******** question to Steve

[Camaroshark]

I have a few questions. I'm considering doing a little tweaking on my 2010 Camaro 2SS/RS.

Mine is an early model so I have the more powerful? Boston Amp.

Of course, like all others, at around 23-25 volume, you start to hear the distortion and what not.

Ideally, I would want to upgrade my factory amp to a better and perhaps more powerful one, not so much to get louder but to get a cleaner sound. (although... I won't complain at louder... as long as it's clean).

Also, I would probably want to add a sub with a secondary amp. I'm not a bass freak. I like the crisp, clean thump of say 10" woofers and not the long boom of improperly controlled and over powered 12" subwoofers. I also would want decent subwoofers.

I like the ability to crank up some 80's rock, contemporary rock and pop, and the occasional thump but not the "nothing but bass with a few words in there you'll never understand". I'm the guy you could see enjoying a symphonic piece or I could be playing 70's rock, current stuff, or a rock ballad where I want to hear the strings pluck....

That being said, I don't want to swap the factory amp only to find I've lost power and I don't want the sub to over power all else.

I also want to keep to stock on the head unit. I've had far too many vehicles over the years with 3 days to a week of install when bought and then a week of removal when sold.... So the simplicity of your harness add in's and such are very attractive.

I'd like your thoughts on what would be good to do to "raise the bar" a bit to clean it up and crank it up a bit more.

[sjmorrow]

My name is not Steve, but it is Stephen and some people call me Steve so I will answer your question with the answer that I think the ******** Steve would say.

http://********.com/Chevrolet-GMC-Su...New-clone.html

Just click that and it will solve all your problems.

[Iwantone2]

Originally Posted by sjmorrow

My name is not Steve, but it is Stephen and some people call me Steve so I will answer your question with the answer that I think the ******** Steve would say.

http://********.com/Chevrolet-GMC-Su...New-clone.html

Just click that and it will solve all your problems.

This. You could replace your stock BA amp with an amp like the JL Audio xd400 and you will get the cleaner sound you're looking for. But for the money, the above link is what you need.

[sjmorrow]

Yeah that XD400/4 is the way to go if you don't want a sub, or want to run a separate amp for a sub. However, it sounds like for what you are looking for, the complete package that Steve offers is going to be more economical and provide a more than enough upgrade in your sound quality.

Originally Posted by Iwantone2

This. You could replace your stock BA amp with an amp like the JL Audio xd400 and you will get the cleaner sound you're looking for. But for the money, the above link is what you need.

[kiteman]

not sure how high you are turning your EQ settings, but all left at 0 will allow my head unit to go to volume 31 without clipping. you need an oscilloscope or an audio test cd to figure out how loud you can get before you clip the signal to the amp/speakers and distortion/damaging begins. not every head unit will be the same, so i can't say 31 would also be your max. the more you turn up the EQ settings (boost), the lower the volume must be.

the 5.1 system is great, but you should look into an audio test cd regardless so that you know the limitations of both your deck and the new amp you use.

[Camaroshark]

Not overly worried about the economics, but rather not taking backwards power steps and only want to do things once.

I don't mind running two amps and would rather do so.

The 5.1 channel deal is fine, but I don't want to end up with less power than I have now. If I need to look at a higher power 4 channel, I can do.

So I know the 5.1 total system will clean up the sound but will it leave me feeling let down with less power output than the early ba amp?

[Steve@Subthump]

Originally Posted by Camaroshark

Not overly worried about the economics, but rather not taking backwards power steps and only want to do things once.

I don't mind running two amps and would rather do so.

The 5.1 channel deal is fine, but I don't want to end up with less power than I have now. If I need to look at a higher power 4 channel, I can do.

So I know the 5.1 total system will clean up the sound but will it leave me feeling let down with less power output than the early ba amp?

The ba amp is not pushing anywhere near what it says so the 5.1 is a huge improvement. If you don't mind spending more by having two amps, then the possibilities are endless.

[CWI]

Originally Posted by Steve@********

The ba amp is not pushing anywhere near what it says so the 5.1 is a huge improvement. If you don't mind spending more by having two amps, then the possibilities are endless.

Steve, the Youtube video says the X2 and X3 harness is all that is needed. What is the X2A for for the rear speakers?

I have a PDX 1.1000 and some 10" subs and a PDX 4.150 I want to throw at the BA speakers to see how the react to some good clean power. Any idea how much the BAs can actually handle? I will eventually replace them as needed. I need to pull the Alpine equipment out of my truck and restore it to factory for the possibility of selling the truck. Can't think of a better place for them

[Duper]

IMHO, without some EQ and time alignment on a Camaro system, you're throwing good money away. The tweeters are close to the dash and the woofers are near your feet. Sound from the tweeters are reaching your ear way before the woofers and they're all over the map when looking at it with an RTA.

Sadly, I've redone my system 3 times to learn you need half way decent speakers in there, a good 5 channel amp (at a minimum), and some sort of processing / EQ like the Alpine Imprint / BitOne / etc (depending on your budget).

You'll go from ehhh... to really sweet. Anything less is just making it sound louder, but not significantly better.

Anyway, I'm not Steve but throwing out my 2 cents anyway, take it for what it's worth. Good luck!

[CWI]

Originally Posted by Duper

IMHO, without some EQ and time alignment on a Camaro system, you're throwing good money away. The tweeters are close to the dash and the woofers are near your feet. Sound from the tweeters are reaching your ear way before the woofers and they're all over the map when looking at it with an RTA.

Sadly, I've redone my system 3 times to learn you need half way decent speakers in there, a good 5 channel amp (at a minimum), and some sort of processing / EQ like the Alpine Imprint / BitOne / etc (depending on your budget).

You'll go from ehhh... to really sweet. Anything less is just making it sound louder, but not significantly better.

Anyway, I'm not Steve but throwing out my 2 cents anyway, take it for what it's worth. Good luck!

If you were directing that at me, this is just my first step of several. Gotta start somewhere. Not throwing any money away since I already have the equipment, I've had it for a few years. I will get new speakers as I don't expect the BA speakers to hold up long. EQ can be done eventually. One step at a time.

[Duper]

Originally Posted by CWIweldace

If you were directing that at me, this is just my first step of several. Gotta start somewhere. Not throwing any money away since I already have the equipment, I've had it for a few years. I will get new speakers as I don't expect the BA speakers to hold up long. EQ can be done eventually. One step at a time.

Totally... just sharing some experience. It's one of those things you can get into and be disappointed with the results if your expectations are set too high. Sounds like you've got the right idea!

[Zach@ExtremePerformance]

Drive up to Palm City and listen to the Z06 I have on the floor.
Power helps clarity, in that the distortion you mention is the amplifier running out of steam. More power means (all else being equal) you can play it louder before it sounds...well, loud..lol (much of what you perceive as 'loud' is your temporal lobe saying 'that does NOT sound real, or good; something is stressing! make it go away!'). Now, all else being equal, you have to double your power to hear an increase in volume...so don't be afraid to get what seems like an inordinate amount of power. Also know that typically, the better a speaker performs in the bottom of it's frequency range (the components for your doors, for instance), the less efficient it is.
But, as I said, come listen to our car. It'll give you an idea what you can accomplish for overall frequency linearity & balance, dynamics, detail, and even staging and imaging (the 3D spread of sounds where they're supposed to be). From there, we can work out a plan to get you something that will sound musical with the wide variety of stuff it sounds like you'll throw at it.

[Duper]

Originally Posted by Zach@ExtremePerformance

Drive up to Palm City and listen to the Z06 I have on the floor.
Power helps clarity, in that the distortion you mention is the amplifier running out of steam. More power means (all else being equal) you can play it louder before it sounds...well, loud..lol (much of what you perceive as 'loud' is your temporal lobe saying 'that does NOT sound real, or good; something is stressing! make it go away!'). Now, all else being equal, you have to double your power to hear an increase in volume...so don't be afraid to get what seems like an inordinate amount of power. Also know that typically, the better a speaker performs in the bottom of it's frequency range (the components for your doors, for instance), the less efficient it is.
But, as I said, come listen to our car. It'll give you an idea what you can accomplish for overall frequency linearity & balance, dynamics, detail, and even staging and imaging (the 3D spread of sounds where they're supposed to be). From there, we can work out a plan to get you something that will sound musical with the wide variety of stuff it sounds like you'll throw at it.

Sounds like you got yourself a 'bait car'. Get someone in that thing and chances are they're chasing that sound for quite a while!! One of those types of cars got me hooked too. Once you realize what's possible... oh man, it's hard to give up till you get it, especially if you love music and really enjoy listening to how it's meant to be heard.

You have been warned!