Need Recommendations for Components and Amp
 

Need some help on deciding what component speakers and amp I should get to install in my new Z. I will be ordering a Pioneer F90bt pretty soon and I already have a JL Audio 10w6v2 sub that I want to keep. I’m looking for a single amp solution to power both the components and sub. I’ve been hearing good things about the component sets from Focal and Hertz but I’m not sure if they fit into my budget. I don't want to spend more than $700 for the amp and components combined. As usual, any help is appreciated.

How about a Alpine 4.150 ( 4 channel ) 2 channels to power the door speakers, bridge the other 2 channels to power the 10" Sub. Streaming a constant 150 watts to the focal Door speakers, YES ?

Thanks for the reply...do you have links to the items so I can check the equipment specs and price? Have you used either of these? if so, what do you think about them?

I actual called FOCAL here in the US and asked for a recommended AMP for the Focal 165 KDF speakers I had purchased, as the right AMP is important to insure optimal sound from the speakers one pruchases.

FOCAL suggested this AMP over there own selection.

I am really stuck on a SUB though.....I am leaning towards 1 - 10 "....that's about as far as I have gotten so far.

Looks like a great amp but crutchfield has its listed for $699. This is my entire budget. I am trying to get both speakers and an amp for this price.

Any other recommendation out there...

I don't think you'll be able to afford the setup you want for 700. You can look at ebay prices. Usually they are significantly less than crutchfields retail prices but then you run into warranty issues. I've never really had an issue with that though. I like Rockford amps so i would suggest the T600-4. This is about $385 on ebay. And the alpine is about $400. I would strongly recommend looking into the dimensions of each to make sure they fit where you'd want. Also keep in mind that Rockford usually under rates there amps.... so since its rated at 100watts per channel it is definitely more. I'm sure alpine probably does the same but by how much i'm not sure. I can say that all my rockfords have had significantly more power than what they were rated at. Best of luck. You may want to consider buying a two channel and a mono amp so that you can a better match of power for your sub. I believe there is enough space in the spot behind the bar that runs across your car for two amps. This is what i am planning on doing.

My plans are to get the T400-4 and a T1500-1bd for two T1's.

Sonicelectronix.com A lot of people will tell you to stay away from sites like this, but I do all my business with them and have never had a single problem. If you have any questions regarding a product, their customer service is pretty helpful. (I don't belong to or have any other affiliation with this company)

Since it seems like I won't be able to get a single amp solution within budget, what would you components and amp would you recommend for under $700. I checked out sonicelectronix.com and they seem to have reasonable prices. Does anyone which set of Focal's will fit in the door panel without modification? That sonicelectronix site has the 165 A1, V1, KF, and VR for under $320. Are these speakers any good? If I go with one of these options, that will leave me close to 400 for an amp.

The mounting depth for the 370 is 3.3" and I'm sure that those focals are smaller than that, however Jeff Smith has done quite a bit with them and says that they don't fit right and you need to use spacers.

Finally decided on my final setup...I am going to pull the plug and start ordering everything tomorrow. I wasn't able to find the stuff I wanted within my original budget so I had to wait a little while. If anyone see any issues I might have with this setup...please let me know.

Pioneer AVIC-X710BT - $660 - Car Audio wholesale distributor Alpine Pioneer Kicker Clarion Hifonics Kenwood Boss - Ikesound.com - Pioneer AVIC-X710BT

Focal 165 VRS- $369.99 - Focal 165 VRS (165vrs) 6-1/2" Component Systems Car Speakers Car Audio Car Audio, Video, & GPS Navigation - Sonic Electronix

JL Audio HD600/4 - $550 JL Audio HD600/4 Amp: Multi-channel - Car Amplifiers at Onlinecarstereo.com

370z Sub Box - $135 - http://cgi.ebay.com/Nissan-370Z-Subwoofer-Enclosure-Sub-Box-1-10"_W0QQitemZ300321001308QQcmdZViewItem

JL Audio 10W6v2 Sub - already have it
Wired like this.
http://mobile.jlaudio.com/pdfs/HD600...ide.pdf#page=3

so ur getting Pioneer AVIC-X710BT instead of Pioneer F90bt??
y?

whoa... careful with onlinecarstereo.com Make sure that the one you are looking at/ordered is new and not refurbished. That site does **** like that a lot. Also their customer service sucks balls!!

I'm going with the X710 because I heard that the software is more stable than the F90 and has quicker boot times. I also like the interface tweaks that they made on the new X710. I think the new interface will be availbe to the F90 but you have to pay $75 for the firmware update. Also the X710 have the matte finish versus the glossy finish. I don't play DVD's in my car so I won't miss that. And after doing some research I found out that the 4V preouts won't make that big of a difference if you have a quality amp.

Thanks for the heads up!!! It's a great price but I don't want to get screwed over. Have you (or anyone) dealt with techronics.com? They are selling JL Audio HD600/4 for $598 right now.

JL Audio HD600/4 4-Channel Class D, HD Series Small Profile Car Amplifier with R.I.P.S. Technology

Crutchfield is much better. Just a warning but I have not had spectacular experience with my AVIC-F90BT which is part of the "Premier" label. If it is as bad as mine has been I don't even want to know about the standard Pioneer. That said some people have had nothing but good things with it but my experience with how it is screwed up with my Ipod is terrible. I am working on having it serviced/replaced or getting a refund and going to another brand. Granted I think the Pioneer looks superior to Kenwood but I haven't heard anything bad about the Kenwood.

link to my thread here:
http://www.the370z.com/audio-video/6...d-quality.html

X2 you are going to pay for the good stuff, and you do not want to skimp on speakers or the amp. I would even change the head unit the pioneer is not rely as good as they use to be. JL or alpine amps are nice focal is nice as well, I would look at image dynamics for speakers or even rainbow. Check this site I use them all the time. Woofersetc.com the online car audio super store, the largest selection at the lowest prices!

I read your post about your iPod/Speaker issues and that was one of the reasons I went with the X710. The two most important things to me when it comes to my head unit is looks and sound quality. In my opinionn, the Pioneer units look better than the Kenwood and Eclipse units. I just hope that I am not sacrificing to sound quality too much for looks by going with the pioneer.

Well you are sacrificing sound quality with pioneer hate to tell you that. There not good as some people say they are.

Also to bypass the parking brake safety feature it is not as simple as just grounding the wire, you have to change 2 wires in the wiring harness but I forget which ones.

I can get the pioneer for $660. What would you recommend in this price range? And how much better do you think the SQ will be?

In that price range you will not beat the pioneer, Why not opt for the x910bt that can be had for around 800. It has 4 volt preouts and plays dvds, those are the main differences. The new model pioneers basically were put out to fix the bugs with the old models.
The JL HD600/4 is a great amplifier. IF you could stretch your budget I would go with a set of Morel tempo 6 componets for 200 bucks more form woofers etc. I would put them up against the hertz hsk-165sany day of the week, way more midbass and detailed sound for the money. That setup along with the w6 would sound great in the Z. any more questions feel free to hit me up. Ive had plenty of experience with both the kenwood and pioneer double dins and more brands of speakers than i care to mention lol.

I still have to disagree about the pioneer but the rest I agree with. Welcome man glad you found the forum.

On the pioneer site, it says the x910bt only has 2V preouts. If it had the 4V preouts, I would definitely go for that one. By the way, how would you rate the sound quality of the pioneer double dins? I'm not an audiophile but I definitely want a good clean sound. Bigaudiofanat says that the sound quality isn't as good as everyone says it is. I had a old pioneer premier 860 single din deck in my 350z and really liked the sound of it.

Pioneer USA - Navigation Receivers

Ive installed both and ran a f700bt witha treo of audison amps and it sounded great. My statement is that in the price range you will not beat it. Sure the kenwoods are superior but you are gonna pay for it. The pioneers are featured filled for the money.What would you recommend in the 6-800 dollar price range that is better?;)

also the pioneer bypass is a piece of cake, it involves relocating the mute wire to a differnt pin on the harness and groundeding that and the parking brake wire. can be done in 3 minuts tops. :)

If the new ones are 2v I stand corrected, the f90bt was 4v. If thats teh case save your money and go with the x710.The big problem with most double dins is the sacrifice of sound quality for the added features. The average listener would be moer than happy with the output of teh pioneer. The preout voltage wont make much difference, thats what amplifier gains are for.

Thanks for everyone help on this thread. I'm going to pull the trigger and order the equipment tonight. I am going stay away from onlinecarsrereo.com and try the woofersetc.com site. I'll post a review in about a week or two once I get everything installed.

You will like woofersetc.com it is great.

DP- where are you located? Sonic electronixs is in Valencia. I've had excellent experience with them. If you're in SoCal, you can call them to confirm items are in stock, walk in and pick up. Much cheaper than crutchield and had to warranty one item with them without any hassles.

let us know what you decide, im curious on the component set and amp you use :)

Bruh if u want a budget system that will thump n bump n have great clarity for the price.
This is wat u get.
Infinity reference 6020cs 3way components. ($150)
JL audio w0v2 12in shallow sub. ($120)
A guy here sells enclosures (app $80)
N lastly... get yourself a rockford fosgate or kicker amp.
These 2 brands have hits n misses so talk to your radio guy
On which ones would be best for $350
U need a bridgeable 4 channel amp. 300w to 400w rms if u
Want this 2 sound good.
Remember though you haven't bought the big gauge gold tipped wiring.
Which will be bout 60 dollars.
So u might be over budget 60 smacks.
Unless u hiring for install n that's bout $200
But a diy job will be 750 to 800 on my calculation

I have to disagree with the infinity speakers there tweeters are very harsh and adding an amp to them will just make it worse.

Ok so I pulled the trigger and got everything. I found a local audio shop (Audio Tune in Lakewood, Ca) that offered great prices. I decided not to go the online route and have to wait for shipping when this shop was offering the same (or better) prices. I got the jl audio hd600/4 amp for $550, focal 165 for $350, and kenwood 6140 for $880 (includes accessories for ipod, gps, and antenna). The shop didn’t carry any pioneer stuff so I decided to go with the kendwood. They are also going to install everything for a final price of $2,050. He didn’t have the metra dash kit so I ordered that and the custom box online. I will have everything installed Saturday morning.
Thanks again to everyone who offered their opinion on this thread. I have a few more questions that I’m hoping someone can help me out with.

What are my installation options with this setup? Is it possible to power the rear speakers from the headunit and power the front components + sub with the amp? This link (http://mobile.jlaudio.com/pdfs/HD600...ide.pdf#page=5) from the the JL Audio website says it possible but I have the BOSE system. And there always seem to be something weird going on with the BOSE setup.

I honestly would not have rear speakers and not you can not run all them from the amp. Just probably the front and the sub. Hope it all works out for you at the install shop. Look at the other threads they talk about the bose system and all.

I don't want to run all speakers from the amp...just the front components and the sub. I want to run the rear speakers from the head unit. Is this what you are saying is not possible? If so, why not?

If you are using the factory amp it was made for the ohms ratings for the bose speakers which are like 16 oms something like that. If you are using an aftermarket amp you should be fine, also the sub is the same thing the ohms will be different. The speakers you might be able to run off the amp but not the sub. So yes you probably can run the speakers but not the sub off teh factory amp.

I got almost everything installed this weekend. I got the Kenwood 6140 Head Unit, Focal VR165 Component Speakers, JL Audio HD600/4 Amp and JL Audio W6 Sub. The Focal speakers sound awesome. I just have to tweak the EQ a little to get them more to my taste. My sub is not as loud as it was when I had a dedicated amp running to it in my 350z but it still sounds good. Here are some pictures of my DNX6140 installed using the new Metra Kit. I will post pictures of my Sub when my new box from zenenclosures.com get here tomorrow (hopefully). I am using my custom box from my 350z for now.

http://www.the370z.com/members/dp11-...a-dash-kit.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/dp11-...a-dash-kit.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/dp11-...a-dash-kit.jpg

Looks good man congrats did you run into any problems? Also were did you run the power wire threw the fire wall pic please.

I'm not sure where the power wire is ran since I got this professionally installed. I didn't pay that much attention to the 5 hour installation.