any one into car audio?

[evand]

any one got systems in there cars? just picked up a car so i have a trunk to put subs in lol. just went and got a new sony deck. i know sony is over rated junk but i got last years top of the line sony at C-city for half price with a 4 years free replacment.

have mtx audio speakers for it, now im looking into subs, looking at a set of polk audio 10's hooked to a alpine 800 wat amp (not sure of the RMS) for short cash,any one run polk audio? how do they hit for fast paced rock, and some heavy bass?

if that dosnt work out im looking into mtx 4500's with a sony 1200 w. amp.......


what you guys runing?

[SYKO]

way back in the day man..... used to run PPI liuid cooled amps and monstor 18 inch jbls.... lol...

[TwoHundredEx]

any one got systems in there cars? just picked up a car so i have a trunk to put subs in lol. just went and got a new sony deck. i know sony is over rated junk but i got last years top of the line sony at C-city for half price with a 4 years free replacment.



Well, I'm glad you admitted it. :D



have mtx audio speakers for it, now im looking into subs, looking at a set of polk audio 10's hooked to a alpine 800 wat amp (not sure of the RMS) for short cash,any one run polk audio? how do they hit for fast paced rock, and some heavy bass?

if that dosnt work out im looking into mtx 4500's with a sony 1200 w. amp.......


Which Polks were you looking at? The Momo's?
Alpne makes good amps, do you remember which model specifically?
I'd say away from the Sony "Xplod" amps as well. Very overrated, and for the price,you could get something much better.
The sub won't effect how it produces notes, the box is responsible for that. For fast paced rocked, I'd reccomend a small-ish, sealed box.

Right now I've got a Pioneer Premier 490IB HU, 2 sets of Pioneer Coax's in the front and rear doors, Pioneer GM-7xx (can't remember right now), and a PPI PC122 12" in a 2.2ft.3 ported, tuned to 34hz.

[jason 32]

there are lots out there- cheep stuff is cheep though-, and alpine is wayyyy over rated-
mtx orion- pyle- kicker- ect....

[DixiePlowboy]

Back "when" I used Precision Power and Orion amplifiers and nothing else.

My last "system" in '04 consisted of Pioneer deck, Rockford Fosgate 1500-watt 4-channel amp with 4 Pioneer 4-way 6x9's in parallel on the front(stereo) channels yeilding 135 watts RMS each @ 2-ohms, and a pair of Fosgate 12" 8-ohm subs mounted in the trunk of my Toyota Celica ran in parallel working with 250-watts RMS each @ 4-ohms.

Wasn't the highest end system on the road, but it was clean, clear, and very powerful with everything from Godsmack and Seether to Puddle of Mudd and Kid Rock in it.

[TwoHundredEx]

there are lots out there- cheep stuff is cheep though-, and alpine is wayyyy over rated-
mtx orion- pyle- kicker- ect....

What makes you think Alpine is overated? There 10"/12"/15" Type R sub is one of the most underrated subs I've ever seen.
People have hit low-mid 140's with a single 12" Type R.
They get retarded loud in the right box. Kicker's not that bad either, their ZX series amps are very solid. MTX I'm not a fan of either, Orion makes some NICE high end subs, and Pyle...well there name speaks for itself, pretty much just a Pyle of Sh*t

[BigTBones]

You cant beat Earthquake! Thats what I run. I have 2 12" DBXI's in a 6 cubic ft slot port box tuned at 35 htz. Pushing those im running a Earthquake ph20001.1 which was bench tested at 4000 watts at 1 ohm load with a Heavy power supply. Im only running near half that with a couple batteries and a cap! Anyways it sounds great on rock...hits hard and does havy base real well! I would not recommend a sealed box for any application! ITS ALL ABOUT THE BOX!!! Any sub will sound good weather its cheap or expensive as long as you have a nice properly ported box!

[The Goat]

you can have anyone make a ported box, and I guarantee you my 3 audiobahn sound Qs will be cleaner.

to evand, if you want some serious bass...ditch the polk and go with one of these

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_133_Audiobahn+AW1206T.html

I sold my two right when I got out of highschool, each person that bought one, is still driving around. if you want them to sound quick and clear, put them in a small sealed box...if you want them to be thunderous, put them in a 3.2 cubic foot box with 2 lightning audio (ewww) 6 in tapered ports. I can give you the box dimensions to have them tuned perfectly, the ports won't require any trimming and will be tuned correctly right out of the box.

The site I listed will stand behind them, and you know what, under all that bling, there is a damn fine sub.

[ProCarbine2k1]

I will agree that Alpine subs are UNDERrated, especially the type R. A whole lot of bang for your buck with that sub, and they can utilize a smaller encloser better than many.
BigTBones, if you listen to music and not a tuned frequency level, why in the world would you want a ported box. Dont get me wrong, Ive had them and they do have their place but SPL is the only one I can think of.
Evan, I would stay away from the lower end MTX sub's but if you do go that route stay with a sealed enclosure. I had a pair of 6,000's (2-12's) and they sounded pretty good. You also might want to check out Infinity, really good stuff for not a whole lot of cash...

[TwoHundredEx]

I will agree that Alpine subs are UNDERrated, especially the type R. A whole lot of bang for your buck with that sub, and they can utilize a smaller encloser better than many.
BigTBones, if you listen to music and not a tuned frequency level, why in the world would you want a ported box. Dont get me wrong, Ive had them and they do have their place but SPL is the only one I can think of.
Evan, I would stay away from the lower end MTX sub's but if you do go that route stay with a sealed enclosure. I had a pair of 6,000's (2-12's) and they sounded pretty good. You also might want to check out Infinity, really good stuff for not a whole lot of cash...

Have you ever heard a properly tuned ported box for the specific sub? I'm not talking about a pre-fab from Best Buy either. :lol:
It is definitely a personal preference thing though.
I had a 3 ft.3 sealed box with my old Soundstream Rubicon and it sounded good, not that loud, but sounded good.
Few months ago I built a 3.2 ft3 slot port box tuned to 34hz (Mfgs specs) and it sounds just as good, if not better, while being twice as loud. I will never go back to sealed after the difference I found.

[BigTBones]

I think that it sounds great on Rock it doesnt matter if its SPL or not does he really want a SEALED box! They are terrible and sound terrible IMO!

[BigTBones]

Have you ever heard a properly tuned ported box for the specific sub? I'm not talking about a pre-fab from Best Buy either. :lol:
It is definitely a personal preference thing though.
I had a 3 ft.3 sealed box with my old Soundstream Rubicon and it sounded good, not that loud, but sounded good.
Few months ago I built a 3.2 ft3 slot port box tuned to 34hz (Mfgs specs) and it sounds just as good, if not better, while being twice as loud. I will never go back to sealed after the difference I found.

I agree I had a sealed box for my first system and I thought "wow man this sounds good". NOW i have a ported inclosure and it Sounds much clearer and is louder! I can play any music and it sounds great! Once you go ported you never go back Trust me!

[ProCarbine2k1]

It doesnt matter if you tune the box or not, your arent going to get the SQ of a sealed enclosure, plain and simple. But yeah I guess it is personal preference, if I was into SPL than ported would be the way to go. Some love em' some dont, they just dont seem as practical...

[300rman]

im running 2 kicker 10 inch 06 solo baric L7's in a sealed box, running a 2000 watt legacy amp.
now before you laugh, consider this. i have hooked these subs up to my budies KICKER amp and heard NO difference in how the speakers sounded.
Running a Pioneer AVH-6000 head unit with the DVD-80 (i think) navigation.
running 2 3.5 inch home stereo speakers in the doors, with 1 inch neodymium tweeters in the uper door panels. rears are still stock, next on the list.
runnin a 200 watt Pyramid 12 band Active EQ, and, of course, if you run a screen in your car, you HAVE to run a PS2, which, of course, i run with 2 wireless controllers.

it is crisp, clean, and its giving me ear problems...........

someday ill replace the solobarics with my 03 model kicker CVR 18. that *Edited**Edited**Edited**Edited**Edited**Edited**E dited* is LOUD.

[The Goat]

not to burst anyones bubble, but procarbine is right.

ported boxes are typically better for SPL...however, not always. But, compare the number of people with sealed boxes who have won SQ comps in the last five years to the number of people using ported.... the numbers don't lie. sealed is cleaner...port noise and higher airmovement creates that "boomier" sound.

Also, sealed boxes allow the sub to handle more power, a lot more power, a very small sealed box won't be able to hit the really low notes, but it can still go loud. The three 10s in my car are actually much louder in a sealed box than they were in a ported one...and it was built to spec, actually port length and size was tweaked slightly to increase Dbs...

And lastly, arguing that a ported box sounds better than a sealed one is like arguing that a 18 inch sub sounds better than a 10. louder yes, lower frequency capability, yes....cleaner, more clear...NO

to the guy looking, go with one audiobahn 12 in a sealed or ported box, you won't regret it. you could push only 100 watts to it, and you still wouldn't regret it.

[Black86tri-z]

i have 2 12'' kicker L5's (square if you dont know what they are) in a ported with a 1000w amp ghetto rigged in sitting on the back seat of my truck and it slams harder than most 2000$ sound systems i don't know why but sometimes you hook up a system and it slams some times it don't, btw if your serious about a decent system dont shop at circut city or best buy go to crutchfeild or whatever it is .com way better options p.s i'm selling them 2 because it monopolizes my truck!

[BigTBones]

im running 2 kicker 10 inch 06 solo baric L7's in a sealed box, running a 2000 watt legacy amp.
now before you laugh, consider this. i have hooked these subs up to my budies KICKER amp and heard NO difference in how the speakers sounded.
Running a Pioneer AVH-6000 head unit with the DVD-80 (i think) navigation.
running 2 3.5 inch home stereo speakers in the doors, with 1 inch neodymium tweeters in the uper door panels. rears are still stock, next on the list.
runnin a 200 watt Pyramid 12 band Active EQ, and, of course, if you run a screen in your car, you HAVE to run a PS2, which, of course, i run with 2 wireless controllers.
.


:naughty: I got you beat here lol...Alpine Iva-d310 (7in monitor, nav, blah blah blah) With a xbox 360 under the pass. seat with of course wireless controllers!

[Somekindofjerk]

So far in my silverado i have a built quiet a setup up!

Started with a pioneer DEHP77DHR headunit

upgraded to two infinity kappa 652.7I 6.75 speakers in the doors

Upgraded to two infinity reference 6422 CFP 4X6 in the b-pillars

Finally after all these i decided to toss in a bit more bass to really be able to bring out the highs on the speakers and keep them from having to broadcast bass

For the subs I used a Blaukpunt(bluepoint) 2400 watt sub 1200RMS a infinity 1600 amp and a FLARE 2 farad capacitor to keep the headlights from dimming...

All together you get lamb of god with insane doublekicks but can still hear every part of the normal music (If the subs not overpowering everything else)

[300rman]

:naughty: I got you beat here lol...Alpine Iva-d310 (7in monitor, nav, blah blah blah) With a xbox 360 under the pass. seat with of course wireless controllers!

eh you only got my screen beat by a half-inch!

but what about the rest of the system?




AND



to the guy looking, go with one audiobahn 12 in a sealed or ported box, you won't regret it. you could push only 100 watts to it, and you still wouldn't regret it.

Unless your buying Audiobahn's EXPENSIVE subs, stay away from them. my buddy had 2 12 inch mid-end audiobahn subs, and ONE 03 model kicker COMP (shittiest sub kicker makes) was just as loud......


and as for ported VS. sealed, sealed are better for high notes, ported are better for low, boomier notes. ANY home stereo you buy, the subwoofer box is ALWAYS ported.
and as for power handling, a ported box can handle WAY more power than a sealed box.
a sealed box will presurize and depressurize when the speaker moves, creating a pressure or vacuum, helping the speaker move back and fourth.
a ported box, every time the woofer cone changes direction, it also must change the direction of the air flow from out the port to suckng it in. kinda like rapidly reversing a moving object.
This is why bandpass boxes have been the best option for an SPL/SQL mix. they respond like there in a sealed box, but you get the lower BOOM like a ported box.

dont believe me yet?
take a ported box and stuff a shirt into the port, thus "sealing" the enclosure.
turn your amp up till the speaker starts to distort, then pull the shirt out of the port. the speakers excursion (movement) will literally decrease by 50% when you pull the shirt out, but the SPL will almost definitely rise, and you will then be able to give the woofer more power as well.

ONE thing that CANNOT be forgotten is the type of speaker you have. I had a set of speakers that sounded like CRAP in sealed, but rocked out in ported boxes. but as son as you put them in a bandpass box, they sounded like crap again.
i have had the same experience where a speaker sounds like crap ported, but great sealed.

so, it can sometimes depend on the speaker, but generally, a ported box IS better all around.

For you audio enthusiasts, go check out REALMOFEXCURSION.COM. its like 3WW for car audio.


AND

So far in my silverado i have a built quiet a setup up!

Started with a pioneer DEHP77DHR headunit

upgraded to two infinity kappa 652.7I 6.75 speakers in the doors

Upgraded to two infinity reference 6422 CFP 4X6 in the b-pillars

Finally after all these i decided to toss in a bit more bass to really be able to bring out the highs on the speakers and keep them from having to broadcast bass

For the subs I used a Blaukpunt(bluepoint) 2400 watt sub 1200RMS a infinity 1600 amp and a FLARE 2 farad capacitor to keep the headlights from dimming...

All together you get lamb of god with insane doublekicks but can still hear every part of the normal music (If the subs not overpowering everything else)


want to really wake those door and pillar speakers up? buy a good 12 band active EQ, about a 200 watter would do. you can adjust the levels of the frequencies so much better, it REALLY brings out those crisp, clear notes.






AND, a good 18 inch woofer will stay pretty clean up until the higher frequencies. just run 1 18 and 3 10's, and set the amps up to cut the 18 out at the frequency it starts to mud up and then have the 10's cut in at that point, or have them slightly overlap. ive done it before, and good GOD did it sound amazing. just use Bass mekanik's test notes to find these "sweet spots" and 2 passive EQ's to cut out frequencies for the amps.

[The Goat]

300r...I can't agree with you on the wattage thing. simply because a ported enclosure is nearly always larger, your shirt method tweaks the test. A sub will handle the most power in a small sealed enclosure...where it will also bottom out at the highest frequency.

Perhaps things have changed since the days when I was listening to MTX's and Memphis's 18s...or Kickers Solo X (the most overrated piece of crap I've ever heard). To my ear they always sound muddy. The best bass system I've ever heard was actually 8 oldschool Fosgate 8s. You gain powerhandling in a small enclosure...but that's it...nothing else.

You can't include audiobahn's low end subs when deciding their worth. They make those subs just for the ignorant and unknowing. Those two flame Q's I had, ported, in the 6.4 cubic foot boxes, could not be bottomed out, no matter what the frequency. And playing subsonic frequencies was utterly SICK. Few systems make me squint from the pressure at 10hz, that was one of them.

If I ever buy another high end sub, it will be in a ported box, but as for right now, my 3 10s in a downfiring box uses the back door as an airslot, and it moves some serious air.

I actually was considering a setup like what you described, when I first got my scion...1 18 surrounded by 6 10s...money and lack of horsepower interfered.

[threewheelin-feelin]

right now i have a alpine 50x4 head unit and a jensen 300w amp and a 10' dual in a truck box in my silverado...im looking into adding a second 300watt amp and a secong dual...and one happen to know the wattage on a 10' dual?

[Chopper_Kingpin]

Ive never been into car stereos much. I have a Kenwood head unit and 2 10 inch JL audios. Paid 400 including installation. Sounds good for me, but isnt impressive.

[Erics350x]

way back in the day man..... used to run PPI liuid cooled amps and monstor 18 inch jbls.... lol...

LOL i remeber those days, i had an 24in. Orion that took up the whole hatch of my Mustang

[BigTBones]

eh you only got my screen beat by a half-inch!

but what about the rest of the system?

Well for the rest of the system i have infinity Kappa 5x7's in all 4 doors ran by a pioneer 400watt amp. I also have tweeters mounted in the lower pillars kinda by my mirrors(sounds better at a chest level output....you should know this already). For my subs im running 2 Earthquake DBXI's in a 6 cubic foot slot ported box tuned at around 35hz. Its powered by a Earthquake Ph20001.1 at a 1 ohm load this amp is capable of producing 4000watts with a decent power supply. Im currently at a 1 ohm load with a 1 farad cap and 2 optima batteries. Pretty much my system beats hard to just about anything....But i also have the mids and highs to go along with it! My last SQ competition i took first place (won a trophy) and My last SPL Db drag i ran a 146.3 decibles (took 4th in class 2 which is 2 12" subs or 1 15")....Not to shaby for a 4dr trunk car! :D

[300rman]

300r...I can't agree with you on the wattage thing. simply because a ported enclosure is nearly always larger, your shirt method tweaks the test. A sub will handle the most power in a small sealed enclosure...where it will also bottom out at the highest frequency.

Perhaps things have changed since the days when I was listening to MTX's and Memphis's 18s...or Kickers Solo X (the most overrated piece of crap I've ever heard). To my ear they always sound muddy. The best bass system I've ever heard was actually 8 oldschool Fosgate 8s. You gain powerhandling in a small enclosure...but that's it...nothing else.

You can't include audiobahn's low end subs when deciding their worth. They make those subs just for the ignorant and unknowing. Those two flame Q's I had, ported, in the 6.4 cubic foot boxes, could not be bottomed out, no matter what the frequency. And playing subsonic frequencies was utterly SICK. Few systems make me squint from the pressure at 10hz, that was one of them.

If I ever buy another high end sub, it will be in a ported box, but as for right now, my 3 10s in a downfiring box uses the back door as an airslot, and it moves some serious air.

I actually was considering a setup like what you described, when I first got my scion...1 18 surrounded by 6 10s...money and lack of horsepower interfered.

So, those audiobahn Flame Q, eternal, and Immortal series subs are good? i have heard it go both ways, never heard one. want a SICK sub, get Pioneer record setting woofer (http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Products/CarAudioVideo/Subwoofers/SPL/TS-W5102SPL)
As for the SOLO-X, they arent a musical speaker. they are for playing 1 note, around 35 HZ for sound competitions. they are STUPID loud, but, they arent SQ oriented.



Well for the rest of the system i have infinity Kappa 5x7's in all 4 doors ran by a pioneer 400watt amp. I also have tweeters mounted in the lower pillars kinda by my mirrors(sounds better at a chest level output....you should know this already). For my subs im running 2 Earthquake DBXI's in a 6 cubic foot slot ported box tuned at around 35hz. Its powered by a Earthquake Ph20001.1 at a 1 ohm load this amp is capable of producing 4000watts with a decent power supply. Im currently at a 1 ohm load with a 1 farad cap and 2 optima batteries. Pretty much my system beats hard to just about anything....But i also have the mids and highs to go along with it! My last SQ competition i took first place (won a trophy) and My last SPL Db drag i ran a 146.3 decibles (took 4th in class 2 which is 2 12" subs or 1 15")....Not to shaby for a 4dr trunk car! :D

as for the tweeters, yes, chest level is the better place to put them, and it sounds like you have them in the same place i put mine.
BUT, i have heard from a few audio-pro's that actually aiming the tweeters at the windshield will make them sound much better, more crisp, and louder.

someday, i will replace the rear speakers, and add bullet tweeters in the back of the cab facing at the back of your head in a crisscross pattern. i will eventually replace the tweeters on the roof pillars with something a little more high end than 10 bux a piece and get 2 higher-end active EQ's. one for the factory speaker locations, and one for the added tweeters, then run 1 good horn tweeter mounted in the sub box facing forward in the middle of the cab.
as for woofers, ill prolly wind up running the 18 along with 2 kicker CVX 10's. The CVX's hit WAY more notes than a solo baric, and are more of a SQ speaker, as they are the same speaker with different cones.


as for a good sounding, cheap set of 10's that sound AWESOME in a 1.0 cubic foot sealed box,a set of pioneer IMPP's are great,and at 20 a piece,cant be beat.

[Shaw07]

12s are just about the safest way to go, they have the punch of a smaller sub, and they can hit lows pretty well. i know its kind of expensive but a resonant engineering 12 hooked up to a 1200watt amp would be one bad system. resonant engineering is a great quality sub, and my friend one a couple competitions with 2 15s.

[Somekindofjerk]

Audiobahn subs blow. The foam surrounds on them go out very early on them.\

The best sub for the money on the market right now is either Orion (they have a 12 that has 5" of excursion) and Cerwin Vega's Stroker series woofers.