6 Speakers, PoweredSub, and Ext. Amp in my C1...

if you get a powered sub like one of these
Powered Subwoofers at Crutchfield.com
then you would connect the sub directly to the output of the HU bypassing the 445u.

an amp will always give you more power than mostly, if not all HUs. you can always simply get a slightly more expensive amp now that way you can fully feed your speakers full power.

getting a 5 channel amp will only give you the ability to have less wires running to the sub. because if you do get a powered sub then you will need to run positive, negative, turn on signal, and audio wires to the amp aswell as the sub.

 

not sure what you mean. if you get the 445u, you will have to run positive, negative, turn on signal, and 2 audio wires to the powered sub. here you would be bypassing the 445u unit.

if you get a 5 channel sub instead of the 455u, you can buy a normal enclosed sub and only have to run 2 audio wires instead of the all the other wires. here you would run all the wires to the amp first then only 2 wire extra to the sub.

when an amp has 4 channels, it is basically saying it has 4 independent outputs [front right, front left, rear right, rear left]. when an amp has 5 channels it has 5 independent outputs [front right, front left, rear right, rear left and then a single powerful output for a sub.]

in your "powered sub" you are basically buying a sub. that is enclosed in a box with the amp. so if you do the 445u setup with sub. you will be running 2 amps in theory. the 445u for the speakers and a mono sub amp.

if you get a 5 channel amp, you will only be running 1 amp and less wires. but price going from a 4 channel to 5 channel drastically increases. i personally love using crutchfield website to buy car audio stuff. great service and good prices.

also, you plan to really add some kick to the sub then you might want to stick with a 2 amp setup because a 1 amp 5 channel amp will always have limited amount of power to the sub whereas compared to the 2 amp setup you can have a totally seperate amp for the sub that will give out anywhere from 300 to 1200w.

 

well, what are you really looking for when it comes to sound? if i was in your shoes, i would first get the 445u unit with 4 new speakers and see how good they sound. after upgrading you might not even want to get a sub.

you could get a 1200w amp and sub but if you run it at low power/bass then it won't hurt your battery that much. honestly i have never worried about draining my battery, because most of the time when im in the car, the car is on. but if you do plan on getting two amps, i suggest getting a capacitor installed too.

what i plan on doing to my C1 is to install top end rear speakers with a 3 channel amp. the amp will also have a sub out which i will be able to add at a later time easily. but in your case you would get a 5 channel amp with the ability to buy any sub and just run 2 wires from your amp to the sub.

like you stated, the harder you push the amp, the more power it will take. installing a capacitor will help ease the battery depletion but not by a lot tho. of course running 2 amps will drain more power than 1 amp. but it all depends what you want to hear. if you just simply want to add some kick to your sound then maybe even top end 3 way speakers or if you are good at wiring then component speakers might be good for you too. i would personally add component speakers to the front doors and 3 way to the rear doors followed by a 5 channel amp if i was you.


hope this jibber jabber makes sense.

 

ok, i understand. i think your plan is solid. getting the 445u with 4 new speakers is the first step. most likely youll want to add some more kick and then attach a powered sub. that shouldnt be a problem for the battery at all unless you plan on putting the car in ACC mode and just blasting the volume. i think you should get the speakers and amp first. fiddle around with the settings and see if you still feel like you are missing something.

i can tell you that having 3 way speakers in the rear with an amp is really getting the best bang for the buck. but many others will also say that the sound that comes from the rear is more for filling the void rather than actually producing good sound. so its up to you. instead of getting 2 way speakers, spend some extra money and get 3 ways? why not.

also take the extra precaution and get a Capacitor along with good quality wires. get a cheap capacitor like this one
T-Spec Capacitor 3.0-Farad cannister-style capacitor with red LCD meter at Crutchfield.com

 

not necessarily; i have these (amplified by alpine pdx-v9) in my rear doors and i am extremely impressed [w the bass] considering the price: Image Dynamics CTX-65 (CTX 65) 6.5" 2-Way CTX Coaxial Car Speakers

even w the crossover at 100 hz by 6 db/oct, the bass is substantial.

i am using an aftermarket head unit, i can't speak on the stock head unit.

 

How to achieve awesome mid bass

 

Hey Jacob,
Is your system done? If so could you post some pictures and or a video of what it sound like please. Curious to hear your input on the final results. Also Cost for supplies.
Thanks,
Mike

 

Sorry to hear that. Thanks!