Car Audio Newbee

Head Unit: McIntosh MX406
Amps: Precision Power (the good stuff, not their junk line)
Speakers: MB Quart
Subs: JL Audio

I'm out of it now, but I spent a VERY long time in the world of car audio. These brands impressed me most along the way. Mcintosh--not cheap, but worth it. PPI--best bang for buck and very clean when installed correctly. MB Quart and JL Audio--very little comes close, and nothing comes close for less.

If it were me, I wouldn't touch Alpine with a ten foot pole...too etched and brittle, not to mention unreliable. That said, I can't stand the Alpine sound anyway. Some people like it, I'm just not one of them.

Please follow Richingoth's advice to stay away from the Bazooka sub. IMO, Bazooka is the Bose of car audio. If you don't go with JL Audio, the Infinity Kappa Basslink is a much better sub than "Buzzooka".

As always, it's your ears and wallet that count. Do what they tell you to and enjoy what you get. Don't forget to have fun with it. Hope that helps a little.

those "Buzzookas" never sounded good to me either, kinda like a sub you buy before you know what good sounds is

Well, I am limited on space due to the car being a convertible, that is where the Bazooka idea came from. I am trying to stay under $3k. So I am done. I bought an Alpine IVA310 headunit (used), and the Alpine NVA 852 navigation system, and 6 disc changer. I am replacing the stock speakers with Alpine Components speakers (4) that fit, and an Alpine amp. For the subs, I am just replaceing the existing 8" subs in the door with MTX 8" subs and an associated MTX mono amp to run them (per the MTX guys recommendation).

Will I need to add a capacitor or battery for this, or am I OK? I guess a capcitor would be a good idea no matter what. Can't wait to get my new toy (car that it).

It looks like you should do good with your choices, I would suggest finding someone who really knows what they are doing to install and tweak your system. I went through 5 different installers before going to a Mcintosh dealer to get it right. I just got away from the car audio bug and decided to focus on a home system. I reached the top of car audio with a Mcintosh MX406, MC440M 6CH, a pair of Fabian Acoustics (Max Fidelity) 6 1/4 and 2 pairs of 1in silk dome tweets (these speakers are Dynaudio Clones), and a pair of 10in MB Quart PWD254DVC subs. I spent way to much time and money getting to this point but the sound was incredable for a car.

EXCELLENT POINT Blblues...completely overlooked in this thread...my bad.

Installation is important...even if you don't purchase your gear from the best installers...it is worth it for them to do the install on your gear...even if it costs more than the "free" install services offered by the big chain stores.