I wanted you guys' opinion on what route I should go for my stereo. I'm for sure putting in an alpine cd/mp3 head unit. I'm not sure whether i should:
A, get some awsome speakers(6.5" and 6x9),
B, get some great speaksers (Polk momos) and an amp(alpine v12 400 watt), or
C, get some desent speakers(apline type s), an amp(alpine v12 400 watt), and some subs(alpine somethings)

A.....

Tough one there! I'm inclined to go with A too, but with awesome speakers you also need an amplifier. most "awesome" will merely be mediocre speakers on head unit power. However, if you keep the volume down so you don't destroy them you could add an amplifier later. Don't waste a lot of money on rear speakers...they are just for fill and even the best 6x9's don't sound that great. Put the money into the fronts and maybe even leave the stock speakers in the back and get the amplifier and a single 10" sub instead. THat's what I would do.

Just a suggestion, but you may want to tell us how much money you are willing to spend.

Do you have 4 speakers or 6? You know, tweeters in the front?

I would go with A. You really shouldn't need any subs unless you want some very powerful and very loud bass and subs will take up some space that could be used for other purposes. It would help if you list which model Alpine you are going to install. I just installed an Alpine head unit and replaced my speakers and it pumps the speakers just fine. Personally I would put a component system up front and new 6x9s in the rear. The 6x9s will pump out a good amount of bass but you may have to work out some rattling. You don't have to spend a lot on speakers to get great sound. Although it would help to list how important bass is to you and maybe what type of music you listen to the majority of the time. If you want I can help as much as possible as I just replaced my audio system in my Infiniti G20 which has a similar factory setup as the system in the Xterra. The Xterra system is next on my list so we could help each other.

Not really true. Many Alpine head units have such a powerful amplifier that it must be wired directly to the positive terminal of the battery and believe me, it pumps out plently of power. I am not sure what 6x9s you have heard but all the ones I have installed sounded awesome.

I have the bottom of the line, 4 speaker factory system in right now. I'm planning on getting the cda-9807 head, type s alpine speakers for all or just polk momos up front, an alpine v12 mrv-820 amp (400watts max) and some 200 watt alpine 10" alpine subs if i get them. I like to feel the bass, but don't need to be feeling like i'm in an earthquake. I play just about everything in my car, minus rap and country.

Okay, here is my suggestion:

Alpine CDA-9807
Alpine SPS-170A (doors) or a component system
Alpine SPS-6939S (rear)
Alpine Type-S SBS-1041BP (bandpass box and sub)
Alpine MRP-M200 (mono sub amp)
Lightning Audio SXPK10IC (amp wire kit)

I would run your fronts and rears off the head unit, it has plenty of power, and the sub off the mono amp. You will not gain much from running an amp to the front and rear speaker unless you upgrade your speakers, which will cost a lot more. The Alpine head unit will send all low end frequencies to the sub (using the sub-out), which will give you a lot of bass kick, and remove those frequencies from the other speakers, they will sound louder and clearer, all the while cutting back on the space needed for the sub and amp. The other advantage is by sticking with all Alpine products, the different components will fit (sound much better) together very well.

Speakers are always the weakest link. Get some really good ones... You can drive a good speaker on anything, pretty much, as long as you don't play it loud enough to go into distortion.

I might suggest something else - make the truck a better speaker box by sealing things up better in the doors and rear (leave the rear pass quarterpanel vent intact however). You should get a lot better midbass out of the front door speakers once things are sealed better...

-=RB

I don't know if speakers are Alpine's strong suit. If you're going to go BIG look at MB Quartz components or in my case I went with the Boston Rally M620 components. Some people think they are a little bright but with mt JL sub they really seem to fill the mids and highs nicely.

I've decided to just go with the head unit and speakers right now. I can go back and add subs and an amp for it later.

if i go with the Polk momos, am I going to need an amp to handle the amps if i go with a 50x4 head uinit(alpine cda-9805 or 9807)?

And (forgive my lack of knowledge) what the hell does the crossover do and is it a pain to install?
is it going to make a differance if I don't have a crossover?

any comments on cda-9805 (moderate range cd player) vs cda-9807 (cd and mp3 player) power and performance wise? or on polk momo 6.5" and tweeters vs alpine type r 6.5" and 6x9"? If I got the polks, i'd probably have to skimp or not even replace the 6x9"s.

Well, I have to say it again. spending a lot on 6x9's is a waste, IMO. I know because I did it and regret it. Yes, the really expensive ones sound good, but they don't kick ass. Add to the fact that the location sucks ass and what you get is mediocre sound from the front seats. They do sound great at campfires with the rear hatch open or if you're in the back, but from the front it's just blah. The problem is that they fire directly at each other in a big open cargo area. That's where they sound good.

If you're real adventurous you could just not use the 6x9's and run just fronts or add good quality speakers to the rear doors. Or make some panel modifications and put in plate mount speakers in the back...I think they would sound better than 6x9's back there. Anyway, my point was mostly that your primary soundstage is forward unless you're really a freak. having it from the rear is just unnatural. Plus, rear speakers are simple to install and can easily be done later if you want them. Put most of your amplifier power and money into the front soundstage then finish up the rear as finances allow if you still want more.

Unless your goal is to be obnoxious you don't need mroe than one 10" sub. I have one 10" sub and 110 watts mono going to it and it rocks pretty hard and takes up very little space. I put some extra sound control padding to the rear floor (foam and rubber composition) that helped control the subwoofer sound and keep other sounds out. Adding sound insulation is always a good idea; especially in a big open space like that where sound comes in through the floor and then bounces around.

One thing I've decided after having installed many stereo systems is that getting the hard stuff out of the way early on is always good. If you know you are going to want amplifiers do them now or at least figure out where you are going to put them and lay down the wires for them. Nothing sucks more than putting in a head unit and speakers and then going back and tearing everything apart to wire the amplifiers...ugh!

Oh yeah...don't let anyone tell you which speakers to buy. Listen to them and make your own decision. Everyone hears things differently and buying based on someone elses idea of what sounds good is a disaster int he making. Never buy any speaker without listening to it! I am very picky about speakers and there were only two types that were acceptible for my front soundstage after all that I listened to and one set was $1300!!! Needless to say I went for the $500 option and got Diamond Audio HEX series seperates. The $1300 models were made by A/D/S.

Thanks man, I went down to curcuit city just to shop and got a lot of info. Based on what I've heard from you all(thanks a ton!!) and what the guys there said, I'm gonna have to go with the alpine type R 6.5" just because I don't want to go tearing up my panels getting the momo tweeters in, and in my opinion sounded just about the same, and definately not a $100 differance. Thus so, I'm porbably going to go with an alpine 200-300 watt amp for the speakers and go ahead and lay down all the line for the sub and amp for when I can afford them. plus the cd/mp3 player. Thanks so much to all you guys. Being a noob here and asking so many questions, I really appreciate how many of you took the time to write out lengthy responses.

lol. no sooner do I go to order it, but I'm hit with where I want a 2/1 channel amp or 4/3/2 channel amp at 400 watts. So what would be the best for just powering the front 2 6.5"s?

Ha, if it were me (key word) I would get the 4/3/2 channel amp with plans to use 2 channels for the front speakers and bridge the other two to mono for your sub when you get it. Then use the power from the head unit to run the rear speakers. I'm not up to date on all my decks, but if the Alpine deck you are looking at has a built in crossover all this will be a piece of cake and it will crossover the appropriate preamp lines and the line level lines to your rear speakers (most likely). If not, running the rears full range shouldn't be a problem...just turn down the gain on them. I use the crossover in my Pioneer deck for my system and it actually works quite well...better than using the crossovers in the amplifiers for some reason. Obviously you won't want to use the crossover until you have a subwoofer, but again, it's good to plan these things in advance.

But that's just how I would do it!

hahahah, ya know... you could always go the cheap route:

grab the 150W inverter from the garage, Altec Lansing sub under your computer desk, and a line level adapter lying around, and you have a a temporary sub for a long road trip.

Not that I've ever remotely considered doing something as hacked as that... oh wait - yeah I did it on the trip to New Orleans...

-=RB

zoso,

I just read that you had your eyes on Polk MM6 Momo speakers. If your wondering what they would look like installed in your truck:

Before:

http://www.grovestreet.com/jsp/onepic.jsp?id=118467

After:

http://www.grovestreet.com/jsp/onepic.jsp?id=118468

The Polk tweeters are too large to fit in the stock location, and when they are mounted this way, you can position the angle no problem. By placing the crossover where you see them, you can make adjustments by just popping off the soft part of the arm rest, instead of taking the whole door panel off. Oh by the way, the speakers sound great, and were only about $220.