500 dollars!?!?!?!

[s383mmber1]

Ok guys, heres the thing.

I have exactly 500 bucks. Maybe a little more.

You get to pick my system!!!

I need a head unit, speakers, and if money provides, a sub.

But for know, please pick a good Head unit and Speakers!

Massive rep will be given for thought out responses!!

I listen to a lot of electronic/trance music with bass.

Thanks in advance!

William

[kwnate]

From schucks $32.99 Ships tomarrow!http://www.partsamerica.com/product_images//img/jen/pcr2500cs.jpg

10.99 ea 4" speakers
http://www.partsamerica.com/product_images//img/jen/plrs40.jpg

Two 300watt high power 6.5" woofers! $14.99http://www.partsamerica.com/product_images//img/eta/6008.jpg

120watt amp $54.99http://www.partsamerica.com/product_images/img/jen/upa224cs.jpg


Total: $146.93.

I don't know car audio very well but I tried for you, cuz you're cool!

[Big Wang Bandit]

Nate wins.

Im ordering a new head unit next week.
A sony GT300 Here (http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_6469.html)

The only reason I am upgrading my old one is because I want to be able to hook my ipod up using a 2.5mm jack. Im also staying sony becasue Im running a Sony CD changer in the back and some xplod 2 ways on the walls in the back seats. Little puny sony amp too.

Not much help but that Head unit is pretty cool.

[SupraDerk]

Yo Will, here's what I'm plannin on doing...I'll lend the idea to you...FOR A FEE!!

Screw the headunit idea and go with a Car-puter, 5 channel surround sound. You can pick up a mainboard for cheap as you don't need a beast of a computer to run music.

For my version 1 I'm using an ATX form factor mainboard (big one) but eventually I'm gonna go with a Micro ATX, the gamecube sized ones. Anyway, so you have the mainboard with 5.1 surround sound on it, then you head to radioshack and pick up a few stereo->RCA adapters and a few audio RCA cables. Run the RCA cables from the mainboard to the AMP.

Pick up an indash VGA monitor off Ebay for about $150ish and make sure it has radio capabilites so you can plug in the speaker wires to it and you end up with a spiffy custom setup. :evil2:

-Derek

[hot dayam mk3]

Depends if you want people to hear you a mile away or have some good quality sound from the inside of the car.

I am running a kenwood kdc-mp928 head unit which retails now about $250
i have kenwood 4" components front and rear. and i have a 6 1/2" bazooka bass tube powered by a 5chanel kenwood amp. this all ran my $500. its not powerful to hear far away but good enough to not hear the hks carbon-ti exhaust and the windows rolled down going on a highway.

[brad92t]

infinity speakers.
infinity speakers.
infinity speakers.

in this case reference series since you arent running an amp, but they will still sound great and will be even better if you add an amp later. if you already have an amp or are buying an amp (or have a factory amp) then go the extra mile and get kappa series.

you will not be sorry.

for head units, my rule of thumb is if it looks cool, you can afford it, it has the features you want, and has 4v preamp out then its a good choice for you.

[cartel1_950]

if you really want a good set of speakers pioneer makes some pimpin little 4' speakers for the doors. they are 100 watt rms and they sound great when cranking the bass up with the techno.

[92turbo4life]

Will dont spend to much trust me
i spent 1000 on a alpine 12' type r
a jl amp
and a alpine head unit

i swear everytime i hit the gas all the speaker does is bounce around and i always take iit out. i really use my head unit and stock speakers.:) it sound sgood and is very cheap=just a heaed unit! the amp is mounted on the back set but i do use it sometimes. lol 1st 1000 i ever wasted:(

id do a head unit with maybe changin door speakers:)

[NDBoost]

www.sonicelectronix.com will be your FRIEND got an entire sub/amp package w/ 2 6.5" speakers for $100 made by Audiobahn

[SupraDerk]

...they are 100 watt rms...

Don't go by RMS power, it is absolutely USELESS in car audio. Just a way for equipment manufacturers to make their product sound good. Just a little heads up :naughty:

-Derek

[Syris]

hey derk you mean max not rms

[SupraDerk]

No I mean RMS, RMS power doesn't mean anything when talking about car audio, it leads you to a higher wattage number...but that number means nothing.

-Derek

[brad92t]

No I mean RMS, RMS power doesn't mean anything when talking about car audio, it leads you to a higher wattage number...but that number means nothing.

-Derek


lol. :3d_frown:

[cartel1_950]

still 100watt 4' speakers sound great in the stock door pods wether or not the rms rating is useless.

[brad92t]

still 100watt 4' speakers sound great in the stock door pods wether or not the rms rating is useless.

while derk is is right abour RMS to a point, i'm not convinced he knows why or even understands what he is talking about.. no offense..

im an electrical and computer engineering major and ive seen this argued plenty of times.. there are more important stats than just RMS power handling, but they arent that relavent for the most part to joe consumer

rms rating is basically just a way to say how much power can be disipated by a load.. the higher the rms power handling of a speaker, the more power you can put through it continuously (obviously)... the more power a speaker can continuously handle, the louder you can turn it up without distortion being produced.

its really got nothing to do with the quality of the sound itself, only its ability to handle power given to it..

hopefully he can shed some more light on why he thinks this is a bs measurment by manufacturers.

[SupraDerk]

lol. :3d_frown:

I'm a CpE student too, let me find my book, I want to be clear on a couple of things before I post anything

[brad92t]

I'm a CpE student too, let me find my book, I want to be clear on a couple of things before I post anything


before you get started i want you to know that i am using the term RMS power interchangably with AVERAGE POWER or AVERAGE SINE WAVE POWER... even though its not really the same

the term RMS power is in fact a misnomer, but its become such comonplace in the audio market that theres no use in me trying to disuade people from using it..

[daledoe]

I could spend $500 on a head unit!!! If you do some shoping around you can find some alright stuff on e-gay. I don't think you will have enuff money for subs unless you already have a power wire and RCAs. good luck on the bargen hunting!!!

[SupraDerk]

DAMMIT! I just typed all this crap out and the forum failed me... attempt #2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Assume:
V = 12V
I = 1A
P = 12W

For Average power,
Vrms = 12 ^2 ...divided by 2...and then take the square root of that
Vrms = 8.49V

Irms = 1^2 ...divided by 2 and then teh square root of that
Irms = .707A

Assuming it's purely resistive so the phase difference is zero, then the power factor becomes 1...(cos(0-0) = 1)

Average Power = Vrms * Irms * cos( phase angle of voltage - phase angle of current)

Average Power = Vrms * Irms * 1 = 8.49 * .707
Average Power = 6W


Using the idea of RMS Power,
Prms = 12W ^ 2...divided by 2...and take the square root of that...
Prms = 8.49W

The two obviously aren't equal, and Prms is no good because it doesn't rely on Vrms and Irms. But like you said above, the higher the power rating, the more power you can put into the system and the better your gain will be, (ie the louder you can play your music).

But the way that car audio companies use the term RMS Power, then mean it to be the average power when a single tone is presented which as you can see above is completely wrong. Giving the consumer the belief they can get more power out of the system than it can really handle

Oh yeah one other thing, this is for AC analysis, for DC anlysis, if you had a constant DC value, then average, peak and RMS values would all be equal to each other.

-Derek

[daledoe]

^^
Dam you typed that twice!!

[92turbo4life]

i know right!

[fiyota]

Well, i'm runnin a pretty cheap setup right now... but It's a little over the $500 budget you have...

Sony CDX-GT500 head unit - $200 w/ discount from buddy at FS
Sony XM-1252GTR 1/2 channel amp - $230
Sony 30wx2 cheapo old amp under passenger seat - ?
2x 4" speakers in the doors (unknown make.. probably sony's) - ?
2x 5.25" speakers in the rear.. cheapo RCA's - $20
JL W0-4ohm 12" subwoofer in a custom 2.5cu/ft ported enclosure $150+$100 materials for the enclosure
4 guage wire for 12v and ground & rca's and speakerwire - $80

Totaling around $800 w/ taxes and stuff... need to replace all my speakers tho... not soundin too great... that'll be another $400 at least for decent ones.

Edit: All prices are in canadian... so maybe it's a little bit closer to your budget...

[SupraDerk]

Yeah, I decided it was worth typing twice...didn't like the idea of someone saying I don't know what I'm talking about and I want to help out the fellow members so you're not getting cheated out of your hard earned money. Take this example for instance...

Product A: They advertise an average power rating of 200W $100
Product B: They advertise an RMS power of 205W $110

You buy product B and your friend buys product A...you both compete in car audio competitions and your friend's system is louder and sounds better because it's actualy putting out more power than yours...wouldn't you be pissed? :biglaugh:

-Derek

[Tanya]

DUAL $89.99

50-watts x 4 (18-watts RMS)
CD-R/CD-RW compatible—Plays all CDs including MP3/WMA encoded discs
iPlug interface cable plays any portable media with a headphone jack

link here (http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/Product/tf-Browse/s-10101/Pr-p_Product.CATENTRY_ID:2011649/showCustom-0/p-2011649/N-111+10201+600000540/c-10101)


Pioneer 4" 110 watts max $50.00
link here (http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/product/detail/0,,2076_4085_291211082,00.html)

Pioneer 6.5" $80
link here (http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/product/detail/0,,2076_4075_189562759,00.html)

RF 12" sub $136 (build yer own box lol)
link here (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=6252431&type=product&productCategoryId=cat03081&id=1069302879211)

Rockford Amp $150
link here (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7635829&type=product&productCategoryId=cat03085&id=1141762608422)


shit, came out to $506
oh well, lol

[supra90turbo]

Dual? ick.
Nothing but Alpine or Eclipse HU's for me if I can help it.
also, I agree with Brad. Infinity speakers.

When choosing a HU, look at the manufacturer's background. What do they focus on?
Sony? TV's
Kenwood? Home Audio
Pioneer? Home Audio
Alpine? Car audio
Eclipse? Car audio.

My theory has yet to be proven wrong.
Oddly enough, I've had a Sony, Pioneer, Kenwood, and Alpine.
The Sony was a complete piece of shit. Xplod? I wish it would have...
Pioneer had some strange quirks. Buttons wouldn't work sometimes, then everything would be fine for weeks without problems...
Kenwood? You have to push on the face at a certain point for any of the buttons to work, or use the remote.
Alpine (9825 i think) I did have a problem, would not accept CD's when cold, and one day it would make the sound like it was trying to accept it, but just wouldn't. Opened it up and found out that one of the plastic slider pieces in the ejector mechanism snapped in half. BFD though, the thing was $100 out of box and came with a warrantee. Turns out that I was still in warrantee when it broke, and just didn't know it. Called it in 3 days after my cutoff and Circuit City "couldn't" do anything about it.
That was 5 months ago though, I'm still using it. I just removed the CD mechanism. Works flawlessly with XM.
I have no first or second hand experiences with Eclipse, but I've heard much good.

[fiyota]

Dual? ick.
Nothing but Alpine or Eclipse HU's for me if I can help it.
also, I agree with Brad. Infinity speakers.

When choosing a HU, look at the manufacturer's background. What do they focus on?
Sony? TV's
Kenwood? Home Audio
Pioneer? Home Audio
Alpine? Car audio
Eclipse? Car audio.

My theory has yet to be proven wrong.
Oddly enough, I've had a Sony, Pioneer, Kenwood, and Alpine.
The Sony was a complete piece of shit. Xplod? I wish it would have...
Pioneer had some strange quirks. Buttons wouldn't work sometimes, then everything would be fine for weeks without problems...
Kenwood? You have to push on the face at a certain point for any of the buttons to work, or use the remote.
Alpine (9825 i think) I did have a problem, would not accept CD's when cold, and one day it would make the sound like it was trying to accept it, but just wouldn't. Opened it up and found out that one of the plastic slider pieces in the ejector mechanism snapped in half. BFD though, the thing was $100 out of box and came with a warrantee. Turns out that I was still in warrantee when it broke, and just didn't know it. Called it in 3 days after my cutoff and Circuit City "couldn't" do anything about it.
That was 5 months ago though, I'm still using it. I just removed the CD mechanism. Works flawlessly with XM.
I have no first or second hand experiences with Eclipse, but I've heard much good.

sony's arent all bad... it will probably break within the next year or two... but w/e decent deck for my crap setup.

[Tanya]

I've had my Dual HU for almost 2 years, with NO issues whatsoever.
The only reason I chose the products I did, is because I have experience with them. I won't hesitate to get another Dual HU, which I will when I get my Celica.

I also have Alphasonik 10"subs and amp, which are another "no name" brand I guess, but they've served me well for 3 years

Stay away from JVC head units. I've had nothing but bad luck with them, at least 3 bad uits in 3 weeks, all different models too.

My system:
Dual HU $100
Boss 4" $40
Pioneer 5.25" $60
Alphasonik subs/amp $200 (including 2 yr warranty)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/TanyasMkII/engine%20parts/HPIM0652.jpg

Here's a small clip:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v237/TanyasMkII/engine%20parts/?action=view&current=HPIM0653.flv
note* apparently my camera doesn't like uber bass, lol. some sound distortion

[brad92t]

Yeah, I decided it was worth typing twice...didn't like the idea of someone saying I don't know what I'm talking about and I want to help out the fellow members so you're not getting cheated out of your hard earned money. Take this example for instance...

i didn't mean to suggest that you dont know what youre talking about.. just that you were making some pretty aggressive claims without backing it up.

you're saying exactly what im saying if you refer to my last post.. i just don't feel the need to qualify the difference to people that don't care that RMS power and true average power aren't the same..

blame the audio industry for the misconception... but it doesn't change the usefulness of the rating and it certainly doesn't make it a bs rating. it may not be completely accurate to engineers, but its still representative of the speaker's power handling ability. that's the only claim i was making about what you said. :icon_razz

besides i could be wrong but very few if any mainstream audio manufacturers actually supply a true average power rating

[Kai]

Well, my setup was had for less than £200 - which is under your $500 budget.

JVC KD-G111 Head Unit - £69.99
Toyota to ISO Plug - £13.99
Kenwood KFC-1050's - £18.99

Those little kenwoods fit in the doors perfectly and give pretty good sound. Obviously they're not going to blow people away, but its fine for what i listen to by myself - i dont need people to hear me two counties away :D

[SupraDerk]

you're saying exactly what im saying if you refer to my last post..

Yeah I know, but you kind of called me out so I had to show why I thought the way I did. Anyway, I wasn't trying to convert anyone I was just letting them know not to just go by RMS power cause it's not an exact representation of the average power... just a loophole for the audio industry to make their product sound a little better. But you're right...it does give you an idea of where the real average power is about. Anyway, I'm done threadjacking! :evil2:

-Derek

[s383mmber1]

Just to clear some things up guys. I dont want a subwoofer.

Headunit/speakers combo for 500 bucks!

No subs for me!

[Tanya]

Just to clear some things up guys. I dont want a subwoofer.

Headunit/speakers combo for 500 bucks!

No subs for me!


Boo, but you said you wanted one in your first post :icon_razz

Anyways, you should have no problems finding a HU speaker combo for way less than that. Check out some stuff at BestBuy, Circuit City, etc. They can have good package deals

[bigaaron]

My experience as an installer was that Pioneer made some of the best sounding and most reliable headunits for the money. Alpine was good 12 years ago but I would not recommend them anymore. Sony xplod headunits and amplifiers did exactly what their name suggested, they explode, but not with sound. Kenwood is good as long as it does not have a motorized face but if it does get the extended warranty. You can't loose with JL Audio, everything they make is good quality. Eclipse is not too bad either.

BTW, any amplifier that does not come with a bench test certificate that shows the rms output power into a specific load at a specific frequency is probably not going to make it's rated power. Any cheap amplifier is probably going to have a fairly high amount of distortion. Even if it can make it's rated power, who wants to hear it if it sounds like shit? Most of the wattage ratings on the equipment are marketing gimmicks anyway. They sometimes test subwoofer amplifier power output at 1khz. Who listens to 500 watts of sound at 1kz through a sub?!? How do you think they can say they get 50wpc out of a headunit? Because the actual output power is about 16w rms, if your lucky. They also sometimes rate the output power as an instantaneous peak into a load much lower then the amplifier is rated to run. And who ever decided that 200w speakers are better sounding then 100w speakers? Both 100w and 200w speakers will sound like shit when run on a 50wpc stereo driven till it starts clipping. You can run that good quality 100w speaker on a 200wrms amplifier and have it sound way better then the cheap 200w speaker running on a 100wrms amplifier. There is also a specific bandwidth in which the speaker will handle it's rated power. If you run 30hz at 200wrms to a 6.5" speaker it will surely smoke, but if you had a 100hz high pass crossover on the same speaker it might actually handle it's rated power. The wattage rating on speakers it the just thermal power handling of the voice coil before it fails, not a good description of the quality of sound.
You students may forget that sometimes you have to forget the math and just do some real world critical listening to tell which is the best.

[supraman7mgte]

how about just using a ipod as a head unit? think about it,all YOUR fav songs. not a radio stations. just use some output harness to to your input on your equalizer!
How a bout a set of Audiobahn class D amps?