System questions

I'm designing a new system for my car, i'm wanting to start with a good head unit, not top dollar but up the scale i'm lookin to spend around 400 for a head unit, i'm looking at upper pioneers, and alpine models i've heard alot about eclipse but never seen/heard them for myself.   I want to move up to mobile video in the future as i plan to add a few moniters as budget allows so a good brand of moniter would be nice as well. also are audiobahn subs/amps any good? i've heard alot of mixed comments on them i'm very interested in a few of their subs and amps so any help would be great.

I'm also upgrading interior speakers as well as new subs for my car so some decent speakers would be nice, i'm not interested in JL good subs not my taste, i was looking at diamond audio, alpine,  and memphis audio for various components in my car, mainly memphis for subs/amps, diamond audio for in car component speakers, alpine for subs/amps. but i'm open to suggestions on this.

I'm also thinking about adding xm/siruis sat radio to my setup or a 12 disc/dvd changer opinions about tuners/changers would be nice as well.

thanks in advance to anyone with some helpful setup ideas, i'm lookin to run 2-12s or 2-15s with some decent power but i might just run a single if i can get a powerful enough sub/amp combo. i want deep tight bass and clear interior sounds, i also have a 98 2 door cavalier if anyone has suggestions for a good inside sound staging plan.

J~

Hm....  For your speakers I would look into Polk MOMO's.  They are some nice speakers.  Hang with some of the top dollar ones.  If you want a little less on the wallet then Infinity makes some really good speakers also.

Subs...I am a big JL fan.  Love them and their subs/amps.  But since you don't care for them then my next alternative is Eclipse.  They make some really good stuff.  Never heard them myself either but I have only heard the best.  Also check into Infinity for the subs also.  The have some great boom for the buck subs.  The amp would either be MTX, Kicker, Alpine.... just whatever brand matches my setup.  I stay away fom Audiobahan.  Some people have luck with them (audiobass you're a lucky one    ).  Most audiobahans are very loud subs.  But do not have the strength to last very long or put out any amount of decent sound quality.  If you want good spl then an audiobahan amp is a nice choice.  But anything more then that is asking too much of them in my opinion.

I don't know very much about it but Kenwood makes a music keg.  A digital recorder.  It holds like 40 gig of music.  Kinda like ipod but not a portable walkman.  It has a card you record music onto from your computer and then hook it up to your car adapter and it's suppose to give off some nice sound (through the car's system), but I've never heard it myself.  Wouldn't mind having something like that though.

Good luck and keep us posted.

P.S.- Just out of curiosity, why no JL?

well, i'm not totally opposed to JL subs, i just dont have 600 bucks to shell out for a sub, i've heard alot of nice things about jl.  what i'm really looking for is a setup that will give me good punch from the sub, full deep tight bass, the kind that can get you tickets real fast in most citys, i'm toying with the idea of getting into audio comps so i'm thinking one big amp, one big sub and i'll have a nice start to a comp system now i'm really new to that idea so i dont know much about audio comps or how they are setup, i just know i want a loud system that hits hard enough to bend body panels on the car. if it means saving up longer for the sub i can do it i just want to make 100% sure that its worth the cash.

J~

Ok so i've got some things figured out, the head unit will probably be an alpine cd9833, the amps will be memphis, the components in the car will be either diamond audio or alpine,  i'm wanting to get the most spl possible out of the car, i'm thinking of running 1 15  in a sealed box, now the question i have is, i listen to a wide range of music, industrial metal, techno, rap, and hard core metal like slayer and fear factory, would i be better off with 2 12s? also would a ported box if done right still give me a nice tight bottom end with this music or will i end up with slop? that is one of the reasons i'm looking at sealed boxes right now, i'm also looking for a good bang for the buck sub, i've heard memphis is good but havent heard them, i've heard mixed opinions on Jls, so probably memphis or RE at this point but i have no clue what the REs cost and dont want to bug the website with stupid questions till i'm sitting there cash in hand, so anyone have a clue what the xxx runs?

J~

RE Sales List

RE8- $49
RE10- $59
RE12- $69

SE10- $149
SE12- $169
SE15- $199

SX10- $239
SX12- $249
SX15- $269
SX18- $309

XXX10- $359
XXX12- $369
XXX15- $399
XXX18- $429

MT10- $409
MT12- $419
MT15- $449
MT18- $479

That should cover any questions on RE prices

Glowinlow22:

Lets start with the head unit.

If you want the absolute most bass and highest sound quality possible - Eclipse is the best choice in the $400-$500 region (CD5444).  However, Eclipse is very basic looking, if you want a cool display, I would recommend pioneer (DEHP860MP) or the Alpine CDA9833 or CDA9835. Eclipse is however, your absolute best choice for insane bass (yes the deck makes a difference) if you can live with a basic display.

Interior speakers:

PLEASE!!!!! before you buy speakers, listen to them at your local shop.  Alpine type R and Diamond audio m6 speakers are VERY different.  To say which one is better is impossible because it is completely subjective. The Diamond Speakers are very bright, and will play extremely loud.  The Alpine speakers have a more natural sounding tweeter and more midbass, but if you listen to rap and death metal, the Diamond's will absolutely scream!  ( I have owned Diamond Audio and Alpine speakers in my cars, I know what I'm talking about.)

Sub and Amp:

The most important part of setting up your bass is not what brand you choose! the most important part is determining how many and what size subs, in what enclosure.  If you want the Highest SPL possible, you need to pack as much cone surface as possible into your car.  The more subs the better.  If you want to do this while maintaining SQ, I would recommend a sealed box or a VERY WELL BUILT ported enclosure.  Ported enclosures can be accurate if built with EXTREME precision. As you increase your cone surface (number and size of subs) you will obviously increase your SPL, however, you will also not need to work the subs as hard during normal listening, which will lead to better SQ because the subs are only working at 25% of their potential.  All that said, I would recommend kicker solobaric square subs to get max SPL, they aren't the best sounding sub on the planet, but they are still accurate if you have enough of them.  But like I said, the brand isn't really that important, unless you decide to go with Boss amps and Legacy subs.  :)

Let me know what you think.

Thank you Jeffpaulus, those are the kinds of answers i've been looking for all along, i was pretty set on the diamonds, i was also going to run diamond subs i've heard a few setups with them and they seem to have good spl and pretty good sq in sealed boxes, also have a local dealer 10 miles away, where as everything else i gotta drive about an hour or more to get a chance to look at it, i'm not super hung up on flash from a head unit i just want good sound, a clean overall look and the ability to adjust and tweak sound settings in a usable way, that was one of the reasons i was so interested in alpine, because they have it setup so you can adjust your settings on their website and then upload the settings in the headunit.  also can anyone recommend some good spl subs from jl audio besides the w7s?

J~

volfenhagen? does anyone honestly own these subs?   seriously though, as far as other amp brands out there, rockford fosgate, jbl,alpine and diamond audio who makes good mono amps? also any info on kickers L7 would be great to.

J~

glowinlow,

I have heard every diamond Audio sub (m3, m6, and TDX) in every type of enclosure (I work for an authorized retailer), and I can tell you that every Diamond audio sub sounds great on rap and R&B, however if you listen to a lot of rock or jazz or music that requires fast accurate bass, the only diamond sub I would recommend would be the TDX.  The TDX cone is super light, which allows it to move faster and create more accurate bass reproduction, but is also costs $450 for a 10". If you want accurate bass, often a less expensive sub in a brand's lineup will sound better, for example, Rockford's T2 series subs are not as fast and accurate as their P3 subs are, this is because the cone is heavier, and will not move as fast, though the T2 will play much louder and lower and hit harder, will not be as accurate on rock music, and requires twice the power. this is the same with Pioneer's subs.

Regarding the head unit, if you want a basic clean and classy look, go with Eclipse.  However, if you want a deck that is easy to tweak, do not get the CD5444 ($500). The CD8443 ($500) (last year's model) and the CD8454 ($620) (this years model) are much easier to make constant adjustments to because the 13 band eqalizer is displayed different than on the CD5444.  However, if you want to just set up your system, and not constantly tweak it, then get the CD5444 or CD8454 because you can set up both of these on line.  BTW, Eclipse's online setup is much more detailed and as easy to use as Alpines. Trust me I have owned both.

Oh yeah, and to all you who disagree with my assertion that the brand is not as important as proper setup:

I was referring to respectable brands, not Volfenhagen, Pyle, Boss, Pyramid, jensen, etc. I thought you would be able to assume this, but apparently not

glowinlow,

I have heard every diamond Audio sub (m3, m6, and TDX) in every type of enclosure (I work for an authorized retailer), and I can tell you that every Diamond audio sub sounds great on rap and R&B, however if you listen to a lot of rock or jazz or music that requires fast accurate bass, the only diamond sub I would recommend would be the TDX.  The TDX cone is super light, which allows it to move faster and create more accurate bass reproduction, but is also costs $450 for a 10". If you want accurate bass, often a less expensive sub in a brand's lineup will sound better, for example, Rockford's T2 series subs are not as fast and accurate as their P3 subs are, this is because the cone is heavier, and will not move as fast, though the T2 will play much louder and lower and hit harder, will not be as accurate on rock music, and requires twice the power. this is the same with Pioneer's subs.

Regarding the head unit, if you want a basic clean and classy look, go with Eclipse.  However, if you want a deck that is easy to tweak, do not get the CD5444 ($500). The CD8443 ($500) (last year's model) and the CD8454 ($620) (this years model) are much easier to make constant adjustments to because the 13 band eqalizer is displayed different than on the CD5444.  However, if you want to just set up your system, and not constantly tweak it, then get the CD5444 or CD8454 because you can set up both of these on line.  BTW, Eclipse's online setup is much more detailed and as easy to use as Alpines. Trust me I have owned both.

Oh yeah, and to all you who disagree with my assertion that the brand is not as important as proper setup:

I was referring to respectable brands, not Volfenhagen, Pyle, Boss, Pyramid, jensen, etc. I thought you would be able to assume this, but apparently not

Glowinlow,

Also to address your question regarding an SPL sub from JL:

The only SPL sub I know of in JL's lineup would be the w7, however, if you want to get a ton of SPL and use JL to do it, you need a ton of surface area.  Some might disagree with me on what I'm about to say but here it is:

2 15" JL15w3 subs will hit much harder than one 13" w7 with 800 -1000watts. And it will cost you a lot less, but the SQ wont be the same as a w7.

Let me specify that...find two respectable 12''s and i'll find a single 15" to outperform it.