What to buy when on $400 budget?

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menaztricks

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Joined: October 30, 2005

Posted: October 31, 2005 at 10:24 PM / IP Logged

A friend of mine wants to get a new HU, a couple of 12"s, an amp of course, and maybe a set of 6.5"s or 4x6"s for the dash. The problem is, he is on a $400 budget. I have a dealer account with an electronics distributor, and hes going to be buying everything from me for whatever it costs me, so he can probably get around $600 worth of stuff with those $400. Except that, the only brands I have access to are: pyle, dual, visonik (limited selection), mtx (only some of the road thunder amps and subs, and thunder axe speakers), and what seems to be everybodys favorite here, power acoustik.

I was recommending he got a couple of the mtx rt1204 or rt1244 12's which are 200w rms. But the only mtx amp I can get close to that wattage is the rt404 which is 150w x 2 bridged. I assume the speakers would miss the 50w the amp would be missing. Or he could get an rt251d which is 200w at 2ohm or 100w at 4ohm. Could that be used for both speakers? I am VERY rusty when it comes to this stuff.

Also, I was saying the visoniks might not be too bad like the v125s which are 160w rms, then run them with the rt404 mtx amp. Anybody here have experience with visoniks?

I think all he wants is some loud bass in the car w/ a half decent sound. With a $400 I don't think you can get much more than that.

I have a pair of OLD 5.25" pyramids I bought for like $13, that I stuck in a home stereo box and hooked up to my PC, those things might not have good sound quality, but the bass coming from those things is loud and acceptable when all I want is loud.

I was listening to some pyles and duals today and compared them to sonys that cost twice as much, and the sound difference was negligible. So I was wondering if when on a very strict budget, the crap brands like pyle, pyramid, dual, etc.. are really THAT bad, when all you want is some fun bass.

stevdart

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Posted: October 31, 2005 at 10:58 PM / IP Logged

He should be shopping used for gear of low-medium quality. Look at the ads here and at other sites. It's amazing how a budget can grow from one day to the next, though. He shouldn't limit himself with such an unrealistic dollar amount.

Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.

bishop9779

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Posted: November 01, 2005 at 6:15 PM / IP Logged

stevdart wrote:

ok yeah that doesn't help too much. sometimes when you limit yourself you can really find some good deals.

Benji999

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Joined: January 14, 2005

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Posted: November 01, 2005 at 6:15 PM / IP Logged

Check ebay, but be selective, and like stevdart said, the ads here usually have good stuff. Personaly if I had to chose between those brands I would go with the Visonik, if all he is looking for is just a little something extra those aren't bad. A friend of mine had three Visonik DVC 12's and they sounded pretty good.

bishop9779

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Joined: November 01, 2005

Location: United States

Posted: November 01, 2005 at 6:17 PM / IP Logged

Benji999 wrote:

benji, do they bass enough to where he's happy with them or does he wish he had gotten something else...i was thinking of buying 4 visoniks and putting them in the back of my suv, i hear they give good sound for the $.

Benji999

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Posted: November 01, 2005 at 6:28 PM / IP Logged

If your on a budget they are not bad, my friend that had them was loaded so he could of put whatever in his car. He put a phoenix gold amp on them so that did help. He did eventually upgrade, but he was happy with them, I think the only reason why he upgraded is because when he was putting them in a new box the power driver slipped and punctured the foam surround. He had three, but 4 in the right box with a good amp would get loud in an SUV.

DYohn

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Posted: November 01, 2005 at 7:17 PM / IP Logged

Yikes, none of those brands are anything I would recommend - well except MTX who make some decent gear. For a super-budget system at $400, I'd recommend a Blaupunkt Monte Carlo or Laguna HU, or even a Pioneer DEH-2700 ($120) a set of Infinity Reference or Alpine Type S 6.5" coaxes ($80) and one of the Rockford "Bass Pack" or Lightning Audio "Bolt" promotional packages with a single 10" sub ($180) or maybe one of the better powered Bazooka tubes or yes, an MTX Road Thunder system ($200.)

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forbidden

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Posted: November 01, 2005 at 8:41 PM / IP Logged

The other thing to consider here is simple. Save and buy it right the first time. Otherwise you will spend double the original investment changing things around again. Buy one item at a time if you have to. A sub system is the most expensive part of the stereo for most people. So start with a good cd and a pair of speakers. Then add anther pair of speakers, then add a 4 channel amp, then add a single sub, then add a dedicated sub amp, then add another sub....all you are doing this way is growing the system instead of buying garbage and throwing it out again when it is time to upgrade.

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DYohn

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Posted: November 01, 2005 at 9:08 PM / IP Logged

^^^^ very good advice!

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audiobhan101

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Joined: October 30, 2005

Location: Canada

Posted: November 02, 2005 at 5:02 PM / IP Logged

There is no reason you cant have budjet and still be happy with your purchases though. Audiobahn is pretty good sounding and there lower models are pretty cheap. only problem is they take alot of wattage to push. MA Audio, Kenwood, and Clarion are favorites around my town. Each one has pretty good prices and good sound. Shop around and decide on a brand for each peice. Then get just above entry level for each and you will have a decent sound system. Wont be super loud or fancy but will definatly be sufficient.

84 Mazda Rx7 GS

4 15" Audiobahn High Excursion

1 2500W Orion Amp

Custom Box

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What to buy when on $400 budget?

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