hey guys, i'm in the market for an audio system and i have no idea what to get. right now, all i have is a Pioneer DEH-P6000 deck.

what i'm looking for is:

(1) 12" Subwoofer
(1) Amplifier

i'm just looking for system that will give my car some good, clean bass. i'm not trying to win a contest or anything. also, the budget is no more than $400. what do you guys recommend? thanks!

 

Id go over to the A/V guys. But really its all preferance. Personally I'm a big fan of kicker. Think their stuffs pretty tight.

 

i had a 10" kicker L5 + Crunch amp but it got stolen when i was in San Francisco. can i find a decent kicker system on a $400 budget?

 

i prefer rockford fosgate, but i've heard some good kicker systems

 

Go to www.realmofexcursion.com ... create a thread and post up what you are looking for and a budget, and they'll pick out the best for your buck. You can also go browse on your own at www.sonicelectronix.com ... I used to buy from there back when I was into mainstream audio.

 

Like above stated, it's all about your personal preference. For $400, it wouldn't give me the good, clean bass i would want. My good, clean bass is more than $400 for just the sub alone.

 

i agree. $400 is just not enough dough.

and if you go cheap, you'll wanna upgrade sooner than later. However if you dont have a choice I'd say alpine type r's are pretty good "cheap" subs. I'm usin one right now.

Amps cost a lot of dough though.

 

Most of your money will be in the amplifier. Like my setup... I have a Digital Designs 3512 12" sub.. I paid around $300 for it. I have a Sundown Audio SAZ-1500D pushin 1500 watts RMS @ 1 ohm.. that amp cost me $400. And then plus wiring which I got from KnuConceptz... mind as well get the good wiring to start with just for future upgrades.

 

I would go for this combo...

Subwoofer... http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...ch+P3D412.html

Amplifier... http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...BXi+1208D.html

Wiring... http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...es+PSK04R.html

That amp pushes 900 RMS @ 2 ohms... but its ok to overpower the sub by 400 RMS, it'll be more precise and accurate and the bass will knock clean to that Rockford. But I would definitely recommend a custom enclosure for that sub... I can help you out with that if you live in So Cal, otherwise go to a custom audio shop and tell them you want a 2.2 cu^ft box tuned at 34hz. As far as the wiring goes, that StreetWires kit would be your best bet and its perfect for future upgrades.

So your grand total should be around $400 for the equipment. And IMHO, that's the best bang for your budget according to my standards.. which in fact, I hate mainstream audio as you can tell from my setup, but this combo will knock for sure.

 

wow thats a good deal on the wiring kit

if youre looking for decent quality cheap though i'd reccomend finding a friend who works at your local best buy/circuit city/etc... and getting a good deal on stuff there.
thats what i did back in the day and got a great deal on a full alpine system installed.

 

Just my 2 cents, but from working in car audio since I was at the age of 12... I've had lots of experience with diff companies. Alpine being one of them, I would only buy headunits from them. Same with Pioneer. Rest of their stuff is not so great.

Speakers... I'd go with some Focals, CDT Audio, or Rainbow. CDT Audio, its very inexpensive but you'd want to get a good amp to push their components. But thats when you get to getting speakers. Since we are on the subject of just amp and sub, that combo setup I linked up is probably your best bet. And from other experience, I would never buy audio equipment used because you never know how the previous customer has treated it. Even if they do say "Its in great condition, never abused" it doesnt really mean anything. The amp could've been clipped all the time, they could've blown fuses and replaced them, which right there is a sign of it being abused because the gains weren't properly set and they were clipping the amplifier and at the same time damaging the subwoofer at distortion levels. You buy at your own risk. I'd recommend buying the equipment brand new, but that's my preference.

 

thanks for all the info, illmatik! i'm gonna consider the set-up you recommended to me

 

i use to be into beat no 2 me its annoying as hell but I had kicker, Phoniex gold, rocksford fosgate MTX and Alpine. IMO i liked my Alpine Type R's the best. I had 2 kicker comps there where cool but i liked the Alpine's better. Just dont get those cheap flea market subs like DUal or Igsina or however you spell it.

 

out of all my sub/amp combos the most i like is my kicker L7 powerd each by st1000 memphis amps...

 

craigslist FTW. i got 2 12" infinity kappa perfects in a banpass carpeted box, with a 600 watt rockford fosgate amp and a bass knob all for 250 bucks. and previous 10" sub sytems for around 100. unless you want new, but as stated before i prefer kicker

 

i would go with Kicker L5 or L7 and Audiobahn amp with 1 channel

 

alpine type rs are the best subs ive ever had. but what you got to realize is that the sub only changes the tone a little bit. for example if you have some "alright" subs with a well made box it will sound alot better then high end subs with a shitty made box. but jl subs with a jl amp is a good combo but its pricey, for now i have 2 12" pioneers with a 2000w earthquake amp (1 olm stable.) when i was setting the system for the TL i wanted to do it different then my other cars. so now i can either be bumpin ridiculous or have nice clean tight bass with the turn of a knob (via epicenter). but i will agree with everyone that posted before me, its all about personal preference and of coarse your budget

 

I'm going to have the counter that argument. Obviously, since you think that Alpine Type R's are great, in reality, they are ok. There are better subs you can buy for damn sure. I'm from IASCA and USACi. I've seen practically the best set ups hands down. Two of the US's biggest sound competitions. You'd be surprised. JL is completely overrated, overpriced and not worth the money. But I must say, the W7 still holds its sound quality at high volumes. The rest, I won't even comment to it. JL doesn't even come into our league of audio. Most definitely its about personal preference and how much money you're willing to drop down.

 

illmat1k i have an adire brahma mkII if u know anybody who'd be interested. its a 10", never used.

on another note, yea i think jl is overrated, but their still pretty good!

and i think for the money, alpine type r's are pretty damned good. I mean you can find them for about $100. thats not bad at all!

Ive also used infinity kappa perfects before and I loved them, and their not real expensive either.

 

Yeah I'd have to agree with you on that, the type-r is great for low budget systems. I installed on in a friends TSX and pushin a Powerbass 1500.1D to it @ 1500 RMS @ 1 ohm. It slaps great in the custom 2.6cu^ft box @ 32hz.

I will look around for a buyer for that sub. What is your askin price?

 

Hey bro I know your lookin for a system but I would say you should wait alittle bit, and get some more money, im sure its winter cold where your located.....I say go with some kicks L7'Z as subs, upgrade all your door speakers to improve sound quality., I would say Beymaz those suckers play loud, not sure if spelled correct, 2 amps one for (4ch)mids and (2ch) for bass and you got yourself a head banger......plus you can upgrade 2 door speakers and put a 10inc for mids in your rear deck and with 2 subs or even 1 good sub, and you got your self a good system.

 

The same money you will spend on buying something that doesnt play as great, but with a few more dollars, it would be worth it, all great things takes time.

 

JL w6 ftw!