why does my stereo suck?

[Chuckles1000]

ok i have spent quite a bit of money on my system and guys who havent spent much there systems sound good

well here is what i have

Alpine headunit CDA-7875http://ebay0.ipixmedia.com/abc/M28/_EBAY_537e226a4e1dfaf314edb260010f8018/i-1.JPG

Alpine 5-1/4" Type-R Component 2-Way Speakers
http://ecominet2.alpine-usa.com/img/asb/spr-136a.gif

Kenwood KFC-Xr901 6x9'shttp://www.kenwoodusa.com/content/product/image/large/kfc-xr901.jpg


Alpine MRD-M1000 Amplifierhttp://ecominet2.alpine-usa.com/img/asb/mrd-m1000.gif

2 12" Pionner Premier TS-W12PRS http://legacy.pioneerelectronics.com/Pioneer/Images/CarProduct/TSW12-PRS.jpg

what do u think of my system?
should people with jensen and sony xplod systems be blowing me away?

[matts]

they may be blowing you away, but which one sounds cleaner? id rather have a clean sound than a loud sound. you could make it louder by adding a amp to the 6x9s and 5 1/4s. how many watts is your amp feeding your subs? you've got some pretty nice stuff. with a little system tweaking and a little more power here and there you should be satisfied with your stereo once again.

[Chuckles1000]

well amps specs are
• 1800W MAX Power
• 1000W x 1 (2ohm 14.4V)

[btchn1]

I have to agree to add an amp to your full ranges, like a 35x4 or 50x4. Nothing to big just something better then the deck power. Alpines are nice cd players but I've always thought the deck power was dirty. Make sure your subs are in the right enclose for the kind of music you listen to and maybe add an eq. Just suggestions, Lee

[Pte Socks]

hehe hey dude.. ill give you my mrd-m500 and 200$ bucks for your m-1000. Plz.. i really want one of em! its 900w max 500 watt rms

[Pte Socks]

hers a tip though man.. its a grand am. guys with sony explode systems and stuff like that may sound good.. mostly because they dont have ga's. Trust me. ive been to a couple sound-offs. Now listening to everyones stereo outside compared to mine.. it sounded like mine was crap because it wasnt really loud. But then when the actual db testing came.. i smoked some people. Hell i even beat a couple of punk kids with 4 12" alpine type e's powered by a 1000 watt rms amp. its amazing when you see something like that.

[matts]

are your subs in a ported or sealed box? get a bigger sub box. get the specs on a box for your subs (the most cu. ft.) and build a box to those specs. and use some crossovers on your full ranges. then you can turn the music up louder without as much distortion. i have a kicker kx3 in my girlfriends grand am and a kx2 in my truck. set the crossover points for about 120hz and below for the sub and around 100hz and up for the full ranges. do you have your subs dvc? your amp may be rated at 1000watts rms, but if your subs arent wired to be giving it a 2 ohm load you may not be anywhere near the 1000 watts. all of these are just suggestions

[Pte Socks]

good points matts. a crucial element for the m1000's or the digital alpine amps.. is that they are 2 ohms amps.. run them at 2 ohms or close to ( mine are setup at 1.5 ohms ) or else you lose big power.. thats one reason JL amps are good.. they are good for 1.5 ohm to 4 ohm ranges.. unlike our alpines.

[matts]

how come you didn't go with the alpine type r 6x9s? i think they sound cleaner than the kenwoods. i like kenwoods and all, but alpine sounds a little clearer

[Bass101]

Experiment with your subs' placement! Placement is everything. And it's amazing how an amp for the highs makes the WHOLE system sound better.

[nineteen88ga]

Like the M500, the M1000 is actually designed to be given a 2 ohm load. At 4 ohms your going to be getting a little more then half the 1000 watts. The nice thing about the v12 Amps is that they are under rated so you should be actually be able to get a little more then 1000 RMS out of it.


With my system, its not loud out side the vehicle but inside or standing in the door, it'll knock your socks off. Nothing with crazy bass, since I designed mine for SQ, but I'm happy with it, and as long as your happy with the way yours sounds, who cares. I'll tell you this, I'm sure you already know, but your Alpine and Pioneer Premier products are just a little higher end then Jensen and Xplod.

Another thing that came to mind, since that heaunit has the V-Drive internal amp, did you upgrade the 12v power wire to it? Run a (fused) 10 or 12 gauge wire down to the 12v wire in the ignition column. you'll more then likely pick up some performance with that.

[Chuckles1000]

ok well heres what i did thanks to some advice

i picked myself up a Rockford Fosgate punch 40.2
so should i hook up my front or rear speakers to this?

sorry Neo-Blue99GASE im not looking to get rid of my amp
:P


MATTS - my subs are in a sealed box i e-mailed pioneer and they said they tested the subs in a 1 cu. ft. box

i will mess around with the hz and put them where u sugessted cuz i dont know anything about the settings my ears can tell the difference between good and bad sound but i cant get good clean hard pounding sound from my setup

- how do i wire it in a 2 ohm load?

-about my 6x9's i heard them both and i thought the excelons sounded better the only thing in kenwood i ever bought but since almost everything else is alpine i probably should have bought the type r's i guess

Bass101 - ya placement i have been trying different things i have another thread about putting them in my back seat which i may try next

nineteen88ga - ya i know my products are better im just sick of theres sounding pretty darn nice especially when i paid more for my amp then the guys whole jensen system oh ya i already have that fused wire running from my deck

thanks eveyone for the sugestions maybe some of u can answer my new questions for me

[nineteen88ga]

I'd defianately amp the Trype R components you have up front.

I'm not famillar with Rockfor stuff at all, so I don't know the power your pushing, but I'm guessing 40x2. The Components call for around 40-50 watts RMS so that should be fairly matched up with them.

[btchn1]

Definetly run the rockford to your fronts because you want the sound in front of you don't you? As far as the subs go if they are single voice coils just hook both positives together and take it to the positive of the amp and the same on the negetive and you have a two ohm load. If they are dual voice coil subs then you can only wire them to 8 ohm or 1 ohm all together and you would need a different amp to push them correctly. As far as the low pass crossover point I suggest to not go any higher then 60-70 hertz for twelves and if your components are any good let them pick up the missing mid bass above 70 hertz. If you want really loud bass then I suggest going to a ported box and for that call up pioneer and make the box exactly to spec. Peace, Lee

[Chuckles1000]

my subs are dual voice coil :( is that bad?

[btchn1]

No thats not bad its just that you can't use all the power in your amp if its true that is only 2 ohm stable and that it is a mono block amp. Let me know the specs of your amp from the manual please and I'll see what we can come up with. Lee

[Chuckles1000]

is this what u want to know

SPECIFICATIONS
Power Output: RMS Continuous Power (at 12.0V, 20Hz to 200Hz)
Per channel into 4 ohms (1% THD) .............................. 350Wx1
Per channel into 2 ohms (1% THD) .............................. 700Wx1
Power Output: RMS Continuous Power (at 14.4V, 20Hz to 200Hz)
Per channel into 4 ohms (1% THD) .............................. 500Wx1
Per channel into 2 ohms (1% THD) ........................... 1,000Wx1
Total MAX Power .................................................. ........... 1,800Wx1
Frequency Response .............................................. 20 Hz to 200 Hz
Signal-to-Noise Ratio
(referenced to rated power) ................................................. 90 dBA
Input Sensitivity
(for rated power output) .............................................. 0.5V to 8.5V
Input Impedance .............................................. Line in: 10k ohms<
Speaker Impedance .................................................. ... 4 or 2 ohms
Low Pass Filter .............................. 30 Hz to 200Hz (1/12 oct. Step)
Subsonic Filter ......................................... 15 Hz to 50Hz, 5Hz Step
Parametric EQ ............................ F: 30 Hz to 160Hz, 1/12 oct. step)
Width (Q): 0.5/1/2/3/4/5
L: ±12dB, 1dB Step
Time Correction .................................... 0 – 10mSec, 0.1mSec Step
Phase .................................................. ............................... 0°/180°
Power Requirement ......................... 11 – 16V DC Negative Ground
Dimensions (W x H x D) ....................... 550mm x 68mm x 247mm
Weight .................................................. ......... 7.46 kg (16 lbs. 7oz)

[btchn1]

thats what I needed. If you use only one sub you would be fine but a little over powering and then you only have one sub. That sucks. Like I said before you can get either a 1 ohm load or a 4 ohm load. (acually I said 1 ohm and 8 ohm but I ment 1 and 4) The amp will die in a matter of minutes at 1 ohm so definatly don't do that. And if you go the 4 ohm way you will only get 350 watts out of the amp. So my suggestion is to sell that amp and get a 1 ohm stable sub amp or a really big two channel amp and run it 2 ohms stereo. Or go a whole other way and get two new subs and make sure you get single voice coil ones. Personnally I would go get a different amp. In a recent test I saw that Crossfire has the baddest 1000D out right now. Check it out. Peace out, Lee

[Chuckles1000]

what crossfire amp are u talking about the Vr1000d or the
CFA100d?

i really didnt want to hear i should get a new amp cuz i just bought it last week for $1300 can

[Chuckles1000]

im hooking my punch amp up today i will let ya guys know if it makes a difference

[btchn1]

Its the VR1000D. My advise is to not buy it off the internet as crossfire will not give you any warrenty when you do that and if you find a shop that sells crossfire and let them pu it in you get a three year warrenty. It doesn't get any better then that. Peace, Lee

[matts]

i would amp the components too. well, actually i would have bought a 4 channel amp to power all 4 of them, but its not my stereo.

btchn1- why would you go with such a low crossover point? those 12s freq. range is probably 25-500hz. (thats a shot in the dark). you could probably give the subs a little more power with it that low, but on the other hand the components wont produce those frequencies as loud as the subs. they would still be audible, but again, not as audible as the 12s. on my girlfriends crossover i have the low pass set at around 115 hz. and the high pass for the rear at around 105 hz. and around 250 hz. i think it makes the speakers sound like they're straining when you turn the music up loud and they're trying to send frequencies that low. they start getting distortion, which in turn makes your music sound like crap.

[btchn1]

The main reson I would crossover the subs so low is to keep them from SOUNDING like they are behind you. If you cross them over above 70hz your ears will be able to place them where they are at, which is behind you. But if you cross them over below 70hz you will pull off the "bass up front" illusion. Also if your comps won't play low enough to pull off that low of a crossover point on your subs then I would look into a mid bass driver up front. My self I use DEI 5 1/4 comps in q-logic kick panels and Crossfire 6 1/2 mid basses in the doors. I also moved the tweets from the kicks to the a pillars pretty close to the dash aimed at the middle of the windsheild. When my system is tweeked right I can pull off a beautiful front stage where the singers are in the middle of my dash at about eye level. Also I keep all the instruments sounding like they are spread out on the dash the same way they are arranged on the stage. My bass also sounds like its all up front even though I use 4 Crossfire 8's in a custom box in the back of my pickup. It worked well enough to bring home a fifth place finish at the USACI world finals my first year there. If you want to see what I'm talking about check out our site. redlineaudio.com Peace, Lee

[Chuckles1000]

hey btchn1
i have good news i went to the place i bought my amp and complained cuz they sold me that amp a couple weeks ago and i was like i told u what subs i had and there like ya those subs are
Dual-Voice Coil Design (2 Ohms or 8 Ohms) and they should me in there book so if this is true how do i hook them up at 2 ohms?

[matts]

Originally posted by btchn1
The main reson I would crossover the subs so low is to keep them from SOUNDING like they are behind you. If you cross them over above 70hz your ears will be able to place them where they are at, which is behind you. But if you cross them over below 70hz you will pull off the "bass up front" illusion. Also if your comps won't play low enough to pull off that low of a crossover point on your subs then I would look into a mid bass driver up front. My self I use DEI 5 1/4 comps in q-logic kick panels and Crossfire 6 1/2 mid basses in the doors. I also moved the tweets from the kicks to the a pillars pretty close to the dash aimed at the middle of the windsheild. When my system is tweeked right I can pull off a beautiful front stage where the singers are in the middle of my dash at about eye level. Also I keep all the instruments sounding like they are spread out on the dash the same way they are arranged on the stage. My bass also sounds like its all up front even though I use 4 Crossfire 8's in a custom box in the back of my pickup. It worked well enough to bring home a fifth place finish at the USACI world finals my first year there. If you want to see what I'm talking about check out our site. redlineaudio.com Peace, Lee

i can see your theory, but with an 18" in the trunk its kind of hard to hide it. lol. the 12 in my truck kind of sounds like that, but it vibrates your back to much to hide its location.

[ACoolGuy]

chuckles1000: the subs are dvc subs...i have the model right below yours...mine are dvc too...and yes you can wire each sub to 2 ohms...but when you wire them together(the subs) you will either have 1 or 4 ohms that your amp will see...im with btchn1 on this one in just getting a new amp but those subs you have only handle 300 watts rms each so a 600 watt rms @ 1 ohm capable class d amp should work. or you could try to find a two chan amp stable at 2 ohms stereo that gives 300x2 rms. i myself am using the pioneer amp that gives 190x2 at 2 ohms stereo and its ok...havent had a prob yet. tho my subs handle 500 rms each so i will be upgrading soon...

btchn1: ive heard its better to wire mono rather than stereo (for those of us with 2 chan sub amps) to avoid the subs being out of phase. i know the amp is supposed to do a great job of firing both chans at the same time but i heard its better to not take chances and wire in mono to be sure the subs always fire 'in phase'....just wondering if you could confirm this in the installs you've done

[btchn1]

I've had this conversation before about the phase thing and I beleive it to be so minor in 99.9% of the systems out there that I wouldn't worry about it. Some people complain about the speaker wire to one sub being 6in's longer then the wire to the other sub and thats just getting to picky. Your right though one channel probably does not make the same exact power that the other channel does but its probably not even on watt difference and the same for the phase difference. So to sum it up I would say to not even worry about it. But thats just me. Lee

[RaDiKaL]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by matts
[B]i would amp the components too. well, actually i would have bought a 4 channel amp to power all 4 of them, but its not my stereo.

I amped the speakers in my car. I would definatly amp the Type R's. The only problem with amping the 4 speakers that i found is that the 6x9's take over at higher volumes and I don't even notice a difference when i turn my door speakers off,but when i turn off the 6x9's the sound volume drops dramatically (i use switches to control the amps). But i love the clarity at high volumes and blowing peoples minds when i turn it up over their volume maxed out and I still having more to go it is really worth it though.:D

[matts]

i have the resolutions and the type r's amped in my girlfriends grand am. the 6x9s do get a little louder at higher volumes, but i think it helps pickup a little where the resolutions cant. im fixing to redo most of the stereo in her car. i dont know what im going with yet, im shopping