Idea sounds great, a little pricey...
 

I went over to Custom Sounds here in SA and they described a setup that sounds really good, but I've never heard of that being done and they're charging what sounds like a LOT for labor...

They're going to pull ALL the speakers out of the car and put in:
1 Pair Focal 165V1 ($349.99) - front
1 Pair JL TR570 ($149.99) - rear
Dynomat DM 10455 ($199.99)
2 JL 10W08 Subs ($109.99 each)
1 Alpine MRVF450 Amp ($499.99)
Labor $645...ouch!
"Shop Charge" $38.70
RF CP8P0 - 8 AWG Amp Power Kit $49.99
RF S1RCA - RCA ($15.99)
PAC SN135 Hi-Low ($25.99)
"Shop Parts" ($55.00)

For a total price of $2490.50

They said that the were going to run RCA's up to the head unit, so when/if it gets replaced, the amp will run right to it. I'm not exactly sure how it will be connected to the head unit. That is a 5 channel amp that all the speakers will be run off of. So... that means lines will have to be run from the head unit, all the way back to the amp in the trunk and then back to the speakers. They're building a custom box for the 2 JL 10's. What do you all think about this setup and prices?

I think I need more money :D

If I was going to spend that much on labour, I'd be stepping up a level or two on the equipment.

They're reasonable brands, but no where near top of the range.

Get more opinions and quotes.

Also, their choice of the JL TR570 surprises me , won't the VR690's fit?

Plus, considering their other charges, they're not doing you any favours on the prices. They're barely below rec retail.

In fact, check the component prices here http://www.onlinecarstereo.com

I would go soundstream exacts head to toe, amps and speakers

You mean tr800-5 amp, good choice, but I'm not inclined towards their speakers personally.

You have to consider what kind of work is involved with the labor. If you want to pay Best Buy labor prices, you will get Best Buy install quality. Just like a good tuner shop, a good installer may charge around $65/hr for their expertise, shop time, tools, etc. To do a good job of dynamatting (even if it is only a few strategic locations) and running RCA, speaker, and power cables so that they are not damaged during normal use of the car, and so they are not located as to allow interference, it will take some time and care. For the amount of work that you mentioned, I feel that that is reasonable for a good installer. Especially since it will probably be the first time they work on an RX8.

I don't think that price is out of line.

---jps

The labor cost is a little high but about right.

First, I don't think you'll need new rear speakers. The factories sound pretty good. They are 2 ohms if that makes any difference. You save $150 right there.

I don't know what a shop charge is. If they are charging $65 and hour that includes shop overhead (I'm sure the installer ain't making $65 per hour). Drop that $38 right there.

All the audio components are list price and you can do much better. Those prices all have about 20% more margin than they need to. Considering that you are running a very conservative system here, they should have little worries about you blowing stuff. SoundDomain.com will price match online carstereo (or other internet shops) and SoundDomain.com has full manufacturer's warranties and 30 day trial periods on their stuff. (onlinecarstereo only offers their own warranty since most of their stuff is gray market goods)

Everything else is fine. I would tell them to take the TR570's off the list and get you out the door for $2000

-Mr. Wigggles

This isn't the first RX8 they've done. They said the first one took them a day and a half, but now they said they can do it really quickly... I'll check out that site. I was also looking on e-bay & most of the stuff on there is about 75% of the price or even much less in some cases.

My opinion on rear speakers is that if you replace the fronts, you replace the rears with the same type or disconnect them altogether. Do not mix and match.

You could have a 6 1/2" component set installed in the fronts and the exact same 6 1/2" component set installed in the rear as well. This would sound best. You can get a set of Focal 165 ZLT (You won't see a set listed under this number. You need to see the number on the speaker itself but it is one of the kit woofers) and the TN45 tweeter with a 12db crossover for $139 plus shipping if you know where to look!!! Do the same setup in the front and rear and now you are talking about $278 total. The sets they quoted you are fine but just so you know, Focal does not make a coax speaker that sounds the same as their components. I was a Focal dealer for 4 years in case you were wondering.

Be careful on some of those charges. I priced your labor against our shop labor and we would charge around $685 or $690 or so. However they are getting you with alot of bs charges. "Shop parts" and "Shop charge" are the same thing yet one is $38.70 and the other is $55.00??? $16 for RCA cables (The cheap kind with a name brand on it!) $49.99 for an 8 gauge power wire kit??? Their PAC adapter $25, ours $20. Saved you $5. We do have a shop charge of $30. What you get for this $30 is all your power accessories that they are charging you for, and your rca cables. Cable pricing can go up if you want larger upgraded wiring of course but our standard would be comparable to what they are charging you for. So lets add this up. I'll even use a higher number of $700 for install labor for us just to make a point. $700 labor + $30 shop charge + $20 PAC adapter = $750 for us. Them; $645 + $38.70 + $49.99 + $15.99 + $25.99 + $55 = $830.67 for them. I guessed high for us and I still beat it by $80. I would have a problem with that if I were you. Lets also figure in that they want $500 in speakers where I could do a better setup for $278. Thats another $222 cheaper.

Holy criminy $200 for Dynamat! How much are they going to do, the entire trunk? Anything from Alpine and JL Audio I can still get a hookup on if the vehicle is here locally. This isnt' something that I can do over the internet. I'm about to work on 2 forum members RX-8's. They'll have to tell you how satisfied they are when we get them done.

I know about Custom Sounds. They started out as 1 store and then started to buy out others. Now they are in San Antonio and Austin. Unfortunately when the company got bigger they fell victim to what every other big company has issues with, quality.

Too bad I don't work at a shop anymore. I still do it on the side though. ;)

I just did up the sound system of my car. My preference is and will always be BASS so for all the bass freaks out there, this is what i did. However take note that i am running on FM modulator so my sound is still kinda sucks - the reason was i got the basic radio HU only. Not even a fxxking single disc load and i am really pissed with my PI!

Anyways, i installed a pair of 8'' CANTON with tweets up front and i took out the rear factory speakers totally. If u do not know by now, MAZDA / BOSE has actually installed a 8'' speakers up front and i love it! You can actually put an 8'' sub if u like without having to bore it as compared to usual cars with only a 6.5''.Left the rear tweets running though just for some vocal in case i have some rear passengers :D. Put in 2 mounted 10'' CM3 Diamond subs and also managed to sound proof the front doors with dynomats.

A word of advice for u bass freaks again, u need to soundproof the rear board as well cause the cheap plastics would just vibrate violently when u pump it up! I am getting this done as soon as the next opportunity arises!

My amps are PP 2200 and Diamond 600.2, not too fantastic but i guess they are enuff for my type of music :D.

Oh, i have also modified my cd-changer (not BOSE but Sony Xploid 555) with an MPEG card running on a 'MAGIC MIRROR'. The display is actually on your rear-view mirror and its 5x5 TFT screen, much better than LCD. The brand is SAVV, its actually quite good with anti-glare and adaptable focus. NEAT!

My total damage is about 4K USD. A big pocket in my hole, but worth it i guess.

My next project would most probably to install another aftermarket HU so that i can run direct source CD sound instead of my current Analog shit! Or i can just order the MAZDA HU with the CD option. SIGHZ!

r.g., I may want to talk to you & I'll get all the stuff myself off of e-bay or online somewhere else...

Cool. I just didn't want to see you get ripped off.