My knowledge of car audio is somewhat limited, but I love the sound of a well designed system. I can see all the pics and read all the reviews I want, but unfortunately with these types of products I won't know what I truly like until I hear it first hand.

I've been to several electronics shops and car audio places, only to be disappointed by their lack of a large selection. Another problem being that I'm sure a system sounds entirely different inside a store than it does in a car.

So my question is, is there somewhere I can go to hear the true sound of a variety of sound systems inside a car or a car-like space? I've considered car audio competitions, but I'm not looking to set any record breaking decibel levels with my upcoming system, so I don't think that would be for me.

 

Just find someone who has the speakers u want in their car. Ask them what type of box they run with specs and all. Box size will affect the sound. Not to mention the amp and wires and where the box is located and waht kinda car its in. If u lookin for a nice clean bass that wont blow ur eyes out i would opt for a alpine type r or maybe a lowgrade jl audio speaker. I run two alpine's type r in my car and have it tuned to around 35 hertz i believe and while my music is turned down my system sounds stock but when turned up i cant see out my mirrors. Also best to get an amp with a level control so u can mount it up front for further tuning.

 

Good advice. I was actually considering using two Type R 10's over anything else. I was told to use a large ported box for them to achieve the sound I want.

I already have a 2000 watt Gothic Series Power Acoustic amp that I use to power two Power Acoustic 12's in a sealed box. I don't like the way my current systems sounds at all, but I'd like to use the amp in my new system if practical. My current bass only sounds good at very low frequencies but completely overpowers the stock speakers and doesn't seem to compliment them well, even at low volume.

 

Those gothic series amps are awesome. U can push those pretty hard. One question is it 4 channel or 2. U can reuse the amp and get two 10's and it should sound pretty loud. Did you tune the amp yourself or did someone tune it for u becasue you can readjust ur amp to achieve a desirable sound. lemme know what adjustment ***** you have on your amp and maybe i can help u fine tune it for the time being until you get your aplines. That would achieve a nice sound and still have to ablity to bang the crap outta those speakers. ARe u planning on building box and installing on your own or u guna have it professionaly done? Also make sure all your wires (power ground remote rcas) are as short as u can possibly have them because the affects sound greatly. And consider getting a cheap capacitor as it will help relieve strain put on ur amp. I would recommend something with a digital readout so u can see power consumption. I have my two 12's in a sealed box with polyfill inside the box and the quality of sound is great. Let me know if u need any more input and id be glad to help out.

 

That would be really cool for you to help me build my system. I think I like the route your telling me I should take. My next concern is door speakers and a head unit. Any suggestions? I'd like something fairly loud but sound quality is more important to me than volume.

Here's what I have for an amp:






What kind of adjustments should I make for some clear precise bass with my stock Bose system? Right now it seems like my subs have some "lag", as in they don't hit on the notes they're supposed to.

 

Well ur amp is a monster mono amp. Its a beast i have a 1200 watt hifonics class d mono amp and it dosent strain at all with my twleves so u can push just about any speaker u want. AS for the amp adjustments i would set the level maybe half way and the low bandpass at 1/4 the way. The subsonic is only if ur box is ported and the bass boost i would leave at 0 for the moment. the phase is whether ur bass is reaching u at the same time the music is. If u have some echo in ur bass versus the music (if the bass dosent match the music) then turn the phase to 0. If not try it at 180 but test it becuase the phase on my amp isnt a swtich like urs but like the rest of the *****. Then turn ur radio up to the level u normally listen to where u want to hear ur bass. From there adjust ur level and see how it sounds. (When i tune amps i normally stand in front of the car with the windows open and doors open to hear how it sounds but thats only if u want the bass to sound loud at peak. If not then u can just stand outside the window and put ur volume at around 15 or so.) I would keep the lowpass filter under half way mark to hit those deep notes. And now i would suggest to start to play with ur bassboost. Maybe throw it to the 10 o'clock position and see how it sounds. i think my bass boost is at the 2 o clock but i like to bang my **** pretty loud. Always close ur trunk and stand outside or u can sit in ur car and check ur levels once u do adjusment. From there i would say just play with em a little bit the main contorls u want to fiddle with are the level and lowpass. And set ur little remote level **** to full so if u want to turn ur bass down u can just adjust accordingly. Its alot of to take in so if u need more info pm me or throw it up here and ill get back to u asap. As for headunits and all i still have all the rest of the car stock. I did the easteregg adjusment with the menu button on my car and it boosted the stock speakers sound pretty well. Mite want to try this cuz for me it helped get a little more voice. I hear alot of people running pioneer doube din screens and liking them. The only thing i think is ur prob gunna have to special order the faceplate online as most car stero stores dont stock parts for our car. that all i can think right now my brain is offically fried. Lemme know how stuff goes.

 

Good advice, my system sounds better than ever. Think I may have blown a door speaker though, oops. They never quite gave me the sound I was looking for anyway.

What are the differences between different door speakers and different tweeters? I know they come in different sizes, but how do I know which ones will best suit my needs? Does it matter what type of music I normally listen to?

Will I need a separate amp for the rest of the speakers? can they run off the same one? would it be best to get a new one?

 

i would say go to crutchfield.com and see what fits in our cars. I wouldnt advise buyin from them because they are overpriced. Maybe check onlinecar stereo they normally have stuff fairly cheap. normally u would just need one amp to power to rest of the speakers but im not sure how u would tap into sound and run all the wires to the speakers. It would be a fairly extensive job doing that. Have u tried adjusting the stock system with the menu feature?

 

a site that will tell u all that fits.
http://www.mobiletoys.com/shopby/shop_by_prod.asp

 

I'll check that, thanks. Haven't tried the menu option yet, how is it done?