New System (and history of old ones) - Audio & Electronics Forum

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New System (and history of old ones)
Wednesday, February 15, 2006 12:28 PM
I've had a car for a little over 6 months now, and for 3 of them (4 in total) I've played around with the stereos. If you dont want the history, skip the blue text.

1982 Chevrolet Cavalier Type-10: My first car, I loved it. 3 cylinder motor (I think, not sure), and only cost me $1200. This was when I decided to get into cars. I went into the back and ripped out the wiring for the rear speakers. What did I do with them you ask? I simply wired my Phillips house speakers to them (ported 200w @ 8 ohms). They worked, they were great for a first time unamped system. Then the car got wrecked...

American 1989 Chevrolet Cavalier Z24 Convertible: Second car, very rare in my city, to have a car with a mph speedo that is. Convertible was a whole new rarity on its own. With this car, the first setup was the same as the first one. I decided its time for an amplifier. Went down to MJ audio and bought an X-treme 600w amp, and ran the Phillips subs off them. sounded good with the trunk open, friends could hear me a block away, but in the car, you couldnt hear anything. Then the car's deck blew out, so I went down and bought a 400w 4-channel Kenwood for $300 to power the interior speakers. I was now running a dual-amp setup, looked really cool. Finally I decided I needed a bit more power, so I went to Walmart and bought a 0.5 Farad capacitor. Ever since that went in, my system died whenever the car came to a stop. Took it out, problem still there. Then I smashed the front end into the radiator (the bar under the bumper) and ended up trading it for an 83 CRX, which I didnt do anything to.

1990 Toyota Camry: I decided this one I would do up right. I went out and bought a wiring harness (so I wouldnt cut any wires), and bought a cheap deck from Walmart. Got a Scosche 550w amp, and then blew out the speakers just like the 89 cav. Bought a new, cheaper yet, deck from Wally world (currently installed)and still same problem. Then I found that the Dome Lamp fuse under the hood was blown, replaced it, and it worked again. But I was still using my Phillips subs. Went up to a garage sale, found two 1000w Ultra Linear 10" subs and a sealed box for $60, and a 1200w MA Audio amp with 4 Ga. wiring for $110. Sold my Scosche amp for $75 to a friend, and installed the new amp under the front seat with 10 ga. Wires. Subs sounded great, until the lead wires snapped... Fixed them repeatedly, then said "screw it", took them out, and bought a pair of Jensens up at walmart ($60), but found the 1200w amp consistently blew them over and over. So, I traded the amp to the same friend as before for his 160w RMS kenwood amp and he still owes me $120 (hehe). Ran them great, but decided its time for another upgrade. Went to the pawn shop, and looked at the subs. A pair of older Kenwood 300w subs in a ported & plexiglass box were there, for $119. Bought them, took out the old subs, put in the new, and wired 'em up. Works awesome, but now I need a bigger amp to max them out. I installed the 4 gauge wire 2 days ago, so I'm ready for one.


All in all, I've spent alot more money than I wanted to on my system(s). But, the total value of the system in my car right now (as in how much I've spent) is:
10" KFC-W310 kenwood subs in ported box: $119
Wiring harness for deck: $12
Jensen MP3/CD player: $112
4 Ga. wires & 1200w amp: $110
Trading the 1200w amp for the older 160w RMS kenwood: -$120
12 ga. Speaker wire for subs: $7
17 ft. RCA wires: $12
Total: $252

A very basic setup, not sure what the number on the amp is, but... judging on the stuff I have there, what do you think I could get in terms of dB, and judging on the dB, how far away I will be heard. The deck is 50w x 4, but distorts over 80% volume.

PS: its amazing what you can find at pawn shops and garage sales

Re: New System (and history of old ones)
Wednesday, February 15, 2006 12:36 PM
Like maybe 120

And if you like chicken, you payed wat to much for some KFC.



Re: New System (and history of old ones)
Wednesday, February 15, 2006 1:07 PM
Maybe 125 if you punch your dash.



Re: New System (and history of old ones)
Wednesday, February 15, 2006 1:16 PM
and whistle
Re: New System (and history of old ones)
Wednesday, February 15, 2006 2:16 PM
What about farting?


Mike Roth
Re: New System (and history of old ones)
Wednesday, February 15, 2006 2:47 PM
You'd have to fart on the mic, and judges don't like that.



Re: New System (and history of old ones)
Thursday, February 16, 2006 9:11 AM
you install has as much to do with how loud it will get just as much as the name on the speaker itself. all we can do is guess and we'd all likely be wrong. why does it matter how many db's you do? why are you concerned with how far away from the car you can hear it from. build your audio system for yourself. not for some girl 500' away who cant even see your car.


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