hey guys,
I'm starting my second stereo instalation. (the first was a 99 grand voyager :@}. I have a panasonic head unit that puts out 50w to 4 channels rms, but also has gold plated 4 volt preamps if I were to add a speaker amp. In addition to that I have a jl 250/1 amp mated to a jl 10w3v2. I also want to install front and rear speakers. The car is my new (used) 98 v70 t5 and I have a couple questions:

First, I listen to a wide variety of music - Phish(Jam), Mars Volta (Hard rock/ metal), Atmosphere (Rap), and Rush/Floyd/Zepplin(classic rock). those are the extremes(I guess). I am looking to set up a wide frequency stereo with all components equal. Basically i'm not looking for ear piercing highs or wildly strong base. I'm looking for Very clear sound through the spectrum. highs mids base.

1 I have to run power from my subwoofer amp to the battery and need to get through the firewall. does anyone know an easy way through, preferably without drilling.

2 Speakers - I thought about building kickpods for the front but space is very limited. the passenger side isnt too bad but on the drivers side the hood release gets in the way. I looked at the bottom of the door pannels and theirs a lot of open space for a speaker cabinet but building into it seems difficult. my plan now is to install either 6.5" or 5.5" component speakers in the stock locations (dash and top of door). My question is do kickpods really add that much midbass over mounting in stock locations and are they worth the design/build time.

3 Speakers - I'm pretty picky about sound quality but not an audiophile. Is the 50 watts per channel from my head unit enough or should I get speaker amps. If speaker amps are the answer, how much power.

4 Subwoofer - I hear that jl seriously underrates their amps, could I add a second 10w3 to my 250/1? I have to build a new box too, and i'm planning to port it. My first box was basically a sealed rectangle and I want to get a little wild with this one, any thoughts?

5 I have read about needing a code for the stock head unit, what does that mean? Should I find the code before removing it?

I'm asking a lot of questions, dont feel like you have to answer all of them. I'm new to forums so i'm really excited to hear what you have to say, any direction or opinion is very appreciated. THANKS

 

Couple things to clear up some confussion....when a stereo brand advertises 50 watts x 4 channels as an RMS rating they're lieing....most of the time this is just an assumption consumers make because they don't know any better. But that's ok, probably 94% of people buying aftermarket stuff believe that...you just need to read a little more or have someone tell you otherwise.

That being said....

I can no longer find the link to a thread containing hundreds of audio brands rated in order of quality. If I could I'd tell you where JL stands in that line up. But I can't, so instead i'll just give you a good set of "rule of thumbs" and hope for the best.

Amps are rated by class. A 250 watt amp is typicaly the smallest amp you'd want to put sub woofers on and is usually rated as a class AB amp. Class AB amps are roughly 80% efficient so by default you've got a 200 wat amp, but that 200 watts is actually a max rating. In leman's, the RMS rating is what that amp will be pushing 90% of time, which for a 250 watt amp is probably closer to 50 watts. Can you push two 10" subs with 50 watts? sure can. I pushed 3 10" mtx blue thunders on a 250 watt california amp for years and they sounded fine...not great....but fine. Chances are, however, that one will sound better than two on your average 250 watt amp.

I know nothing about the accoustics of a V-70 save that they have a lot of head space to fill up with sound. My advice (take or leave it) is to first get your deck, amp and sub installed and just hook up your factory speakers to see what it'll sound like. My concern is if you start upgrading speakers to kickpods they'll be competing with the subs and may drown them out....you'll feel the bass but you won't be able to hear it. Something to concider is the fact that Volvo speakers aren't all that bad....if you've got 'em, use 'em till they can't be used any more. A fairly safe assumptioon about factory systems is that the heads never push to the speakers potential.

To answer your specific questions 1.) look for a rubber gromit between the engine compartment and cab in the area of your gas and brake pedal. You should be able to poke through it with a sharp piece of wire. 2.) Again...hook up the stock speakers to see how much potential the aftermarket head can get bring out of 'em before you go nuts on speakers. 3.) 50 watts per channels is again a maximum output and unfourtunatley a grossly overexagerated one. It's closer to 15 watts per channel. However, this is still more than enough to push stock speakers. A whole different line of conversation needs to be had if you still plan on going aftermarket with speakers...so REALLY deside if that's the way you want to go first. 4.) You won't need to port a box for a couple 10" woofers....three 12" woofers maybe...but not a couple 10's. Especially if they've only got a 250 watt amp behind them. They'll sound better in a solid box. Check out crutchfield's web site for some plans. 5.) you'll only need the code to put the factory deck back in....it's an anti theft device for teh radio itself.