Teh n00b

[dragonman586]

Hello there all. I'm a n00b playing with car audio. I have an 06 obsidian black pearl 2.5i legacy (sorry didn't have the money for a gt ) Well anyways I started my journey by changing out my head unit. I purchased a pioneer DEH-P6900ub. Its a good head if i do say so myself and crutchfield rocks because i got a free wire harness, dash kit, and antenna adapter. And the master sheet was great as well. Well folks I need some help. I was wondering what to do next. I was considering a 6" bazooka tube or a small powered sub to provide me better bass. (My head has 3 4v outputs for subs). Or the alternative I was considering was to install Polk Audio DB-650's and a small amp with at least the speaker kit from dynamat. I was also wondering if I would need baffles? I'm not looking to create enough power to wake the dead but I do want clear sound. And I'm just a broke college student so I'm not looking to spend much. Any and all help will be appreciated. I know That I am a total n00b. But please don't flame me...pretty please?

[bjmsdrum00]

crutchfield has (or as least had like a month ago) the db 650's on sale, i got 2 pairs for like $130 shipped. as you've read on here i'm sure, the db650's are great speakers...

 

as for the sub, i would get AT LEAST a 10, probably a 12. you can always turn the speaker down if you don't want the bass quite so loud, but you can only turn that little 6" up so much. and when you turn it all the way up, it'll probably sound distorted. a 10" ported or a 12" sealed or ported should sound really balanced and clean. also, the cost is not that much more, and you won't have to worry about not likeing the 6 and having to upgrade later. do it right the first time : )

 

also, if you are really on a budget, you could just let the head unit power the polks for now and save you the cost of a 4way amp. the polks won't have as much bass being powered by the head unit, but you'll have a sub in the back so it will still sound really nice. whatever you decide to do, good luck!!

[dragonman586]

Hmm Well I was considering something along those lines. But I wanted to do some ninja stuff. I don't want like to sacrifice trunk space. Aww Can anyone recommend a good powered sub maybe? And now with your word I'm seriously considering the db650's and wanted to know how heavy I should dynamat.

 

Update: Just wondering what you folks think of a bazooka tube...there is a 6" one that I hear good reviews about. Would it suffice? I mean the door speakers are 6.5"....ohh and I forgot to mention that my head has a High Pass Filter so I can Focus the Bass only on the sub and not distort the door speakers with heavy bass

[dragonman586]

I really hate doing this but.....bump! Also I had another question Say I wanted to do a 10" pioneer sub running at 4 ohms. What would be an effective but cheap amp like what power rating should I look for in an amp?

Specs on the sub im lookin at.

» 10" 4-ohm subwoofer » composite IMPP cone with wide roll urethane surround » power range: 50-120 RMS watts (600 watts peak power) » frequency response: 20-4,500 Hz » sensitivity: 90 dB » mounting depth: 5-3/8" » sealed box volume: 0.70-1.30 cu. ft. » ported box volume: 0.90-1.55 cu. ft. » Recommended Q-Logic Box Type: 2 » warranty: 1 year

Also I want to stealth install. Is there any way to do this without sacrificing trunk space or my spare. I'm willing to get rid of that lil foam organizer though.

[bjmsdrum00]

you get an amp to match the sub. match up the RMS wattage and you'll be fine (ie. your sub says it can handle up to 120W RMS, so look for an amp with ~120W RMS @ 4 ohms). and just about any name brand amp with ~120w RMS will be fine, since you're not trying to get amazing SPL or competition sound quality.

 

you could mount the amp and run the wires into that foam organizer on top of the spare, just trim out some of the compartments and make a big compartment for the amp. it won't get much airflow down there, but i haven't heard anything about amps getting too hot being mounted in there so far, and thats where i'm mounting mine this weekend (hopefully)

 

if you get a box with a slanted back you can slide it flush up against the slanted back of the rear seat in the trunk. with a square box, you're losing a little more trunk space because it doesn't fit all the way back against the back seat.

[dragonman586]

Again thanks a billion for the help. As for the sub I actually caught sight of this shallow mount sub by pioneer. I think i may be able to keep the sub in a box with the amp in that place where that organizer thingy is. Also after a lil bit more browsing on the forums I saw something about a cutout on the rear deck. When I went to look at the underside of the deck from the trunk I saw that it looks like a speaker hole...Has anyone tried mounting in that hole?

[bjmsdrum00]

do a search for that sub in the rear deck. some people have tried, but i haven't found anyone that actually got it to work rite and sound good. good luck with that shallow mount sub, that might just work!

[dragonman586]

Ok so I have been researching further and found that all you you like JL audio. With the possibility of a well paid internship this comming summer i could be looking at some cash flow. So I've found the JL 500/5 amp and have been drooling over it for weeks. So any opinions on this? And as I may have mentioned earlier I plan on making that sub enclosure that fits in that little nook in the trunk (sedan). I just had a few questions. When the folks here did the whole sub in the trunk and vent in the rear deck. Did any of you notice a considerable change in bass as opposed to just door speakers. And I just recently considered this problem. What is the max mounting depth on the the door speakers before i need to buy spacers? And one more thing. If I go with a sub im looking at the jl 500/5 but if I just stick to upgraded door speakers im looking at the 300/4. Past what point would I have to consider a capacitor?