I am looking to get a decent audio system in my z and have a few questions. First off, this is not going to be an ear splitting show winning system. I already have a component setup from polk. Not sure of the model number but I know that the woofers are stil new since I am only using the tweters right now. Now for the questions, do I still need some rear speakers like 6x9's in the car or what? Also, there are 2 crossovers boxes that came with the component set and I have no idea on how to wire these to a deck and amp. Am I right in saying that I only need a 2 CH amp to run the components or do I need a 4 CH? I also have a 12" fosgate sub that I am going to try and keep but if it dont hold up to the volume then I guess it will have to go. I am running an Alpine deck as well. Iam going to try and hide the sub woofer where the rear cargo box is on the drivers side but I dont know if there is enough space in there fo rthe sub to work correct. Can I get a 12 sub to work with the space provided or should I step down to a 10 subwoofer? I am not looking to hack up anything onmy car so cutting plastic sail panels is out of the question as well as making a plate or box to fil the rear. I need the room for stuff.

 

where do you have the components, and what amp on them? you can run them with a 2 channel amp, or with most comp sets you can run the tweets with 2 channels and the mids with the other 2 to tune it a little finer. if you dont have them amped, i dont think you would feel the need for 6x9's after you heard them on a good amp. i've got 3 brand new, in the box orion 200x4's i'll sell ya one for 300 shipped. bridges to 400x2, plenty of power for any but the most expensive components. (they get up in the thousands)

that amp would also run your components with 2 of the channels, and bridge the other 2 for 400 watts to your 12. im using one for my highs and its great. it's turned up about 1/6 of the way on my 4x6's and its not even bridged. can't wait to open it up on my components.

running rear fill is supposed to be really bad for imaging, but its a matter of personal preferance really. im waiting on my kickpanels to be finished, and have some arc audio arc 265 components ordered, i really doubt i'll keep my infinity 4x6's or my 4's in the back hooked up. later on i might get the rainbow kick bass 6.5 inch add on and stick those in my doors.

 

I dont have the components hooked up yet. I am running the tweeters in my cavilac (work beater).my camaro is not done yet and the interior is still apart. I already have the components, deck, and subwoofer so I think the only thing left for me to buy is the amp(s) and kick panels. I say kick panels becuz that seems like the best area to mount my components.

you say I wont feel the need for any 6x9's if I amped the components but I dont see how the entire setup will be equal in the car. I mean the only speakers I will be runnning are the components down in the kick panel and then a 12" sub in the rear. How can that sound good? Am I missing something here?

 

i thought the same thing until i heard the dls iridiums in a newer camaro. only had those in kicks and an xxx 15 in a ported box, they had no trouble keeping up with the 15. it was more than enough highs and midbass. with a nice, correctly set up component set, i think you'll be happy. talk to jim85iroc or rezn8r about the kicks, they both make very nice sets. DONT get the q-logic kicks unless you want to pay more and get a lot less. plan on putting deadener behind the kick area to seal it up as well as you can also.
throwing a bunch of speakers in a car can get you loud, but it wont sound the best. a properly set up car system can sound almost as good as a really high end home theater.

 

wow thats just wierd what you are saying about just running a component setup in the kicks ands then just a sub and it realy sounding good. I am going to check on the polks I have and see what model they are and what size they are. Getting back to the amp deal, since a component set comes with 4 speakers would I absolutely have to have a 4 channel amp or would running a 2 channel amp and the polk crossover work well for me? I am not the most knowledgeable at al this amp birdging and stuff so I want to just keep it simple with striaght wiring from the amp to the speakers.

 

look at your crossovers. do they have 6 hookups, or 8 on each one?

 

and i have LOTS of bass, im guessing im around 145 decibals. jumps my vision about a 1/4 inch on certain notes, makes you pretty uncomfortable to keep sitting in there, and im only going to be running my 12's and a 2 way component set. i really, really doubt you'll be wanting more if that comp set is any good, and you put a decent amp on them.

 

I will get back to you on the hookups later tonight

 

I can't speak out of experience, but I think imaging is what makes this kind of setup really shine. Think about when you are at a concert. The music comes from in front of you, from the stage. Putting components in the kick panels sets up the "stage" where the music sounds like it's coming from infront of you.

The stock locations really seperate the highs and mids badly; cymbals and high pitch voices sound like they are coming from in front of you, while all the midbass sounds like its coming from behind. It's not a very optimal setup, and the stock speaker sizes are crappy for sound quality, too.

I'm going to experiment with the 6x9s connected and disconnected when my kick panel components are hooked up to see which setup I like more. Personally, if it's just there for rear passenger fill, I'll take them out altogether because F-bodies aren't the best for long backseat rides anyway. If it does add something to the music (high doubtful), I'll look into some higher end speakers to put in the sails... it definately won't be a 6x9, though.

 

The idea behind "imaging", while being hinted at, has not totally been described. Mid range and High notes are directional. This means it is clear where the sound is coming from. Kick panels do a very good job of setting this up very evenly. Bass notes on the other hand are non-directional meaning you should not be able to be able to tell where the sound is coming from. On most comps Ive dealt with you wire the amp into the crossover which then splits the signal to the woofer and tweets, but again that is dependant upon your set.

 

Also, if you decide to get rear speaks and amp them also, you should consider using 6.5s instead of 6x9s. The main use of 6x9s is to add extra bass, but this usually decreases sound quality. And if you have a decent sub you probably dont need to woory about exerting speakers into playing the low notes. You can find many cheap 6x9 to 6.5 speaker adapters around ($10 or so cardomain, crutchfield, the zeb) that screw into the speaker location but the cutout accomodates a 6.5 inch speak.

 

1meanGTA, the polk components I have are model number EV3560. I have 6 1/2" speakers. I havent found the crossovers yet,Ithink they are in my currect car hiding the dash area somewhere. I know they are not the newest model out yet but the mids are brand new. The tweeters I am using for dash speakers in the winter beater now. Should I try and reuse this component setup from polk or just get a new matched set. I prefer polk since that is what I run for my home theater stuff.