New Audio setup - any opinions?

[PhopsonNY]

Hi All,

I intend to install the following setup in my 89 240sx hatchback.

Sony CDX-MP80 Hu - replacing stock HUhttp://www.ikesound.com/product-product_id/1419

CDT HD-62CF midrange plus 3/4" tweeter replacing stock speakers replacing stock in front doors[url]http://www.cdtaudio.com/hd62ef.htm[url]

JBL jbl PX600.2 - two channel amp for front speakershttp://www.ikesound.com/product-product_id/1651

Rear speakers powered from HU - one of:Infinity Reference 4652CFP 4 X 6 2-Way Plate orInfinity Reference 6402cf 4 x 6 coaxial orInfinity Reference 6402cfp 4 X 6 2-Way Plate

Wiring with Complete 4 Gauge Amplifier Installation Kithttp://www.knukonceptz.com

What do you think especially about the amp?what is the best location for the amp if it is to power only the front speakers? I want to have full use of my cargo area at all times.

I might add an infinity basslink in the parcel shelf in the future if I feel it is necessary.

thanks for the opinions.

[ayjay]

i don't know about the sound quality or the ease of use of that sony deck cause it's all remote operated, but it seems to have some decent features...

in my honest opinion, don't get speakers for the rear, especially if they're just going to be 4x6's... having ****ty speakers in the rear will take away from your beautiful CDT's, and will make your system sound worse than if you were only running front components...

SAVE YOUR MONEY, and don't get rear fills... if anything get the HD-62's (not the CF's) cause apparently the originals sound much better than the carbon fiber ones... with the money you save from not getting rear fills you can get a better deck, maybe an Eclipse, Alpine or Pioneer to name a few... new sony stuff isn't that great...

trust me man, I went from having ALL 4x6's in my 90' HB (JBL & Alpine speakers) to just running front CDT components and there is NO comparison whatsoever... 4x6's are the WORST SPEAKER EVER DESIGNED, and it doesn't matter who makes them cause they all sound like crap...

BETTER YET... get the CDT CL-641 3-ways and just run those up front... make kicks for your 4's, and mount the tweets up near the A-pillars, and the 6's in the doors. hardest part is making the kicks, but you will be glad you did it...

in terms of amps you will only need a 2ch amp cause you're not going to need to power any rear speakers I have a memphis st-200, and i am really happy with it's performance... (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISA...18796) this amp puts out 100Wx2 @4ohms, and that will be plenty for your cdt's... best place to put it would be underneath your passenger seat, that way it is somewhat easily accessible to tune, but at the same time hidden from theives...

here are some other decent amps to look at:ARC audio amp (70W x 2 @4ohm) Sony XM2100g (100W x 2 @ 4ohm) PPI A300 (75 x 2 @ 4ohm)

they might all be old, but a lot of the newer stuff is **** compared to how it used to be made...

[PhopsonNY]

thanks a lot for the helpful info.

I don't know what my budget will be yet, so I don't know if I will be able to go to the original CDT 63HDs.

The 641s sound interesting as an idea... when you suggest making kicks for the 4", what is a kick?

Where did you locate your amp in your installation?

Was originally looking at these amps:

JBL P180.2 - 2 channel amp (90w x 2 - 4ohm)http://www.ikesound.com/product-product_id/154 orjbl PX600.2 - 2 channel amp (150w x 2 - 4 ohm)http://www.ikesound.com/product-product_id/1652to power CDT speakers in front door

Now looking at this one;

US Acoustics usx2150 http://www.thezeb.com/caraudio/us_acoustics.html

[Checkered-Member]

1. Sony head unit… :thumbd…you can get something better for less, try pioneer or alpine2. Infinity speakers are awesome, they are all good.3. Stick with RF wiring/components, trust me it worth the extra few bucks.4. About the amp, how many CH? Hom much power? what’s your price range?

[PhopsonNY]

Thanks for the input.

I will try to change to the Pioneer unit;

Pioneer DEH-P7500MP Pioneer DEH-P7500MP mp3 player

I had intended to feed just the front speakers (CDTs) with the amp, hence only a 2 channel is needed at this point. If I install the rear Infinity speakers at all, they will be powered from the HU directly. They should just add ambience to the space.

Do you recommend this Rockford Fosgate;Rockford Fosgate CP4POR

What about other connections to HU and speakers?

[Checkered-Member]

I’m actually getting that one tomorrow, but the premier version, (only difference 6V output vs. 4V…same price so whatever) I’m getting one from eBay all of them are about 30 bucks cheaper…

You need a 4 channel amp to power 4 speakers, you can’t power a pair with the HU and a pair with the amp (well you can but that’s a mess and a waste of time)

So I’ll recommend a Rockford Fosgate amp, any 4 ch will do. http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/amplifiers/Get “power” not “punch” (power is better for speakers, punch is better for subs)

That wiring kit, is only a power amp kit, not a complete installationThis is what you need: http://www.sounddomain.com/sku/ROCCP4CKDRAgain try eBay for lowest price

[ayjay]

The 641s sound interesting as an idea... when you suggest making kicks for the 4", what is a kick?

Where did you locate your amp in your installation?

Was originally looking at these amps:

JBL P180.2 - 2 channel amp (90w x 2 - 4ohm)http://www.ikesound.com/product-product_id/154 orjbl PX600.2 - 2 channel amp (150w x 2 - 4 ohm)http://www.ikesound.com/product-product_id/1652to power CDT speakers in front door

Now looking at this one;

US Acoustics usx2150 http://www.thezeb.com/caraudio/us_acoustics.html

Kicks are short for "kickpanels" where you make a molded enclosure in the lower left and right corners of where your feet go... hence the work KICK cause people kick them accidentally all the time... haha

both my amps were mounted on the back of my huge 4.5 cu.ft full MDF box, so that way i could access them if i put my back seat down... under the seat would be the best option if you didn't have a sub box

oh and don't go with rears... save your money so that you can spend more money on your front speakers and less on an amp (2ch vs 4ch)... and rear speaker location suck in the HB

[Simmsled]

PhopsonNY, ayjay is the guy to talk to about CDTs and 240 speaker configurations. Take a look in the "Post Your Setup" thread. 240 custom door panels loaded with CDTs... BeautifulAyjay... do your thing bro!:ylsuper

[ayjay]

uhhh ya.... what he said :pface

[PhopsonNY]

ayjayI presume you mean the rear seats for the amp location.

I have never taken out my rear seats so I presume there is space for amps. My question is one of ventilation.

If I am running a 400w 2channel, I presume there wills be lots of heat generated.

Thanks for the kicks idea, I might just try that...

I see them here, although not a good picturecdt kick install

looks tough unless there is a prefab that can be modded.I saw how you installed your door units in your other link... that was a lot of work.

[ayjay]

sorry did i say underneath the rear seats? i meant, underneath the FRONT SEATS... you'll need to actually unbolt the seats and take them off the rails to be able to properly install the amps...

my buddy installed his in his integra that way... took him an entire day to install them, but let's just say no one is going to steal them unless they have a prybar, and they want to damage the amps... used bolts through the floorboard and put the nuts on from underneath the car... don't know how accessible that area is on the 240, but it would make for a good project :pface

the kicks in that truck are a good example, however, in a 240 both your legs and the passengers legs would completely block the speakers you mounted down there... so you'd need to figure out how to position them so they wouldn't get so blocked by peoples' legs...

and yes, the door panels took about 2 months on and off, not happy with them, but they'll have to do, for a year at least... you just wait for a few weeks and i'll be starting my sub box

[PhopsonNY]

Hi again,

I think I will settle for a CDT HD62s or the classic 61s as I can do everything but the kick myself. I might revisit this later in stage II when I add an Infinity bass link in rear and maybe a 4" mid in doors similar to what you did.

I think I can do all the connections, but the power supply for the amplifier.

I would guess that you use an adaptor of some sort or splice the wires so the amplifier supply taps into the same 12v supply from the battery as for the HU.

I have done some research and 1farad of capacitance is suggested for 1kw amp. I presume that for a 400w amp, a capacitor in parallel is not necessary.

cheers.:pface

[ayjay]

I think I can do all the connections, but the power supply for the amplifier.

I would guess that you use an adaptor of some sort or splice the wires so the amplifier supply taps into the same 12v supply from the battery as for the HU.

I have done some research and 1farad of capacitance is suggested for 1kw amp. I presume that for a 400w amp, a capacitor in parallel is not necessary.

cheers.:pface

umm you're kinda new to this car audio stuff hey? well i'm glad you're getting nice stuff the first time around, but i don't want you setting your car on fire the first time you run it :pface

hookin up an amp is more work than you think... first off i'd recommend you get a run of 4 gauge power wire to run from the battery to where you'll have your amp mounted. that stuff is kinda pricey but you can some for about $1 a foot if you're lucky... you'll also need some 4gauge for the ground as well... next thing is to look at the fuses on your amp... a good amp to power your components (100x2 rms) should have at least two 20amp fuses... after you figure out the maximum amp draw on your amp, you'll need to buy a fuse holder which goes inside your engine bay and that has a fuse equivalent to those on your amps (two 20's on your amp = one 40amp in the fuse holder)... you just need to fuse the connection between the battery and the amp...

now that i think of it, just buy an AMP WIRING KIT... a few companies make them like Monster, Audiobahn, Scoche (sp?)... Monster is the best, but many people say you can't tell the difference considering the money difference. it will have everything you need to hook up your amp. the reason why you need thicker wiring and a seperate power supply than what your deck uses is cause your amp draws WAAYYY more current than your deck would, and if you just spliced the line from your deck, that wire would catch on fire cause the wire is too thin and the amount of current x resistance blah blabh ablahablkdja = well... fire

you'll also need to make a seperate ground for your amp so just drill a hole into a solid metal surface in your car (something connected to the chassis), sand that surface so that the nice shiny metal is revealed, and just screw down your ground wire...

there is soo much to explain in terms of precautions to take when doin all this, so you might want to do some research on installing amps...