My last system had a eclipse cd8455 head unit hooked to stock front speakers, and kenwood 6x9s with a alpine amp pushing 2 kenwood 12s.
I like a good clean sound the clearer the better, but i still like some good bass too.... that being said i want to start building a system for my monte, and i want clarity over decibels. I would really like to build a completely unibrand system... all kenwood, alpine, ect.... but im starting to realize that is about impossible? i can build my box for my subwoofers, and would like some info as to the specifics on building a box for the right freq for the right sub, components? digital vs analog? crossovers? eqs? . so im ready to dive in, i just need to be shown where to start.

 

Usually if your going to build a system with all same brand the major difference would be the head unit. Because not all brands have them, take JL Audio for instance the have speakers, subwoofers, amps ect... but have no Head Units.

If you want quality head units start with Alpine or Kenwood. Alpine does have very nice speakers amps and subs, there type X model line is good stuff, I prefer JL Audio products for sound quality but the others here might recommend some other brands

 

I highly recomend not trying to stick with one brand. No one will be able to see your speakers, probably won't see your amps depending on where you mount them, and won't notice if your headunit and subs have the same logo on them. It's a huge limiter.

It sounds like we've got similar tastes though so overall I'd say get 2 12" subs in a sealed enclosure, 6.5" components up front, and amp them all. Take your rear speakers out and leave the holes empty. Try all of the different brand head units in your price range, compare their features against each other, and pick the one that suits you best.

Some recomendations:
Subs: http://www.woofersetc.com/p6225/IDQ1...-Subwoofer.htm
Components: http://www.woofersetc.com/p5812/SPX1...ponent-Set.htm
Sub amp: http://www.powermaxelectronics.com/p...&idcategory=10
Component Amp: http://www.powermaxelectronics.com/p...&idcategory=10

 

i went with a unibrand setup and am very happy with the outcome.

that being said i spent too much money thinking i was saving on the little things. by getting a lot of stuff from one shop they will cut you a break.

i got 200 off my amp, a LOC/driver for free, low priced/high quality box and discounted some labor/ i did half myself, 100 off a battery, free premium rca's

but i also bought front components, rears, a nice amp, their best sub, a box, 0 gauge kit, plus the free stuff, all at once.

so if you save up you can get some deals when you get a lot at once, just go to a dealer that sells more than one brand.

my place could get me a good price on most stuff, they just couldnt warranty it all.

 

I had a $12,000 system in my Cherokee once upon a time and it was the cleanest 155 db your ever gonna go deaf from listening to. for the record 155 db was enough to make road signs blurry enough while driving that you couldn't read them.

If you want clean build a sealed box 1' squared inside dimensions for a single 10" woofer. If money isn't a problem buy an audiobahn woofer, amp combo. They make some awesome stuff. Pioneer head units have a lot of frequency adjustment presets and are very good for people who don't like external eq's.
if you run infinity 6.5" in each door and 6x9's in the back deck your mids and high's will be very balanced and clean just make sure you put about 70 watts rms to the 6.5's each and about 160 watts rms to the 6x9's each from seperate amps. Infinity component speakers are great clean sound for a good price and are owned by harmon/kardon audio.

I won a single woofer competition for db and sound clarity in a 97 golf 2dr with a 10" infinity kappa sub in a sealed box with a 600 watt rms amp, 2 6.5" eathquake components in each door and Infinity 6x9's in boxes with a sony deck and it cost me around $1300 in parts to make that system in 2 days before the competition. It made 138.6 db.

 

^ There's a lot in that post that doesn't make much sense, sorry. I'm not gonna correct it either, just sayin...

However, don't buy anything made by Audiobahn; it's all bling and no quality. Your money is much better spent elsewhere. Also, don't decide on how much power you're going to send to anything until you have the speakers/subs picked out, and then send them whatever amount of power is appropriate for them. Finally, don't just build a 1 cu ft enclosure for a 10" sub; pick a sub and then build the right enclosure for it.

If you're planning on doing the install yourself, you can likely save a lot of money ordering online instead of buying at the local dealer. However, like mak said, if you want to support the local dealer, haggle with them a little on stuff like labor and small things. Even their sticker prices for amps/speakers/subs, chances are they'll work with you if you're spending a bunch of money with them. Don't just go in and pay full sticker price for everything right away.

 

if you think audiobahn equipment is all show and no go you must not have ever had it setup properly or ever even heard it before. you clearly are misinformed about audiobahn.

let me guess you have a rockford fosgate sub or amp right?? lol

 

I totally agree- even when you get into the really high end stuff, there isn't any one manufacturer who makes the best of everything. Not to mention, many of the really good companies for subs and amps don't even make head units.

 

I run two TC-1000 12's in 1.3 cu ft sealed, each, on a Cadence amp.

 

i finally started piecing together my system, i now have 2 infinity 6.5 components for the front, and 2 12" kenwood subs(KFC-W3012DVC), with a kenwood mono 1800 amp(kac-9105D) For the moment i have a kenwood kdc cd355 head unit, but ill be looking to replace that. couple questions. what do i do for the 6x9s. anyone have any suggestions on the box design... what do i need to look at for tweets... the infinity 6.5s... do i run those off an amp? i have a 2 channel kenwood kac-729s amp that is 100w rms per channel(the infinitys call for 90 rms) would that work?