Car AudioCar audio related questions and helpful hints for building the best sound system for your car or getting the most out of what you have.
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After reading the Pyramid thread and the comment about a $300 sound-off, I thought it would be fun to start hearing what people would build with a $300 limit. This is a seriously tight budget, but I'm sure people will come up with some great ideas. It may give a newbie an opportunity to do better than the Pyramid and Volfenhag garbage that most newbies gravitate toward.
So... let's lay down some rules.
1. The system has to be for a thirdgen.
2. Used stuff is allowed but you can't just make up prices. Auction prices should be a good measuring stick.
Even though most newbies want SPL, I'm going to design my theoretical system with sound quality in mind. I think this is a MUCH harder goal to achieve with $300. Getting 135dB or more isn't hard anymore.
Installation materials
Wood, carpet, glue, blah blah blah... up to $28.49
total costs: $300
Now, unfortunately, this budget uses speakers with a custom built crossover (albiet a very simple one), which is something that most folks may not be able to do without doing a little homework first. A good pair of commercially available 4x6" coaxes is going to add at least another $50 to the cost of the system, but is highly reccomended for anybody who isn't comfortable working out their own crossovers.
I've personally used all of this equipment except for those vifa/jbl mids, although I have 4 very similar units in my living room waiting for me to find time to experiment with them. I'm using those tweeters in a pair of 2-ways I'm working on and they sound way better than the price would indicate. I used the 8" woofer to build a subwoofer for my home stereo and I'm quite impressed by it. I've used the head unit in the past and it's a solid piece. I haven't used the JBL amp, but it's got a great reputation. To save a couple more dollars, you could use a 2-channel amp and run the highs off the head unit, although I like having the active filter of the amp to filter the bass from the mids.
Ok... so what if you would rather boom instead of having good sound quality?
Here goes: subwoofers
2x DAYTON 12" QUATRO SERIES SUBWOOFER (295-555) $148.56
amp
MTX Thunder 421D Class D 420 Watt Sub Amp (ebay buy-it-now) $100
This will sound like complete garbage, but it'll get loud. As soon as you can afford a head unit (say $100 for a nice used one), the bass will sound much better, and when you can come up with more money for coaxes and an amp for them, you'll have a great system.
Actually, I've done just that. My wife's car is a '93 MX6 LS and we came across some damn good deals.
We were at Sam's Club and saw a sweet deal.
$87 = Blaupunkt BPV650 CD Player with a pair of 6.5" PCx1652 coaxials
$96 = Used RF Punch 200 DSM
$50 = 2 used Kicker 12" Comps from a friend $50 = 1 pre-fab box from K's Merchandise, 3/4" MDF w/ divider
$283 = Total
alright, to keep it simple ill just do a cheap "booming system" no fancy crossovers or anything
homemade rcas -$2.25
1 pair of long jumper cables linked together end to end (power wire) -$8
1/2 foot 8 gauge wire (ground) - $0.60
pioneer deh-3400 -$75 ebay
us acoustics 2100-$100 ebay
cerwin vega vega series 10 inch sub- $55 ebay
mdf, screws, glue- $25
$265.85
or substitute the vega 10 for an autotek mx 12 for $89 ebay
$295.85
on a side note ive owned the us acoustics 2100 amp and its a very stout little amplifier. Only rated down to 4 ohm mono i ran it at 2 ohm mono for over a year with no problems.
__________________
81 malibu wagon-406 sbc, 11:1, all forged, lunati 626 solid roller, afr 210s, super victor, holley 850dp, 4000 stall, th400 stage 3 with transbrake, 3.90 spooled 12 bolt, 26X11.5X17 et streets, caged notched tubbed, on a 150 shot
kicker l7 10 125 ebay
kicker 400.2 170 eaby.
plus wire and wood. itas a little over buget but in a 1.5 cu ft box tuned to 32 htz it'll sound pretty good and be pretty loud.
kicker zr1000, just picked one up for 20$, and 30$ for the SWX
subs 2 Coustic CF1244 80$/sub
custom ported box, tuned high 20$ for a sheet of 3/4 mdf, 5 dollars in screws/glue
source, kenwood KDC 522, 61$
ok, so i hit $322 (could be closer to 300 if you go with 6 1/2" for the rear. didnt include box for sub, but thats all of $10-20. speakers running off the deck for now, but nice quality amp and a decent sub. as close to a decent SQ setup i could get for this price. if you watch ebay closely, you can find better deals on regular auctions, but i figured going with preset prices would be more reasonable
Im under $300 now, but thats cause I traded alot of stuff, But Id figure I'd post anyway
Custom made fiberglass box- $132.00
(2) Bazooka EL Series 12s- Traded for a $30 Alpine deck
Sony Xplod MP3 deck-Traded for my old 12s, Which I payed $50
Infinity Kappa 6x9s, Already in car
Legacy (I know, ugh) 1400 watt amp (Really pushes around 1000 if that) Bought it back off a friend for $50
Speaker Wire- $18
RCAs $20
Ground Cable- Free, Old Battery Cable
Power- 4 guage monster cable, Free, Was sitting in my
S-10 I bought
Total $300
As soon as some cash comes I want to upgrade the 12s and amp, Cause thats such a nice box I made, It should have bigger boom...Now I just need to decide what I want!!
__________________ (No Longer SLOW or FIVEOH)
82 Z28 Iroc Clone 355,TH350 Soo much more. TONS of Mods (5 year Project) SOLD..Will be missed
94 Toyota Truck Shaved, Suicided, and Bagged
06 Silverado, 5/8 drop on 20's
kicker zr1000, just picked one up for 20$, and 30$ for the SWX
subs 2 Coustic CF1244 80$/sub
custom ported box, tuned high 20$ for a sheet of 3/4 mdf, 5 dollars in screws/glue
source, kenwood KDC 522, 61$
everything else can be had free.
adam
I would say that outside of the Homeboy's Shopping Network, finding $20 ZR1000s isn't exactly common.
yeah, a few of us have gotten awesome gear cheap/free (i got an old usamps cheater for free), but it doesnt work that way for everyone. one of the reasons why i chose buy it now stuff...
I just put an el-cheapo stereo in dads car. After he heard how nice my stereo sounded he gave me 300$ and told me to get stuff for his car but not to go overboard. this is 300$ cdn. Off to Canadian Tire I went
Pioneer DEH-1600 CD Player (125$)
Wiring harness and 1.5"dIN Addapter (20$)
KOSS 10" 500watt Subwoofer (175watt rms) (69$)
KOSS 300watt 2 channel amp (89$)
had material at home to make him a decent box (0$, Nadda, Freebie!!!)
I did the installation. I had some 4 guage left over when I did the install on my tempo. The stock speakers in my dads Saturn were pretty good and the Pioneer deck only made them sound better.
I installed all the stuff in about an hour. He helped me build the box as he is the carpenter. We had some left over MDF from the cabinet he built a while ago. We used cocking to seal the box. Carpet was an extra 20$ which we got from fabric land.
Grand Total $333.00
I ended up shellin out the extra coin. My dad is happy with it and it actually doesn't sound all that bad. Has nice low end for the country music he plays.
6 of these puppies-
8" LEGACY Woofer - 250 Watts - Foam Surround - 4 ohm - 4 layer Coil - Strontium Magnet www.nexxon.com woofers by the case
$79
Box:
$15 for materials, plywood of course :lala:
Head unit:
so good it doesnt have a brand name
AM/FM RADIO WITH AUTO-STOP CASSETTE PLAYER with rca outs www.jcwhitney.com
$19.95
Sub amp:
since i go to iowa state and we are the cyclones i thought id put in some school spirit, so for this amp i have for you the CYCLONE.
1600 Watt 1/2-Channel Power Amp
* 1600 watts x 1 max power
* 800 watts x 2 max power
* 2 Ohm stereo stable
* Wired bass boost remote
* Top mount plexiglass window
* Input level control
* Built-in crossover network
* + 18 dB bass boost circuit
* Low/high pass filter
* Variable bass boost
* Soft turn on/off
* Power protection LED
* Left/right channel line outs
* Measures 11.5" X 2" X 17.5
Ok...this setup is just my sub system and doesn't include my headunit of speakers.
1. A elemental designs e10kx.22 sub $90 shipped
2. A kicker 200.2 amp $200
Plus a walmart amp kit which was like $20 and $25 for materials to make my box. It doesn't sound like much but a few months ago when I put a topic about doing a system on a budget this is what I found to be the best quality, sound, and bang for the buck. And I'm really happy with it as a first sub system. Its loud enough, has great sound, and will hit hard when i want it to. I built a lower well box for it and made a stealth plate to cover it so it can't be seen. Its totally concealed and I can still use my t-tops.
My turn... the goal: What everyone usually wants for their car while they're still in school and want to impress the chicks. (Hey, that was why I did it! ) That's an aftermarket radio with decent sound, and some thump from the trunk.
But ya know what? I'm the only guy to include shipping so far. Total shipping costs = $69.
So... if I take that $69 that everyone else ignored, I could spring for a set of rear 6x9's. Take that fader control and fade slightly to the rear so the already-ancient front speakers don't sound any worse, and you're all set to impress the girls.
__________________ -Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l)
__________________ (No Longer SLOW or FIVEOH)
82 Z28 Iroc Clone 355,TH350 Soo much more. TONS of Mods (5 year Project) SOLD..Will be missed
94 Toyota Truck Shaved, Suicided, and Bagged
06 Silverado, 5/8 drop on 20's
Yeah those Duel subs arent much, My friend has one of their 10s and he thinks its sweet...The stock system in my mom's 2003 Saturn has more thump!
__________________ (No Longer SLOW or FIVEOH)
82 Z28 Iroc Clone 355,TH350 Soo much more. TONS of Mods (5 year Project) SOLD..Will be missed
94 Toyota Truck Shaved, Suicided, and Bagged
06 Silverado, 5/8 drop on 20's
rofl my moms plymouth breeze has the stock stereo and hers has a cleaner thump than my no-amp 12. the only thing is the radio automatically turns down the bass if it hits too hard so you get one good thump then crap
__________________ -Alex
"It's a Chevy... If it ain't smokin, you're walkin." ----------- My Cardomain site
And you $780 dollar system has something to do with this post?
__________________ (No Longer SLOW or FIVEOH)
82 Z28 Iroc Clone 355,TH350 Soo much more. TONS of Mods (5 year Project) SOLD..Will be missed
94 Toyota Truck Shaved, Suicided, and Bagged
06 Silverado, 5/8 drop on 20's
having a sound system on a stock radio is rediculous...You can buy low quality stuff on ebay and make a crappy system but its not worth it. It is funny to see the combos. You want cheap bass get a preamplified bazooka tube.
nate
__________________ Sigs dont like me very well....
-----------
) That's an aftermarket radio with decent sound, and some thump from the trunk.
