| Author |
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David Dryden (David914)
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 08:26 pm: | 
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I'm getting ready to install a 5 channel amp, sub(s) and speakers in my '97 Disco and would like some install ideas for the amp and subs. I have an idea, but would like to see what others have done. The amp won't fit under the seats, so it needs to live in the back somewhere. Also, where is the easiest route for the cables to go from front to the back? If anyone has some ideas/pictures, either post them here or e-mail me. Thanks!!!
David |
BJ Turner (Wturner)
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 09:56 pm: |
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You have TONS of room above your headliner, it will take more wire, but you have less potential for problems with heat (if your down south), and Water, if you ever go DEEP in water.
I think the amp would fit under one of the front seats though, after all, if you are going after market, you should be removing the CD player anyway. If not, put it on the inside of the storage panel (if you don't have SE7), you could cut a board to fit real easy. |
David Dryden (David914)
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 11:33 pm: |
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I haven't actually tried it, but the amp is REALLY big. It doesn't look like it'll fit under the seat, but I'll give it a closer look. As far as the wire goes, I'm assuming the factory harness follows along just above the side windows and doors, then down the A-Pillar. Is there much room inside the A-Pillar, or will it be hard to fish wire through?
David |
BJ Turner (Wturner)
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 11:36 pm: |
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I haven't tried it either, but I plan to do just that if I ever go with BOOM! |
JRoc
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 11:50 pm: |
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I put a 5 channel amp under the drivers side rear seat. I looked for an amp that would fit in that location. The front seat has alot more room. It would have to be a really big amp to not fit under the drivers seat. If I had it to do over again I'd go with a 4 channel amp and a seperate sub amp. My amp only has 150 watts going to the sub, and I'd like alot more! Good Luck |
alhang
| | Posted on Thursday, March 14, 2002 - 02:15 pm: |
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http://www.people.vcu.edu/~ahang/stereo.htm
here's some pics of my setup, all alpine. the 5 channel V12 fits in the rear perfectly. |
Neal Glessner (Nealg)
| | Posted on Thursday, March 14, 2002 - 10:24 pm: |
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I hate my alpine. The display is too dim. The button layout sucks and the CD player broke after 1.5 years of use. I had pioneers in a few other cars and they were great. Don't let the Alpine name fool you. |
Robert Mann (Oldscout)
| | Posted on Thursday, March 14, 2002 - 10:40 pm: |
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8" subs in the rear door.
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JRoc
| | Posted on Thursday, March 14, 2002 - 10:46 pm: |
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Alpine makes the best head units by far!!! Problem is they also make cheap stuff to compete, price wise, with other company's. If your gonna buy cheap, your gonna get cheap. Sony's really suck. Some people like kenwoods, I'm not a big fan but they don't suck. Alpine amps are good too but I prefer MTX. There are alot of companys that make good amps. The real weak point in our (the Disco's) system is the speakers. 4" speakers are a joke! I replaced the fronts with component (seperates) Rockford Fosgates, 4" woofer, seperate tweeter. The rear I kept the size (4" as well) but went with Infinity Kappa full ranges. I don't like them and will probably sell them on e-bay when I can replace them with 6 3/4" Rockfords. I added a REAL sub, MTX 12" in a box and it rocks! Overall, sounds good but as I said before I'm going to change the rear speakers and add a seperate amp for the sub. And remember the head unit needs to sound good! Nice buttons and fancy light shows don't do squat for the sound!!! |
Neal Glessner (Nealg)
| | Posted on Thursday, March 14, 2002 - 11:31 pm: |
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I didn't buy a cheap Alpine and it was still a piece of shit! |
Rico
| | Posted on Thursday, March 14, 2002 - 11:46 pm: |
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I relocated my CD to the glovebox. On after the first time I got water inside I figured it was the wise thing to do. Now if it gets wet then I will have bigger problems than a broken CD.
A friend of mine putt his amp in the back storage bin and made a nice lid to cover it. |
JRoc
| | Posted on Friday, March 15, 2002 - 12:11 am: |
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Alpine head units suck and Pioneers rule???  That has got to be a first!!! Even the guys at Pioneer would get a kick outta that one! Guys, you might want to check with people who know about Car Audio, and not take my word, or anyone elses on this board. Good Luck |
Neal Glessner (Nealg)
| | Posted on Friday, March 15, 2002 - 01:57 am: |
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Jroc, First-Don't put word in my mouth.
Alpine isn't what is used to be. They used to be the shit. You've alreay admitted that they have to make cheap stuff to compete. I remember when they had no competition and they were the best. The FACT is I've had several Alpines and Several Pioneers and I like Pioneer better. I've had 2 Alpines go bad for no reason at all. Even if someone did buy a cheaper Alpine, that's no excuse for them get stuck with a stereo that is impossible to read the display during the day.
I could give a shit if someone buys an Alpine over a Pioneer. I only wish someone warned me ahead of time instead of having to learn the hard way.
And by the way, I did go into a stereo shop and "asked someone who knows car audio". I got an Alpine with an very poor display, disfunctional buttons and a CD optic that went bad in 1.5 years.
Do you even own an Alpine? Have you hit any hard bumps? Have you had it very long? If so, I can't believe you don't slightly relate to what I'm saying.
I'm sorry to be so bitter towards Alpine. I paid a lot of money for the head unit in my Disco and every day I have to drive around and hum to myself instead of listen to the stereo I curse Alpine. |
David Dryden (David914)
| | Posted on Friday, March 15, 2002 - 07:40 am: |
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Alhang,
Thanks for the pix! I have the same amp (MRV-F357). I've decided to mount mine in the same location. I spent yesterday installing a piece of wood behind the factory trim to give me something solid to screw the amp into. Hopefully, today I'll be running the wires and getting some sound for the weekend! I'm planning on building a sub box that'll fit into the opposite side storage well.
By the way, I didn't intend for this to become a "your stuff sucks, mine doesn't" thread. Every manufacturer has its good products and its not so good. Alpine has become more "mass market" over the past several years, but they still make an above average product. I've got Kenwood, Alpine, a/d/s/, and Pioneer equipment in my vehicles. I've been happy with all of it, but they all have their strengths and weaknesses.
I'm still interested in seeing more pictures if anybody has any. Keep 'em comin'!
David |
alhang
| | Posted on Friday, March 15, 2002 - 09:30 am: |
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LOL, damn everybody likes to draw lines in the sand. I too have a too dim alpine as you can read from my review. Performance wise, the system is great but the interface sucks. I do believe Alpine fixed this in it's newer models, but decided to discontinue the 3 disc changer I have. I can understand Neal's bitterness, I paid a small fortune to get my parts and I can't even read the display during the day.
David, I don't know if you already bought a sub but I've had good luck in the past with Soundstream, Polk, and Rockford's Audiophile Line(I don't think they make these anymore but I'm sure they have a similar model) Stick with an 8 or 10 inch sub and you should do fine, the V12's amp really isn't strong enough to drive more than that.
Good luck,
-Al |
gp (Garrett)
| | Posted on Friday, March 15, 2002 - 09:41 am: |
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just have to add my 2 cents here. i have long been a kenwood fan and have since found Eclipse. (about 3 years ago) i love the stuff. cannot say one bad thing about the unit or the customer service i have gotten. and one of the few head units that still uses a dial for volume!!! a small thing, but important to me. and at prices from about $250 for a entry level unit all the way to the big $$$. |
Craig Kobayashi (Koby)
| | Posted on Friday, March 15, 2002 - 10:52 am: |
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David, I have a similar setup to what you're looking to install... I'll take pics tonight as soon as I get home from work |
David Dryden (David914)
| | Posted on Friday, March 15, 2002 - 01:35 pm: |
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Yeah, I know what you mean by dim display on the Alpine. I've got an Alpine in the Disco, and a Kenwood in another car. The Kenwood is far and away easier to use and has the better display. I do think that the Alpine sounds a bit better though.
As far as the sub goes, I've already got a 10 inch a/d/s that came out of a previous car that I'm going to build a new box for. It sounded good in the previous install and the beauty is that it works in a pretty small box (just the thing for the Disco's rear storage compartment space!).
Today I'm going to start threading the cables from back to the front (battery, turn on lead, front speakers, line level). Should be interesting. Hopefully, I can get everything to go down the A-Pillars OK. The rest looks pretty easy. I'll let you know!
David |
JRoc
| | Posted on Friday, March 15, 2002 - 01:44 pm: |
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Hey Neal,
I feel I owe you an apology. All things/opinions aside, I should've been more sensitive to your situation. If I bought an Alpine, or Mercedes for that matter, and it performed like shit, I'd be pissed too! So you had every right to be pissed. As a matter of fact, you said you went to a stereo shop and was recommended that unit that you hate? I think you should go back to them and see if they can't do something to work things out. Usually, if you are the type to spend money on higher end stuff, then they'll do whatever to keep you coming back.
I do own a Alpine head unit and I agree with you that Alpine, as well as alot of company's, isn't what they used to be! And as far as hitting bumps goes, I live in New York and if you've never driven here, it's rough! The Alpine unit I currently have in my Disco not only has the exact opposite problem with the display (too bright at night), but actually electronically tilts up to cut glare. I've had this particular unit for 3 years and, except for the display being overpowering at night, I haven't had one complaint. I've owned Alpine's for 20 years and I wouldn't put anything else in a vehicle I own, and of course this is IMHO. In the past I've tried Kenwood, Sony, Nackamichi, Denon, Blaupunkt, and probably a few others I'm leaving out, and I've always come back to Alpine. With me it's all about "SOUND QUALITY" and quite frankly I haven't been disappointed yet.
Anyway, Neal I hope you'll accept my apology, I hate when people get on the computer and talk and act in a way that they just wouldn't if they were face to face with you. I got overzealous because while not an "expert" in car audio, I know significantly more about it than wheelin, which I'm new to. In the end I think we were both trying to help, and share our experience, and that's what this board is about. No hard feelings? Hopefully you won't hold a grudge when I need help, with something your well versed in. |
Tony (Gremlin)
| | Posted on Friday, March 15, 2002 - 03:27 pm: |
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I like the stock Alpine in my 2000 DII, but then again the system I used to listen to was a Kenwood that I bought ~12 years ago. The only bad thing about the Alpine was it died after buying the disco and the next two units that were installed were also dead(third unit that was installed was the upgraded head, too bad it did'nt work). Finally the 4th unit (oh ya it took awhile to get each of the head units becaused each one had to be ordered after they were installed and found non-functional) worked thankfully it was all covered under warranty. |
Neal Glessner (Nealg)
| | Posted on Friday, March 15, 2002 - 10:23 pm: |
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Jroc,
Thanks and my apology also. |
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