I was wondering if some people might be able to give me their opinions or suggest alternatives to what I am hoping to do. I have a CR-V so I have 6.5's in the front and rear doors. I don't need thumping bass, only clear accurate bass so I can nicely hear the bass line from songs like Only in Dreams (Weezer) and the like.
HU: JVC KD-DV5100 (for the ability to put mp3s on dvd-r's) - $240 with harness, kit and shipping
Speakers: not sure whether to get 2 different sets or the same set, but I was thinking about Alpine 170a or the 17lp ($55/$72 at etronics). The type R's are supposed to be better than the S, but at the store they sounded like a pillow was on top of the Type R speaker - I assume this is because it requires an amp to sound the way they are supposed to. I am hoping to avoid an amp. I was also considering Cerwin Vega HED-162e or Nakamichi SP-C652 because I used to like Cerwin Vegas many years ago, but couldn't find them in the store to listen to and Nakamichi makes incredible home audio (both are ~60 at etronics). Has anybody listened to either of these?
Bass: Finally, since I was hoping not to get an amp, I was thinking about a 6" or 8" self amplified Bazooka tube. Do these sound any good? I noticed they have relatively narrow frequency response at 30-125 Hz or something like that. Would they complement the extremely bright 170a's or just sound bad together? I'm not horribly opposed to getting an amp and subwoofers or passive tube, but the installation gets a lot harder and I've never done anything like that before, so I would probably have to pay someone to do it (that is the same reason why I didn't suggest components for the doors). And since I tend to like very clean, bright music with clear bass guitar, I think I would actually dislike the sound of overpowering bass. So I may need not need to add an amp or subwoofer at all, but just good door speakers (perhaps better than what I mentioned above).
For your needs, adding an amp to your front speakers would be the best thing for your system but that's up to you.
The Bazooka tubes are not what you are looking for...they get loud and are designed specifically with SPL in mind. They have terrible SQ. Adding a sub will definitely improve your system, however. Try looking into MTX and Alpine.
As for speakers, the Alpines wouldn't be bad, but Infinity Kappas are cheaper and sound better with an external amp. The Infinity Reference series is nice as well but will not put out the bass you are looking for in a door speaker. I didn't know Nakamichi made speakers-especially that cheap. They might be worth a try, you never know.
Headunit looks good, can't argue with the features to price ratio. Reliability won't be wonderful though, just a warning.
Pfunk1914
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Those Kappa's look good. They are $80 at etronics...I can do that for the fronts. They are oversized and have a crossover, so hopefully they fit, but I'm sure that would be a fixable problem. Then I can go with the type S alpines for filler in the rear doors. Any particular amp models you might recommend for the front speakers?
Has anyone else heard of these Nakamichi car speakers? I wouldn't mind being a guinea pig if I knew I could easily return them, but I guess this is the downside to online buying.
Anonymous
Posted on
Some Nakamichi gear is used in exotic installs in Porsche 911's. Id give them a listen for sure! Type S Alpines sound tinny to me in a CR-V door. Get 6.5" speakers for sure. Never 5.25's for CRV like Crutchfeld recommends - doh. Consider component speakers and an amp like the Alpine MRP-F240 - put your resources into front door speakers completely leave the rear factory and non-amp'd. try hondasuv.com in the CR-V >Forums>"Wired" section. See you there!