Need some opinions...

[Raviaan]

05 Grand Prix GT

So I am not an audiophile by any means... I don't know about ohms ratings, ohms stability, and wiring speakers in paralel and series, etc.... I am a mechanic, and can run electrical and wiring really well... and I can follow directions! :-) I also have no qualms about modifying the rear speaker deck to fit more or larger speakers. Heres what I want to do. I want to install infinity 6030cs components in the front doors, ran the with the existing wiring. I am not sure is there is a speaker I can drop into the rear deck, even if I have to splice wiring, that will sound better than the current monsoon setup. If there is, any recommendations...? I have heard alot either way... saying nothing will sound better with the existing wiring/size. Some saying the speakers they installed sound amazing... keep in mind I can cut and splice the wiring, cut the leads on the new speakers if someone thinks this is a good route. Otherwise, can someone make some recommendations on subs, mids, and amp to custom install into the rear deck? I am not looking for a pounding system, just one which has a little better bass, little louder, and sounds damn good to ME inside the vehicle... I don't care about the people around me I would be happy if I could even get this to sound as good as the monsoon system in my 02 SSEi sounded. I am trying not to have subs taking up the trunk... so the decklid would be best for me... any recommendations would be appreciated.

[KeithGTP03]

Are you replacing just the speakers to run off the monsoon amp? Or are you gonna run an amp for said speakers? If you're gonna run an aftermarket amp to power those speakers, you'll want to run you're own speaker lines. The reason being, your current speaker leads run from the HU to the amp then to the speakers. You wont be able to use the leads after the amp (the ones that actually connect to your current speakers) You could clip the lines pre-amplifier and use those, but you'll have to do some internet searching to find out which wires go to which speaker. As for the sub, check with 1800 (he's the moderator for this section) His enclosure uses very little space in the trunk. Mine use quite a bit more space.

1800's



Mine

[Fatboy501]

Well, what's your budget looking like? That will be the primary deciding factor on what we recommend. Also, there are MANY options available for running a sub that will take up almost no room. A sealed 8" sub on 300 or so watts will actually fill in a lot, and require an incredibly small enclosure.

Off Topic: Keith, what is it you have? a 4th order ported through the ski-pass? Or perhaps a 6th order?

[KeithGTP03]

Its just a wall that servers a few purposes: It hides the subs, an amp rack and it blocks a lot of the vibrations from reaching the trunk lid...so it doesnt rattle.

[Raviaan]

Alpine PDX-V9 5-channel car amplifier — 100 watts RMS x 4 + 500 watts RMS x 1 at Crutchfield.com

[Raviaan]

Kicker 07DCVR122 Ported enclosure with dual 12" CompVR subwoofers at Crutchfield.com

[Raviaan]

Budget is open within reason...

I am thinking this is the head unit I am going to use...

Pioneer - 50W x 4 MOSFET Apple® iPod®-/Satellite Radio-/HD Radio-Ready DVD Deck - AVH-P1400DVD

So far I am looking at Polk MM6501 components for the front doors locations but open on that too. Should I bother with the center channel speaker - or leave it alone?

I am open to recommendations for the rear deck speakers, subs and amps. I have just decided to go all out with it. I do not need to be heard 10 blocks away... I just want tight, clean, crisp sound out of my system.

Budget wise... 250 per set of door and deck speakers (500 total). 350-500 on subs and box. 250-400 per amp (expecting 2....?) Thanks again!

[Raviaan]

ok so here's what I'm thinking...

Pioneer head unit Pioneer - 50W x 4 MOSFET Apple® iPod®-/Satellite Radio-/HD Radio-Ready DVD Deck - AVH-P1400DVD

Front Speakers Infinity 6030CS
Rear Speakers Polk MM6501

Alpine Amp 5CH Alpine PDX-V9 5-channel car amplifier — 100 watts RMS x 4 + 500 watts RMS x 1 at Crutchfield.com

And Subs Kicker 07DCVR122 Ported enclosure with dual 12" CompVR subwoofers at Crutchfield.com

Should I go with a farad cap of some sort etc?
Anyone have a recommendation on gauge of install kit?
Install parts for head unit? (I don't care about the on-Star)

[Fatboy501]

Alright... For a sub, I will personally recommend Skar... Especially since you can get 2 12" vvx for 360 shipped... With an enclosure built to your specs and tuning. Amps... Audiopipe apsm-4080 and an apsm-1500... The 1500 has recently been o scoped and clamped, proving to produce its rated power cleanly. You can certainly spend more and get better, but this will kick the snot out of that kicker prefab deal... And I love Kicker lol. E-mail kevin@skaraudio.com and ask him about other sub and enclosure combos if u don't want the 2 12s.

Edit: slightly overkill, but www.knukonceptz.com has the IXOS 1/0 ofc amp kit for 90 bucks. Helluva deal. I use it myself

Keith, I wish I had ass much room as you lol. My obsidian 15 is in 3.5 net (4.0 gross) tuned to 32hz with a 6" aero. No pics bc the box is hideous lol.

[Iceroyal]

i have infinity reference model in my car they sound damn good for being budget front and rear stage. I have also heard the polks in a buddies car they do sound damn good if those are what your getting i would personally do the polks up front and infinity in the back but you do not need two sets of components most people either run just midbass or coax in the back because its all about staging you being the driver want the best sound stage where your sitting. In a build i just did recently we did a set of rainbow components($300) amped on 4channel with just midbass drivers(cdt) in the back also amped of the 4 channel and 2 IDQ10's sounds great..... So here is the question what do you listen to because that should honestly help decide what you get. For love of all that is good do not by kicker subs pls lol.... subs i would recommend that i have personally used and heard that have a very accurate reproduction of bass would Imagedynamics done 2 builds with IDQs and ID series and both sound phenomenal and they don't need a lot of room. My personal favorite was the Tc sound epic 12 that my buddy has it just sounded amazing in 1 cube box... just remember for subs it honestly ways heavily on your box, you can have the most expensive subs in the would in the wrong box sounds like ****. also about the 5 channel depending on the subs you might just want to get a 4 channel for the speakers and mono block class d for the sub.

Farad do not worry about it( i kinda think its a gimmick)
Wiring contingent on what subs/amps you get and the load
and if you order your head unit from crutchfield or sonicelectronix they usually come with everything you need just make sure it says it comes with installation accsesorys.


Here is the build we did on my buddys 05 Rsx with 2 ID 10s and boston acoustic s65 door speakers. 05 RSX Build
and also here is the build we did in my buddys 05 mazda 3 he got the IDQs and other fun stuff i listed above. 05 Mazda 3 build
We actually just re did his box about a week ago because he wanted to try a smaller box his new box is 2.3 cubes witch give him his trunk back and still sounds amazing in my opinion ill try and get some pics up of the new box if your interested.

[Raviaan]

Ok... for now... can I run the infinity 6030cs or polk MM6501 speakers off the monsoon amp? how would it sound? polks are 2.7 ohm and the infinity are 2.0

[Iceroyal]

I would need the specs on the amp, I am not really familiar with the stock monsoon system so I will look around for the specs. If you have them or some one has them could they post the specs? The main spec your looking for is the ohm load stability. One way you could check is pull out one of your stock speakers and use a multimeter to check the ohm load of the stock speaker, if its below 3-ohms it should be fine to run the polks and if its under like 2.2 then you should be fine with the infinities as well. The other thing to look at is RMS power, but I doubt the monsoon puts out more power then those speakers can handle, so that shouldn't be a problem.

Honestly though, I would highly recommend getting a new amp asap.

[Raviaan]

I am just kind of frustrated with this monsoon system. I think because of the monsoon in my 02 bonneville SSEi I was expecting more out of this system... and it has fallen short. I can't turn the bass on this system up past -2 over cause once I hit 2/3 volume it just starts distorting... and the bass seems more.... poppy... tingy...? I don't know how to explain it... there is no krackle... or blown speaker sound... just not any sort of deep bass after half volume. Anyhow... are the speakers, or the amp the downfall of the system currently? Will removing the monsoon amp, and installing a 4 channel amp imporove the quality of everything else? Just looking for a temporary fix til I get everything else together.

[I800C0LLECT]

Believe it or not but the mid is what determines the sound or character of your bass. Lack of deep bass? Most music typically lacks information below 40hz so maybe I'm misunderstanding? Anyways, bottom line is that the whole system concept determines each individual aspect of sound. They all work together. If you don't like the bass I have a feeling that monsoon is more of a one note wonder setup. I've never heard one so I'm not certain. In addition, all of that distortion is probably a combination of poor signal path and a sloppy speaker cone. Why not just try replacing the monsoon sub with something from parts express? Give me the size of the speaker and enclosure and I'll go look around. You'd be surprised at how much quality is packed into a $50 raw driver

[06PONTGP]

for the money your looking to spend i would HIGHLY recommend looking into focal speakers absolutely amazing so clear....as in a farad cap i would steer clean from this as it on stores and slowly releases energy to keep a steady current to properly set it up i would look into a kinetik battery....as far as subs kicker is whored out they arnt as good as they once were.....only their high end stuff is worth the time look into alpine type Rs very nice subs

[KeithGTP03]

i would HIGHLY recommend looking into focal speakers absolutely amazing so clear.

Yup. And their high end stuff is eargasmic.

[06PONTGP]

Sure are our local audio store has the 3rd loudest van in the world and they run the focal utopias ****ing insane but I don't have 5000 to put just in my front doors

[Iceroyal]

Raviaan i am a little confused is the bass the only problem or does the entire system lack?

[Raviaan]

I guess I could deal with the system if the bass quality was a little better. Sometimes I wish it were a little louder... but I can come to that road later .I think I have found some of the issue though. The rear deck revebrates when bass hits. I climbed into the trunk tonight and noticed the deck itself makes noise. when I push up on the deck, the sound, and quality of the bass improved... I think this is what I am hearing... that is almost making it sound like it is distorting at highter volumes. Also the speaker enclosures are held down cheaply... and the monsoon amp is kinda loose, because it is only attached with plastic push pins. I think I am going to dissasemble the rear deck tomorow, dynamat the top and bottom of the deck, and attach the monsoon amp with screws and nuts to the deck, and see it it improves. Can the speakers be directly mounted to the deck as well... should they?

[06PONTGP]

yes the stock bolt into a plastic mount which is almost cliped into the rear deck