Questions about this audio system set up.

[Venom351R]

What about this head unit for only $20 more which has 4V Preamp outputs?

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_020CX501/Clarion-CX501.html?tp=5684

I looked into the second skin and while I think it is better I think I'll still get the dynamat from Amazon just b/c of the price difference. Amazon does not carry second skin for some reason. Seems like the only place to get it is their own site.

 

[ttocs]

seconds skins damplifier is the same as the extreme and the damplifier pro makes it looks silly. If cost/weight is a concern just go with the cheaper damplifier not the pro and you will be happier then with the extreme. Hell if cost is driving the decision check out fatmat as its cheaper yet.

 

[g36 monkey]

seconds skins damplifier is the same as the extreme and the damplifier pro makes it looks silly. If cost/weight is a concern just go with the cheaper damplifier not the pro and you will be happier then with the extreme. Hell if cost is driving the decision check out fatmat as its cheaper yet.

that's what I was going to say. If you want the cheapest bang for your buck sound deadener fat mat is it.

 

[Venom351R]

cheaper is not always better though in most cases. The reviews I read on the fatmat were not that great

 

[ttocs]

not sure what you read but I have not seen much bad about it. Dynamat was the original and still one of the most expensive but that doesn't make it the best still. They were at one time when they were alone in the arena but not anymore. Personally I would not use anything less then the standard damplifier on my own car and went as far as to use the luxery liner on the floor instead of jute when I re-did my carpet as well as on the sides of the car. My hope was to keep the side exhaust out when I don't want to hear it and finally yesterday when it was too cold to have my windows open I realized how well it was working. Up to you but between damplifier and exteme(which are really close in price) I would point you towards the damplifier. The foil on the second skin is thicker is one of the biggest differences and while working into bends/corners I have never personally had the foil rip on me. Everywhere the foil does rip on the extreme is another place that you will not want to rub up against in the future and trust me sooner or later it will be exposed, and you will be stuck to it.

 

[Venom351R]

That was something else I was thinking of that got bad reviews. When it came to the second skin I was not sure of how much coverage area I would need between the 10 and 20 sq ft to do both front doors. If I can do both fronts with 10 Sq ft then I'm fine with getting that but I'm not spending $75 for 20sq ft when I can buy the door kit of dynamat for $20 cheaper in the extreme line.

Also how hard is it to do an head unit install? It is as simple as taking off the moldings, unscrewing it and unplugging all the connections in the back and then vise versa? Is there usually any soldering involved at all? If its just plug and play w/ the harness then I'm going to buy everything off amazon. The harness that comes free with the HU at crutchfiled is $6 at amazon and the HU is $45 cheaper.

 

[g36 monkey]

buy a vehicle specific harness and the headunit. solder the head unit harness and the vehicle specific harness together accordingly. industry is almost standardized enough now that you can just play color matching, but compare the diagrams first to make sure that is the case.

 

[Venom351R]

what about using heat wrap butt connectors? I dont have a solder gun. If I have to keep buying more stuff just to do it myself it will cost more then if I had it installed somewhere.

 

[g36 monkey]

I use those in the sump of million dollar boats, I rarely solder because I trust crimp connections. I just thought you wanted to solder which is why I mentioned it.

 

[Venom351R]

haha no I dont want to thats why I mentioned it b/c I wanted to be sure I did not have to do it, then after I posted that I thought of the butt connectors.

So looks like I'll bypass crutchfiled and buy all this stuff off from Amazon (except the Fostgate speakers b/c they are the same price as crutchfield) and buy a pack of crimp connectors and the wire harness off Amazon for $6.

What would be better to use, the regular crimp connectors or the heat shrink type? I know the heat shrink is better but is it better for this kind of application as far as it being needed or not.

 

[Tony]

what about using heat wrap butt connectors? I dont have a solder gun. If I have to keep buying more stuff just to do it myself it will cost more then if I had it installed somewhere.

hahaha, dont be afraid of electrical tape man.

 

[Venom351R]

true, good point. Also decided to get the Fatmat over Dynamat just b/c It is cheaper, Im sure its the same stuff and its not sponsered by chip foose

 

[vermilion]

I rather take the abuse and solder connections. I cant count how many times butt connectors pull apart.


Sent by smoke signals

 

[g36 monkey]

If you use the correct size butt connector with the correct size wires, and crimp them down well, and don't have a short anywhere, they won't pull apart.

The heatshrink ones aren't completely necessary, but they do make the job much nicer. I try to use those when I can on the boats. If you aim to take the car rallying I would, water will get in random places ;p

And tell me how you like the fat mat, I've been wanting to do a little more deadening.

 

[Venom351R]

I will when it gets to the point of trying it out. Might be a ways off b/c I like to have everything figured out ahead of time so there are no last min hang ups

 

[ttocs]

if you use a good crimper( not the $9 one with 15 different tools and a bad crimper thrown in) Crimp connections can be good. But with that being said I do not do anything less then solder on my own car just because I am never going to sell it and I want to know 10 yrs from now that the connection I made is still good. Crimps can collect dust/dirt/corrosion and lead to resistance in the connections after 5-7 yrs. If you are not going to keep the car, crimp it but if you really care and want to save time in the long run solder them all.

 

[g36 monkey]

Scott, even the ones with shrink wrap around them you think?

That should seal the connection off.

 

[Venom351R]

Im not keeping the car forever. I'll eventually trade it in for another one. Really dont want to invest in a solder set up. Ive never used one before and I know this would be the only thing Id use it for. I see it as a straight up waste of money.

 

[ttocs]

even with the shrink wrap. Its a mechanical connection no matter how its sealed off its suseptable to vibrations as well as thermal expansion during temp/environmental changes that will make it fail over time. If you want it to last, if you reall really want it to last, solder.


Once you trouble shoot a couple dozen gremlins to find some dumb-ass used a scotch-lock/t-tap to learn why they suck. Same goes for these although you spend alot more time testing since its easy to assume that the crimp connections are so good.

 

[Tony]

grab ya some of these venom. good shit and wont cause all the issues scott explained. we used these at columbus car audio where i worked and they worked great.


http://www.posi-lock.com/posilock.html

we only used them in certain apps but if your concerned with shorts or any bad connectios. these will prevent that.