i need help. really really bad.

[ksinao]

ok, to start off. i know absolutly nothing at all about car audio. nothing. but i love music, and want my car to sound good. i have a 1996 nissan maxima. i have had lots of problems. and lots of mixed information, so help would be appreciated.

i just got my car and im trying to put some door speakers in. because it sounds like shit now, and i want the quality of my music to sound good. im not looking for 'a beat'. just quality right now. when i went to best buy the guy said aftermarket head units (which i have) only push 7 (im not sure what it pushed, but it was 7) and that good speakers can have anywhere from 60-110 rms (i think?) pushed out of them. so that if i put door speakers in i should probably get a 4 channel amp to power it... well then i told my friend what he said. and he said that the guy was full of shit, and that my head unit (an older model panasonic) should be able to power most, if not all speakers i get just fine. so that is my first question, if i just want quality, and only want door speakers, do i need an amp to power it?

second question. when i went to best buy they said i have 6 1/2's all around. when i called crutchfield they said the same thing. when i went to best buy they said i have 4x6's up front and 6x9's in the rear. when i went to the auto and sound store they guy who looked at my speakers said 4x6 up front and 6x9 in the rear. now, i am inclined to believe the guy at the auto and sound store because he actually looked at them and told me what they were. but i have no idea myself, and got a lot of mixed answers.

so, any help? im sure these are pretty easy questions to answer, but like i said. i know absolutley nothing at all about car audio. what so ever. nothing.

[j225]

buy some polk audio there the best

[ksinao]

that really didnt answer any of my questions

[BanginJimmy]

the guy at best buy was right. an aftermarket will give you anywhere between 5-13wrms before clipping. Clipping is the amp cuts off the last bit of the signal to allow it to produce more power. This is bad for both the amp and the speaker.

You will get better sound from a properly set-up pair of mid-line component speakers than you will with even higher end coax, so I woudl say to look for components. Amping them isnt a much, but at the same time you wont get pull potential from your speakers running them off the head unit. I would personally do a 2ch amp and run your front speakers off the amp and leave your rear speakers on the headunit.
Do you plan on running a sub? If so, forget the 2ch and get a 4ch. This way you can run the 2 front channels to your components, and rear channels to a sub.

I'm not familiar with your car, but I would go with someone that actually looked at the cars opinion over a computer.

[ksinao]

what is the difference between running the amp to the speakers and just running my speakers off the head unit. will i notice a lot of difference? im not looking for award winning sound. i just want something that sounds good. better than the paper cup speakers that are in there now. i dont have a huge budget, i didnt want to spend more than like 300-400.

[Kyle]

I guess best bet is buy 4 $75 speakers and a crappy mtx 4 channel for like $100. It's not what I would do, but it will probably serve your purposes well.

[ksinao]

nah, i was gonna get alpine type r's, for the door speakers. my problem is if i really need an amp or not, and what the difference is going to be. is the difference going to be the 200 for the amp and 80 to install it? or would i be better off spending 300 less, for the sound i was getting.

[Kyle]

Go to woofersetc.com, you will find reasonable speakers as well as amps. It isn't too hard to install it, if you have never done it before just give yourself a few hours and do it.

[BanginJimmy]

3-400 isnt going to get you a whole lot. With a small budget you can run speakers off the headunit and either save for an amp or if you are happy with that, leave it as is. I would advise using component speakers though. The sound is head and shoulders above coxial.

[ksinao]

component as in 2 and 3 way speakers?

[Kyle]

component as in 2 and 3 way speakers?
Component as in speakers with external crossovers. There a few other differences. Bangin jimmy can explain.

[ksinao]

see, like i said. i have no fucking clue with anything to do with car audio. i just want something that sounds decent. anything has to be better than the paper cup speakers i have now.

[Kyle]

see, like i said. i have no fucking clue with anything to do with car audio. i just want something that sounds decent. anything has to be better than the paper cup speakers i have now.
Yeah you can get some coaxial speakers run it off the head unit for a while, and eventually get a nice amp when you have the money. It will sound better than stock speakers. But a more ideal setup would be a 4 channel amp and component speakers. My friend has an alpine amp and 4 boston component speakers, it sounds awesome.

[BanginJimmy]

a component speaker is simply a seperate midrange and tweeter with an external x-over.
2 way has a midrange and tweeter
3 way has a midbass, midrange and tweeter

depending on if you amp them or not makes you speaker selection easier. Not all component sets allow for use without an amp.

If you dont want to amp them, then any mid-line manufactures mid-line cox will work. It will definately be better than the POS ones from the factory.

[ksinao]

if i was going to amp it, then is there a big difference between brands of amps? like the difference is big with speakers? or will any 4 channel amp work?

and what are some good sounding door speakers, preferably with a good bass sound (im not sure if i want to run subs). i am PRETTY SURE i have 6x9's in the back and 4x6's in the front. i was thinking alpine type R or infinity kappa's(simply because i have heard good things about those speakers)

and would it be possible for a first timer who knows absolutley nothing about speakers and car audio to install it by thereself? the more i think about it the more i could spend the 160 for install on an amp, get nice speakers and possibly do it myself.

and after looking at woofersETC.com i see there are very few component 6x9's or 4x6's. im sure there is something i missed and it can't just be a coincedence.

[BanginJimmy]

with your stock sizes there will be a little fab work to be done to get them to fit, but its noting too difficult. just a matter of trimming the holes to size then laying a round baffle over the hole. Shouldnt take more than an hour or so to get both sides done.

The amp does make a difference, but unless you have a good ear, alot of tuning time and a great install, you wont notice anything major. Still dont buy flea market brands like Pyramid, or SPL or Audiobahn, but Infinity, or MTX or Alpine will work well. This goes for both speakers and amps.

[Ruststang]

go get one infinity kappa perfect 12 with a 500 watt amp and some components for the front and some good rears and you should be good. i rear some reviews and it said that infinity make very good quality stuff.

[tlxsess]

one thing also to consider is that your max probably has the bose stereo. the front speakers are individually amped and your rears are run off one amp and if you have the small sub in the rear deck its amped as well...you might be better taking everything bose out and starting from there unless your going to use a line level converter (doesnt sound that great). sure theres something i'm missing but its 2am and i'm super tired.

[ksinao]

go get one infinity kappa perfect 12 with a 500 watt amp and some components for the front and some good rears and you should be good. i rear some reviews and it said that infinity make very good quality stuff.

no help at all. none.


one thing also to consider is that your max probably has the bose stereo. the front speakers are individually amped and your rears are run off one amp and if you have the small sub in the rear deck its amped as well...you might be better taking everything bose out and starting from there unless your going to use a line level converter (doesnt sound that great). sure theres something i'm missing but its 2am and i'm super tired.

it doesnt have the boss sound system.

[R_Rated]

buy some polk audio there the best

WTF? there is no brand that is "the best"... and if there were it would certainly not be Polk.... noob

[BanginJimmy]

WTF? there is no brand that is "the best"... and if there were it would certainly not be Polk.... noob

come on now, its on the premium shelf at best buy, it must be some really high end stuff.

[ksinao]

i ended up getting car toys to install four 6 1/2 JBL's. they are supposed to be a little better quality than the infinity reference series. but i have no idea either way, i dont know much about car speakers. it sounds pretty good, but still a little distorted. the guy that installed it said it was most likely becuase im powering it with a head unit. so in a few weeks when i get some more paper, im gonna hook them all up to an amp.

[BanginJimmy]

is it distorted all the time or only at high volume? f its only at high volume then most likely an amp will fix it. If not, then it could be a signal issue which means you would need a enw head unit.

[ksinao]

nah, it's just when it's louder. and even then it's not real bad, but im thinking its the amp.

[BanginJimmy]

that distortion you are hearing is clipping. Keep the volume below 3/4 and you shouldnt have any problems. Also make sure you turn down the bass and turn off any kind of bass boost if you have it on.

[ksinao]

yeah, i got my bass low. real low. i dont know what 3/4 is, i've never turned it up all day, but i dont keep it too loud.

which leads me to my next question, when i put a sub in, do i turn off bass through the speakers and send it all to the sub? does that make sense? does that really happen, or did i just make it up?

[b16ftw]

alpine and JL are great brands.

[BanginJimmy]

yea, I always just bottom out the bass on my speakers and let the subs do their job. It also increases the clarity at high volume when theres no bass.

[ksinao]

will an amp help the clipping and make it sound clearer, before i put a sub in?

[BanginJimmy]

yea it will because the preouts bypass the internal amp. Then just make sure you set the gains on your amp correctly, and you should be good. That doesnt mean you can cracnk the volume up all the way though. A general rule of thumb is 3/4 on the head unit before it starts clipping.