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My daily driver is due for a makeover, so in a few weeks its going to get it.
The vehicle is a 2008 Tribute iTouring
It has and will need to keep the factory head unit, the stock "Audiophile" integrated model. Currently it is wired to my 3sixty.2, which is picking up on the speaker out signal from the front and sub channels, and doing all the processing duty and active crossover control. The 3sixty.2 will be staying, of course. Can't find anything better for the moment, and until the MS-8 comes out I doubt I will.
For the front stage, I am caught in quandary between the well-spoken PRS-720's, and a few other top contenders. I listen to house / trance most of the time, and I love the reviews on the 720's for their mid-bass. What other components or separates are considered competitive or better than the 720's in this regard? The Type X PRO's were also high on my list until I caught on to their weaker midbass performance relative to the 720's back to back. I also keep wondering about the Kicker SS lineup, as many have said good things about them as well. Naturally I couldn't care less about passive crossovers, since we're talking active here, but I get the feeling that some of these component sets are definitely worth the asking price. On the upper spectrum of my price range, the SR6500's seem plausible as well. Thoughts? I have no problem going truly separate, but the tweeter has but one place to mount in the car (there is already a hole for the previous tweters, right under the door's sill.) This means that a separate tweeter must fit precisely in the same hole (or I can enlarge ever so slightly), and look good doing so. Many separate tweeters I see simply don't have the mounting hardware to do this nicely. I'm open to any suggestions you feel might make it though.
Moving on, I'm almost 100% set on running a pair of Stereo Integrity v4's, in a sealed .707 alignment. I'm unsure of the T/S params on the SI's, but around a cubic foot each seems doable w/ my space allotted. The idea is to rebuild the trunk (again, this is its 3rd go-around) so those SI subs are under the factory carpet, as if nothing is there. Currently a pair of Fi Audio subs reside, so I'm certain the SI's more shallow shape will make this easy.
The next step is to do a new set of amplifiers. My beloved and well-used PPI DCX 300.4 and 500.1 are going to my bro-in-law's install, and I need to pick up something new. I am craving the Eclipse ICEpower amps, the new lineup that looks wavy instead of the old square ones. I've always liked B&O's ICEpower technology, and the new Eclipse sub amp boasts 1200W RMS power in a tiny package, while its matching 4 ch amp is no slouch either. They pop up on eBay for a mere ~275 each, so I think this might be a cheap way to get what I want. I'm all ears to other suggestions though, including classified ads.
No doubt I'll need to upgrade to 0 gauge wire, and I've always been a knukonceptz fan (for wire and their new RCAs only, not the distros and such), but I'm open other wiring suggestions if anybody has them. I'll also need a decent fused distro box...I like the ones that have both the ground and main power in the same box, like the older Stingers have. Should have bought those when sonicelectronix had them for 80% off...
I'm probably going to add more deadening to the 30-35 sq. feet of RAAMmat I already have in the truck, and of course Ensolite the areas I've not done yet.
I'll be pulling the trigger on items starting the first of April, or a bit sooner. Thanks guys, and please by all means any suggestion is worth the look. I'm all ears for learning some new tricks as always.
The truck:
The trunk,...yes there's equipment under there!
Never got around to redoing that suede...it fell off in the 110+ degree heat last summer.
Nothing special, just a good DD with a decent audio setup.
The vehicle is a 2008 Tribute iTouring
It has and will need to keep the factory head unit, the stock "Audiophile" integrated model. Currently it is wired to my 3sixty.2, which is picking up on the speaker out signal from the front and sub channels, and doing all the processing duty and active crossover control. The 3sixty.2 will be staying, of course. Can't find anything better for the moment, and until the MS-8 comes out I doubt I will.
For the front stage, I am caught in quandary between the well-spoken PRS-720's, and a few other top contenders. I listen to house / trance most of the time, and I love the reviews on the 720's for their mid-bass. What other components or separates are considered competitive or better than the 720's in this regard? The Type X PRO's were also high on my list until I caught on to their weaker midbass performance relative to the 720's back to back. I also keep wondering about the Kicker SS lineup, as many have said good things about them as well. Naturally I couldn't care less about passive crossovers, since we're talking active here, but I get the feeling that some of these component sets are definitely worth the asking price. On the upper spectrum of my price range, the SR6500's seem plausible as well. Thoughts? I have no problem going truly separate, but the tweeter has but one place to mount in the car (there is already a hole for the previous tweters, right under the door's sill.) This means that a separate tweeter must fit precisely in the same hole (or I can enlarge ever so slightly), and look good doing so. Many separate tweeters I see simply don't have the mounting hardware to do this nicely. I'm open to any suggestions you feel might make it though.
Moving on, I'm almost 100% set on running a pair of Stereo Integrity v4's, in a sealed .707 alignment. I'm unsure of the T/S params on the SI's, but around a cubic foot each seems doable w/ my space allotted. The idea is to rebuild the trunk (again, this is its 3rd go-around) so those SI subs are under the factory carpet, as if nothing is there. Currently a pair of Fi Audio subs reside, so I'm certain the SI's more shallow shape will make this easy.
The next step is to do a new set of amplifiers. My beloved and well-used PPI DCX 300.4 and 500.1 are going to my bro-in-law's install, and I need to pick up something new. I am craving the Eclipse ICEpower amps, the new lineup that looks wavy instead of the old square ones. I've always liked B&O's ICEpower technology, and the new Eclipse sub amp boasts 1200W RMS power in a tiny package, while its matching 4 ch amp is no slouch either. They pop up on eBay for a mere ~275 each, so I think this might be a cheap way to get what I want. I'm all ears to other suggestions though, including classified ads.
No doubt I'll need to upgrade to 0 gauge wire, and I've always been a knukonceptz fan (for wire and their new RCAs only, not the distros and such), but I'm open other wiring suggestions if anybody has them. I'll also need a decent fused distro box...I like the ones that have both the ground and main power in the same box, like the older Stingers have. Should have bought those when sonicelectronix had them for 80% off...
I'm probably going to add more deadening to the 30-35 sq. feet of RAAMmat I already have in the truck, and of course Ensolite the areas I've not done yet.
I'll be pulling the trigger on items starting the first of April, or a bit sooner. Thanks guys, and please by all means any suggestion is worth the look. I'm all ears for learning some new tricks as always.
The truck:
The trunk,...yes there's equipment under there!




Never got around to redoing that suede...it fell off in the 110+ degree heat last summer.

Nothing special, just a good DD with a decent audio setup.