i'm looking around for speakers and amps but don't know anything about them.. could some one give me a kinda run down on what to be looking for in these things? oh yeah, for a system playing rock/metal/ and some rave type music if that matters

 

gp to a stereo store, take one of your fav. cds in, listen to all the speakers for your price range, and buy the ones that sound the best to you on your budget.

 

dead trend has a good point....don't just go by brand names or prices...I've made the same mistake,"this is quite expensive,it must sound good".......not! only buy it when you hear it.

I though I'd throw in more specifics...I take it you are running amps and subs.

first rule: don't hook up bangn' subs when your inside speakers sound like butt! you should be happy with your inside speakers before you even think about adding a sub.

sound quality tips: set the inside speakers to High pass at around 100Hz (human listing ranges from 20Hz to 22,000Hz) 100Hz and below is about where the real low car rumbling tones are and they don't do 6x9s and other small speakers any good...............YOU WILL GET BETTER BASS RESPONSE WITH THE LOWS CUT OFF FROM THESE!!!

don't go by MAX wattage rating.........use the RMS rating to match up your amps and speakers,higher power amps to higher power speakers usually sound better becasue you don't have to turn it up as loud,a common misconception is that they will be too loud...you can hurt you ears more and damage your equipment trying to turn the volume up with just a head unit...not that some of todays head units can't handle four speakers.

adding sub(s) I should have mentioned already,that having multiple RCA (low level) hook ups on the HU will help to get a clearer signal to the amps,I prefer the 4 volt pre-outs like Alpines have.....this means they go between 0-4 volts as you move the vol up and down....the amp picks up this exagerated signal and can feel the "details" alot easier than say...a 400mv signal (0.4 volts) this will keep you from having to turn the gain all the way up to get the sound you want

make sure all of your amps have a HP cross over filter for the inside and LP cross over filter for the subs (high pas and low pass) the subs should be set at 60-70Hz for quality or up to 110Hz if your a bass head and desire more range.just turn the gain and bass Db down to keep distortion down.

I'm a big fan of sealed boxes w/12"s an JL audio amps....those have all kinds of adjusments that will make your head spin! great sound control though. single channel with low ohm stability makes for a great bass amp,JL can handle a 1.5ohm load automaticly adjusting.....bridge your subs when ever you can.

I like Alpine HUs and everything else.
Pioneer makes good HU and speakers
Clarions,Nakamichi if you like High end.
I like polk audios Db but not Ex series speakers
I like Kenwoods speakers even the cheap ones,nothing else though
JL,Alpine are my favorite amps
I hate SONY everything,Jensen,all kinds of other crap I can't think of now...ahem...Bluapunct.....just junk....stick with the goods...don't be talked into some kind of promotional crap.

oxygen free copper is all you need,gold and all that is ok,but not worth mega bucks,I just soler the stripped tips with silver because it conducts better than gold anyways and won't tarnish as an alloy....I used Rockford fosgate "connecting-punch" cable for my first sytem,it worked fine for me. monster is good stuff too. always fuse at the battery and run seperate wires for each amp.

 

Magnificent explanation, junkyarddog. Just two things I'd like to point out...

First, and really just a stupid detail, human hearing ranges from 20-20,000hz, not 22,000. You can buy subs with lower than 20hz response (lowest I've seen is 18). The only thing you can do with that is feel, rather than hear, the bass, but like rezn8r told me, the blurrier your vision gets, the better.

The other, is I have to disagree with running seperate wires for each amp/crossover/etc. It becomes a big hassle when you end up dealing with 3 or more wires coming off your battery. That's three holes to drill, three fuses to mount, and three lengths of wire (~8 gauge) that can start to add up in price. And we're talking approximately 5 to 10 feet of wire each, depending on where you put everything. I believe a better solution is to run one wire off your battery (4 gauge or lower; with 3 or more components, go with 0/1 gauge), with one sizable fuse by the battery, connected to a relay. A good relay can split a 0/1 gauge wire into 4 6/8 gauge wires with fuses installed for each. You'll have plenty of power supply, and with fuses also usually mounted internally on amps, you have good protection, as well.

 

the distribution block works well too,but it's still important to fuse at the battery to protect from the power cable shorting to the chassis,the fuses in the amps only protect the amps.
the only reasons I run seperate wires is,I usually add one amp as I can afford it and I have trouble finding room to run 00 wire in most cars. I typicaly drill the same hole wider,upgrade to a larger gromet and run new wires through the same location in the fire wall. I will always fill in the gaps with archer cable installers silicone to keep it air and water tight.

with the exeption of me,most folks hear at those ranges..........I've been hearing those extra 2Kz of highs ever since a nasty bite from a doberman in the fifth grade

 

ok, thats some good info, but i didn't understand most of it... i'm good with wiring things (the right way with breakers and fuses) but i don't know anything about sound systems. but to give you guys an idea on what i'm planing to do, i'm going to be taking out the rear seats and want to place a custom sub box where the seats would be, also mounting the rear speakers with the subs all facing to the front of the car, and 2 speakers up front facing back. there are no sizes or shapes that i need the speakers to be as its all going to be custom made to fit what ever is needed anyway, you guys think maybe you could "dumb down" what you said before? i just really have no idea how this stuff works...

 

OK.

First plan of attack is for you to go here. http://www.installer.com/tech/index.html

Try to start out reading the stuff that most interests you. That way you won't be reading anything that means absolutely nothing to you.

Next, don't get too worried about what's gonna sound good. All that should matter is what sounds good TO YOU!!!!! That's why different companies make different speakers.

One hint I can give you is; Don't fall into the "more speakers is better" trap. I've got 3, yes 3 speakers in my car. I've got two 6 1/2" coaxial (two way) speakers mounted in custom kickpanels that DJSexay made. REZN8R (I think that's his name) is now the person making them. Along with those I have one 12" Pioneer sub. So you could say I have 5 speakers if you count the tweeters in the coaxials.

All the info's in my sig. Just click on the pic of my car and you'll see that the front speakers are Jensen. WHY? Because IMO they sounded the best for the money. I'm sure I could have spent +$200 for components, but all the speakers I listened to that were up to $200 didn't sound as "real" to me. And as I said, they sound good TO ME!!!!

Another good site to go to so you can learn the technical terms of stereo equipment is www.crutchfield.com . They have a good way of explaining stuff as not to confuse you.

For example if you click here you'll see a list of equipment. When you click on "Amplifiers" and go to that page, there'll be a "Learn about this Category" box on the right of the page. In there are links labelled "How to Choose", "Glossary", "FAQ", etc.

Click on them and learn man. And there's totally different info under the other product pages. You can learn quite a bit if you want to.

Hope that helps. I'm sure it will.

Just a word of advice... A lot of people will tell you "Don't buy stuff at Crutchfield. Their prices are too high." Well I delt with them when I first started out. They are VERY helpful and they know their ****!!! Plus if you buy something from them and don't like it... well click here and you'll see that you have 30 days to decide if you like it. And they even pay the shipping for you to send it back if you don't like it. Gotta like that!!!!

Good luck,
AJ

 

sweet man, thanks! it reading time:rockon:

 

sorry for the short help, i was earlier and was in my moods. but like they sasid, do some readin first and begin to understand the basics.

 

Actually that was a very good answer.

That's the best thing for an average newbie, but it sounds like Rage13 wants to learn more. :rockon:

SUCKER!!!!!

But seriously, that's the best thing someone/anyone should do. I never buy speakers without listening to them first. And I ALWAYS take a disc that I know I like.

AJ

 

no need to be sorry, every bit i get helps, even the smallest things

 

you will know precisely what I'm talking about as soon as you get your bearings. will you remember to re-post and let us all know how it turned out?....that's half the fun and makes it worthwhile for everyone. have fun!

 

well after reading for a few days i'm still in the dark on how all the components work together... so its back to more info searching , as for the project all this is going into, its not going to started for some months (have meany other mods going in first ) and do you guys have any other good sites that explain how all the components work with each other, and what they do? looking for something in very simple terms... thanks again guys!