I agree with you 97F250.. and that is what I want, a quality tight clean sounding bass, I don't need to have my windows rattle. The way I look at it, the sub is to help exhance the sound of the system and to allow your other speakers to performe as they are ment too.

 

Yah... mee too! So the idea I have for the 500/5 is to power the 4
speakers in the doors with 4 channels and a stealthbox with the 5th channel.
I've got some infinity references in the stock locations for now. I bought them
early on a little prematurely, but what the hey...I'll see how they go as midranges and high-ends after I get the sub and decide what to do next

I not interested in competing or blowing out the windows of the car next to me :-) (much less blowing out my eardrums) I just want clean, clean, clean sound and doing it right and get the best from the start and not have to replace anything later on which will ultimately end up costing me even more!

 

I would think you would want to get 2 amps one for the mids / highs and one for the low. I know they have crossovers to block the unwanted lows to your highs however im looking at the power. if your sub is low and your highs are high then you only have the ability to change the bass / treble based on H/U or maybe the crossovers. However, if you have 2 amps you have the ability to turn the gain on the amps down or up. Just my 2 cents im no pro but just how i have always done it.

 

dragon....The JL 500/5 is a perfect amp for what you want to do. It will provide 100 watts to your front speakers, 25 to the rear speakers and 250 watts to a sub. The Stealthbox would sound great on that amp. If you decide to go with something other than the Stealthbox, just try to find a pretty sensitive sub that is rated at 200-300 watts rms. I think you will be more than happy. The 500/5 has tons of processing power and control over each section independantly. It is basically a 4 channel and a mono sub amp in one chassis. It would serve you well.

 

If all that is true (im not familiar with the 500/5) then yea it will be great serve the purpose you need and be compact for 1 sub with comps.

 

Why 100 watts to the front and 25 to the rear speakers??

 

jonpe1 - If you go with a stealthbox, I would go with the center console box. These are great boxes, great build quality. I'm just not a fan of the 10W3v2. I would buy a used one and put a different sub in it. Yes, they were "designed" for that box, but there are other subs out there that will fit perfectly and sound alot better. Plus, the center console stealthbox will allow you to mount amps under the rear seat.

Ascii - I've been eyeing that same box (i don't feel like building a box this time). They claim to have the best specs, if they aren't stretching the truth. Plus, they will spray it with black urethane. I'm just not sure if I want dual 10s. I'm also thinking about a stealthbox (with a different sub) but they cost $500. Let me know if you get it.

 

Typically, you want all your sound to come from the front. Just like if you were listening to a live concert with the stage in front of you. Rear speakers are just for some fill. Alot of top SQ setups do not even use rear speakers. You need more power up front to the front soundstage and less for the less important rear fill. If you just want blast em sound from everywhere, then you would want equal power to all four corners but, I am referring to true SQ front stage setups. In my setup, I run 80 watts to the front components, 320 to my sub and I power the stock rear door speakers with the head unit and fade them almost out. Just a hint of spaciousness. Hope that makes sense.

 

Problem with the center console box is that I use my center console for storage

 

Either one would work. I'd rather lose clutter storage than lose amp mounting space. In my 2000 F150 SuperCab, I customized a center console to fit a 10W7 and loved the fact that I had room to mount 2 amps and 12 disc changer under the rear seat. I never missed the center console storage area.

 

Very well explained. Another trick for rear fill is to NOT have any tweeters in the back. They mess up the staging and imaging more than anything. Even factory speakers can be used. I use some nice 5 1/4" mids and have them faded pretty much to inaudible. But, I can definitely tell if I don't use them.

 

If I have a HU that can supply it's own power, I will just use that for powering the rear filler.