So I recently got my hands on a new Iroc, and I want to throw some decent quality audio in it. So far all I have is the head unit picked out which is a Kenwood eXcelon KDC-X998 and I have no idea how to set up a sound system other than hooking up all the wires.

I am not sure what to do when amps or subs are involved. I would like to know some prices of some good speakers, and amps for the whole car, and maybe a crash course on how to hook it up without it looking ridiculous. I was planning on only having a sub for the rear, but I am open to all and any ideas.

I want to be able to listen to Metallica with crisp sounds and identifiable instruments. I want to be able to listen to Dubstep or Electronic, with Good clear bass and highs. I haven't bought the head unit yet so if you have a better idea for that, i'm all ears. But I want it to have the ability to have a red display, at the very least. Sorry for this huge unnecessary post. Please help!

 

I actually just got a RS last month I looked on crutch field to find speakers that would fit then when I found some I like I checked Amazon for a lower price
It's 4x6 in the front but my dash was cracked to I just cut it and through some pioneer 6x9 in I have a pioneer HU
I bought these for the sail panels http://www.crutchfield.com/p_20641D6...41DSC6934.html after installing I realized my HU can't fully power 4 6x9 so I'll have to get a highs amp.
My subs http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004JBNKCG
My amp http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00BQOASC4
I bought the box from hifi sound connection
I ran 8 gauge wire as for wiring I rem the seat and ran the wires straight back

 

JVC double din head units are nice. You'll need to pick up or DIY a double din plate.
You can change the color of the face to any color.
If you want "loud" bass, then you need big bass in our cars. Dual 12's .. Properly sized for their box. Seal the box well. If you also want quality bass then you need high end subs. I had dual 12, Aluma Pro subs in mine at one time.
You'll need quality Amps too. At least one for the subs and 1 for the others. You don't necessarily need high wattage. You need high quality.
Ditch the 6x9's and used round speakers. You'll need to fab up a plate out of MDF but it's easy.
Ditch the 4x6's in the dash and go with door or kickpanel speakers. Again, quality...
Ditch the factory wiring for the speakers too and step up the awg.
Be prepared to compensate for the squat in the back with the weight from the subs/box .. at least I had that problem.

 

If you're looking for a higher quality sound, you're not going to get that from 6x9's or 4x6's.

Here is what I did, I ditched the rear speakers all together and focused on my front stage.

I created some kickpods, using a 6.5 mid and tweeter, using the stock panels.

For the sub box, fiberglass is the way to go. It will be much lighter, and once you practice a little working with it, it's not that hard to do.





passenger side kickpods





Drivers Side kickpods





IDQ 12s

 

I have a manual though, so kickpods wouldn't work as well.

 

Can I get some more pics of that cup holder and how its working for you?

How do you think that would be on a Manual?

 

Pics are old, but was my set up back in the day. I quickly swapped those subs for better Aluma Pro 12's.
6.5's in the kicks and 5.25" in place of the 6x9 but oly because they were high end JL's .. 6.5" would be preferable.
Those are 3 amps that I mounted together. Custom amp box that has the wires glued to the bottom of it.

 

I installed a nasty system in an old bird years ago. I installed 5 1/4" separates in the kick panels, made door pods for dual 6.5" mid basses, installed 8" woofers in the B posts and had two 15's in the well. We used all Audio Control driven components.....line driver, an EQL and a 4XS crossover. We had it dialed in quite well with the Orion amps and a TON of sound dampening!

 

Sorry the car is kind of a mess right now, haven't had a chance to put everything back together.

But here is another pic of the cup holder, it works great for smaller items like soda cans. Taller items it tends to get in the way.






cup holder

 

Great choice on the Kenwood eXcelon, I have a DNX9990HD in my daily driver.

Word of advice tho, if you want good quality, never use MP3s or Pandora, etc. I have all my music in .wav format so it's loss-less. It's on a flash drive in the glove box where I ran the cable from the back of the head unit. I have about 56K songs on it. You could keep it in the center console on a 3rd gen. Of course there is also original CDs.

But trust me, anything less than loss-less from any source, is a complete waste of an Kenwood eXcelon.

 

I don't think it matters what head unit you have. Even with a low tech set of ear buds you can hear the trash that MP3s are. I hate, but they are damn convenient.

OK, can you help an old guy out with this? How do you rip them from the CD into the .wav format?

If you don't want to take the OPs thread too far off topic, PM me if you prefer.

 

NP, it's a piece of cake.....

In Windows Media Player, go to Tools>Options>Rip Music>
Set your save location, then in the Format drop down, the last one is .WAV

Click OK, put a CD into your computer, and there should be a tab that appears along the top of WMP that says RIP, go to it and click begin. Done. It will even go to the internet for a match for the CD you put in so it can name the songs and do the album art.

I did all of my CD's like this about 10yrs ago and I only download music in loss-less. No point in ever going back.

 

Thank you sir. Looks like I've got a little work to do.

 

So I have a manual car, so the kick panel idea is out, what can I do about the sound in the front?

 

I've always thought it would be cool to have door speakers. Not those pods that stick out but nice and close to flush. Unfortunately unless you want to sacrifice the "rear" its a little complicated.

 

Hey mind me asking where you sound dampened in your car? I've only got the well dampened and that alone used up 3 sheets and I'm not sure how far back I should go. Also how the hell did you fit 2 15's?? I'm putting in a 15 with 2300 watts and I'm kinda worried about fitting a 4cube box back there.