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[WTB][US] Car Audio (AMP and Speakers) maybe stereo

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Hey guys I just sold some more stuff and now I'm looking to drop a nice audio system in my car! :D

Since I've had so much success here with sales and purchases, I've decided to look here specifically. (also tried caraudio.com/forums but all the stuff was way out of my price range :cry:)

I can find a box/have a friend fabricate one locally to save on shipping, but first I need to know if it will be 10" or 12" speakers (and any other specific dimensions)

Speakers must be in fully functional condition. Emphasis on no distortion and not abused. Looking for thump but nothing earth shattering :laugh: (I'm on a short budget). Some 12" subs would be ideal :D

AMP, must be in great condition, something that'll power up ~ a pair 12" subs (Quality over watts would be king here ;))

Also some high quality cabling/copper cables would also be needed, but if I can't find any at a reasonable price online, I can have a friend gather some left over from other people's setups.

NO LONGER LOOKING FOR A RECEIVER! :)

Again, heatware is a must unless you want to ship first :D even then I think I'd want someone to ship first, but we can speak terms in PMs. If you guys have anything you think I might be interested in, PLEASE post here, or PM me.

Thanks for every bit of your time,
Mike

P.S. Bump it up, it costs you nothing :D
 
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Word from the car audio guru
"550w to 1kw would be considered."

Completely useless unless you plan on running new battery-alternator 4awg or larger cable, new larger grounding straps to your chassis, and upgrading your alternator plus a capacitor as soon as you are worried about distortion at high volume levels.
 
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Word from the car audio guru
"550w to 1kw would be considered."

Completely useless unless you plan on running new battery-alternator 4awg or larger cable, new larger grounding straps to your chassis, and upgrading your alternator plus a capacitor as soon as you are worried about distortion at high volume levels.

lol, I see it would cost much much more to run that then :eek:

What would you recommend?
 
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lol, I see it would cost much much more to run that then :eek:

What would you recommend?

If you want to keep it clean, run some good power cable, get a small 4 or 2 channel for the main speakers *depending if you are going to run 2 or 4 speakers*, and then get something decently small 300-400ish sub amp is generally quite a lot really if you buy a decent quality amp and good subs..

What kinda car do you have?

*Give you an idea I run a single 400 watt Phoenix Gold Xenon sub amp on my 4 MB Quart 10" subs in my '02 Grand AM, and it slams REAL hard and totally blows peoples minds when I tell them its only 400 watts and a few 10" subs...

Nice thing about those MB Quarts is they also hit solid to about 32hz, then they start to drop out, so they will go much lower than most 12's or even 15's will that you see in the average joes car.
 
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If you want to keep it clean, run some good power cable, get a small 4 or 2 channel for the main speakers *depending if you are going to run 2 or 4 speakers*, and then get something decently small 300-400ish sub amp is generally quite a lot really if you buy a decent quality amp and good subs..

What kinda car do you have?

*Give you an idea I run a single 400 watt Phoenix Gold Xenon sub amp on my 4 MB Quart 10" subs in my '02 Grand AM, and it slams REAL hard and totally blows peoples minds when I tell them its only 400 watts and a few 10" subs...

Nice thing about those MB Quarts is they also hit solid to about 32hz, then they start to drop out, so they will go much lower than most 12's or even 15's will that you see in the average joes car.

06 sentra lol, first car, and payments are nice :D

Sounds good. How much did that setup run you? (to more or less give me an idea) There's a guy here selling locally on craigslist a DB drive BNIB amp SPA85.4 (4 channel) for a bill. I'm planning on replacing the stock front speakers on a separate amp, (smaller amp) and giving a dedicated one for the subs.
 
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^^^^

Above here, not the best stuff in the world, but it works, and would sound pretty good if you build the box right for it and don't push the amp too far.

I would stay away from DB...

If you want top tier-
Focal
MB Quart
Morel
JL *but you pay for more than you get*
Diamond Audio *same as JL*
Phoenix Gold

If you want a good place, small company, good guys, great service check out
Elemental Designs, little more pricey but as time goes on and you want more, those guys are great all around.

There is a lot out there, and its not easy to weed the junk from the great, especially being everyone claims they are the best... Sorry Sony and Pioneer just don't cut it in the SQ or SPL lines.
 
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Word from the car audio guru
"550w to 1kw would be considered."

Completely useless unless you plan on running new battery-alternator 4awg or larger cable, new larger grounding straps to your chassis, and upgrading your alternator plus a capacitor as soon as you are worried about distortion at high volume levels.

I would ask him his Alternator output before saying that. My stock Olds handles 750 watt and 3, 10" subs W/cap no problem.;)
 
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I have a pair of 10" infinity subs in a box and a fosgate punch P200.2 (200 watt) amp I've been thinking about selling.

amp- http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/prod...ly_id=20&item_id=106455&locale=en_US&p_status

woofers- http://www.infinitysystems.com/car/...EF&ser=REF&Language=ENG&Country=US&Region=USA

I can post some pictures of the actual hardware tomorrow after the sun is up.

$200 plus shipping for all. I paid $115 for the woofers used and $200 for the amp new about 1 1/2 to 2 years ago.

Thanks BSoul, I'll read up on them, and get back to you if I'm interested. Thank you for your post :D


^^^^

Above here, not the best stuff in the world, but it works, and would sound pretty good if you build the box right for it and don't push the amp too far.

I would stay away from DB...

If you want top tier-
Focal
MB Quart
Morel
JL *but you pay for more than you get*
Diamond Audio *same as JL*
Phoenix Gold

If you want a good place, small company, good guys, great service check out
Elemental Designs, little more pricey but as time goes on and you want more, those guys are great all around.

There is a lot out there, and its not easy to weed the junk from the great, especially being everyone claims they are the best... Sorry Sony and Pioneer just don't cut it in the SQ or SPL lines.

Thanks for the advice, the only reason I mentioned sony was because it's one of the few in dash systems that I've found that supports usb flash drive playback. :) About your suggestions, thank you, I'll definitely look into them and see if I can make a budget exception. (I'm specifically be looking into phoenix gold, as I've read some nice stuff on them :toast:)
Would you care to suggest a stereo dash? one with USB since I've got a nice FAST drive to shove some music in ASAP

I would ask him his Alternator output before saying that. My stock Olds handles 750 watt and 3, 10" subs W/cap no problem.;)

I have no idea what my alternator can push, but I highly doubt it is capable of 750 watt stock :laugh:

What type of vehicle is this going in?

2006 Nissan Sentra 1.8s Small, but gets the job done. (primary car)
 
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bought a brand new sony CDX-GT620U on ebay for 131 with free shipping, and M$ cash back for 39.95! :D

Updated first post to reflect no longer needing a receiver ;)

I must say I like the minimalistic look
 
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its probably wayyy more than what you are looking for, but i have a class-D 4000 watt (2x2k@2Ω or 2x1k@4Ω). Got to make sure your car alternator and battery can push some serious heat.
 
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its probably wayyy more than what you are looking for, but i have a class-D 4000 watt (2x2k@2Ω or 2x1k@4Ω). Got to make sure your car alternator and battery can push some serious heat.

lol, 4kw is a lot more than my car could take. I'm sure if I had that and the proper speakers, I'd need to make my car a convertible. :laugh:
 

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I have an MTX Road Thunder 280W amp that I would be willing to part with. It's in great functional condition. The plastic that protects the Battery + power hookup is broken, but it doesn't affect functionality. It always sounded great in my cars. I would let it go for $40 shipped.
 
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I have an MTX Road Thunder 280W amp that I would be willing to part with. It's in great functional condition. The plastic that protects the Battery + power hookup is broken, but it doesn't affect functionality. It always sounded great in my cars. I would let it go for $40 shipped.

I'll add this to my "research on" list :) can you PM me some pictures please?
 
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As someone who got their shit jacked in a public parking lot in broad daylight not to long ago, please make sure security is a top priority if you are going to be putting a bunch of money into a system. (Alarm, Secure and well lit parking spaces, etc).
 
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As someone who got their shit jacked in a public parking lot in broad daylight not to long ago, please make sure security is a top priority if you are going to be putting a bunch of money into a system. (Alarm, Secure and well lit parking spaces, etc).

I know exactly what you mean. Before I install any of this, I'll be going by the local car audio place to get an alarm/kill switch installed.

sorry to hear about your situation :(
 
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2006 Nissan Sentra 1.8s Small, but gets the job done. (primary car)
Ok, you would need heavy duty stuff. My car has a 140amp stock, but it is big and has power everything.
 
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I would ask him his Alternator output before saying that. My stock Olds handles 750 watt and 3, 10" subs W/cap no problem.;)

Not once you turn the AC on and the headlights...

Check with a volt meter, 50:1 says you have under 14 volts during bass hits, in fact I'm willing to bet it is under 14 without your ac and headlights on...

When you are talking about no distortion, you cannot afford above .1-.2 volt drop, it will completely destroy the sound, and trust me you can tell the difference.

I mean you are not going to "kill" your car with it, but even most stock alternators are only 60-100 amps, very few are above that, some are 140's but most of those have massive electrical systems also.
 
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Not once you turn the AC on and the headlights...

Check with a volt meter, 50:1 says you have under 14 volts during bass hits, in fact I'm willing to bet it is under 14 without your ac and headlights on...

When you are talking about no distortion, you cannot afford above .1-.2 volt drop, it will completely destroy the sound, and trust me you can tell the difference.

I mean you are not going to "kill" your car with it, but even most stock alternators are only 60-100 amps, very few are above that, some are 140's but most of those have massive electrical systems also.

So how much do you care to bet?;) I have a question though, with premium hardware, so what if one dips below 14 a bit. This is a 12v system last time I checked. As long as current is clean and stable, no distortion will occur, right?


To be fair,...read all my posts in this thread.
 
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So how much do you care to bet?;) I have a question though, with premium hardware, so what if one dips below 14 a bit. This is a 12v system last time I checked. As long as current is clean and stable, no distortion will occur, right?


To be fair,...read all my posts in this thread.

Actually it does matter, the amps are actually designed to be run at 14.4 volts, some are even designed to handle 16-18 and some a whopin 20-22 volts.

When you get voltage drop, your amps available power flutters slightly and causes distortion from a clip, or a loss in power that causes a slight drop in spl.

Think of an amplifier like a power supply for a speaker, vdroop is no good.

With higher end companies you can actually blow the amplifier by having too much drop, and do it pretty easily. Old school kicker amps were very well known for blowing their power supplies with volts dropping below 13.6, I don't mean the cheap ones either I mean the ZR and XS lines.

You're 140 amp stock alternator will help, but to be fair in those big cars with all the power everything a common upgrade for them is 200-250amp, and remember your alternator doesn't put out 140amps at idle, it does it around 2500rpm, and they have a fairly steep scale.
The biggest problem most people have with their alternators is that the cable from the alternator isn't big enough to actually carry that amount of power at 14 volts *140 amps would require 4 awg cable, I'll bet its 8 awg*. And then for your amp run, being is a big car, would need some hefty cable, 700 watts, if its over 20ft your looking at 2 awg power cable and with REALLY good connections.

I have been in car audio professionally for 10 years, and have built numerous competition systems.
 
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I have been in car audio professionally for 10 years, and have built numerous competition systems.

I installed my first custom stereo 28 years ago, built my first sub box almost 20 years ago, have had about every conceivable audio set up in my van, car, home since. I worked for Earthquake for 2 years and have a few trophies {SPL} on my shelf. Now that we have our credentials out of the way, still care to bet?

The OP wants " a nice system". I think he can get away with a a LOT less than an amp that requires 20 volts:rolleyes:
 
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The OP wants " a nice system". I think he can get away with a a LOT less than an amp that requires 20 volts:rolleyes:

Not saying he can't, by all means.

But ya I'm curious TBH, turn on the AC and the headlights and lets see how your volts are at your amp at high volume.
 
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With a 600W RMS amp and 2 12" Pioneer subs I had to get a 175Amp Alternator to replace my 115 Amp one. It only cost $500ish.

I took out my alternator and a ground point that partially failed cooked a couple gauges before I ran it the correct way.

So a 600W amp was free as I had it already, the subs i got a deal on, I built a three pass box out of scraps from a house we were building, so minimal cost. But oil pressure sender, guage, and ammeter and alternator cost me almost 1K.


Do it right or not at all.
 
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