rrpnow

so I went out with a friend (g35 coupe owner) to look at some car stuff... we were really bored... first were look for Blinder M20, then some navi stuff, then some speakers...

PLACE 1:
after looking at the head unit, they were like def go with someone portable... it will be much cheaper... so they showed me this magellan gps system http://www.magellangps.com/en/produc...sp?PRODID=1118... then he said blinder m20 wasn't worth it, because you still have a chance of getting pulled over, but i dont think he was right on that one... finally we talked about audio... he said it would cost about 500 for 1 12" (i forgot which sub he said ), amp, wires, labor, and box...

PLACE 2:
strictly looked at audio now:
JL 12W1V2 - 120
Box - 60
Memphis Amp - 200
Labor/Wires - 120
sub total: 500 + tax
total: 535

PLACE 3:
audio again:
Kicker cvr124, kicker amp, box, wires, labor - 450 + tax
and if me and my friend both get it done 450 no tax...

the person from place 1 told me to wait one week though, because they are getting alpine equipment, so since its a first time shipment, he will have room to play with the prices... any feedback on anything listed would be awesome...


P.S. i did a search on some of this, really didn't get too much, but still found info...

SeaCoupe

Personally the wiring and labor seems a bit high on the second qoute.

I have heard and do like the JL subs.

Me, I have a single Dual Voice Coil 10" Speaker Works Sub in a SMALL enclosure. I'm running it with a Precision Power amp thats giving it something along the lines of a 100 watts total. I have seperates up front, and coax MB Quarts. Does me just fine. I already have a ringing in my ear from my earlier days.

If you don't expect Huge Booming Bass, you'll be okay with either option. Whatever you do, don't let anyone talk you into a Free Air mounted Sub.

Ed

rrpnow

yea i dont want BOOOOM! just something better than stock... and whats free air mounted sub? never heard of it... ill try a search on the fourms..

rrpnow

is this basically what it is? i just googled it... seems like a gimic, so i figured its what you meant...

This design locks in air between the main cone and drive cone, ensuring smoother and more precise movement of the cones, for superior linearity. The locked-in air behaves like a spring, so there's no need for a traditional spider structure. The drive cone also deflects air pressure inside the enclosure, which further contributes to the remarkable bass of the small package. The available UDSW12B Subwoofer Enclosure is the perfect complement for the TSSW1241D subwoofer.

advans

I'm looking into PolkAudio components and miniwoofers, they seem to have a high rating, then also infinity are good. do not get pioneer, they seem to be famous, but the quality is so *****TY!


ohh ohh and I think alota people tend to use JL, also sony's xplode is crap

rrpnow

i think im going to go with the kicker...

[180]

Those prices are on the high side, especially for the low end equipment you're getting.

Seriously, shop around (online) and you'll find far better prices.
Some sites I'd try are ebay (make sure it's a reputable seller), ikesound.com, sonicelectronix.com, millionbuy.com, and to a lesser extent crutchfield.com(=$$$)

You can either buy the gear and install it yourself (very easy if you can follow instructions), or take the stuff you bought to a proper stereo shop and let them install it. You could also go to a good stereo shop to begin with and have them do everything.

Looking at your budget (off the top of my head, but there are many more choices out there)...
12" Sub - Alpine Type R or RE SE12 or Image Dynamics IDQ12 or Diamond M612
Box - sonicelectronix has an excellent 12" box for $25+shipping. I use this myself, it's very solid.
Amp - I went with a Directed 1500d refurb from ikesound, they come with a 6 month warranty and mine is still going strong. They do come with some scuffs/scratches though, definitely not "show" quality. 1500watts for $110. Get more power than you'll need to avoid over-working your amp.
Wires - knukonceptz.com makes excellent wires.

rrpnow

I was thinking the prices were a bit high, because they KNEW I drove a benz... so i was kinda :\ at first... im going to try getting a quote of the phone, I think thats near impossible... I'm also going to try a place that does some work on cars, but im pretty sure its only body, but then again im not 100% on that...

djautum

If you want REALLY nice gear, I would not go to places like best Buy, places that try to sell you things like Kicker, Kicker is getting better, but its still not there yet... For close to the same money (or less) you can get better gear. JL makes pretty good stuff, but they are FAR from the best. If you want the best for your car (and im sure you do) look at Resonant Engineering XXX, Adire, and Cadence (there are others too) My point is that you should do you homework before buying car audio.

In my 525 I have Nak cd400, a Focal front stage, Adire in the rear, and a e12a in the trunk. Optidrive amps push it all. and I spent less than 2k on all of it.
And it sounds kick ***.

Do some searching on other places besides a MB forum. Talk to some people who do this for a living/hobby. They will tell you Im right. Keep looking and looking and looking until you find what you like, then research the hell out of it. THEN buy. The last thing I would put in my 230 is something a 16 yo kid thinks hits hard. SQ THEN bass is the way to go.
Just my .02

rrpnow

yea i did not even go to best buy, etc...

im not looking for the BEST, because i know that costs a lot... and quite frankly, i dont want to spend too much... i mean each different place i went to, said for just getting a better bass hit thats much better then what i have now, im looking at around 500 for everything... and i also read reviews at crutchfield for the kicker, it was rated 5/5 with 20 reviews... dont get me wrong though, im not denying what you are saying... but i just want something thats not super expensive, but at the same time im dont want to be super cheap and get sh|t... so its somewhere in the middle... any other ideas?

side note: haha im 17... but i def dont want any ricey bass sound (idk if that even made sense)... also whats SQ? i just want something thats better than stock, but doesnt hit SUPER hard... damn, im picky...

[180]

$500 is a good enough budget to work with.

This is what I'd go with:
Sub: Alpine Type-R 2ohms - $150.
Box: 3/4 MDF box - $35
Amp: Alpine MRP-M650 - $200.
Power Cables: Knukonceptz 4-gauge kit - $20

And you'll have enough left over for the install.

rrpnow

yea im waiting for some of the alpine gear to come into one store... ill make sure to ask about that next week when i go back in... thanks

ADDED: whats the main different between 2 ohms and 4 ohms?

W0n6_3d4n

Make sure the install is as good as the gear. There's a misconception with Free air baffle, there's no such thing, there is however Infinite Baffle (IB) setup. IB configuration can provide you with excellent sound quality, given the right equipment and installation, think of it this way, a car is a box by itself, putting a sealed box in a car will sound well like a box in a car, whereas IB will use car's space itself as a box thus acting like a proper sealed box. However to get this correctly setup is very2 hard and require proper sealing, thus not worth the time and money.

The main difference is the resistance , well if u talking about T/S parameters of say a sub, there will be some difference, however the ohm difference is there so you can choose the correct amplifier loading and use the maximum rms out of your amp. Some may argue that at 4ohm or higher ohm, the damping factor of an amp will be greater than at 2 ohm or lower ohm, it's true but u wouldn't notice it in a moving vehicle.

rrpnow

i realized the amp you talking about is 400 watts... dont i need 500 watts?

[180]

Difference between 2ohms and 4ohms is how they can be wired. The dual 2ohm Type-R can be wired down to 1ohm if your amp is capable.

The amp is 400w x1 @ 4ohms.
When you bridge the sub down to 1 ohm, this amp can push 1000w x1 @ 1ohm.

rrpnow

oh tru, thanks for the clear up =]

rrpnow

also, will adding a subwoofer to my car void my warrenty on the audio parts of my car? even though its not really affecting the stock speakers, or is it?

MB Nubee

By the way,

SQ = Sound Quality.

Wait for the Alpine, it will be worth it. I like [180]'s advice. Don't forget the line level convertor.