help me choose a sub and amp for a decent system!

[marshtgrade]

what i have:
alpine iDA-X100
325is premium speakers
tweeters are replaced with something aftermarket havent cracked them open yet appears to be bright orange color under original cover

has wiring for a sub from previous owner still installed


the previous owner gave me the old amp, he said he took it out because the system could work feeding off the headunit?

i havent herd of this type of set up before so i figured id expect to be getting an amp, sub and token luke box to have a supreme set up.

probably looking at speading a total of about 400 for these parts maybe more of less depending on quality price breaks

looking probably at a 10inch sub i dont want something to extensive..

any suggestions greatly appreciated would love to make use of what i already have. i have stock amp as well. ill try to get more details on the tweets as well as maybe some mystery front speakers who knows whats under those panels cause the stock ones are in the trunk.

appreciate any educated response!

[TurboJake]

I'm assuming my instructions for the power ic helped?

[Threehz]

What are you looking for sound wise?

Do you want a big boom, or great sound and the perfect amount of bass?

You said around 400, and you said you wanted to use a Lukebox, which I think are a lil shy of 200?

I just found these real quick for ya, both are great quality and together with a Lukebox should give you some great sound.

Woofer

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_33468_Kenwood-KFC-W2513PS.html

Amp

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_36673_FLI-Audio-FL1200M-F2.html

I'm sure you've heard of kenwood, good quality stuff, and FLI is the US name version of Vibe Audio, one of the UK's top car audio brands, I have some of their stuff, super high quality and great performance.

Personally I'd suggest going to sonicelectronix.com, my favourite 12volt site, usually the best prices, lots of reviews and they'll bend over for you in every situation. Look around at 10" subs, read reviews, google the sub find more reviews and when you find some you like that sound good, maybe ask here then find the right amp the same way.

Hope that all helps.

[greentalks43]

The Image Dynamics IDQ subwoofer is a fantastic choice.

[StereoInstaller1]

$200 for one of my boxes

$60 for an Infinity Reference DVC 10", the 1062W: http://www.amazon.com/Infinity-Refer.../dp/B0028ARP1W

$120 for a Jensen Power 5500: http://www.amazon.com/Jensen-POWER55.../dp/B003M30CZ0

$40 to cover power wire, fuse holder, speaker wire and 3 sets of RCAs.

Trust me, this particular combo kicks ass. Super clean, super detailed, great dynamics and kick ass sound everywhere. Your buddies will be pissed how nice your setup looks and sounds for how little you spent.

I am doing that exact same install (different deck, same install) in the same car sometime next week and can show you exactly what to do and how to do it. I am even thinking about doing a little video showing how to do the basic tuning.

Seriously, it should be roughly 4 hours to do the whole thing. All of your speaker wires are already done, all speakers installed. All you need to run is the RCAs and remote sub level controller...you don't even need to run a remote wire, it is already in the trunk.

BTW, did you see the amp racks I offer? If you upgrade to an upholstered box (roughly $75 more) you can add the amp rack later and have a very sexy install:



Thanks for the words...makes me feel great that good sound in these cars means one of my boxes is obligatory!

Luke

[Threehz]

That infinity reference is the bees knees, can't beat that for that price!

[StereoInstaller1]

$400 bucks TOTAL for a truly kick ass sounding stereo? Who would have thought...

[Threehz]

That's how much it cost me to do my first set up, I shoved it in my friend's face when it beat his 2k system in both SPL and sounded a million times better.

Not to go off topic too much but are Jensen amps any good? I trust your judgement and you are suggesting using one but I've heard mixed reviews about em and never heard one myself.

[StereoInstaller1]

Jensen was always junk, with a couple of exceptions. Once upon a time, there was the Ka series, which are bad ass. Military grade 4 layer epoxy boards, big fat traces, nice quality components...but were $900 or so for 500 watts back in the early 90's. Obviously, they did not sell well...so Jensen, who was owned by Audiovox at the time, quit making high-end amps.

As far as the Power 5500, I think I have installed 9 of these amps in total so far. I want to do one in my E34 when I have a few spare bucks. I think they look awesome, too.

This amp, and all of the current models are made in China, right along side of the million other identical amps. The controls are nice, the quality is terrific and they sound great. Is it as good as a Tru Technologies? Hell no, but it is not $1400, either. Personally, I love them in general, and this one in particular. I wish the knob on the sub level controller was bigger and nicer looking...I suppose I could go get a nicer knob though, right?

The bass really does need to have a 2 ohm load. It really seems to be more than the 350 RMS it claims. That particular woofer works very well with it. It is enough SPL to make most anyone happy, and the SQ is excellent, if a bit "heavy". Still nice and punchy though, I love it.

Luke

[StereoInstaller1]

BTW, a quick note: after the december build, there will be no more $200 shipped deal on the R3V exclusive "Luke Box". They will be sold fully upholstered only. They will be $250 PLUS shipping...get on it soon if that is your goal.

[einstein57]

$60 for an Infinity Reference DVC 10", the 1062W: http://www.amazon.com/Infinity-Refer.../dp/B0028ARP1W

$40 obcon fell out of favor?

[StereoInstaller1]

No, the price went up...but I checked earlier today, it was back down adn they claimed to have the DVC back in stock too.