My name is Jero, and I love my music. Good sound means great times, at home (parties or otherwise), in the club/bar/pub, and especially driving.

But as much as I do love my sound (and quality), I'm pretty much clueless about car audio. I know some of the major brands and quality, but I can't install it worth shit, and I wouldn't know exactly how to select headunits, speakers, subs, amps, or anything to put together an awesome custom setup.

So that is why I have come here. I'm 20 years old, live in London, Ontario, and recently purchased a 2005 Nissan Altima. Everything is stock. The deck, the speakers, the wiring...everything. Obviously this has to change.

So I have come here to learn from you guys. I will browse around and throw in every once in awhile. However, if you feel like it, don't hesitate to give me pointers, tips, and suggestions on what kind of setups I might enjoy. Money is no object, though if you have a average price it would be nice because if I can build a good system for cheap, that saves me money for other things.

Anyway, I'm glad I've found this forum cause as I said, I'm an audiophile (I've even dabbled in the creation of music a bit...but for personal uses only), so to not know any of this has me at a standstill.

I look forward to learning from you all, and getting to know the people here.

Ciao,
Jero

I do believe I just heard the vendors on the board starting to breathe hard...

Anyways, welcome to the board. Lots of experienced people here willing to help out.

I would seriously develop a budget first, then work from there because pretty much the sky is the limit

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Physics, the silent killer.

yeah you may wanna say a budget or 20 thousand dollar speakers are going to suggested.

You have to have a budget in mind. That is the only way to get REAL suggestions.

"if I can build a good system for cheap, that saves me money for other things."

What is your idea of cheap?? What are you willing to spend?? Are you going to be doing the installation yourself??

Hmm, I hadn't really thought about it that way. I guess what I was going for was the fact that I don't particularly have a budget right now, I was more or less going to gauge it on people's suggestions (or what others may currently have). But I suppose as a starter a couple grand max (not to exceed 3-5k, seems like decent numbers, but 2k if it'll get me something good enough). As for the installation, I'd love to learn and do it myself, and all depending on the difficulty I very well may, but as it stands right now it would be installed by a third party.

It all depends on your perspective of course, but 3k or 5k is getting into rarefied air. Sure, that amount could be dropped on one amp, or even one sub, but it would also provide a very, very nice car audio system.

My own opinion is at that level you should be listening to other folks systems in the same ballpark because if you're going to spend say 1k on front components then they are going to be good quality regardless, but you may like the the sound of Focals better than DLS for example.

When you get to install questions, I can help a little, but at your budget level, I wouldn't be any help.

Cheers

John

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Physics, the silent killer.

Here is some gear I would use with around 2.5 grand budget, and no cutting corners either... Install extra.


1.One amp to drive the entire system. Four channels bridged into two to drive front speakers, and mono channel to drive a sub.

ROCKFORD FOSGATE POWER1000 5/4/3 CHANNEL AMPLIFIER NEW - eBay (item 180294914579 end time Oct-29-08 11:31:31 PDT)


2. Head unit

NEW ECLIPSE CD7200 MKII BLUETOOTH USB CD IPOD RECEIVER - eBay (item 120315454151 end time Oct-15-08 09:34:50 PDT)


3. Front speaker set

Diamond Audio S600s 6-1/2" component speaker system - eBay (item 300264988067 end time Nov-07-08 10:24:54 PST)


4. 15" Fi Audio Q + enclosure

https://ssl.perfora.net/www.ficaraud...iew.shopscript


5. Install accessories like Dynamat(I prefer Cascade), RCA's, power and speaker wires, etc.

DK-1 CASCADE Sound Damping Door Kit NEW 10435 10135 - eBay (item 180154936102 end time Oct-24-08 12:40:20 PDT)

NEW! SK-2 CAE Cascade Sound Damping PERFORMANCE + KIT - eBay (item 9700347837 end time Nov-01-08 19:50:14 PDT)

Knukonceptz product detail for NEW KOLOSSUS FLEKS 4 GAUGE 4 CHANNEL AMPLIFIER INSTALLATION KIT



ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!

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Direction > SQL
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Alpine 9887
Steg K2.03 > 1.2" CDT ES-010, 7.1" CDT ES-07, CDT 560i
Arc Audio KS1000.1 > 3 x 10" CSS SDX10's in 2.4 cubes sealed
Rockford Fosgate Riot Cables
Monster Cable 300 Series Speaker Wire
Focal Plain-Chants
Dynamat
Monster Cable 2-Farad Cap
Optima Yellow Top
180 amp Iraggi Amputator alt
Rockford Fosgate 0AWG "Big 3"


FOR SALE: ^^^subs(1.33 ohms) in custom wedged box(1" front MDF) + acoustic wool inside. $450 No offers. Amazing, mint, but too much weight for my lowered car.

Oooh, that setup looks nice Sasha, thanks. I quite like the Eclipse unit too, that's pretty slick. I don't know if I'll go with that just yet as I don't want to just jump on the first thing I see; I wanna learn a little more so I'll have to suffer with stock for the time being.

Would a setup like that be difficult to install properly myself or would I be better off having a pro do it? And if pro, would you know an approximate install cost?

I would go with a pro, as it's not only about good equipment, you have to do it justice with good install. You can have the best gear in the world, and install it like ass, and will sound like ass too. By the way, Dynamat and other install gear can be supplied by installer, so no need to buy stuff from point #5, as you may need more wires anyways for complete job. Installers take $50/hour average. Price depends on how fast and crappy they will finish, or how well it will be in the end if they take their time and do it right. Cheaper is not better here. Nobody will give you a better overall price because they'll charge you less by the hour, but they will cut corners to save you money. With good installation accessories the complete good install may cost around $500 or more, but trust me do it right the first time with install and gear, so you won't have to pay to fix it later, or rehaul the whole thing, because you saved a little bit of money and got substandard equipment with crappy install.