Setting up a new system

[juadjee]

Hello Pakwheelers!

I just got the below Audio Equipment:

Head Unit: Kenwood KDC-MP333V
Speakers: Kenwood 718 - Indonesians
Woofer: Kenwood KFC-3514DVC
Amplifier: Kole Audio KX2-620 - 620 Watts 2 channel Amplifier

And this is the amp that I already have installed in my car, with 2 Boschmann speakers. It plays pretty well and the guy I got it from played a sub on it as well to show me how powerful the amp is.

What I plan to do now is:

• take out my old head unit and speakers, and replace the head unit with this one
• add the 718s to this MGT Power 600 amp I already have installed
• add the Woofer to the Kole Audio Amp, along with that I'll make an enclosure for the sub and keep it in the trunk
• Though I don't want my battery to be sucked out because of running 2 amps, i'm not a sucker for very loud sound, I just want quality, so do you guys think I should go with the two amps?

I'll need a lot of help from the experts around here cause I plan to make it as much of a DIY as I can manage and I'll seek professional help only where necessary.

The areas where I'll need guidance from fellow Pakwheelers are:

• Enclosure designing for my sub. I'm not a bass junkie. My type of music is Alt Rock primarily, so what I'm looking for is more of a 'punch' in my bass rather than an overall bass-y sound. So advise me is a sealed enclosure better for me or a ported one?

• The recommended enclosure volumes for the sub are 1.7 cu ft (Ported) and 1.2 cu ft.(sealed)

• Which brings us to the dimensions of the enclosure, Once I decide whether to go for a ported or sealed enclosure, how do i decide on the dimensions. I've seen some websites where you can calculate enclosure dimensions, but does it make a difference how square or rectangle my enclosure is, will it impact the sound?

• I also need to know how to tune my enclosure and sub - i know nothing about tuning, so if there is a basic thread on it, please direct me to it, otherwise experts please shed some light here.

• I've seen installation of 1 amp and i've read up enough on it to be confident that I can manage it, but i plan to install 2 amps, and i'm guessing that will be a challenge. How do i go about with the power cable - do I split it into two, or do i use 2 separate power cables, or do i connect the two in series, i.e. one amp after the other. In this case the RCA cable will also pose a challenge as my head unit has only 1 RCA out and with two amps i'll require 2 RCA ins for each amp.

I would anxiously be waiting for replies to this, any comments and suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks,
Jawad

[smartboy_am]

nyce stuff.......nyce amp and sub.....

[haris_taurus90]

for a SQ setup choose a sealed enclosure for ur sub. Secondly do consider a pair of components for front stage. Connect your components to the amp and these 7x10's directly to ur HU for the rear fill. And there you have it, a perfect SQ setup.

[splfanatic]

Nice Equipment

Its advisable u two power cable 8 guage for both amps and same goes for grounding.

As u are not a bass junkie, ill advise u to go sealed . For a smooth bass responce and punch.

control the treble of 718s they can ruin a good setup with their chankar

lastly, as u have sub alrdy, 718s role in producing bass is not that important. Do as haris said. Connect Comps with amp to get gud midrange punch.

regards

[juadjee]

@smartboy_am: Thanks buddy! I plan to upgrade the HU as soon as I have some dough again. Please comment on some of the issues i've highlighted with your suggestions.

@haris_taurus90: Thanks for the suggestion. SQ means Super Quality right? I do have 2 very decent OEM speakers in my doors which give a front fill. I do plan to have components as I make an upgrade also, but a bit later.

In either case, I need your feedback on the issues i've highlighted above so i can get cracking on my project

[juadjee]

@ splfanatic: Thanks, okay I'll keep that in mind for the wiring. What do you suggest about RCAs?

I'd like to go for a sealed enclosure! For that, how do i go about building and tuning it?

I'll make sure the 718s are in check. My MGT amp has a good bass boost, so hopefully with a bit of twitching, they shouldn't be so annoying and with the Kole Audio Amp, my sub should produce good bass, so this seems like the best way for now.

I'll add in the components soon, but my OEM front speakers do a decent job ad mid ranges actually, and they give a good fill in the car when combined with the rear speakers, so for now i think this is the best option?

[smartboy_am]

yar go for sealed if u want punch ,or get normal shopkeeper wala encl coz they are tuned high and in rock songs mostly there are high notes....so u'll get the punch and a little boom to.......bro do separate power wiring for each amp....and get an rca divider and install both the amps.....

[splfanatic]

i wont advise shopkeeper wala enclosure.

They are tuned high, but they are very boomy, and not precise.

Sealed or custom ported at arnd 45hz with poly fill

[haris_taurus90]

Bro you can use RCA splitter to solve this single RCA problem. But then you wont be able to control crossover settings through your HU (Subwoofer option would also be useless). And yes OEM speakers would work ok, but you wont have an equal sound stage as most of the sound would be coming from rear. But for the time being, this setup would do the job. So Gud Luck!!

[haris_taurus90]

And by SQ i mean Sound Quality.

[smartboy_am]

yar i nrock sogs the frequency is mostly around 60- 80hz....so in my opinion the market encl are also tuned to these......

[juadjee]

@Smartboy_am: I'm gonna go for the sealed enclosure as advised by most of you here, but I want to work on the enclosure myself rather than getting those low quality ready made ones - So will go with splfanatic on that one. Thanks for the solutions to power and RCA wiring, I shall do as you advised.

@splfanatic: Can you elaborate a bit on 45 Hz, what does this represent and how can i tune my enclosure to the said frequency?

@haris_taurus90: Yes buddy, will get the splitter for RCA. I understand the constraint of less control from the HU, but i guess that's a compromise i'll have to make, until, maybe i upgrade to a HU with 2 RCA outs. However the amps have ample controls that i can fiddle with to get the right sound. And yes, for the front door speakers, i'll have to set the fader settings skewed towards the front side, as i have right now, that's the only way they give a somewhat balanced sound. Well that's the SQ i want

[iLLDuDe786]

lookin gud , what car will you fit it into?

[juadjee]

@smartboy_am: actually its not hardcore rock, but alt-rock, and my sound preference is not the standard-somewhat high frequency preset for rock music. I like my music with a good PUNCH and deep sound. and I keep trebles on the low, always.

[juadjee]

@iLLDuDe786: Thanks man! Will be setting this up in a 2000 Civic.

[juadjee]

Guys, there's also another thing I want to check with you all. I'm quite an amateur at this so I don't know. As you can see in the pictures, the Kole Audio amp has an RCA in and an RCA out.

Does that mean I can hook the Kole Audio directly with my HU and then connect the RCA out on this amp to the RCA in of my other amp? Is anyone aware of this feature?

[smartboy_am]

so sealed would be good......if u are getting sealed go for the company's recommened one...coz i myself made a sealed encl according to comapny's recommended specs the result was very good....the punch was mindblowing,but i couldn't that kind of punch in my 40hz box nor my old bazari paiti......

[smartboy_am]

yeah u can do that also....pre's rca output to koe audio input and kole audio's output to another amp's input.........this way ur pre voltage wont divide......

[juadjee]

Okay great! So the company recommended Volume is 1.2 Cu ft for sealed, what would the dimensions be like on that? and how can i tune it to 40 Hz?

and yes, that's good then! The RCA matter is taken care of - that's how i'll connect the two amps.

[smartboy_am]

bro sealed box can't be tuned...just do it like this for box making..

length x width x height = ans / 1728.

that's ur external cu.ft.....
to calculate internal...... subtract 1.5 from each dimensions (coz ur wood will be 0.75 thick so there 'll be 2 sides so 1.5)

length(-1.5) x width (-1.5) x height ( -1.5) = ans / 1728...