i just got this sub: http://www.eclipse-web.com/products/speaker/88000ti/88120tidvc.html
it's the eclipse 88120tidvc. what do you guy think? XtremeRS dropped some knowledge on me the other day (thanks Matt). what are you other guys' opinions? i'm thinking of powering it via a rockford 1500bd (yeah, i got a few paychecks to save up :P). what do you guys think of this setup. after this i'm thinking of getting some kick panels with premier components. i'm new to car audio and open-minded, so hit me up with some advice/suggestions/compliments, whatever.

Nice choice man ;) That amp should do just fine with the sub. After you get it goin, i guarrentee you will never want to own a different brand of sub ever :) You got the right idea for kickpanels, as those will give the best sound and imaging over the door or rear speakers. Amp the kickpanel speakers, and with the sub, it will sound very nice inside. As for the brand of speakers you want for the kicks, i would go to as many audio stores and listen to as many different speakers as you can too see what sounds good to you. And of course, you generally get what you pay for, so keep that in mind.. Good luck, and enjoy the new sub.

Eclipse is a very good company and IMO they have the best HUs available on the market, but, as for subs they make nice ones but for the same price you can go with some even better subs. Try www.digitaldesigns.com and get ready to drool. These subs put all to shame. Still the Eclipse sub is nice.

the components in the kick panels replace the dash and door speakers, right? so, wouldn't i still have to upgrade my rear side panel speakers? sorry guy, but like i said, i'm new to car audio.

ahh, i thought you were talking about "true" kickpanel speaker set up, which is special pods right in the kickpanels, by your left foot area. This is usually a better location than door speakers or dash speaker locations, it gives a better sound, and fullness to the music. You are saying that you want to use a componet set of speakers that you will use the midbass speaker in the door location, and the tweeter in the dash location, which will be just fine, and sound really good. I plan on doing the same real soon here too, until i can get the time to do some real kickpanel setups. I only suggested to replace the fronts and not the rears, since you want to hear most of the music from in front of you, not behind you, and it is cheaper to leave the rears alone. If you got the money, replace the rears with new speakers, a simple coaxial two way 6 1/2 will do just fine there. I would use and amp to power the new front and rears too, so you can get the most potential out of you new speakers. So to sum it up, a good sounding set up will consist of a componet set up front, with the woofer in the door location, and the tweeter in the dash location, and a good 6 1/2" coaxial(woofer and tweeter as one unit) in the rear location. Then add a good 4 channel amp to power them. This should sound really good with that sub you got, and the amp you plan on getting. You will be completly satisfied with the end result..

actually matt, this is what i was planning/thinking of doing. crutchfield sells these kick panel enclosures (http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S-2P2GaWPo8MM/ProdView.asp?s=0&c=10&g=765&I=044K300499&o=m&a=1). in the description it says they can accomodate 5 1/4" components. are i thinking of using the wrong setup? i want the sound to sound as good as possible, so what do you recommend? what was it exactly that you were thinking i was gonna do, as you said that that setup would sound better? DROP THE KNOWLEDGE OH CAR AUDIO MODERATOR!!! :thumbsup

>actually matt, this is what i was planning/thinking of
>doing. crutchfield sells these kick panel enclosures
>(http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S-2P2GaWPo8MM/ProdView.asp?s=0&c=10&g=765&I=044K300499&o=m&a=1).
>in the description it says they can accomodate 5 1/4"
>components. are i thinking of using the wrong setup? i want
>the sound to sound as good as possible, so what do you
>recommend? what was it exactly that you were thinking i was
>gonna do, as you said that that setup would sound better?
>DROP THE KNOWLEDGE OH CAR AUDIO MODERATOR!!! :thumbsup


Haha, ok, you did indeed have the right idea there, i guess i just didn't understand what you meant in your firs post. Yeah, those are the right kickpanels you will need for excellent sound, and good imaging in the front. Its up to you really if you want to totally leave out the door speakers, and the rear speakers. But if you decide to use your door speakers, use only a midbass speaker, and nothing with a tweeter in it, as that would mess with your imaging some. Also, if you go the kickpanel route, i wouldn't use the tweeters in the top of the dash either, as this will mess with the imaging too. But like i said, its really up to you. Most car audio competitors WIN competitions by having only front kickpanel speakers and a sub in the back. This set up just meters better for them, and it also keeps all of the music up front where it should be, since we like to think of music in the car as if you were at home listening to your stero, or at a concert in front of the band. I personally like to have a little bit of rear "fill" of music, it to me just gives more fullness to the music. I have mine set so i can't really distinguish the rear sound any, but the music sounds like its all around you, not just in the front. This is what i plan to do with my car, as i'm not going to compete anymore in car audio, and not worried about winning events. I will have the same kickpanls you are looking at, a 6 1/2" midbass woofer in the doors, and a nice set of the same componets as in the front kickpanels, in the rear locations. Maybe some tweeters in the dash locations, but not sure yet. I just want my car to sound loud and clean, and i'm not too worried about the perfect soundstage and imaging so to speak. So for you as a good basic set up, get the kickpanel pod with the componet speakers, leave your door and dash speakers disconnected, and replace the rear speakers with either a coaxial speaker, or another componet set. Also, use an amp to power all of your speakers. This should sound really good, and leaves room for upgrading later if you feel you want more. NOw if you plan on entering competitions with your car, thats a whole different story :)