Hey thinks for advice... I'd love to go to a shop and listen like you said but I am from a small town and closest thing we have to an audio store is Radioshack. Do they do installs? I'll search for the brands you listed. Thanks again.

Kyle

 

No, Radio Shack isn't what you need for car audio.

Are you going to do this install yourself? Can you build a box? What kind of system is it that you are wanting? Since you are so far from a shop, maybe some of the knowledgeable people on here can recommend some internet buys for you if we know what you want exactly. How important is audio to you? Are you in to bass? Are you more concerned about sound quality? We're all different. Some people are happy with a stock system, others are to the other extreme.

 

The install will more than likely be down by myself and some friends. I'd prefer to buy a box but if need be my friend can make them. For a system.... I'd like to keep all the existing speakers and run them off the HU, then use a mono amp to push one sub. I'd say audio is pretty important being in highschool. I am not sure if its possible, but I'd like a combination of good qulaity and hard hitting bass! I was thinking either 12 " or 15" sub that can handle around 500 watts RMS then finding a amp that can push 450 watts RMS to it. Just an idea. But, I do not want to pay over $350. Does this help any?

Kyle

 

The box I use, will be more than likely a walmart one. They looked like nice boxes....

Kyle

 

Off of this site I am looking at, these are the 2 amps I saw that I thought were the best that were in my price range.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_360.html


http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_2242.html


Then subs off same site...

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_942.html

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_2720.html


Now... Would the hifonics amp and the rockford sub be a good combo? Also, would I need to worry about that amp overheating?


Kyle

 

Those are 2 great choices for an amp. I have had several Hifonics over the years. Heavy duty use with no problems. I have a 5 channel Z8000 in my truck now. It's been trouble free since day one. Steer clear of the Sony Xplod you mentioned. Very average. One thing about RMS ratings. Those ratings are what the amp or sub is CAPABLE of on a continuous basis. That is NOT, however, what the amp will produce into the sub on a continuous basis if the user has any sense and knows how to use the volume ****. Lots of people knowledgeable in audio say you can never have too much power. It's how you use it that counts. I know of one guy who had six identical bridged amplifiers capable of over 1000 watts RMS. Every speaker in his system was driven by one amp. Even the tweeters. No speaker in the system, even subs, was rated at more than 100 watts RMS. So, while it is important to know the RMS rating, it has to be taken to mean what it really means, CAPABILITY. While on the subject of specs, bear in mind that many companies inflate their ratings. There are no ratings rules that they MUST comply with. If you stick with Hifonics or JBL you should be dealing with realistic specs. I personally prefer the Hifonics. I would stick with a SVC 2 ohm sub capable of handling 750-1000 watts. If you want to go with the JBL, the RF sub would be fine. Wire the voice coils in parallel for 2 ohms. www.jlaudio.com has tutorials that show exactly how to connect everything when it comes to subs. Also, check out www.bcae1.com. Great site.

 

I just heard my friends new system... He has a 800 watt legacy amp and 2 10" crunch subs in a custom sealed enclosure. I was impressed to say the least. I thought it sounded incredible for being off-brand. If he can pay 30 bucks for a pair of subs and get a free amp and sound that good, then I really do not want to spend 400 bucks and be disappointed. I think I'll buy off-brand off of cmttrading.com and save some money. Thanks for all who shared input.

Kyle

 

Crunch is a line made by the same company that makes Hifonics. Although they are not "high end", they offer reasonable bang for the buck. The Legacy amp I have no experience with. If you have fair expectations and use your equipment as it's intended and don't ABUSE it, even some of the lesser brands can do a decent job for you. By fair expectations I mean that if you pay $200 for an amp/sub combo, be realistic and don't expect it to sound like it's a $2000 competition set-up.

 

I honestly have never heard a fancy setup myself. But, I do see what you mean by what you said though. Like I said, I am just in highshcool so I'd really just like to get something decent nothing totally competition ready.

I need advice, since I decided to go with a cheaper setup, I think I'd like to get 3 subs. Would a 4 channel amp work on that? Will it divide power equally betweent he 3? Or What? Or should I say bridge the middle one... ETc... Any idea on how to setup 3 subs with 1 amp? Thanks.

kyle

 

Heres the problem that I am having setting up a system. I have a 1990 bronco like the title says... Well, I removed the back seat and put a small love seat in the back to one side. Now, I cannot figure out how to get subs in there symmetric like. So I figured a 3 sub combo with one big amp would do the trick and put it right behind the front seats and console.

Then how many channel amp is needed?


See, heres a triple sub box that is the perfect size to fit back there...

http://www.cardiscountstereos.com/ca...oduct+%23=H312

Then I just need to find an amp and some subs which will be easy once I know the type of amp that is needed.

Thanks,

Kyle

 

Then heres an amp that I think would do. Has a way to do 3 subs it says... Where you can do 300 x 2 in front and a 1 x 600 in rear. So I would assume I could choose say middle sub to do 600 and outer 2 to do 300??? Would that work?

 

What I did was take three, dual 4 ohm voicecoil subs, and wired them up down to 2.66 ohms, which most amps can handle. So by doing this all you would need is a mono subwoofer amp.
I wish I had pics of the box that houses my three 12s, about 3 1\2 cu. ft. per sub, ported. Its big!

 

I personally would just get three single voice coil 8 ohm subs and wire them in parallel to a mono amp that is stable into 2 ohms and has an appropriate amount of power. That means that you just wire all 3 subs directly to the amp. Nothing else. That would give you 2.67 ohms. No worrying about dual voice coils and all that. The DVC thing can get overdone. It's just not necessary all the time. And with the 2.67 instead of 2 ohms, it would be a little easier on the amp, which is going to be important if you buy a Legacy. But be certain that your amp will be OK for the use you are going to put it through. An amp is not a bargain at any price if you have to replace it on a regular basis.

 

How do I know the amp will be ok? The legacy amp I was wanting was 2 channel.... I didnt really see any good amps that were mono. I'll check on that site for subs like you mentioned and I'll post links on findings for the ok. Will this be a good setup? Or Would I be better off just running 1 or 2 subs? On that site.. they sell a bunch of subs in pairs for 70 to a 100 bucks. I know they are not all the best quality but keep in mind anything that hit will be good on a highshcool budget. Then just get myself that 2 channel amp and run them off that? One sub on each channel? This too me sounds simpiler. What do you think?

Kyle

 

Also, if you guys think a dual set up would be best, should I go with 12's or 15's?


I like to listen to rap, rock, country, etc... Just a FYI.

kyle