new sound sys...

[Only4U]

i'm looking to get a new sound sys, but i don't really know what is good, and what isn't good. i want something that kicks, but at the same time it doesn't sound like it's going to die at high volumes (like the factory monsoon/delco combo). what i'm thinking of doing is getting a 400 or so watt amp and bridging it to the front 4 6.5" and then replace the back two 4" or whatever they are and put 2 8" in it's place...farther back in the trunk area. now i don't know, can i get a 6 channel amp that will let me put all 6 of those speakers onto it, or should i go for two separate amps? how many watts is good for what i'm talking about and what kind of speakers should i get? thx a lot.

[SunsetOrange98Camaro]

Im not sure if I read this right but are you saying you want to replace the 4" coaxial speakers in the hatch with two 8"?? If so, Im assuming you havent looked in your hatch recently. Those little plastic trim pieces back there are very flimsy and can barely hold the 4" speakers in there. Unless you are planning on some major fiberglass work you dont have the space or strength to put 8's back there. Now you can cut out the metal in the backseat area where the midbass 6.5's are right now and put 8's there. I would never do it but Ive heard of it being done. Honestly the only thing you need for a really nice system is a good set of component speakers for the doors and a good sub for the hatch. For the components I have heard really good things about Focals and for subs I have heard alot about JL, Apline, Image Dynamics, Eclipse and Audiobahn. Get a JL or MTX stealthbox that fits in the rear drivers side cubby hole for the sub or check out megabass's site for some nice box's as well. For an amp get a good 4-channel amp and run the components off of 2 channels and bridge the other 2 for the sub or you can get separate amps. Its up to you. I would say you probably want to send each sub around 300-400 watts (depending on the sub) maybe more. I cant give you as much info on amps as others probably can. I have two MTX amps in my car and love them. I have heard Orion amps and they are great too. Im sure someone else will chime in.

[ July 12, 2002: Message edited by: SunsetOrange98Camaro ]</p>

[Only4U]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr> For an amp get a good 4-channel amp <hr></blockquote>

how many watts is sufficient enough...like 400 or so?

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr> Im not sure if I read this right but are you saying you want to replace the 4" coaxial speakers in the hatch with two 8"??<hr></blockquote>

what i meant was--take those speakers out and replace the wiring to them with the 8", not actually put those speakers there...that would be kind of stupid because those things are very flimsy like you said.

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr> Honestly the only thing you need for a really nice system is a good set of component speakers for the doors and a good sub for the hatch.<hr></blockquote>

by components, are you meaning midbass? sorry, i'm completely new to the way stereo and such works, so try and work with me here, no matter how ignorant i may be :eek: how would it sound if i replaced the midbass speakers in the back seat and the front door speakers with some speakers like the sony explodes and hooked them up to a 300 watt amp and just left the back two 4" speakers to the monsoon? are we talking pure crap here? what do you think of the amp+xplode speakers combo period? can i just buy like the walmart brand of xplode or do i have to buy a certain kind that will play the midbass that the 2 speakers in the back seat play now? sorry, just a little confused. i guess my main two questions are: would xplodes sound good hooked up to an amp, and do i have to have certain named (like components) 6.5" speakers, or will they all work the same, just depending on what you hook them up to? thx a lot.

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr> bridge the other 2 for the sub<hr></blockquote>

what's the advantage and how do you bridge two channels for one sub? why not just get a 3 channel amp?

[ July 12, 2002: Message edited by: Only4U ]</p>

[96firebird311]

Yes, I would get a nice set of component speakers for up front and a Stealth box for the back. Component speakers are a set of equipment. It comes with 2 6 1/2" mids, 2 tweeters and 2 crossovers built specificly for the set. All together in one package. It my sound like alot of stuff to deal with, but trust me, it's not. Well worth the money. They will outpreform any regular coaxil speaker. You can pick up a good set from Focal for anywhere form a couple hundred dollars to thousands!!
The Stealth box is a box made specificly for the f-bodies. You can fit a 10" sub back there. It allows you to still keep your t-top storage. (if you have them) 400 watts will be plenty to drive a 10". It would be cheapest to buy a 4 channel amp and do what Sunset said. Also, I would not use the wiring that powered your 4" speakers to power your sub.

[Chris94Bird]

You mentioned sony xplod's...gonna have to give you the [img]graemlins/thumbsdown.gif[/img] for those...sony has some decent head units but from everything i've heard and experienced from there speakers are bad. If I were you and you were looking to get a new system I would recomment ripping out the entire monsoon system, includng head unit and replace it all....in the end your system will sound much better. If you go with subs if you only want one go with the stealth box but I would also recommend the milhouse box. Also if you go with subs I would recommend having a seperate amp powering your subs as said before with atleast 3-400 watts powering each sub, with another sub powering your speakers. Speaker wise good quality ones would be as others have stated Image Dynamics, focals etc. For subs I would go with Eclipse's, Adire Audio (heard some good things), Infinity, Kenwood, JL Audio, etc. Just look around. And the amp is everything...make sure you get a good amp...and no xplod, as is in most things you get what you pay for. You can go to crutchfield.com and put in your year and make of your car and it will list you the things that will fit in your car (as much as they offer anyways) this will give you some ideas. Hope I helped.