i've heard similar setups in other cars and think they sound great. i agree that there is some loss of power, but the amount of loss is no reason to think that it will make it sound bad. the sub will be getting more than enough power for my taste. putting 180w to a 10" sub should give plenty of bass, and giving the fronts 55w or even 90w, i don't see how there's any reason for it to distort. i am extremely confident in this setup. i'm not looking for a competition car, and do not plan to push the setup past its limits.

i've also seen some bad setups, but most of the time, the problem is that the speakers aren't given ENOUGH power. i often see stereos where the amp is rated lower or equal to the rms of the speaker. than when the system is turned all the way up, it sounds horrible. why? because the amp is clipping. the rms of the speaker is rated at 1khz, not 20-20khz. so it can probably take more power than you think. distortion rarely comes from giving a speaker too much power (it is possible especially with paper cones) but it comes from giving it a clipped signal. if your sub is rated at 100w rms, you should power it with an amp rated at 200w rms, to give enough head room. just watch the volume and everything should be fine.

 

about subwoofers and bass..yes, it's OK to put it anywhere but there is a certain spot where it sounds the best. for home audio setups, what u do is leave the subwoofer where you'd sit and u go around to different spots and decide where it is the CLEAREST, it's hard to explain this..but it should sound most distinct in the best spot. the problem with car audio is that u dont have too many options to put that subwoofer.

with that said, IMO i believe to have good speakers in front with a good bass output and also great highs, 3 way speakers would work best. and in the back, u dont need as much highs but definately bass. but that's just my opinion.
-Bob

 

the reason you might need to place a sub in a home theater setup is because of resonating. subs sound loudest when placed on the floor, near a wall. this is so that the bass can resonate and reproduce the bass throught the room. in car audio, the space is much more confined, so there is no need to place it in a particular spot because wherever you put it it will most likely resonate off something. it is more important obviously to find a place where the sub (or subs) will fit in a car. in home, you can place them more strategically. but the fact remains, wherever you place them, it shouldn't sound directional. bass is omnidirectional. if you are in front of hte speaker, on the side of the speaker, or behind it, it will sound pretty much the same (except maybe for loudness, but again that is due to resonation and you hearing different things resonating...this is hard to explain unless you talk about a perfectly sound deadened room). frequencies higher than bass, however, need to be placed in the direction of the intended listening audience in order to achieve maximum effectiveness.

it is therefor optimal to place high frequency speakers (like tweeters) directly in line with the listener. they should be unobstructed and coming from in front of the listener (to give the appearance of it coming from a stage, or the center of the dash. the bottom of th a piller is a good place so that the left tweeter isn't too close or too far from the driver) and be equidistant. midrange and midbass can be placed with a little less descrepency, but still maintain a forward firing, equidistant setup (door panels are good for this). bass (subs) can be placed anywhere, but the trunk is usually the best because there is more space, but it is also confined so that there can be more sound pressure and better resonance.

 

i am starting to realize how incredibly wordy my posts seem to be. i should get extra points for average length of post

 

HAHA im not disagreeing im just going of my experience and my oppnion more power 2 u if u like it like that but i like stereo with 4 speakers not 2 and as far as subs go i turned subs 2 face me and they werent hitting even 1/4 hard as when firing at the back of the car so i think that does matter look at computer subs home stereo subs etc all fire down 2 floor so its jsut like u say how it bounces basiclly

 

yes, there can be some difference in loudness, depending on how they are fired. perception also plays a major role. it may not be acoustically louder, but it may seem louder if there are more vibrations. some people that can't afford a high powered system use bass shakers, speakers that pick up frequencies below 20hz (which you can't hear) and just vibrate your car, giving the appearance of more bass. and obviously, if you want maximum loudness, 4 speakers is better, but i am just saying that they are not necessary for good quality sound. it is mainly a preference thing. some people like very loud and undistorted sound, and some people like very clear and accurate sound.

i'll definitely be sure to let everyone know how my system turns out. i'm pretty confident that it will sound more than excellent.

 

haha, a couple points for omnidirectional..and for resonate..ill give u more for equidistant, midbass, and unobstructed

but how else are u gonna say it?
-Bob

 

I got a alpine APN CDA7894 headunit -- 60 x 4 -- stock speakers.. they are doing great but.. tomorrow i'm goin to get some new infinity 6 1\2''s put in to replace them :-D out with the old.. in with the new.. hehe ---

 

i hav a stereo question n rather than starting a new thread i figured id put it here...

i hav 2 subs (box, 600 watts) n a 600 watt kenwood amp w/the stock headunit n speakers. everything sounds ok, itsplenty of bass and everything, but its just not GREAT. I play my cds in my moms car (ford escape w/stock headunit- 6 cd changer, blah blah blah) n they sound SO great like ur in heaven i cant believe how good it sounds, every note is awsome...and i dont get that in my car. So i was thinking: get a new headunit? get new speakers and if so front/back/both?

So i guess im asking for opinions here, wat do u guys think i should do 2 get better sound?

 

get the alpine APN CDA7894 headunit and 4 infinity 6.5'' speakers :-D

 

Dude, your gonna have to replace the deck and the stock speakers. Im surprised you can still hear music with those subs.

 

yea, u need new speakers especially. the high's on the stock speakers are only decent and can't compete with your newer/better subwoofers
new headunit would be nice too
-Bob

 

first- im not a Dude. Im a dudette and thanks for the input. Im probably gonna get the speakers 2m (bro is going 2 audio place 2 get new cd player anyway) and if the finances hold up ill get a new deck in a week or 2.

 

yea i had the same problem.....i was running 2 12" Alpine TypeR subs on a 1200w amp on the stock deck at first.....and let me tell u, it was horrible....then...i added a new Pioneer deck which amplified those stock speakers pretty damn well (very surprisingly, it sounded pretty good).....but then....i replaced my back speakers with some Boston Pro's......

now, when i replaced those speakers...it was amazing how big of a change it was.....just recently (about a month ago) i replaced the front speakers from some Infinity 6.5"s ....

now, not only do i have bass, but the vocals in my car are AMAZING....speakers honestly do help a tremendous amount, as well as the headunit (i suggest go w/ either Pionner/Eclipse/Alpine ...along those lines) So, all in all, i'd start with replacing the speakers, then hittin up a new headunit

Hope that helped

 

the 2002 lancer stereo is 100w. the 2003 lancer stereo is 140. the speakers are paper cones 15 watts each (2002)