Car Audio Help - replacing everything in '01 Cavalier -total n00b

[theJesus]

It's not practical for me to pull over every time I want to change the volume.

[WhiteNoise]

www.sonicelectronix.com has all the cables you need. Prices are fair too.

I've spent a fair bit of money at that shop. Great customer service too.

I also buy from www.darvex.com

[WhiteNoise]

50 watts RMS into a 75 watt RMS speaker is fine. Do you have the amp setup properly? Do you know how to adjust the gain's on a 4-channel amp?

TBH @ 50 watts it's not gonna be terribly loud anyway. But it should sound good and loud enough for the average listener.

[m1dg3t]

The best is to match your amps to your speakers, which Jesus did fine. Now I can almost guarantee he is running into distortion before maxing the volume and the only way around that is to use top end components IMO/IME

You ever had/heard a quality speaker/amp setup? A quality driver/sub/amp, even with 50w, will damage your hearing. I'm not trying to sound rude/condescending its just my experiences :Plus I suck @ communicating lol

[theJesus]

Yeah, I adjust the gain with the knobs that are labeled "front gain" and "rear gain" lol. Everything is setup right according to the manual and common sense. The amp does get loud enough for me, it just overheats or something after a while and keeps shutting itself off (protect light comes on) and then turning back on. This only happens once I get past a certain volume threshold.

edit: This threshold I speak of is well before distortion becomes audible btw.

[WhiteNoise]

Originally Posted by m1dg3t

The best is to match your amps to your speakers, which Jesus did fine. Now I can almost guarantee he is running into distortion before maxing the volume and the only way around that is to use top end components IMO/IME

You ever had/heard a quality speaker/amp setup? A quality driver/sub/amp, even with 50w, will damage your hearing. I'm not trying to sound rude/condescending its just my experiences :Plus I suck @ communicating lol

No worries dude. I wasn't saying 50 watts per channel is weak. I can take 50 watts per channel in a 2 channel amp in my house that will make my neighbors call the cops. But in a car it's much harder to do that with just 50 watts per channel without spending a lot of money. And yeah I have heard quality speakers and amps. In fact I own some of them.
Been around this stuff for many years. I have a friend who competes as well (car audio) so I get to see/hear all sorts of tech that I normally wouldn't.

Anyways other things com into play as well; such as speaker wires, interconnects, grounds and power lines. the bigger the wires the less resistance + amps run cooler having to work less hard and more power to the speakers. There are lots of things to consider when building a car audio system. The Big 3 is just one of them. (google car audio big 3) if you don't know what I'm talking about. If you knew how much money I have spent on this hobbie in the last 7 years or so you might shit yourself.

Rockford used to be considered high end for car audio amps back in the day (90's) but over the past 15 years or so they have become more and more a sub-par amp company. I can think of a dozen better amp manufacturers out there.

You really do get what you pay for. If it were my money I would ditch the Rockford and get something better. There are amp models out there that are cheap but quality and designed to run cooler. My hifonics amps are a perfect example, quality inards, low heat, very fair price and solid performance.

I have a couple of Directed amps and Orion amps (back when Orion was their own) And I spend a lot of money on those and they still work well but they run hot and are huge. My new hifonics amps are really compact, don't get hot at all and really perform well.

JL is a fantastic company and if you don't mind spending more money for their kit then you will be happy.

[WhiteNoise]

Originally Posted by theJesus

Yeah, I adjust the gain with the knobs that are labeled "front gain" and "rear gain" lol. Everything is setup right according to the manual and common sense. The amp does get loud enough for me, it just overheats or something after a while and keeps shutting itself off (protect light comes on) and then turning back on. This only happens once I get past a certain volume threshold.

edit: This threshold I speak of is well before distortion becomes audible btw.

To properly adjust level you need a meter but if you are going to do it by ear then there is a proper way of doing it and if you want to know I will write it out (or you can google it) let me know.

[theJesus]

Originally Posted by WhiteNoise

To properly adjust level you need a meter but if you are going to do it by ear then there is a proper way of doing it and if you want to know I will write it out (or you can google it) let me know.

I am not sure what you mean now.

[cdawall]

Just throwing it out there even with rated to 4 ohm bridged rockfords knocked down to 2 ohms I never had an issue. Class A/B amps get hot he got a cheap class A/B doesn't matter the brand. I still vote to bridge the outputs and run the rear 6x9's on it with fronts on the decks amp.

[theJesus]

The speakers are rated for four ohms though.

[cdawall]

Originally Posted by theJesus

The speakers are rated for four ohms though.

Ok? Bridging the amp won't force it down to 2 ohms. They will still have a 4 ohm load.

[WhiteNoise]

Originally Posted by cdawall

Just throwing it out there even with rated to 4 ohm bridged rockfords knocked down to 2 ohms I never had an issue. Class A/B amps get hot he got a cheap class A/B doesn't matter the brand. I still vote to bridge the outputs and run the rear 6x9's on it with fronts on the decks amp.

See I have an issue with this as the front speakers should be the priority. In a proper audio system the front stage is the most important. removing the rear speakers and investing the money into one set of high end speakers up front is the best way to go.

I'm not telling you to do this Jesus as you already invested in your gear but I'm just stating it. Go to any car audio site and they will say the same. It's all about the front stage. You don't go to a concert and turn your back to the stage do you? lol

But to each their own.

Here is what I'd have done:

Buy a class D amp to power a single sub (12" to 15") and a class A/B 4 channel that pushes 100 watts rms per channel and then bought a single set of component speakers (mid-bass w/ tweet) for the front.
Then later on if you decided to buy a second set of good speakers for the back you would already have the extra rear channel to use when you have the extra money. In the mean time though I would consider using that 4 channel to power each speaker including tweeter with its own dedicated line to the amp. Using all 4 channels. Of course the front comps would have to be good. Would be awesome!

[theonedub]

Originally Posted by WhiteNoise

See I have an issue with this as the front speakers should be the priority. In a proper audio system the front stage is the most important. removing the rear speakers and investing the money into one set of high end speakers up front is the best way to go.

I'm not telling you to do this Jesus as you already invested in your gear but I'm just stating it. Go to any car audio site and they will say the same. It's all about the front stage. You don't go to a concert and turn your back to the stage do you? lol

But to each their own.

Here is what I'd have done:

Buy a class D amp to power a single sub (12" to 15") and a class A/B 4 channel that pushes 100 watts rms per channel and then bought a single set of component speakers (mid-bass w/ tweet) for the front.
Then later on if you decided to buy a second set of good speakers for the back you would already have the extra rear channel to use when you have the extra money. In the mean time though I would consider using that 4 channel to power each speaker including tweeter with its own dedicated line to the amp. Using all 4 channels. Of course the front comps would have to be good. Would be awesome!

Originally Posted by theonedub

I would've gone with the 4x6s up front (assuming interior modification for comps is prohibited), a single midrange 12" sealed in the trunk, and no 6x9s in the shelf. Power everything off a 4ch amp capable of 3ch operation so that the bridged rear 2 channels power the subwoofer and the other 2 amplify the front 4x6s with the crossover initially set to 80hz and tuned from there.

Would have given you a very clear and pronounced front stage with excellent bass. With the 6x9 mounts open, more of the bass will penetrate the cabin so you wouldn't need an overly powerful (read: expensive) amplifier. No speaker would be starved for power and, should you ever be inclined, you could crank the thing up and still have very crisp sound.

Very similar thoughts, good to see someone else who agrees and understands staging

This is actually the second incarnation of the car stereo- I was a little sad my suggestions weren't taken into account for the revision, but like you said- to each their own. I'm sure its still a great improvement over stock.

[cdawall]

Originally Posted by theonedub

Very similar thoughts, good to see someone else who agrees and understands staging

This is actually the second incarnation of the car stereo- I was a little sad my suggestions weren't taken into account for the revision, but like you said- to each their own. I'm sure its still a great improvement over stock.

It's because you are shorter than me and thus inferior.

[theJesus]

I do fade more to the front, but it's nice to have something in the rear too imo. Anyways, at some point soon I'm gonna try mounting the amp on a piece of wood or something and redo the power/ground on it. If it keeps fucking up, I'm not gonna bother contacting Rockford, I'll just send it back and get a different amp.

[theonedub]

Sounds like a good plan. I think you will have good results, let us know how it turns out.

[jmcslob]

Can I get a quick update?

Not sure whats going on....to lazy to read it all...

Is your amp is cutting out?
IF so
Do your lights dim while it's on?
If so
Maybe your alt can't provide enough juice.
If not
Maybe it's getting to hot...which isn't common
or
maybe it's bad.
or
maybe I don't know anything as I'm to lazy to read.

[theJesus]

It's cutting out when turned up past a certain volume (which is less than half). Lights don't dim. It gets very hot, so I think it's overheating.

[jmcslob]

Originally Posted by theJesus

It's cutting out when turned up past a certain volume (which is less than half). Lights don't dim. It gets very hot, so I think it's overheating.

Yeah...right off I'd say it's bad...MOSFETs heat up but not that much and certainly not at 50%...

[m1dg3t]

Have you put a proper ground on it yet? Also did you manage a piece of wood or standoffs yet? I know you've been buisy with your move....

[theJesus]

No, haven't done anything yet.

[m1dg3t]

Try not to push it till it clips untill you can spend some time with it. Unless YDGAF

Is the move going ok?

[theJesus]

Move could be better, but mostly alright.

[m1dg3t]

I hate moving lol You never realize how much shit you truly have untill you need to box it all up hahaha