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These are some pretty generalized groupings and also very subjective. We've simply based our experiences with the products whether they are direct installs, personal property or extensive research. You should always physically listen to a product before purchase because you are the one who will determine whether or not an item "sounds good" or not.

This topic, while being controversial, is simply a generalized guide meant for beginners in the hobby. Many brands specialize in certain items, ie. better amplifiers than speakers, better mids than subs, etc... Also almost all manufacturers offer entry level products as well as high quality lines. As I stated before, this is a GENERALIZED guide. It is your responsiblity to research and audition every brand before you purchase anything. Good luck with your decisions.

We've broken this section into 4 catagories:
1: Bad
2: Questionable
3: Good
4: Highly Recommended


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Bad

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American HiFi (Rockwood)
American Pro
Audiovox
Automobile
Becker
Boss
DHD
JDL
Jensen
Kenwood (speakers)
Kole
Kraco
Kronik
LA Sound
Legacy
MA Audio
Optimus (Radio Shack)
Planet Audio (Boss, by any other name)
Power Acoustik
Profile
Pyle
Pyramid
Rockwood
SAS Bazooka (amplifiers)
Sherwood
Sony (anything by Sony)
Sound Storm
Sparkomatic
SPL Audio
Thump
Ultimate Sounds
Visonik
Volfenhag


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Questionable

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Alpine (lower model speakers)
Autotek
Audiobahn
Blaupunkt
Aiwa
Crunch
Hifonics
Hollywood
Kenwood (amplifiers, head units)
Lanzar
Lightning Audio
Matsui
MTX (subs)
Onyx Mobile Audio
Panasonic
Phoenix Gold (ask on specific models)
Pioneer (amplifiers and speakers)
Precision Power (PPI) (newer non-US made amplifiers)
Rockford Fosgate (current products)
SAS Bazooka (all products)


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Good

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Alpine (amplifiers, Type-R speakers and subs)
Altec Lansing
Alumapro
Ample Audio
Audio Development
Avionixx
Boston Acoustics
Cadence (current amplifier products)
Cerwin Vega (subs)
Clarion (head units)
Coustic
Crossfire
Crystal
Directed (DEI)
Earthquake
Eaton
Elemental Designs (eD)
Helix
Illusion
Infinity
JBL (amplifiers)
JVC Digifine
Kicker (amplifiers, subwoofers)
Lunar
Memphis Audio
MTX (amplifiers)
Phoenix Gold (some models)
Polk Audio
Rockford Fosgate (some models)
Soundstream
USAcoustics


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Highly Recommended

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a/d/s
Adire
Alpine (head units, signal processors)
Arc Audio
Audax
Audio Control
Brax
Butler Audio
CD Technologies (CDT)
Diamond Audio
Digital Designs (DD)
DynAudio
Eclipse (Fujitsu Ten)
Esoteric Audio
Focal
Harrison Labs
Image Dynamics (ID)
Infinity Kappa/Kappa Perfect components
JL Audio (subs, XR components, slash series amps)
KEF Kar components
Kove
Luxman
MB Quart
McIntosh Laboratories
MMATS
Morel
Nakamichi (tape transports)
Ohio Alternator
Orion
OZ Audio
Pioneer Premiere (head units)
Precision Power (PPI) (Art series amps, old)
Rainbow
Resonant Engineering (RE)
Rockford Fosgate (older 80s and 90s models)
Sinfoni
Streetwirez
Stinger
US Amps
Wrangler Alternators
Xtant
Zapco

not too bad of a list .... I might move a few things up or down a category - but would probably be a good start for novices. Unfortunately, there is a lot of junk out there along with the good stuff.

Wait... you have stinger in the highly recommended and Phoenix Gold in Good and Questionable? Oh well, but that is a good list overall. Indeed a good place for a newb to start. Maybe sticky this post?

how ever u make it sticky do it

Add Tru technologies amps and I would have the kenwood EXCELON head units in the good category because they're a lot better then the other kenwood stuff. Pretty good list...i think MA is a little bit better then the rest of the stuff in that category its along the same lines as audiobahn.

well i think the new PPI's are ok, they should be in the good category, and the kenwood excelon are good, fosgate amps are pretty good (cheap mostly) and your right PIONEER SUCKS, everything i have from pioneer seems to suck more than anything else i have, also directed and ppi are the same company, so im guessing their amps n etc shouldn't be that different

I would move a couple things up or down a category, I would move US Acoustics and Infinity Kappa/Perfect down 2 lists each, but it's a pretty nice list for beginners

I would change a butt load of that stuff around

audiobahn is very underrated as far as subs. did a test with audiobahn and infiniti and audiobahn is a slight bit louder, but both are really good subs and highly recommended

eh, audiobahn blows (literally)

Other than their very top lines, they fry with very little power (rated or even less in many cases), get loud and sound like ass.

Kove, orion, down one. Harrison down 2345345 times

up goes ED, helix and illusion. Profile up

that would be my quick change. i'm sure there are many others.

Yeah I would also move Profile up a category