Noob here with a few audio questions

facechubb

New Member
Hello all! I'm new here to the forums, and a few questions regarding upgrading my audio set up in my Integra!

I've got a 93 RS, was just gifted a new head unit, (Sony DSX-S100) and have a few questions about speakers, my amp, etc.

-A family friend gave me a Performance Teknique ICBM-773 600watt 4 channel bridgeable amp, and
I'm debating right now between some Alpine Type R's and Type S speakers. I've read several threads about the sound quality of both, and know that the Type R's overall are better speakers, but I was wondering which set of speakers would handle better with my amp...

-I know the typical setup is to have component speakers up front (though I was wondering where I should mount the tweeters?) and a pair of coaxials in the back.
My car didn't actually come with stock speakers in the back. Am I going to run into issues trying to install some?
I'm not planning on running a sub at the moment, as I can't afford to buy another amp and a sub as well as 4 speakers.
I am on a tight budget and only want to have to buy some speakers. I otherwise want to use what was given to me to get the job done. This is why I was considering a set of 4 type s speakers, which would be about the same price as a pair of Type R's. If I went for the Type R's I do have some old Eclipse coaxials for the back, but I want an even sound...Any suggestions?
Sorry for being long winded, but any help would be greatly appreciated!
 

5150KDC2

New Member
Welcome to CI...

As far as your amp to speakers, you want your total RMS to eaqual eachother... So all 4 speakers should equal the RMS of what the amp puts out. Dont pay attention to the peak power range, you will rarely hit it. I have the Type R's and love them, but the Type S's sound awsome as well. The only real difference is the low end of the sound (bass), The Type S's do have a good mid sound to them, so if your budgeted right now, and plan on a subwoofer later, that would be the way to go. Like you said the Type R's are spendy, my fron component's were about 400 bucks. Plus the amp you have, I do not think it will have enough power to push 4 Type R speakers. Im guessing the 600x4 is its peak, and at 1 ohm, right??

As for tweeter placement, put them some where high like the dashboard, or the top of your door pannels, you will be able to hear them the best there. Did your Teg come with spots to put rear speakers? If so, you wont have problems, if not you will have to find a place to put them, and run wire to them. Still shouldnt be a problem though.
 

facechubb

New Member
Thanks for the info!

As far as the amp, I just did a little research on it, and this is supposed to be what it is capable of:
-Max Output Power :
150W x 4Ch @ 2 Ohm
-Power Output :
75W x 4Ch @ 2 Ohm
60W x 4Ch @ 4 Ohm
150W x 2Ch Bridged

• 24dB/OCT. Crossover Slope
• Variable Subsonic Filter (10Hz-100Hz)
• Variable Low Pass Filter (30Hz-500Hz)
• Variable High Pass Filter (50Hz-1KHz)
• Variable 18dB Bass Boost
• High & Low Level Input Through RCA
• Double Sided PCB
• Dual Protection (Thermal & Short Circuit)
• RCA Line Out (Preamp)
• Power & Diagnostic LED Indicator
• 2 Ohm Stable Stereo
• Soft Delayed Power On
• Tri-Mode Capability
• 0.05% THD

My Teg does in fact have areas where the speakers belong, so that's a relief!

I'm leaning toward the Type S's at this point because of cost, but it would be nice to know that my amp could potentially power four Type R's. As far as subs go, if I got a matching Type S or R sub, what kind of amp should I be looking for to power it?
I'm also not quite sure where a good place to get all of the cabling I need to run from the amp to the speakers, etc. Can you recommend a good buy for these things?
Thank you so much for the help!
 

5150KDC2

New Member
http://alpine-usa.com/
There is alpines site, it has all the specs for every speaker, amp, and sub.

Most speakers are 4ohm, so you will not have enough power to push 4 Type R speakers, they will work but just dont try and crank up the bass on them, they will destort really badly if you do. The Type S's are still a lil on the high side for power for that amp, but you will be 20 watt's shy rather than 50 watts shy. I think you will be happy with the Type S's. As for the cables and stuff.. Since you are on a budget, I would say go to Walmart and grab one fo their 4 channel amp kits. They are inexspensive and they work. Grab a spool or two of wire while your their, they have 14 gauge speaker wire. You will have some better clarity over the smaller speaker wire.
Subwoofer wise, a 300 watt RMS at 4 ohm mono amp will work for a Type S, and a 600 watt RMS at 4 ohm mono amp will be what you want. If you decide to go for a 2 ohm subwoofer, than you will want to look for the same things, only with 2 ohms instead of 4 ohms. Like I said earlier, just add up the RMS for your wattage. The ohms matter also, with 4 ohm speakers, you will want to look at the 4 ohm output for the amp, and how many channels your going to run. You can run what ever amp you want as long as it puts out the requiered power for the best sound. I am just an Alpine nut lol.

Type R 12" sub RMS: 600 watts @ 4 Ohm's
Type S 12" sub RMS: 300 watts @ 4 Ohm's
If you have any more questions just let me know bro. Hope it helps and its not to confusing. :)
 


5150KDC2

New Member
The walmart one you will need another RCA cable. I like the knukoncepts, the quality looks a lot better and it comes with the bigger power and ground cables. with the 4 guage you will only need to run a splitter to run two amps for when you get a sub. plus another RCA, and split the remote turn on.

Deff spend the extra money to get the second one, not the walmart one. Ill be using that kit from now one in any of my installs. Wish I knew about them years back. :)
Post pics too
 

goofygamer

New Member
After doing lots of research on the kits, I saw that knukonceptz makes a great set of amp wiring kit for a great price range. I just received my order today. You'll only need to make one order since you'll be having one amp and 4 speakers.

 


Jackmldog

Jack
I love knu.. They make some high quality stuff. Also look into streetwires. I have both in my car and they're awesome
 

5150KDC2

New Member
Jackmldog said:
I love knu.. They make some high quality stuff. Also look into streetwires. I have both in my car and they're awesome
Click to expand...
Yeah after seeing the kits, I am hooked. Ill be redoing my car with it after I start the build. The 4 guage wire is a lot better quality. Same stuff that Kicker and Rockford use.
 

Jackmldog

Jack
5150KDC2 said:
Yeah after seeing the kits, I am hooked. Ill be redoing my car with it after I start the build. The 4 guage wire is a lot better quality. Same stuff that Kicker and Rockford use.
Click to expand...
That's what I did. 14 gauge ran through the molex into some Polk db6501s. 75x4 watts rms amp. Loud and as crisp as I can take. Makes me dizzy sometimes
 

facechubb

New Member
Awesome. Glad to know before hand that the knu stuff is legit. I had another quick question I wanted to get your guys opinion on...

A friend of mine suggested running my 4 Type S's (purchased 4, pair of coaxials for the back, pair of components for the front. eBay is a lifesaver sometimes! Got them all for a steal!), through my head unit, and trading my amp (a possibility because a family friend gave it to me) back to the guy who gave it to me for a sub amp instead, and running a sub through the amp rather than the speakers.

What do you guys think? It makes sense in a way, and even though the quality and the potential loudness of the speakers would be diminished, I would have another dimension of sound that I wouldn't be able to get with just the 4 speakers...

So I guess the question is: Maximum speaker quality vs. Maximum sound dimension?
 

TegSox

Super Duper Moderator
The max RMS handling of the speakers does not have to equal the peak RMS output of the amp. I don't know why so many people think this is the case. Internet mythdom, my first guess.
 

5150KDC2

New Member
TegSox said:
The max RMS handling of the speakers does not have to equal the peak RMS output of the amp. I don't know why so many people think this is the case. Internet mythdom, my first guess.
Click to expand...
You are right, it doesnt have to match, but you lose a lot of sound quality if it doesnt, and if it is to low or to high, you will get distortion if it gets turned up to loud. It all depends on how much quality of sound you want man... Thats just the experience ive had over the years, and now that I am an electronics major, I have learned there is a lot more to it, and the closer you get power wise to matching, the more crisp the sound will be.

As for the OP's second question.. I would do the swap and run a sub with amp.. You will have more deminsions, and still get some good hi tone sounds out of the type s's. Just run all your bass through the sub, and not the type s's. you can run some mid range through them, but not much to avoid distortion. after you get another amp, you can fine tune the door, and rear speakers.
 

5150KDC2

New Member
almost forgot, the best speaker set up is going to be component up front (tweets, mids) and mids in the back (not coaxial), then your subs in the cargo area (trunk or hatch) facing backwards for best bass. you can run coaxial speakers in the back, and it wont make a huge difference, you just wont have to run your high range as much since you will have 4 tweets instead of 2. Its really prefference any more.. Thats just my oppinion.
 

TegSox

Super Duper Moderator
5150KDC2 said:
You are right, it doesnt have to match, but you lose a lot of sound quality if it doesnt, and if it is to low or to high, you will get distortion if it gets turned up to loud. It all depends on how much quality of sound you want man... Thats just the experience ive had over the years, and now that I am an electronics major, I have learned there is a lot more to it, and the closer you get power wise to matching, the more crisp the sound will be.
Click to expand...
It's better to have an amp that can put out more power than the speakers can handle, it's gives the speakers headroom and redeces the chances of clipping the speakers. If you setup an amp correctly you'll get maximum power out of the amp, and maximum volume from the speakers, and no distortion, no matter how far apart the RMS ratings of the amp and speakers are. Sound quality will depend on the quality of the speaker, of the amp, the stregnth/quality of the signal from the source unit, and a good install.
 
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