Alpine System

[jdubau55]

Originally Posted by spkrman

If anything, I'd get a 4 channel amp, amp the front speaks, and bridge the rear for a sub... would make things very simple, and unless your looking to get pretty dam loud, would be a good way to go. The rear fill can run off the head unit just fine, thats too much power for the type S coax's anyway.

This is what I was thinking sort of...I was thinking, however I'm not sure if the amp can handle this load. I would bump up to the 6.5 Type R coax's in the rear to really help out your midrange. Also they add more power handing. Now heres the tricky part. If the amp can handle it, I would say run the front and rears in parrallel on 2 of the channels. Then you could bridge a sub on the other 2 channels. This will diminish your sound stage though because you will only get the signal for the left & right front or the left & right rear. If you would find a nice 5 channel amp you would be in business. Either way I think you should bump up the the R series 6.5" anyway to help out with the mid's and as well as be more of a speaker match for the type X.

[Razr]

If you're looking for an interim solution to running Front, Rear and Sub off a 4-channel amplifier, another option is to run the Fronts on ch1/2, and both the Rears and the Sub on ch3/4, in a mixed mono config using passive crossovers.

This is less than ideal of course, as the passive xover will cull of a fair portion of the bridged power going to the subwoofer, but that said, I've judged many IASCA cars doing similar (back when power classes were the norm) and have heard some simply fantastic results.

[bigsky2]

Definitely a short term solution to running all comps off one amplifier.

Personally I would suggest a dedicated four channel amp for the main speakers, and a mono amp(s) for the subwoofer(s).

[jdubau55]

Originally Posted by bigsky2

Definitely a short term solution to running all comps off one amplifier.

Personally I would suggest a dedicated four channel amp for the main speakers, and a mono amp(s) for the subwoofer(s).

Agreed...however I am looking into a 5 channel so my fronts\rears can be amplified. I had my speakers amp'd in my old Neon and its hard to go back to speakers being ran off the head unit power alone....

[sqcomp]

Razr,

Another idea we might clue our fellow Yaris owners in on is electronic time alignment SHOULD be a last resort...or perhaps I should say after proper placement of speakers is performed.

Read the signature...Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance!

Knowing your components how they perform best, how they should be set up is THE best start you can get.

In my situation, I'm working with both ends of the sound Q spectrum. I have Scott Buwalda's cell#, you'll recognize the name from IASCA SQ competition, and am currently working with his Legatias in a three way active setup off a Denon DCT Z1 and a McIntosh MCC406m. I have had Scott consult on the Legatia L3 midrage enclosures already, we're actually making the kick for the L3 an aperiodic enclosure with some Scan-Speak Variovents.

On the other hand the Yaris will be sporting the opposite end of the spectrum of GOOD quality componentry to prove that setup and install is THE key to good sound, not the specific brand of components themselves.

We're going to be experimenting with a $1000-$1500 system (including installation) versus a possibly $10,000 system (NOT including all the custom install factors). I've already done a load of glass work with the expensive system and am looking at little to no glass work on the Yaris. We'll see how they perform against each other in 2008.

My long winded point is, keep asking questions, find out what your system should be capable of doing before jumping into the deep end.

If you don't ask and just slap it in, be ready for mediocre performance.

[jdubau55]

Well I am an ausio lover. However, I have never really dove this deep into getting good sound. It' usually just get some decent speakers and slap them into the stock locals. Yeah, it sounds great over stock, but it could sound 1000 times better I know. Granted I dont want to spend 1000's and speakers and custom enclosures nor the time into making custom kick pods. I want something that is going to sound good with a lil bit of effort but not too too much. I want something where the average person will get in and say wow this is awesome, but to a true SQ auido head it may sound terrible.

[Razr]

Originally Posted by sqcomp

Razr,
Another idea we might clue our fellow Yaris owners in on is electronic time alignment SHOULD be a last resort...

Absolutely - this goes for any kind of DSP, including EQ (ick!) and TA of course.

Getting your physical setup right and avoiding the need for signal processing will *always* result in a better sounding system.

From my judging experience, I'd have to say that at competition levels 90% of the resulting SQ is install related, and 10% is a result of the actual equipment used.. Install is everything, do it right and you'll be nicely surprised to hear just how good your gear really is.

I really dig the idea of low-equipment cost systems - I've heard some astoundingly good systems which used nothing more than a typical basic system (source unit, amp, components and a sub).

Got some pics?

[ChinoCharles]

I really dig the idea of low-equipment cost systems - I've heard some astoundingly good systems which used nothing more than a typical basic system (source unit, amp, components and a sub).

If you guys haven't noticed, that is generally my theme to life... find a happy medium between cost and quality, and buy the shit out of it. My Yaris doesn't have top of the line everything, nor will it. I promise you you'll never see anything JDM on my car short of badges. I simply don't have the cash. However, it also isn't your typical rice rocket. If it was, I'd have those Ebay tails by now.

This thread is proving quite informative... keep it coming!

[elsteverino889]

Charles...one thing i do know about is sound systems, Get Infinity kappa comonents speakers my friend has them in his impala they make my ears ring for a day and get th 5.25 three way inifinity kappas also...i have boston acoustic 3-way 6x9's in my car and they are beyond loud with the stock deck and no amp. My friend has a alpine amp powering his speakers which is good.

[ChinoCharles]

Originally Posted by elsteverino889

Charles...one thing i do know about is sound systems, Get Infinity kappa comonents speakers my friend has them in his impala they make my ears ring for a day and get th 5.25 three way inifinity kappas also...i have boston acoustic 3-way 6x9's in my car and they are beyond loud with the stock deck and no amp. My friend has a alpine amp powering his speakers which is good.

Infinity Kappas are one of the few speakers I have actually had a chance to hear, in a Best Buy of all places. I almost left with them! They're awesome! However, it doesn't change the fact that I'm an Alpine whore and I want to finally own my Alpine-laced ride. What better car than a Yar?

I stumbled upon some good news today... a friend of mine I used to go to high school with (he also happens to be a Murkur connoseiur... if you don't know, look them up!) now manages a car audio shop just up the road from me, and he insists he can get me a system at cost with no labor charge. God I love getting the hookup.

I'm going to head in there soon and see what we can do. If the price is right, I'm springing. By all means though, keep BSing about audio. I'll probably refer him to this thread at some point.

Oh, and he just picked up what is almost my dream "economy" car... a second gen turbo DSM. He is missing the AWD part, but I'll try and forgive him.

[sqcomp]

You guys might like my answer to my friend's uber $$$ system. I had anticipated using the same 3 way set as we're using on his STi...but having those side curtain bags puts a damper on how I want to install those.

In the mean time I'm thinking of an all Harmon system, not because it is better in any way, shape or form but rather it would be an easy purchase, easy on the pocketbook and an "easy" install. I've got that integrated stereo that would be a huge pain to go aftermarket...the point of my stereo goals in the Yaris are to go against the top $$$ sytems without breaking $2K.

I'm thinking of dynamatting the front doors and the trunk. Using a pair of of 63.7i "three way" speakers off a 475a and two basslink enclosures. I have a couple of "secret weapons" that will go inline after the stock HU that will assist me in rivaling the SQ of my partner's Denon. SIGNAL SIGNAL and more SIGNAL. Unfortunately the infinity amplifiers will only take 6 Volts...still, that should help the noise floor.

We'll see what happens with a nicely adjusted pair of speakers and some deadening.

[bigsky2]

Just thought I'd add my thoughts on this guys!

My system was assembled from various sources, and the install was performed over a week's time by myself and a friend of mine. Neither of us are professional installers but I/we took our time to do everything properly; wire management, wire routing, testing of ground points, selection of good ground point, properly fitted spacers/brackets, dedicated amp rack, sound deadening at critical areas, and various trials of subwoofers.

The cost of all my components put together is under $1500, but I found that the time we put into it is much more valuable. I tested four subwoofers to determine which sounded most suitable to the car, and how it blended with the component speakers in the front and coaxials in the rear. It helps when you have friends in the industry and business who can provide loaners or testers to you. But if you are shopping around, big box or specialty, fire up each sub, speaker, tweeter, mid range woofer, whatever it may be, and make sure that's what you want.

I'm in total agreement with all of you when you state that sound comes before status; don't buy into price manipulation as more expensive equipment does not always perform better.

Like sqcomp has stated, planning is definitely key to any system (or anything in life ).

Should you be installing any of this yourself, take the time to research important areas of interest when it comes to installation and testing.

If you are having a professional do it, be on their case every day and make sure they are doing it RIGHT. I've seen many people put $3000+ dollars into an A/V system for their beloved cars only to find a lot of deficiencies, indicating poor planning and as a result, poor installation and sound reproduction. Things like poor wiring, weak/bad ground points, and poor speaker fastening and sound deadening usually lead to a bad sounding system, and potential problems.

With that all said, I am Focal fanatic.

[Violin]

You may have answered this elsewhere, bigsky2, but I'm curious as to where you placed your front tweeters.

[bigsky2]

Lower portion of the A-Pillar cover.

Here's a few quick pics:

[Violin]

Thanks - I've pretty much made up my mind to move mine to there from the upper part of the arm rest, above the window switches.

[bigsky2]

You're most welcome.

I believe we had a discussion about this before. I was testing the tweeter in the position where you had mounted yours, and I found it a little too bright and somewhat uneven, unless I was sitting in exactly the rear middle seat.

The lower A-Pillar position is ideal as the tweeters fire across one another. You might want to play with the position a bit before pulling out that hole saw. Slightly higher on the A-Pillar cover might sound better, as my friend's Yaris has them mounted maybe 1.5" higher than my position. The only problem is dealing with the curve of the A-Pillar cover should you mount the tweeter in any area other than the flat area of the lower region.

[jdubau55]

I really like that location. From what I'm understanding it will give you the best results with going all out custom. The only thing I hate about that will be the wiring route. Having to go all the way back out the door and up into the A-pillar. Will the stock crossovers that come with say the Alpine type X still perform well with that big of a differnece in distance from woofer to tweeter. Should the crossover be mounted as close to the middle of the 2 as possible? Say like near the fuse box???

[Razr]

You'd normally hide the crossovers in the dash near the tweeters, so there's only one wire running through your door frame to the midbass driver. As for wiring length, assuming you're using good quality speaker cables the distance from the dash mounted crossover and the door mounted midbass won't be problem.