How much would it cost to get a really good audio setup in a car?

Posted by Blu_yello_husky@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 29 comments

I've been talking myself into starting to save for a luxury suv, probably escalade or yukon denali, and among a bunch of cosmetic stuff like candy paint and chrome grill, I want to have a super impressive sound system. Like, rattle the tables in Starbucks when I'm in the parking lot, type of sound system. Just how much money should I plan on setting aside just for that? Probably gonna go 2 15s with Amp and equalizer, loud but won't cause the lift gate to fly open, seems like a good middle ground for what I'm looking for. I want people to hear me coming 3 blocks away because of the bass alone

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29 Comments

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DudeWhereIsMyDuduk@reddit

Funny thing is that I chased this whole thing back in the mid '00s, fiberglassed kickpanels, separate midranges/tweeters, subs that used the entire trunk as a massive enclosure for deep bass. Turns out now I listen to NPR or a USB stick of FLACs in the car and save the critical listening for my home office setup, which blows it away for a fraction of the expense and effort.

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DudeWhereIsMyDuduk@reddit

four fiddeens didn't see no wires

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Laz3r_C@reddit

>I want people to hear me coming from 3 blocks away because of the bass alone So you just want to be an ass? In reality a good setup will cost a few grands. Custom box's alone matched with 15's can be a few grand on its own. You also want the much power output be ready to add other electrical boosters because while the v8 in those SUVs can produce the output with 250 amps, it wont be enough alone to rattle a neighborhood.

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Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)

>You also want the much power output be ready to add other electrical boosters because while the v8 in those SUVs can produce the output with 250 amps, it wont be enough alone to rattle a neighborhood. Right, those are the things I'm talking about. I can price out an amp, subs, box, equalizer, and head unit myself, but all the mods needed to be made to the charging system is what's going to be the thing I need an estimate for. >So you just want to be an ass? When I was a kid I always thought it was so cool to see a car drive by blaring loud music, with bass so loud it rattled the sidewalks. I always dreamed someday that'd be me. I currently have 2 cars with subs, but they're only 10s and it doesn't thump nearly as hard as I want it, you can't hear it across an intersection, the only time it brings a smile to my face is in a parking garage when you can hear it 3 levels up because of the reverb

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tinfoilmediaphoto@reddit

Are your boxes built to your subs T/S parameters? 2 10s should be plenty to be heard a block away if everything is built properly. You get what you pay for, don't forget that. Grabbing a couple of $200 subs off of Amazon and pairing them with "1000 watt" amps from a no-name amazon brand is going to give you a sub-par experience.

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Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)

They're both 1 10, my cadillac is factory premium sound system, includes 1 10 inch built into the area behind the rear seats. The other one is a buick that someone put a kicker 10" with its own box. I don't know enough about sound systems to tell you any more

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tinfoilmediaphoto@reddit

Yeah, the Cady sound system is built for quality, not quantity. The Buick, I can't say, but I can tell you that a decently built system with a 10 or two will be heard quite far away.

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Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)

Yes, the caddy sounds good but it's not all that *loud*, which is what I'm going for. Ive thought about adding another sub to the caddy but I don't want to screw up the factory sound system setup. Ive been told BOSE systems are really finicky when it comes to sound system building

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tinfoilmediaphoto@reddit

BOSE is fine for certain things, little portable speakers for example. They sound good using cheap parts because of over-cooked software / DSP / equalization. Anyhow, this may be getting a bit out of the scope for this sub, feel free to contact me if you have any other questions.

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Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)

The oem sound system in the cadillac is a BOSE system. It says it on the speaker decks, "sound system by bose". Ive heard from people more into sound systems that bose doesn't like it when you try to add components from other companies into the system. Like non bose speakers with a bose amp, it'll sound like shit I guess

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tinfoilmediaphoto@reddit

What they say is very much correct.

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Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)

So I'd have to add another bose 10 inch to it to prevent it from sounding like ass? Or should I just leave it alone

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tinfoilmediaphoto@reddit

Leave it alone. Factory systems like that are a difficult thing to work with. The problem with many newer cars is the radio is a much more integral part of the system than before, which makes customizing a potentially expensive challenge.

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tinfoilmediaphoto@reddit

It's a rabbit hole and it depends on how much compensating you have to do until you're satisfied. It also depends on what you mean by impressive. Impressive could be deafening yourself and your passengers with bass, or impressive could be the best sound quality you can achieve in your budget. I competed in the later, in SQL competitions with roughly 1000 watts and 2 10"s, and even at 1200 watts it rarely went to a quarter of that volume. Don't forget to put aside some money chasing rattles as well. At volumes as loud as you describe, you \*will\* fuck your ears up, it will impact your enjoyment of music later in life.

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Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)

The kind of impressive I'm looking for is the bass that flexes the metal on the sides of the car when the bass drops. https://youtu.be/eNkDIWjzYJc?si=Bkix8KjapO3MD4PF

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jrileyy229@reddit

Have you really thought this through? You're going to spend 12-15k for a good multi stage candy paint job on an escalade... Then you want your sound system to put spider cracks all through your new paint job?

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Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)

This isn't going to be happening any time soon, I can't even afford an escalade at this point. *so many* people do this, im sure it's not as horrific as you're making it out to be. Ever since I was a teenager ive been attracted to the hyphy movement of bay area California, all them guys drive stuff like that, knocking 4 15s in the back of malibus and cutlasses with $20k paint jobs

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jrileyy229@reddit

I have no idea about any of this movement, just saying... If you're going to be flexing panels you're going to end up with all kind of imperfections, creases, and spider cracks.. just like the truck in the video

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Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)

It was a social movement popular in the early 2010s. Popularized candy paint and expensive rims with oversized sound systems in cars that otherwise wouldn't be worth over a few hundred bucks. Like ford granadas and buick centurys. I figure if it ruined the paint that bad, it wouldn't be as popular as it was

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jrileyy229@reddit

The candy paint and giant flashy wheels start way before the 2010s, but fair enough. You can thump without ruining paint, but if you're going to flex panels the paint is going to get destroyed.

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tinfoilmediaphoto@reddit

Well, quick math says about $3100 for the some cheaper Amazon stuff, plus custom boxes, plus cabling & caps / batteries / alternators / tax. I'd say you'll be lucky to walk away with change from $5k. I'm quoting Canadian $$. That also ignores the rest of the system. 140dB can lead to almost instant hearing damage.

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wtfisasamoflange@reddit

That's just cheap ass American cars lol

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GreenNo7694@reddit

How much you want to or can spend is what you should ask yourself. I've had friends with 30-50k systems. You can get a quaking system for a lot less, though. Find a good installer, there's a lot of hacks out there. Get a good head unit, amp, subs, and don't skimp on the wiring. Insulation is where most fall short and was a major part of my friends systems expenses. Unless you really know what you're doing, I wouldn't get an EQ. They look cool, but you'll usually do better with presets from a top-tier head unit.

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Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)

I'd say the max I'd want to spend on the entire project would be $30k, car price not included. It's not gonna happen all at once either, it's gonna be a slow project over the course of several years

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tOSdude@reddit

Do you want a sound system or big subs? Because those are 2 different things.

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armandoL27@reddit

2 grand minimum for my type of build. I run a XAV6000, and JL equipment. It beats any oem system

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Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)

That's not too bad

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Conspicuous_Ruse@reddit

Couple grand. You don't need sound quality to do that, you just need loudness. Get some giant garbage woofers and they will rattle stuff with loudness.

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Blu_yello_husky@reddit (OP)

That's what i have in my buick, it's loud and it rattles all the plastic in the car but it doesn't flex the trunk and you can't hear it from down the street. I'm looking for jaw dropping bass that you can feel in your chest when you're standing next to the car