A9Y

What's up car audio world?!

I'm wanting to put a fairly serious stereo in my original 88' VL Calais wagon and want to see what the Internet experts would do for the budget.

I have about 5 to 5.5K to spend, including installation and do have a brand new Sundown Audio SAE1200d V2 and knukonceptz 0 gauge wiring kit that I can utilize or sell.

Let the opinions begin!

gramser57

iTrader: (1)

what are your goals, and how much space do you have?

A9Y

Cheers for the response mate!

I'm looking for a good all round daily system, SQL leaning towards the SPL side of things.

Well the car is a 1988 Holden VL Calais wagon, so that should give you an indication of available space and I would like to try retain some cargo area..

VWdude

I have never heard any of this stuff, but heres my recommendation...i might be way off, but here goes:
Keep that amp
Get a Cerwin Vega Stroker 12" dual 2 ohm sub or Orion HCCA 12" dual 2 ohm
Get Sundown SAX-125.4
Either get a good set of components for the front and run it active, or get two sets of components, one for front and one for rear.

For components, I would suggest Dynaudio Esotec series, Focal KRX series, or hybrid audio components.

You can keep the 1/0 power, as long as you have the charging system to match.

Will you need a source unit? Do you want a regular deck or a screen? nav?

A9Y

Out of curiosity, what makes you recommend the above products if you haven't heard them?

Ideally I'd like a screen and the only screen that fits in the VL dash without custom work is the Kenwood KVT-636DVD. Thoughts?

VWdude

Sorry, ive heard the components...i havnt heard the subs. I know what high powered subs sound like though.

I have Dynaudio in my car and they are the best speakers ive ever heard in a car. I know that better speakers exist, but for the money, i have a hard time seeing it.

I hear details in music that I never knew was there, and ive always been into high end audio. I know that part of it is the high end amp that Im running as well, but speakers make the biggest difference in the sound.

gramser57

iTrader: (1)

I would go with VWdude's recommendation for speakers, the man likes his SQ!

As far subwoofer's go I would look into a Fi BL fully loaded single 15". Having previously owned a BL I can say is it can sound fantastic in low to medium volume and can get violent when your hammering on it but the downside is it will require a big enclosure to extract its maxium potential. BL15 - Fi Car Audio Store

A9Y

Ok so after much deliberation, I've put it down to the following brand combos with the Kenwood 7" touchscreen deck, optima 2nd battery, necessary wiring, sound deadening, fabrication etc.
Opinions, thoughts and ideas?

RE Audio XXX 15" sub, USX-65KV.1 mono amp, 2 sets of XXX-6.5C for front doors and tailgate and USX-4250 4ch amp

Sundown Audio Z v.3 15" sub, either a SAZ-1500D V.3 or a SAZ-2500D V.3 mono amp, Neo Pro 6.5 for the front doors and either a pair of the 8 or 10 Neo Pros for the tailgate and SAX-125.4 4ch amp

Digital Designs 9500h 15" sub, M2B mono amp, AW6.5 for front doors, AT28 tweeters as the 6.5s dont come with them, VO-M8 for the tailgate and S4B 4ch amp

gramser57

iTrader: (1)

Digital Designs hands down

A9Y

And you'd say that brand does good quality subs, amps and speakers, or is there better for the money?
Basically, my budget is about 5K for parts and I'll cover the further cost of the install..