Speakers?

[mihai]

The RF Prime R600-5 is quite a big amp for the power it outputs. This is due to the fact that its a Class A/B amp.

The Alpine MRX-V60 I mentioned above has the same power output as the R600-5, however due to being a class D amp, it will be more efficient and has a much smaller footprint. This will allow you to mount it in many more locations as opposed to the RF amp you linked.

What I didn't realise is that Alpine has now release the MRX-V70, which outputs slightly higher power than the V60.

One other alternative is to buy a 4 channel amp and run the front speakers off channels 1+2 and sub off channels 3+4 bridged. Leaving the rear speakers to be run by the headunit.

Do you know what sub you are planning on running?

[Kody.B]

The RF Prime R600-5 is quite a big amp for the power it outputs. This is due to the fact that its a Class A/B amp.

The Alpine MRX-V60 I mentioned above has the same power output as the R600-5, however due to being a class D amp, it will be more efficient and has a much smaller footprint. This will allow you to mount it in many more locations as opposed to the RF amp you linked.

What I didn't realise is that Alpine has now release the MRX-V70, which outputs slightly higher power than the V60.

One other alternative is to buy a 4 channel amp and run the front speakers off channels 1+2 and sub off channels 3+4 bridged. Leaving the rear speakers to be run by the headunit.

Do you know what sub you are planning on running?

I didn't realise it was a large amp, I will look into the Alpines depending on cost. Thanks for letting me know! I plan on mounting it on the back of the rear seats in the boot.
So basically if I wanted to use a four channel, run speakers off one and two, combine 3 and 4 to power the amp and run the speakers (which I'll be leaving standard... for now) off the aftermarket HU? How would that work if I went three way front speakers?

Subs I was thinking a Rockford Fosgate P3-1x10 or something Kicker

[mihai]

The P3-1x10 is rated at 500W RMS. No 4 channel will output that much bridged across channels 3+4. The older Alpine PDX4.150 (Alpines top of the range at the time) did 300W RMS bridged, and the new PDX-F6 also does 300W RMS across 3+4.

If you really do want that sub, running it on less than 300W RMS won't give it its full potential. It will sound OK when the volume is up, but it wont sound quite as good when volume is lower.

You have a few options though. Either look into a sub that requires less power (ie around the 200-300W RMS range if going for a 4 channel amp). Look into spending a bit more money into a 5 channel amp (ie PDX-V9, 4 x100W RMS + 1 x 500W RMS) or go two amps. 2/4 channel for speakers + mono block for the sub.

Possibilities are endless. Believe me.

In regards to how it would work if you were running 3 way front splits. It would work exactly the same as running 2 way front splits. End of the day, unless you go full active (which I highly doubt) you will have 1 cable going from the amp to the cross over in each of the front doors. From the crossovers, this signal will be split into low/mid/high freqs and sent to the respective speaker in the door.

[Kody.B]

Damn it Back to the drawing board on amps/subs.
Possibly may have to do a four channel and a mono block.

I'm new to car audio, so thanks for your help. I don't really know about speakers (like the difference between 2 way/3 way) and what depth the Libs can take, I'm just sort of winging it at the moment.
I'm slowly getting the funds together so I can get it done at once.
Any recommendations as to what I'll need to do over speakers/amp/sub/sound proofing/HU?
Thanks again

[mihai]

Damn it Back to the drawing board on amps/subs.
Possibly may have to do a four channel and a mono block.

I'm new to car audio, so thanks for your help. I don't really know about speakers (like the difference between 2 way/3 way) and what depth the Libs can take, I'm just sort of winging it at the moment.
I'm slowly getting the funds together so I can get it done at once.
Any recommendations as to what I'll need to do over speakers/amp/sub/sound proofing/HU?
Thanks again

Honestly, 4 channel + mono gives you alot more flexibility in terms of speaker and sub choice.
I'd save up and go for this route, but then again, that is because I went down the 4 channel with sub running off 3+4 bridged and ended up at 4chan + mono.

Speakers are relatively easy. 2 way means that the signal is split into 2 speakers. Generally a woofer and a small tweeter. 3 way you will have the signal split into 3 speakers (a woofer, a mid and a tweeter).
From here, there are also coaxial and splits. Coaxials are where all the speakers are mounted to one physical basket. Ie 2 way coaxials would have the woofer and in the centre of the woofer the tweeter will be mounted. 3 way coaxials you will have 2 tweeters mounted in the middle (one smaller than the other).

Splits are where you have the tweeter physically seperate from the woofer. Splits may or may not include a passive crossover box. What this does is it takes the signal coming into it (ie from the headunit or amp) and splits it at certain frequencies. Then it sends the correct frequencies to each of the speakers in the system. So 2 way splits will have a woofer and a tweeter that are mounted seperately with a passive crossover. Signal comes from amp and goes into crossover, crossover splits the signal at a given frequency and sends any frequency below the cutoff freq to the woofer and any freq above the cutoff freq to the tweeter.

In terms of speaker mounting it is a definite requirement to make a speaker spacer. The stock mounting point has 3 screws however these do not match up with any aftermarket speaker. There is a template in the Audio Section (actually resurfaced yesterday), however if you are getting everything professionally installed they SHOULD make one no problems.

Mounting depth for front speakers is quite good. I am currently running Hertz HSK-165's in my front doors. From memory they require 69mm. Which is quite a fair bit! The other advantage our subaru's have is due to the frameless windows, the window guides can be moved further back into the door to allow for deeper speakers. However in saying that, I havn't seen it be required at all.

If wanting to install a headunit, you will need a fascia kit. These are roughly $400 depending on exchange rate (genuine Subaru part from Japan) or they sometimes pop up on eBay and the For Sale section. Once you have that, you just need an aerpro wiring harness, roughly $30 from Autobarn and you are set to go.

Sound proofing you have two real options. Stinger RoadKill and Dynamat Extreme. Both are quality products, each person has their personal preference. I prefer Stinger, but as I said, both quality products and both do the same thing. Both retail for roughly the same price. Bulk pack will set you back about $250 and will be enough to do all 4 doors (one layer/outer door skin), front doors (second layer/inner skin), boot lid, parcel shelf, and should have roughly 1 sheet left over. Thats applying to about 80% of the panel as this stuff doesn't require 100% coverage to be effective. Honestly, 100% coverage you will be wasting your material as there are parts of panels that do not require sound deadening.

Amps. You will need a wiring kit for these. Depending where you mount them you will need to have an amp rack possibly built. Mine are currently under passenger and drivers seats (perks of getting small yet powerful amp) and all I have in my boot is my sub with box. Wiring is important. Get quality wiring and the correct size and you will not have a problem or have to re-wire. Depending on combined power of the amps and the length from the battery will depend what gauge wiring you will require.

When it comes to picking out speakers, head into a specialist store with your music and listen to as many different speakers as you can. Then pick the ones that you thought sounded the best. Also, forget rear speakers, spend the money saved on not buying rear speakers and put it towards better front speakers (im still running stock rear speakers, they havn't blown, and I can still be heard from a fair distance).

Subs are a completely different can of worms. Sure you can listen to a sub in a shop, however there are many factors that can affect the output of a sub. For example, when in a shop, the sub is run by an amp that has ample power. This may not quite be the case in your car. In a shop, the sub may be in a ported or sealed box. Size of this is unknown as normally they are mounted in a wall. Box size can greatly change the output of a sub. Port size on a ported box can greatly change the output of a sub. Also, how the sub is mounted in the car can greatly affect the output of the sub. A personal favourite of mine was my old Alpine Type R when it was in the factory designed ported box. A lot of people are happy with Type R's and they are quite a decent sub.

Any more questions, feel free to ask.