers salvageable, or will they start to distort if any significant amount of power is run through them, I’m open to buying some tweeters and door speakers if it would really improve my high’s and mids.

I'm also sort of not sure what amp I want to get either, I want 2 amps, 1 multi channel amp for running the high's and mids (doors) and a mono amp for running the subs. I want equilibrium when it comes to the sound though; I really want a clear sounding system with good high/mid/low.

Capacitor? How important are these, I’ve never used one before with my other systems back in high school but that doesn’t necessarily mean that I didn’t need one, lol. I really want to set this one up right.

I’m not looking to buy the most expensive products on the market, but I don’t want to get low end stuff either. I just want something that sounds much better than stock, but won’t make me miss my rent payment either, I’d say my budget is around 1200 give or take. Where is a good place to purchase the products I need? I found some real good deals on Ebay, for the kenwood stuff I was looking at, Any other places?

Any help that you guys could hook me up with would be greatly appreciated,

Thanks!!!
Chris

 

[EliteConcept]

lots of questions there lets take them one at a time, all based on my opinion.

the cd palyer you buy is all based on your choice many cd players now a days are starting to become MP3 compatiatble. Also many come with built in adjustable EQ's. They are far from the ones you can buy and have seperate from the cd player but i think the built in ones work nicely. Unless you plan to go to many competitions.

the size of the speakers plays a large role in what sound you get. 15's and 12's will give you a lower span of sound, while 10's and 8's will give a much tighter sound with a less range of frequency. I'd say for rock/alternative i'd go with a couple of 10's in a sealed box would sound very nice. Which brand thats all up to you.

even though the stock speakers are okay, i think i'd upgrade them if i were you. You can buy some nice 3 way audiobahns or something for around 100 a set. You will be suprised at the difference!!!

amps....you can run 2 of them. either one 2 channel and one 4 channel. or two 2 channels but this will feed less power to your door speakers. amplifed door speakers sound alot better then if they were run off the head unit. its really all based on what you can afford.

as for the capaictor... the rule of thumb on this is 1 farad per 1000 watts. I am not a fan of these. I think its money better spent. I'd go for the optima yellow top or bigger alternator first. both of these are a little more than the capaicator but will handle your system damands much better! I have a yellow top and 130amp alternator in my 92, and they handle my 1000 watt system great lights don't dim at all. plus plenty of power to go around incase i upgrade.

Personally i'd stay away from ebay for buying your electronics. Most places/people on there don't accept returns and could be selling you crap. Several other members on here and myself buy from www.thezeb.com and I have always been very happy with their products and shipping! check them out....they have some mad speicals on audiobahn stuff that won't break the wallet but provides a nice punch.. Sorry i'm partial to audiobahn but find what meets your budget and what you have heard or hear about products and buy that. Some companys make things better than others, just remember that when buying your parts. I know how some people like to have all one brand, just do your research it may prove to be valueable!

goodluck!

 

[MONMIX]

I'll just coment on the EQ. It sounds to me like your stuff is gonna be high ended enough an eq might not be necissary but it always a nice toy to have.
I love to tinker and I work in pro audio so I almost have to have an eq.