system design?

I'm designing a new system for my '05 Avalanche. I've probably read thought about every high end product on the market. My goal is to start the instal around the first of April. My problem is my inability to decide on the right componets.

Here's a short list of what I am currently considering. Any input would be much appriciated. I am open to suggestions.

Alpine IVA - D310 head unit

Alpine PXA - H701 31 Band Graphic EQ

Alpine SBS - 05DC 1DIN Center Channel

MB Quart QSD 216 6.5" Component set in each door both front and rear. (90w RMS)

MB Quart QSD 210 4" Component set or QSD 213 5.25" Component set in custom kick panels up front and low. (Some people are telling that the 4" component set would give me better seperation) ??? (40w for the 4" and 70w RMS for the 5.25")

Two JL Audio 13W7-D1.5 subs (1000w RMS per sub)

Two JL Audio 1000/1 amps. One on each sub (1000w at 1.5 ohm per amp)

JL Audio 450/4 on the mids and highs. (At 175w x 2 on the front two channels and 75w x 2 on the rear two channels, I'm worried about under powering the seperates)

I'm also upgrading the alternator to a 200v stinger and adding a yellow top battery. I see no reason for capacitors due to the JL amps being so efficient.

Of course the entire truck will be coated with dynomat and only the best quality wire  will be used.

Any suggestions?

Also....

I believe I will port the subs. My current set up with Kicker L5's in a midgate replacement sounds really nice ported into the cab.

My goal is sound quality, not just loudness. I believe the the components mentioned will give me very good sound quality and also be very loud. Again, thanks for any suggestions. My life has been dominated lately with trying to design this system.

Sorry for any spelling errors. It's been a long day.

i would look at the JL Audio Stealth Box (SB-GM-AVL/12W3v2) it just blows me away every time we install one with a system your doing.  I assume your doing 5.1 which will sound awesome, though I suppose you must really, REALLY, REALLY LIKE A LOT OF BASS??

I would be curious to know what kind of enclosure you plan on using for the 13W7's?

I too would ditch the second set of speakers in the kick panel. As much as I like the German MB Quart speakers (not the made in china ones, they smell like arse and sound worse than a wet fart), I find that they lack on midbass. I would recommend that you short list the Focal 165K2P speakers for the front doors. For the headunit, eclipse all the way, the new AVN7000 + DCU105 is where you should be if a tonally balanced SQ system is the key. Center channel is cool if and when you can do it properly. Ideally keep the center channel and rear speakers in the same category as the main front speakers if you are doing a surround sound system, this way your tone and timbre are as closely matched as possible.

I would not use the EQ at all, I see absolutely no need for it. JL makes nice gear, so do other companies, look at the application and then choose the right equipment for the application. With the power you are listing on the subs, you are going to be in the stinking loud realm of response, as in, the area where one can pertain good sound vs loud sound gets thrown out the window. With this much power on tap in the arse end, you are definitely going to have to up things up front to try and keep up. How was the center channel going to be driven? If you want flexibility in your system, look to the new Zapco digital series of amplifiers, they are far more "tunable" than any other amplifier in the industy at this time. They are also built like a tank and have balls the size of T-Rex.

The system is alright how it sits with some exceptions as Dyohn and I have pointed out, that said though, I would continue to weigh some other options at the same time.

Thanks for the replies! I'll raise some of these questions at tomorrows meeting at the shop.

We kinda narrowed some things down today. We've decided, for now, to add another amp.

As of now, it looks like this.....

JL 450/4:

6.5" Q-Line woofer in each front door and 4" Q-Line components in the kicks. Front two channels (150W x2) on the woofers and the two rear channels (75W x2) on the kicks.

JL 300/2

6.5" Q-Line component set in rear doors and half of a 4" Q-Line component set used for the center channel. One channel (150W) driving the rear components, and the other channel (150W) on the center channel.

Two JL 1000/1's

One on each 13W7

Question...Why wouldn't you add the 31 band EQ?

I've pretty much sold myself on the Alpine IVA-D310. I love the touch response on the screen and being able to use the menu as it is set up on the dvd's. What it lacks in SQ by itself, compared to the Pioneer 7600, I was hoping to make up with the PXA-H701 EQ. Is the D310 not a good head unit? The features on the D310 are nicer than the 7600 and the price tag is better also. Of course, once you throw in the H701, the price is pretty much even. Alpine also makes a seperate, stand alone, controller for the H701, RUX-C701, that we were thinking about installing in the storage compartment above the dash.

As it is right now, the wattage would be as follows

QSC 210 4" Componet set in the kicks rated at 40 - 100W will have 75W  each side

QSC 216 6.5" Component set in front doors rated at 80 - 150W will have 150W each side

QSC 216 6.5" Component set in the rear doors will have 75W each side

PCE 210 single 4" woofer with 1" tweeter mounted coaxel center channel will have 150W

And of course 1000 watts on each sub. Subs are rated at 1000W RMS per.

No offense to any of you but I'm going to go ahead and port the subs. Even with great SQ, I would like to be able to hit 150 db and bounce my co-pilots head off of the dash, if I feel like it. : )

The store I am shopping at also sales Focal and I asked the salesman about them today. He swears that for the money, the Quarts are the better buy. I asked him to agree to removing the Quarts and allowing me to try different speakers if, for any reason, I was unhappy with the system. He agreed.

I have to ask. Why wouldn't you want the kicks? Wouldn't they improve staging? Couldn't hurt right? What I have now is mid level 6.5" components in each door and the staging sucks. The kicks would help bring this up, where it belongs, and give me more flexability to adjust for mid bass, mid, and highs. Or am I wrong?

Thanks again.

remarkable53 wrote:

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I would be curious to know what kind of enclosure you plan on using for the 13W7's?

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I'm not able to quote the dimensions, but it will be two seperate enclosures, built to specs, for each sub and attached to the mid-gate replacement. The square ports for each enclosure will fire though matching slits in the mid-gate, firing into the cab. Nothing fancy, just very thick MDF covered with color match vinyl. It would cost a lot of money to build a fiberglass enclosure and get a good seal between the cab and rear of the truck. Money better spent on quality components. The rear of the enclosure will also be covered in vinyl. All four amps will be mounted in a nice way in the rear, behind the sub enclosures. We haven't decided on a final lay out for the amps yet. I'm open to suggestions. Even though we aren't using fiberglass, I believe it will come out looking nice. No wires showing and semi stealth.  

Sounds like it's gonna be a very nice system. The bass though.... That thing is gonna be kickin with those 13w7's getting 1000watts each! Don't you think that's a little much for SQ? I guess you could always turn them down a little, right?lol!

Make sure to post some pictures when your done.

willdkartunes wrote:

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Sounds like it's gonna be a very nice system. The bass though.... That thing is gonna be kickin with those 13w7's getting 1000watts each! Don't you think that's a little much for SQ? I guess you could always turn them down a little, right?lol!

Make sure to post some pictures when your done.

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I don't believe in turning it down.  My plan is to not go deaf before they figure out a way to do ear drum transplants. lol

Don't worry, I'll be posting pictures all over the internet once everything is finished (three or four weeks). I've been waiting years to be able to do this type of install. I've come a long ways since those first punch 10's and a punch50.

willdkartunes wrote:

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I feel exactly what your saying. I'm first getting to do my project on my truck now, and I've been waiting since I was 12 years old. A pretty serious project much like yours and it's finally coming together. I'm going for SPL though, not SQ. My first speakers were RF Punch XLC too. Unfortunately, I'm not too familiar with the Avalanche. That's made by Chevy right? Maybe I'm confused, buy when I picture your setup it sounds like you did a blow through the bed. Is that right or am I way off?

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The Avalanche is considered a full size SUV. The rear of the truck (the bed I guess you could call it) is accessible from the front. From the factory it comes with something called a mid-gate. The rear window comes out and is stored, the rear seats are lowered and then you can lower the gate. This would allow you to have more cargo room. The entire rear of the vehicle is enclosed in three removable sections. I love the damn thing. The rear is lockable and completely water tight. Mine has never leaked. It's built on a Suburban chasis. Great ride quality.

Anyway...I bought mine new and took it right to the shop to have some work done. First I installed an eight inch Kicker W7 with a small Memphis Belle on it and the Memphis seperates. I wasn't happy and went back to see what else I could do. They advised me to remove the mid-gate and let them build a custom one that doubles as the front of the sub enclosure. I did this, and installed one Kicker L5 12". This has kept me somewhat happy for the last year, but now it's time to go all out.

The woofers are attached to the front of the mid-gate. They look like they are installed in a really large enclosure. Actually, the enclosure is no larger than spec. The front is cut to replace the mid-gate. For the JL W7's that are going in, a new mid-gate will be built with the two eclosures behind it. The mid-gate is the front of the enclosures. It is somewhat like a factory made cab through.

Trust me, it looks really nice and clean. I highly recommend the Avalanche to anyone wanting room for some large speakers. You can easily fit  up to 4 12's. Having a completely enclosed rear is really nice for mounting amps and allowing perfect enclosures to be built.

That does sound like a sweet ride! I got to see this system your doing cuz it sounds like it's gonna be real nice. I love JL Audio too, even though they are very pricey. They make some great products. The w7 series woofer and their amplifiers are a fine example.

I'm sort of going in a different direction than you with the vehicle setup. Huge systems are really nice and big vehicles are convenient for lots of speakers. I have been getting more into seeing how much can fit into a small area. The smaller the area, the better. Think of it like this.... would you rather be sitting in a concert hall listening to ten 13w7's, or listening to ten of them in a small bedroom? I think you get the idea... (talk about being deaf!)

By the way, you might wanna think about turning the bass down a little, otherwise the only thing a judge is going to hear is those 13w7's!!lol.