Hey all,

Last saturday I bought a new (for me) civic. Its a 2001 EX coupe with a 1.7 VTEC and 5-spd. I chose civic because of the reliability and fuel economy of these cars (its a whole lot better than my 420+ hp Ram 1500 HEMI).

Which leads me into my audio questions. My Ram has a 3000w system in it, and I love it. I got into this car, and naturally, i'm extremely unimpressed with it. I need to upgrade the sound system a little. I dont want a lot, just little more than what its got from the factory. Im more concerned with the budget (around 500) than I am top of the line sound. I dont need a ton of bass, but I want some. I dont care about volume as much as crisp sound.

That being said, I've already done quite a bit of research and theres only a few things left unanswered. I already have an Alpine CD-9833 layin around so thats what I'll put in for the head unit (came out of my ram when I put in the 7" touch screen). For the speakers (6.5 front and 6x9 rear if i'm correct) I plan on using Infinity shallow mounts (not set on these, so open to your opinons).

My unanswered questions come from in the trunk -- the sub. As I mentioned, I dont need anything competition, but I'd like some bass. I was thinking along the lines of a single 10" sub. I want as much of my trunk as I can, so size is important. What rms/watts should I be looking at? What size box should I be looking at (again, keeping as much trunk space as possible).

thanks for all the help

 

aye its 6x5 all the way around.. front and back and they are a bitch to put in.. you will also need a spacer for the fronts or the window will hit the aftermarket speakers

 

Just replace the front speakers. Trust me, it's cheaper and will sound better (and give you money for an amp for your fronts)

+1 on the spacer rings. I have a 99 and had to make some out of MDF:



I suggest this system for you:

Cadence comps = 90
http://www.powermaxelectronics.com/p...&idcategory=88

Amp for them: 180
http://www.powermaxelectronics.com/p...&idcategory=10

Sub 100
http://www.soundsolutionsaudio.com/s...87-Series.html

Amp for sub
http://www.woofersetc.com/p8046/Xa30...-Amplifier.htm

and i suggest you make your own sealed box (it's a piece of cake). just make it out of MDF. have it have an internal volume of 1.2-1.4 cubic feet, then screw it/glue it together and silicone the edges

Also buy your wiring from KnuKonceptz.com

 

I think I can better components than those for the money. Also, I want to keep the stock look on the door panels. From other research I've found the gap is 1.875". There are a few shallow mount speakers out there that are 1.81" so they should fit witout a spacer, allowing me to keep the factory speaker cover.

 

I would spend a few more dollars on a sub and go with either a Digital Designs 1508 or a Digital Designs 1510 and push it with 500 to 800 watts RMS. The 1508 will sound good in a ported 1 cubic foot net enclosure tuned between 35 and 37 Hz. The 1510 will sound good in a ported 1.5 cubic feet net enclosure tuned between 32 and 35 Hz.

It is my opinion that tuning higher than 37 Hz is too high for our cars that tend to peak in the 50 to 60 Hz range. It is cool if you are going for SPL competitions, but sounds like crap on music. Then again, you can tune higher if you build the enclosure larger but then you start to give up valuable trunk space.

 

My door panels do look stock, when i put the grilles on.

And those are some great comps for the money....what other ones were you thinking of???

And if you have a higher budget (the system i set up should be a bit over with wiring and wood included) I'd spend it on comps not the sub

 

My first sound system in the Civic was uber budget. I started out with some Alpine Type S components that I picked up for $60; an Orion amp that was FREE from a friend; and a pair of JL Audio 10w3v2s with a RF Punch 5002 that I purchased for $180 used from another friend. My deck is an Alpine CDA-9885 that cost $229 with all the accessories on clearance. Even my wire was given to me for FREE. That setup got me by until I wanted MORE. So much for the "I am only going to do a small system" mentality that I went into this with.

Eta: This walked all over the JL Audio 10w3v2s


BUT it cost me more money. Also notice that the amplifier is different too.

 

well after hours of researching for best bang for the buck (keep name brand in mind) I somehow ended up with all Kenwood components unintentionally (everything is on sale now).

Front Door Speakers: $38
http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAu...roductID=20885
These speakers have pretty low rms compared to some, but my intention was to just hook them straight to the headunit without an amp, and the headunit only producted 26 rms per channel, so a speaker higher than that would be worthless. I suppose if you all think I'm really not gonna be satisfied with this, I could get a small amp for the front speakers as well and get a set with a higher rms.

Amp: $130
http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAu...roductID=19264

Sub: $50
http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAu...roductID=21994

And I'll be using a Sealed 1.2 cu. ft. volume box ($40)

Wiring: Havent found it yet, but expecting to pay about $40 for the good stuff.

For all this, the total is approx $300 and I'll use the Alpine CDA-9833 I already have.

I dont understand why I should replace my rear speakers... wouldnt it sound weird having sound only from the two front speakers? You completely lose the whole surround sound feel like I'm used to in the truck.


I'm sure some of you have something bad to say about Kenwood, or this setup, so feel free to dish it out and give your better opinions...I really appreciate them so far, honestly.

 

Don't get Kenwood, the only thing good they make are HUs.....everything else is questionable, especially the subs (i have experience with both subs and amps....subs=no good and amps=weak and overrated)

You dont have surround sound in you car, so all the back speakers do is add volume and make it sound like the music is coming from slightly behind you.

I have one set of comps and i love it

The problem with running ANY aftermarket speakers off the deck is that the internal amps puts out so little power. You lose almost all midbass and everything else just doesn't sound very good.

 

so what brands are typically good for speakers/amps/subs? Clarion? JL audio? JBL? Infinity? Alpine? I've never really gotten into the I.C.E. scene... always more mechanical performance/suspension oriented. Thanks for the help

Also, I'm gonna go with a sealed sub box...less to screw up and sound quality is still great. For the speakers, are there any fitment problems with the tweeters in the component speakers? I was just gonna go with a regular or 3-way so I didnt have to hassle with the tweeter up there.

Since I'll be gettin an amp for the speakers, whats the best setup? Seperate (mono + multi-channel) installed parallel? Seperate installed series? Or one multi-channel with enough juice for sub and speakers? Also, did you hook your rear (factory) speakers into the amp also?