RE: New Sound System '00 Sedan
 

No prob. I'll actually have a build up of my setup shortly. I got so many pictures that it will take time. I'm currently stuck with getting my subwoofer repaired which might take some time because of the actual voice coil. A 4" quad voice coil is not too common and I need it since I already bought my amps and will run one amp per coil.

If you have any other questions I'd be glad to help out. I've taken all sorts of panels off numerous times, just don't be like me and put the screws and bolts somewhere thinking you'll remember where it goes, because you'll be left with extra pieces or lost ones :(

RE: New Sound System '00 Sedan
 

I have purchased:
These Hifonics Speakers
This Kinetik Battery
and the Alpine ida-X100 Headunit.
I figure I can run the speakers, even though they're 500 watts, strictly with my new uber-powerful battery, and hold off on the amplifier till I have more money.
I am looking at This Amplifierand These Subwoofers, but I want your guys' input.
1. Will that amplifier be enough to power my system?
2. Is that amplifier/subwoofer/speaker combo well-compatible?
3. The mono-block D amplifier is designed to power just a subwoofer, right? So would you have to buy a 4-channel (or whichever one) amplifier to power my speakers? That is, if my battery won't suffice in providing sufficient power to my speakers.

RE: New Sound System '00 Sedan
 

That 500w is max power, which really means nothing. They are rated at 2 - 100w rms, so I'd give them no more than 100w to each tweeter and mid (each, not the pair). They may not get loud like you may want off the head unit and the battery won't do anything for them. Once you get an amp, then you will hear a difference and that is when the battery will come in handy.

I advise you stay away from Sony, they are not great at all. The only Sony car audio stuff I would touch is way back in the early 90's. What's your budget for the sub and amp? I'm sure the sub is quite decent, but you might have more options of something better.

Class D amplifier are mono amplifiers, however, there are class A/B amps that when bridged will put out mono power. Some guys are picky about the class of the amp, but you'll be just fine with a class D. As for the speakers and mids, I would recommend going with a 4 channel amp as you had mentioned.

As for things being compatible, you can mix any brand of audio you want, it won't make a difference, but as with anything, certain brands are better than others. Your concern should be matching the coil configuration of the subwoofer to the power output of the amplifier at a given impedence. For example, if it's a single voice coils sub (single 4 ohm for example), you can only wire at 4 ohms, so make sure that the RMS power on both the sub and amp match. It's ok to have a little under, it won't hurt it, and a little more depending on the sub wont hurt it either. Say if you had a dual voice coil (dual 2 ohm let's say), then you can wire in series at 4 ohms or in parallel at 1 ohm. Wiring at 4 ohms would be better since the amp will run cooler and be more efficient, but running at 1 ohm is no problem at all. Just make sure the amplifier is capable of handling a 1 ohm impedence. The majority of class D amps are, but you should still verify.

RE: New Sound System '00 Sedan
 

The Sony amp will run the sub but I am not a fan of Sony mobile audio. I do not feel the quality is very high but that is my opinion. I am partial to MBQuart speakers. It requires 500 watts rms so you are just making the grade.
If you run the components off the head unit and the sub off the amp you are going to have a very unbalanced system with the bass signal over powering all other signals. How do you plan to achieve this?
Give it a try but be gentle on the speakers or you will destroy them.
I know nothing about Hifonics speakers but $170 speakers for $60 bucks may or may not be a good deal.
Good luck and keep us informed.
You will need an amp for the speakers to get the best from them and to maintain a balance with the sub/amp.
The battery does not power the speakers. Power comes from the amp whether it is the amp in the head unit or a seperate amp.

RE: New Sound System '00 Sedan
 

Ohhh!!! Thanks for the clarification!

So I'll need two amplifiers: one for my speakers, and one for my subwoofer.
Gotcha. And both of my amplifiers should be Class D mono or A/B? For simplicities sake.

RE: New Sound System '00 Sedan
 

The class refers to the circuitry and it's efficiency. Class D is the most efficient and creates the least amount of heat. Mono refers to the channels. Bass isn't stereo, so we use mono amps for those. A 2/4 channel amp will be fine for your components or a 5 channel amp if your deck plays DVDs/SACD/Audio DVDs etc. and supports 5.1 surround.

RE: New Sound System '00 Sedan
 

Just the amp for the sub(s) will be class D. You can go with A/B but I'd recommend D. For speakers I dont believe there are any class D amps.

RE: New Sound System '00 Sedan
 

True that.
I think I may just get a single 2-Channel Amplifier to power my components.
Will the 400 Watt Max power be enough to supply my 500 watt max power speakers? I'm guessing so, since the RMS of the amplifier is larger than that of the speakers.
I'll worry about getting a MonoDclass amplifier when I buy my subwoofer. I'll pair them separately, no bridging involved.

RE: New Sound System '00 Sedan
 

I wouldn't go with a 2 channel. Also, pay no attention to the max, its the RMS you want to worry about. Giving each speaker 100w will be plenty. So look for a 4 channel amp that does 4 x 100 @ 4 ohms. Based on the price in the link you showed, I searched a few amps.

If you want to stick with Hifonics, this one gives less power than the rest (55w per channel), but it will match your speakers (if you are picky). I like to keep all my amps the same brand, but speakers and amps it doesn't matter to me, because some companies make better speakers than amps and vice versa, so I would sugget taking a look at the others.

http://www.millionbuy.com/hiftxi4408.html

These two Profile amps are of fair qualitly, priced low, and give you more power.

http://www.millionbuy.com/prfha1040.html

http://www.millionbuy.com/prfap1040.html

This Autotek amp is what I would recommend. It's better than the profile and if I remember correctly, Autotek and Hifonics are made by the same manufacturer (Maxxsonics). Plus the Autotek provides the most power, with 125w per channel and it is the best bang for the buck, or at least from the one's I checked out. You don't need all the 125w, but it's good to have some headroom since you won't be pushing your amp as hard, and it will run cooler, thus being more efficient. Car audio has A LOT to do with efficiency.

http://www.millionbuy.com/atksm41000.html

Another website you can check out is www.onlinecarstereo.com. I checked there, but they were more expensive with the Autotek amp (less power for same price). I didn't check the rest though. Another place online to check out is www.woofersetc.com. They are a bit more expensive but they have some more high end stuff there. I'd also check eBay and see what you can find there, maybe the amps I mentioned you will find cheaper. You may also want to visit a local shop and see what they can do for you. You can probably talk them down as well.

RE: New Sound System '00 Sedan
 

I would say nice buys so far on comps and batt. I would not suggest getting a sony amp. maybe hifonics, ma audio, visonik or planet audio. They are better quailty amps for subs. Also a 2 channel would be ok if u wire only the front speakers. In most cases u don't hear the rear any way due to the subs. or get a 4 channel and run all