You are seeing this right....Im putting some bumps back in my car. But I wanted to stray from my usual approach of "buy this and throw it in"...
My question for you guys is....I listen to alot of rock/metal and want to build a damn good system...but nothing bulky..one or two 10's. What is going to be an optimal setup while staying within a very reasonable budget? I have type-s components and I am gutting the 6x9's...I will also be amping my components..
Ideas? Thanks guys.
Whats your budget sweetheart?
That's the thing..I'm in no hurry so I can realistically spend quite a bit if I wanted...But I don't want to haha.
I'm definitely wanting to go with higher end stuff than I had in the past.. Something I can play daily and enter in a competition with if I wanted. I have been out of the loop for so long I have no idea where to start
you looking to get the best sound quality possible, or get stupid loud? I mean with a fairly open ended budget, I would honestly suggest going mid to high end ALL around (new front comps, higher end amps, and nice subs) rather than keeping your fairly open budget focused on the subs (seriously only 20-70hz or so is a very small range of your full musical spectrum, and that's all your subs are going to be focusing on). While nice subs, tuned right, and in the right enclosure is an important factor, I say toss those damn Type-S's and come back to asking for recommendations. Brian will tell you, I don't usually steer people wrong when it comes to helping them spend their money wisely on car audio
But I guess if you want the "what would I do" answer, here's what I would do if I were building a simple, daily driving, great sounding setup on a normal person budget... mind you, this is actually what I might be doing if I end up buying the Grand Am I'm looking at Saturday lol:
HEAD UNIT(if yours isn't all that awesome, get a new one. It's what you touch and use every time you adjust or listen to anything, and it's where all the sound starts):
Something in the $200-300 price range from Alpine or Pioneer is always a safe bet for features in the normal persons car. If I got a new one right this minute, it would be an Alpine CDA-105 if on a tighter budget, or the CDA-117 actually looks amazing right now if I were to splurge a bit.
FRONTS: Seriously there are a TON of options here, but if I were doing it and looking to spend $300 or less on them, I would be running Rainbow SLC-265NG's right now. And I might actually snag some if the cash flow is there next week, as a matter of fact. Rainbow just makes such an amazing speaker for the higher end audio enthusiast and their prices are absolutely astonishing.
SUBS: Definitely think about a sealed pair of 10" IDQv3's if the budget calls for it. The v2's sounded amazing, I can't imagine the newest model sounds worse lol.
AMPS: If I were powering a pair of IDQ's and a nice set of components, I would look into getting matching Rainbow iPaul amps in the DM2000 and the 2.300 for sure. They are available in black/silver, white/silver, and the painted portion can actually be custom painted for you at an additional cost, straight from Rainbow.
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
"You really need to staple your face shut"-THE Joey Baggs.
Some good advice, Thanks guys..To give an idea of what I'm working with right now. I have a @!#$ty dual head unit similar to
this one but mine has bluetooth which I would like to keep. As you know, I have
type-s' in the front and some
pioneer 6x9's that will be getting taken out. And my last system consisted of two 12 inch
pioneer ts w302r's and one
pioneer gm-7300m.
Mainly I'm looking for sound quality now I guess haha
Hi,
I just wanna poke my head in here and say that the Sundown SA series of subwoofers are the best subs ive owned as far as quality. no mechanical noises at all, i had a JL authorized dealer and one of the best SQ shops int he state listen to them and he said the same thing, he said nothing in his shop could do what the SA series are doing in my car as far as loudness and cleanlyness.
also the SA series are very very inexpensive
and another thign to add is that you cant bottom these subwoofers out, the cone will hit the spider landing before it will hit anything else. so like i said, no mechanical noise at all.
I would suggest 2 of these, one in each corner of your trunk, fiberglassed box for an awesome look
click sig for my car audio videos
I wouldn't load them in different corners, actually anton....... Bad advice.
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
"You really need to staple your face shut"-THE Joey Baggs.
ever tried it? i suppose i keep thinking most people dont wanna give up trunk space for audio. but if you did this i would rather do a real nice ported box. but if you wanna save trunk space i would do the corner boxes.
click sig for my car audio videos
2 subs playing the same frequencies firing from different angles? I said no, now shut up
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
"You really need to staple your face shut"-THE Joey Baggs.
Sorry but SAs arent really SQ things. Say what you want but they arent. They sound better than the average street pounder subs (just like the Z series used to). Saying that theyre on equal footing with JL Audio well to me means nothing as far as SQ. Just like the Fi Q. IMO the Fs on the SAs are too high to do SQ how I like it. You dont need as much power to properly cover the lows and or a grossly oversized box. An oversized box for an SA12 is pushing 2.5 feet. An IDQ requires a cubic foot for a slightly oversized enclosure and theyre designed for small spaces. Ive seen Mikes trunk and space really is at a premium and I dont think he could make an SA12 work properly. I probably sound like Im ripping on my name sake but Im not. I just dont think an SA is the proper sub for the situation. Still do love their amps.
"Clean" is all subjective. Im willing to bet your sub stage would like like two moose having sex in a dumpster compared to an ID or Rainbow of equal price. Clean to SPl is no mechanical noise but as far as I consider clean in the SQ realm, its all about smooth and even response down to the low 30s and high 20s. I havent seen that out of any SPL subs Ive owned. The response tends to be peaky with a ported enclosure and the freqs above and below tuning tend to get lost under the mids. I also foudn it very hard to get the sub stage to integrate properly.
Spend more up front than in the sub stage. My $35 eBay sub is doing the job. Like Dustin said its only a very small portion of the music. Distortion isnt noticed as much by the ear on low freqs so spend the money making the front sound nice then fill in the space that doesnt accordingly not the other way around.
Damn Ive been typing some novels lately.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Friday, November 05, 2010 9:41 AM
JLAudioCavalier wrote:2 subs playing the same frequencies firing from different angles? I said no, now shut up
OK, but why do horns work? pretty sure this works, your just arrogant to try new things
and fire, i said 10's, not 12's
and the sa-12's a big box for them is about 2 cubes, a crazy huge box is 2.5 cube (cause im crazy bitches lol) and a normal box is around 1.5 cubes. now thats ported. 1 cube sealed is plenty. also freq response is all in the box, you havent heard a properly tuned box then...
click sig for my car audio videos
Clamshells and horns are calculated. 2 sealed subs angled towards each other from opposite corners is not. Different animal
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
"You really need to staple your face shut"-THE Joey Baggs.
Anton Miller (PPC) wrote:JLAudioCavalier wrote:2 subs playing the same frequencies firing from different angles? I said no, now shut up
OK, but why do horns work? pretty sure this works, your just arrogant to try new things
and fire, i said 10's, not 12's and the sa-12's a big box for them is about 2 cubes, a crazy huge box is 2.5 cube (cause im crazy bitches lol) and a normal box is around 1.5 cubes. now thats ported. 1 cube sealed is plenty. also freq response is all in the box, you havent heard a properly tuned box then...
Youre totally contradicting yourself. Look at the response curve of a ported box. It has a PEAK. Hence the peakiness. You have to tune stupid low like 24-20 hz to get a flatish response curve out a ported box which is just stupid since it will be huge compared to a sealed box with a similar response. Sealed > ported in SQ. I dont feel like tuning out that peak. @!#$ that.
Whats the point of using 2 10s when the same effect can be had with one 12. Simplicity people. One 12 in the corner > 2 10s in a corner.
I wouldnt be throwing around the word arrogant if I were you. So far all youve shown me is that youre think youre better than everyone because you deal audio and go brrrrrrrrrrrrp kinda loud. Ill leave the "trying" things to you since I know the old knowledge works and my time is worth a lot to me. Id rather do one install that I know works than do 4 installs that do slightly better than the first. This isnt competition. Mikes not trying to squeeze out every last point.
Anton Miller (PPC) wrote:ever tried it? i suppose i keep thinking most people dont wanna give up trunk space for audio. but if you did this i would rather do a real nice ported box. but if you wanna save trunk space i would do the corner boxes.
Quote:
ever tried it?
YEP. And I hated it. Bad, unpredictable cancellation. I'm so glad I chose to go back to one sub.
Mike wrote:
You are seeing this right....Im putting some bumps back in my car. But I wanted to stray from my usual approach of "buy this and throw it in"...
My question for you guys is....I listen to alot of rock/metal and want to build a damn good system...but nothing bulky..one or two 10's. What is going to be an optimal setup while staying within a very reasonable budget? I have type-s components and I am gutting the 6x9's...I will also be amping my components..
Ideas? Thanks guys.
-Mike
I'll throw you my perspective as far as Alpine stuff. I work with it on the daily and it's all I use in my car.
I've been supremely happy with my Alpine Type X sub. It fits in a small box, I'd recommend about 1.3 cubes. Really punchy, clean sound assuming you match it to a nice amp.
As far as your components, I reeeeeeeeeealllly don't like the Type S components. If you're running an amp, I'd
recommend the Type X PRO (not REF) speakers, but if that's too pricey look at the Pioneer D-series components.
Treat the rear speakers as an afterthought.
Yes Type-S is terrible. Id be ashamed to claim that series if I was Alpine. Such a terrible series compared to Type-Rs which really dont cost that much more.
Mike, Id be more than willing to help you install if you wnat me to. Havent had a good trip in awhile.
I feel like a douche being named in this title (no offense here guys), but brian and rich mentioned as "guru's" and no mention of brad or jason? Wtf?? Lol
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
"You really need to staple your face shut"-THE Joey Baggs.
Ya no @!#$. Thats what I was thinking. Fixed the title.
Haha, sorry if I offended anyone with the title, The names that came to mind are the ones I see regularly outside of the audio forum, because I rarely come into here. That's why I threw in "Audio guru's needed..." To get the other well-known guys in here too
There are too many true guru's here to list them all, but I give all of them my respect in that department
I have no problem ditching the type-s'. Probably just throw them in the breeze for the hell of it. But I want all my speakers amped. I will look around and try to nail down some speaker and amp combo's and return it to you guys to pick apart/improve. Any good combo's you guys have in mind that are relatively easy on the wallet?
Easy on the wallet relative to what? Rainbow slc's are easy on the wallet relative to other brands in their level, as are their amps relative to some of their competition. Everything is relative dude, gotta explain what you're relating it to
. Toss a budget out and I'm sure myself as well as some others can recommend things to look into. Just let me know if u end up wanting to dip your toes into the higher end of things, and I will get some price quotes for you. Also, just an idea, if u wanted to go all in a big package, say a pair of rainbow amps, slc fronts, and a pair of 10" hammers or amboss subs, (all rainbow), I bet I bcould get u a killer package price. I got an unmatched box builder on hand as well
. Just a little plug, seems shameful, but if I can help, I will.
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
"You really need to staple your face shut"-THE Joey Baggs.
I definetly vouch for jlaudiocavalier n his connect on prices...... Nothing better for the stuff I was looking at
To be realistic on my price range, I am looking at $500-$600 comfortably for this..As I want to have it going soon. I can drop more coin But I think that price will get me what I'm looking for. I know I keep jumping back and forth
Thanks for working with me. I just want something that rocks, and I can switch it from car to car in the future, Because this will be the setup I keep for a while. I am just clueless when it comes to car audio nowadays.
Well lots of good advice here for you,but something that I noticed was overlooked...As far as buying a good set of speakers for the front,The Alpine R type speakers are good,I have not ever heard a set of rainbow speakers,but Dustin likes them so i trust his advice on this..And also the reviews on them have been very good...They look very similar to Dynaudio..I myself enjoy Focal for speakers..But when installing your fronts make sure to use a wood called medix to make you speaker rings,And paint them..Medix will not swell due to water damage as will MDF,And when you install the speaker ring make sure to apply silicon to the back of the ring and then install it to the door,This will prevent water damage and make sure there is no vibration between the 2 surfaces,Also take some time and dynamat you doors this will really make a big diff and give you better sound...A good speaker is only going to sound as good as the install behind it.
And do the same for you rear deck dynamat it also,this is a big weak point on the Jbody cars and causes vibration,And seeings how you are not running rears just close up the 6x9 holes.
And subs,well any of the mentioned companys will work great,But once again everything comes down to the box,For the music you listed I would go with a nice easy sealed box which will play all your music with great response..Just remember a sealed box needs as much power as you can give the sub..
And Amps all the above are great companys,I use older Audison VRX amps,But if you do not run good power and grounds,and rca stuff will never sound right,So don't go cheap there.
And head units Alpine is still my favorite for price point and reliability.
Yeah, anything in a "normal persons" budget, Alpine takes the cake on reliability and functionality all day long for head units. My issue with the Type-R components is that they seem to not have as good midbass as the 265NG's and they also are deep as hell.
As for using Medix instead of MDF, that point becomes moot when you coat them properly. a good undercoating will be waterproof. And not a lot of water should be able to get into the door anyway. I 100% agree with Jason Burten on his biggest point, the install. It is by far a HUGE portion of how good things sound and how long they last. I don't think Dynamat, by name is your best bet... Price to performance Second Skin Damplifier Pro or Cascade Audio Engineering VB are going to be your absolute best choices on dampening products. Definitely seal the doors up as well as possible, and use good wood baffles to mount your mids.
Those older Audison VRx amps are nice, for sure, but pricey. Focal makes good speakers, as Jason mentioned, but I don't recommend anything I don't have experience and have only heard 1 or 2 sets of nicer Focal speakers, and they alone will surpass your budget lol. I haven't heard any of Focal's "budget minded" comps.
On the other hand....you have other fingers.
"You really need to staple your face shut"-THE Joey Baggs.
