mousiee

I'm new to this part of the forum looking for help w/ upgrading my factory system. I own a '95 SC400 w/ the Nakamichi system. The previous owner had 4' Infinity References installed in the front and rear. I've owned the car for six years and I'd like to redo the whole system. I'm trying to achieve a crispy clean sound w/o too much bass on a budget. I have an idea of what i want to do, but my problem is I don't know what's good in my budget and where to look for it.

Plan:

Headunit - Double-Din DVD, CD, MP3 w/ iPod connectivity (Navi would be nice but i don't think i can afford it on my budget). Budget - $300

Speakers - Front and back 6.5". Budget - $200 to $250 for both

Subwoofer - 10" air-free sub to mount in factory location. Budget - $100

Amp - I'm not sure if it's possible to run all of the speakers on one amp, so I'm lost here.

Like I said, I'm new at this so I'm looking for guidance. Can my plan be accomplished w/in my budget? What are the best bang for buck products in my budget? Where can I score some great deals?

Thanks for your time
Mousiee

krazyl3gz

I say leave the rears and just upgrade the fronts. I'm pretty satisfied with my Hybrid Audio Speakers and they just introduced an entry line.

http://www.12velectronics.com/servle...82;/Categories

mousiee

Thanks, any suggestions on the sub and head unit?

Big Mack

iTrader: (1)

These Infinities sound great, and are only $110. Not only will they more closely match your rears should you decide not to upgrade, you could get both for less than your budget. I agree that upgrading the fronts is really the only necessary thing, and it allows you some more freedom in the deck if you do the Infinity option.

Clarion unit with nav built in. Not sure on the quality, as the price indicates it has to cut costs somewhere, but if you do the fronts with Infinity, you can get this and keep your budget on track.

If you're okay with no nav and want a good screen with remote, you can get this Pioneer (be sure to add the remote and ipod cable). Great looking screen, and Pioneer is always a quality unit from my experiences.

Not sure on the sub, as I'd be more inclined to go with an enclosure.

Is there an amp already in the car?

Big Mack

mousiee

Wow.....Thanks for your great input! I'm thinking about buying the speakers you suggested next week. Is there any reason why you think i should not upgrade the rears?

The car has the factory amp; which i think is no good w/o the factory head unit.

Mousiee

potatoBBQ

iTrader: (3)

You can keep the factory amp for the f/r speakers even if you replace the factory head unit with an aftermarket one, but unfortunately, no one seems to have been able to get the stock sub working w/ an aftermarket head unit on the Nakamichi systems. So you'll need a separate 1 channel or 2 channel bridged amp to drive either the factory sub or an aftermarket one. If u wanna go cheap, u can actually just keep the stock Nakamichi sub and get a cheap $50 amp to get it working again.

Headunit - I think you can get a Pioneer AVIC-F700BT in the low $300s on eBay these days. Has nav, plays mp3, etc., but doesn't play DVDs, but can play video off a memory card, Ipod, etc. Or you can spend a bit more and get the F900BT which will play DVDs. You should go to a stereo shop and play around with diff head units to see which ones you prefer. I personally prefer Eclipse and Alpine, but they might not have any units in your price range.

Speakers - I suggest leaving the back speakers alone since they'll be sitting on the same deck as the sub and probably won't sound that great regardless. I would recommend Image Dynamics CTX65CS for front speakers. Best entry level speakers imo; do a search and you'll find a lot of positive reviews. I think they're about $180 online. I have the CTX65CS in my SC and some $500 Diamond Audio Hex components in my M-B and I don't miss the Hex at all. Keep in mind that you'll need to fab some adapters if you go with 6.5" components though. The eBay 6.5" adapters don't fit quite right but you can try those and modify them.

Free-air Sub - I would get an Image Dynamics ID10, but they're $160 online. If you don't want to spend that much, a lot of people seem to like Elemental Designs 11Kv.2 or SQ10 and are both < $100.

Amp - I'm really not sure what brands are good now, but I think a lot of people like the JL Audio Slash amps. Not sure how much you wanted to spend on the amp(s), but the JL Audios are usually kind of expensive unfortunately. You'll want either 4 channel (for the f/r speakers) + 1 channel (or bridged 2 channel for the sub) or a 5 channel amp. Personally, I prefer to have separate amps for the f/r speakers and the sub because if they ever need to be serviced, it'll probably be cheaper. You could also just keep the stock Nakamichi amp and just get an amp for the sub if you don't really blast your music. I opted to just keep the Nakamichi amp myself. If you do decide to get a new amp for the f/r speakers, you'll probably want it to put out around 50W-75W rms and for the sub, 300W rms should be good.

mousiee

Thanks for the great info.

Now I'm leaning towards keeping the Nakamichi amp to power the f/r speakers, and buying an amp to power the new sub. I didn't know keeping the Nak amp even an option; Thanks!

Question about the Image Dynamics CTX65CS: About the tweeters; did you place them in the factory location or did you place them somewhere else?

Mousiee

potatoBBQ

iTrader: (3)

I placed the CTX65CS tweeters in factory location. If you do decide to go w/ Image Dynamics, check to see if they have any dealers nearby; I was able to get much better prices from a local dealer (http://www.advancedcarcreations.com/main.htm). I got the CTX65CS for $100 and the ID10 for $130. If there aren't any Image Dynamics dealers nearby, you might want to try calling ACC to see if they're willing ship and if you can get them at those prices (they're kind of inconsistent on the pricing depending on who you talk to unfortunately).

Heh, I don't work for Image Dynamics or anything, but I've been using their subs for more than 10 years and haven't found any reason to switch to anything else. I mean, there are definitely better subs like Dynaudio, etc. but not in the $100-$200 price range. The CTX65CS though were the first set of components from ID that I've tried and I was very pleasantly surprised at how good they were... especially for $100.

I was just thinking too, if you don't really want too much bass. You might want to try just keeping the Nakamichi sub with a cheap $50-$60 150W-200W amp. If you do decide to swap out the sub though, you might want to consider JL Audio 250/1 amp. If you don't mind used, I think u can get them on eBay for anywhere between $100-$150 depending on condition.

mousiee

Well, I appreciate all you input on this. As for bass; I just want a little thump but nothing overpowering. I'm 34, so my trunk thump days are behind me. I want the bass to be there but I like crystal clear highs....LOL (getting old)

Mousiee

potatoBBQ

iTrader: (3)

Hmmm... well, I thought about just keeping the Nakamichi sub myself actually, but since I needed to get a new amp to power the sub anyway, I figured I might as well replace the sub also. I would go take a look and see how the cone looks on your Nakamichi sub. If it's still in real good shape, I would probably just try buying an aftermarket amp to power the factory Nakamichi sub since you don't really need too much bass. I think kponti is running the factory sub w/ a cheap 2 channel amp and he said the bass was bit stronger w/ the aftermarket amp and he was pretty happy with it.

I would probably try running the factory sub w/ an amp like this or something similar:
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...+KAC-5203.html

If it turns out it's not quite enough bass for you or if the factory sub eventually gives out, you could always use that 2 channel amp to power you front speakers or try it out with an aftermarket sub.

Big Mack

iTrader: (1)

You're welcome, mang. Yes, there is a reason. The majority of your sound should come from the fronts. Since the rear has already been upgraded, and since they are there simply to provide fill, you don't need to spend money there. Saving $$ in this area allows for more budget in the areas that need it (like fronts or deck).

Already cleared that up.

Hey now! Just because you're 34 doesn't mean you can't enjoy a little bump now and again. I still thoroughly enjoy being able to ground pound from time to time, and my lack of big bass in my weekend car is making my DD project even more enjoyable! If it's too loud, you're too old!

As for the ID products, they've always had a good reputation, but I'm a little down on them due to the fact timbre matching between speakers does come into play in a smaller cabin. Since the rears are Infinity, getting Infinity fronts makes more sense to me.

Keep in mind also that if you go with an IB sub (factory mount style), you'll need more power to control it properly. Since you're not looking for a lot of thump, you'd probably be very happy with a moderate 10" sub in an enclosure, taking out the factory sub to let the bass in easier, of course.

Big Mack

potatoBBQ

iTrader: (3)

You have a good point about timbre matching. It's not a problem w/ the Image Dynamics and the stock Nakamichi rears, but I've had Infinity Reference in the past and I remember they were significantly brighter than my current Image Dynamics setup. Timbre matching problems aside, I prefer Image Dynamics over Infinity Reference, but I guess it just comes down to personal preference. Not sure about Infinity speakers now, but when I used them in the past, they were a bit brighter than what I wanted. Also, since the Infinity rears are > 6 yrs old, it's possible there will still be timber matching issues with newer Infinity speakers if they've been redesigned/revised since then. I agree that Infinity is a great/safe choice at $110 though.

Best thing to do would really be try to listen to a whole bunch of speakers to get an idea of what you want, but unfortunately it's often hard to find all the speakers you're interested in playing at the same stereo shop wall.

mousiee

Got it! I'll leave the rears alone.


I really want to keep the sub in the factory location. What sub and amp do you recommend for doing so?

Mousiee

mousiee

I'll get out to my local shops to see what they offer. Thanks!

Mousiee

Big Mack

iTrader: (1)

I don't. I haven't played with an IB sub in quite a while, so I can't comfortably give a solid recommendation on one. The pitfall I mentioned remains true, however, so keep that in mind. I'm sure you'll get some suggestions, or you can check other threads.

Big Mack