Help me build my Alpine System

[Arioch]

Alright so my goal is to upgrade all the speakers in my 2000 T/A. I want to try and keep it alpine all the way around and have my eye on the Type R component speakers, but i need to know what size of component speakers to buy and if i will need a second amp to power them as my Alpine HU (9856) is only 4 channels and i know there are more speakers than that...

So far i have my HU - Alpine CDA 9856
my amp - Alpine MRD-M1005
and my box - Subthump T-top 2 12 enclosure

So do i need an additional amp for the other speakers? What will i need to hook everything up? And what speakers should i get to upgrade the rest of the car?

Its my first attempt at car audio so bare with me...

[ShaneS]

1 - if you haven't yet, you should post this on the local f-body boards too...

2 - yes, you're going to want a 2nd amp for the components...

3 - that's all I've got for ya at the moment...

[LgndKller20073]

I built mine as basically all alpine too. My setup is as follows:

HU-Alpine IDA X001
Speaker amp-Alpine PDX-4.150
Front speakers-Alpine Type X Components(6.5")
Sail panel speakers-Alpine Type R Coaxial(6.5")
Hatch speakers-Infinity Reference Coaxial(4")
Sub amp- Alpine PDX-1.1000
Sub-Alpine Type X (with the subthump stealth enclosure)

As far as the hatch speakers go, the only Alpine's I was able to find were the Type S. I used the 4 channel amp to power the X's and R's and powered the hatch speakers by the HU. The wiring that you'll need is an amp install kit, power distribution block, capacitor, dash install kit, and a wiring harness. Personally, I'd recommend running your own speaker wire and leave the factory wiring alone(in the off chance you sell the car, you can hook the factory speakers back up fairly easily). if you do that, you'll probably need to buy extra speaker wire.

[Arioch]

So the hatch speakers are 4"? they seem bigger for some reason....alright so i need 6.5 on the rest of them huh? how do you like the Type x's vs. the Type r's? why not x's all the way around?

and whats the power distribution block and capacitor?

Also my monoblock sub amp runs at 2 or 4 ohm, what impedence should i run the rest of the speakers at?

[LgndKller20073]

technically the hatch speakers are 4" components, but those are really difficult to find, so i switched them to coaxials. I wouldn't be able to tell you how i like all my stuff yet unfortunately. I was sent the wrong sub, so i have to wait on them to ship out the new one before I have everything installed. X's are supposed to have crisper sound compared to the R's. I didn't go X's all the way around because they only come in components. The sail panel speakers in the monsoon system are DVC subs, so they didn't have a spot for a component setup.

The distribution block distributes power to multiple amps through 1 power wire. The capacitor helps to eliminate your lights from dimming when the bass hits. It also keeps the system running at an even voltage.

I went with the standard aftermarket of 4 ohms. Somebody else might be able to help you there.

[cobrahunter]

Ok...here we go...

Here's my setup


Alpine CDA-9855


Hatch component speakers 1" and 4" speakers


amp on the far right side is for the components in the hatch
Since I put in the capacitor, I've nad no problems with my lights dimming.

[Arioch]

alright so im starting to get it through my skull...

6.5s in front,
6.5s in sail panels,
4s in hatch
1s in hatch
and 2 subs

are what i need, what about the tweeters in the doors...you guys upgrade those?


and i have the monoblock bass amp for the subs, how many amps will i need to run to power all the rest of the speakers, given i have the power distribution block and capacitor?

[cobrahunter]

I upgraded my front speakers to componenets...



As far as amps go, you want to make sure you don't over power/under power the speakers the amp is powering. I went with 1 amp powering the (4) 6.5" speakers, 1 amp powering the rear hatch speakers, and 1 amp powering each of my (2)10" subs. Yes, yes I know, 10"s? Well my MTX's hit pretty hard, and I really use the hatch well a lot, and not just for the t-tops.

[Arioch]

why did you put the tweeters there up front, dont you have them already in the door by the first 6.5"s?

[Arioch]

alright further research has yeilded more information:

The sail panels are low pass subs so replacing them means rewiring them to be full range speakers,

And the hatch speakers are best left alone as upgrading the other 4 and adding subs is pretty much all you need.

so im looking at rewiring those low pass subs to full range 6.5's, replacing the front 6.5's, replacing the front tweeters, installing the head unit to run all 4 speakers (what about 2 extra tweeters? and will that completely cut off the hatch speakers since my head unit is only 4 channel?) installing the amp to power the two 12's in the back in the box....

Anything else you guys can tell me to get me on the right track is greatly appreciated...

[cobrahunter]

At best, the door tweeters are angled up to your thighs. Moving the tweeters will give you better unobstructed sound. Which is why on most of your higher end car stetero installs they have the tweeters mounted somewhere highter on the door or in the door frame near the dash.


Lamborghini door


Custom intall in sail panel

[Arioch]

Well i got paid today so the subthump box and my 2 subs are on their way...will keep you guys posted and some pics are coming soon, just got done polishing the rims today..

[LgndKller20073]

cobrahunter,
what wattage are your subs running at? what's everybody's problem with 10" subs anyway? I'm going with a single 10" in mine, but it will hit hard (1000 watts RMS, 3000 watts max)

[cobrahunter]

My subs are running around 250 Watts RMS each (500Peak). I know I'm pushing over 250 Watts because my capacitor allows my sub amp to power off 14V rather than the standard 12V. I really didn't need to have subs that were TOO loud. And I needed to make sure my subs would fit in the side pockets since using the hatch well for subs was not an option for me.

[Arioch]

very clean setup you got there Cobrahunter....that rear is making me want to change to stainless steel fill-ins

[Arioch]

man cobrahunter your car is rediculous....that lighting looks amazing, how hard was that to set up?

[cobrahunter]

Not hard really.

I got the sub enclosures from Subthump (not sure if they still make the passenger side box). For the amp rack, after getting the amps, I then made a drawing of the setup I wanted and took it over to the guys at my local stero install shop (Thanks, Tony!) and they fabricated the rack. It came out great. I think they charged me $120 for the rack and the install of the amps, since I'm all thumbs when it comes to hooking up car stereo equipment.

[Arioch]

Nah man how hard was that interior/engine bay LED lighting to set up? you got any write ups for it?

[cobrahunter]

The interior lighting was pretty straight forward.

(1) tapped into the wiring for the passenger overhead dome light
(2) ran the wiring down the left side interior panel
(3) ran the wiring between the driver's door sil panel
(4) then I ran wiring from the driver's side to the passenger side, going underneath the center console by accessing the space where the stick shift is. As I added each LED bar, I Y-split the wiring. The tricky part was making sure my soldering was good, otherwise only some (or none) of the LEDs would turn on.

For the engine LEDs, I took the car to my local car audio shop and they installed a switch and made all the necessary connections (ground & power), and ran the wiring up next to the engine's fuse box. From there, I started Y-splitting the wiring for the LEDs I wanted to use.

[Arioch]

looks amazing man...