Eclipse CD1000, 1999 Toyota Camry

I recently purchased and installed an Eclipse CD1000 HU into my 1999 Toyota Camry. I plan to purchase 2 new fronts (Most likely 2-way mid/tweeter) and a sub to complete my system. As of right now It's the CD1000 with stock speakers. I don't know much car audio, it's mostly new to me. The CD1000 has 2 pairs of preamp outputs, which I am confused how this would work with a single sub and mono amp. I am not a big fan of power, to me it is stupid to put more than 400 watts into a car. So please don't tell me to purchase a 2000 watt amp I don't want or think I need that. I was thinking just a mono amp to cover the sub, but wasn't sure if it would be better to get a multi to power the fronts too. I think the CD1000's amp is enough for my needs, but wanted to get another opinion. I don't want to lose my hearing when I'm 30. I want a system that sounds crisp and clear, and to be able to turn it up for my friends, but still sound clear and crisp, I'm not trying to break glass. I was looking at 8" sub (MAYBE 10") (Bazooka Sub Unpowered) and probabaly some JL Audio mid/high speakers. I want them to fit into my car with no problem which is 6 3/4". Would 6 1/2" fit too? Again I could care less if the power in my system is "lame" to you, I want it to sound good, not just waste energy. I've heard Soundstream and Hifonics are good amp companies? Others? Again I'm more interested in quality than the thing being shiny and powerful. Do I need to purchase another power source than just my car battery or will my current battery be able to handle it? I probably should have done more research before buying the HU, but I'd like to make it work with this one. I want a modest system for relatively low cost with high end sound. I'm thinking less than $200 for the sub, less than $200 for the amp, and less than $200 for the pair of speakers. Hopefully the entire thing no more than $450 (yay for math) I bought my HU off this site Sonic Electronix And it seems like they have pretty good prices and pretty quality product. Again I don't know what companies are good, so any suggestions would be nice and then I can research it further. On another note, when people talk about equilizers, are they talking about a seperate unit that only equalizes or are they also talking about EQ's embedded in the HU, cause even stock stereos have Treb and Bass EQ.. What are the benefits of an EQ? Is it necessary?-=Heaven doesn't want me and Hell is afraid I'll take over=-

Eclipse CD1000 - Pending

A 5 channel amp would serve you well... Eclipse makes some VERY good Class D amplifiers. FAR better sound quality than either the Soundstream or HiFonics. VERY high quality, without bling... Also, this amp would be perfectly usable in your Camry with no additional electrical addressing necessary, although you are certainly encouraged to upgrade your battery cables, at a minimum... This, however will be recommended for ANY amplifier installation. I appreciate your opinions regarding overkill and power, but I can tell you, there really is no such thing as overkill when referring to power. The more power you have, the less distortion you will have at ANY sane listening level. Just because you HAVE the power, it does not mean you have to USE the power - it's as simple as not turning it up too loud to start with, but having the additional reserve power will ensure your transients always have what they need to be reproduced faithfully. In my Civic, I have 180 wpc just running the mid-bass drivers in my door, and I still hear just fine. I have always been a fan of BIG power, both in the house and in the car. This amp would run your entire system, not break the bank, and maintain your desired efficiency. Any company that pushes Swap-O-Rama products as a headliner item would be questionable to me... Dual, Boss, Jensen... NOT good products, any of them. Go to your local brick-and-mortar, listen for what you want to hear, and purchase AFTER you have heard the products. Forget the EQ.It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

Thank you for your ideas and reply. Why do you think a 5 channel amp would be good? Correct me if I'm wrong. My car currently has 4 speakers, 2 fronts and 2 in the back. The back 2 cover the bass, and the front 2 cover the mid/high. So If I plan on getting 1 or 2 subs wouldn't that sub replace the 2 in the back? Which would mean I only need 3 Channel? (2 front, 1 sub) Or do you think it's better to have more speakers for some reason? The interior of the camry is pretty small, I don't know much about acoustics but I know I shouldn't need 4 speakers to get sound everywhere. I'd feel more comfortable with a 5 channel amp in a large SUV or something like that. When it says 5/4/3 channel, does that mean it supports all those so I could add more speakers as I please? I think I've decided to go to my local store and see what the people there have to say, and eventually have them install things for me. I know they'll order whatever you want and install it for you, even if they don't have it in stock. What is this bridging business, is that like connecting more than 1 amp together? Would I need to upgrade my HU to be fully compatable with the XA5000? I only have 2 pairs of pre-amp outs.. Thanks again, I'm sure I'll have more stupid questions for you later..-=Heaven doesn't want me and Hell is afraid I'll take over=-

Eclipse CD1000 - Pending

thurst0n wrote: Thank you for your ideas and reply. Why do you think a 5 channel amp would be good? Correct me if I'm wrong. My car currently has 4 speakers, 2 fronts and 2 in the back. The back 2 cover the bass, and the front 2 cover the mid/high. So If I plan on getting 1 or 2 subs wouldn't that sub replace the 2 in the back? Which would mean I only need 3 Channel? (2 front, 1 sub) Or do you think it's better to have more speakers for some reason? The interior of the camry is pretty small, I don't know much about acoustics but I know I shouldn't need 4 speakers to get sound everywhere. I'd feel more comfortable with a 5 channel amp in a large SUV or something like that. When it says 5/4/3 channel, does that mean it supports all those so I could add more speakers as I please?

Your back speakers run full range as well, they do, you just don't hear it (probably) because you are in the front of the car. You would use the smaller 4 channels of the amplifier to run the mains, and the fifth, higher power channel to run the subwoofer, while all along, maintaining fader capabilities, which is nice. I don't think it's necessarily "better" to have more speakers, but in a basically stock installation (and I say stock, meaning full-range speakers in all the OEM locations, as opposed to components or separates fr the front doors only) my personal opinion is that it does sound better when all four corners of the car have sound sources. The 5/4/3 designation does mean that you can run it as a three (by briging both sets of front channels) channel, four (by bridging one set of the front channels, and using the other ones as a stereo set) channel, or a 5 channel (not bridging anything). And yes, this also means that you can upgrade later on, shoyuld you decide to.

thurst0n wrote: I think I've decided to go to my local store and see what the people there have to say, and eventually have them install things for me. I know they'll order whatever you want and install it for you, even if they don't have it in stock.

Make sure they are a real authorized dealer for whatever products you decide on... MANY manufacturers will automatically void the warranty (or offer a SIGNIFICANTLY shorter warranty) if installed by a non-authorized dealer. Eclipse is one of these particular manufacturers, offering 90 days if installed by a non-authorized, and 3 years if authorized. JL offers (I think) a similar deal, but two years if installed by an authorized dealer.

thurst0n wrote: What is this bridging business, is that like connecting more than 1 amp together?

Bridging is a term that describes wiring the two channels of a single amplifier together, to increase the power by (close to) a factor of 4, into a single load, ie a 50 watt per channel stereo amp, can be made to function as a 200 watt mono amp, in "bridged" mode. Connecting mre than one amplifier to a single load is called "strapping", and does not apply in this context.

thurst0n wrote: Would I need to upgrade my HU to be fully compatable with the XA5000? I only have 2 pairs of pre-amp outs..

No, the amplifier will take the 4 RCA's that your HU has, and internally, it will "derive" the subwoofer information to sent to the woofer. That deck will be perfectly fine, and IMO any Eclipse deck is a better than decent choice for the money. Certainly, there are MUCH higher end decks out there, but their point of dim

thurst0n wrote: Thanks again, I'm sure I'll have more stupid questions for you later..

NP...It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

Thanks, maybe I should just go with everything eclipse. I was looking at their subs and liked what I saw. I noticed that amp is 14.4 V, is that going to be a problem? I thought my HU was 12 V or something. -=Heaven doesn't want me and Hell is afraid I'll take over=-

Eclipse CD1000 - Pending

PS The place I know of near me is authorized Eclipse Dealer. At least they list eclipse on their website. I'm going to go by there and see what they have and suggest, and try to listen to some stuff. Since that amp can go 300W RMS for the sub should I find a sub that can support more than that? Is that the idea to cover your ass, or is that not necessary? I guess I'm confused about which way to cover your ass.-=Heaven doesn't want me and Hell is afraid I'll take over=-

Eclipse CD1000 - Pending

thurst0n wrote: probabaly some JL Audio 3 way for the front. I want them to fit into my car with no problem, stock is 6 3/4". Would 6 1/2" fit too? What about 6"

Are there any other brands people recommend?-=Heaven doesn't want me and Hell is afraid I'll take over=-

Eclipse CD1000 - Pending

The voltage won't matter... It will work fine, but the amp may make just a few watts less than what is advertised on the website. As far as sodwoofer power, yes, a 300 watt (250-500 would be fine) woofer would be a very good choice for you. The 6000 series would be perfect, without costing an arm and a leg.It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

haemphyst wrote: As far as sodwoofer power, yes, a 300 watt (250-500 would be fine) woofer would be a very good choice for you. The 6000 series would be perfect, without costing an arm and a leg.

I see that sub has 38Hz Fs, does that mean it can only produce sounds as low as that, or what does Fs mean? From what I know (not much) I want a sub that can do at least 20 even if that isn't entirely necessary i'd like to cover the hearing spectrum.-=Heaven doesn't want me and Hell is afraid I'll take over=-

Eclipse CD1000 - Pending