Sound System Ideas

Have you guys had any experience with BOSS subs? I found a really nice looking deal, two 12"s in a sealed box for $150, 800W per speaker.

Also found a Legacy 1600W amp for $135. Too good to be true?

Link to Subs:
http://www.electronicheadquarters.com/detail.asp?id=106344

Link to Amp:
http://www.electronicheadquarters.com/detail.asp?id=94084

Tell me whatcha thinkz :P

Both are low end products, the subs should do you fine for awhile, but i would pass on the amp. Amps like that have a common problem for getting alternator wine. But thats just my opinion

that amps good for a paper weight, accual output on a legacy amp is usually like 1/3 of what its supposed to be.

I'm fixing to be running 4 Pioneer 10" DVC's of a 1500W HiFonics Brutus amp, front and rear's (currently undetermined, thinking pheonix gold components) of a 4 channel Cadence 400w and a JVC deck.

kk i'll probably go with a higher end amp

hummm, looking n looking - can anyone gimme suggestions for a 2 channel amp to push these speakers? The speakers are 800W each advertised, so i'm guessing 300W RMS or around there somewhere for the full effect. I have no idear.

First things first, get your hands on a good box building software package. Not all boxes are created equal (ie. some subs require more/less airspace then others for optimal output). I would also consider a nice vented box if you aren't worried about space. The ONLY reason to go with a sealed box is to save on space. Secondly, you really need to think of getting a clean mid to high end amp if you want any performance at all. Lower end subs will perform fine as long as you have the right box and CLEAN power. I would stay away from anyone that advertises better then a $0.75/watt (canadian). In other words, if you are told you can get a 1000 watt amp for $50 its likely too good to be true. Generally a 1000 watt amp should run about $750can. (at least the clean ones generally do).

I competed several years in USAC and IASCA events winning quite a few awards for both SPL and SQ. I was ranked in the top 5 nationally for SQ. The point is not to boast, but to illustrate a point, I did that all on $2500 worth of equipment and hours of planning. Some of the guys that I beat had spent over $30,000. Planning and design is what its all about. And if you don't mind a little more work, skip the heavy MDF boxes and mold a fibreglass form into your hatch, saves weight so you can still thump AND race :naughty:

what software would you recommend?

nice, i have a sedan tho but still good :)

I would choose the bandpass enclosure, but i need to save some space in the trunkyz. As far as the amp, i may get it because of price (because anything beats stock setup right now), and then later in a few months with more funds, i can get a higher class, cleaner amp if this one doesn't work out. Not going to be listening to it too loud anywho :)

But, what do you suggest to prevent rattling? I talked to some people at best buy, etc, and they say hondas are the worst with the rattling problem. I kno there's sound deadening material, like carpet, spray, etc. What do you suggest? And congrats on top 5 :)

Installed some dynamat extream in a 01 lancer for a buddy other day, worked great. Only thing with ported boxes are tuning them to work at the right wave length. Like dkindt said, its a 80/20 situation, 80% planning 20% constructing. My 88 doesnt rattle hardly at all, rear licenes plate being the only exception. I also have spray in sound deading material on all inside metal behind the pannels. Buddy of mine used to have a 6th gen and it rattled like a mother fucker though. If your on a budget (like it sounds like you are) you can use carpet padding (for houses). I baught 4 yards of it at a carpet warehouse a while back for around $15 USD, more than enough to do like three cars. Just use liquid nails construction adhersive to glue it to the pannels.

Cloneboy17 -

Ok, the best software that I have found is called Term-Pro. Its a great package available at www.termpro.com but its not free, costs about $250 if I recall correctly. Of course, I realize that most people don't have this kind of extra money to spend on software so another good free choice would be a program called WinISD. It doesn't have the features of Term-Pro but uses the same formulas for its design (thiele-small parameters). I think its available at www.linearteam.org or just do a google search for WinISD.

IcE_x -

Ok here's a brief explanation of the pros and cons of the three main box types so that you can plan what is best for your scenerio.

Sealed -

PROS - Usually much smaller therefore weighing less, better control for optimal sound quality (smoother curve; will play all frequencies at relatively the same volume), easiest to build

CONS - Lowest volume producing box

Vented -

PROS - Very tunable (with a little work you can get a nice curve and get near sealed-box quality), 3 dB (twice as loud) on average then a sealed-box

CONS - Largest box generally, harder to build (mostly do to dealing with proper porting)

Bandpass -

PROS - Loudest box (can expect about a 3dB jump over vented at certain frequencies)smaller then vented but larger then sealed

CONS - Narrower bandwidth (usually producing a small range of frequencies; ie. One-note-wonder), usually quite heavy because of the amount of MDF used to make interior baffles,harder to build (again with ports)

As for deadening materials, most of that comes down to personal preference. I've seen some nice sprays that seem to work well but for the most part I tend to use a deadening product like Brownbread (not what you put in the toaster) or Dynamat. These can get pricy tho if you want to do much surface area. However, I have found that at our local autobody supply center they sell 'roadnoise dampening sheets' that are basically noname brand Dynamat at a fraction of the cost.

Hope this helps