Audiophile input requested.

[Takid455]

Need some input for someone(s) that know the ins and outs of quaility components.

Currently I am torn between CDT, Memphis Bell & kappa Perfect components.

Looking for clarity vs 'Boom'

I know my setup is not favorable but if I am going to spend teh coin, I want it to be good.

car is a 78 T/A
I have provisions at this time for two (2) 4" units in the dash and two(2) 6x9 units in the rear and will have a 10" sub.

I dont mind an old/used amp as long as it is good. I know some 'older ' models can be better than new ones. speakers I;d get new since they are not too much.

who can help/ suggest components?


(http://www.njfboa.org/forums/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=784845)

[nekkidhillbilly]

cdt is some great products but so is the price. bell ive never used. kappa i love there units but some people dont but for the money they sound great and in my vehicles thats all i use.

[spacepirate]

Have you looked into Boston Acoustics? They can be pricey too but are amazing for sound and clarity.

[Modo Innovations]

Have you looked into Boston Acoustics? They can be pricey too but are amazing for sound and clarity.

X2. Boston Acoustics makes some very nice speakers. Clarity is excellent.

[mc84_zz4]

I'll admit it: I love the Infinity Kappa's, they are in a league far above from
the Infinity Reference, then the Kappas are not the same as some $600/pr components out there,
but I would have to audition some of those to really want to pony up triple the cost.

Here's what got my attention:
- The Kappas are 2 ohm, so your amp will produce more power, 70 watts RMS @ 4 ohm becomes 100 RMS @ 2ohm, which many of the Kappa are rated to handle 100 RMS.
- Many are also 95-96 db sensitivity, so they play twice as loud as a comparable speaker of 92-93 db sensitivity.
(it takes roughly 2x the power to increase the output by 3 db)
By louder I do not necessarily mean just louder, it increases the dynamic headroom, so you do not have to
push the system as hard to have great, clear sound, leaving you some power left, if you want.
(so far, you have double the sound, and an extra 30 watts RMS of power leftover...)
- Some Kappa have a -3 db switch on the tweeters so you can smoothen out the top range, if you like.

You can tell the difference between the engineering of the CDs, you can detect the flaws, overboosted
frequencies, and on the well produced CDs you will be taking the long road home.

The Kappas took a good week or 2 to break in properly, and then they really catch your attention, you will notice
some extra details: vocals, strings, wood resonances, cymbals, everything sounds effortless and clear.
They were good out of the box, but they got much sweeter after.

I have an 11 band EQ w/sub controls in my setup, so tweaking the sound has become my obsession,
many CDs have their weaknesses. A decent sound processor will really help dial in the sound
you want, overcoming some of the placement compromises, or compensate for shortcomings
of the CDs. Get something like that if you can.

Invest in some Dynamat Xtreme, Second Skin Damplifier Pro, or similar, to eliminate buzzes and rattles, it is worth every penny, even if you cover only the areas closest to the speakers, but of course, more is better in this case.
Covering the larger flatter sheetmetal areas is top of the list.
I had some leftover, so I lined the inside of my sub box and poly-filled it, huge gains there....
HTH

[hifi875]

jl audio! c2690s and tr400s. not very expensive, but will do the job. Not alot of companies invest in high end 4 inch and 6x9s anymore unfortunately. i would suggest utilizing your kickpanels for front speakers and stay away from the dash, from a audiophile standpoint. You will have 0 imaging and a mono sound.

[Chad-1stGen]

Can't speak to speaker brands with any authority. However, I would suggest if you want the best sound to consider component speakers for the front and find a good spot for the tweaters.

[Takid455]

Searched the section here and read your inputs. Head is spinning w/ brands and makes.

With the component units, where do you put the crossover? can it be in the rear/ trunk? I have limited room up front. If I knew the project was going to take this route from the start, I would have made provisions for better speaker placement, however, I am stuck w/ factory stuff for now on this ride.

Stopped by one of a few audio shops today. no one was there so I broused around. Could have made off w/ an entire system, but I am not like that. Anyway, they seem to be kenwood and JL. Prices seemed rather high from what I have seen on the web. Different modle numbers perhaps or simply mark up. I understand they need to make a buck so I will leave that topic at that.

Seems JL & infinity Kappas are a good bang for you r buck w/ 'house brands' and CDT, boston, focal are good for your 'selective brands'

Now to find a good quality amp. Hear Memphis audio (memphis belle?) is good along w/ MB Quart and Rockford...throughts...

[spacepirate]

Memphis has great amps.

[nekkidhillbilly]

jbl is another good brand that sounds good too

im not big on jl

[nekkidhillbilly]

the biggest complaint most people say with kappas is the highs are too bright. to me i think there clarity is perfect and the rest of the speakers ive heard have a dull flatter sound . jbl is like the kappas alot but i like kappas a little better.

[The WidowMaker]

i picked up some focals and a jl hd900 after doing the rainbow, cdt, focal, kappa head spin. i got the focals from car toys on clearance and the amp i picked up from al&eds at the best internet price i could find. im still an amature and learned a lot from the guys that already chimed in. i would suggest what they told me; listen to whatever youre going to buy.

[nekkidhillbilly]

focal is nice and if you got them at a good price way to go

[makoshark]

What's your budget like? I'm quite fond of CDT. However, I wouldn't spend the extra money over say, Infinities, if your going with CDT's CL line.

[Modo Innovations]

the biggest complaint most people say with kappas is the highs are too bright. to me i think there clarity is perfect and the rest of the speakers ive heard have a dull flatter sound . jbl is like the kappas alot but i like kappas a little better.

This reminded me of another reason I like the Boston Acoustics. With older cars, the interiors usually have alot of vinyl...headliner, door panels and seats. All of this vinyl can cause the highs to be very bright. The B/A component sets and some of their coaxial sets use a very good soft dome tweeter, which even in a mostly vinyl interiors, is not over bearing and they have a rich clean sound.

[dcozzi]

Bostons also work well with hollow uninsulated doors, hard interior surfaces and areas with no rear enclosure, without sounding harsh and maintaining decent mid-bass. I have CDT CL carbon fiber 6.5" components and have swapped them with Peerless components with self-built crossovers and they still are less pleasant to listen to than the Bostons. You need to get the higher end Bostons though. I do not remember what the line is called offhand.

[Payton King]

From an amp standpoint, I just got a Massive Audio NX-5. I think I got it around $350 off a dealer on DIYaudio.com

Very clean, lots of power. 120x4 with the 5th cannel 400x1, but the amp will run 1 ohm load...800W . You can also bridge the other 4 channels.

As of now, I have front and rear channel on 4 ohm running 120 watts to each with 1 ohm load 800 watts to sub.

[Takid455]

Thanks for all the inputs.

In the end I worked with Ian from Kee audio and obtained the following:

CDT
6x9 coaxial 690 CDX
3" w/ 1" tweeter component HD-42
10" sub QES-1020

JL
Amp 900/5

JVC - KD-820 something or other head unit

We'll see how it goes. I'll reply w/ reviews. Pricing was very fair. I shopped around finding sales and what not before placing the order and Ian was very close overall matching the sale prices plus great service.

[nekkidhillbilly]

my only complaint is the jvc headunit most ive had have been junk ive had 3

[Takid455]

I feel the same. It had good reviews from people I spoke with so, I'm giving it a try. Kenwood had a nice unit 900-KIV or something, but it did not play CD's nor did it have a24 bit processor. we'll see how it goes. Price was low so I can shelve it if needed.

Next ? is can amplifier signal wire and RCA cables run along the trans tunnel? will they pick up magnetic signals/ impulses from the T56 pick / internals?

Asking as it would make for a clean routing.

[1969CamaroRS]

I'd recommend you try to find a store near you that has a listening setup that you can listen to the different speakers and amps and figure out what sounds the best to you. Each person is different what sounds good to one person won't necessary be to you.. Consider purchasing from them to help support a local business with such a setup.

[Johnny Blaze]

Love the kappas as well. Been running them almost exclusivy for 10 years now.

[78trans]

If you are looking for a good subwoofer I would recommend a Kicker L7. I have a L7 15 in my truck right now i can go from crazy stupid loud to nice and tight bass just by changing the song. A 10" L7 would be plenty for a 78 trans am. When I get to that stage of my build thats exactly what im putting in my trans am.