What kind of audio setup do you have in your E36?

andreyiv

andreyiv

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#41
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#41
I called crutchfield and asked them a bit about the speakers and the whole set up. They told me that if I want those speakers I better get an external amp because if I don't I will underpower them and might even blow them so for now, the alpine HU goes with the stock speakers and I am starting to save up for the kappas and an audiobahn A6004T amp that gives out 75rms per channel but as the guy said, audiobahn is usually under rated and probably gives out almost 90 watts so that should be perfect for the speakers and he said that since the HU has 4volt preout it will give clear sound. How nice it is to know a site with all this info, too bad they think I am going to spend twice as much money and actually buy stuff from them, I better off go with ebay and one seller so I save on shipping. Well, I'll update you guys on the whole situation and tell you how I like the HU with factory speakers.

Edit: Forgot one thing. Will I need a cap for all this or a better alternator or something? They say the amp requires a 4 gauge power wire and thats one thick wire. I have a small piece of a 6 guage and thats thicker than a normal screw driver, can only imagine how big the 4 will be.
 
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andreyiv

andreyiv

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#43
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#43
Wow, thats almost the complete opposite of what I read. I found a few reviews and all of them were saying that the amp never shut off even when ran for 8 hours straight and stuff like that. That its very powerful and all. I asked a friend if audiobahn is good and he said they are insane amps. I don't know, something about the polished chrome finish turned me off, I mean, spend all that money on looks, better go into the circuitry, just like sony HUs, a lot of dough in the display and none in the electronics. I don't know man. Something about JBLs doesn't exactly turn me on. I heard US Acoustics is good, I guess I can browse around a bit, I have all the time in the world since I won't have much money, heh.
 
andreyiv

andreyiv

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#44
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#44
Hmmm, I just asked crutchfield about audiobahn and they said almost everyone who works there has one and that no one would take JBL over audiobahn.
 
jszar

jszar

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#45
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#45
just dont buy audiobahn, trust me if you ever should on this.

US Amps is better than US acoustics, although they are both good. they are spendy too. jbl is very good stuff for the money!!! dont ever get that mixed up! although they dont build the best stuff, they could if they ever wanted to. they are more in the market for average consumers, and thaat price range. the quality is the best you can buy for the money you spend by FAR!!! i have owned their car audio stuff in the past, and was thrilled with its reliabilty and performance.

in short, that amp i recommended is rated at 75 watts a channel RMS, CEA testing said its actaul output is 104 watts rms. keep in mind thats at full volume with the gain all the way up, which you should never do. so that amp is perfect for you speakers, and its $150 on ebay brand new. i garuntee you that guy at crutchfield is a salesman, and is saying what he needs to. go jbl, it is such a good investment.

if not that, then look at Nakamichi amps, some of the best for sound quality you can buy. there is one thats 50x4 rms @ 4ohms. and that is underrated, its prolly close to 100 in reality. thats a little more spendy though, i think $300.
 
andreyiv

andreyiv

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#46
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#46
Yeah, I know they just want to sell me stuff but they have JBL too, don't they? Also the idea of them getting a comission on stuff they sell makes me think, will I really be hurting the speakers by running them through the HU only? Or do they say that just to make me buy an amp? I asked if I should go with the references instead then and he said amped kappas will be in no way comparable to unamped references and nothing more.
 
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jszar

jszar

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#47
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#47
do not get the reference series. you're just as good off with sony that way. its cheap stuff.

there is a difference with an amp if that was your question. an amp will always make any speaker sound better. kappas will sound better than the reference series, and are flat out just better, all around.
 
andreyiv

andreyiv

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#48
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#48
No I know there is a difference with an amp, what I'm thinking is maybe they told me that an amp is required with kappas just to sell me an amp. Do you know anything about that? I mean the whole underpowering speakers thing.
 
jszar

jszar

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#49
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#49
no. as long as you dont abuse the speakers, then your fine. abusing is using the 'loud' feature on your unit, also turining up the treble and bass and mid to its highest level, things like that. dont use the sound 'effect' features on hu's, they will damage your speakers. other than that, just dont play loud as to where the speakers are distorting, and you'll be fine. you cant really underpower or overpower a speaker, as long as it isnt abused.
 
andreyiv

andreyiv

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#50
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#50
Wow, I had no clue, thanks a ton for all that info. I did think it was a little strange to be able to do something so bad to the speakers, you know, especially when they are supposably that good and reliable. So if I get the speakers without the amp I should keep the volume down and not play with the EQ and crossovers, got it. You are sure that I won't do any damage to the speakers, right?
Well, thanks once again, I really appreciate the help you have provided.
 
andreyiv

andreyiv

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#51
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#51
After a little bit more advice I think I will go with an MTX amp and because I can't get that 9813 from the same place I will have to reconsider the HU desicion, I will still go with Alpine, just don't know if it is going to be the 9813, 9815, or 9833. Somebody told me that either one of those Alpine units will be a very good match to the Kappa component speakers in terms of sound quality. I will update more and when I will get either one of those audio components I will try to briefly review it.
 
andreyiv

andreyiv

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#53
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#53
Older like how much older? I was talking to a crutchfield rep again and he said they are good but now I remember him mentioning that he has a 14 year old one that still works good so I see where he is coming from. I asked him about Audiobahn and he was the only rep to tell me that they suck (in terms of sound quality that is, that I would be stepping down when compared to the other components), when I asked him about JBL, he didn't say anything straight out but he did point out that it is a division of Infinity and Infinity's amps could be better. He said that Alpine amps are a little bit better than MTX but are pricey (that they sure are). What are other good amps that wouldn't be too hard to find on ebay? I just don't want to shell out that much cash when I can get the stuff for a lot cheaper you know. Thanks a lot jszar, I really appreciate the help you have provided.
 
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