subs in general...

during the summer i'm planning on working and making my first start on my system
i'm not gonna get a new car till maybe end of my senior year so i was just gonna keep my mom's 97 camry and make it prolly the loudest car in school.....
my plan was to get either 2 w7's but that is realllly expensive aren't they?
well for about 4k
i was gonna get.....
2 w7 12's about 1000 dollas hopefully i can get a good deal from somewhere
2 soundstream rubicon 1000 watt amps... forgot the name of it...
somewhere around 800 dollas hopefully
Alpine CDA-7969
external amp for normal component speakers... most likely a 45x4or so.. both around 700 dollas
speakers will come last i think...
with wiring costing around 200 bucks... (nothing but the best for my stereo)PUHAHAHA!1!!!
thats basically all my shit...
orrr..
just switch up the 2 amps and 2 subs
with solo baric 2 12 L7's
and 2 400 watt amps
and have like couple hundred to spare on fun....?

I had the loudest stereo at my school, I had
4 12" JL Audio W6s
and 4 mtx 2150x amps (1000 watts) going to each sub
all in a 90 honda prelude
:D

Are you gonna do a regular box or do something more custom? Also what do you plan on doing for mids n high's? We were supposed to do a custom spare-tire well enclosure for my 2 12's when the weather cooled down, but we've been pretty busy with other projects and are getting ready for a trip next month.

i'm gonna go do some research into which sort of box will give me max boom with least amount of distortion. most likely mdf wood... gonna be viscious... but gonna weigh my car down a bit.. hehe ohwell i want wound quality on my camry! lol

Whatever subs you end up getting, should come with a spec sheet that tells you what kind of space they need. Usually the manufacturer websites should have that info also.

My subs weigh around 40 lbs. a piece, plus the weight of the box (pre fab for 2 12's right now) :eek:

Distortion is a very bad thing LOL. I'd rather be not as loud and sound better. I see too many cars that have a buttload of subs but still sounds like crap. It's all about the install. Good luck and keep us posted :)

Originally posted by KatWoman


Distortion is a very bad thing LOL. I'd rather be not as loud and sound better. I see too many cars that have a buttload of subs but still sounds like crap. It's all about the install. Good luck and keep us posted :) SQ before SPL I say. Why have something that's loud if it sounds like crap. :confused:

w7's are really powerful by what i read... hopefully they sound really nice... can't wait till summer time so i can actually start paying for this crap... hehe...

My personal fav for the car would be Orion subs, and Velodyne for home audio. Now what does everyone think of ground zero subs?

Originally posted by Polygon
Now what does everyone think of ground zero subs? Haven't heard of them :confused:

I havne't personally heard them for myself, but my fiance who has been into the hobby for many years and has worked in the industry says they're good subs, but a little overpriced.

I'll say they are overpriced. I knew a guy that had two triplestack 15" Ground Zeros in the back of his car. While showing off he blew out his haych window. Then I really pissed him off when I showed him that my 15" DBX non sub speakers in my house could out do his Ground Zeros. Hehe.

ive got a single infinity perfect 12 dual voice coil wired to a 2 ohm hitting 1000 watts from a fosgate power 1000.1 and it hits harder then a friend of mine who has 2 solo baric 12s hitting 1000 each. you dont have to pay all that money. and if you want something that will sound good and loud id go for the infinity. save you at least a $1000 and not many people have them. i was the only one at my high school that had one and my car out pounded everyone. also, if you want me to hook you up with a cheap system im a distributor or various brands. aim me at cvphere to talk.

i dunno yet... i'm still in the research phase... i'm looking into w7's cuz the w series subs are nice from jlaudio.. and w6's hit nice...
so the w7's, i bet are gonna sound nice.. but what are these infiniti's.. i've heard good things bout the component speakers but not the subs.. maybe....

are audiobahn amps reputable... cuz i'm thinking of this one i have in mind...A2300HCX
you can see it at
http://www.carmedia1.com/audiobahnhcamps.html

and would it matter if i'm running around 600 watts at 2 ohms for a sub that can handle 750 watts rms at 3ohms??
ahh sooo many questions...

To be honest with you, I would steer away from Audiobahn amps. My fiance had one for a bit and it was always cutting out on him. He's been doing car audio as a hobby for over 7 years so the installation was not in question. They have looks going for them but that is about all.

perfects are infinity's top-of-the-line series. they are generally expensive unless you know where to find them. the 6" component sets retail for somewhere around $500 mostly because of the extremely high quality crossover. the subs are made to sound good rather then be loud. i turned my gain down to about 250 watts and it sounded extremely good, almost like a high end home theater sub but if you give then enough power they are extremely loud. i had to put a port on my back deck because by back deck speakers lay in the trunk and use it to resinate (cant spell) and the sub moved so much air and blew out one of my mid bass drivers. but what can i say, its your money and this is just my opinion. if you want something that will most likely be really loud (never heard w7s) go for the jls but if you want something that goes for quality before quantity, get the infinity (remember: i can get you good stuff for cheap - infinity, rockford fosgate, etc.)

Hey Pharty012, if you are serious let me know. I have a business license, so I can get stereo equipment way cheaper than you'll find at any store. Wholsale prices. Although JL are very good quality, I wouldn't recommend spending that kind of $$ unless you are looking to compete. I currently have 1 Audiobahn Alum12, I paid about $100 USD. It is in a custom built tube with a PNR port. To answer ploygon's questions, Ground Zero subs rock, especially the nuclear subs, but they are way expensive.

Originally posted by wellsit
To answer ploygon's questions, Ground Zero subs rock, especially the nuclear subs, but they are way expensive.

Ya thats what he had. Those are the ones with the tripple stack magnet.

Ground Zero recently went out of business because they were too difficult for retailers to work with.:( If you are interested in something that would be equal to the Ground Zero Nuclear look up Digital Design.

hey wellsit...
ur in oregon righ?? damn... alltheway in the west coast... how much would you sell w7 12's for... and are audiobahn amps reliable?? i'mlooking into a dual channel amp for 2 w7 12's
but this ain't happening till the end of summer when i get my pay check.. =)
give me a price for those w7's please...

Because the w7 is so new I haven't looked up the pricing for it before. The MSRP is $750 ea for 12's. I should be able to get them for about 600-650. In my opinion you could save a lot of money by going with some other brand. Also the w7's want a lot of VAS per sub compared to other brands. Earthquake makes good amps, amybe look at those.

what's VAS?
and 600-650.... u'd be my god if i could get it this low....
well not really.. but i would luv u... haha...
but are they good?

hmmmmm.... COME to think about it.. i think i'll be going with 2 infinity perfect12.1d's.... they got some reallly good reviews.. and can handle mucho power...... i like sound quality.... so i might just go wit dem.... puhaha..

VAS stands for Volume Air Space. It is the amount of space the sub needs to produce good sound. I haven't looked into prices much for the w7's, the price I told you was a rough estimate, its possible I could get them cheaper. If you plan putting these in your trunk, I think you have a lot of choices. I personally prefer a sub with a lot of excursion, they tend to produce the most sound, especially from a trunk. Hollywood excursions a very good, I can get a 12 for about $115, and they hit hard. Whatever you decide let me know, I'd be happy to hook you up with a good deal.

anyone have opinions on the 12w6's

12w6's are very nice.. my friend has a setup of 2 12w6's in a mdf custom made enclosure with a 300x2 amp and it hits nice....

Alex used to run 2 12w6's and they sounded great! I've been to other boards where certain naive people bash JL....but most of the people who complained that they blew probably didn't hook them up right and ended up frying them. You get what you pay for, but you can make almost anything sound decent if the installation is done well.

Right now I have 2 Concept PT12's..they retail for $500 a piece but they don't sound that great being in a prefab box that doesn't have the correct space they need. When we redo the sub enclosure with the correct size they will sound awesome. We've been supposing to do this project for ages but other shit keeps coming up....oh well hehe.

Question: i know people like subs for their R&B and rap (it is afterall, the only thing i hear coming out of bassed out cars) But as some of you know, im a metal head. What sort of subs should i get to pour out my metal madness? Im covered in high's and mids, my freind is giving me his boston acoustics 6x9's and 6 w/ tweets, but i want to know what would be a good sub set, what kind of box (sealed or not) and amp to hook up so that the next 5 cars over will hear "Gimme fuel, gimme fire, gimme that which i desiiire!"

I'm not a JL fan at all..They are way overpriced. I say get those Solo Barics, but run more than 400 watts each to them. An L7 12 can take 1500 watts all day long no problem.

Steel, definatley get a sealed box for metal. They produce the most accurate, tightest bass. The only draw back is they require more power to be loud. I run 1 Audiobahn 12 in a ported tube, but I listen to mostly Hip Hop. As for amps, Earthquakes are good. Whichever amp you get, you'll want one that puts out 1200-1500 watts per sub (if you get a good sub). What kind of vehicle are you putting it in?

If you want your car to sound really good and be extremely loud get a pair of diamond audio mac daddys or a pair or xtant x series subs. Also if you want true power from those subs you should get a xtant 1001 amp. The amp runs about 1000 watts about 4 ohms. If you really want it can be reduced to about a quater ohm. One of these will make your car. It will have more then enough power to make your whole car fall apart. I work at Magnolia Hi-fi in the car audio a guy just buy a pair of x-series subs that work 10s and a 1001 and with a shitty sony deck and we had the volume half way up and the rear window poped out and shattered. also the roof is starting to cave in. When you sit in his car and turn the deck up you cant see straight because of the amount of bass they put out. Now that is true power. Also if you are going to get that much power for your system your should think about getting new battary and a new alternater. The 1001 will kill your alternator if you get one. One more thing to consider the alpine deck you want to get will most likely blow your speakers since they max at about 20 watts and they deck puts out about 60 watts. One thing to remember is that dont only look at the wattage of a sub or speaker or amp also look at the total harmonic distortion (THD) the lower this number is the cleaner your sound will be. If you dont want your ride to fall apart you better get some dynomat too so that your whole car doesnt just rattle. One last thing if you are going to get kickers I hope that you know they sound like shit but they hit. They are only about bass not sound quality. Everyone will hear them but they wont sound good at all compared to Diamonds, xtants, and even JLs. Hope this info helped you out.

I love my w7. I know i'm hittin 145+db with one 12" I need to measure it soon. Once i get my highs and mids setup I'll be straight!
http://members.cardomain.com/urllywntme

Originally posted by wellsit
What kind of vehicle are you putting it in?

Hehe, a nice big Pathfinder, so i can fit a nice big ass box in there if need be.

I bought two 12w3's in the H.O. wedge box (HO212R-W3) and have it amped to the mono block 500/1 JL amp in my opened trunk Blazer. Its the loudest, best souding system at my High School. When i bought it, I knew it would be loud but I had no clue you would be able to here it from blocks away!

JL's are like civics everyone has one and they are not the best thing out there.

there still reliable and very nice sounding.. they don't suck.. and they aren't terrible by what naive people may say or try their hardest to bring evidence that they are bad subs.... so SHUT IT!1

I am not saying that they are bad subs, I'm just saying that there are a lot of people that have them. Just like Civics and there are a lot of better brands of subs out there. They do get the job done nicely, but you have to keep in mind that if you have them you aren't really orginal just like owning a civic. You can never be original by owning a Civic because there is one on every corner. Sorry if I gave the impression that I think they are terrible subs because they aren't. But for the money that you would pay for them you can add a little more and get something that is better and will be more orginal. They when you open your trunk to show someone what you have and they see you have oh say Xtants or Diamond Mac Daddy's they are like damn. But with a JL they will be oh cool. The more orignal you are the more impressed people will be and the happier you will be because you will know that you will be of a select few that have that kind of setup...

The 13 w7 is impressivly loud. It made me want to throw-up when I listened to it a couple of days ago. The downside is that is is expensive and the ported box is kinda large. Also it sounds excellent with any type of music played through it. BUT I would have to recommend Diamond over Jl cause I have 1 M5 and most ppl think I have more than 1 woofer in my car because of the volume. Diamond is coming out with new stuff this year. They have a woofer that looks like the w7 and the GTi combined. If my memory serves me right I believe it is called tDx. Pick up the new Car Sound and security with the 2002 buyers guide in it.

The thing JL has going for them (as far as them being as common as civics) is their marketing. They know how to market their stuff.

Yes diamond is making the TDX and it is coming out soon. I believe in about 3 months. The only problem with them is going to be the price tag. From what I hear from my cousin which is a audio dealer at Magnolia Hi-Fi is that they are going to have a nice price tag to follow thier nice designing. They are suppost to have no compition unless you are thinking of gettting some type of compition subs. They will bumb like no other and will be extremely clear.

Steel: I'm a metal-oriented person as well, but Ive got a small trunk hehe....:P anyways, if you want my piece of advice, since metal has a much faster base-line than r&b, hip-hop or even techno, it's important to go for response....A big 18inch sub will respond slower than a small 8inch one... Of course loud volume requires lots of air to be moved....Where one 18 incher would suffice to deafen (sp? :P) all your passangers maybe 6x8 inchers will obtain similar effects, but with much tighter response. Personnally I'd go that route, if I had enough Euros (yep, I'm in Europe!) and space in my car, this for another few reasons:
1. the looks of 6-8-10 (depends on you hehe) wooffers stacked in my trunk would make me wet my pants every time...:smoker::smoker: even better if they're the square solo-barics....
2. by wiring them up in parallel, you can get the max out of the newer high-current amps...thus, more bang for the buck, as you say! Keep in mind that cutting the impendence an amp "sees" will double its power output (theoretically...)
3. your system will be loud as hell and as fast as you'll ever imagine....

Hope this helps,

Stefano

ground zero make some crazy powerful subs
but the surround is so big and the cone weight alot, so u lose efficiency
not only that but they are very hard to find
but they would slam real hard
i w7 are good, but very expensive
ever heard of hifonics Titans, or digital designs
DD makes subs for around 550$ per 15"
those can handle 3000 watts rms

theres also autotek XS there 12s handle about 2000 watts RMS
if u plan on running over 1000 watts, ull need a new battery
a good one would NOT be optima
try stinger, or batteries form esoteeric adio

if ur running 2000 watts + ull need an upgraded alternator too