warren g speakers

according to besybuy.com they have a 350W RMS rating each.

someone mentioned to me in my last topic about an audio control epicenter, i found one one ebay for like 20.00 bucks but it does not have a bass knob. i have a bass knob from a kicker amp that i had and i wanted to know if that knob will work.

I love Epicenters - I've used one in every one of my personal cars since 1991.  It hooks up like an equalizer - between the head unit and the amplifier.  There are two RCA inputs, and two RCA outputs.   There's also an input for the control knob.  The control knob is connected to the main Epicenter unit by a telephone cord.  I don't know if the bass unit from a Kicker amp uses the same connection.  If not, AudioControl will sell you a new control knob for about $35.  If you can get the Epicenter on eBay for $20, and then buy the knob from AudioControl, that's still a *great* deal.  Used Epicenters with the knob usually end up going for $75-$100 on eBay.

As for what the Epicenter does, it's pretty slick.  It looks for bass notes that have been lost during the recording or transmission process.  It does this by looking for harmonics of the original note, and then calculating to see if the original note is still there.  If it's missing, it re-injects it into the music.  Here's an example:  Let's say your favourite band had a 30-Hz note in one of their songs when they performed it in the studio.  Some of it would have been lost by the microphones, some more would likely be lost during the mastering, and more will be lost when the radio station broadcasts it.  By the time it gets to your stereo, almsot all of that original 30-Hz note might have been lost, but there will be harmonics remaining at 60 Hz, 90 Hz, 120 Hz, etcetera.  The Epicenter can re-create the original note from the harmonics and put it back in the music.

The control knob tells the Epicenter how hard to look for harmonics, and how loud to make the re-created notes.  So, the Epicenter is more than just a bass booster, but it can raise your max dB a significant amount, and if you get silly with the control knob, it can turn a Beach Boys song into a trunk-rattler!

Scott Gardner

Do not use any other knob other than the Audio Control piece, even though they look the same and plug in the same, the electronics inside are usually drastically different. The Epicenter goes into the signal path before the amplifier, unplug the rca's from the sub amp and plug into the input on the Epicenter, output from Epicenter back to amplifier. Some Epicenters also use a line driver in them (another nice toy!), you may have to turn the gain on your amp down (a good thing).

JL3gEclipse, no, not always. There are a lot of other determining factors in output of subs other than cabin gain. ie: Ported or sealed box, type of music played, surface area of the drivers, throw of the drivers, efficency of the subs, effeciency of the amp, are the vehicle the same..... A nice example of this was a camaro we recently did with 1 10" MB Quart refence RWC254, 1 1.25 cu.ft. ported box (slot port 1 x 6 x 7") driven from a Lightning Audio B350.1 (really nice sub - OK amp) It hit 138.9 db in the first contest he entered, and handed alot of dual 12" drivers their walking papers. So it is not always the number of brand of anything or how many watts, it is how the equipment is matched together and used.