[rast4]

First off I'm new to the forums and new to the Gen 2 Teg world. I recently bought a 1993 Teg Hatchback and plan on rebuilding from ground up. I look forward to chatting with most of you regading help issues that I may have. Having said that ...

I haven't been in the audio-scene for about 10 years, and where I left off I was competing with: Earthquake, Kicker and MB Quart. I recall the proven reliability that I had from those products and would like to continue at least with some of them.

So far in my system I have purchased: Earthquake PowerHouse PH-120.2 and Panasonic CQ-DF903U HU. I plan on buying MB Quart 6.25 Seperates for my mids and highs. My main concern is subs as there are SO many new brands on the market. What I am requesting, is recommendations for subs, wires, capacitors and sealed or ported sub enclosures. My goal here is to have all SQ and not the *boom* *boom*. Don't get me wrong, I want to be able to hit the low-lows, just I want the other notes in my music to be heard as well. DB's are necessarily a concern, but as somewhat of a mark I want to be around 130-145 DB's with more emphasis on SQ.

I would like to thank you in advance for your input and feedback.

 

[MorningZ]

Right on the top right of the page, you'll see this graphic

click on that and you'll see that it has a few long threads with subejcts such as:
"Sub decision"
"Help me pick speakers"

and just going through this Audio forum from page one to page 5, you'll see a number of threads just like this one....all lots of good advice that you can get right now

 

[GS-Racer]

I can certainly appreciate you taste as far as MB Quart goes... fantastic stuff!
For sub bass its been my experience and there is quite a few years worth dealing with some VERY high end systems.
If your serious about good tight accurate bass I'd strongly encourage you to go with two 10" subs in either a sealed/coupled enclosure or a coupled/ported enclosure.
The sealed box will allow for good tight bass and a ton of power application and control.
With a ported box you'll have a bit more versatility, hit lower and more tunable due to the option for changing port length and diameter.
I appoligize for the following comment to any Panasonic fans and don't mean to put down your tastes but again years of experience has shown me, and many others, that Panasonic offers a great "bang for the buck" HU but if your after sound quality you would be much better off to look at ALPINE (been my choice for more then 10years) or another dedicated car audio manufacturer.
Good luck with your system and have fun!

 

[rast4]

Believe me, I am STILL torn with the decision of buying the Panasonic HU. I am a techno junkie, and want a great display and this one appealed to me out of the majority of what's on the market. I looked at some Alpine, but they just don't do it for me visually. The only thing that came close is the JVC with the PICT technology. But I feel that JVC and Panasonic are in the same league so I settled on the one with more lights. Performance wise, it SEEMS to have what I need, but again I am still torn in this decision.

 

[GS-Racer]

Well I'll tell you this much.... I bought my Integra with a high end Panasonic HU (lots of pretty lights and pre-outs). It is about 2 years old and skips if you look at it funny. I tossed it for an Alpine after I almost killed it out of aggrevation.
The difference in sound quality was obvious right away.
Base response, tunability and with the luxury of a built in digital time delay processor you can tweak your system to any extent if you take the time. Also Alpine is one of the only manufactures that use a "true" 4-volt preout which as I'm sure you know makes a HUGE difference in an amplified system.
I hear what you say about the importance of cosmetics and pretty lights but you may find that its sometimes better to spend the $$ on whats inside then outside. Just my opinion.
By the way JVC stands for Junk Very Cheap! I used to sell their car audio as did I sell Panasonic, Alpine, Sony, Kenwood, Pioneer and Clarion.

 

[rast4]

Ok, you convinced me. Now the question is; What model for around $200-300 should I get? (Alpine that is) The major considerations are enough preouts to power a full system, mp3(wma isn't terribly important), remote and a decent display. Your help is greatly appreciated.

 

[MorningZ]

check this site for some great prices on Alpine decks...

for features and stuff, goto Alpine's site or Use Crutchfield's comparison tool

 

[rast4]

*sigh* Back to the drawing board. I'm not going with Earthquake anymore for amplifiers, ditching the Panasonic HU and actually going to go with Boston Acoustics for mids and highs. As far as amps, I'm leaning towards Mmats or JL Audio, and for subs I'm leaning towards JL Audio W3's. The main reason for dropping Earthquake is that they are so power-hungry. They need LOTS of power to satisfy the beast within. MB Quart have always been a favorite, but I got a chance to listen to some and personally they didn't sound as clean as Boston's. So any new feedback on this is again appreciated.

 

[rast4]

Ok, thanks for the links. I think I have made up my mind. I am looking at the Alpine CDA-9827. I like the silver and blue cosmetics as well as the 4v x 3 preouts, wireless remote and the fine tuning controls they offer. 1 down and 2 to go.

 

[GS-Racer]

Good call on the W3s(are they still dual voice coil?), great subs, don't have any experience with Boston Acoustics but they certainly have a good rep. I'll die an MB Quart fan and keep in mind when listening to Quarts they are harsh as hell 'til they break in ('bout 15 hours), downside to pure titanium tweeters and a stiff spider. What series did you listen too?
Amps, the never ending debate! Just look at an amp that has a good power output considering input. There are a ton of number games that the manufactures play to make their #s look good. Look at "THD", (Total Harmonic Distortion).08% and lower is good for car audio, and how many volts input were used to get the output rating. Some are done at 12 volts and some are measured at 14 volts.
Most importantly when looking at a place to buy your gear, give the local guys a chance 'cause if your buying a ton of gear your likely to get some great deals. There is a ToN of mark up in higher end car audio gear. If you buying a $500 amp you shouldn't be suprised to be able to see a $100(ish) discount or even more.
Good luck and feel free to PM me with anything else I may be able to shine some light on.

 

[GS-Racer]

By the way WICKED CHOICE IN A HEAD UNIT! You'll love it and if you don't you can come up here and kick my ass !
I figured you must be smart.... Look at what you drive!

 

[rast4]

Thanks heaps Rob. I KNOW I will enjoy the gear. I'm going to get some online and some at a local shop we have here. The Boston's I listened to that "sold" me are the; Pro 6.5 Components. They are very pricey, but the accurate sound was amazing. The MB Quarts I heard were the model DSD216. I really want to hear the MBQ RSC216 though before I make up my mind. I actually still would rather go MB Quart, but those Boston's were amazing. What do you recommend as far as a 6.25" component setup for MB Quart ? -Rob

 

[CJ]

MB Quart is the way to go IMO. Not the D series thought, those are the bottom of the line I belive. If I were you, I would try and listen to the PCE 216. That is just below the top of the line. You can get them for around 200 on ebay IIRC.

When it comes to subs and amps, JL Audio is the way I go. No questions asked. I was huge fan of Fosgate for a while, but now I'm all about JL Audio. They have great amps and subs. The amps are really cool to me because of the versatility available to you.

They can run anywhere between 11 and 14.5 V and your subs can be wired anywhere from 1.5 - 4 ohms. I don't know of many amps that do that, I'm sure there are.

Anyways, based on what you have said, I think that the ideal setup for you would be this:

-Alpine CDA 9827 - HU
-MB Quart PCE 216 - Mids/highs
-Something running of the deck for rearfill if you desire
-2 JL Audio 10w3v2 in a sealed enclosure
-JL Audio 500/1 (amp for the subs)
-JL Audio 300/2 (amp for mids/highs)

It may be a little pricey, but I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

 

[MorningZ]

Anyways, based on what you have said, I think that the ideal setup for you would be this:

how do you have any idea what would sound good to someone else, lol....

you sounded like a used car salesman in your reply

 

[rast4]

I appreciate the feedback. The bottom line now is deciding whether to go 10" or 12" JL subs. I have only ever ran 15"s so I'd like some feedback on this aspect please. We're almost done with what I believe to be the perfect system! wewt!

 

[aznmofo43]

i have 2 jl's 10" w3 in a bandpass box
go bandpass its by far the best
the best of both worlds ported and sealed

the only thing about jl's are they arent so cheap, they dont have all that bass but they sound clean and crisp

if it was up to me id go 2 10" w6's

 

[fyberoptik]

I want to recommend what I own (or wish I owned) too.

 

[hrdkorjaredsmom]

i have owned a kicker solobaric 8"(not worth it), kicker comp vr 10" very good for the money($50 on ebay), rockford power hx2 12"(loud but no SQ), JLW3 12"(garbage), xtant x1244-12"(loud but SQ is just ok, very well built), eclipse 12"(very nice sounding, got loud without much movement), mb quart rwc304 12"(sounded awesome, very smooth) i have an id 10" right now and love it. i have heard that high end stereo integrity is very nice, their best sub is made by id. if you want SQ get 8"'s, if you want a balance of sq and spl, get 10"'s, there are some 12"'s that sound nice also. i would recomend mb quart, but the only problem is that they have gone down hill since rf bought them in '02.

 

[GS-Racer]

i have 2 jl's 10" w3 in a bandpass box
go bandpass its by far the best
the best of both worlds ported and sealed

the only thing about jl's are they arent so cheap, they dont have all that bass but they sound clean and crisp

if it was up to me id go 2 10" w6's

With due respect to your statement, there is a couple of points to add.
A bandpass is perfect if you don't have a x-over. They naturally will cancel unwanted frequencies depending on tuning. (Bandpass simply refers to cancelling out frequecies above and below a given point).
Also they are great if you aren't running alot of power. A BP enclosure increases the effeciency of the driver.
The one downside to BP enclosures is that they are naturally more "boomy". Great if you like rap and dance but not so good if you like rock. Also if your bottoming out your sub or clipping your amp you can't hear it and can easily reck you sub(s).

 

[GS-Racer]

one other point and any sub company will seek me out and kill me for saying this but...
All a sub is a transducer, nothing more nothing less. It will produce what signal you put into it, PERIOD.
Having said that there are certain variables. Some subs respond better in different applications depending on cone design and voice coil design.
The key to good sub performance is an enclosure that is built to spec and crossed over properly. Tons of power is always good to.
Rob (rast4) you seemed to have opened a can of worms !