Don't Laugh At Me.

[exnine@gmail.com]

Alright. So when I first got my car. I was happy with the stock sound setup. But as time passed I wanted something a little heavier. So I happened to get a small sony Xplod amp from a friend for free it's just a 500 watt amp. I'm not sure of all of the specs on it.

So then I rolled in to pep boys and bought this "electra" brand subs it had a nice looking little box. and at the time. Anything was better. They have two 12" subs with tweeters and mids. and these little flashy neon lights. ect. so they were 80 bucks. I figured what the hell.

So, I've got some use out of them. But it is once again time to move on.

Today I picked up another sony xplod amp except this one is a 1000 watt. and I got it for 100 bucks. I'd Like to use both of the amps. maybe the bigger one for the subs. and the smaller ones for my 6X9's or something. I'm not sure yet.

Could I get any reccommendations from this point on? I don't want to buy something I'm going to regret. I think that's highly impossible at this point considering where I'm comming from. But I have to keep reminding myself that I am broke right now.

I'm in to Rock music. I've heard that the 10's were better because they are smaller, and have a quicker recoil so that they are less "sloppy". I have heard some JL's and I was very Impressed. My friend has one 10" JL that blows both of mine away if that puts things in perspective... anyways please help.

ps. sorry its so long. Its late at night and I have nothing else to do. :(

[jabartram]

I run 3 rockford fosgate hx2's with a 1600 watt kenwood excelon and it hits hard, yes in my opinion 10s have a stronger punch, when it comes to car audio save your money and take your time, look, listen, and learn, when you make one secton sound better oyu have to make the next section sound better, and no matter what you do, you will always want something better.

[cherrington17]

i got two 10" fosgate HE2's off ebay. (400W RMS 800W Peak) for $100 each. Lanzar 1400W 4 channel amp from www.etronics.com for like 120.

i also favor rock/metal. those sound great. not a bad price either.

[natedawg9640]

I've got a jl 19 w7 and a jl amp in the bazzar... it's loud... gauranteed to be a step up from pep boys.

[violentrapture]

Just a quick comment - driver size doesn't have anything to do with how "sloppy" the bass sounds - an 18" driver can be just as quick as a 10" driver. What matters more than anything is the install.
Cheers,
Collin

[eag182]

I'm not gonna laugh so long as you never buy car audio from pep boys ever again.

[exnine@gmail.com]

Originally posted by eag182@Jan 30 2006, 11:01 AM
I'm not gonna laugh so long as you never buy car audio from pep boys ever again.
Quoted post

Haha. Deal.

I went to have it installed. And I asked the guy who did it how it sounded... He looked at me and said "It sounds like poop what were you expecting a miracle?"

[bigd6983]

id say if money is an obstacle......get one 10w0, you can get the sub for under a hundred bucks......then go get a box at some stereo place.......a single 10 box shouldnt be too expensive, shoot my dual 12 inch box cost me 25 bucks.......id say use that 1000 watt amp but tone it down(turn the gain down).......jl doesnt require a lot of power, i think it recommends 125 rms, but you can push 150-175 with no worry's........the more power you throw at it yes the harder it might hit but the shorter the life its going to have......listening to rock music i gurantee you will like that sub.......get a decent sized box, a sealed with maybe 1-1.2 cubic feet, power it with what i recommended and i gurantee that sub will last a long time......

[exnine@gmail.com]

Cool. Thanks for your help. that makes sense.

HOWEVER. I'm finishing up a computer job that Is going to have a pay off of around two - three thousand. I'm doing alot to my car. I also may have a possible buyer on my Fiero which is another thousand.

So. I may not have to be so "cheap". the main thing Is that I have to compete with my best friend. Hes got two pioneer 10's. and some 1600 watt amp. The guy at the shop hes buying them from says a hes gotten nice ranks at competitions with them.

So I need something to compete with my friend. I just want to save as much money as possible. =D

[cherrington17]

i'd say at that rate, check the bazaar here.... some sweet stuff cheap there.

also, last time i checked, pioneer makes great headunits, but speakers and subs are middle of the line. not real powerful, not real clear.

if you want clarity go infinity
if you want power go fosgate (soundstream if you can afford it)

mostly, internet window shop and we'll tell you if its good or not. just find links to the stuff and post up here.

[bigd6983]

stay away from pioneer subs, junk..........like cherrington said they are known for their head units, not too much for their speakers........infinity is known for clarity, the fosgate stuff, with the bigger surround ive heard are really nice.....i had their lower model subs, absolute junk.....and since then ive used nothing but jl audio, love the bass note......my friend has 2 12w6's in his civic, running i think 1800 watts rms, im seriously counting the days for some body part to rattle loose......but id recommend jl audio for sure, best bang for your buck

and also give us complete specs on the amp you have, so we can tell you if its matched to the sub you want to get......

[exnine@gmail.com]

Alright. Well Here are the two amps that I have. Thanks for everything.

The 500 Watt (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?dest=9999999997&product_id=4541642&sourceid=0100000030660804302498)

And this is the

1000 watt (http://www.acaraudio.com/product_info.php?products_id=811)

I haven't decided on any subs yet. I'm really leaning towards JL's right now.

[alerosmoke]

hey i had one 12" JL -w-1 in a q-logic box and the sub busted with a 600 Watt fosgate brgd. So i put a Kennwood 800 Watt 10" sub, i had to make a ring to put it in the 12"mold but it hits double hard, i had to unbridge it. :pimp:

[whitey2003]

haha, u got the sickness. i started out with 2 rockford 12s, then 3, then 4, then 6. then various setups from there.

i really like the sound of a couple really nice 10s in a well built ported box. audiobahn is rather inexpensive and fairly heavy duty, the **08T series and above at least. i had 4 1008t's in my alero at one time. was loud. JL is definetly nice but quite overpriced in my opinion.

[ImSoBored]

I got a 12" kicker cvr

[mikegett]

Originally posted by whitey2003@Feb 2 2006, 11:04 PM
haha, u got the sickness. i started out with 2 rockford 12s, then 3, then 4, then 6. then various setups from there.

i really like the sound of a couple really nice 10s in a well built ported box. audiobahn is rather inexpensive and fairly heavy duty, the **08T series and above at least. i had 4 1008t's in my alero at one time. was loud. JL is definetly nice but quite overpriced in my opinion.
Quoted post


You honestly can't compare audibahn to JL. I have never heard a audiobahn that produced good, clean bass. Almost every other company makes low end subs (not designed for spl) that sound decent when crossed over properly. The only thing audiobah attempts to make is loud. Cross the sub over for a limited 30 htz bandwidth because it will not produce any more accurately. I would highly suggest a JL sub. The W6 is my favorite. Very accurate and loud. Unfortunately, you would not be able to pair it to your amp. You might concider two of the W3's since they come in varieties of impedance. Otherwise, concider a Infinity. They are pretty decent for the price range.

[cherrington17]

those JL's seem to be nearly the same as the Fosgate He2's i have.

10"
400W RMS
800-1000W Peak (depends on what site you look at)
85-88 SPL

seems about the same performance wise.

[whitey2003]

i wasnt comparing audiobahn to JL. i was just stating my favorite, then a quick opinion on JL's prices. As far as audiobahn not being accurate thats mostly true, they do have a couple of decent SQ series, the ALUM** series being one of them.

[dt_freak1]

Hey dude. if you REALLY want some hard hitting bass in your car my suggestion is MTX. i heard a set of 10" MTX 9500s in a ported enclosure hooked up to like a 1710 model MTX amp. OMFG they were hooked up in the soundroom at American TV&Furniture and the damn Drop Ceiling started rattling so damn much we thought it was goin to cave in lmao. and damned accurate too. as far as Audiobahn goes, its only good for SPL and well hell even for SPL its not perfect. id buy the 9500s myself but im stickin with Alpine for my system from now on....just to keep it consistent all over.

[exnine@gmail.com]

NEW PROBLEM!

-----------------------------

Alright. When my bass hits. The lights on my head unit and my head lights dim. My dome light flickers, but I'm not sure if that is directly related, it seems to do that all of the time.

I have a 500 watt amp and a 1000 watt set of subs. When I had it installed. The guy said. It wasnt enough power to drain anything, or cause any trouble. (circuit city)

Well It is.

Maybe my battery is just dying. I really don't know alot about this stuff.

But Im planning on replacing the setup with two bigger better subs. And adding another 1000 watt amp.

I'm obviously missing something here. Please help me out.

Thanks.

[mikegett]

Circuit City was correct. 500 watts shouldn't be enough to drain the electrical. How old is your car? If your vehicle is over three years old then the battery could be poor. The bad thing is that a poor battery will kill your altenator as well. I strongly suggest any individual have there battery and alt tested prior to spending the money on a system. Battery and altenators (installed by you) will easily cost close to 300 dollars. If you have a lack of funds,you can always wait on the system. If your electrical system fails then you are screwed. I bought my alero brand new and had to replace the battery after one year. I will also add that the alero is the first out of four delco altenators that has lasted three years for me. I have very little faith in there products. If you do buy a new alt, then get a guality aftermarket.

[exnine@gmail.com]

Alright. That makes sense. I have a 99. And I have had it for a little over a year. And haven't replaced the battery, or the alternator.

now. once I put my other amp in. that's going to be about 1,500 watt's. isnt their something else I should get. That seems to me like its going to drain my battery.

thanks.

[mikegett]

The factory alt and battery (when new) are rated for 110 or 120 amps. That is pretty good for a system. I normaly recommend installing a system and then testing your current draw to see if a new or upgraded alt is needed. Since your car is pretty old, it may be better off to get a upgraded alt now. I believe the 220 amp alt is the top of the line. It seems like the price is around 300.
I do need to state that a amplifiers wattage rating has little to do with your current draw. The accuracy of your amp rating, how your sub or speaker is wired, box enclosure, deadening, music listened to, and personal taste in volume all contribute to how much current is used. Look at my sig. My three amps have a possible RMS of 1280 watts. The max wattage could be 2120 watts. I am not even using close to this amount. In reality, the sub amp is probably the closest true rating. The particular sub used needed over 500 watts to sound pretty good. My guess is that I was normaly running 600 on the sub and 100 to 150 on the front and rear stage. To guess high, I would say that I ran 70-80 amps off of my system continuously. Leaving plenty of head room for the 120 amp alt. List your current amp, future amps, speakers, sub, and sub enclosure type. Let us know what type of music you listen to (rock will require very little current opposed to rap) and how loud you like it.

[cherrington17]

i had a similar problem. 1400W of subs and when they hit (not even close to loud ) and my lights would dim. even after i put in a new redtop battery.

i put in a 1.0F cap my friend gave me and no more dimming. i'm not saying its your solution, but it worked in my instance. (if i get any more power, i'm getting a new alt)

[dt_freak1]

caps are good but not a cureall....i know once i have my new Type X components installed im going to HAVE to get a new 4 channel as my New Type X components can take 60 watt RMS and my current Alpine 3526 will NOT be able to do that its rated to do 20 wattx4 RMS@4ohms only the ONLY way id be able to do close the needed watts rms for my Type Xs would be to bridge my 4 channel down to 2 channels and lose my rear 6x9s. :(. so ill be spending to get a new 4 Channel Amp sometime and right after that i KNOW ill have to update my charging system with a new Alt and 2 Stinger batteries. once again more jobs for American TV and Furniture....The Alt ill buy and Do myself as its an easy job maybe an hour at most and save myself install money...the twin batteries and mounting and wiring setup..ill have American hook me up with brand new wiring for my current setup that will stand up to at least 2500 watt max or maybe 3000. and then....oh yes 2 Alpine Type X 12"s in a giant sealed enclosure and a V12 Monoblock for em. :D

[exnine@gmail.com]

Originally posted by mikegett@Feb 12 2006, 04:39 PM

The factory alt and battery (when new) are rated for 110 or 120 amps. That is pretty good for a system. I normaly recommend installing a system and then testing your current draw to see if a new or upgraded alt is needed. Since your car is pretty old, it may be better off to get a upgraded alt now. I believe the 220 amp alt is the top of the line. It seems like the price is around 300.
I do need to state that a amplifiers wattage rating has little to do with your current draw. The accuracy of your amp rating, how your sub or speaker is wired, box enclosure, deadening, music listened to, and personal taste in volume all contribute to how much current is used. Look at my sig. My three amps have a possible RMS of 1280 watts. The max wattage could be 2120 watts. I am not even using close to this amount. In reality, the sub amp is probably the closest true rating. The particular sub used needed over 500 watts to sound pretty good. My guess is that I was normaly running 600 on the sub and 100 to 150 on the front and rear stage. To guess high, I would say that I ran 70-80 amps off of my system continuously. Leaving plenty of head room for the 120 amp alt. List your current amp, future amps, speakers, sub, and sub enclosure type. Let us know what type of music you listen to (rock will require very little current opposed to rap) and how loud you like it.
Quoted post


Hey, I've decided on going with a new alternator. I don't know much about them. But since you do. I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction of where I could find not neccisarily a Top of the line alternator. But one that will be able to do the job with out much hastle. I suspect this will be something I have to order, and can't pick up at auto zone or what not. Anyone you particularly refer? thanks.

[SweetNLow]

actually u can get a dam good one at autozone.

i got the duralast GOLD alternator. it has a lifetime warrenty on it. its alittle more money but its worth it. espically if u run a system. get it replaced for free if u fry it

[violentrapture]

Originally posted by dt_freak1@Feb 13 2006, 03:41 PM
... its rated to do 20 wattx4 RMS@4ohms only the ONLY way id be able to do close the needed watts rms for my Type Xs would be to bridge my 4 channel down to 2 channels and lose my rear 6x9s. :(.


Unless you're running surround sound for movies (or surround mixed music like DVD-A), losing the rear fill is a good thing. For two-channel reproduction, e.g. music, you don't want to hear the back speakers. SQ setups usually either have no rear fill at all or the rear fill is powered very lightly off of the head unit. Whether you're running the 137R or 177R, with a proper install and power they're all you need.

Cheers,
~vR

[cherrington17]

exnine, also check out www.mralternator.com

check for the "performance" alt for grand ams...

[mikegett]

The duragold alt is pretty good. At autozone it will run about 150 dollars with a trade in of your previous alt. Since you have no choice but to replace your altenator, I would go with the grand am high performance. It is rated for about 45 amps more than the duragold and costs 180. We can't test your current amperage pull because your old alt is faulty. The last thing we would want is for you to be underpowered. The added benefit of the 160 amps is that there will be a extended life span on the new altenator. Personaly, I think the lower alt will be sufficient for your new system. But concidering the circumstances, go for the higher rating.

[mikegett]

Originally posted by violentrapture+Feb 18 2006, 02:25 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(violentrapture @ Feb 18 2006, 02:25 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-dt_freak1@Feb 13 2006, 03:41 PM
... its rated to do 20 wattx4 RMS@4ohms onlyÂ;-) the ONLY way id be able to do close the needed watts rms for my Type Xs would be to bridge my 4 channel down to 2 channels and lose my rear 6x9s.Â;-) :(.


Unless you're running surround sound for movies (or surround mixed music like DVD-A), losing the rear fill is a good thing. For two-channel reproduction, e.g. music, you don't want to hear the back speakers. SQ setups usually either have no rear fill at all or the rear fill is powered very lightly off of the head unit. Whether you're running the 137R or 177R, with a proper install and power they're all you need.

Cheers,
~vR
Quoted post
[/b][/quote]


Just remember that sound is subjective. What one individual finds to be pleasing, another may dislike. I would never suggest a cassual driver to model his or her system off a SQ install. Alot of time and money is placed into speaker imaging that the normal driver will never have. The other aspect is the cabin pressure for those vehicles. They are being tested at conciderably high volumes. Low volumes create off axis speakers and cannot be fixed with speaker imaging. Unless I am driving a short bed truck, I prefer rearfill. Most of this has to do with my volume level. 80 percent of the time I have a wife in the vehicle and that means low volumes. Rear fill helps to pull the sound around you opposed to being in front, to the left, or to the right. If the front stage is going to be amped and rearfill is used, then concider amping the rear as well. You won't need as much wattage but the HU will distort the rear speakers far sooner than a small external amp.

[derek_ski99]

crutchfield had some nice deals on woofers. Theres a set of polk 12's for sale there for like 290 some i believe in a box. from what my audio guru buddy said they sound incredible....coming from someone who used to own an audio shop and competes in SQ competitions thats pretty good.

Its really all about how you have your system tweaked and your box and positioning more than anything else. Good connections etc... Just getting the most powerful amps you can find and woofers doesnt mean its going to sound amazing. That buddy of mine is running less wattage to his subs than I am and his are incredibly loud (granted they are 12s).

Annnd if you really want everything to sound good i suggest you invest in some tweeters and good 4x6s and amplify them all..not just the 6x9's because your subs usually engulf the mids