New Stereo install

[turbolag]

Hey guys,

got a little bored last night while surfing the web and decided to buy myself a new sound system (as you do) and i have decided on an Alpine type r setup due to the great reviews of this product. While i am waiting for it to arrive i thought i would pick your brains about so of the install process. I'll start with a list of what i have ordered:

1x SPR-60c (Front)
1x SPR-60 (rear)
1x MRX-f65 AMP (better then the PDX?)
1x W530EBT (headunit) was trying to find the w530ABTI as listed on the alpine website but could only come up with this one. seems the same?

so my questions for the pros on here are.

1. how "plug and play" is this upgrade going to be or what am i going to have to completely rewire?

2. sticking with alpine of course is the MRX-f65 (new version obviously) the best amp for this task?

3. expectation of sound quality vs my standard mac system?

cheers,

[turbolag]

ok so i have switched the MRX-F65 out for a PDX-f6, seems like the better option for this setup.

[andy85]

1. In most cases its better to rewire. Doesnt cost much and it ensures you're getting the most out the system
2. Screw the rears and increase the budget for fronts
3. Any well installed system (including breaking in of drivers and tuning system to the car) will sound better than the stock 13speakers WANK!

Who's doing the install and tuning? because this is by far THE MOST IMPORTANT step.

If it was me on a budget, id pay top money for the install and minimal on gear. I would rather have a $500 system installed and tuned to perfection THAN a 10k system installed by the monkeys down at strathfields, autobarn, jb hifi etc.

[andy85]

Oh and by the way, pdx range amps are VERY nice

[|_Ash_|]

I would also recommend ditching the 2nd pair of speakers for the rear and spending more on the fronts. I did initially have Type R's for my old car's rear seats, but now that I've ripped my entire kit out to install into my recently acquired Liberty, I've decided to drop the rears out entirely. The smaller cabin size of the Liberty means you can get away comfortably without them, and I've gone with the decision to fade out every other stock speaker in the car and go solely with my after-market component speakers and sub. This is due to the fact that the stock speakers wouldn't be able to keep up with the Alpine kit, and when I go to crank the volume (which I will be doing, a lot...) I won't have to deal with speakers that just don't have the power or frequency response range to handle the volume that's being pumped out.

When I was looking into buying gear, I was initially looking at the Type R's as well, but when I heard them alongside the Type X REF's, I decided to spring for the Type X's; they sound a lot better, especially in the midranges, and personally I knew I would kick myself in the future for not going all out and getting the gear that sounded the best (whilst still being in my price range). To me the Type X's did sound good enough to justify their more expensive cost, and I knew I wouldn't regret buying them.

I have a PDX amp as well, the PDX 4.150, to be exact, and it has been perfect so far. I can't speak for the MRX series as I haven't used them and tbh I don't know where they sit in the Alpine hierarchy, but the PDX series seems to get the job done easily.

It does pay to have someone professional do the wiring for you (stay away from JB, Autobarn, etc). I've only ever let Northfield handle any installations I've had done, as they are extremely good at what they do and you can guarantee that they will get the job done professionally and cleanly. That being said, I've had to drop $650 (ouch) on a double din fascia with dual-zone climate control (later saw the same thing for ~$300 on a JDM site - that was a massive gutpunch, but too late now), and the installation would have cost me another $600 on top of that. That is a fair amount of cash, so I've decided to go ahead with a custom install after a friend of mine said he'd be willing to help me. It's really up to you though. Getting someone professional to do it means you'll have it done cleanly and properly, whereas doing it yourself is a crap-ton cheaper, but there is a chance of something being damaged or something not working; it all depends on how skillful and confident you feel doing the install yourself.

I'm looking to get the install done this weekend. I'll post some pictures of how it went, assuming my friend and I can get to it in the next few days.

[turbolag]

Thanks for all the input, i got all my parts yesterday so i have been flat out wiring and rewiring to perfection as i am super picky even the stuff under the carpet had to look straight and neatly recessed into grooves etc.

today i got the HU, amp and rear speakers all freshly wired and positioned perfect after a lot of stuffing around. I left the fronts as i have to get the creative juices flowing as to how exactly i am going to mount the tweeters and where to mount the cross overs but i have run all the new wiring to the site. So tomorrow i will get all that sorted and begin the lame task of putting all the panels/dash back together. So far i am very happy with the sound of the rear type r's even tho it was only a brief test.

I am doing this install myself, not for the money factor but just because i take pride and ownership in doing everything i can relating to my car myself.

will update after its all complete.