Calling all car auido people: New Head unit, time for speakers.

[The.Answer]

I have an 02' Jetta VR6 24v GLX with monsoon. A new headunit has been installed (pionner avh-p4900dvd) and now the speakers are up for renovation. I know the headunit isnt that powerfull MOSFET 50Wx4 and 22Wx4 continuous power output. I do not know much about car audio so stick with me please.

As I understand, the monsoon amp 50 watts per channel at 2 ohms. The front speakers are rated at 4 ohms so monsoon amp powers them at 25 watts and the rear are rated at 2ohms so they do receive the 50 watts. Will 4 ohm rated speakers in the rear be okay and produce quality sound or will they be noticeably underpowered?

I want to replace all 4 factory door speakers with strong full range speakers and also add one 10 or 12" subwoofer in the the trunk. I want to know what I am looking for when buying new speakers and amps, as I'm assuming I'm going to need a 4-channel for the door speakers and another for the subwoofers. Price is irrelevant at this point and I want a system that sounds great when being cranked or at low volumes. A dont want the bass to drown out the vocals but enhance the music with deep tight bass. This is a bit to read and I def appreciate all input.

[Correction]

Tech forum?

[The.Answer]

Yea that is probably a better place for this but Gen Discussion is viewed more than tech so I guess Ill do both. Thanks

[SephYuyX]

but Gen Discussion is viewed more than tech

Read the rules.

www.crutchfield.com

[Qalbert]

auido

[booly]

i used to work at best buy in the car audio department for 3 years but i am by no means one of those asshat idiots who doesnt know wtf is going on and just wants to sell the highest price product. so i might be of some help to you.

as far as i remember the monsoon stereo is a factor upgrade and i dont think u can use the amp with an aftermarket setup unless there is an adapter out there. but id reccomend you get a seperate 4-channel and sub amp for power.

since u have an 02 vehicle your power system should be ok with a decent powered system but id still reccomend at least a yellow-top battery from Optima. and please run AT LEAST 2 AWG size wire for your power and ground so you get as much power as your amps can produce without bottlenecks.

i am a big fan of quality car audio that has been known for a long time. the thing is with car audio is you really get what u pay for. i tend to stick with brands like Rockford fosgate, JL audio, infinity, Alpine, MTX, boston acoustics, MB quart, etc. a simple search from crutchfield.com tells me that you have 6 3/4" speakers in your door and 6 1/2" in the rear. the 6 3/4" is a slightly odd size and you may be able to get an adapter to make it 6 1/2" like this- Volkswagen Speaker Brackets 1999-up, 5-1/4" or 6-1/2" adapter plates at Crutchfield.com . looks like you also have the option to install kickpanel speaker pods for amazing sound quality if your into that, its kind of expensive but it will give u the best sound stage possible. you can check them out here- Q-Forms Kick Panel Enclosures Install 6-1/2" components in your 1999-05 Volkswagen Jetta/Golf at Crutchfield.com

i would most definitely recommend a set of component speakers for your doors because of the sound quality they produce when powered by a decent amp. components have the midrange speaker plus a tweeter that u can place separately for better imaging and a crossover to send the right frequencies to each speaker. for the rear i would reccomend just a standard coaxial speaker which is a midrange with a tweeter built in. i say this cuz you just want it for rear fill, cuz honestly how often are you in the back seat and when u go to a concert all the sound comes from up front anyways. you can even power these off your headunit while powering your components up front with a 2 channel amp to save a lil bit of money.

i like infinity for a front sound stage cuz they have amazing highs and mids with enough power and can make up for bass drowning out the music. i have a set of Infinity Kappa 6 1/2" components myself and they sound great with ~90 watts. but id recommend go with the Ininfity Kappa Perfects for they are the best infinity has to offer for sound quality. check here- Infinity Perfect 6.1 Component Speakers . or rockford makes great speakers- Rockford Fosgate T162S Component Speakers . or alpine- Alpine SPX-17REF Component Speakers .

for an amplifier and i am a die-hard fan of rockford fosgates amps and i usually recommend them for pretty much everything. they are small and very powerfull and ALWAYS underrated which means they produce more power than what they are supposed to. so if you want to save a lil bit of cash u can go with a good 2 channel amp to power your components up front and have your headunit power your rears. id say go with this 2-channel amp from rockford- Rockford Fosgate Power T400-2 2-channel car amplifier 120 watts x 2 at Crutchfield.com . its got 120 watts x2 RMS at 4 ohms and its super small.

now for the subs you have alot of options but you said u want deep tight bass to compliment your highs and mids without drowning them out. id say go with 1 good JL audio 10 or 12" in a sealed box with proper power for the tightest bass or 2 rockford fosgates 12"s in a ported box for some serious bass. JL audio is pretty damn expensive and alot of people say its overrated but IMO is def some of the best sounding bass i have heard. AS LONG AS ITS IN A PROPER BOX. i see sooooo many fools put good subs in a shitty box and their bass comes out sounding like ass so they knock on the brand name as opposed to learning that a sub is only as good as the box its in and the power it gets.

id say go with a box that comes from the manufacturer as opposed to a prefab just cuz if the company provides the box its most likely gonna sound good for it has the air space needed to move properly. prefab boxes are a joke cuz every sub is different and needs a certain amount of air space to sound its best. a sealed box is gonna give your a tighter cleaner bass but requires more power than a ported box which will provide loud and boomy bass. im a fan of sealed myself but you always gonna have louder bass with a ported setup. check out this 1 10" JL sub with box- JL Audio HO110R-W6v2 Ported H.O. Wedge™ enclosure with one 10" W6v2 subwoofer at Crutchfield.com the box this comes with is amazing, its ported but looks sealed and its by far one of the best box designs i have ever seen or heard. now there is alot more to subs that just this but id recommend go to a few local car audio shops and just listen to as much as u can and decide from there.

for the sub amp i like to stick with the same brand amp and i use for subs, just seems to work better and its cleaner. but id say go for a rockford amp just cuz they have so much power and are so small. this is a 2-channel but can be bridged to power 1 sub at 4ohms with 600 watts- http://www.crutchfield.com/p_575T600...-2.html?tp=115

well hope this helps i know its alot of reading but i feel it follows what you wanted.

[Furtwangler]

2 threads in 2 places for maximum power!

Note on the 'tight' bass you were describing, I run 2 12"s and you will never get the same 'tight' bass from those than you will from a pair of 8"s in your door or somewhere out of your trunk. I think the best thing to do is have 1 12" in the back for hard hitting lower end, and a pair of 8s or 10s somewhere else for more of the snap. These also need to be really well amped, and look into getting a power cap, possibly with a built in distribution cap to cover all the amps properly.

[The.Answer]

I appreciate the input, and now have a good starting point. The new headunit power seems too low to run any speakers properly though, would a 4 channel be the way to go then?

[The.Answer]

auido

I like to troll forums correcting the spelling errors and mistakes of others as well. Cheers mate.

[booly]

I appreciate the input, and now have a good starting point. The new headunit power seems too low to run any speakers properly though, would a 4 channel be the way to go then?

if you want to power all 4 on a 4 channel i would then recommend Rockford Fosgate Power T600-4 4-channel car amplifier 100 watts x 4 at Crutchfield.com . thats 100 watts x4 @ 4 ohms.

make sure you do alot of looking around for prices on this stuff cuz crutchfield isnt the cheapest thats for sure. ebay is always a good choice, the sellers may or may not have a warranty tho so check into that. but you can find things for much cheaper there than retail. the markup on car audio stuff is soooooo high, like at best buy the employee discount for car audio is crazy cheap, for instance a $300 sub for $120 or less. just take ur time and shop around. buy your wiring kits on ebay they are so cheap and its not like they can be defective. look at a multi-amp wiring kit like KICKER 1/0 GAUGE 6000w DUAL AMP WIRING INSTALL CAR KIT - eBay (item 300312668604 end time Jun-03-09 10:13:11 PDT)


as for a capacitor, some say they are great others say they are a waste and just add more strain to your electrical system cuz your battery has to charge the cap in order for your amp to discharge it. IMO your better off getting a better alternator designed for high amp output. about the same price as a decent cap and soooo much better for your electrical system than any cap would ever be. your alternator is providing all the power for your car and if u have tons of power draw on it from a system and the rest of your vehicles electrical demands then its gonna take a toll down the road. it takes power to make power. but if you have a good battery and good wiring then a new alt is probly not an issue for a 2002 vehicle.

[The.Answer]

thank you man, I'll let you know if more issues come about.

[Plow]

If you give me the sizes for the 4 front speakers you want to replace, I'll put together something for you.


Also, do you want to restrict it to full range in one spot, or are you willing to do the work necessary to run quality component sets so you can get proper positioning and dramatically higher quality mids?


Furthermore, if you're willing to do some modification, to what extent? The farther forward you can get the subs, the better the whole thing will sound.


Lastly, you say price is no issue, but if price was no issue you'd be asking professionals just how far they can take it, not asking on a forum what will work for what you have. Seriously, I can find you shit that will be worth as much as your car without even doing any modifications, so really you should set some kind of reasonable limit.

If it's really no issue at all, the best approach would be to give you examples of competition quality cars to develop your own ideas from, or alongside a professional at least.

[Shalyn]

auido

Once again...
You know I read something once about how some ad companies purposely misspell words on ads because it gets more attention.