Get the deck & harness, a batter to amp fuse, a good 12" on 1000W should do it for the sub, spend $300-400 for something decent, Fi Q, Type-X, etc, so you can afford the amp, then get speakers and deadening etc...

Sub 300
Amp 250
Box 100
= $600
Deck, harness, fuse, wiring, install with the rest of the $.

 

Hmmm. Yeah that doesn't leave much wiggle room for speakers, though. Four of 'em should cost me on the order of around $150-$200 and then I've only got $150 left for wiring, harness, fuses, install and an alarm to protect my investment. If I'm gonna go with something higher-end it'll be a swap-it-out-when-I-can-afford-it scenario.

 

With a bit (okay, a lot ) of help from Crutchfield, this is the setup I'm looking at (all clickies):

Head unit: Sony CDX-GT410U (for the USB and iPod inputs);
Front and rear speakers: Sony GT1625A (seem to be the best balance of performance and price; component fronts just don't fit in the budget right now);
Sub: Infinity Reference 1250W 12" (single);
Sub amp: Kenwood KAC-8104D (offers a pretty high current rating for the price).

And then wiring, Dynamat for the trunk, sub box and installation (around $500 all told). My price just for the components comes out to $670 from Crutchfield without having looked around for lower prices yet (which I'm sure there are).

Is this a decent setup or should I be changing something? The wattage rating on the head unit is pretty low (17W RMS) but I'm not looking for SPL, so that should be fine, right?

 

Infinity Reference 6022i 6-1/2"/6-3/4" 2-way Speakers
i have a set of these, i'm very happy with them. if you're willing to spend an extra 20$ per set, i'd say these are gonna sound way better than the sonys. plus, they handle more power.

 

Okie dokes, I've come up with something that seems to be a better bet. Here's what it's looking like it's gonna be right now (all clickies):

Head unit: Kenwood eXcelon KDC-X492
Speakers (front and rear): Infinity Reference 6022si
Sub: Alpine SWR-1042D
Amp: Alpine MRP-M500
Stinger wiring kit
Dynamat for the trunk
Bassworx 10" sealed hatchback enclosure

And then installation. I haven't been able to get a solid price on the head unit and the sub from a Canadian reseller yet, but that should all come out to about $1200 before tax, and before installation charges. If it works out to be a bit much, I might drop the sub to the S series or even the E series.

Also, any opinions as to whether a 2-ohm DVC sub or a 4-ohm DVC sub is a better choice? What's the tangible difference between them?

 

save and go used you will get 3-4 times the quality items and more as well.Look in the FS posts for people with good iTrader ratings.For $1000 with no tax you can get a good system, You will get a lot more then any store or dealer will beable to sell you.It`s your first system why not save some cash get better equipment then down the road if the 3-4times better system don`t do you then its not a huge loss but then upgrading will be harder as you will have a kick *** system already.My modo is always go for a bit more then you need or want then you are never left in the cold so to say.I have a buddy that is never happy with his system till it hits the last two volume settings then it sounds good to him so he is now looking to swap out almost everything to spend another grand when I told him to spend the extra $130 plus go used(he would have had a full comp system).So now he has to drop his whole system for next to nothing and start again.It is a losing game you will see some of us letting go of a $2500 amp for like $500-600 with less then a years use(sometimes a few min. use).Another thing is to look around at some systems as there is nothing better then that felling of "dam I just spent $300 and I would have not spent 10 cents on this crap if I had known"

As for you ohm question you should google "ohms law" and read a bit
long story short you can wire on sub to 1 or 4 ohms(DVC2ohm) or 2 or 8ohm(DVC4ohm)
Lower the ohms the more power it can take in(handling the power is another story) higher the ohm the less power it has.

Ohms are resistance

Just remember not all amps can run at all ohms so you need to match that to your amp

Save your cash go used for $1000 I can put a system together for you that will be way better by far then what you have listed above.