Calling car audio experts

I have put in a quite a few but mostly in the 90's. Pretty simple really. RCA, remote, power.

good stuff you'll be fine. just remember to run the power and rca/remote wires on opposite sides of the cab. no one likes the interference it could cause.

what gauge of power wire you gonna run?
 
i create music. i think i have say

farting on a snare drum is considered music now?

edit: just found out who nicki minaj is, and yes, farting on a snare drum does appear to be considered music now. carry on.
 
good stuff you'll be fine. just remember to run the power and rca/remote wires on opposite sides of the cab. no one likes the interference it could cause.

what gauge of power wire you gonna run?

#4 for power
 
#4 for power

If it's under 500w RMS you should be fine to do 8 ga for power and ground, but if you want to leave room for upgrade or possibly add another amp for your mids/highs then 4 is the way to go.
 
A lot of newer vehicles don't need aftermarket stuff except for maybe a sub. Every vehicle I've had in the past 10 years has had a satisfactory stock stereo. I used to be big into audio, everything had to have components and subs, but I just don't care for the big bass anymore and factory mids and highs are good enough for me.
Not to mention long gone are the days of having to take out one trim piece or something to install a deck. These days you have to take the car apart and install a crazy expensive dash kit just to install a HU.
 
you work in car audio?
Not anymore. I did installs for a little bit but never got to a place where I could make a living at it. I spent a lot of time hanging out and learning from some of the greatest minds the industry has ever known. (I was very lucky to get that opportunity)

So, I picked up 2 memphis 10's, a custom enclosure that fits under the back seat, and an Alpine V12 amp for 340 on craigslist. I pretty much checked every place in town and I was looking at 700 no matter how I sliced it. I am going to install it myself tomorrow.

Nice choices. I have a v12 amp in the garage that came out of the my previous car. It's a great amp that is under-rated to say the least. I like memphis subs and prefer 10s over 12s so good choices on both accounts.

You get it in yet? ;)
 
Never understood the need for wasting your money on a stereo shit, always been happy listening to the original sound system of every car I had... thats just me I guess
 
Never understood the need for wasting your money on a stereo shit, always been happy listening to the original sound system of every car I had... thats just me I guess

What do you spend money on that other people would think is wasteful? Fitness stuff? Organic food? Cigarrettes? Top shelf booze? (Everyone has their 'things' is my point) ;)
 
i find that if you don't bump your music in your neighborhood, and don't visit questionable neighborhoods while listening to it, greatly decreases your chances of getting it stolen.

I had a system in my truck back in the day and never turned it on while i was getting in or out of my apartments, no one had a clue.

that's exactly it. Don't show off your system (intentionally or not) where you park. Even if it's leaving the office for the day, your truck will be there enough that someone may take notice... Just be smart, turn it down a bit when you get close to your destinations...
 
Not to mention long gone are the days of having to take out one trim piece or something to install a deck. These days you have to take the car apart and install a crazy expensive dash kit just to install a HU.

I recently found this out. My wife has a stock stereo and the aux jack is starting to go out. I figured I could get a pioneer deck for around a hundred buck, wire harnes, and in dash kit for another 50 bucks tops. Pfffffft, I was way off. It was 600 bucks for the stereo and all the "kits" to make the deck work in the fooking car. I guess she will be burning CDs. :icon_chee

Not anymore. I did installs for a little bit but never got to a place where I could make a living at it. I spent a lot of time hanging out and learning from some of the greatest minds the industry has ever known. (I was very lucky to get that opportunity)




Nice choices. I have a v12 amp in the garage that came out of the my previous car. It's a great amp that is under-rated to say the least. I like memphis subs and prefer 10s over 12s so good choices on both accounts.

You get it in yet? ;)

that's what she said? I haven't put it in yet.

hows it sound sparky?

been busy but I can't wait to hear it.

i find that if you don't bump your music in your neighborhood, and don't visit questionable neighborhoods while listening to it, greatly decreases your chances of getting it stolen.

I had a system in my truck back in the day and never turned it on while i was getting in or out of my apartments, no one had a clue.

same here. I had 2 sas bazooka tubes in my S10 and nobody knew.
 
I find that if you don't want to spend a lot for a head unit -go with a Pioneer or Clarion -They are the best in the cheaper price points in my experience with cheap head units

Also -be careful about component speaker setups with tweeters on the dash/door/column -the phasing from the source variation can give you a headache you don't even realize every time you drive. -really scramble you brain unknowingly. I'm amazed at how many car audio shops have no idea how to set a system up for best response, intelligibility, and musicality -they moslty know brands, specs, volume and eq treatment

I prefer coaxial speakers so a can time align everything.

Make sure to phase align your sub too. -otherwise your sound will have a fat notch in the low end that is annoying and depending on the crossover setting -some other tinniness

Aside from White and Pink noise sweeps and spectral analysis:

This is how I test my low end (Put this in at a store and they will get pissed when Steve and Anthony drape their strings off the fretboard in the song lulz)


This is how I test my rockness -


This is how I test the overall response -With some classical (sometimes Stravinsky too)


and throw in a Tom Dowd recorded song or the Carpenters for intellegibilty
 
Good recommendations on the AQ and SSA subs. A pair of tens on 500 to 1000 class D watts should suite you fine. One thing I would do to that enclosure the day you get it, go across every seam with a nice thick swipe of wood glue (even if it's caulked). Don't worry about it running inside, just give it time to dry. This is probably the best "bang for the buck" thing you can do for a prefab enclosure as about 80% of them I've seen will leak from the start or won't last long until they start to come undone.

AUX jack is pretty meh now days, you're doing a lot of processing to the audio. Most decks have Bluetooth, and personally I use the USB input and just convert my music to MP3s.

VERY good advice on monitoring your use near places you park your vehicle. Urban camouflage too! Make sure nothing is in plain sight. No stickers on the windows etc.

Anyone saying "You don't need a sub" and all that garbage has no fucking clue. They've grown up thinking ear buds and an i pod is the beat all end all of hi fi. It's a lost/dying art that's for sure.
 
No, they're decks are decent for the money. Dual and Jensen blow.

Not really. You can get a Kenwood with the same features and quality for half the price. It's just a name now. Just like Alpine.
 
i find that if you don't bump your music in your neighborhood, and don't visit questionable neighborhoods while listening to it, greatly decreases your chances of getting it stolen.

I had a system in my truck back in the day and never turned it on while i was getting in or out of my apartments, no one had a clue.

Pretty much this. If your windows are tinted and you don't have anything viewable in the open then you don't need an alarm. If you have decals all over your car advertising what you have inside, then yeah you're a dumbass and probably deserve to be broken into it. If you have a fancy sub setup, don't pop your trunk and blast your music for the entire neighborhood.

Turn down your shit before you park and try not to advertise what's in your car by leaving it out in the open.
 
well hell's bells if we're gonna make a car stereo thread, check out this shit I encountered a couple weeks ago - customer brought over to my garage and said "the alarm works sometimes..."

this is what I found when I took a few things out. This is on a 2006 Porsche Boxster...maybe 2005 I don't recall now.

960AF779-B66B-4059-9C55-760CF5C86850-2308-000001B3C8A8AF50_zps11d9cca3.jpg


i was like "well, some things aren't meant to be fixed, but rather removed and replaced" lol.

edit - if someone can tell me how to make this smaller i gladly will - it's on photobucket.
 
Got it put in yesterday. Sounds great! I forgot how enjoyable music was with subwoofers.
 

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