2 shops, 2 deals -- $2000 to spend

[Barknard]

I've done a significant amount of research on this forum, thanks Doc and apple! With that knowledge I visited two local audio shops, I'm in NC, and got estimates. I'm hoping you guys can help me by providing some useful feedback. Here are the suggested set-ups. Any questions i should ask, points i am overlooking, or a bad mix of products; anything would be much appreciated.

Thanks! Shop 1:Rockford Fostgate PRIME 10" SUB $74.99Prime 500 watt Mono Amp $249.99Prime 300 watt 4 channel Amp $224.99ROCK FORD PRIME 6X9 (2) $$64.99PRIME ROCKFORD 6.5 (2) $ $49.99Jensen head unit (VM9022HDN) $ 899.99Dynamat $ $135.99Install (Including custom sub box) $250 Total: $1955.95

Shop 2:JVC 6X9Clarion tweetersJVC 6.5Rockford R1 SUB w/custom boxJVC 500 watt Amp Total: $800

[SilkySmoove]

Personally, doing business with just about any shop you are going to get ripped off for the amount of money you spend. Give us an idea of what all you are looking for.

I am also in Raleigh, senior at NC State, get at me and we can talk. I'm not a car audio guru or anything but I think I know more than the average person. I've got all aftermarket equipment that I have installed myself if you wanna check me out sometime. I am also in the process of getting some newer audio equipment and would be more than willing to let my current equipment go for a reasonable price.
Modified by SilkySmoove at 4:32 PM 6/20/2009

[Blood1]

Okay 1 thing. Buy all the equipment yourself and save a ton:Dealer1 prices:Rockford Fostgate PRIME 10" SUB $74.99Prime 500 watt Mono Amp $249.99Prime 300 watt 4 channel Amp $224.99ROCK FORD PRIME 6X9 (2) $$64.99PRIME ROCKFORD 6.5 (2) $ $49.99Jensen head unit (VM9022HDN) $ 899.99

Vs online prices from reputable places:

Rockford Fostgate PRIME 10" SUB $50http://www.sonicelectronix.com....html

Prime 500 watt Mono Amp $159http://www.sonicelectronix.com....html

Prime 300 watt 4 channel Amp $135http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISA...48349

ROCK FORD PRIME 6X9 (2) $$54http://www.sonicelectronix.com....html

PRIME ROCKFORD 6.5 (2) $ $54http://www.sonicelectronix.com....html

Jensen head unit (VM9022HDN) $ 599http://www.sonicelectronix.com....html

============================Dealer Prices on Equipment:75+250+225+65+50+900 = $1565

Online Prices/Shipped to your door:50+160+135+55+55+600 = $1055

Difference of $510!!!

[Barknard]

Silkysmooth, i am very interested in possibly getting some of your aftermarket stuff; depends what you got to offer. :-) GO NC STATE! ( I Grad. there last year)

Blood1, that makes a lot of sense to buy it myself and do it myself.

Other than that, do you guys believe this is a good set-up? Or are the parts, 'not that great.'
Modified by Barknard at 7:16 AM 6/21/2009

[SilkySmoove]

Silkysmooth, i am very interested in possibly getting some of your aftermarket stuff; depends what you got to offer. :-) GO NC STATE! ( I Grad. there last year)

Blood1, that makes a lot of sense to buy it myself and do it myself.

Other than that, do you guys believe this is a good set-up? Or are the parts, 'not that great.'

Modified by Barknard at 7:16 AM 6/21/2009

From a quick glance, all of the equipment you have listed appears to be entry level Rockford Fosgate stuff and Jensen is far from what I would consider for a head unit in my car. Jensen is one of those brands you can buy in Wal-Mart, Kmart, etc........if you get what I am saying. For the money you are looking to spend you can get stuff thats a WHOLE lot better. Drop me a e-mail at [email protected] and we can discuss what I can offer you. I think you will be more than satisfied, Kenwood navigation unit for less than the price of that Jensen being one of them :-)

Go Pack!!!!

[rjdmmfl1]

I've done a significant amount of research on this forum, thanks Doc and apple! With that knowledge I visited two local audio shops, I'm in NC, and got estimates. I'm hoping you guys can help me by providing some useful feedback. Here are the suggested set-ups. Any questions i should ask, points i am overlooking, or a bad mix of products; anything would be much appreciated.

Thanks! Shop 1:Rockford Fostgate PRIME 10" SUB $74.99Prime 500 watt Mono Amp $249.99Prime 300 watt 4 channel Amp $224.99ROCK FORD PRIME 6X9 (2) $$64.99PRIME ROCKFORD 6.5 (2) $ $49.99Jensen head unit (VM9022HDN) $ 899.99Dynamat $ $135.99Install (Including custom sub box) $250 Total: $1955.95

Shop 2:JVC 6X9Clarion tweetersJVC 6.5Rockford R1 SUB w/custom boxJVC 500 watt Amp Total: $800

OK, I would first stay away from JVC and jensen!Regarding the Rockford Fosgate stuff, yeah, those prices are too high for entry level products.

personally, I would not buy any of Rockford's entry level "PRIME"products...

speakers: ok, I have three Rockford Amps and a rockford T2 sub, but NO ROCKFORD SPEAKERS in my car... Rockford just doesn't make good sound quality speakers... I wish they did, but they don't... as such, I wouldn't put any Rockford speakers...

now for the head unit, they are DEFINITELY overpricing you on that one... you can get a better quality kenwood headunit on ebay for like $600... i gotta run now, but i'll try to finish this later with more suggestions.... happy father's day to all the nico dad's

[Barknard]

Ok, this makes sense. I will stay away from Rockford speakers, the Jensen Head Unit, and JVC speakers. From what you are saying, i should stay with the Rockford amps and subs.

Any suggestions for some good speakers and head unit within my price range? (spending less is always a plus).

[SilkySmoove]

Their is nothing wrong with upper level Rockford amps and subs at all, especially the power series stuff. However, there is a lot of stuff that is just as good and better for the same price you would pay for the upper level Rockford subs and amps. A good amp brand, thats not main stream, is Sundown Audio. They are competitively priced for the amount of TRUE power you get from them, and they normally put out a little more than what they are speced at.

Decent component speaker brands to consider are Infinity Kappa series stuff, Image Dynaimcs, MB Quart........just to name a few. From personal experience, Kenwood makes some pretty darn good decks especially their eXcelon line.

As stated before, drop me a line on my e-mail address stated above and we can get up and discuss this stuff in more detail if you want since I am in Raleigh for the summer. I'm pretty sure I can get you set up with some stuff you will be pleased with for about half of the $2000 you are willing to spend. Then you can spend the other half on performance mods

[rjdmmfl1]

Their is nothing wrong with upper level Rockford amps and subs at all, especially the power series stuff. However, there is a lot of stuff that is just as good and better for the same price you would pay for the upper level Rockford subs and amps. A good amp brand, thats not main stream, is Sundown Audio. They are competitively priced for the amount of TRUE power you get from them, and they normally put out a little more than what they are speced at.

Decent component speaker brands to consider are Infinity Kappa series stuff, Image Dynaimcs, MB Quart........just to name a few. From personal experience, Kenwood makes some pretty darn good decks especially their eXcelon line.

As stated before, drop me a line on my e-mail address stated above and we can get up and discuss this stuff in more detail if you want since I am in Raleigh for the summer. I'm pretty sure I can get you set up with some stuff you will be pleased with for about half of the $2000 you are willing to spend. Then you can spend the other half on performance mods

I agree regarding Rockfor's "Power" series stuff (I have three Power series Amps), but he's not talking about that, he's considering their new prime series which is entry level and not very good, especially for the price his local dealer is trying to charge him

regarding sundown audio... agreed.. damn good amps!

Infinity kappa series has fallen off the mark a bit, Image dynamics is pretty good though, but MB Quart? NOOOO!!!!!!!! i have the older MB quart line in my car that is from when they still made them in Germany... but when they switched up to China manufacturing back in 2005, their new stuff sounds like crap.. and every espectable audio company in this area stopped selling MB Quart when they did this. Any MB Quart you find nowadays is probably from China and is a far cry from the SQ speakers that this company was once known for...

For decent quality speakers that aren't too harsh like Infiniti speakers, I say

Boston AcousticsDiamond Audio GERMAN MADE MB QuartImage Dynamics (good recommendation by the way)

and if you've got the moneyDynaudioRainbow Car AudioFocal

[Blood1]

Hi Barknard. I just did the following upgrade in my car.

Front: Infinity Kappa 63.9i $90/shipped eBayINFINITY KAPPA 63.9I 6.5"

Rear: Infinity Kappa 693.9i $115/shipped eBayNEW INFINITY KAPPA 693.9i 6x9"

6.5" Front Speaker Adapter off of eBay:BTW This thing worked amazingly well. Custom fit for larger speakers!!6½" Front Speaker Adapters for 1998-2008 Nissan Altima

AMP: Kicker 08ZX350.4 $184/shipped from 6thAVE on AmazonAmazon.com: Kicker 08ZX3504 4X90 Head Unit: Kenwood KDC-X792Kenwood Excelon KDC-X792 CD receiver3x 4V RCA Outs: Front, Rear, Sub

Overall I'm not 100% pleased. Yes I get amazing crystal clear highs and mids. I think I might hit the -3db button on each speaker b/c it does get a little too harsh as my ears do vibrate at certain frequencies. But I'm not @ all pleased with the bass coming from the rear speakers. The stock speakers gave me the very deep bass feeling when i played certain music.These don't get that deep rumble for some reason. I spent @ $1200is so far. My cost shot up mostly from installation and getting ripped off on the head-unit wiring harness, antenna adapter radio mounting kit, steering wheel adapter + labor cost etc...

I am in the process of tweaking as much as I could the amp with the bass boost and the gain. Almost getting there but for the bass I want I would need to get a sub box. I tweak it while listening to 1 song then when another song comes on, I can hear the speaker vibrating out of sync when trying to do the lows. It's like I can hear just the speaker vibrating instead of the music.

And as rjdmmfl1 said in my other post I should of went with Component set in the front. I don't know how much of difference that would of made but I will definitely go that route next time.

I was also looking for "good 6x9 for bass" search and found this pdf which was pretty interesting. It didnt' have the Infinity Kappas listed but can give you a better idea what to get: http://www.soundstream.com/ima...t.pdf

So that's just to give you an idea.

[rjdmmfl1]

Hi Barknard. I just did the following upgrade in my car.

Front: Infinity Kappa 63.9i $90/shipped eBayINFINITY KAPPA 63.9I 6.5"

Rear: Infinity Kappa 693.9i $115/shipped eBayNEW INFINITY KAPPA 693.9i 6x9"

6.5" Front Speaker Adapter off of eBay:BTW This thing worked amazingly well. Custom fit for larger speakers!!6½" Front Speaker Adapters for 1998-2008 Nissan Altima

AMP: Kicker 08ZX350.4 $184/shipped from 6thAVE on AmazonAmazon.com: Kicker 08ZX3504 4X90 Head Unit: Kenwood KDC-X792Kenwood Excelon KDC-X792 CD receiver3x 4V RCA Outs: Front, Rear, Sub

Overall I'm not 100% pleased. Yes I get amazing crystal clear highs and mids. I think I might hit the -3db button on each speaker b/c it does get a little too harsh as my ears do vibrate at certain frequencies. But I'm not @ all pleased with the bass coming from the rear speakers. The stock speakers gave me the very deep bass feeling when i played certain music.These don't get that deep rumble for some reason. I spent @ $1200is so far. My cost shot up mostly from installation and getting ripped off on the head-unit wiring harness, antenna adapter radio mounting kit, steering wheel adapter + labor cost etc...

I am in the process of tweaking as much as I could the amp with the bass boost and the gain. Almost getting there but for the bass I want I would need to get a sub box. I tweak it while listening to 1 song then when another song comes on, I can hear the speaker vibrating out of sync when trying to do the lows. It's like I can hear just the speaker vibrating instead of the music.

And as rjdmmfl1 said in my other post I should of went with Component set in the front. I don't know how much of difference that would of made but I will definitely go that route next time.

I was also looking for "good 6x9 for bass" search and found this pdf which was pretty interesting. It didnt' have the Infinity Kappas listed but can give you a better idea what to get: http://www.soundstream.com/ima...t.pdf

So that's just to give you an idea.

Blood1.. bvelieve it or not, this is the best review on 6x9's that I have ever read!!!! Thnks for the post!

The only problem most of us in the SQ world have with 6x9's is that it is usually very hard to find decent SQ 6x9's..

My biggest drawback of the review, however, is that they tested these in a 1 cu ft box, usually NOT the case in the back shelf of a car... so their results are considered "real world" results... but none the less, many thanks for posting this review!!!!

[Ricko]

Hi Barknard. I just did the following upgrade in my car.

Front: Infinity Kappa 63.9i $90/shipped eBayINFINITY KAPPA 63.9I 6.5"

Rear: Infinity Kappa 693.9i $115/shipped eBayNEW INFINITY KAPPA 693.9i 6x9"

6.5" Front Speaker Adapter off of eBay:BTW This thing worked amazingly well. Custom fit for larger speakers!!6½" Front Speaker Adapters for 1998-2008 Nissan Altima

AMP: Kicker 08ZX350.4 $184/shipped from 6thAVE on AmazonAmazon.com: Kicker 08ZX3504 4X90 Head Unit: Kenwood KDC-X792Kenwood Excelon KDC-X792 CD receiver3x 4V RCA Outs: Front, Rear, Sub

Overall I'm not 100% pleased. Yes I get amazing crystal clear highs and mids. I think I might hit the -3db button on each speaker b/c it does get a little too harsh as my ears do vibrate at certain frequencies. But I'm not @ all pleased with the bass coming from the rear speakers. The stock speakers gave me the very deep bass feeling when i played certain music.These don't get that deep rumble for some reason. I spent @ $1200is so far. My cost shot up mostly from installation and getting ripped off on the head-unit wiring harness, antenna adapter radio mounting kit, steering wheel adapter + labor cost etc...

I am in the process of tweaking as much as I could the amp with the bass boost and the gain. Almost getting there but for the bass I want I would need to get a sub box. I tweak it while listening to 1 song then when another song comes on, I can hear the speaker vibrating out of sync when trying to do the lows. It's like I can hear just the speaker vibrating instead of the music.

And as rjdmmfl1 said in my other post I should of went with Component set in the front. I don't know how much of difference that would of made but I will definitely go that route next time.

I was also looking for "good 6x9 for bass" search and found this pdf which was pretty interesting. It didnt' have the Infinity Kappas listed but can give you a better idea what to get: http://www.soundstream.com/ima...t.pdf

So that's just to give you an idea.

Very nice! Got me thinking about this setup now

[rjdmmfl1]

Very nice! Got me thinking about this setup now

... Ricko, dude you're here in San Diego... hit me up before you do anything to your audio system!