Caraudioclassifieds.org is an even better place for this question

Well, first, don't take anything the audio shop says as valid, they're not the smartest bunch (or truthful).

As for speakers, umm, I haven't looked in too long to know what's current :/

 

I tend to use MTX Audio gear, but really any good brand will do. Go to a audio store and test some out, stock car speakers tend to be pretty low end. To bad head units on newer cars tens to look pretty bad.

 

I have a feeling you overpaid quite a bit on those subs and amp honestly. List price on Amazon for just one of those subs is $119....they're only worth maybe $30 each. No clue on the amp, but I'll bet its only 1000w peak, and not RMS...meaning I have no clue how much power its actually putting out.

I'd rethink your entire setup honestly, and maybe think about selling your subs and amp and put something of higher quality in there.

For speakers, I like the Alpine Type S off a head unit, or the Type R's off an amp. There's tons of great speakers out there, but those are my personal favorite without custom building them.

Considering you're only running 300w RMS subwoofers, you don't need an amplifier for clarity. There's no way you'll drown out the head unit with those.

 

Infinity are the best highs/mids i have ever heard in my life still to this day.
For subs yes alpine or polk/ or kicker solobarik<-- spelling prollly wrong the aquare ones.
Amps memphis/directed as long as its a class d monoblock for the subs.
And crutchfield has a very good selection/prices imo

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by solar0987

Infinity are the best highs/mids i have ever heard in my life still to this day.

The Infinity Reference line are also quite good, but they do lack in the lower bass (with a sub it doesn't really matter).

 

Pioneerisloud recommended me some Alpine type R components, I bought them and they are great

 

If you want some of the best 6.5" speakers you can buy.

Be prepared to get a 250w RMS per channel 2 channel amplifier to power them though (more than your subs will take). And also be prepared to do some custom fiberglass work to make them fit...as those speakers are 6.5" in diameter...and 7" deep.

If you want some good speakers to run off a head unit:

Pioneer
Alpine Type S
Rockford lower end lines (not the power series)
Clarion
Hifonics
Kenwood
MB Quart
Infinity Reference

Good speakers off a real amplifier (not some cheap amp like you have now):

Alpine Type R
Rockford Power series (model has a T in it)
Hifonics Brutus (not my first choice, but not bad)
RE XXX
MB Quart
Infinity Reference

My personal favorites would be the Alpine, Rockfords, the RE XXX of course, MB Quart, or Infinity's. Make sure you get component speakers for up front, coaxials in the rear. And you only need to amplify the front speakers. Don't forget sound dampening material in your doors either, if they're door speakers.

Get your speakers and a good 2 channel amp to power them (I can make some recommendations based off your speaker choice). From there, worry about your subwoofer setup. You could build up a single 8" subwoofer that'll absolutely BLOW AWAY your generic 12's you've got now.

Oh, and go check out sonicelectronix if you're in the States.

They're the newegg of car audio. Woofersetc is also good.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by pioneerisloud

If you want some of the best 6.5" speakers you can buy.

Be prepared to get a 250w RMS per channel 2 channel amplifier to power them though (more than your subs will take). And also be prepared to do some custom fiberglass work to make them fit...as those speakers are 6.5" in diameter...and 7" deep.

If you want some good speakers to run off a head unit:
Pioneer
Alpine Type S
Rockford lower end lines (not the power series)
Clarion
Hifonics
Kenwood
MB Quart
Infinity Reference
Good speakers off a real amplifier (not some cheap amp like you have now):
Alpine Type R
Rockford Power series (model has a T in it)
Hifonics Brutus (not my first choice, but not bad)
RE XXX
MB Quart
Infinity Reference
My personal favorites would be the Alpine, Rockfords, the RE XXX of course, MB Quart, or Infinity's. Make sure you get component speakers for up front, coaxials in the rear. And you only need to amplify the front speakers. Don't forget sound dampening material in your doors either, if they're door speakers.

Get your speakers and a good 2 channel amp to power them (I can make some recommendations based off your speaker choice). From there, worry about your subwoofer setup. You could build up a single 8" subwoofer that'll absolutely BLOW AWAY your generic 12's you've got now.
Oh, and go check out sonicelectronix if you're in the States.

They're the newegg of car audio. Woofersetc is also good.

This man knows what he's talking about

Pioneerisloud, aren't you on CACO? I feel like I've seen your name before (and laughed

)

 

I would argue that he [pioneerisloud] is not as knowledgeable as many here and himself think he is. He's good at talking about overpriced boutique speakers and big watts without much regard as to how much is necessary or even useful. I wonder how much money has been wasted on account of his advice.

Accurate sound reproduction in a car IS NOT POSSIBLE PERIOD. There are so many things about a car environment that make accuracy impossible that there is absolutely no excuse to throw an unnecessary pile of money at it unless you are in some sort of SPL competition where there is money or booty to be earned. Beyond that you are kidding yourself if you think these expensive boutique speakers are going to do anything to lower distortion or improve linearity over many alternatives at a fraction of the price. The vast majority of boutique car speakers are far from flat to begin with, and will require equalization to taste or to suit the vehicle environment and speaker placement anyways. One you have to EQ a speaker, then it doesn't matter what response you buy, because you're just going to adjust it anyways. The only important factors here are that the driver be at least well enough made to have some respectable sensitivity, reasonably low non-linear distortion, and built from materials that will hold up to the rigors of temperature swings, sunlight, and moisture. Beyond that, you're being duped.

Set some practical limits. More than ~$25-35 per speaker is probably going to be pointless. A dedicated amplifier for these speakers is really dependent on how loud you want to be able to listen without distortion, most car decks will allow you to listen at appropriate levels (those that are not endangering yourself and others on the roadway by impairing your ability to hear emergency vehicles) without detectable distortion over the road noise. If you want to listen at irresponsible levels and endanger others, then you'll probably want a separate amp.

I'd suggest these: [ http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=269-184 ] <~$25 per speaker, good sensitivity, well respected brand known for good build quality and innovation. Less than half or less the price of boutique snake oil (FYI: at their normal price these would be in the over-priced snake oil category, but the buyout special changes things

).

I don't see a problem with the renegade subs. They are exactly the kind of trash I recommend putting in a car, so that when it gets stolen or damaged in an accident you haven't lost much

Just realize, that just like most of the other cheap speakers that I would recommend for a car, the wattage ratings of the whole market down there are pretty much completely made up out of thin air. Pioneerisloud has implied that they are "peak" ratings and to be honest, I wouldn't even go so far as to give this stuff that much credit. The 12" renegade drivers are rated "300W RMS" but I can pretty well guarantee that if you drive 300W into them, you are going to smoke-n-smash coils. Don't worry about the wattage here. Chances are you're thumping along at more like 1-50W per sub, be thankful of the fact that you bought low-throw drivers with under-sized motor structures. The high Q high impedance peak configuration will keep the strain on the alternator down

Eric

 

I run Alpine Type S's. They sounded pretty good off of just the head unit. Adding an amp that does 90w RMS made them really come alive. They can be had for $50-75 online.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mudfrog

I run Alpine Type S's. They sounded pretty good off of just the head unit. Adding an amp that does 90w RMS made them really come alive. They can be had for $50-75 online.

I have the same speakers in the front of my Impala. They currently get about 100 watts per channel with a low-pass filter installed they sound great. I couldn't ask for more from for only being two channel speakers. Plus they have lasted for 5 years in two different cars.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheJesus

Quote:

Originally Posted by pioneerisloud

If you want some of the best 6.5" speakers you can buy.

Be prepared to get a 250w RMS per channel 2 channel amplifier to power them though (more than your subs will take). And also be prepared to do some custom fiberglass work to make them fit...as those speakers are 6.5" in diameter...and 7" deep.

If you want some good speakers to run off a head unit:
Pioneer
Alpine Type S
Rockford lower end lines (not the power series)
Clarion
Hifonics
Kenwood
MB Quart
Infinity Reference
Good speakers off a real amplifier (not some cheap amp like you have now):
Alpine Type R
Rockford Power series (model has a T in it)
Hifonics Brutus (not my first choice, but not bad)
RE XXX
MB Quart
Infinity Reference
My personal favorites would be the Alpine, Rockfords, the RE XXX of course, MB Quart, or Infinity's. Make sure you get component speakers for up front, coaxials in the rear. And you only need to amplify the front speakers. Don't forget sound dampening material in your doors either, if they're door speakers.

Get your speakers and a good 2 channel amp to power them (I can make some recommendations based off your speaker choice). From there, worry about your subwoofer setup. You could build up a single 8" subwoofer that'll absolutely BLOW AWAY your generic 12's you've got now.
Oh, and go check out sonicelectronix if you're in the States.

They're the newegg of car audio. Woofersetc is also good.

This man knows what he's talking about

Pioneerisloud, aren't you on CACO? I feel like I've seen your name before (and laughed

)

I've only signed on at CACO maybe a handful of times at best. Most of my time is spent here at OCN, and sometimes on ROE. I only sign onto CACO when I need to buy something and would like to find fair used prices.

 

I have a pair of Hertz HSK 165 powered by some Boston Acoustics amps and they sound pretty nice imo. don't know if anyone has heard of them but they are pretty high end?

Also got a Boston Acoustics G5 12" powered by BA

(I am a BA fan i know

)

 

I absolutely love my alpine Type-R's, but they sound the same as Type-S's if you don't have them on an amp.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by KuuFA

I have a pair of Hertz HSK 165 powered by some Boston Acoustics amps and they sound pretty nice imo. don't know if anyone has heard of them but they are pretty high end?

Hertz makes some great equipment, I just have never gotten a chance to listen to them yet. Boston Acoustics amps.....well they'll do rated at 14.4v usually, so they're not horrible.

 

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_108629I/Infinity-Kappa-62-9i.html?tp=105&nvpair=FFBrand|Infinity&nvpair=FFSpeaker_Size|6+3%2f4<-- i have 2 sets of these in my car along with
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_1086929I/Infinity-Kappa-692-9i.html?tp=105&nvpair=FFBrand|Infinity&nvpair=FFSpeaker_Size|6X9<-- one set of these
It sounds amazing runnin off this http://www.crutchfield.com/p_108R475A/Infinity-Reference-475a.html?tp=35782&nvpair=FFBrand|Infinity
With 2 http://www.crutchfield.com/p_130W3002D4/Pioneer-TS-W3002D4.html?tp=111&nvpair=FFBrand|Pioneer mine look different thought they are the premier ones but almost the same specs
and a memphis 1000d i originally had a directed 1100d but i sold it for the memphis one"memphis one was supposedly better, i have my doubts"

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by axipher

I absolutely love my alpine Type-R's, but they sound the same as Type-S's if you don't have them on an amp.

They actually sound worse if you don't have an amp. My brother bought an S10 with type R's off the head unit. It sounds pretty bad.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mudfrog

Quote:

Originally Posted by axipher

I absolutely love my alpine Type-R's, but they sound the same as Type-S's if you don't have them on an amp.

They actually sound worse if you don't have an amp. My brother bought an S10 with type R's off the head unit. It sounds pretty bad.

What head unit though? I know running Type-R's off a stock Honda head unit sounded like crap as you mentioned, but running Type-R's (old style with big magnets) and Type-S's was about the same.

I haven't tried my new style Type-R's yet (with the smaller magnets) off the head unit, I'm using a Alpine KTP-445 in-line speaker amp with 100 W peak output per channel to power the Type-R's and they sound amazing.

 

He has some JVC head unit. The type S has a slightly higher sensitivity which could very well be the reason they sound better.

 

I've got Type S speakers all around in my car. They honestly sound pretty horrible off a crappy head unit. That Dual head unit is going to be the first thing to go after I fix the body.

 

I was running them off of an Alpine IDA-X303... Then they got upgraded to this bad boy. Nothing but great things to say about this amp

Vibe LiteBox 4

 

Thinking about replacing the car amp/bass amp/subwoofers too and just doing a whole new system. Is that gonna be overkill or would I be able to get much louder/more clear sound? (I plan to get the trunk dynamated to stop some distortion as well.).

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonnieos

Thinking about replacing the car amp/bass amp/subwoofers too and just doing a whole new system. Is that gonna be overkill or would I be able to get much louder/more clear sound? (I plan to get the trunk dynamated to stop some distortion as well.).

Depends on your budget to replace everything.

I'd start off with a good head unit, some good front speakers, and a good 2 channel amp to power them (have some rears of similar quality off the head unit for fill). If you're going to do sound dampening, do the whole car if possible. Or at LEAST do the door panels and trunk.

 

if you're on a budget i'd check out Infinity speakers
a step or two above would be mb quart/focal/etc, but no offense, it's a Kia, dont go crazy

 

I am on a budget, but may be willing to save so I can add on as I go... depending on what plateaus there are. I'd like to keep it from 500-1000 but if it's not too crazy maybe I'll get more. Also definitely gonna be in this vehicle for a while so I might as well go with good quality right?