$1000 Car Audio Upgrade..need advice!!
 

Hey, I'm planning on spending up to $1000, but preferably $800, on a good amp, subs, and any necessary cables. I'm not ready to purchase any speakers or a new deck unless i have to. I can get good deals through online stores on eBay around 50% off. So far the Kenwood KAC-9152D AMP looks good to power the subs but I'm not sure what I can pair with this. I'm putting all this in a '96 Ford Escort. Any opinions would be appreciated!

Well I just looked it up and that amp will put out 1000wRMS at 1ohm
If you want to get the power out of that you will either want 1 dual2ohm sub, or 2 dual4ohm subs

Any ideas on what size subs you want

Yea I was thinking of sticking to two 10" subs since I have the box for it already.

I love my Ultimate amp. TONS of power at a great price.

I love my Ultimate amp. TONS of power at a great price. T3-1000D

^^^^this is the exact reason that valued industry members who know what they are actually talking about will not give there advice! Yes please can i suport the ebays of this world!

im realitvely new to the buisness end of car audio but the "want everything for nothing" in regards to $'s spent of gear is already starting to make me want to rip my hair out:stroke:, people want your advice...then they buy from ebay or wallmart then get pissed off and wonder why they didnt get that "stupid loud system" :dunno: ...what ever happend to you get what you pay for

It shouldnt matter if he wants to buy from ebay, it is a good way of getting things cheaper if you want to risk having no warranty,
Personally I dont buy anything big online because I hate to pay for the shipping and most of it comes from far away from where I am

if you buy cheap 99% of the time you get cheap...if your cool with that i dont mind, my rant was more of a generalistic comment about idiots who buy cheap get cheap and are mad and wonder why

well, first of all; Do you know anything about car audio, or are you a newbie? who is installing this equipment? what are you looking to get from your system...loud bass, good overall sound? IF you are a newbie, don't buy online. Online is for people that know what they are doing, have been around for some time, and are willing to accept certain risks involved. If you're an experienced car audio guy, then go wild. As for a good combo for that amp, I have Alpine type R's, and I love them. I also got them very cheap from ebay...1/2 the cost of retail in my area with shipping, duties etc...They will handle 500 watts rms each all day long, and sound very good with all types of music.

lol
 

its funny every1 wants alot for nothing
however as you were already told it doesnt work this way

what you want to figure out first is how much bass you want.
if your car is hatchback then you get more bass, if not then you will get less out of any stereo; same as if your box is sealed its quieer but hits harder and if its ported its louder but hits not as hard.
1. go and find out that your deck has RCA outputs for subs first. because if they dont then you need a new deck as well. if you got a stock deck you dont have rca outputs for subs and you DO need new deck.
2. if you are a beginner then 500W amp with 2x250RMSW subs will be good i think. id recomment alpine mrd-m500. i had this amp and its awesome. i personally DONT recommend none-digital amp.
then you need some 250W RMS subs. Older model of type R's output 300RMS and should do good for you.
but remember : you get what you pay for -> if you go for cheap low quality you will get low quality.
if you go for high quality there are still ways of getting them cheap but you gotta take a chance -> buy used equipment.
there are so many things involved here you cant ask for suggestions without giving as much info as you can.
i hope my little summary helps a lil if not pm me and i can help you further
gl

I recommend non digital amps all the time, what do you think we used for all the years before digital amps?

Yes if you know nothing and this is your first system. Wherever you get it from, get some help from someone who knows what theyre doing to get it hooked up right, or get a shop to do it.

im all for supporting storefront shops, but cmon guys, you know the markup on car audio is retarded, dont rag on the guy for trying to save a few bucks.

ebay is fine if you
A) know what you want
B) know how to get exactly that
C) are willing to accept that your warrantee will probably be void, since most ebay retailers arent "authorized"

im an alpine , and im fully in love with the mrp-m450
ive got a mrp-m350 and it is way underrated, the 450s are apparently the same circuit boards with some minor tweaks.

for subs, either alpine type R, type X or elemental designs 11kv.2 or 11ov.2

I wouldnt call it rediculous, they arent livin an minsions off of our purchases, but if you know them, or if you are good with words, you can haggle them down a bit and you will both be happy... But Ebay is a good spot for gettin deals if you dont mind no warranty... Amps/decks... I would buy online, but speakers Ive had less luck with, as far as broken tinsel leads anyway, and I would buy then only with a warranty, but thats just me, also I have connections with local stores so that makes me stear away from ebay

A couple of questions come to mind........

Do you have the factory deck and speakers still installed? If so, 1,000watts of bass will drown out everything else they can produce.

What are your goals for the system? If really loud bass is it, then you know what you need to buy already, and brand names won't really matter. By that, I mean that the system will be so un-balanced it will sound like a$$ no matter what you buy.

If you are running a factory deck and speakers now, I would suggest you head in to a few different shops in your area before you spend a dime on anything. Take a CD of music you know with you, and spend some time listening to it on a variety of speaker brands. Remember, you are the one who will be listening to them down the road, so your opinion counts the most.

If you set a goal for the system first, then buy the parts for that end result when and as you can afford them, you will be happier with the results along the way.

I always suggest to "newbies" to car audio to take the balanced approach....keeping the various parts of the system compatible with each other so they get the best possible sound no matter how much they want to spend.

HTH

How about everyone just back off the guy for the whole "internet vs. retailers" BS as it's been played out in too many threads as it is. If you need to have this discusion again just dig up one of those numerous threads and start posting in it again.

The guy has come here to ask our opinion on product. That's a great start as the forum was put here for car audio enthusiest's whether new or old and not just for YOU to show us all your pretty stereo's. If our new friend has polled us for product advice I'm sure he can just as easily do a search for good internet retailer's.

Perzik - The people here that will give you advice worth listening to are the ones that will need more information from you. It's called making an informed decision. Right now you've only stated your budget and a possible amp choice. Still left out are what you want from this system. Are you planning a full system eventually, just adding to factory and want some more bass, want it to sound really good or just get really loud or a mixture of both, what kind of music do you listen to, how much space do you have to fit your subs and box into, etc.?