I'm ready to start this bad boy. This will be a totaL SQ install (I hope). I'm starting from scratch. The Altima is completly stock. Here are the plans...

Front Stage

2-way or 3-way (if it will work) up front.

Components that I'm considering are as follows:

Tweets

Peerless 810921 (big flange , but I think I can work with it).

Vifa XT 255C5G (already have a pair)

Seas 27TAFNCC (heard great things about it, but not a real big fan of aluminium tweets)

Woofer

Seas CA22RNX 8"

Peerless SLS 830667 8"

I can fit and 8" in the doors with a bit of modification.

Power?

Not sure yet. I'm a big fan of Zed and would love a Draconia (already have on e in the truck).

I'm considering the Sundown 4 channel.

I have an RF 4 channel that I like OK.

HU

Not sure yet. Suggestions?

Sub Stage

I have two 10" Arsenals That I will take out of my truck and put into the Altima. Gonna get a 12" Arsenal or a pair of Assasins for the truck as a replacement.

Enough for now. I'm open to most suggestions.

Budget?

up to $80 each on the tweets and woofs for the front stage. Sorry if I left out any other info.

My listening needs....

I'm a jazz musician. That's what I do for a living. I'd like a good strong midbass, smooth mids and clear highs, and a substage that blends well with the upper end. Now don't get me wrong, I do listen to other stuff Alternative, 80's rock and very little rap. I do like to cranl it every once an awhile.

What do you think. I really would appreciate the advice. Thanks.

Edited August 6, 200718 yr by JazzScreamer

Well is it 3 way or 2?? 3 way is going to take a significantly higher budget in that you will need more processing and are basically limited to a P9, DCX730 or H701 combo. Yes I know there are other solutions, but I don't like them.

The SLS will NOT work in a 2way, no way no how.

I like the HDS option out of your tweeter list. Although it is overkill if you go 3 way.

Well is it 3 way or 2?? 3 way is going to take a significantly higher budget in that you will need more processing and are basically limited to a P9, DCX730 or H701 combo. Yes I know there are other solutions, but I don't like them.

The SLS will NOT work in a 2way, no way no how.

I like the HDS option out of your tweeter list. Although it is overkill if you go 3 way.

I will probably stick to the 2 way up front. I may be willing to go three-way in the future, but let's stick with the two way for now. Is there another 8" driver that you may like? I'm not limiting myself to just the driver's that I listed. These seemed like a good choice from what I've read over a Zaph. Thanks!

In the budget of $80 a driver, I'd either go with Peerless Exclusive or the CA22. If you upped your budget the Excel series from Seas are outstanding, a lot of people consider the Excel 8 the best 8 you can buy. For in car though, I think the Nextel version would be better; however, they are $200 each so they wouldn't fit in your budget.

The Peerless is sexier and probably has a slightly better midrange, but I would expect the CA to have better midbass. I haven't actually heard the 8" version in either one though so I am just extrapolating off their 7" brethren. I am sure that both are excellent drivers and either should work great. The install will make more of a difference than between the two even though they won't sound the same. The CA will be more laid back and less revealing and probably blend easier with your tweeter, but neither should be very hard.

I run the Vifa XT25 ring radiator tweets and if you can get them on-axis they have an amazing sound. Not overly bright or laid back, just very detailed and a joy to listen to. Mine are paired with 2 AA poly mids per door and I'm quite happy with that set up. Far from "high end", but I'm far from an audiophile, and the countless hours I've spent tuning has really brought out all they have to offer.

I have that same setup in my truck....Remember. I do like the XT. The tweets will probably be mounted up by the side view mirror. There's a plastic trim I can glass and point both tweets towards the center console. This is just a theory. I will have to mess with different places before that, although I think they would look sweet in that position.

I'm looking for a really good system in the car. I would love to bring my home system sound into the car, but I'm not willing to spend that much, nor would it be worth the effort (for me) with the acoustics of a car.

The XT19 is superior to the 25 in a car to me. Just the non-on axis response alone makes it so. I haven't actually installed either in a car, but have listened to both in my car. The XT19 is a great little driver, and if your mid plays high enough sounds better than the XT25 anyways. The larger driver really only lowers the capability of the crossover point, but at the expense of the upper registers.

I'd take the HDS over either of them in a heartbeat though.

You need your midrange to play up to ~4000Hz to mate with the small format XT19 well. I have no experience with the large format XT19.

You might have to find the small format XT19 second hand though... sounds like pacparts is out of stock.

I too would choose the HDS over both.

A killer two way would be the Peerless Exclusive or Seas CA22 & the HDS.

You need your midrange to play up to ~4000Hz to mate with the XT19 well.

That would be ideal, and of course no 8" is going to do that. I didn't mean to imply any recommendation for using it in a 2way with an 8 in particular.

my alpine 9835 works great with a 2 way setup. that and the 9833 have the sam features, although the 9833 displays sucks. alpine 9853 and 9855 are in the same boat. 53 havin the crappy display and the 55 having the better. im not too sure about other brand HU's that have the xover setup you will need. you can find most of those on ebay for about 200 bucks.

Alpine-wise, anything with Bass Engine Pro (hate the "Bass" part of the name)

I thought there were a couple 8053's for sale via members on this board. Really good crossovers are included on that deck.

How important is it to have crossover capabilities on the HU as opposed to an aftermarket amp. For example, a Zed Draconia or comparable amp.

If I'm running a 2-way up front and have the crossover capabilities on the HU and the aftermarket amp, which would be better.

Sorry if this is a loaded question.

I thought there were a couple 8053's for sale via members on this board. Really good crossovers are included on that deck.

Myself and Vladd have 8053's for sale. However, Vladd's has a BLA with his. I might have a buyer on mine however but I was asking 230 shipped and I don't remember how much Vladd was asking.

if your going to go active front stage im pretty sure its better to have xovers on the HU, plus you can change stuff up front easily instead of going to your amp and adjusting, then sittin in your seat and listening. also if your are doing active front stage you will need mid pre out and high pre out fron HU plus a sub pre out. all those HU's i listed have that capability. im not sure about that amp, though it might have everything u need. im sure M5 or neon could tell you that.

Edited August 8, 200718 yr by johnnylemoine

I agree, my settings got changed daily for almost three months straight. You can't imagine how annoying that would be if I had to pull over and pop the trunk everytime. Just running back and forth from the trunk to the car to listen is annoying. I really like up front controls.