Put a new sound system into the car...

[rocketman]

...and man, I think I'm going to lose my hearing.

Basically I put this:

plus this:

and this:

into my ride today. For those that are curious, it's an Alpine Type-R 12" dual 2-ohm sub (1500 watts max, 500 watts RMS), a Kenwood KAC-7201 amp (800 max, 460 x 1 RMS), and an Alpine CDA-9851 headunit with ipod adaptor.

Good god, that amp absolutely slams the sub. I have to keep the sub on -7 for it to be bearable for long periods of time, and I haven't been able to tolerate any volume past 11 (it goes to 25). The ipod interface is sweet, just plug it in and it transfers all the controls to the headunit, so you can keep the ipod locked away in the glove compartment, or in your trunk.

Install pics will be available later...

 

[BuckeyeTillIDie]

Very nice.

I'm a big fan of Alpine myself.

I had two Type Rs in my old car, running off one amp (bought a second, but never installed it). Needless to say, those things pound. I had my 6x9s and 6.5s Alpine as well, the overall sound quality was very good.

 

[rocketman]

Yeah, speakers and dynamat are next, but I'm weary as to how much money to spend, as I might be getting a new car in less than a year.

What I love more than the power of the bass is the quality of the sound it produces - at low volumes it still drives at deep frequencies. The more I think about it, dynamat-ing the trunk is going to be essential cause it seems like it not only dampens vibration, but focuses the bass to make it clearer and not overwhelming.

 

[rocketman]

Well, 1 week later, my cars been jacked and the stereo stolen...

In my driveway...

In broad daylight.

Keep in mind that this is in Cincinnati, at my parent's house. In the SUBURBS (Montgomery to be exact). Basically on Saturday I went to my friends wedding at around 8:00 in the morning - checking my car (which was OK at the time), but taking my mom's car. When I came back around 9:00 AM to pick up something I forgot, the window was smashed and everything was gone. Headunit was ripped out, the amp was neatly unscrewed from the backseat and the wires snipped, while the 55 pound sub was of course, missing.

Total cost of the system wasn't much and I don't really care that I lost the money, but I wanted the police to investigate as the circumstances in which this happened were so absurd that something HAS to be going on here. I suspect that the people who installed the system at a retail store (not gonna name it yet) decided that they wanted it back. They were the only ones who knew I had it (barely told even my friends about it), and they knew my address, and other wonderful things like my car had no security system, etc. (it's a 97 civic...a good security system would cost more than the car is worth). The job was done so cleanly and at the craziest hour that I highly doubt a bunch of kids could pull it off. Insurance is covering everything right now, but I'm curious to see if the police will indeed do anything. My good friend worked at this store for almost 2 years and said he would not be at all surprised if the people who stole my stereo worked there. I'm honestly not even mad, because of how absurd the situation was, just dissapointed.

Chances are the police won't do anything, cause as the officer whom I talked to said "This stuff happens all the time. It'll be next to impossible to find the guy." But honestly, what the hell else goes on in Symmes Township? The last homicide was 3 years ago! I'm going to do some sleuthing to see how many in-home car robberies there have been in my area, and their proximity to the retail store in question. I'll keep you guys updated if I find anything interesting.

 

[CCI]

Sweet system

 

[NorthShoreBuck]

Yes, it sounds good in my truck now.:)

I think what the police were trying to politely tell you was they would rather hear your complaint once than hear many neighbors complain about your system shaking their windows as you drive by. There is a kernel of truth in that.

 

[rocketman]

Sweet system

Yeah, it WAS great...

Bucknola, I understand what you're getting at. However, I'm not one of those people who likes to blast my eardrums with with ridiculous volume.

One of the detectives called back and left a message asking me to call him back. Maybe this could go somewhere...maybe not.

Turns out my brother's friend got a system installed in his car at Circuit City and it was stolen the next day - he was in the same situation (living in the burbs, etc). I guess it's par for the course. I got mine installed at Best Buy (thank god I didn't buy it there, would've been price raped). Although the install price was cheap, and the job was done decently well, the service was shitty and well...they (arguably) stole it right back. So save yourself the trouble and install it yourself.

Anyway, one less reason to shop there.

 

[Thump]

Hope you learned your lesson, leave the factory stereo in your rig.

Almost everyone I know who has a detachable-faced stereo or a fancy set-up like yours has had it stolen.

 

[scarletandgrey]

I not much of a car audio guy. When I was in high school I was but since then I just lost the urge.

 

[LoKyBuckeye]

I remember being young and being able to spend my money on stereo equipment :(

rocket... such a shitty situation, I hope you get you stuff back or at least they catch the guys who did it.

 

[osugrad21]

Almost everyone I know who has a detachable-faced stereo or a fancy set-up like yours has had it stolen.

Especially when you are driving a Jeep Wrangler with a soft top.....

Those zippers just don't provide the same security

 

[strohs]

I had over $1k in my old car, back in H.S.
Installed everything myself, no way anyone else was touching it.
That thing would pump out some serious volume.
Had a ghetto security system, but no one ever bothered it anyways.
Sucks to hear some jackass ripped you off, I hope you find em and beat their asses.

 

[Golferdow01]

I have a friend who had his car stolen from OSU, then had it returned 3 days later but all his stereo equipment was stolen ($800-$1000)...at least he got the car back though!

 

[BrutusMaximus]

I have had my system in 2 different vehicles now, never had anybody try to touch it. Course where I live, you're lucky to see another person half the time.

That really does suck though, wouldnt you like to catch whoever stole it, and just hang them by their balls?

 

[ScarletInMyVeins]

I've had the same system since 2000 (upgraded the subs and headunit since then) and haven't had anyone mess with my stuff. If you take the face off your radio and don't play it loud in your neighborhood you should be fine. Oh yeah... installing it yourself and fastening everything down helps too.

Btw... this is what I have now:

2 of these in a ported box

This Amp

A Kicker crossover, and this Headunit