Need help with 1st System

[Cadillacin]

Hi, Im new to the forum and to the entire car audio scene. I have been scouring the internet for about a week now trying to get an idea for my 1st system. After lurking tons of forums I have gained some basic knowledge on the subject but am still pretty clueless. I’m looking to put together a system complete with a Head unit, Amp and subs for around $2000 I will eventually put more money into it as I go. I drive a 2004 Cadillac Deville with a good amount of space. My dad is a Master mechanic who is willing to help me and he has never had a problem building anything and has all the equipment you could dream of so that wont be a problem. I have been looking at Alpine products which are quite pricey but I get mixed reviews with some saying they are good and others saying there are better for the same price. Now I am not rich so I am looking for a good quality brand that can hang with the rest of them but will last long doing it. I wanna be able to get real loud without damaging my equipment. I want my system to focus more on Bass without sacrificing too much sound quality. If anybody could help me I would really appreciate it. Sorry for the bad grammar and I hope I posted in the right section.

[Neckbeard]

For $2000, You will have a pretty good system i think for what you're interested in. But i got some questions for yaaa

1.Do you want a single din or doulble for your Headunit

2.How many watts are you thinking of running?

3.Does your car already have the Big 3 done?

Also, you can have a loud system that is still crystal clear,If you want a example, go check out twistedchild420, his hyundai is pretty SQ but also gets buck nasty with the bass

[ambrizd528]

Are you looking to buy everything at once or upgrade as you go

[teamace24]

Focus on your headunit first, after that to me focus on how many watts max possible your vehicle can handle safely.

If your willing to only keep one battery and stock alternator, then choose your amparound 1500rms and below. But if you are willing to get more batteries, then your power choices can increase significantly.

[Cadillacin]

As of right now everything is completely stock and I still have to get the big 3 which I planned on doing along with some more upgrades to my electrical system. I was looking to purchase a double din but from what crutch field.com told me I can only fit a 4” in there and I was looking for something more like 6” touch screen to go with my iPhone. But I will def sacrifice on my head unit for better subs and amp. I would like to purchase the Head unit, Amps and Subs all at once since my stock head unit stopped playing CD’s and I will be upgrading all the speakers over the next few months. Well this is the setup I was looking at 2 Alpine MRX-M240 (that’s about 4800W at 2ohm) with 4 of their new Type R’s (1000W RMS ea.), but after reading I’m not sure if I have the space or if I even need 4 subs to 2 amps or if its better for 2 subs each to 1 amp. Everytime I think I’ve figured it out I’m confused haha. BTW thanks for the replies. I’m mad excited to put this together as I’ve always wanted a system but could never afford it.

[Neckbeard]

oh jeez, you ain't running 4800w with a stock alt haha

[Cadillacin]

oh jeez, you ain't running 4800w with a stock alt haha

Yea I figured as much, I looked into new alternators like I said my dads a master mechanic and has tons of tools and experience so the electical system should be the easy part I can have him show me how to do all of that. I'm starting from ground zero with about $2250 total to spend and I will be putting a good chunk of my cash towards advancements each month so this will be a fairly long project. So I guess I can start with a little less ampage and focus more on getting my electrical system prepared for more power lol.

[afrakes]

My piece of advic e is not to go too overboard with the amount if power you run without doing electrical upgrades. The big 3 is a must, and as you get above 1000 watts rms you need to look into either a high output alternator, battery bank, or both. Batts and alternators are pricey and can eat up a budget real quick especially when you consider the price of the randoms such as wires, fuses, fuse holders, box materials, security system (not needed but highly recommended), etc. I would advise to stay away from capacitors as well because that is probably the biggest rookie mistake I see. They help, but for the money you can just get another battery that will be much more beneficial.

I would recommend running something in the 12-1500 watt range rms to your sub(s). To do this you could get away with just the big 3 and an upgraded batt under the hood.

For subs I would say a single hdc3 15, fi audio btl 15, fi audio q 12s, dc audio level 4 15 or level 3 12s, the possibilities are endless. Other sub brands to look into that you may not have heard of are digital designs, incriminator audio, skar, sundown, etc.

But for real, you have a hell of a budget for your first system, a hell of a lot larger than mine was or currently is lol. Keep us all posted and I hope what I said makes sense and if not keep asking questions. That's what we are here for, we all had to start somewhere!

[Cadillacin]

Yea it made sense I’ve heard a lot of people saying to stay away from capacitors. I was already planning on putting a red top under the hood and buying a nice yellow top to help power the accessories when the car isn’t running. Would you recommend putting in an additional alternator or just putting in a higher powered one instead of the stock alt? How many amps should the alt generate if I wanna power around 5000 watts successfully? Also I’m still confused on whether its better to hook up a single sub to a single amp or if adding multiple subs to a single amp is optimal. Again all the advice is greatly appreciated and I look forward to workin with you guys throughout this process as long as you guys are willing to help.

[afrakes]

Yea it made sense Ive heard a lot of people saying to stay away from capacitors. I was already planning on putting a red top under the hood and buying a nice yellow top to help power the accessories when the car isnt running. Would you recommend putting in an additional alternator or just putting in a higher powered one instead of the stock alt? How many amps should the alt generate if I wanna power around 5000 watts successfully? Also Im still confused on whether its better to hook up a single sub to a single amp or if adding multiple subs to a single amp is optimal. Again all the advice is greatly appreciated and I look forward to workin with you guys throughout this process as long as you guys are willing to help.

The general rule is one amp of alternator power can recharge 10 watts of current draw. So 5000 watts equals roughly 500 amps. I don't know exactly but I can almost guarantee you won't be able to get a 500 amp alt under that hood. I would definitely roc commend upgrading your current alt to a bigger one before adding a second, simply because you will just be wasting space.

For you other question you can have one amp powering multiple subs or one amp to one sub. That aspect isn't an issue. The general rule of thumb is to have one amp per chamber in your box. So if you have a wall in the middle of your box that seals in each sub individually into their own personal space and you have a dual sub set up, then you want 2 amps. If you have one big open box with 2 subs sharing air space, them you want one amp. Of course this isn't a live or die rule, just a basic generalization.