Sorry for the verbose posting (my first ever). My questions are at the bottom, but I thought that other members might also appreciate hearing about my new system, since I have some components that I haven't read a lot about on this site.
I just completed phase 1 of my audio overhaul in my '03 EX. I cheated a little and had Tweeter install everything for me (I didn't trust myself with the wiring) and this is what I have so far:
Kenwood Excelon KDC-X769 head unit
Kenwood Sirius tuner (came free with HU)
JL Audio 300/4 amp (under front passenger seat)
JL Audio VR650-CSi 6.5-inch components in front
JL Audio TR650-CXi 6.5-inch coax in rear
I was going to get the Alpine CDA-7995 but the Kenwood was on sale at $150 off the regular price and also came with a free Sirius tuner, so it was just too great a deal to pass up. Also, I'd listened to the Kenwood and Alpine together and hadn't noticed much of a difference in sound quality. The JL amp was also on sale, $200 off. It was refurbished but I was going to get an extended warranty anyway, so I didn't care too much about that. I was trying to get the most I could out of my budget.
The JL speakers were perfect for the type of sound that I like. I hate bright speakers, and these JLs were totally the opposite of bright. Very smooth, yet still detailed. I'd spent many many hours in many different showrooms before I settled on these.
Well the above actually blew my budget by several hundred dollars and I decided not to get a subwoofer in order to keep my marriage alive. I have a very good audiophile system at home and have somewhat converted my wife to the advantages of great sound quality, but I thought I would just go home without a sub, get the "you spent how much????" lecture from my wife, and then maybe persuade her to get a sub after she had cooled down over the next few months.
To be honest, the new gear sounded worse than the factory setup at first, which got me much worse than "you spent how much???" from my wife. I couldn't believe that speakers that sounded so smooth in the showroom sounded so bright in the van. However, after a 2-3 weeks of the speakers breaking in and playing around with the settings (I muted the internal amps in the HU, and also found that the Loudness function had been turned on, whcih brightened the sound), my system actually sounded better than at the store.
Well it sounds so good now that my wife wants to make it even better. She actually told me that she wanted a subwoofer! After reading a lot of posts on the subject, I've come to the conclusion that the best bang for the buck in terms of sound quality and convenience is the THOS. Now I just need to get an amp to drive it.
I've narrowed my search down to a couple of amps around the $200-250 mark: Alpine MRP-M350 ($199 for 200W class D one channel amp) and Kenwood Excelon KAC-X520 ($239 for 125W x 2 channel/ 500W x 1 channel).
The THOS sub only needs 100-200W, so it would seem that the Alpine would be perfect. I've heard it at the store with all the other components I've listened to (except driving a JL sub, not THOS) and it sounded good. However, I've read in various places that class D is very efficient but not necessarily musical, and that it produces more distortion than a class AB amp. So even though it sounded good, would a class AB amp sound better? If so, I picked the Kenwood as great value for money, since I've seen it for much more at other places. It also has a bass boost function that I can adjust directly from my head unit. However, it has much more power than I need and I wonder if I'll be adding too great a load for my battery/alternator.
At last we come to my questions... Does anyone have an opinion on class D amps or on sub amps in general? In my home system, I like my bass tight and fast and musical, not necessarily loud. I play a wide variety of music, ranging from alternative pop/rock to rap to jazz to classical.
Also, does anyone know how much current draw the battery will take without my headlights dimming? My JL amp has a 40A fuse and the Kenwood amp has a 60A fuse, although I seem to remember reading in the Kenwood specs that it actually uses 37A.
And finally, if I went with the Alpine, would I miss the Kenwood's bass boost feature? My wife likes to turn the bass up sometimes. Would she just use the EQ function on the head unit?
I just completed phase 1 of my audio overhaul in my '03 EX. I cheated a little and had Tweeter install everything for me (I didn't trust myself with the wiring) and this is what I have so far:
Kenwood Excelon KDC-X769 head unit
Kenwood Sirius tuner (came free with HU)
JL Audio 300/4 amp (under front passenger seat)
JL Audio VR650-CSi 6.5-inch components in front
JL Audio TR650-CXi 6.5-inch coax in rear
I was going to get the Alpine CDA-7995 but the Kenwood was on sale at $150 off the regular price and also came with a free Sirius tuner, so it was just too great a deal to pass up. Also, I'd listened to the Kenwood and Alpine together and hadn't noticed much of a difference in sound quality. The JL amp was also on sale, $200 off. It was refurbished but I was going to get an extended warranty anyway, so I didn't care too much about that. I was trying to get the most I could out of my budget.
The JL speakers were perfect for the type of sound that I like. I hate bright speakers, and these JLs were totally the opposite of bright. Very smooth, yet still detailed. I'd spent many many hours in many different showrooms before I settled on these.
Well the above actually blew my budget by several hundred dollars and I decided not to get a subwoofer in order to keep my marriage alive. I have a very good audiophile system at home and have somewhat converted my wife to the advantages of great sound quality, but I thought I would just go home without a sub, get the "you spent how much????" lecture from my wife, and then maybe persuade her to get a sub after she had cooled down over the next few months.
To be honest, the new gear sounded worse than the factory setup at first, which got me much worse than "you spent how much???" from my wife. I couldn't believe that speakers that sounded so smooth in the showroom sounded so bright in the van. However, after a 2-3 weeks of the speakers breaking in and playing around with the settings (I muted the internal amps in the HU, and also found that the Loudness function had been turned on, whcih brightened the sound), my system actually sounded better than at the store.
Well it sounds so good now that my wife wants to make it even better. She actually told me that she wanted a subwoofer! After reading a lot of posts on the subject, I've come to the conclusion that the best bang for the buck in terms of sound quality and convenience is the THOS. Now I just need to get an amp to drive it.
I've narrowed my search down to a couple of amps around the $200-250 mark: Alpine MRP-M350 ($199 for 200W class D one channel amp) and Kenwood Excelon KAC-X520 ($239 for 125W x 2 channel/ 500W x 1 channel).
The THOS sub only needs 100-200W, so it would seem that the Alpine would be perfect. I've heard it at the store with all the other components I've listened to (except driving a JL sub, not THOS) and it sounded good. However, I've read in various places that class D is very efficient but not necessarily musical, and that it produces more distortion than a class AB amp. So even though it sounded good, would a class AB amp sound better? If so, I picked the Kenwood as great value for money, since I've seen it for much more at other places. It also has a bass boost function that I can adjust directly from my head unit. However, it has much more power than I need and I wonder if I'll be adding too great a load for my battery/alternator.
At last we come to my questions... Does anyone have an opinion on class D amps or on sub amps in general? In my home system, I like my bass tight and fast and musical, not necessarily loud. I play a wide variety of music, ranging from alternative pop/rock to rap to jazz to classical.
Also, does anyone know how much current draw the battery will take without my headlights dimming? My JL amp has a 40A fuse and the Kenwood amp has a 60A fuse, although I seem to remember reading in the Kenwood specs that it actually uses 37A.
And finally, if I went with the Alpine, would I miss the Kenwood's bass boost feature? My wife likes to turn the bass up sometimes. Would she just use the EQ function on the head unit?