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Alright, so forgive my newbness.. I have been out of the car audio scene for a while now... it has literally been years since I had anything besides stock (I know... so sad! )

I have a 2002 Civic LX Sedan... have the wiring (4 gauge) run for the sub and amp already.. just ordered some new stuff to complete it.

I am only looking for a mid-range SQ setup..a little SPL, but mainly SQ...

So, I bought
Sub section:
HiFonics Brutus BX605 Sub Amp (600w rms @ 1 ohm) (1 channel)
Basic carpeted 1.0 cubic foot sealed box
Alpine 12" Type R SWR-1222D Dual 2 ohm sub (will wire it to 1 ohm)

Mid/Highs:
(2) pairs Infinity 6012si shallow mount 6.5's

HU: JVC KD-SX980 (yeah I know..not the greatest..but I got it for $50 from a friend)

my questions are..
1) how hard to install 6.5's in front doors and rear deck? Mainly concerned about the fact I only have what came in the box...don't have any special spacers or anything. I have heard of people having to "make it work"
2) since I am just going for mid-range SQ, do I need to amp my highs? If so, which amp should I get (think $150-$200 budget)... brands/models?
3) lastly if I get an amp for the Infinity's, could some one tell me the best way (location) to install it... I am sorry to say I have never done a 4 channel amp install.

Thanks to any help you all are willing to offer!

 
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1) the front 6.5" speakers on the doors isnt hard at all. if u can work with a screwdriver and basic tools, then you'll be fine. it probably took me and a buddy 15min per door to assemble and disemble. hardest part was making spacers because my speakers were too thick.

2) the speakers you have are 2-way coaxials. not the best, but definately better than stock and its what your working with. i highly recommend amping your speakers if your heading toward the SQ route. as for speaker amps, look for a decent 4-ch amp that does around 50wrmsx4 @ 4ohm. i run the Alpine MRP-F240 (40wx4) and does the job well enough for me. as for brands and models, hopefully someone more knowledgeable will get more into that.

3) installing a 4-ch amp is just like any other external amp. you can mount it onto your back seat or just let it sit flat in your trunk like i did. as for wiring goes, theirs two options: A) you can run the speaker wire from the 4-ch amp to the headunit or B) run the speaker wire from the 4-ch amp directly to the speakers (your infinity's). i recommend wiring it to your headunit because you can easily put it back to factory spec.

 
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remember with a 4 channel u need 2 sets of RCA's if u plan on fading ur music front or back. You cant mount it anywhere

THe front speakers r EZ but the rear a a pain in the ***. We have a DIY on this site in the DIY forum which would be able to help u out alot. When u mount the Infinities make sure u bottom mount them incase the blow or something u can take them out easier.

U can just get any 4 channel amp with the RMS rating that is in the range of your Infinity speakers per channel.

 
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Ooops. Read more closely, TMB.

--TMB

 
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thanks for the help guys..... If I am running both front and rear speakers I need 2 sets of rca's?? or 2 sets totally including my sub? My HU has just 2 outs...I guess If I start to get heavy into it I could run an EQ too..but just trying to stay at the minimum... ya know :-)

 
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I would definatly recomemd getting another amp to power your components. Your H/U puts out 50w max ( approx. 25 W RMS) your speakers are 50 W RMS. This isnt too bad but you will get the most out of them if you give them more power.

There are a number of different places you can put the amp, under the passenger seat (even though this makes adjusting it a biatch and it may get kicked), attached to the back of the rear seats, or you can build something off to the side of the trunk where you can attach it.

Hooking up the 2 apms isnt that much different that hooking up 1 amp. However you are going to need a distribution block and a y splitter for your RCA's. You need to run 1 power wire (probably 4 gauge) from your battery to where you are mountin your amps (most likely in the trunk) into the distribution block. From the distribution block you will run 2 power wires (probably 8 gauge) 1 to each amp. Your h/u has 2 pre-outs. I couldnt download the manual so I am going to assume they are front/rear. If that is the case you will want to run the front set into channels 1+2 for the amp. You wil then want to split the rear RCA's. Run one set into channels 3+4 and the other set to the sub amp. The speaker wires from the 4 channel amp should be run directly to the speakers. I'm not sure what he meant by running them through the H/U but Ive never seen it done like that.

As for amps if you want to stay with HiFonics the Titan TXi-4406 puts out 4x55 RMS and should have more than enough for what you are looking for. You could also look at Alpine, Infinity, or a number of others.

 
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james,

Thanks so much for your post! I really appreciate the clarification..

I think what he meant by running it to the HU would be to run the speaker wire back up front and connect them to the wiring harness...that way, if you want to take it out, you wouldnt have to rewire it all over again.the only concern I see with that is if there will be signal degredation over the extra 10' of wire? I like that idea better than running the speaker wires directly..but I guess if I wait to get the amp and everything and do it all in one day it wont matter because I will already have all the door panels, etc. off.

I will be mounting both my 4 channel amp and sub amp to the back of the flip down seats... the 4 gauge is already run and installed..the rcas for the sub are done...now just need to put in all the new toys when they arrive. also need to order a distro block, and was thinking seriously about a yellow top optima battery... I have been using an Image Dynamics 12" sub for about a month and even that draws a little much from the stock bat/alt.

 
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Yeah I figured out what he meant after I had posted You can definatly do it that way. If there is any signal degridation I dont think its going to be enough to notice. The way I am doing it is to run the wire directly to the speakers. I am taking the time now to connect the factory speakers up to the H/U and just disconnect the speakers. That way if I want to go back to stock (Ill probably be leaving in the H/U) I can just hook the factory speakers back up.

Something else you can look at to help the electircal system is the "Big 3" upgrade.

http://forum.sounddomain.com/forum/u...=5;t=007801;p=

That should help you out quite a bit. I am most likely going to run an Optima Yellow and do that as well

 
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instead of using a splitter on the rca's...can't I just use the amp passthru.. (as featured on alpine amps)?

 
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Yeah you should be able to

 
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1) Fronts are not hard to install at all. Spacers depends on the speaker depth. I know I didn't need spacers for my 6.5's. So you may or may not need them. The only problem here is the fact that there are no screw holes for you to install aftermarket speakers in the door. The factory speakers have their own bracket/spacer thing and is held in by clips. You could always drill your own holes though. As for the rear speakers. I've never done them, but I've heard it was a PITA to do it.

2) As SQ goes, an amp would probably be a better idea, but I personally would try it without and amp first and see if you like it. If you don't, go out and buy an amp. No use in wasting more money if you don't need to.

3) I'm not clear on this question. Best location (way) to install it???