This is what in thinking for my system please be as harsh and A honest as you can. I just enjoy listening to good music but am in no way a expert. i like the jbl ms8 for the processor or how is the new 3sixty3 by fosgate I believe? As far as Amps I hear good things about sundown for subs and my buddy seems happy with his or I'm open to suggestions and for the speakers also open to suggestions but from what I read I like zed audio. For my front stage I heard some German maestro I really liked but I can't find them anymore for a decent price. I also like rainbow components and diamond but would appreciate any you think sound better. As far as subs I'm undecided between one or two, I want the box to be ported through the armrest and where the stock 8 sub is up top. I'm not looking to be loudest person in the neighborhood I just enjoy clean music with sufficient base( being able to go louder wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing but clean tight bass is my main objective) the brands I've looked for subs i like are the ssa icon and xcon, the sundown x 10 or 12 or z4v10 or zv412 and the image dynamics chrome series in 10 or 12 or anything else you recommend. I don’t want a system with just overwhelming bass and no clear music. I listen to rap, country, rock and house music. As far as budget I want good quality equipment and I hope I was able to explain what I'm looking for. Any comments questions or concerns are appreciated. Thanks have a good day


Zach Gompert

 

Questions like this dont get too far because they are subjective, its like asking somebody what their favorite song is... Everybody is going to have a different answer for you because people have different taste and liking for different things. For example for my audio system in my 05 TL i was looking for budget components for my front stage and so what i did was i looked up what was in my price range and started reading all the reviews on the different products and settled for a specific one and im happy with my components that i ended up purchasing. What someone else likes you may or may not like. By the way for what its worth my front stage is the Image Dynamics CTX-65cs and i like the sound so much that i make excuses just to drive my car so i can listen to music in it.

 

i understand everybody has a different preference and after reading what i wrote i realize what your saying. I plan on going to shops to listen to what type of speakers i want for front stage and subs. I guess what im trying to ask is in our cars whats the benefits and cons of getting one more powerful sub like a xcon or two icons. And i dont know if this is a stupid question so i apologize if it is but i want a custom box made where its ported through the armrest and where the stock 8 is, would a certain type of sub sound better in that type of box or is that a stupid idea to have two ports? I really appreciate any help and wish their was a knowledgeable by me so i don't have to ask you questions you've already heard.

 

Don't do it. It's Pandora's Box. Get an ipod adapter and be done. Spend the money on a nice home rig.

 

Best advice. Seriously.

 

im surprised to hear that. I plan on keeping this car for while since its the first car i ever bought and am disappointed in the amount of bass and that i bought an auto but thats a different subject. if you could elaborate i would greatly appreciate. would you also disagree with putting a sundown 8 where the stock 8 is?

 

I don't suggest putting a sub where the stock sub is. Most wont fit and if they have any appreciable output they're going to vibrate the rear deck badly. If you have the trunk space I suggest a ported enclosure. If not there's sealed that will have a slightly smaller box than ported. My favorite is infinite baffle. I have the subs mounted behind the seats to a board. No enclosure, almost no trunk space lost. I have a pair of 15s and only added 48lbs of weight to the trunk including the wood. I just put two tires back there and drove them to the tire shop, not many setups with a pair of 15s can do that plus they're very efficient on the low end so you get (most of the time) a very flat response with quick, tight, and hard hitting bass but the low lows unlike no other setup. Of you look in this section for a thread titles show off your trunks or something like that there are a ton of pictures of different setups. Most of the IB setups are on the last couple pages

What's your budget and what do you want out of the system, sound quality or SPL or both? The reason someone suggested to not start is its hard to say enough. I used to look down on people like me just a couple years ago and now I have nearly 10k in audio and the worst part is the days consumed installing and tuning and learning and retuning. I no longer keep my laptop in my car so I can enjoy the music instead of tweaking the tune every 10minutes. For the first few years I had only subs in this car and I was happy. It sounds amazing now but I never should have taken it this far. It's a fun hobby but for a while it was a source of stress when I was first trying to tune with a processor and it sounded worse than the stock system and it should never be stressful.

 

Or you can do a $900 setup and be content...............for a while

 

Agreed. I'm getting bored with my setup and even though I have no complaints Ill probably have a pair or maybe three 13W7s in place of the 15s by the end of the year. I just hope the JLs aren't a stepping stone to a trio of Esotar 1200s. I came so close to pulling the trigger on them last year but I had more money to spend at the time. This is why I should've never listened to a sq comp car. I was perfectly content on a pair of subs with the stock system until that point.

 

im not trying to do anything crazy and am more focused on just good sound quality. i want to do a new front stage with amp and center speaker and a 12 ported through the armrest, havent really thought about budget maybe 2-3 gs. and your saying no need for a an ms8 or anything like that correct?

 

Good lord

BTW I tried to send you a private message and your inbox is full.

OP: If you just want some SQ bass, I'd suggest going sealed instead of ported.

 

In all seriousness, you need to try and listen to some cars that have varying levels of systems in them. That is a good start to getting an idea of what you want.

Second, what is your reference? If I say I want "good sound quality" I'm talking custom kicks, processor, subs, and a good amount of power at a minimum. My reference is somewhat skewed though. Knowing what you actually mean when you say "good sound quality" will also help because that is a pretty subjective thing.

My suggestion for a basic SQ setup is a good front stage, a sub that will give you the output you are looking for, and enough processor to do what you want in relation to source unit.

I would not do a center channel unless you will have SERIOUS processing power to integrate it to the front stage OR if you have a lot of 5 channel media in your library. Also, no rears.

 

I just cleared my PMs.

I prefer ported for sound quality. It will have less excursion and will require less power and will have less distortion than sealed with an identical sub. Many people run a high tuned ported box for SPL use. A low tuned ported box will sound very nice and has the potential to sound as good as sealed, even better at high output, and will have more output. The reason I went with a pair of 15s that hardly have any visible excursion during normal use is to keep excursion and distortion down just as a ported box will keep excursion and distortion down.

It's too bad the store bought high tuned prefab ported and bandpass boxes have ruined people's opinions of ported and bandpass. If you go from a high tuned ported to a sealed box that's close to the right size, you're going to think sealed sounds way better but one listen to a proper ported setup will surprise you.

 

Noooooooo! That's what made me realize my awesome system that I had been content with for years really sounded like crap and started this whole mess lol.

 

Again. Reference point. If your reference is stock, you'd think, "Yeah, I'd be happy with some subs and new fronts."

 

thank you all for the input. Im thinking now that i have a lot more to learn before i start spending any type of serious cash, so for now looks like just ipod integration.

 

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-DmHerNP...nclosures.html

 

You have an 07. You could try this as an easy and inexpensive way to get ipod functionality.

^$5.99

You would need usb power in the center console but that also is very inexpensive.

 

I know what you meant. My original reference was the stock system. Then I went straight to a Chico's competition car and NEELs SQ setup that was featured in magazines in the same day and I began changing things as soon as I got home. In other words a high reference point will likely mean spending more money as the bar will be raised.