Downtown said:ElGato01 said:Thanks Downtown.

I went ahead and got one this time. Ordered it at 3pm got a shipping notification around 5:30pm. WOW.

Anyway, if you are going to order, read the original post it should answer all of your questions about ordering. $230 Shipped just like Downtown said.

Now I need a pair of 6.5 components that will go well with this amp. There are never any deals on those.

Thanks OP.
EG

Personally I've had great luck with just buying used speakers on E-bay. I've gotten several sets of Boston Acoustic Pro and Rally components for about $100 and $40 respectively. Take a look, you might get lucky...

Hey Downtown.

Thanks for the reply. Used speakers are probably too much excitement for me. If you know what I mean. I'm looking for a component set of 6.5 inches to fit into my Miata. I was actually hoping to get the MB Quart speakers, but ended up buying the amp. Go figure. That's fine since my budget for the amp was $300 as is my budget for the speakers. I hope a deal on a good set of components comes through, as for me I'll do some searching of my own and see what I can come up with.

EG

Thanks HiAMp.

Your comments are extremely helpful as usual. Although most people I've spoken with so far have recommended MB Quart components over Infinity Perfects. I know this because I started out my shopping looking for Infinities and was always told that the MB offers a fuller sound and that the Infinities were very strong on the high end but not so on the middle. I have a 03 Miata so a subwoofer is not an option. So I was hoping with an extremely powerful amp I can get decent mids (since all of them seem to offer brilliant highs) and therefore forego the subwoofer as it will take up my trunk entirely. Not so good.

I'll try and do some research on the B/A as well, although normally I would not choose that option.

Huge thanks and I'll start my search on Sunday.

EG


HiAmplidude said:ElGato01 said:

Thanks for the reply. Used speakers are probably too much excitement for me. If you know what I mean. I'm looking for a component set of 6.5 inches to fit into my Miata. I was actually hoping to get the MB Quart speakers, but ended up buying the amp. Go figure. That's fine since my budget for the amp was $300 as is my budget for the speakers. I hope a deal on a good set of components comes through, as for me I'll do some searching of my own and see what I can come up with.

EG

Mr cat, you're on the right track. It would be difficult to find many component speakers out there that sound better than the MB Quart Premium series and Q series. The Q get VERY spendy, but you can find some very low prices on the P series at some dealers like:

http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=13544

I don't know your speaker size requirements. I hope this helps.

There are other trusted online dealers like www.theZeb.com that may have what you want.

Matching components to amps and other equipment is clearly not a requirement, but it does "finish the look" so to speak.

Personally, I'm a huge fan of Boston Acoustics Pro and Infinity Perfect 6 components. MB Quart Q series are definitely at the top of the list of the best you can buy, along with Focal and others. The mid-highs really make the system. Most of the high-power component's out there (like these mentioned) require a lot of real power to show off their amazing sound reproduction capbilities. Luckily these 4200 amps provide all that power, and very cleanly.

I had a competition-winning Toyota MR2 "back in the day (it was 1 of my ~17 vehicles I've owned)... it had 15 speakers in it and won SQ and "loudest 2-seater". Only 1 of the 15 speakers was a sub behind the passenger seat. Had 2 6.5" midbass woofers behind the driver's seat. The rest were fill. It was beyond overkill and I've built better-sounding systems with 10 total speakers, but you're right--a 2-seater is a serious challenge. See if there's any room at all for possibly a small sealed enclosure for even 6.5" raw woofers behind a seat or in a corner somewhere. It may extend your sound enough to make up the difference for what you're not getting with the components.

A comment on the Infinity Perfect components... I have listened to a lot of component sets and those are definitely some of the best overall sounding. They are less-harsh and less tinny-sounding than many MB Quarts even. They are some of the purest, smoothest, and warmest sounding components I've had the pleasure of experiencing, which is why I chose them (with literally no budget in mind) for my last system. I wasn't concerned about midbass since I was using separate mid woofers but they still extended far below what I needed. Everything that I wanted them to do was done with precision and warmth... no significant spikes or drops in frequency response. I'm not saying the Perfects are the best, but they absolutely sound wonderful and really finish the sound stage at a fairly low cost. The same can be said for quite a few other manufacturers, so definitely use your ear in a listening room to choose the set that's right for you. Your car's top being down is also a consideration to keep in mind. Efficiency and power-handling should be at the top of the list of features, next to sound quality.

Forgive me for asking this but I have to:

Can one really tell the sound quality difference between such high end speakers in a small, noisy car like a Miata? I can often tell some difference between speakers in an optimized soundroom with the speakers placed just so, but in an open topped car with all the noises of the great outdoors to compete with will one really be able to tell the difference, say between a set of Boston Rallys and Boston Pros? Don't get me wrong, I'm all for geting quality but it seems to me that after a while you just end up spending more for less which is not the Fatwallet way.

Also one thing I just thought of is I remember my BA Pros have somewhat larger tweeters than my Rallys which made finding a good place for the pro tweeters a little more difficult. Make sure any tweeters you get will fit into the space you have avalible. The crossovers are also something to think about, especially in a small car like a Miata. I'm sure the professionals out there know of lots of good places to stick these but just keep in mind that with all this extra hardware in such a small car your space will be pretty limited.

BTW will your alternator put out enough juice to sufficently power the amp? How about your head unit - does it support external amps?


ElGato01 said:Hey Downtown.

Thanks for the reply. Used speakers are probably too much excitement for me. If you know what I mean. I'm looking for a component set of 6.5 inches to fit into my Miata. I was actually hoping to get the MB Quart speakers, but ended up buying the amp. Go figure. That's fine since my budget for the amp was $300 as is my budget for the speakers. I hope a deal on a good set of components comes through, as for me I'll do some searching of my own and see what I can come up with.

EG

Downtown said:Forgive me for asking this but I have to:

Can one really tell the sound quality difference between such high end speakers in a small, noisy car like a Miata?

Maybe when sitting still with the top up, but I see what you're getting at.

Getting nice components in his case may be to acheive great sound, but more-so I think he wants to get as much sound as possible out of the limited options available to him. I think ElGato's goal is to get the widest frequency range/extension possible out of his mids because there's no room for a woof.

The better components out there can really reach low, almost into the sub bass range, even in the worst speaker enclosure known to man: the car door. The more you spend on your components, the less you'll likely need to spend on fillers like woofers, midbass, etc. Saves room too.

Downtown said:Forgive me for asking this but I have to:

Can one really tell the sound quality difference between such high end speakers in a small, noisy car like a Miata? I can often tell some difference between speakers in an optimized soundroom with the speakers placed just so, but in an open topped car with all the noises of the great outdoors to compete with will one really be able to tell the difference, say between a set of Boston Rallys and Boston Pros? Don't get me wrong, I'm all for geting quality but it seems to me that after a while you just end up spending more for less which is not the Fatwallet way.


Its an excellent question Downtown and yes you can and should ask it. I agree with you in that if you can't tell that something sounds better don't pay extra for it. Having said that the Miata is remarkably quiet with the top up, so I'm not worried about a good setup being wasted by noise. I do not and cannot drive with the top down all the time. So it makes it an even bigger treat when the weather is right, to take the top down.


Also one thing I just thought of is I remember my BA Pros have somewhat larger tweeters than my Rallys which made finding a good place for the pro tweeters a little more difficult. Make sure any tweeters you get will fit into the space you have avalible. The crossovers are also something to think about, especially in a small car like a Miata. I'm sure the professionals out there know of lots of good places to stick these but just keep in mind that with all this extra hardware in such a small car your space will be pretty limited.

BTW will your alternator put out enough juice to sufficently power the amp? How about your head unit - does it support external amps?


The Miata comes with the space for tweeters and mids that are separate, hopefully people that sell me the speakers will know if a given Tweeter will fit into the Miata or not. Same goes for the amp, I hope the installer will have an answer for that. Now that you've mentioned that I think I'll call Crutchfield and see what they say. Thanks.

EG

HiAmplidude said:Downtown said:Forgive me for asking this but I have to:

Can one really tell the sound quality difference between such high end speakers in a small, noisy car like a Miata?

Maybe when sitting still with the top up, but I see what you're getting at.

Getting nice components in his case may be to acheive great sound, but more-so I think he wants to get as much sound as possible out of the limited options available to him. I think ElGato's goal is to get the widest frequency range/extension possible out of his mids because there's no room for a woof.

The better components out there can really reach low, almost into the sub bass range, even in the worst speaker enclosure known to man: the car door. The more you spend on your components, the less you'll likely need to spend on fillers like woofers, midbass, etc. Saves room too.

You have definitely nailed it. That is exactly what I'm thinking.


EG

I'm interested in what you guys think of this amp. I just installed mine yestereday which replaced a Rockford P4004. It's somewhat louder, runs very hot, and has a slight hiss at low volumes. The sound quality is almost the same to my ears.

Overall, I'm defintley happy with the price and is a moderate improvement over my P4004. What do you guys think of the Quart amps?

Hey HiAmp (or anyone else that has done this). What do you think about running components through this amp without crossovers. I've read a few people have done this and are quite happy with the result. After all it's a four channel amp and the components come with four speakers

Any experience from people here.
EG

I was going to get this amp and started to realize that this was going to be a very expensive hobby if I get addicted to it.

I have a 2005 Chevy Trailblazer EXT that I want to improve the stock audio system. Besides this amp, what else do I need? Reading the posts, is a crossover necessary?

I was going to use google to get these answers but since I am a newb to car audio systems, I didn't know what proper terms to look up in google.

If you guys can recommend any speakers or subwoofers (and sizes that fit my Trailblazers) I'd appreciate it.