sound system preference

so everyone likes to talk shit about their systems and everyone likes to bump. heres what i was wondering, i wanna see whats the most popular shit that people have in their cars, as in brand-wise..for subs, amps, decks, speakers, whatever sound stuff you have aftermarket, let me know....im throwing some pretty serious shit together here in a couple of weeks but i still dont know what i want to go with for my final choice... thanx

so everyone likes to talk shit about their systems and everyone likes to bump. heres what i was wondering, i wanna see whats the most popular shit that people have in their cars, as in brand-wise..for subs, amps, decks, speakers, whatever sound stuff you have aftermarket, let me know....im throwing some pretty serious shit together here in a couple of weeks but i still dont know what i want to go with for my final choice... thanx

Well depends what you want really. There isn't a one system beats all, at least I've never heard of one. :D

I think these are the 3 main categories, really loud, deep bass and sound quality.

I've always like sound quality and so thats I try to go for. I bought my car not too long ago, and haven't really looked into what I have, but from what I know...

Eclipse headunit - the top model, too lazy to go check :-P
8" MB Quart speakers - door panel
5.5"? speakers (not sure which brand) - bottom of car on both sides
MB Quart tweekers - front dash board
Phoenix Gold amp - really need to get the model, but some high end one thats been modded by Phoenix Gold engineers for more power
6X 10" JL subs - not sure what model

Basically I need to get the receipt from this guy, but he's on vacation right now, grrr. lol

Also I've heard though that the size of the box for the subs makes a huge difference. I believe more air = better. And also if your getting a kick ass sound system, make sure to insulate the entire car, otherwise it would be a waste w/o it.

Curious to see what others have and any suggestions maybe someone can give me to improve my setup.

i might not be the best .. but i have done this for more than a year and this wat i found...

Head : - ALIPNE (model number starting with 78++ or 79++)
subwoofer: - JL Audio ( seriously there is nothing which can beat this one... i swear...) all the models are good in JL so it depends on how much money u have....
amplifier: - JL or rockford... if money is not a problem then buy JL if not rockford is the second best...
Speakers:- also JL audio if u have money.. if not u can buy infinity.. it is also good....

www.jlaudio.com

forgot to say.. the best subwoofer in JL is W7... u can buy then for like 600 dollars 13 inches in ebay :) my friend has it and one of those subs are enough to kick anyone's ass...

first off, i mostly listen to house and trance music with very demanding sound qualities that push most equiptment to it's limits. i have been a local LA and San Diego DJ for well over 5 years and i know how to tune sound to it's limits. i drive a convertible that has no enclosure for sound to reverberate and that makes normal sounds work three times as hard to sound the same with the top up. i went thru a pioneer, sony and panasonic deck [all top of the line] before i bought my eclipse deck i have the top of the line Eclipse head unit [actually, it's #2 [8443], the only diff is #1 [8053] has no internal amp, and comes with the rotory remote, and is a little more] check my sig at the bottom of this and see how it looks. the blue color at night is indiglow [alternate green/red switchable button colors]. there is also aluminum trim around it and hapens to be named after the car [kinda ;) ]. also the rotory knobs are awesome. only drawback: no detatchable face however, there is a 1 year theft protection by eclipse and ESN security takes info from a cd that you choose [ the manual actually tells you to put the CD into your sock drawer so you don't lose it!] and if the deck is removed or power is cut it requires the cd for operation, and if you screw up it permanantly locks, thats right, back to the factory for a replacement. personnaly i could go on and on for hours about this deck, but i'll keep it short [ya right].

8v pre-outs; front, rear, and sub outs; mini [headphone] female aux-in plug on a wire [i plugged in an extension and ran it to a more discreet location and now it is long enough that i can pull it out and have my minidisc or mp3 player in my hand and have it connected]

4 way inteligent user selectable band and db cut crossover control [hi, hi-mid, mid-low, low; 4 octave cross level per each as in 6db,12db, 18db, 24db]

10 [user selectable, 24 bands] band parabolic EQ with Q control [5 hi and 5 mid] you select the band [80hz to 16khz], make it higher or lower, and select the curve you want it to effect [sharp, wide, normal]

sub selectable inverse control 180 degrees

[my favorite part]
user selectable delay and db control for hi, mid, and low [this gives you ultimate fade, balance control, if you are sitting in the driver seat, you can delay [in .1 ms increments so fine that if i move my head to the center of my car, you can tell the delay, but sitting in my seat, the music is like in a harmonic symphony] the left side speakers so that the music hits your ear the same time as the right side speakers, and you can also adjust the db level for each] so coupled with what bands you select in the parabolic EQ, those bands are effected in the hi, or mid section here. the lows are controlled by the crossover frequency. so you can delay the whole front [mid and hi] so that the subs actually hit BEFORE the rest of the music. not that you would want to, just an example of the complexity of this intergrated system, as in no late firing sub from the back sound.

this deck is crazy customizable. when i first got it, i drove like 100 miles and don't remember ever looking at the road. just tweeking EQ Q curves, feeling out delays, screwing with crossfader octaves... disgusting

as far as speakers go, i'm ready to rip out my Eclipse Point Souce 6 1/2 fronts. i pushed them too hard, i think. mabey a defect, but the wires that go thru the cone from the back are comming out and screwing up the quality. i would recomend Boston Acoustic, or MB Quart. i'm probly going to go with Boston's

point source 6x9's will not fit into spyders, so i got JL's. love them...

i got the Eclipse 4 ch amp and it rocks. hi, low, thru crossover gain and bass boost...

JL Audio 2 w6v2's or 1 w7 is the shit!!!!!!!! best sounding subs i ever heard. aside from Strokers... and i used to have a friend that worked at Cerwin Vega! as the tecnical advisor. he owned the custom show astro van with 4 20" custom strokers and a wall of power to go with it. i've heard some loud shit, but being in the van with the door closed, well you can't breath because the air is vibrating and you can feel your insides, not to mention the roof is bouncing like a good 4 inches of travel. he used to do be my sound guy in my club throwing days...

i was going to get a custom setup but it kept going into the engine after the initial deck, amp, and speakers...

on that note use The Good Guy's for subs and head units. they do custom fiberglass enclosures [great work, at least around here] for cheap and you can get an expended service policy with it too!!! and same for the head unit. ever since i first was buying head units, i got the esp and i'll return the unit and get a new one every year or so. you can also return it and get credit for another deck [how i went thru so many] you can literaly throw it against the wall take it back with no prob...

damn... i'm just rambling... :comprage1:

Boostedspyder..gave a detailed explanation.. mine was short form watever it is JL JL JL is the only answer for subwoofer.... and for the head unit i dunno why is eclipse head unit better than alpine... can u explain me boostedspyder...???

the controllability of everty aspect of the sound from all angles. you can get so disgustingly fine tuned with the eclipse deck, like the difference between 3.15 khz @ +4db with a wide Q curve and 4 khz @ +3db with a sharp Q curve. you can hear the difference. oh, ya and there are 5 user programmable custom EQ setups. i got 1 for hip hop, 1 for house, 1 for trance, 1 for punk, and i keep 1 baseline. and the user interface is soo simple. the knob changes freq's, the up down buttons are db's, and the 6 button is Q curve. and it's 24 band. just ultimate custom controllability

and it's 10 band vs alpine 5 band. and like i said earlier, it is in conjunction with the crossover and the delay functions, so you define what the hi and mid eq range is [5 band on each] and that coincides with the hi and mid on the delay and crossover

Listen to AMDSoldier... Get MB quarts if you have the money and eclipse is just an awesome brand. I like the Alpine V12 amps, and also some titanium eclipse 10's would pair with it nicely. Don't go for the loudest or deepest bass unless you want to enter db contests. Go for clean and clear audio and you will be loving it in the end. :ylsuper:

Wow, looks like we found BoostedSpyder's area of expertise.

Opinions are cheap, go listen to these brands you hear and see what you think. Take into consideration they will most likely sound better in a showroom than your car.

Unless you want the very best, most brands can offer you great SQ, and unless you are very experienced, most decks can also offer you what you need. I have alpine, and i'd rate them near the top... but there are lots of brands of every component that I could recommend. MB quart and focal are good speakers. Eclipse and Memphis are good subs, and I like alpine, eclipse, and rockford decks the best.

i figured id put up what i have too just so you guys have an idea of a 147db sound system consists of...

first i ripped the car apart and put dynomat all over the place, i doubt that you can find a single place where the car's body is showing on the inside....

ive got a pioneer 7500 deck, not the best but it does the job for now, alpine is the way to go or eclipse is always good too i guess.....i made custom holes for tweets in the doors so i have 6.5" components in the doors from rockford..top of the line model but i dont remember what it is....in the rear i had to cut holes for 6x9's...those are rockford too.....i dont like them cuz they cant handle too much power....ive looked at jbl and those sound damn decent especially the new gti series.....

the brain damage comes from two 2400watt max rockford amps, 801s is the model, each one powers up a rockford hx2 sub.... i had this measured at 3 dif locations and the lowest its ever hit was 145db....kinda loud but it turns heads like none other.

i gotta say tho, i install 12 volt stuff for a living and theres almost no touching jl subs, the v12 amps, and some of the alpine head units......

but in the end....its the hatchback that makes it all possible...gotta love it

if only i had a hatchback... i'm going to have to give up alot of trunkspace for the subs... after the turbo... after the coilovers... after the fuel tuning...

im on stock audio for now :banghead:

for my head unit:
-Eclipse AV3423 7" touch screen! < the best i have ever had, i use to have the Clarion VRX935VD and that was nice but the eclipse is way better! so many more opitions, and sounds so much better!

for the Amps:
4 - Phoenix Gold Titanium 600.2 (for the subs)
2 - Phoenix Gold Titanium 400.2 (for the highs)

for the speakers:
up front i have Alpine Type R component 6.5" three ways...(3.5" for the dash, custom tweeter mounted in the door and 6.5" in the bottom)
for the rear i have Alpine Type R component 6.5" two ways... (With custom mounted tweeter in the side panel)

for the subs:
4 - 10" Alpine Type R (one of the best subs i have ever had... i even like them over the JL W7s just cause they are lightweight and can hold a lot of power... so far since i have had my setup, i have had it in 4 different cars and i have won 11 DB contests and my current DB is 164.3, which for some of you might find that unbelievable but mostly it is the box the got me that far... i build custom speaker boxes for a company here in my town and i have probably had over 25 boxes for this setup tring to get the perfect sounding setup...but thats my little secret ;) )

i have a question. For the dash speakers. Do you have to shave a little around the circles, or force the tweeters in or something, because i bought aftermarket infinities, and they didn't fit. They also didn't work, but beyond that, i didn't want something that was hanging out.

you have to unbolt the dash lift it up and slide the speaker in under!

i didnt even touch the tweets in the dash, too much of a pain to get to and they dont even make that much of a difference anyways....but in the doors i had to make custom holes where i wanted the tweets to go...but the speakers fit in just fine i think.....i did the install a while ago but i dont remember any trouble with it

you have to unbolt the dash lift it up and slide the speaker in under!

You have to unbolt the dash even though the factories pop out the top? Hah, the pain i have to endure with aftermarkets.