Stereo & Electronics - Stereo Upgrades For The Beater

OK stereo fanatics, I am looking to upgrade the sound on my beater (1991 Chev Suburban) and am coming to you for advice. Keep in mind I am not trying to impress the neighbors, attract 17 year olds, or win any stereo competitions, I would just like to improve what is there a little and get a little more thump. I also need to be able to hear it over the road noise with the windows down since it has no A/C. So, I recently purchased an Alpine 9833 and am looking to supplement my existing 8 year old RF 4 channel amp and Boston Acoustic 5x7's and Alpine 6x9's with a sub and another amp. I am trying to keep the total cost and space occupied by the sub and enclosure to a minimum. So what I think i have narrowed it down to is a single 12" sub in an approximately 1 CF sealed enclosure (I am planning on building it myself so the dimensions will be more adapted to the truck), and an amp. The best reasonably priced sub I have found that I thought would generate enough sound with the wattage I can afford is this Infinity Perfect 12.1:

aluminum cone
high-roll butyl-rubber surround
massive cast-aluminum basket
suitable for free-air use (handles up to 175 watts in free-air applications)
recommended power range 75-350 watts RMS
peak power handling 1,400 watts
frequency response 18-200 Hz
sensitivity 96 dB
top mount depth 6-1/8"
sealed box volume: 1.0 cu. ft.
ported box volume: 1.75 cu. ft.

I am thinking about driving it with this Alpine amp running in bridged:

110 watts RMS x 2 at 4 ohms
170 watts RMS x 2 at 2 ohms
340 watts RMS x 1 in bridged mode
stereo or bridged mono output
Tri-Way capable
requires 8-gauge power and ground leads — wiring and hardware not included with amplifier
Bass Engine® features:
variable 15-400 Hz high-pass/30-400 Hz low-pass crossovers, 12 dB/octave
tuned Bass EQ (6 dB bass boost at 50 Hz with adjustable Q factor, while frequencies below 30 Hz are cut by 6 dB)
MOSFET power supply
STAR Topology (minimizes internal noise and prevents ground interference)
oversized power and ground connections
gold-plated screw terminals
top-mounted controls with cover
detachable front cover
blue power LED
12-7/16"W x 2-3/8"H x 11-13/16"D (depth is 10" with front cover removed)

I have found the sub for $129.00 and the amp for $189.00 for a total of less than $350.00 with shipping (I will get the speaker wire and cable locally). Would do you all think about these choices of components and do you think they would work well together. Any other suggestions or recommendations (other than I need a bunch more speaker and a bunch more power) would be appreciated. I realize this is not a lot of sub and power for a Suburban, but it is only intended to compliment what I have already, be affordable, and not take up a lot of space (I am already limited on space due to the 3rd row seat as it is). TIA

9 views and no opinions... is that because it's not an LS1.

I would not run alpine amps. Mainly for reliability reasons.


How about a
PPI DCX-300.2 2 Channel Amplifier $ 249.00
2 Channel amplifier
1 x 75 Watts @ 4 ohm bridged
2 x 150 Watts @ 2 ohm
2 x 75 Watts @ 4 ohm
THD: 0.08%
Efficiency: 100dB
Frequency response: 10Hz - 50KHz
Damping factor: >250
Crossover: 12dB, LP/HP, 30Hz - 4KHz
External Q-BASS control port
Dimensions: 13-7/8"(L) x 10-1/2"(W) x 2-3/4"(H)
http://www.carmedia1.com/en-us/dept_176.html

I hope that is a misprint on the bridged output. I would like to have 350+ watts bridged or in 4 ohm mono. Those amps are cool, but seem a little on the high side. Do you know anything about Orion amps? I found an Orion 6002 for $179.00 and it is 600 bridged. By the way, that is a misprint on the bridged... just checked another site and i was 300 bridged. And why are mono amps so damn much more expensive than comparable and higher powered dual channel amps :bang: .

Yeah thats a misprint on carmedias web site.

This was taken from the mfg web site
Mono Operation: 300Wx1 @ 4 ohm
http://www.precisionpower.com/amps/dcx300-2.asp


Orion makes a good amp as well.

You might look into a class D amplifier as they are a cheaper (not as clean) version of an amp because of less filterization. Since it will only be on your bass you probalby wont be able to tell a difference.

Can you point me in a direction... all of the class D amps I have seen have been mono and more expensive with less power (in 4 ohm anyway).

[QUOTE=2MuchRiceMakesMeSick]I would not run alpine amps. Mainly for reliability reasons.


By the way, thanks for the advice. This is exactly the type of advice I have been looking for. Also, what do you think about Infinity Kappa Perfect 12.1 for the choice of sub? For a few dollars more I can get the same sub with dual 4 ohm voice coils, but then I either have to run 8 ohm or 2 ohm and none of the multi channel amps I have looked at are stable at 2 ohms bridged.

Has anyone ever heard of or used CBRSTEREO.com?
Just wondering because that is where I ordered my stuff from yesterday. Here is what I ended up going with thanks to the input from 2muchrice... and tuffluck:
Infinity Kappa Perfect 12.1 (12" 4 ohm sub) -$129.00
Orion 6002 (2 chan amp w/600 watts bridged)-$179.00
Shipping (Fed Ex ground) - $ 26.56
_______
Total $334.56

Hopefully it will all work well together (with the new Alpine 9833 and the old RF amp and Boston Acoustic 5x7's and Alpine 6x9's) and give the beater some improved tunes. Thanks again for the advice.

I've got both personal and professional experience with both the infiiny and the orion - you did well in my book. You seem to have the knowledge and understanding required to put it in, so you'll be okay. I agree with 2muchrice in the alpine amp department. They were once okay, but they've really lost my vote lately. Best of luck to ya, and happy bumpin!

Looks like a good combo. Good luck installing. Post some pics when your done :)

Will try to get that done... (note to self, buy a digital camera)

www.edesignaudio.com

get the nine.2 and either the 13Kv2 or the 13Ov2 (budget dependent) and get the ported box. I prefer sealed myself but you have a TON of airspace to fill. ED will even give you free box designs for their subs. BANG for the buck and smooth sound too. If you're in Houston, PM me and you can hear mine - I have had both of these subs. If you go the 13Kv2 and nine.2, you'll be stunned -- and out the door for less than 350 shipped. 1.0 sealed or 1.5 ported and you're golden. Trust me on this one, you will NOT be sorry.

Good luck
Jason

UPDATE... Well the site where I found the seemingly unbelievable prices (CBRSTEREO.com) sent me back an email stating that my order had been cancelled due to them not having either one of those items in stock (Infinity Perfect 12.1 sub, or Orion 6002 amp). Of course just about everywhere else I looked was much much more expensive. I did eventually find some deals, I bought the sub from techronics, and the amp on ebay from Ikes Sound. Ended up getting them for about the same price the first place advertised them for, but paid more for shipping since I ended up ordering from multiple suppliers. hopefully these don't turn out flakey as well.