Some gits broke into my octy RS a couple of weeks ago and stole my sub and amp. Thankfully they didn't get my MP3 CD player. I was thinking about replacing them anyway so ...

With a budget of about £400 (for equipment only, and the wiring is still in place), does anyone have recommendations for:

Amp

Sub (+box)

Front speakers

TIA

Why spend £400 for a car stereo system. You are never going to be able to truelly enjoy high quality in a car with engine and road noise etc. Would never spend more than a £100 max. Now My home sound sytem is a different matter

I have to disagree! Yes I have spent about £1000 on my home stereo, and it sounds great, but I spend a lot of time in my car and a good stereo makes a huge difference. Since my sub/amp were nicked I haven't listened to any music - I can't stand the tinny sound and lack of atmosphere you get with the standard speakers. About the only thing I've listened to is Radio 4!!! I don't need to spend £400, but the £250 I spent on the previous sub/amp bought me some pretty crummy stuff TBH, and factoring in a pair of front speakers I figured £400 was about the minimum really.

Nope as long as I can hear the stereo in the car I amn happy enough. AT home I have my 'music' room, with my sound system with my chice of components and as near perfect 3D sound as hours of twiddling has allowed, allong with a very comfi recliner chair to sit back in, close the eyes and feel like I am sitting with the orchestra surrounding me. Bliss..........

Some gits broke into my octy RS a couple of weeks ago and stole my sub and amp. Thankfully they didn't get my MP3 CD player. I was thinking about replacing them anyway so ...

With a budget of about £400 (for equipment only' date=' and the wiring is still in place), does anyone have recommendations for:

Amp

Sub (+box)

Front speakers

TIA[/quote']

I'm selling my old Octavia system - see for sale section;

Genesis 4 channel amp

MB quart components

JL Audio boxed sub

It sounded fantastic - PM me if you are interested

Why spend £400 for a car stereo system. You are never going to be able to truelly enjoy high quality in a car with engine and road noise etc. Would never spend more than a £100 max. Now My home sound sytem is a different matter

Using the same logic then why buy an Octy vRS that can do twice the speed you are legally allowed to drive at?

Jimmy it is not quite the same, but indeed for many years I thought people who bought high performance cars were daft as legally you could not drive any faster than what just about any car can manage. However you still can enjoy the acceleration and responsiveness at legal speeds.

And you can enjoy decent sound quality at reasonable volumes in a car too (following the same logic).

May be interested ... have to find out whether the insurance will give me a cheque or go out and buy them themselves. What model is the sub btw?

And you can enjoy decent sound quality at reasonable volumes in a car too (following the same logic).

I'm not convinced by the logic of that analogy...the issue isn't about volume, it's about sound quality. A car is an extremely poor acoustic environment (especially in the Octy's case), so you're never going to get good sound quality.

Though, I wouldn't say £400 is a lot to spend on making it sound a bit better...

Rob.

Let's be honest the sound quality of the std Octy system is a bit pants to say the least. But like William I'm not too bothered. I might upgrade mine in the future but atm I've got other stuff I would like to do so it's a low priority. Each to their own I say and I agree £400 isn't alot to pay for a better quality system.

It's the £10k multimedia system with 10 amps and screens everywhere in a 1988 Renault 5 that I struggle to understand the point of...

As a guide decent sounds can be got with not so much money - my current amp/sub setup cost me £300 second hand, and the component door speakers were £140 second hand as well. Buying new makes things expensive IMO, and if you're willing to risk the lack of warranty like I usually am, a powerful setup can be attained very cheaply.

Agreed Jason but one question. How do carry anything in the boot?

The speakers / sub / amp you'll chose will also depend on what type of music and response you're after.

I guess you're more after sound quality, i.e. precision of the rendered sound and less after spl, i.e. sheer bass volume.

Subs are quite controversial and I've found the box it's fitted to to have more of an impact than the sub itself. As for me, I have a genesis audiophile 12" sub in a custom made box. The box was professionally made by a chap who specialises in bass box builds. He will take all the parameters of the sub and determine dimensions of the box to suite resonant requency, volume, etc of the sub.

A bit like Jason though, I have lost some boot space, but my install is, how can we say, a little more sublte than Jason's. But Jason's probably gets more dB out of his setup than I do.

As for normal speakers, I'd tend to get a decent pair of front components. I wouldn't bother with rear 6x9's as they're just "fillers" and will diminish the precision / existance of a soundstage.

But then again, it's all down to personal preference.

As for subs, I'd personally stay well away from anything that boasts 3 trillion watts of power If the Genesis sub mobtob's selling is anything as good as the quality of the audiophile sub - and I'm sure it is - I would go for that. You can run the front speakers with 2 channels and bridge the other 2 channels for driving a sub.

Agreed Jason but one question. How do carry anything in the boot?

Only "thin" stuff fits around that lot in the boot, but I have the luxury of rarely carrying back seat passengers so that's my extended boot. Half the crap from the TRAX weekend is still back there, the glovebox and bits of paperwork! Must clean it and finally wire the amplifier in. :speaker:

Yes I am more after sound quality. I've got a friend with a twin sub setup like Jason's and yes, it makes a lot of noise, but I'm not really interested in that (although I do occasionly like to but on some DnB and turn it up!). also I like still being able to fit more than a piece of paper in the boot :-)

Agreed, wasn't going to bother with the rears, I tend to bias the speakers towards the front anyway. Hadn't thought about amping them - does this produce noticable gains over powering them from the head unit (in sound quality rather than total volume)?

Thanks

Some gits broke into my octy RS a couple of weeks ago and stole my sub and amp. Thankfully they didn't get my MP3 CD player. I was thinking about replacing them anyway so ...

With a budget of about £400 (for equipment only, and the wiring is still in place), does anyone have recommendations for:

Amp

Sub (+box)

Front speakers

TIA

Firstly unlucky on your loss :(

My advice would be to stick to known names. Alpine is one of the better makes for quality/reliabilty/sound and most of all price. You can get a decent sub and amp and co-axils for £400.

I would get a good 12' sub. This size is a good allrounder for all types of music (10' for faster beats (dance etc) or a 15' for slower beats (R&B etc))

Try to balence money for Sub/Amp well because the amp can make a huge difference in sound quality too!

I know you said you have one but a decent head unit can help for the quality too as long as it has enough adjustments on it.

You dont need a lot to get good sounding loadish music in the octavia. As long as you pick well and dont get sucked in to deals you see in the mags.

Below are some ideas!

Car Audio Direct - Alpine SWR-1242D - Subwoofer

Alpine MRP-M850 1500W Digital Mono Amplifier, MRP-M850 Mono Amplifier

and as a decent base model headunit if ever you wanted to change yours....

Alpine CDA-9887R CD/MP3 Tuner

Hopefully this has been some help to ya (oh and sorry about the grammer and spelling - its 0520 in the morning and im at work so im knackered!)

I'm sure the OP will be grateful for your advice, even if it is over 4 years late.

(Don't worry, we've all done it )

I'm sure the OP will be grateful for your advice, even if it is over 4 years late.

(Don't worry, we've all done it )

Nice to see a thread with one of William's posts in it getting another airing!

Nice to see a thread with one of William's posts in it getting another airing!

Oh, I miss our Willster...

Agreed Jason but one question. How do carry anything in the boot?

I use my other car if I want to carry anything!

You can make most cars sound pretty good with not too much money spent. I put some 4" Macrom Integras (RRP £180, cost £60), an Alpine 4 channel amp (RRP £150ish, cost £30 off ebay!), an Alpine 3401 Parametric EQ (RRP £350, Ebay £100), and a 12" Cheap sub in a sealed box (RRP £75, Cost £16 Ebay), plus cabling etc. Not a bad setup for just over £200!

Just shop around and bargains can be had!

Next time, make sure you bolt the bass box through the boot floor!!

Also worth trying www.talkaudio.co.uk forums for loads of ICE advice and items for sale.

I use my other car if I want to carry anything!

Can you read ????

Specifically dates ???

Edited 28 October, 200817 yr by fatty5000