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Embarking on Audio/Video system Installed Pics.

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Greez Lightning
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Posted - March 31 : 10:48a

Geeze I really dont want to get into modding Big Bird. I just want to leave it stock and not put a ton of money into it like I did to Elvira.

BUT!!!

Im already fed up with the stock radio/CD unit.

I guess I didn't realize how much I enjoy Movies on DVD and XM Radio on a nice sound system.

This is always so expensive too by the time you get it all completed.

And the big part of all this is getting the right stuff the first time. Ive replaced more stuff that I thought was good in the beginning to only find something better later. Then it really gets costly.

Having bored you with all that I have some ideas about equipment and I want to run it by all of you car sound gurus.

First of all Im starting with an Alpine IVA D901 media center. I have the Alpine IVA D900 in Elvira and I really love it still today. It has 1,150,000 pixels of resolution in a 7" screen which is about the best out there. It is XM ready, CD Changer ready, GPS ready and has three AUX inputs for other goodies. These have not been made for several years now and even Alpine's newest models don't have but about 800,000 pixels.

The second reason I want to go with the Alpine D901 is that it is exactly the same as the Alpine D900 in Elvira. Just different color unit and blue lights as opposed to green lights and the color matches my interior in Big Bird. Plus I don't have to think of what buttons to push or how to make all the whistles and bells work from one truck to the other. They operate exactly the same.

I got very lucky on Ebay and found a brand new D901 that was purchased for the going price of 2,295 dollars 4 years ago and was to be used in a 33 Ford Crown Victoria. After 2 or 3 years the builder talked the guy into not using it in the Vickey. So he sold it to me for 900. Its still new in the box and even the tape covering the DVD slot is still in place. So I'm thrilled about that part.

OK now I need your help. My stereo guy who does beautiful install work and who I think is very good wants me to use AVI speakers front and rear and Image Dynamic subs. He will make the sub box. He thinks JL has stopped making quality stuff and thinks its crap now so we have gone away from that Idea. I have a JL 500/5 amp in Elvira and it seems great but maybe it was from when they made better quality stuff.

When I had my genius friend look at the specs on these items he was not impressed. While the subs start at 5Hz (which you can't even hear)and they start to loose response at 80HZ and dramatically drop off at 100Hz. If I use these they will give very low sounds but I would have to Cross Over to the main speakers at 80Hz and I think thats to soon. The AVI's wont pick up really well until about 100 or so. My friend suggested I go with Boston Acoustics which go from 24Hz to 350Hz What do you think? Has anyone had experience with Boston and how do they sound? Since I wrote this I have spoken to my stereo guy who tells me the subs will be better than the Bostons due to the size of the cab. He said if I had a SUV then that would be different.
Any thoughts?

Now my friend also said he was not all that impressed with the AVI specs either. So I did some looking around and found what I think will be really great speakers. They are Focal K2's for front and rear.
Can anyone tell me about these. Since talking to my stereo guy he says the Focals will split my ear drums and will be too bright. Again he says what he is going to put in (AVI) is going to work better in my application and according to him will sound better than Elvira.
He added that sound lab numbers are not always the answer to what sounds good.
Thoughts on this?

Lastly Im going with an amp I took out of Rambo for the subs. I am bridging the four channels to two and it will be putting out about 180 Watts per sub. I forgot the name of it but I think that should be ok

My Stereo guy wants me to use an ARC Amp for the 4 speakers. That amp will put out 90 Watts per speaker. So I need input on this also.

Sorry this is so long but I wanted you to have the full story so you can help me with wise decisions. Dont tell me hearsay please but only your hearing experience and knowledge first hand.

Thanks everyone. I just want to do it the right the first time as it aint cheap.

Edited by - Greez Lightning on April 5 7:41p

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ArTi54N
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Posted - April 4 : 3:53a

if thats all the power you want to give the subs, Image Dynamic subs need lots more power, so you'd be better off with the Boston Acoustics.. however.. ID subs would slam harder.. and work better in a small sealed enclosure..

I have a friend that set a world record in a ported enclosure tho, for a single 10 inch ID sub.. he was hitting numbers higher then people with like 4 12s and killer boxes.. he was upsetting lots of people at shows.. but those subs are worth the money.. I dont know personally what subs I will get for my truck, but I prolly wont get them for another year anyways.. MAYBE a single ID MAX or whatever is best, and give it around 1000 watts.. (12 inch) or I could buy all phoenix gold or all boston acoustic.. I dont know.. and when I say all I mean mids and highs too.. Ive always been a big fan of boston acoustic speakers, and have run their mids and highs quite a few times, on multiple amps and crossovers and other processors.. always been happy

I could say more.. lots more, but I'll wait for some other peoples input 1st..

argh.. I keep saying my buddy is my friend.. found out he was my cousin too.. and he used to be the texas chapter president on mobileaudioworld.com till TEN took the site down..

ArTi54N
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Posted - April 4 : 4:09a

one more thing I will say tho.. find a shop with a good sound room.. take your favorite CD.. and listen to the different speakers for yourself..

Ive gone to dozens and dozens of audio shows.. Ive listen to oh so many combos.. but speakers are always changing..

yes JL used to be more popular, but it didnt have as much to do with sound.. their subs were great for a different reason.. you could use 3 of them and run at the right ohm setting.. they were wired different.. but they did get nice spl scores in the right boxes.. but spl and sound quality are two totally different events at shows..

its easy to make a sub hit harder at certain frequencies.. especially with ported boxes.. but for overall sound quality its a different story..

Everette (my 3rd cousin) was getting great SPL and great sound quality running that ID (Image Dynamics) 10 inch woofer in a ported box.. and Ive heard hours of music in his truck.. his system sounded awesome... he's gonna be running a 12 next.. and he is redoing his system.. lots of trophies in both categories..

if you wanna save on money.. maybe consider the Kicker Brand.. Ive always liked Kicker too.. Ive run everything from 4 of their 8s, to two of their 10s, to two of their 12s.. but in other vehicles Ive heard many other combos too.. it really depends on many factors..

how much room are you willing to loose anyways, and where did you want to mount them?

how about 2 10s or 2 12s facing downward, under your rear seat.. lifted about 3 inches on brackets..

oh.. and what GPS does those use.. and is the technology out dated.. if you like GPS you should really check out the best of the Kenwood line.. which use Garmin.. Garmin is arguably the best..

anyways.. I need to eat something.. take it easy..

if I forget about this thread and you want more of my opinion, just email me at arti54n at yahoo.com

I get real busy at the IRS right now, and I have a lot on my mind.. but I love talking stereo.. and researching it still.. etc..

Greez Lightning
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Posted - April 4 : 10:46a

Thanks for the info Arti.

Since I posted this a lot has happened.

Ive been stressing over these numbers of the Image Dynamics subs dropping off at 70 Hz and totally dropping at 100 Hz. That coupled with the IVA speakers not operating well until 100 Hz I decided to go elsewhere to get the system.

This was a hard decision as I really like the place Ive used for many years. I liked the mom and pop owners and especially his work is impeccable.

I dropped in one shop and they wanted $6000 for a similar system done with Morel speakers and McIntosh amp. Not only was the price off the charts I was not impressed that much with the Morel speakers.

A few days later I dropped into a shop called Audio America.
Funny because Audio America is owned by two brothers from Jordan.
They have quite a few stores all over California.

When I walked in I was stunned at the inventory and the choices of brands of equipment. A huge showroom with audio equip stacked from the floor to the top of a 24 foot ceiling all around the showroom.

The owner "Jaber" came to me asking if he could help me. I liked him right away and he was very helpful.

We decided on a completely different system starting again with my Alpine IVA 901 then two Alpine Amps. 1st one is the PDX 100W X 4 for the fronts and backs and the PDX 150W X 2 for the subs. Speakers we chose were JL C5 Series 5X7s front and back and JL 10 inch Subs. Plus and XM radio.

These specs were far better than the other system and there was no gap from the subs to the main speakers. The price was about the same as the mom and pop store. It only went up with me purchasing a 2nd Amp instead of using the AMP out of Rambo. Seemed better to go this way instead of mixing old amps with new amps and different brands. Plus the over all power was doubled.

I then wanted to speak to the installer (Richard a young 23 year old with a new BMW) to see if he would be the one Id want to do the job. I really liked him also and he seemed to be a perfectionist and wanted to do the install like a show truck with all cool wires etc.

During our conversation Richard said I should use JL Amps instead of Alpine. He said when judged at shows it will look better having JL pushing JL speakers instead of mixing brands. He also said JL made their speakers to perform best with their Amps. Made sense to me and the JL Amp specs looked very good also. So we switched to JL Amps.
First one is the A4300 for the four speakers and the A1100 for the subs.

The last thing he said was the JL would look better with the interior and not add additional colors like the Alpines would have. This told me this kid is really into detail.

They have been working on the install now for two days with Richard as the lead man and it is really shaping up nicely. Richard was into detail far more than I ever dreamed.

Little RCA jacks going into the Amps that were red bothered him, so he painted them charcoal to match the interior. Same with a cobalt blue Fuse box on the amp board so that got painted gray. Even down to red wires. They got painted gray too.

It will be finished today and I will take pictures.

Edited by - Greez Lightning on April 4 10:52a

Greez Lightning
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Posted - April 4 : 11:25p

Its all in.

Here it is.

Edited by - Greez Lightning on April 4 11:27p

ArTi54N
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Posted - April 5 : 2:20a

I agree that keeping the same brand on the speakers and amps looks better..

thats why Im considering Phoenix Gold speakers and Subs.. cuz I already have 3 PG amps.. and wanna buy two of the newer ones..

your install looks very clean..

besides I like JL over Alpine too..

Edited by - ArTi54N on April 5 2:22a

Buzz
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Posted - April 5 : 4:29a

Nice install Lynn!

Tom in Tacoma
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Posted - April 5 : 11:24a

Insane! ...and this is your new 'beater'? I'm looking forward to seeing (and hearing!) it.

Greez Lightning
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Posted - April 5 : 2:20p

You will this summer Mr. Tom.

One perplexing thing is this IVA D901 doesnt play DVDs that I have burned. I get a Disc Declined message on the screen. However the IVA D900 in Elvira plays them fine.

Of course the D901 plays Commercial DVDs just fine also as you could see by the still shots.

Anyone have a suggestion of how to make them work.

I burned them with Nero using a blank DVD-R. Some were put through DVD Shrink and others were just a straight copy from a Academy DVD.
Oh and the burned DVDs play in every DVD player I have in the house as well. The D901 is the only player they dont work in.

Edited by - Greez Lightning on April 5 2:34p

DOUBLEXL
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Posted - April 5 : 10:02p

greez try + r's thats what i had to run in my truck to play

ford_trck
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Posted - April 6 : 9:04a

That would be a hell of a beater

GATOR CREW
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Posted - April 6 : 9:53a

Looks great Lynn...Nice job on the install

Greez Lightning
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Posted - April 6 : 1:27p

Thanks DoubleXL Ill burn one now and try it.

2003EDGE
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Posted - April 6 : 1:52p

Looks good! I too like the matched components!

Greez Lightning
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Posted - April 6 : 2:15p

Hey DoubleXL it worked!!!

I put one of the Academy DVD's on a +R Disk and it plays.
Only bad thing is I have 70 of them to switch over so they play in both Trucks.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Screwon22s
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Posted - April 6 : 3:34p

Looks good Lynn!! Glad you went with JL instead of Alpine!

Greez Lightning
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Posted - April 6 : 4:47p

Yeah Screwon22s the installer said they would look better if all the components were the same on the Amp board/sub box. I looked at the specs and they were just as good and they told me that JL designs their speakers for the JL amps. So it made sense.

Thanks everyone for your kind comments.

Mark05KR
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Posted - April 6 : 6:11p

Soooo.....

What other 'upgrades' are you not planning for this new beater???

Ken in AB
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Posted - April 6 : 11:48p

All this & you STILL call it beater

Mine is Stock with the factory 6 disc stereo

Greez Lightning
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Posted - April 7 : 9:53a

Mark,

I dont like the soft tonneau it has.

Im going to put a hard tonneau (probably a Snug top) and a bed rug in THAT IS ALL!!! LOL

I like a nice DVD and sound system for when I take long trips, which is why I put one in.

I want to leave this truck stock. Its got enough crap on it in its stock configuration what with the bumper cover, cobra snake eye hood, body panels etc.

I did put a line of fire on it but that is because I didnt think it had enough red running lights and stop lights in the back.

If I ever go crazy modding a car again it will be a 30's something. Id like to do a 37 Ford Coupe. Or even a 41 Willys.

ford_trck
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Posted - April 7 : 7:21p

AHHHH 41 WIllys that is my dream car.

AdrnlnRush
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Posted - July 28 : 9:39p

"The Ghost and the Darkness" great movie.

Screwd_Up
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Posted - July 28 : 9:52p

Good call on the JL amps. I have two 500/1's that I have had for years and beat all the piss out of and they still play strong. I had an issue with a 300/2, but that turned out to be bad RCA's. Nice install.

Mort
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Posted - July 29 : 10:25a

Quote:

Originally posted by AdrnlnRush

"The Ghost and the Darkness" great movie.

That's what that movie is called! I saw it in the theater years ago, and I've been trying to remember what it was called because I really liked it. Thanks!

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