run rear speakers or not?

[solitz]

hey i need people opinions here
currently im running a Alpine 9852 headunit(1 preout) with focal 165V1 going to put in next week, all this is in a 1995 integra

now im also in the hunt for an amp, i currently have 3 choices.

1) i wanna buy an alpine V12 four channel amp, and since i was gonna have no people sitting in the back would it be good if i can bridge the last 2 channels for my sub (rockford or treo) and have 2 channels powering the splits in the front?

2) get that V12 amp and just have 4 good speakers (splits and co-ax)?

3) look to buy either a soundstream or alpine 5 channel amp and power all the speakers with a sub?....although this is too costly due the 5 channel amp

guys i am after good sound quality, so which option will be best?
please help as i am totally confused with what i want and i know there are people out there with better knowledge of sound systems than me...ur help will be great
thanks
SolitZ

[EuroDude]

I like a decent volume at the rear so I power the 6x9's using an amp, plus I find that running most of the volume from the back and have the front speakers (un-amped running of the HU) balance the sound to the front area, provides a good overall sound experience.

But in your case, if you really dont care about rear sound, then get something like the Audison SRx3 Amp (3 channel) to power the Sub, and run the other 2 channels to the front splits. Then run the rear speakers of the deck un-amped to balance the sound and provide at least some sound to rear passengers when needed.

[Fr3aKi3]

I'm at a difference to Eurodude, personally I prefer the front's amped. Currently i've got a 4 channel amp with 2 channels for the front splits and the remaining 2 bridged for the sub, my rear fill are 6x9's which are running directly off the HU. I generally have the rears faded out to a soft level but this is my preference so what you like might be different.

Does Alpine have a 5 channel amp? I didnt realise that hey had one. You could get an Alpine MRV-F545, run 2 channels for the splits and bridge channels 3/4 for the subs (500wrms is a fair amount of juice for a sub).

Or you could do what i'll doing, use all channels of the 4 channel amp to power the front splits and then get a monoblock to power the sub... :D

[solitz]

yeah i didnt know that you could use the headunit to just provide rear fill while you have the amp to power the splits and sub. if i ran just the front splits and the sub...does it sound odd with no rear fill?
if i did do this...would i need to change the rear speakers to get the best sound just for a rear fill from the HU (6.5 alpine co-ax)...even though it is only about 17W RMS?

if you bridge channels 3/4 on a 4 channel amp....does it create problems with shortaging?

excuse my noob questions here lol

[Vinnie]

IMO rear speakers are really not needed at all if ur running splits up front and a sub especially in an integra. The sub will provide all the bass u need and the splits the sq so the rear speakers will jus be drowned out. The money would be better spent on getting a more powerful amp. I agree with eurodude that for ur application the audison SRx3 would be ideal. You could go a 4 channel and bridge 2 channels for the sub but the SRx3 is a dedicated splits-sub amp... its a simple system but should sound great and doesent leave u buying several amps or unecessary speakers... good luck with wateva u decide to go with neway :D

[teaseR]

Focals on an amp is AWESOME... im running a 5.25 Focal polyglass splits in the front hooked with an Alpine MRV-t420 the sound is CRISP & CLEAR.
and the rears just running original speakers off the HU. However its been fadar to the front so they are just there for the treble. Bass is coming out of a TYPE-R 12" sub running off MRD-M500. Sound quality is good.
Go for it bud its worth the money for your ears =)

[02hondaGRL]

5 channel v12 amp is about 1200$ aren't they/ or more? if you only have 1 preout, look at either getting the 9855 which has 3 preouts (great HU) get them off ebay for just over 1/2 price it hink they're going for. $800 odd or so. trade the old HU in for $ towards a 4 channel and a mono block. then at least u have the option of getting another sub if u want 2 with the mono block and they're specifically designed to run a sub, unlike the 4 channel block.

[02hondaGRL]

btw, just a word of noting, your not suppose to mix ur brands, the HU and speakers work in unison, as does the amp, so if u change the sub brand, thats fine, a sub is a sub, but the speakers are suppose to be all type R or type S or type X. dont mix and match them and the amp is designed for that specific type. eg, v12 + type R, MP block things + type S. or v12 with type X if u have that kinda $$.

[zorrt]

Well if you want good sound quality you rather not have the rear speakers powered by the headunit as sound quality won't be as good as front splits. I dunno price etc etc but if its cheaper, cant you just get a 4ch amp and monoblock if you choose to run rear speakers? But yea in the end its better to have the fronts hooked to your amp than the rear because your ears faces forward.

Personally, although I like the sound of having the rear filled, it isnt entirely necessary. I had 6x9 back there but removed them to opt for a stock looking car.

[solitz]

thanks guys for that
im currently leaning towards the 4 channel amp to power the front splits and bridging the 3/4 channels for my sub (space wise in the boot). i do agree with you 02hondagrl when it comes to maintaing brands...but when i was at the shop i couldnt help but notice a difference in mid-bass of both the focals and alpine, but i liked the focals as it was a more of a completed sound. (btw it was connected with an alpine amp :)...sounded great)
ive got a great deal with either a soundstream or alpine amp with a 12" type R sub.
is the SRx3 an expensive amp?
and is there a sound difference when a sub is played off a bridged or monoblock?

[Vinnie]

o2hondagrl: hes running focal splits so thats not an issue and as far as i can tell ur jus saying that alpine has diff series of amps designed for the different series of speakers which is tru but theres no prob with not using the dedicated amp. ive never heard anything about it being bad to mix brands, quite the opposite actually. different companies specialise in different areas so its good to not go for an all same brand system. for example, focal splits are generally superior to their alpine counterparts (tho some will argue otherwise). having 2 subs will not only fill up alot more space but will require double the power to run at full capacity so imho is not really the best option, especially with limited boot space. generally the more pre-outs the better but given that hes gettin v1's im guessing that budget is an issue and a brand new h/u is going to prob be out of the question. u only need 1 pre-out if ur only running 1 sub neway (ie. SRx3). the system u have described o2hondagrl, tho more powerful, costs significantly more and the gain is prob not worth the extra money in this case. also, im guessing u have an all-alpine system as those are the only components u mension but there are many other brands of amps/subs/splits out there that do a comparable job for the same money.

[EuroDude]

The SRx3 is around $600, check this link http://www.fhrxstudios.com/

[solitz]

yeah budget is a bit of an issue..as im only 17 :o and also the fact the integra boot is small...i still want to have space where i can put all my stuff.
i have other plans too for this car...but atm im concentrating on audio. but due to my budget im just gettin the best my money can buy (V1's and type R) i dont want something over the top and loud....i just want a system with good sound quality...which is why i didnt concider sony or kenwood (not tanking a shot at people who own them...but the sound want my cup of tea)

i just had a look at the SRx3 on google b4...is it really that big or am i seeing things?

[EuroDude]

lol its not big at all imo. Its smaller than my two previous amps..
http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/2193/srx3yq7.th.jpg (http://img109.imageshack.us/my.php?image=srx3yq7.jpg)

[teaseR]

who ever said to keep the same brand is load of it.
Alpine Type R speakers arnt that good. its mostly for show having good looks.
speakers: should go the the brands that just make speakers and are specialised in them e.g. Dynaudio, Focal, DLS, Mb Quarts, Boston etc.
the sound quality is much higher then the others

[Fr3aKi3]

Just to note though...
Focal also makes amps and subs, as does Boston
MB Quart has subs in their line up, only Dynaudio specialise in speakers only...

[EuroDude]

If you dont want to waste money paying for a "brand name" subwoofer, look at the Adire Shiva 12" sub, its only like $250 and just as good if not better than other subs worth $700+

[Fr3aKi3]

Here's what my boot is currently like

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y124/Fr3aki3/Audio%20Install/BootInstall-03.jpg

Just as a rough guide:
My DD C4 is about 380mm in length where as the Audison SRx3 is 440mm, so really once it's in the boot there isn't much difference. Although the Audison does have a smaller width.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y124/Fr3aki3/Audio%20Install/PICT26871.jpg

Thoroughly think about what you want, are you going to upgrade front splits later on? Would you want to amp the rears sometime in the furture? Will you change subs to one which is more power hungry? These will play a decision in what gear is best suitable.

If you don't plan on future upgrades then the Audison is fine. My personal preference was to get a good 4-channel amp to run the splits and subs for a while till I could get a monoblock (which i now have :D). Now I can Bi-amp (use all 4 channels) the splits and run the sub from a proper monoblock and if i decide to upgrade to a diff sub then the monoblock (657wrms) should still have sufficient grunt.

[Chronos]

Some people will say you need rear fill. I have 6.5 Alpine-R splits from the HU as rear fill, but they are switched off most of the time.

IMO, a really nice set of amped splits installed well plus a nice sub is all you need. I'm running 6.5 inch focal K2 Power splits up front powered from a 2-chan V12 amp, and a 12 inch alpine-R sub powered from a V12 d-class monoblock @ 2 ohms. My system has evolved to this form after years of tinkering with different setups.

If i had the cash to spend, the splits would be of triaxial bi-wired form (4 chan front stage), and i would have one or two 10 inch subs.

[Mattski_VTIR]

I run a set of 3 way f1 status splits (scanspeaks) up front tri-wired to two MRD-545 (1 a side). I installed type x splits in the rear, and they have been completely faded out. I enter in SQ and always fade my rears out because SQ is about your front stage tonality, staging and height. Personally I would spend the money on powering your good set of splits up front and a sub in the rear. A 545 will power a good set of splits well(125x2rms), leaving you with the rear channels to power your sub (500wrms 4ohm). Or a PDX even. If you go this option, u will have a complete system with alot of options to upgrade (bi-wire splits of the 4 channel, get a mono block etc) Unless you drive in the back seat, the money can be spent in other places to increase "Sound Quality"
My 2 cents