Quote:
Originally Posted by Parker986
Needless to say, my quest was a wasted trip.
I had decided to put in a single DIN, a Pioneer DEH-80PRS. While I love the looks of the double DINs, I want to try to keep the cost under $1,500, and keep the car stock looking.
My next quest is to find the best 4" speakers I can find. I have been trying to find what others have installed like, MB Quartz PVI-210, Boston Acoustics, or JL Audio. But, either I am not searching correctly, or they have been discontinued. I have a feeling that component speakers are the way to go over coaxial speakers for quality sound. Seems like Focal K2 100KRS at $650 is the most likely choice, although, I have read reports that those sound quite bright, especially bouncing off the windshield.
I am thinking I should spend the majority of my budget on the dash speakers and an amp. May keep existing door speakers, and probably will not have enough funds to replace any of the speakers in the Bose rear speakers boxes.
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Well, my budget is lower than yours and this is what I've decided to get.
HU
I didn't want nav (I use my iphone for that), and the idea of a double din didn't seem appealing to me.
I loved the DEH 80 PRS because:
- it has a good DAC (which for me is something I enjoy, because I think my iPhone 4S lacks it), and the iphone is my main audio source.
- it has high sound quality, which is another thing I enjoy too
- initially I was thinking to buy a 3 way setup (1 inch tweeter, 4 inch mids on the dash, and midbass on the doors), and the DEH 80 PRS allows to use active crossovers on the unit, so I could use it to setup a very high sound quality without having to buy a sound processor, and because of this, I would have the ability to setup very high sound quality within my budget.
If I didn't care about both these, I would go with the DEH-X9500BHS, because I wouldn't use the advantages of this model over the 80PRS.
speakers
The best bang for the buck 3 way system I've managed to find was for the Focal PS 165, but it was more than 500 USD. In my budget I could only get Hertz ELKs, and that's Hertz entry line, and these wouldn't be as good as a higher 2 way system.
I didn't want to spend 500+, so I began to think about the 2 way option. So I thought my perfect setup would be a set of Focal KR 2 way. But when I got to the seller, I learned that Focal has just launched the PS 165 FX that have better specs, so that was my choice. My 4 inch speaker pods are empty.
amp
I don't need much power, and I think the amp is the less important part on sq, and I don't want to play it loud for the neighbourhood , so I got a cheap 4 way Pioneer and bi amped the speakers.
IMHO, if you're willing to spend 600, I'd either go to Focal 3 way PS 165, or probably Focal PS 165 FX and crossed tweeter and mid passive to the high channel, mid channel to mid bass, and the back box on the low channel from the 80 PRS.
I wouldn't change the speakers on the bose box unless it distorted with 40w from the amplifier. I'd buy a 5/6 way amplifier. You can upgrade to 6.5 inch without changing factory look, which I know it is important for you. I think mine is the perfect setup for under 500 USD (speakers and columns, and because I don't want a sub).
With your budget, I'd go Focal PS 165 3(600 USD) way or PS 165 FX, (300USD) and a cheap 6 channel JBL amp (less than 300 USD). If the bose sub doesn't make your audio nicer, I'd change the 5.25 rear speakers for a couple of JL Audio C5-525cw (another 300).
I would think of this as a great sound quality for a 600-1200 budget. If you want it louder, drop another 150-200 for a powerfull amp.