by Monkeyman » Tue Jan 31, 2006 6:43 pm
Here is the view from an MECP installer (me, I used to work for Autosound in Norwood MA): You made a good choice with the Alpine amp. Tri mode pulls power away from the mids and highs when the bass hits (known as "Clipping"), so a five channel is a better idea (still not the best because all five channels are using the same power supply, so two seperate amps would be better).
While Soundblaster does make great sound cards, the outputs from them are only 1 volt (this is the standard voltage for non-mobile, audio pre-amped signals), so your amp has to work harder to produce high volume. To get the best sound from your amp and speakers, you should buy a head-unit with the highest output voltage possible (ie Eclipse CD-8445 = 8 volts, also the Eclipse keeps the signals in digital until it reaches the pre-amp, which SERIOUSLY limits induced noise, and keeps the THD -Total Harmonic Distortion- low) that fits your budget. In addition, who knows what the resistance in the signal path from your soundcard is. Lower is better, but I doubt it's very low from such a device. While I enjoy the idea of a computer in the car, and commend your efforts, they are not built to work with mobile electronics (they will work, just not as well).
Everyone who said things along the lines of "You get what you pay for" is right. Less expensive or "no-name" amps give their power ratings in Max, not RMS. RMS means "Root Mean Square" which translated to english (ha-ha-ha) means the amount of power the unit puts out consistantly. Max ratings are found either mathmaticly, or by testing the amp (at incredibly high voltage, often with a dirty signal) to artificially produce results which are higher than the amp can put out all the time. The Max numbers they give are an "If lighting strikes twice in the same place" number, and an amp can only provide that kind of power for a few nanoseconds. No-name amps also build their circuits to produce power at the lowest cost to them. This means that the sound from such an amp could potentially be out of phase, distorted.....junk.
I'll be honest and say that my opinions are sometimes biased, as I am an audiophile (Tube monoblock amps, tube tuner, and tube preamp at home, and I prefer records.....Records? YES, all psycho audiophiles listen to records), and am used to the best of the best (I should have bought a new house instead of my home stereo). I suggest the Eclipse CD-8445 or CD-8455 as your head unit because I have the CD-8455, and I gave up a McIntosh MX-406, for a Nakamichi CD-700II, and gave that up for the Eclipse. Nothing else has produced the clean, warm, high volume sound in my Solara like the Eclipse CD-8455.
Depending on what type of music you listen to your speakers could be great, to "OK." If you listen to house/techno/dance/trance then these speakers won't have the sound you are looking for. Every thing else will sound great. Silk dome tweeters produce a smoother, warmer sound. Would you rather be hit in the ear with a piece of metal, or a piece of silk?
Make sure the factory tweeters in your doors are disconnected, because they are too close to your listening position and will KILL your soundstage.
Lastly, every part of your system is important, from the head unit, to the RCA and speaker wires, to your amps. Wires really are important! Cheap wires produce what is called "Skin Effect," (out of phase) this means that the higher freq. signals run over the outside edges of the copper wires, while the lower freqs pass more slowly through the center. The result is a muddy sound which won't sound as good to you. I use Nordost Vallhalla RCA and speaker wires, but I am sure you could find wiring which sound great for far less.
I hope this helps your sound, and if you have any questions, feel free to PM me,
David
02 DWP; all TRD parts for 2.4L HT; Gold mirror windows; Nordost Valhalla, Eclipse CD8455, Morel / Renaissance, A/D/S pq40.2, Rockford Fosgate 500m, Garret T3/T4 ceramic bearing turbo.
