Help me out guy's. There are two systems I can go with, and they both reach my budget.

1) Alpine CDA-9807 HU
Alpine MRP-F240 4 Channel amp for two front speakers and Sub.
Alpine Type R SPR-574A 5X7 front speakers
Alpine Type S SpS-690A 6X9 Rear speaker connected off the HU
Alpine type S Sub sWS-1241 12" Sealed box



OR


2) Clarion DXZ635MP HU
Clarion 5X7 fronts 3 ways
Clarion 6X9 rears connected off the HU
Kenwood 2 ch KAC-5201 for front speakers
Kenwood 2 ch KAC-5201 For SUB
12" Kenwood Sub sealed box

 

i recommend clarion 5.25" components for the front
clarion 6x7 3 ways for the rear, clarion 400W 4ch amp, clarion 12" sub sealed or 2 clarion 12" DVC subs sealed, clarion 1000W amp for the subs

 

the alpine system you listed will be alot more since you have type R speakers in there, but if you have the money go all type R, it will sound unreal

 

Alpine systems rock. The speakers sound great, too. I had rockfords well before the alpine speakers were out. If I were to get new speakers in a good price-range, I would probably go for Alpine, or Rockfords again. JL are nice, too. Good luck with your choice. Just gave my opinion.....

-R

 

Should I go with two Kenwood 2ch amps one for fronts and one for Sub.


Or the Alpine 4 channel to run fronts and sub?

 

My question was would 2 amps be better then 1 amp with the same total wattage?


So, components sound better then coaxial?

 

yeah,

BLUE LEDz is right when saying that the components are better than coaxial speakers. Depends on how much you want to costomize your interior and depending on what car you have. I have a 03' Protege 5 which has tweeter speakers up by where the side mirror comes to the front windows. My 01' ES 2.0 did not have the tweeters there (would have been better to have them up there). I had my rockford 5 x 7's in the front of the sedan and they sounded great. Think they sound even better in the PR5 becasue the factory tweeters are up high and it keeps the high freq's by the listeners' ears. They are also able to take the 27 RMS watts from my alpine HU.

Even without the tweeters there in my sedan, the 5x7's in the front door played the high frequencies much better and clearer then the stock speakers (duh), with the separate woofer and tweeter. The bass was also so much clearer and better with no distortion. The alpine HU also has a high and low freq cutoff control which keeps those unwanted lows from the speakers (takes some time to adjust though). Plus,the 5 x 7's went into the factory speaker mountings in the door w/no modification.

I am not saying that BLUE LED is wrong in any way, just how much you want to customize your sound system ad how much money you want to spend. I have a good sound system and did not spent that much money. I have spent a lot of my time installing everything and am very happy with the sound I get from it.

-R

 

I also want to say that with a good HU, I don't think you will need any amps besides one to power your subs. My alpine is 27RMS x 4, 60 max watts x 4, and is pleanty of power for all speakers. The way I have it set-up, I can play 95% as lound as the guy who is pushing 150 max watts to each speaker with little distortion. This is my opinion and you said you were on a budget. Don't want you to spend any money that you don't have to spend. I mean, how loud do you want to play your music and how many db's are you looking to push?

-R

 

personally, i agree with this principle. i have an alpine CDA-7894 head unit, pushes the 60x4 max as well. i ran my rear boston acoustics off my amp (will push 50 to each or 100 to each, depending on what i select) and then off my alpine head unit and the differences were subtle, and i think it was seriously just me, cause i played the same track over and over, and they sounded the same. same mid-bass response, same highs.. and they didn't sound 'cleaner' as i've been told (the more watts you run, the cleaner the sound). maybe it's me, maybe it's the truth, i don't give a ****, my speakers sound good enough running off of my headunit, and guess what, all the cross-over and gain features you have on amplifiers, i can access directly from the headunit without reaching back to my amplifier. the v-drive amp draws enough current that they'd recommend the sale of a 10 gauge amp wiring kit with it (as the theory is to them, you'll draw enough power to fry your factory stereo harness if you push the headunit enough). and the great thing is they include a filtering harness as well to kill alternator whine through your speakers. personally, if i had to go off of what you recommended, i'd tell you to go with door # 1. what exactly is your price range? you're pretty set on these components i'm guessing, but what are you looking out of your system? Sound quality or decible levels? or a mix of both? and i think blue would be the first one to tell you, the quality of a sound system isn't just in the name. personally, i love my alpine, as such i think you would love yours.. clarion eh, whatever. well, good luck and hope you find something decent.
peace

 

I am looking for clarity, with a little punch. So, mostly clarity.

I am a musician so the sound is very important to me. Not what the HU can do.

 

if that's ur only choices, then i vote option#1.

 

I doubt it. I'm not saying that your setup is not loud - I'm sure it is. But I *can* get my ears to hurt with my system - about 125 watts to the front components. And it's still very clear at that level. Snare drum hits have made passengers wince and blink - *CRACK* - and I'm not even close to the level that some people are running.

High-power head units are great - I'm not knocking that as a fine solution on a budget. But NO head unit can put out the level of clear, clean watts as a dedicated amplifier can. If you want it loud and clear, a separate amp is the only way to get there.

Personally, I like it loud. VERY loud (for my tastes and budget). I've heard several high-power decks, and they sound great. But they have nothing close to the impact of an amp driving 75+ watts to each side, as long as the speakers can handle it.

Guitargod - I would consider the suggestion, however. I don't know how loud you want it. But a high-power deck might give you everything you're looking for, plus some clams left in your wallet. It might be worth a try - an amp can always be added later on with very little extra work or modification.

BTW - I'd leave the Kenwood amps alone. IMHO, Kenwood makes excellent head units - but almost everything else is just so-so, and usually kinda pricey for what you get. Just my $.02 on that.

~HH

 

I agree with HH about Kenwood amps. I had two in the past and one ran the rear speakers while the other ran the subs. It was okay for the subs, but for mids and highs, it just didn't sound as clean as the Alpine I had at the time as well. If you are dead set on one system or the other, I would chose the first. I don't care for Kenwood speakers either. They just don't sound natural like music should sound.

HH, off the subject, but did you get the Focals for the fronts? Just wondering what you decided on. The last I heard, you were thinking of the cheaper of the two model Focals. I want to eventually replace my Bostons. Before quitting that job long ago, better **** was coming out. Bostons were too bright. The new series which replaced the Pro Series probably sound nice, but for $1000 (and no, I didn't type one too many 0's), it sure as hell better sound nice!!!

Mister T

 

Nah - didn't get the Focals. And I'm probably not going to buy anything that expensive, like the JL XR's or others. I kinda decided that it's not really worth it for me. Honestly, it's more speaker than I need, and more than my daily-driver work-mobile deserves. Can't justify the price in my own head.

I'm still going to go with a 3-way set though - probably the Planet Audio setup, which I can nail for about $130 online. Specs look good, and their techs were even able to email me the T/S parameters and such for the midbass drivers if I want to try an aperiodic setup or something nutty like that. I still plan to build some sweet door pods and all that good stuff - I'm just not going to drop so much cash on the speakers.

Closing on my house is this coming week - priorities are changing drastically. Still gonna get my 3-ways, but I'm gonna do it on a smaller budget.

~HH

 

I am not in a huge rush for new subs because #1, my previous landlord is out of the country until the 4th of June, so I won't get my deposit until the first or second week of June, and #2 I don't do so much driving. Work is about 10-15 minutes away. My gf drives over here (which is about 45 minutes to an hour away). I offer to drive to her place, but she lives in a remote area and claims there's not much to do, while I live closer to the city. When she does come over, I drive where ever we decide to go, but don't blast her out with the stereo. She does like loud music though which is cool, but usually we talk more so and have the radio on for background music. Just when I drive alone, I will like to crank it up. Of course, not in my neighborhood or near work where people can say, hmm, wonder if he has something in his car. I know a lot of idiots who would do that **** in their apartment complex and the next day, their **** is gone. They are left kicking themselves for being so stupid. You live and learn, some times, the hard way. Good luck closing! I am sick of renting--cheap *** landlords don't want to replace any thing. I am sure your wife is glad you aren't looking in to buying something expensive too! You don't want to instigate a domestic dispute

Mister T