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Jun 3, 2005 | 04:17 PM

#16

LinearPower

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Joined: Jan 2004

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From: Central Ohio

[QUOTE=maticuno]"Cheap ***" subs are usually under rated by people who rave about expensive brands such as Fosgate/JL/whatever. My home made box with a $20 10" Pyramid sub sounds infinitely better than the $300 MTX 10" box that I copied the design from.
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Are you trying to convince yourself or some of the other readers of this forum? This is a ridiculous general statement. If your $20 Pyramid sub sounds better than any MTX sub on the market, then the MTX was in a mucked up installation, which is certainly possible. And, do you know what the word "infinitely" means? The more I think about this, the more it cracks me up.

Jun 3, 2005 | 07:50 PM

#17

maticuno

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From: California Desert

I am not making any statement about the sub itself. I am making a statement about the 1/4" thick cheap poly construction of the MTX Thunderforms box. Any sub put in that enclosure would not sound as good as one that is built with 5/8" or thicker MDF. I never actually said anything about the MTX sub. Just their box. If there was an MTX sub in the box that I built, it would probably sound better than the Pyramid...but not by enough to warrant me spending more than 4 times as much. And yes...I am well aware of the definition of "infinitely". And just to reiterate my point: I was not referring to the MTX sub being worse than the Pyramid.

Jun 4, 2005 | 03:43 PM

#18

LinearPower

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From: Central Ohio

Quote:

Originally Posted by maticuno

Got it! Sorry for the rant, but while on the subject, I personally don't believe the MTX Thunderform enclosures are nearly as bad as some people would lead others to believe. While the ABS used is NOT MDF, it is pretty high tech, and it's not like you can break it or crack it by mere daily use. It may flex some IF someone was to use the incorrect subs in them, but if used with the proper subs that are designed to be used in them, they are not that bad for a daily driver. That is if the user is looking for a nicely balanced system. If someone is just wanting to obtain outrageous bass, these pieces are not for them. They are what they are and they are pretty good for what they are. I don't think MTX ever intended for them to be thought of as the ultimate piece of equipment for subwoofer use. Having said all that, I still don't believe a $20 Pyramid sub installed in the best box on earth is as "good" as an MTX Thunderform that is used correctly.

Jun 4, 2005 | 08:28 PM

#19

maticuno

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From: California Desert

I'm not meaning to make an attack on anything or anyone...I'm merely trying to figure out why people do not like the cheaper subs other than their over-inflated wattage ratings. If you look at the construction they are near identical. The same cone material, the same surround material, the same cage material, the same spider material, the same voice coil material. So where is the quality difference?

Jun 4, 2005 | 09:22 PM

#20

kontai69

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Joined: Jan 2004

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From: Highland, TX

Quote:

Originally Posted by maticuno

If you look at the construction they are near identical. The same cone material, the same surround material, the same cage material, the same spider material, the same voice coil material. So where is the quality difference?

For one, more expensive subs have bigger magnets, which results in their higher sound output and power ratings. The MTX Thunderform I have in my 99 Ranger came with a cheap 10" MTX sub. I have long since replaced it with a 10" Image Dynamics IDQ sub, which is about twice the price of the MTX at $170. Even though both are 10" subs, the IDQ sub sounds much better than the MTX sub. The bass plays deeper and is significantly more effortless. The MTX sub always sounded like it is bottoming out when I cranked it up. I get clean bass down to 25Hz as determined by my SPL meter and test CD. Also, more expensive subs are usually made here in the US of A. I personally perceive American made goods as better constructed than their cheap Taiwanese/Chinese made counterparts.

With regards to the Thunderform box itself, I concur with your assessment that your homemade MDF "replica" is more physically solid. However, I think saying that this results in "infinately" better sound quality, with all else being equal, is a bit of an exageration. The main limitation of the Thunderform is its relatively small enclosure size.

Last edited by kontai69; Jun 4, 2005 at 09:30 PM.

Jun 5, 2005 | 10:45 AM

#21

LinearPower

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From: Central Ohio

Quote:

Originally Posted by maticuno

I don't want to beat this to death, but "looks" mean what? If "looks" was all that someone needed to go buy you could go to the local flea market and load up on some of the flashiest stuff around and be set. Oh wait, that's what some people do. And the companies that make that type of stuff count on that very thing. And there are reasons this stuff is everywhere. PEOPLE BUY IT. Seriously, I'm not trying to disrespect anyone's stuff, but there is a difference in equipment, and if you don't know that or don't believe that, that doesn't mean it isn't so. On the other hand, some companies do take advantage of their "reputation" and their "standing" in the car audio community to overprice their stuff. The bottom line is that each of us should buy what makes up happy, but we should also be able to be realistic and not flood forums and such with misinformation that may mislead people who don't know better. I've seen you post a lot of good information, I just don't happen to agree with your assessment in this case. I'll leave it at that and leave everyone else to their own views on this.

Jun 5, 2005 | 01:07 PM

#22

tinman67

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Joined: Jan 2003

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From: St. Louis

I have a 97 f-150 ext cab 4x4. My system sounds great. Its not overpowering (it rattles the pictures on my walls but not my neighbor's). All total I have about $600 in it. It consists of a Pioneer Super TunerIII (180 watts if you believe the mfr ratings) running 4 Polk Audio db570 5x7s in the doors and a 400 watt Profile amp running a Polk Audio 8" sub in a box I built to fit under my rear seat. You can see some pics in my gallery. It doesn't have to cost a fortune but the Wal-Mart special usually won't produce the best sound(but you gotta start somewhere). I suggest crutchfield.com for info and they have pretty good prices on package deals i.e. amps/subs or buy one set get 2nd half price speaker deals.

Jun 14, 2005 | 09:17 PM

#23

dgoetz

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Joined: May 2005

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Quote:

Originally Posted by I6power

my system is the wal mart special. It is a JVC (KD -S11) head unit and two pioneer 4x6 in the dash. Its not in a ford truck. I was gonna install a sub woofer i got from wal mart also but im waiting till i get some better speaker quality.

Word of friendly advice....don't buy aftermarket audio at Wal-Mart. They will try to make the system sounds good with the packaging, but you really get what you pay for on those. The poor sound is more than likely just a cheap speaker. You can get a 4x6 speaker with the kind of bass you are looking for, but you need to start worrying about the depth you have to work with. Generally the more bass punch you get, the larger the magnet (and the deeper)