sound system, upgrading

Hi I've just gotten out of military boot-camp and went and bought a car to have at my duty station. I'd like to upgrade my sound system and stereo but the amount of info out there is a bit much for me to understand coherently.

I have and would like:
*2000 Toyota corolla
*$600 dollar budget
*install myself (for learning and saving money)
*the only things I'm sure I want is bass, and Bluetooth radio to phone

I've done shopping on www.crutchfield.com, watched installation videos over the internet. but I don't quite understand how the amp, sub-woofer, speaker, stereo relationship works (a lot of the lingo is over my head).

I appreciate anyone willing to help educate me, and show me the ropes

if you can explain to us what you feel is over your head then maybe someone could explain to you what you seem to be missing. its really not that hard but i can understand that there are a lot of terms that you might not understand at first.

$600 is a decent budget for a simple system. i would suggest spending that money on a nice head unit that has all of the features you want now and for the future, you should ask yourself what you will eventually want in the near future and buy your head unit based off of those wants and needs. things to think of are bluetooth and phone compatibility, sound features like equalizers, crossover filters, number of outputs for adding amps. spending money on a nice head unit will save you from having to spend money on adapters or new head units every time you want to upgrade your system. a good head unit will cost you around $200, if you want to have a screen with dvd player then you should be looking to spend around $350.

as for the bass situation, the price depends on what you are looking to get out of your system. are you looking for loud, or clean, or both?

Hello soundsecurity, I appreciate you replying to my forum problem/request.

I assume 'head-unit' means the radio that everything plugs into. In my head-unit I'd like to have Bluetooth connection for Android phones (don't care about iPhone), a front auxiliary input for devices that can't Bluetooth, I don't need a CD/DVD player of any sort.

I know these might be elementary music production words, but I simply don't grasp what these devices do exactly.
"equalizers, crossover filters, number of outputs for adding amps"

Also when I go shopping online and try to choose my head-unit I cant tell if it allows 4 speakers or just 2. I don't know if its implied, but when I search around on articles or 'how to' stuff they never mention it.

My bass doesn't have to be perfectly clear, I'm more concerned that when my idiot comrades just turn the volume knob up all the way it isn't gonna blow my speakers and sub, because they can't handle it.(which is what happened to my current factory standard speakers)

Another device relationship i don't understand is the Amplifier?!?!?!?!

ok that frames the question a little better.

equalizer it just a device that most radios already have some form of built in, when you adjust the bass, mid, and treble on a radio that is a simple equalizer. all it does is turn certain parts of the music up of down in order to get a more even sound or most people just turn everything all the way up, it customizes the sound to how you like it.

the crossover is just a filter that is used to keep certain sound frequencies from being played through your speakers that could possible harm the speaker because it was not designed to play those frequencies. your blown system could have benefited from a crossover because it would have probably kept your speakers from blowing. most decent radios will have some sort of crossover to keep harmful bass frequencies out of your normal speakers, leaving the bass to be played only by the sub woofer.

the outputs i was referring to are RCA jacks on the back of the radio, these are the outputs that provide the signal for any amps you would want to install, its ideal to have 3 sets of outputs, front, rear, and sub, but some radios only have one or two sets which leave you in a limited capacity if you wanted to install amps for your entire system. depending on if you think you will want to upgrade your system in the future then you will want to pick the right number of outputs that you will need to have. personally i would get a radio with three sets just because you never know how long you will have that radio and it will keep you from having to buy a new one if you ever do upgrade in the near future.

every radio in existence will allow up to four speakers to be used with its internal amplifier but a radio is only limited to about 30 watts of power per speaker.

soundnsecurity wrote:

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$600 is a decent budget for a simple system. i would suggest spending that money on a nice head unit that has all of the features you want now and for the future, you should ask yourself what you will eventually want in the near future and buy your head unit based off of those wants and needs.

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Wise words right there. The last thing you want to do is buy the cheapest head unit you can find now...and then realize next year that it doesn't have enough RCA outputs to connect a second amplifier (just for example). Plan to spend ~$200 retail ($150 online) for a decent single DIN head unit.

all an amplifier really does is provide more power to your speakers than what the radio can supply. as stated, a typical radio will give you about 30 watts and most upgrade speakers need more power than that to make them sound their best. the installation of any amplifier is pretty much the same no matter what kind of amp it is. you run a large gauge wire from the battery's positive post straight to the positive terminal of the amp, use the same size wire to run the ground wire from the amp to a spot on the car that has been sanded down to bare metal and screw the wire down to that spot.

the other connections on an amp are the RCA jacks that receive the audio signal from the radio and there is another terminal called the remote power terminal. the remote wire is a small wire that usually gets ran from the amp to the back of the radio where there will be a "usually" be a blue wire with a white stripe or sometimes its just blue. if you have both colors then you should use the blue wire with white stripe. the only function of this wire is to tell the amp to turn on when you turn the key, so this wire can be ran to any power source that turns on and off with the car.

that pretty much sums up the basic install of any amplifier. its not that hard, the hardest part will be running the wires through your car and your car is relatively easy to take apart too.

its important to match the amplifiers power rating to that of what ever speakers you plan to use. you want to go by the "RMS" power rating, which is basically the average or continuous amount of power that speaker is designed to handle and not blow. also the speaker has an impedance rating, measured in "ohms", which is usually 4 ohms but can be 2 ohms or 8 ohms depending on the speaker. the most common rating is 4 ohms for a normal door speaker but a sub woofer can easily be 2 or 4 ohms.

this ohm rating is what you use to match speakers with amps, an amps power rating is also connected to an ohm rating, it will say something like X amount of power at 4 ohms and a different amount of power at 2 ohms. so if your speakers have a rating of 4 ohms, you would look at the amps RMS power rating at the 4 ohm level and this will match up your speakers to the amp.

you should try to match the ratings as close as you can, but if the amp you want gives you a little more or less power than what your speakers want then its usually ok, id say up to about +/- %10 is fine.

Wow that made everything click for me. Thank you so much for clearing the air on much of the lingo.

I've always installed speakers and wiring on my own at home but i was unaware of the ratings an that some equipment wouldn't work with other gear.

So then for my head-unit I need with a price range of $150-$200:
*3 RCA outputs
*Bluetooth connection and front aux out
(should it have equalizer options and crossover protection built in?)

for an amplifier i need:
*(generally)a 4 ohms output for speakers
(and does that go the same for the bass as well?)

I know my speakers fit with a 6 1/2 to 6 3/4 inch diameter but whats a good price range for speakers? I saw sets for $100 and saw ridicules priced $400 ones.

Also I'm still not sure what qualifies as a good bass? what qualities am I looking for when it comes to them?

I apologies if i take forever to reply, but I'm currently assigned to a 12-14 hour shift project for at least two weeks, and we aren't aloud to have any electronics for security reasons so my time is very limited to when I can reply.

Thank you for your help, and for your passions

lingo

headunit = radio
equalizer, crossovers = dont worry about these yet, your amp will have some type built in. they simply fine tune your music




my recommendation:


pioneer f700bt - can be had used on ebay for around $300. it is a 7" touchscreen without dvd. has front aux, navi, usb, and multiple outputs. plays 4 speakers @ 50watts each right from the box (actual output is around 25w per channel)



grab any name brand 12" sub and amp you can find. shoot for 500w RMS. itll give you good bump, not window breaking but decent enough to be happy. my first setup was sony xplod and it was loud. should find a deal for around $140-$180 including the box for the subs

get a GOOD wiring kit, 2ga or 4ga so you dont have to upgrade later if you want more bump.

hmm, dont worry about equalizers and crossovers...? honestly you will want to get as much built in to the radio as possible, especially a decent equalizer and crossover because you wont always be able to install an external equalizer and even if you can a good one costs about $200 by itself. same goes for crossovers, the amp will usually have some sort of crossover but they are very basic, whereas, the ones typically built into good radios allow you to control from the drivers seat (the listening position) and usually let you chose slope and frequency. its just an overall better idea to buy the best radio you can afford even if it means waiting and holding off from buying the rest of your system.

sorry laughbot, i had to address that response first. now, back to you, you will definitely want a radio with a good equalizer because this will allow you to make even a mid level system sound really nice if you learn to use it the right way. having a good crossover built into the radio is not quite as important because your amp will have one built in already. having a crossover in the radio is just a convenience so you can adjust it while you are listening so you can judge where it should be set to give you the best sound. now, if you decide to not have your speakers on an amp then i would shoot for a radio with a better crossover, one that will allow you to have different settings for front and rear and sub.

i would classify a good equalizer as anything that has more than 7 bands, which is just the number of different points that it allows you to adjust. for example, the basic "bass, mid' and treble" in most factory radios would be a 3 band equalizer because it allows you to adjust 3 different points up or down. another acceptable equalizer would be a 3 band parametric equalizer, the parametric equalizer only allows 3 points to adjust with but it allows you to choose where those points are. this is not my favorite type of equalizer but it can be just as effective if you use it correctly. and as with any equalizer, the more bands it allows you to adjust the better you can tweak the sound to your liking. the other type of equalizer i mentioned is called a graphic" equalizer.

as for the speakers, a good price range for speakers is around $100 per set. i would spend more on the front speakers than the back speakers. by having better speakers in the front it will make your whole system sound better because these are the speakers that you will hear the most. personally i dont even have rear speakers in my truck, just a really nice set of speakers in the front doors. if you can spend $300 on speakers for example then i would spend about $200 on the front and the other 100 for some alright speakers just to fill in the sound.

choosing sub woofers is a bit more tricky, you need to ask yourself a few questions like:
1) how many sub woofers do you want?

2) how much space in your car are you willing to give up for the subs?

3) how big is your factory battery and alternator?

4) do you want to have the option to upgrade to a bigger system in the future?

those questions need to be answered. i asked about the factory battery and alternator because this is where the bass amp will get its power from and if you want a lot of power then you will likely have to upgrade your battery and alternator as well as some factory wiring to support the amount of power the new amp will need to work properly. id guess you would be safe at around 500 watts for a bass amp and 300 watts for the high amp, without needing to upgrade your stock power supply.

so with that said, a 500 watt supply will limit what you should buy. i would suggest a single 10 or 12.

depending on how much space you have available, this will also narrow down your choices because different subs need different size enclosures to perform their best. the relationship between the sub woofer and the size of the box is one of the most critical parts to getting good bass. you can choose a low end sub and install it in the perfect box and it will still sound good, but if you buy a nice sub and stick it in the wrong size box then it will most likely sound horrible or at least not as good as it should.

so, with that said, i would suggest you decide how much space you want to sacrifice, look for a pre-fabricated sub woofer box that fits where you want it, and then buy your sub based on the amount of airspace inside of your box. if you are willing and able to build your own custom sub woofer box then you can save yourself from hunting for a box that fits your sub woofer. instead you can buy whatever sub woofer you want and build a box to suit it.

as far as sub woofer qualities to look for, you want to find something with a nice stiff cone. cones made out of plastic are usually flimsy and that makes them sound distorted at high volume, there are exceptions to that statement but those sub woofers are pretty expensive. cones made out of pressed paper or aluminum or carbon fiber or woven material are nice. dont get very caught up in the size of the magnet, you want it to be a decent size compared to the size of the woofer but some companies make subs with insanely huge magnets and that just isnt necessary. you will want the power handling of the sub to be around the same as whatever amp you buy, make sure to use the RMS power rating on both sub and amp to match them up. if your sub or amp is only rated by its "MAX POWER" then dont buy it because it is piece of junk, only junk equipment is rated by its max power.

the other main spec for matching a sub to an amp is its ohm rating and the number of voice coils. the voice coil is what physically moves the cone of any speaker. sub woofers come mainly in single and dual voice coil flavors, and the only difference is that a dual voice coil sub woofer just allows you to have more options for wiring it to an amp. if you plan to buy just one sub woofer then you will want to look for a sub woofer with dual voice coils and a 2 ohm rating, which means that each coil will be 2 ohms.

a dual 2 ohm sub woofer will allow you to get the most out of any amp because you can wire the coils together to get a total ohm rating of 1 ohm. also when buying an amp to match your sub, you will be looking at the amps RMS power rating at 1 ohm. if the amp does not have a rating at 1 ohm then that usually means that it is not stable at 1 ohm. just like i explained with the ratings of high amps, bass amps will give you ratings of X amount of power at 4, 2, and 1 ohm, the power will increase every time the ohm rating gets lower, that is why i said to buy a sub that can be wired to 1 ohm, this way you will get the amps maximum power output.

i know this is a lot of information to take in but its really not that difficult, it just sounds difficult because im explaining it in detail for you.

Mind another opinion, the other guy is pretty dead on, but I'd like to offer my 02.

Head unit I agree with,

Now if ur serious on 600, and say u use 2 for the radio. I'd say look for a good amp, there are too many too list and preferences vary. I'd say get a good d class amp and a single 12 in a pre fab enclosure. Say 250 for amp, 125 for sub and box, 25 for amp kit. Go to utube and watch videos on ur car or maybe another model but a year close to it. Most cars from the same maker have similar characteristics in regards to how to pull panels and help ur placement of wiring. Watch videos and ask ?"s on here.

I've installed since 85 and this is the direction I'd tell u to go 1st. You don't have to replace all ur factory speakers unless they are blown. Once u replace the factory stereo if u still have it in there u'll notice the difference and a decent radio has plenty of power to run factory and most low end mids and tweets. Buy a big amp, if u bridge it u'll Notice it'll shut down after a certain amount of time running at high volumes. All amps do this unless u don't gave to crank the gains ( level ) on the amp up above half way.the bigger the amp the longer ur sub will be there playing. If u cruise a lot, or drink beer and listen to ur stereo or extended amounts of time u'll need the extra power to help get rid of the heat from the amp.

As far as ur mids and tweets check best buy online, I replaced my factories all the way around for under 60 and I went Kenwood 5.25 2 way in the front, and JVC 6x9 in the rear. Sound great for me, buy them later down the road, also don't go cheap. If u buy cheap then don't complain when ur not happy or can't use them if u upgrade later. I replaced my whole system including 2 amps, 1 12, all the mids and tweets, head unit, capacitor, distribution blocks and wiring for under 750. The names are average, I don't have to have it like I used to, this is plenty for me.

Also try and think of upgrades later and if what ur buying will fit into it later. I've sold plenty of systems to people who bought one thing, then came in months later and wanted it louder and cleaner. Just my opinion, its ur $ bro.

if your amp shuts down after a certain amount of time then that means something is set or installed wrong, either your gains are cranked up to the ceiling or you have too many speakers wired together or your power and ground wire is not big enough or connected badly causing extra strain on the amp. the size of the amp has nothing to do with how long it will play. i will agree with one thing though, it is always good to buy the most power you can afford, that way you have it on tap when you upgrade, but the fact of the matter is that the amount of power you have on the speakers is probably the least important thing in the whole system. most speakers will get plenty loud with even half of their rated power.

so paying attention to the head unit specs suggested i found:

Kenwood Execelon KDC-X597
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_113KDCX597/Kenwood-Excelon-KDC-X597.html#details-tab

*RMS power output of 22watts *RMS power bandwidth of 20-20KHz
these had me confused since I only expected to find one RMS rating

*sub preamp outputs *preamp voltage of 4 volts
I'm not sure if these were necessary since I'm gonna have an amp

It also has the front, rear, sub outputs.... I assume this is what it's referring to when it says 6-channel

*please review my choice, correct and suggest improvements as you see fit for head unit. (I really don't want a screen head-unit)

So i felt brave enough after trying to digest all the information provided by soundsecurity and everyone else, to go out and hunt for rear and front speakers.

I came down to (rear)Kicker 40CS674 speakers
and for my doors (front) Alpine SPS-610C speakers

please say yay/nay for my choice and point out flaws and possible alternatives.
(I based these choices on meeting the suggested requirements and then reading A LOT of customer reviews)

So the head-unit and speaker project i managed thanks to your help (it took a couple hours), but this amp and sub combo is kicking my ass to no end. the sheer amount of info to try to win my favor is just to much.

Soundsecurity unfortunately i can't create my own box, because joining the Army meant losing ALL of my tools and supplies... literally thousands of dollars in tools and supplies. so in this project i have to buy all materials already in their final product (but i can manage install).

Is buying a bass package that offers amp, sub, and enclosure a bad idea? (I feel like its an easy way out)

Kenwood 500-watt Dual 12" Bass Package
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_7003051PSO/Kenwood-500-watt-Dual-12-Bass-Package.html?tp=61893

*I hunted for the subs with 1 ohms rating and found few to none
*also I'm under the impression you want me to buy two amps?
*I'm completely okay with only 1 sub-woofer and space is meant to be filled up... as for battery I predict I will be upgrading, but please don't take that into consideration.

ok, thats not a bad radio but it doesnt have a crossover built in which means that you wont be able to filter out any harmful low frequencies out of your speakers. the reason this feature is important is that it helps prevent blowing your speakers the same way your factory speakers probably blew, and it also makes your speakers sound way better at high volume because they wont be struggling to play sounds they were not designed to play.

check out this sony, LINK, it has everything you want and everything i have recommended to some degree. and in my experience, sony radios are far easier to use than kenwoods.

soundsecurity please post the URL, for some reason i can't select your link

there is nothing wrong with buying a bass package. its nice because the equipment is already matched for you but the drawback is that they are usually not made of quality equipment which is why they are typically cheaper than buying each item separately and there will be no room to upgrade without buying all new equipment because the amp and sub are pretty much made for each other, not saying you couldnt change the sub or the amp, only that if you did change one or the other then it would not be an upgrade.

you will not find a 1 ohm sub woofer, i said to look for a dual voice coil 2 ohm sub woofer, might be abbreviated as "2 ohm DVC". these sub woofers have two sets of terminals instead of the normal one set that most other speaker has, this allows you to wire the sub woofer a couple of different ways and this changes the total ohm rating of the sub woofer. a DVC 2 ohm sub woofer can be wired to a total ohm rating of either 1 ohm or 4 ohms. it can be a little confusing at first but its really not that bad.

sony radio,

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_158BT4100P/Sony-MEX-BT4100P.html?tp=5684#details-tab

Sound Ordnance Bass Bunker
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_777BB1075S/Sound-Ordnance-Bass-Bunker.html?tp=61651

Kicker 40CWR102
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_2064CWR102/Kicker-40CWR102.html?tp=111#overview-tab

alright guys I got this for my bass hunting... the enclosure to sub relationship I don't quite understand.
*what is the difference between parted and sealed enclosures and how does this effect the sub?

*Also the sub specks showed a lot of ranges for RMS and frequency response, so I choose one with a wide range, is it good to have a wide range?

I'm trying to focus on the amp selection now and many options and terms have come up, some I feel I should know but I'm still confused.

*what is the amp classes? I get AB,AB/D,BR,D,FD for options

*What's an minimum impedance unbridged? I get .5,1,2,4 for options

*This is something I think I should know but nevertheless I got confused
what's the purpose and difference of 2,4,5, and mono channel amps?
which one do u think I should aim for?

*Also I saw bass boost and fan cooled options.. are these recommended?
I mean I will be driving at times for 15 hours straight, so idk if a fan is a gd idea.

Alpine MRP-F300
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_500MRPF300/Alpine-MRP-F300.html?tp=115

     this was recommended by 100 people who gave 5 star ratings

alright we are making progress. for starters, that amp is not really for sub woofers. that it a 4 channel amp that is meant to drive regular speakers. you really dont have to worry about amp classes, all that speaks for is the design of the amp. you will want to shoot for a MONO amp that is class D for your sub woofer. nowadays the majority of bass amps will be class D because they are more efficient. you should not need a fan but they dont hurt either, i tend to stay away from amps with fans because the fan can be noisy if you install it in the main cabin of your car and the fact that the amp has a fan can also mean that they didnt build in a good enough heat sink.

take online review with a giant grain of salt because many of them are people who are paid to post good reviews of anything and everything.

the impedance is just another way to describe the ohm rating of the amp but the minimum impedance unbridged is also something you dont have to worry about with a true MONO bass amp. but, every amp has a minimum impedance, bass amps will usually not work with anything lower than 1 ohm. this is why i pointed you towards a dual 2 ohm sub woofer so that you can get the most power out of a typical amp that is 1 ohm stable.

the sub you chose looks fine but the box you chose is a bit too small for that sub. it states that the box has .73 cubic feet of airspace inside and that sub is designed to sound best from .8 cubic feet up to 3 cubic feet. now this difference isnt that big a deal, you could still buy that box and be perfectly fine but im not sure how that sub would sound in such a small box. from my experience kicker subs tend to sound better in bigger boxes. the sub/box relationship is one of the hardest things to predict because there are so many variables that you have to account for.

sealed box vs. ported box, what you chose is a sealed box. it is totally sealed from the outside air. a ported box has an opening built into the box that is built to a certain size and length. this opening is called a port and it is used to create a peak in volume at a certain frequency which if designed correctly will make the bass sound louder than if you just had the sealed box. the drawback of a ported box is that they are usually a good bit bigger than a sealed box for any given sub woofer.

so at least with the sub/box you are going down the right road, i would just look for a box that is just a tad bit bigger than the one you found.

and since you now have most of the info that you need to start buying stuff i will give you one big piece of advice when it comes to anything dealing with car audio, you usually get what you pay for. if you find an amp that seems too good to be true, it usually is. for example, if you find an amp that is hundreds of dollars less than other amps with the same rated power then something is definitely wrong with that picture. that money being saved has to come from somewhere, usually comes from using low quality parts to make the amp or the amp does not actually put out the amount of power that it says. you dont have to buy the most expensive stuff either im just warning you to beware of equipment that is way too cheap. a car is one of the worst places for anything electronic because of the wild temperature swings and constant vibration, so buying equipment that is low quality will almost always be nothing but headaches for you.

for a 600 watt mono amp i would shoot for nothing cheaper than about $150

now, one more thing that we left out of the conversation so far, the wiring kit. if you plan to add more amps in the future or just get a more powerful amp, then i would buy bigger wire than what you need. for a 600 watt amp you will need at least a true 8 gauge wiring kit. and just like i said above, you will get what you pay for especially with wire. sometimes they will package wire as a certain gauge but when you look at it it will be mostly jacket with less actual wire inside. so beware of cheap wire. i would suggest brands like tsunami, stinger, knukonceptz.com wire, and thats all that comes to mind right now. knukonceptz wire is a nice web site because they have different options for wire, you can get pure copper which is the best or aluminum wire which isnt ideal but it gets the job done. and you can buy it by the foot so you only have to buy what you need. they also sell full wire kits.

okay Oh my god

so been using crutchfield.com for my shopping outlines cause of its good user choice interface. but i put in for 300-700 watt range, mono amp, D class, impendance at 1 and the cheapest amp out of that is 200 dollars... i mean i expected to pay about that mush but thats the "cheap" amp with it being 650 watts, and i usually get something in the middle of gd and bad equipment...

https://www.crutchfield.com/g_120/All-Car-Amplifiers.html?nvpair=FFRMS_Power%40%40Channel%7c%5brank7%5d+351+-+750+watts&nvpair=YCAmplifier_Class%7cD&nvpair=AG_Number_of_Channels%7cFFMono_Subwoofer&nvpair=YCMinimum_Impedance_Unbridged%7c1

the thing that made the price jump from 130 to 200 is impendance minimum at 1.... y is this so important that price goes up,up,up????

and still not caring about size... but then should i go with sealed box for better quality?

well, there are cheaper amps out there, crutchfield is not the only place to buy audio but their interface is one of the best for selecting what you want. every amp on that page on your link is a good amp, the cheapest amp is a middle of the line amp compared to other amps. judging from the size of the fuses in that amp it also should give you more power than the rated 650 watts, that amp should be closer to 800 watts at 1 ohm.

why does 1 ohm stable make the price go up? many reasons, one is popularity, two is versatility, three is built quality. for an amp to be 1 ohm stable at those power levels it needs to be made of more heavy duty parts to handle the amount of current passing through the amp without overheating.

$200 is really what an amp like that should cost, if it was any cheaper then i would question the build quality.

i do think you should go with a sealed box because they are easier to match up with a sub. sealed boxes are not as sensitive to being matched exactly with the sub woofer, ported boxes are much harder to match and the results of a poorly matched ported box get actually blow your sub. a sealed box has to be way way off target to cause damage to your sub. if space is not an issue then i would look for a sealed box with about 1.3 cubic feet of internal airspace.

soundsystem the only way im finding 1.3 volume space for an enclosure is if it's a ported one... if its sealed and 1.3 then im not finding it (probably not looking hard enough). do u have a link for this? ive chosen the 200 dollar amp and have decided to keep the bass i choose before so this enclosure (the key element) is it past a wiring kit

yea that would figure. usually the average 10 would be happy in such a small sealed box but like i said kicker subs tend to sound better with a bit more airspace than the average sub. its all good, you dont have to have the 1.3 cubic feet exactly. go ahead and buy the box that you found originally and you will have to go to the store before you install it and buy a bag of polyfill pillow stuffing. you are going to stuff pillow stuffing inside the box and then mount the sub woofer in the box. this is a little trick we use to make the sub sound like it is in a bigger box then what it really is.

that amp recommends using 4 gauge power and ground wire, so buy a 4 gauge amp kit.