I have always been a fanatic about home and car audio systems. SQ is my primary concern in any set up, home or car. I had opportunity to go to Hi-Fi Audio/Video convention/show in NYC that is held in March every year. Where all top audio/vidoe manufacturers get together and show their best products in show rooms and listening rooms. Companies like Revel, JM Labs by Focal, MBL, B&W, Wilson Audio, etc. I have gone there 2 years in the row and if any of you have a chance to go and listen to $100-$200 thousand dollars home audio set ups and realize what SQ is, you have to go and listen to speakers like B&W or set ups like MBL, people who know these Class A Stereophile companies, know what I am talking about. You will be blown away. Well I know that these set ups are masde for reach and famous who can afford them, but it is good experience to hear the best possible sound reporoduction you can have and then gear your ear and buy what you could afford for home and your car. I finally completed my home system with help of my friend that has introduce me to this other world of SQ that exists besides what is sold for regular consumer in Best Buy and Circuit city. After doing a lot of listening and research I bought Infinity IL50 speakers and IL model Center channel and NAD amp for my stereo and Surround. For surrounf I bought Klipsh because surrounds are really not that important, spent $800 on all my Audio Qwest wiring and Denon DVD-1900 DVD Audio CD PLayer and one of the worlds best rerated DVD player. The sound for the money is amazing. It is worm, loud if needs to be and quility. I am looking to buy Toshiba SD9200 DVD player which is Class A CD player rated by Stereophile Mag to improve my sound quility. So for the money I have the best stuff in my eyes that I can afford without going into Class A amp starting at $5k just for stereo amp and Class A B&W speakers starting at about the same price plus upgrading cable to really hear some noticable difference in sound.
Now, you would probably ask me, why would you write all this on Car Audio website? I will tell you why. After reading few reviews of different products on this forum I see that some people have an idea of SQ in car audio world and wanted to have a professional opinion. As we all know. The way cars are, you will never have SQ as good as the home audio set up, but you could get something very good that would sound OK, considering it is a car sound system. Since sound waves are very limited inside the car I see no point spending $1000 on Dyno Audio Components and $3,500 for Macintosh Amp, etc.
I was searching the net for answers from people that know a thing or two about car audio and SQ, and found this website tonight while at work, bored. I just bought 01 Lexus GS430 with regular sound system inside, not the $6k option of Mark Levisnon which I would be very happy with, I have heard it. I have owned to sound systems before in 2 of my cars and was never that happy with the bass, it was always boomy and in my eyeys incorrect, delayed, and distorted and was there when it was not supposed to be. My first system was in 1998 for my 1997 Maxima. I had Lanzar Vibe amps for speakers and one for the Subs. I had 2 12" Lanzar subs in the bandpass box. Had Lanzar components for front and 6x9 Altec Lenzing for the back with Pioneer top of the line at that time head unit and EQ. Sound, after i tuned it was pretty good, but bass was always not right and distorted, no SQ at all. I was young and did not care a that time. After I started to understand sound a bit more, I put a different system in my 98 Acura RL. I had 2 Orion Extreme Amps that I bought cheap on ebay, 75w x 4 for speakers and I think 450w x 2 for subs, bridged. I had 2 10" Rockford HE2 subs wired for bridged sound at 2ohms in the sealed box, I am not an expert. And horrible Polk Audio components and back speakers, they had to many highs for me, mids were ok. The bass in those was not bad, but still not quility. So now I wanted to put something better together that has SQ all arround without spending crazy money but not cheap either.
In my Lexus gs430 I wanted to go with JL Audio amps, since any shop I go to, they all have them, and selling them like cup cakes, and consider them one of the best you can buy. Is that true? Magazines rave about JL Amps and JL subs. Are they that good or just a hype? I mean there are other brands like Phoenix Gold, Zappco, Memphis, Xtent, Rockford, PPI etc that were also arround when I did my first system. But I dod not see them arround any more sold in stores. I went on ebay and pretty much every reasonably priced JL product is getting bids on, and Rockford products or Phoenix Gold no one is bidding on?! Why? Since I was not arround this car audio stuff for at least 5 years, I do not know hte market any more. I was thinking to buy:
Infinity Kappa Perfect 6.5in components for the front doors, but they only go down per specs to 75hz and regular Kappa's go down to 45hz, you can buy both cheap on ebay
Kappa 6.5in 2-way speakers in back doors
Infinity Kappa 10' VQ sub or 12', not sure yet, wich one would be punchier in 1cubic feet sealed box?
JL Audio 300/4 amp 75w x4 RMS @ 4ohms for speakers
JL Audio 500/1 amp 500w x1 RMS @ 4ohms for the sub
Please help me out if this is the best set up for the money i can get to get the most SQ!!! Thank you guys. Great website!!
01 Lexus GS430 SOLD.. 04 BMW 545i Sport, NAV Logic7