Ok, ive talked myself into spending some money on a system before anything else. I already have a head, basically what im looking for is subs and amp…
Ok, this is what im looking for. I dont listen to like any rap, just rock stuff… i dont want extreme bass, just something that sounds good, and bumps good. What brands, sizes, output, etc am i looking at here??
I used to use Soundstream audio equipment and highly recommend that brand. Top quality and terrific sound quality as well as solid under-rated amps.
It’s also theft fodder, I’ve been broken into 3 times. Don’t ever let a store use your car as a demo…
A 12" Sub in a sealed box might be best for you. Some might say 10", but 12" will bump lower. The wattage of the amp all depends on the sub you buy.
hth
you want 10’s not 12’s. If you like rap or lower bass heavy music then 12’s are the way to go. You will really like the sound of a kick drum on a rock song with a pair of 10’s in a sealed box…
For a good (greta) sounding setup for minimal cash… try the following:
Image Dynamics IDQ 12" sub (model: IDQ 12v2d4)
sealed box (make it yourself to save a TON of money)
JBL BP 300.1 amp. Get the 600.1 if it’s in the same $60 price range, because you never know when you’ll wanna upgrade, and trust me, the IDQ subs CAN candle around 500 watts easily).
I’ve heard numerous identical setups to this and they all sound VERY clean and crisp, they are “fast” subs (hit as fast and harder than 10’s), and they can get hella low and decently loud.
I own 2 IDQ 12’s, giving each sub 550 watts, and they suck it up and get hella loud.
I’d highly recommend this setup for you, especially if you are into rock and stuff with faster, punchier bass.
Good luck!!
PS: Check EBay for the amps… look for a seller named “scala1”… they are the most reliable and customer-friendly ppl online, and have incredible prices!!)
I am also a rock listener, so here is what I suggest.
Amps. Rockford fosgate is good and you can find a bunch of them on ebay for cheap. You can get away with 1 two channel amp and drive your whole system. This way you spend $350 on an amp that will give your subs 360 watts and each side of your car 180. This would be with passive crossovers, so it would not be as clean as a competition system, but most people couldn’t tell the difference. Check this out Crutchfield . If money isn’t really an object, I love the phoenix gold titanium stuff.
Subs. Some people will tell you that ported enclosures are for rap, but they would be completely wrong! A ported enclosure is “tuned” to a certain frequency. Most people tune them so that they have a bump in the response curve that will sound a little boomy. This is ok to a certain degree because you want a little boost on the bass to make up for the road noise floor. Using a ported enclosure will give you about a 3db increase in sould. To get this increase you usually have to double the power, or double the amount of drivers. If you are going to build this yourself, sealed is much easier, but as long as you are close (in volume) to what the driver recommends, you can adjust your port. Also between 10s and 12s, the 12s will go deeper and usually louder, but the 10s tend to be tighter because they aren’t moving as much cone area. I would recommend JLs or RF for ported or sealed and Kicker Solobarics for sealed only. The kickers are about twice as expensive as the JLs or rockfords.
Other. If you are going to use multiple amps, invest in a good crossover. I wouldn’t rely on the ones usually built into the amps (no matter what kind). A nice crossover will run you $150 and is well worth it. If you do go with multiple amps, put aside about $200 for a new altenator (sp?) as the ones in our cars suck.
Drop me an email on what you decide to get keith . I may be able to get you a discount from some of the places I know.
-Keith
Originally posted by killerTeg
Also between 10s and 12s, the 12s will go deeper and usually louder, but the 10s tend to be tighter because they aren’t moving as much cone area.
The “quickness” of subs has very very little to do with cone area… it’s almost all reliant on the damping factor of the AMP )ie: how fast the amp can switch from neg. to pos. and how strong it can move the sub to the correct position).
Originally posted by killerTeg
I would recommend JLs or RF for ported or sealed and Kicker Solobarics for sealed only. The kickers are about twice as expensive as the JLs or rockfords.
JL, Rockford, and Kicker are the old and trusted names in the business, but everyone and their dog has them, and there is MUCH better out there for the money in a lot of areas.
JL and Rockford have subs which are specifically built to run in either a sealed, or a ported enclosure. Putting a driver designed for sealed in the wrong type of enclosure leads to an unwanted sound. The type of enclosure a sub “needs” is ONLY DEPENDANT on it’s T/S Parameters.
KICKER SOLOBARICS ARE ONLY MADE FOR PORTED ENCLOSURES. Get your facts straight. I’ve never heard a Solo (old or new) in a sealed box that sounded good. They are completely designed with the ported enclosure in mind. Please check your facts before you post stuff like this.
Originally posted by killerTeg
If you are going to use multiple amps, invest in a good crossover. I wouldn’t rely on the ones usually built into the amps (no matter what kind).
Care to explain why? I’ve seen many amps with a crossover section beefier than you’d imagine. Just invest in high quality equipment to begin with, and you will not need this extra stuff. Try Directed Audio, for a brand with a very nice crossover section in it. Hell, even JBL and Cadence have better crossovers than the RF amps do.
[QUOTE]Originally posted by killerTeg
If you do go with multiple amps, put aside about $200 for a new altenator (sp?) as the ones in our cars suck./quote]
Umm… nope. I have 2 amps running in my car from the stock alternator. I have a 1100 watt class D amp for my subs, and a 350 watt class A/B amp for my fronts. That’s over 1450 watts in total, and my lights don’t even dim a bit.
If you’re giong multiple amps, MAKE SURE to get a Class D amp for them, as it requires less juice from the alternator, puts lesss overall strain on your electrical system, and doens’t get NEARLY as hot as a lot of Class A/B amps do (ie: Rockford – you can literally fry an egg on most of their amps… they are wasting power!). As for our alternators… they are rated at 80 or 90 amps. My DEI (Directed) 1100D amp is rated to pull 80 amps at absolute MAX volume, MAX gain, playing test tones. normal music listening, and even when playing at near max volume, I barely pull 45 amps. This leaves 35 left over. My Class A/B amp pulls a MAX of 40 amps, but fo rnormal music listening, it only draws about 15 or so. This leaves 20 amps left over for the car. The car doesn’t draw 20 amps at any single time unless you’re starting it (in which the amps will be automatically turned off anyhow), or if you’re rolling the windows down, opening the sunroof, using the defroster, A/C, fans on high, lighting a cigarette lighter in the socket, and using every light in your car, all at the SAME TIME.
Don’t worry about an alternator for now. Unless you’re running over 2000 watts at a time, it’s not even a consideration.
Hope I cleared some stuff up for you. 
~Eric
Originally posted by curls
Care to explain why? I’ve seen many amps with a crossover section beefier than you’d imagine.
I always suggest to customers to use the best tool for the job and IMHO, dedicated crossovers or EQ’s such as AudioControl’s products used properly will allow you to shape and tune your sound vs just splitting signals.
Also, some equipment like the AC’s can raise your input signals going to your amps after cleaning them up giving you a clearer, sound.
Originally posted by SE-37K
[B]
I always suggest to customers to use the best tool for the job and IMHO, dedicated crossovers or EQ’s such as AudioControl’s products used properly will allow you to shape and tune your sound vs just splitting signals.
Also, some equipment like the AC’s can raise your input signals going to your amps after cleaning them up giving you a clearer, sound. [/B]
I agree on your concept to use the best tool for the job, but especially in this guys’ situation, a separate crossover is competely unwarranted and a waste of money. An EQ, on the other hand, will definately require a separate piece of equipment, as 99.9% of the internal EQ’s in decks and stuff suck major as$. A separate crossover is a nice addition to an already decent system, but is definately not necessary by any stretch.
Also, boosting a signal through an AC crossover, for example, is not always a good thing. Remember, distortion in the signal will also be boosted. The reason the line driver seems to make the sound cleaner is because you are using less gain at the amp, and since 90% of amps are setup INcorrectly to begin with (gain too high = too much distortion), adding a line driver and turning the gain down a whole lot seemingly fixes the problem of introducing distortion at the amp (because ppl who actually know what a line driver does and appreciate its value KNOW how to set up an amp properly). I do, however, believe line drivers ARE a good piece of equipment to use, especially if you have an amp with a weak gain potentiometer (hard to adjust gain knob). I don’t require one in my system, as my Premier HU puts out 4.5 volts of unclipped signal, and my DEI amp has a very strong, positive, gain selector knob. It is infinately adjustable, and very accurate.
I just worked on a reply to all this for about 15 minutes and just lost it all! Damn!
Here we go again.
The “quickness” of subs has very very little to do with cone area… it’s almost all reliant on the damping factor of the AMP )ie: how fast the amp can switch from neg. to pos. and how strong it can move the sub to the correct position).
I knew this comment would come and bite me on the butt. So here is my explaination. The cone of a woofer makes a big difference. Invariably you can tell a good woofer from a bad one by the cone (even if you don’t see the magnet). This is because the cones inertia comes into play. A 12 has a bigger (thus heavier) cone. This affects performance in 2 ways. First, the cone will not be as rigid as a 10. Sure you can beef it up, but then you run into problem 2. A 12 cone is heavier. The cone’s inertia will make it harder to either start,stop or switch. Basic physics. This comment mainly comes from owning a bunch of different woofers. If you start comparing really high end woofers, the cones are usually made of some special polymers or something so that they are very rigid and light. But with <$100 subs, 10s will sound “tighter”.
JL and Rockford have subs which are specifically built to run in either a sealed, or a ported enclosure. Putting a driver designed for sealed in the wrong type of enclosure leads to an unwanted sound. The type of enclosure a sub “needs” is ONLY DEPENDANT on it’s T/S Parameters.
Funny, my JLs list a box size for both sealed and ported enclosures. Rockford and JLs sites back this up as well.
KICKER SOLOBARICS ARE ONLY MADE FOR PORTED ENCLOSURES. Get your facts straight. I’ve never heard a Solo (old or new) in a sealed box that sounded good. They are completely designed with the ported enclosure in mind. Please check your facts before you post stuff like this.
I just checked and I appologize. The newer Solos are for either ported or sealed. The older set of 12s I have in my truck were for sealed enclosures ONLY. BTW they sound awesome.
Care to explain why? I’ve seen many amps with a crossover section beefier than you’d imagine. Just invest in high quality equipment to begin with, and you will not need this extra stuff. Try Directed Audio, for a brand with a very nice crossover section in it. Hell, even JBL and Cadence have better crossovers than the RF amps do.
This is probably a personal preference, but a valid one. There are reasons that separate crossovers are $150+ and yet $200 amps have them built in. I know the RF ones suck, because I have them. But just assure yourself that you have a good crossover because it is important.
I have 2 amps running in my car from the stock alternator. I have a 1100 watt class D amp for my subs, and a 350 watt class A/B amp for my fronts. That’s over 1450 watts in total, and my lights don’t even dim a bit.
Sorry didn’t think about class D amps. My original post should read “if you are using multiple CLASS A/B amps…” But maybe you should think about this as well. I have an original alternator in my teg that is 10 years old. I am sure that it is not up to stock specs and probably will need it soon anyway, especially if you put a system in. I have two RF 200a4s and one 500a2 and I need a new alternator.
-Keith
Originally posted by killerTeg
Funny, my JLs list a box size for both sealed and ported enclosures. Rockford and JLs sites back this up as well.
What I meant is that if a woofer is specifically designed for a ported enclosure, let’s say, that it will not be optimally efficient in a sealed box, and vice versa. However, many companies, especially big mainstream ones such as JL, RF, kicker, Image, Eclipse, JBL, etc… all make subs that are constructed so they perform decently well in EITHER sealed, ported, and sometimes bandpass. They do not excel overly much in one or the other, but their T/S specs lead them to work well enough in most applications. This is marketing. 
Originally posted by killerTeg
Sorry didn’t think about class D amps. My original post should read “if you are using multiple CLASS A/B amps…” But maybe you should think about this as well. I have an original alternator in my teg that is 10 years old. I am sure that it is not up to stock specs and probably will need it soon anyway, especially if you put a system in. I have two RF 200a4s and one 500a2 and I need a new alternator.
Apology accepted, but you better remember from now on that Class D amps are out there! (Don’t I sound like your mother nagging? LOL)
I, too, have a 12 year old alternator in my Teg, older than yours, and it handles this system very well. upgrade the main wire sunder the hood (battery ground, battery positive, and both alternator wires) to 2 guage or larger, and you’ll notice a decent boost in voltage at your amps. Also make sure your power cables are oversized (if you read up and it suggests 4 guage, use 2, just to be safe). Also, make sure your ground is at LEAST as big as the power wire, and make it under 1.5’ long if at all possible.
These are just a few tips to get every last drop of juice from your alternator.
Hope this cleared up some stuff.
anything made from kicker, their amps and subs really bump 
late…