I'm currently running the following:

Alpine CDE-9841 head unit (5+ years old but good. 200 watts, 50x4)
2 Alpine Type R SPR-17c 6.5s (doors)
2 Alpine Type R SPR-69c 6x9s (rear deck)
4 Crossfire CF310d 10 inch subwoofers (trunk)
Jensen 500 watt amp (300 RMS @4 ohms, [75x4], not strong but balanced for a Civic.)

I've noticed that I have very little mid range with this setup. The treble is pretty strong, and the bass is loud, but that's all I can hear. This might be due to the EQ not being set up right in the head unit, but I've never really messed with it so I don't understand it. Anyone have some wisdom to share? I don't really know where to set the crossovers.

 

gotta ask, how is your setup amped? you mentioned a 4channel, but are you amping the fronts and sub, or just the sub? the type r speakers want a true 75w rms. plus...since you have components in the front, you can drop the tweet down a couple of DB to allow the mids to catch up. that's done inside the the external crossover. you're gonna want to seal the door off from the cab to create a pseudo IB enclosure in the door and eliminate the rear wave from coming through your door panel. good crossover starting points are gonna be about 80hz for both high and low. if you can you might wanna do 80 high and 63-75 for the sub depending on slope, and if you can adjust that.

on the amp itself, what is the fuse rating??

 

The problem with Alpine headunits is that they only offer bass and treble adjustments. You almost need to add an external equalizer to really do any serious adjustments with them.
The best way to increase a frequency is decrease the surrounding frequencies.
Always start with your bass and treble flat, then adjust one level at a time.

 

The amp is actually 2 channel. I have two subs wired to each channel. I don't remember if I wired them series/parallel or parallel/series. The 4 inside speakers aren't amped with an external amp. They use the built in one from the head unit.

Its been awhile since I looked at the amp. I wanna say it has two 20 amp fuses on it, but I'm not sure. The amp has really basic options. You can have it play bass only, bass plus some mids, or full sound. I have it set to bass plus mids, I think. Again, been awhile since I even bothered messing with the system.

I don't suppose you know how the EQ works on those older Alpine head units? There are two separate adjustments: You press one button to get treble, bass, balance, and fade. You press and hold another to get what I believe to be some sort of EQ. On treble, I remember it having options like 15k and 12k, maybe an 8.5K. I don't know what those meant.

 

They are what I would call peak frequencies. If you set it to one of those settings there is a boost at that frequency. Again, none will help with the mid-range as they are only in the bass and treble range.
The other setting you may have is the MX setting. This is sort of a bass boost but at a wider range of frequencies. Do not use at high volume as it will distort the sound and damage the speakers.
I loved my Alpines but that was always a frustrating feature. I finally bought a new head unit this year, A JVC Arsenal series. It has what they call "Pro EQ" with 7 band settings. It's a nice feature.

 

i would start by amping at least the front speakers. the type r speakers want power, and the passive crossovers use power. the alpine head unit you have is more like 14-16w per channel, not 50 as stated, and the type r speakers are like 75w rms. with that power you'll get a huge increase in midbass response. plus utilizing a high pass on the speakers will help with power distribution in the speaker set.

 

Can you recommend a different head unit to me? One that perhaps has a bigger internal amp? If no such thing exists, how about an amp that would work for my purposes? I've been wanting to redo my audio setup for awhile now.

I want a better cd player. I need something that plays MP3 CDs, something that's single din, has detachable faceplate, has an auxiliary input on the faceplate.

If I add a second amp to the setup, will I really need to add a better battery or upgrade the alternator?

 

It all depends on what you want to spend. There are very few high power head units anymore. I know Alpine had a couple a few years ago, but I think they stopped making them.
Is the aux input for something specific? Many new decks have iPod interfaces that you can control from the deck. They also have USB inputs for data sticks. Some have hard drives and no CD slots. Some have HD radio built in. Some have Bluetooth built in. Many many different kinds.

A really good amp that will not require an alternator upgrade is one of the new digital amps. Alpine, JL, and several others have them.

I just installed the Alpine PDX line. I picked up a discontinued PDX-4.100 for $300. Amazing little amp with some serious power. 100x4 or 200x2 (as I am using it)
I also put in a PDX-1.600 for the sub (600 watts single channel.) same price.
Because they are digital they draw much less power than a Mosfet amp.
They also make a 5 channel digital amp that works really well and doesn't take up much space. The amps are appx 10x8x2 and can be stacked.

These are the newer models.
http://www.amazon.com/Alpine-PDX-F4-.../dp/B003GFZ6RI
http://www.amazon.com/Alpine-PDX-M6-.../dp/B003GF33XM
http://www.amazon.com/Alpine-PDX-5-A...uct/B0016AJS5Q

http://www.amazon.com/JL-Audio-XD400.../dp/B0039AQVEM
http://www.amazon.com/XD600-Audio-Mo.../dp/B00444LAFM
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_136XD70...-5.html?tp=115

 

I would like an ipod interface and a headphone type input on the front. I know JVC has a few of those. I would have my ipod for some uses and pandora radio through my phone for others.

 

I assume you mean an 1/8" input jack as a headphone is hooked to an output. You would need an adapter as most phones use a 2mm (sometimes 3mm) connection.
So if you are only looking for iPod control and front 1/8" connection you could get any one of these
Single Din, CD, iPod Control, front aux input

Or if you want to skip the CDs you could get this one
http://www.crutchfield.com/s_500IDA3...e.html?tp=5684 which uses the iPhone app for Pandora.