Replace Speakers For Cheaper, Or Subs For More Money?

[StereoInstaller1]

Chad, the one thing that you havent said is what deck you have. Does it have a hig pass filter? If so, do the sub. If not, get a 4 channel amp with both high and low pass filters...you will have to run that sub 4ohms per channel, so you wont have the maximum power the amp can give, but run 2 channels to ALL of your inside speakers, through your factory fader in high pass (like say 120Hz and up) and the other 2 channels to that sub. See if the shop you deal with will do the prefab box for now and let you upgrade in say, 60 days, giving you time to save for the custom box and a mono sub amp to match your 4 channel...do the inside speakers LAST!

Doing it this way, you will have a great 4 channel to run your cabin speakers, plus a mono amp to run your sub.

Anyone who says the factory speakers can't make great sound LOUD simply hasn't worked with them enough. If you replace the stock crossovers with something decent, they will handle plenty of power with terrific clarity. Even the stock crossovers do OK if fed well, with a decent amp running above 120Hz, they will handle around 100 watts, RMS.

Remember that bass is the challenge for any speaker or amp. If the speaker AND THE AMP RUNING IT is not trying to make bass, it will be able to play far louder and far more clearly. Let the subwoofer do all of the bass...that is its job.

Good luck!
Luke

BTW, I can build you a box and ship it to you, if you wish. I can ship it to your nearest US city, you can pop it in your trunk and go home to wire it and make boom!
I bet it would cost less than doing it in Canada, eh?

[FrustratedMunky]

OK, I'm running an Alpine CDA-9833. Unfortunately, I don't understand all this stuff as deeply as you do. So, in more simple words, if my deck doesn't have a high pass filter, I should get a 4 channel amp (Alpine MRP-T130) for now to power my stock BMW premium speakers? And then later on, I can get my mono amp and install my 10" Type-R? I'm probably not going to go custom install anymore, because I've realised it's just a waste of money and too much excess weight. I'll probably end up getting a custom sealed box taking up as little room as possible and bolt the amp up either on the left side of the trunk or somewhere else.

Right now, I'm very content with the SQ that is coming out of the stock BMW premium speakers. I don't find that I need more power to the speakers, considering the deck can already fork out 26W x 4 RMS, and I think that's more than enough for the BMW speakers. When I install the components for the front and rear fillers, I will pick up a 4 channel amp. I only want higher volume capabilities and a little bit of a more "full" sound from the speakers. I understand that the sub is for the bass, so I don't expect that from my speakers.