Upgrading the premium system

[tazman]

I am having trouble getting my bass to the right level and it is not simple to adjust on the fly with the stock radio so I ordered the RUX knob and will be adding that into my system.

For my front speakers I was almost ready to go with the Infinity 60.11CS but with how hot the amp gets (although it has not gone in protective mode in my normal short driving trips) I am a little concerned about the added 2 ohm load of the front speakers. I saw Snoman mentioned the Percision Power PC2.65C which seem to be a decent set but still only at 3 ohms. If I need to get a 4 ohm set to keep the amp happy I was kind of leaning towards the Alpine SPR-60C. I do not have experience wit the digital amps and I know with standard amps the lower ohm loads really affected the heat output of the amps but I could not find this type of information for the digital amps and since it does not change the output on the digital amps it might not matter???? I appreciate any opinions people might have on any of this.

I have started to be OK with the factory tweeters but I "think" the imaging of the Camaro is thrown to the rear even with the rear speakers almost off but that might just be because of the factory speakers at this time. I guess only time will tell for me!!

[TommyTheCat]

Originally Posted by dontlift19

I went with a two amp setup so I can't help you much on the amp part, but I do have a sub thump box and its a really nice box. The fit is perfect, so good you don't even have to secure it, it just sits there. There is more room behind the carpet in the sides of the trunk so to get the box to slide in all the way you do have to cut the carpet some. But once the box is in you can't tell that the carpet was cut. Here's a pic of mine with a 12" alpine sub.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I always regretted not getting that box, I still will once I finally get rid of the one I have

[Snoman]

Where is your PDX mounted? If in the stock BA location, you may think of moving it to your sub box for better circulation. Like you mentioned though, if it's not going into thermal protection I wouldn't worry about it. Imdyinghere has two digital RF amps SEALED in the spare tire well and has zero problems. Quality digital amps these days are pretty much idiot proof, unlike the old A/B amps that would simply fry.

Alpine PDX-V9

Due to the high power output of the PDX-V9, considerable heat
is produced when the amplifier is in operation. For this reason,
the amplifier should be mounted in a location which will allow
for free circulation of air, such as inside the trunk. For alternate
installation locations, please contact your authorized Alpine
dealer

I have an A/B amp on my Kappas, pushing over 175w x 4 @ 2 ohms, you'll burn your hand if you touch it but it is solid as a rock and mounted to the back of my sub-box.

The PDX-V9 basically "regulates" it's own power (4ohm vs. 3 ohm vs. 2ohm) so it does not overheat (Page 17). For us old timers, it's generally hard to wrap your head around these physics as dropping a 4 ohm load to 2 ohms double's the amplification output power duh! Yea, digital amps don't work that way due to their PWM design vs "open rail" designs. The simplest way to think about it is "modern power protection", though technically not accurate. I'm probably butchering the explanation, but you are fine running 2 ohms on that amp.

100w @ 4ohm = 5 amp output
100w @ 3ohm = 5.8A
100w @ 2ohm = 7.1A

Edit:
If it starts clipping with the panels on from the factory location, move the amp into the trunk or uncover it.

[tazman]

The amp is mounted in the factory location not really covered up at this time. I took one of the door panels off to see if I would be able to try the 8's to see what they sounded like and there is plenty of room to mount them on the door but not enough room wit the door panel. I ordered the Infinity's today so I will report back once I have them installed some time next week probably. I also read on here somewhere that the factory BA speakers are 2 ohms.

[Snoman]

Originally Posted by jwhutton52

Please explain how you can defeat ohms law? With 100 watts of power at 4 ohms it would take 5 amps of current. At 2 ohms it would take 7 amps of current. If you multiply this by 4 channels, it would be 20 amps at 4 ohms and 28 amps at 2 ohms for all four channels. Please enlighten us?

Nope, an honest mistake....grabbed the wrong formula; V^2/R instead of I^2*R.

ty, time for some edits

[jwhutton52]

Originally Posted by Snoman

Nope, an honest mistake....grabbed the wrong formula; V^2/R instead of I^2*R.

ty, time for some edits

Thanks snoman. Just don't want to give the guys out misinformation. There is plenty of that going around the internet. Drive safe.

[Snoman]

Originally Posted by tazman

The amp is mounted in the factory location not really covered up at this time. I took one of the door panels off to see if I would be able to try the 8's to see what they sounded like and there is plenty of room to mount them on the door but not enough room wit the door panel. I ordered the Infinity's today so I will report back once I have them installed some time next week probably. I also read on here somewhere that the factory BA speakers are 2 ohms.

Lemme know if you have trouble installing.
- Run a single 16 AWG from the amp through the door, into the crossover mounted inside or on the door, then back to the midrange and tweeter;
- Mount the crossover near the amp, the trunk, or the front kick panel but ultimately would require two wire pairs snaked into each door;
- Tap the OEM wiring in the door, install crossover in/on door, run new wires to midrange/tweeter (not preferred)

There is no right/wrong method - each present their own challenges.

I'll pm you some photos

[jeffa]

Originally Posted by tazman

The amp is mounted in the factory location not really covered up at this time. I took one of the door panels off to see if I would be able to try the 8's to see what they sounded like and there is plenty of room to mount them on the door but not enough room wit the door panel. I ordered the Infinity's today so I will report back once I have them installed some time next week probably. I also read on here somewhere that the factory BA speakers are 2 ohms.

Yes the factory BA speakers are 2 ohm....makes them more efficient with the low powered factory class D full range digital amp.

[BigPopa71]

The PDX V-9 is a winner for sure. The fark is good money also. Ive owned the sealed side mount box and prefer ported rear facing all day over it. Much louder and the Bass is still super tight.
My Memphis sub with 300 watts from an alpine mono in the ported box blows away my JL Audio 12W3 in that sealed box with 559 watts( it actually produces more than 500 watts RMS) going to it from the PDX V-9.
Same installer and the system with superior equipment doesn't come close to my ported set up. The Memphis in the Ported box is insane!!!!!!

[tazman]

In my opinion the RUX knob is definitely worth the money if you listen to different types of music. I found when I set the bass for non rap music it was just overpowering when I would play something with a strong bass line. Now I can adjust on the fly so easily. My speakers are showing they might be here tomorrow and that would be great if I could put them in over the weekend.

[BigPopa71]

There are no heat issues with the Alpine PDX V9. I had it mounted in the stock location for 2 years and it performed flawless. You will not find a better compact high power 5 channel amp. Nothing compares to it. That ROX knob is also a must have I have one in my current system and I also had one when I ran the PDX V9. The biggest mistake I ever made was not pulling that amp when I traded my car. Thats what happens when you unexpectedly trade in though.

[tazman]

My upgrade is complete and I am happy with the results. The Infinity speakers sound clearer to me but I still think the imaging in the Camaro is hard to tune properly. I have seen people write on here that the rear speakers are unnecessary and I have to agree with that. I bumped the gain slightly for the front speakers to where the door chime is slightly louder then factory and left the rear all the way down then I had to adjust the fade on the head unit towards the front so it did not sound like the rears were overpowering. I am tempted to run the V9 bridged on the front speakers but I don't think it would make a difference because it sounds like there is plenty of power for them as it is right now. Thanks for all the input from everyone!

[Snoman]

Wonderful news Taz, congrats!

[Dega Man]

Originally Posted by BigPopa71

The PDX V-9 is a winner for sure. The fark is good money also. Ive owned the sealed side mount box and prefer ported rear facing all day over it. Much louder and the Bass is still super tight.
My Memphis sub with 300 watts from an alpine mono in the ported box blows away my JL Audio 12W3 in that sealed box with 559 watts( it actually produces more than 500 watts RMS) going to it from the PDX V-9.
Same installer and the system with superior equipment doesn't come close to my ported set up. The Memphis in the Ported box is insane!!!!!!

BigPopa71 Thanks to you posting photos of the PDX-V9 mounted in the stock location, I changed from the PDR-F50 to the PDX-F6 and was able to mount it in the stock location as well, it made a world of difference mounting the cables from the top instead of the bottom, I had to use a 1 inch spacer on the top side. The PDX is definitely clean with an even better frequency response, but the PDR-F50 is no lightweight by any margin but I definitely can hear a difference.