VERY impressed with new Alpine product and Pioneer Premier's!!

Hey guys,

Due to lack of work I've been forced to sell a lot of my nicer audio equipment to make some cash just to live. I've been doing a lot of research on budget audio builds and came across this little gem so I purchased it. Alpine's new KTP-445 power pack that delivers roughly 50x4 watts RMS to your door speakers. Plugs directly into 2005+ Alpine head units and is small enough to put anywhere. This should be anybody's solution to running a 2nd amp. Now you won't have to worry about extra wires and where you're going to put the 2nd amp. As long as your speakers don't require gobs of power then this should be the ticket.



Would fit perfect behind the dash. Temporiarily got it in the glove box.



I was pretty skeptical at first until I hooked this bad boy up. Man it really allows me to reach a volume I never had before and remain clear. I also installed these Pioneer Premier TS-D602P's today and tried them with and without the amp. They sound awesome. Just so you know this is coming from someone who had a $350 pair of ID comps run off 150 watts per side!!

I recommend this product to anyone wanting a nice inexpensive upgrade. Got the Pioneer's for $78 shipped and the Alpine power pack for $103 shipped (Ebay). I plan to add the same speakers to the back later on.

Pioneer's (yes I plan to change out the MDF baffles soon )

 

Look slike a very interesting product. It would be sweet if they made one that could put out 75Wx4 RMS, or 100Wx4 RMS.

 

Yeah would be nice. I can't see how they made this one as small as they did!

 

I agree, thats quite impressive. Alpine will prob be my choice of amp once I get started on my system, so its nice to see something like this to save space. Although since they made this one I wouldn't doubt sooner or later they will make em in different wattage configurations. I wonder how dependable this product will be... Keep us posted on how it's performing if you can.

 

I read a good amount of reviews before I pulled the trigger on buying it and all were great. I can confirm this as well. Even if you think you might need more power I would give this a shot first. It sure as heck beats running wires and all. Oh, it will also work with any head unit but you have to cut the wires and it voids the warranty.

 

Well its good to know it has good reviews. I'm not in a hurry to buy it so that's not a problem. I will deff keep this in mind.

 

those premiers are really good speakers I used to sell them. They are far superior to most car audio speakers, and they are made from Kevlar I believe

 

How would you compare the premiers to infinity kappas?


Sorry for the thread jack.

 

Yeah a lot of people don't realize how nice Pioneer's Premier line is and it's very affordable. Most people just see the lower end line that isn't that great. I would buy these over just about any other coaxial set of speakers.

 

I would use these hands down any day over the kappas. I've had kappas and their very harsh. These sound smooth and I really didn't have to tweak my EQ settings at all which really surprised me. My bass is set at 0 and treble at +2 with my HPF at 80Hz.

 

Ok thanks for that info.

 

The Alpine KTP-445 amp is great for an inexpensive power upgrade with an Alpine HU. I installed one in my Ranger and my stepson's Escort. Being a Class D amp they don't draw much power and very little heat. I installed the amp in the glove box in my Ranger much like the OP. The Escort was mounted below the HVAC controls, the amps disappear. My stepson added an Arc Audio KS500.1(sold it to him) sub amp driving a Image Dynamics IDQ12V3D4 in a 1 cubic foot sealed box, it sounds good with 600 watts.

I agree the Infinity tweeters sound harsh, I've had 2 pair installed in my wife's old F150 and I just installed another pair in my Ranger. I was hoping the Polk co-axials I bought would be in the front doors but it wasn't to be.

I have an Alpine CDA105, KTP445 amp, Infinities front, polks rear, MB quart sub amp driving a Dayton Audio QT210 8" inch sub in a custom built enclosure, dampened with Raammat, all stuffed into a standard cab Ranger. I have the HP filter set at 60hz. The sub blends nicely but I'm thinking about upgrading to a 10" sub, according to WinIsd (sub enclosure program) I'm well above the excursion limits of the sub with any reseasonable volume.

 

Your system sounds sort of similar to mine. I just installed an RE SE 12 in a 1cf box with an Alpine M500 pushing it. I just ordered the CDA105 so it should be here within a couple days. Do you have the 205 run to a jump drive for you music or are you using an ipod??

Tonight was really the first time I had a chance to drive around and listen to everything. I'm thoroughly impressed with the whole setup. Just has me wondering why someone hasn't already came up with a mini-amp like Alpine. I bet you will see more manufacturers doing it now.

I don't really know much about the HPF. Will I gain anything dropping the point to 60hz?? Also, please explain this WinIsd program. I would love to know if I'm overpowering my sub. Sounds great and should be fine though.

Just so everyone knows, I have roughly $600 in my WHOLE system and it rocks!!

 

Hi! Seems like a great system! Just curious - what are you replacing the MDF baffles with?

 

that is interesting.

 

Guess I'll have to go with ********* plastic ones even though I've read negative things about them.

 

I've only been using CD's with my CDA105, my son uses his Ipod exclusively with his setup. High pass and low pass are easy to understand. For example, the HPF at 60Hz will stop all frequencies from 60Hz and below from going to your speakers. A LPF works just the opposite. Even though many aftermarket speakers can play full range, they can't effectively reproduce the 20-60Hz range, that's what your subwoofer is for. If your running a 3 way active setup, a 6.5-8" mid-bass speakers can dig that low, the subwoofer at that point only reinforces the really low frequencies say about 15-55Hz, but I digress.

My HPF is set at 60Hz, the speakers sound better to me in my setup, do what you enjoy listening to.

The WinIsd program can be downloaded here: http://www.linearteam.dk/
It take some tinkering to understand and get right. You have to know you speakers specs (T/S parameters) if your speaker isn't listed. The T/S parameters are usually listed by the manufacturer. The program will autoload some specs which you might not have and if you load all of the specs the program might not like that either. Just try to get as close as you can to the manufactrers specs. You can spend hours playing with different speakers, enclosure volumes, and comparing different speakers.

The one function which is what you're after is the excursion limits graph which tells you if you're over driving your speaker mechancially. Looking at your setup for your sub, it looks fine. Make sure your amp gains and filters are set correctly.

 

Until the end of this month Alpine has a "Fall Stimulus Package" promotion which includes the following:

• CDE-102 or CDA-105
• KTP-445 Power Pack mini-amp
• 2 pairs of SPR-17C 6-1/2" speakers

I'm thinking of getting this package w/ the CDA-105. According to Crutchfield the speakers won't fit.. but I sent an email to Mr Marv to see if they'll fit when used w/ his speaker mounts.

 

That's good to hear. I want to upgrade the speakers in my 4Runner and add this mini-amp, but keep the stock Toyota/Eclipse/TomTom head unit for now.

 

keep us posted on if these will fit looks like a good package..