need to sort my sounds

I have a (EG) 96 Civic Lsi coupe. When i got the car a month a go, it had already had a sony head unit installed and a set of Kenwood rear speakers. The Head unit has an out put of 4X40. which is ok i think, and it has RCA output.
The problem is i have to have most of the sound coming from the back of the car through the rear speakers, because the standard fronts are crap!!!!
I want to upgrade the front speakers but i found that they are very shallow fitting because the windows come down along way. Does any1 no of any good shallow fitting speakers? or will i need new door builds?
Also are 12" ported Vibe subs any good, with built in amp. I lissen to lots of different music, from UK garage to Hard House tracks.
(Need some soundz to go crusin with)

[TonitrusEN]

No reason a set of Premier 6 1/2"s in the front shouldnt work, or maybe they wont, id have to see the car... another thing.... Sony is garbage unfortunatly.. they try to put their toes in too many things and they suck at most of them... You can pick up a good deck for abotu 200-300 bucks but the Sony will do for now i guess.. just dont buy anything else thats Sony, i was at the stereo shop yesterday, and i saw a Sony Sub that had ripped its voice coil off the cone.. lol i was laughing so hard i could barely walk..

Then to top it off, the guy behind the counter said they don't carry JL's because they dont sound good.. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I just blatently told him "So JL wont let you carry their shit eh?" and walked out.

Yer i know its not a top notch head unit, but it saved me money as it was already fitted when i got the car. Im only 17 and d insurance is sky high as it is. I jus want a good sounding system. the head unit wont effect the quality of the sound to much, if i fit good amps n speakers will it?

[Accord Man]

the should be HU fine.. how may preouts does it have? The RMS wattage output of the HU, should actually be around 15-17w.

For the front/back issue, thats why you have a fader.. But like you said, having better speakers up front to support the load would be nice thing.

And for the sub, forget it, its crap.


For the speakers, anything that has a top mounting depth of upto 1 3/4 should be fine.

4x40 is the peak isnt it. Il get some good quality speakers up front. (spose u pay for what you get most of the time) As for a Sub what do you recomend? I was impressed with the Kicker subs. They sounded much better than the Alpines and Kenwoods and sony ones when i lissened too them in a store. being a coupe is it harder to get the sound from the sub into the cabin? or doesn't it matter because of the subs low freq's.
(sorry for all the questions but im new to ICE (im more into performance n styling))

o yer and i fink it has 2 pre-outs. it had a left, right front, back set i fink

[TonitrusEN]

I run 2 kicker solobaric 12"s they sound good... Jl's are great.. stay away from fosgate.. and sony definetly...

[Accord Man]

Originally posted by andy_reynold28
4x40 is the peak isnt it. Il get some good quality speakers up front. (spose u pay for what you get most of the time) As for a Sub what do you recomend? I was impressed with the Kicker subs. They sounded much better than the Alpines and Kenwoods and sony ones when i lissened too them in a store. being a coupe is it harder to get the sound from the sub into the cabin? or doesn't it matter because of the subs low freq's.
(sorry for all the questions but im new to ICE (im more into performance n styling))

4*40 is peak.

Kicker will sound better simply because for speakers, they are better. For HUs Alpine is one the best. Its one of the few mainstream brands that can against the high end equipment.

the sound will be louder in hatch than in a coupe/sedan.. folding your seat down (when you need to bump) makes a big difference.

about the subs, what type of music is *UK garage to Hard House tracks*, dance/trance/techno/rock/hip hop ??

Garage has a deeper longer base notes and Trance n Hard house is punchy base. But i do like Low deep base sounds.

SO should i go for a Sealed 12" or a ported 12". or even a Ported 12" I do like the kicker stuff. O yer what sort of amp. a 2channel is all i need for my small set up? is the alpine V12 ne good?

[Accord Man]

I really dont know whats available in your area..

but kicker is great. if you have the money 1 * 12" CompVR in a ported box.. feed it 400+ w rms, and you'll be a happy camper.
I'm also running Kicker 12s.

2 channel amps are great, thats what I'm using. But you could also go with a mono amp. Most of them are class D, made for bass only, signal is too dirty for mids and highs. this technology is much more efficient, and will be less hard on your electrical system.

I can definatly get hold of the kicker sub (most come with a sealed encloser but i dont see why i shouldn't be able to get a ported one for it). Amp won't be as much of a problem if i get one which has a high and low pass filter i should be able to get rid of the high freq. sound? (that true)?
Should i get an amp which has a higher RMS than the sub, so im not pushing the amp to the limit=cleaner sound.

[Accord Man]

high and low pass filter, ok.. but you'll only need the low pass.

I seriously doubt you'll be using your Comp VR at full power.. but anyways, get something that does 500w rms per channel (though 400 per channel would be fine, but its nice to have a safety cushion, plus the Vrs can take the heat).

i mostly listen to rock, but some rap & triphop stuff as well. and i'm just looking for some nice crisp/clean thump that makes you feel like you're in front of a live band, but also sounds good when you're pumpin some bass-heavy jams. oh, it also has to be able to drown out the loudest exhaust system on the planet, lol.

i'm considering the kicker sub mentioned above. possibly 2 * 12" for my accord (or should i stick w/ one?). what kind of amps should i be looking at to go with the kickers? ...and are they a good choice for what i listen to?

[TonitrusEN]

Personally with anything that has a real fast bass beat, id do 2 10s or 2 real nice qualit 12's

[Accord Man]

I'd stick with a pair.

The Comp Vr is a very verstatile sub, if you want that live effect, then you should go with a sealed enclosure. I dont listen to rock or anything, but I like ultra clean sound, so I went with a sealed enclosure.

for the power, like I said before, 400-500w rms each. With that much power, a class D amp is good choice, unless you'Re willing to upgrade your electrical system a little.

Thanks for all your advice Accord Man. you have been a great help!
Im going to find out how much the CompVR sub is in a ported box. With a class D amp.
Thanks again for your time
(you get a lot better advise on the US sites than you do on UK ones. People actully take the time to help you out.)

accord man...

i'm pretty sure i'm gonig with 2 * 12" compVRs. i'm also considering the kicker kx600.1 amp, which = MONO 600w @ 2 Ohms. now, if i get 2 * 4-ohm subs and run them in parallel, this will work, right?

[Accord Man]

CompVr is only available in 2ohm DVC or 4 ohms DVC..

you'd have to go with 2ohm DVC..


that setup would work very well.. But, they can handle more power.. trust me. The amp you are looking at is quiet impressive.. also very expensive.

a good Idea would be to get a JBL Power 1200.1 mono amp.. they are all over the place and should be considerably cheaper. They are actually quiet good.. Obviously the quality of construction isnt as good as Kicker.. But they are still made well, are tuff, and solid performers.

yeah, the 600w is pretty nice, and i can get it for about 1/2 price do you think it'll sound ok w/ 2 subs? i'm not really looking for competition level or high volume or anything... just want to make my ride more enjoyable.

anyone have any good links that will explain amp wiring for me? ... like how to reduce ohms, what kind of power you get to each amp in series and parallel, etc? i have to admit i'm a complete moron when it comes to this stuff.

EDIT:

for those who care, i answered my own question...

http://www.eatel.net/~amptech/elecdisc/srsparll.htm
http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/rftech/wiringwizard/

[Accord Man]

in that case, you'll be more than happy with that setup!


good luck!