Audio/Visual & Electronics - Budget sub and amp

yo, i want to set up a budget build in my hatch for now, so what i want to know first of all is what are the best brands out of obvious budget brands. Pioneer, alpine, sony, clarion, RF? which brand offers a decent reliability and sound?, anyone who owns/uses such a setup, or from what u have heard. And ive been looking at kicker subs, they are the square ones right? and lastly, one of the local audio shops does have JL, i have seen through searching threads that they can be pricey, what is their lowest model of subs and amps, i dont want to spend to much, but i dont want to cheap out so i need to be replacing subs every few months, and im not really looking for anything of a fancy amp, just a good solid amp, so any suggestions would be helpful. Ive searched on the forums here but there r alot of conflicting opinions, lol, of what/who makes good subs and amps, i really like the clarion stuff, but it seams no one has any of this stuff, i know stu likes them though;)

Give us a price line. no more then 300, 400 ?

We can suggest some things, I will edit this post when i find some options.

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I am suggesting 10" subs for you, they are cheaper, and sound better, in my opinion:

Ok, as far as JL goes, they are great speakers. Even their bottom of the line will set you up with years of enjoyment. Here's a Link (http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_5161.html) for the W1, their lowest end, which is a beautiful budget build, and they are SVC 4ohm subs, so they will wire up in a pair to 2 ohms, meaning you can run a smaller amp then different setups. They want 125RMS watts, and in a civic this will still rock out. So you find an amp that supplies about 300 -400 watts of RMS at 2ohms, and your set.

The next up is their W3, which I have, and have for the last 8 years. They still run like day one, and have been refurbed once along the way to repair some dammage I caused to the dust ruffle. They are a wonderful speaker period, no need to go any higher really, unless you compeat. Here are links to them.
Dual 2 ohm (http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_7210.html)- wires up to 2ohms
Single 4 ohm (http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_7253.html)- wires up to 2ohms

Those are the only 2 combos I suggest, as they easily wire up to a 2ohm amp load, which makes your setup more effective, period. They aren't that different in price really, but it's the best 300 you will ever invest if you want long life and crisp sound. They want 300 RMS, so you need a 600RMS amp at 2ohms for these. That will be a little more pricey then that 400 for the W1's.

As for some other price options, I listed some decent pics here. You don't need those square kicker speakers, they still have round options that offer decent sound for your money, and read the reviews to compare and contrast.

Kicker Comp VR (http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_3408.html) - DVC 2ohm - haven't tried one but they get good comments and are cheap
Infinity Reference (http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_6418.html) - SVC 4ohm - cheaper end for infinity, still gets a lot of praise.
Alpine Type R (http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_6474.html) - For the price, these blow the type S away, and can hold alot of power for future amp upgrades
MTX (http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_8273.html#) - Haven't heard their newer line-up but I used to have a set of 15" MTX's that rocked, no complaints.
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Amps:

Alpine - 1 (http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_6470.html) , This will power those W1's and the low end power requirement items
Alpine - 2 (http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_6471.html), This is only 40 bucks more and will power 300x2 at 2 ohms, perfect RMS for any of the above listed.
Alpine - 3 (http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_8518.html), plenty of power for future sub upgrades, or etc.. A little more pricey, but a great amp.

MA Audio (http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_2680.html) - Still suggesting this offer, MA is popular here, although I haven't used their amps yet. They sell competition level gear that wins awards for locals.


There are some quick suggestions. As for amps, Kicker, JL, Alpine, even some MTX, and Fosgate's higher priced line-up are pretty dependable. I run a punch 500.1 newer "best buy" age fosgate, and I don't have any problems with it. I traded my batwing out a while back and got this one, my friend still has the batwing, i keep demanding that he return it to me, but he won't sell it.

Anyway, if you got any questions let me know.

well why should anyone else even post on this thread? haha. you pretty much covered everyting stu. haha

Damn Stu. Are you fingers bleeding after that one? LOL

I work nights, and I get bored with no one to talk to :-) So I unload.

Like I said, I used to be a hard core gamer, so typing is like a primary form of communication for me !

lol, thanks stu that sure helped, i think ill get JL setup 4 the subs:D

Yea he has got all the bases covered i see... ive personally got one JL W1 12" w/enclosure powered byan eclipse EA2000 which only pushes like 180w in my 07 coupe, whole setup installed cost me i think it was 450-460, ive never had a problem with any of it and its not too hard to rattle the side mirrors and rearview till i cant see out of em...

cool, thats not a bad price, and since i can hopefully install this stuff myself ill save a bit more

you can find new stuff on ebay for really good prices too. just keep that in mind, Stu has everything else covered :)

alright, and i finally got my digital camera, 8 megapixel so it should take some nice shots, ill post up some pics of my hatch that i bought, and mabey a few of the hatch to see where good mounting spots for the sub and amp would be, hey, where on the forums can i post up a few pics of my car for you guys to check out?

right here in this thread is fine.

well, here r a few pics, i hope they work, and theres the trunk also, do u think it would be possible to mount some 6.5 or 6*9 speakers on the fold down hatch door? http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u215/megafandrew/DSCI0015.jpg http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u215/megafandrew/DSCI0001.jpg http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u215/megafandrew/DSCI0009.jpg http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u215/megafandrew/DSCI0010.jpg

and theres the rear hatch fold down door, do u think its possible to mount some 6.5 or even 5.5 in there without going into other wires? http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u215/megafandrew/DSCI0011.jpg [IMG]http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u215/megafandrew/DSCI0004.jpg[IMG]

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u215/megafandrew/DSCI0004.jpg lol sorry for so many pics but im lovin myrefurbished digital, and ya i live in canada so its winter right now, lots of snow

hey stu or anyone, could u use paint to point out on the dash pic where i could mount a tach, i was thinking below the drivers side left air vent, i think i seen someone eles's car on this forum with it mounted there, and it looked nice, visible but hidden, and doesn't block visibility

Looks like you have a nice clean ride to work with there. If you decide to do body work and what not, you will have it made.

As for the tach, most people get either a cluster that has a tach, or the 3 1/2" mountable tachs that screws into the dash using brackets.

I for one want to add a dual pillar pod to my drivers side pillar there, but I can't for the life of me find a tach that will fit that 2 1/8" hole that most podsrequire. At least not a good solid tach that won't be faulty and incorrect all the time.

I wouldn't have a clue where you would mount it though, if you purchased one of the 3" tachs, unless you put it center console above the radio there, mounted towards your face, to the vinyl there, or over by the drivers side window on the vinal covering there. Thats the most frequently used spot. I still like the pillars though, I wish someone would find me a good one that I can fit in a pod :-)

stu, when u say body work do u mean like lipkit and such or? i have to fix the dent in driver door, nothing serious. ;)

I was thinking lip kit / and etc..

That car always looks nice when it's retrofitted into some sweet body kit's.

It's a sweet ride. And a bass machine, hatch's always rock anything you can put in them, twice as loud as the coupes.

what about rockford fosgate...punch stage 1s are good and cheap 110$ for 2 of them with no enclsoure

ive actually looked at the punch series and it impresses me, thnks for reminding me about them;)

Hey bro, have you seen the Sony Xplods? Or are they an Aussie thing? Has anyone else seen/got them? I think they are a Sony Australia thing. Its a complete range of car audio kit. Its what I use. Medium range equitment, low price and as far as I'm concerned, reliable.

hey chaos, i live in canada and we have the range of sony xplod stuff too, i have a sony hu, and it works fine for me, and yeah, ive seen their subs, i was looking at them as im on a budget, how are the sound in them for u?

i was on a budget i got one of these in my eg 4 dr, they guve u ur bang for ur buck, i have one which is plenty of bass for me, u can go with 2 if u want tho, those things will bump!!, it has a built in amp, so no worry of blowing ur amp and less distortion since its one component and i think u can find it for cheaper, but herei t is

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-eZYFMYVbCBj/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=51000&I=204BTA1020

Yea I love the Xplods. I think they are well worth it. They have got good sound and they are no BS like some of the other no-name brands you get on ebay. Im going Xplod front to rear, HU, Amps, speakers and subs, and even wiring. I give them 2 thumbs up for cheap but reliable and good sound kit.

Sony subs are fine, any sub is really, but you need to take into consideration their resistance/voice coil setups. You don't want to get stuck wiht 2 subs that won't wire up to anything but 8 ohms, if you end up some some 4 or 8 ohm wire-up options you will have to double the money input on the amp.

i.e. A 400 watt amp at 2 ohms will only push 200 watts at 4 ohms, and 100 watts at 8ohms.

So if you have 2 subs, each wanting 250 watts, (500 total) and you can only wire them to 4 ohms, you will have to have at least a 1000 watt amp, more expensive. The 1000 watt will push 500 @ 4ohms, so 250 to each channel.

The brand of sub, not so much of a big deal as compared with the wiring configuration. Thats what I look at first. How can I wire these suckers up to hold the least amount of resistance, 2 ohms.

hey stu, is there somewhere i can read more about ohms and watts for wiring, i would like to fully understand this stuff before i actually wire in my stuff.

I always just use cruthcfields little guide to doing wire ups.

They are written using bridged, or mono connections, so all of them are laid out assuming you are only wiring 1 channel up. Mono amps are the way to go anyway, Class D mono amps will run cooler and provide more efficient sub power all together. If you want to know your options you can look at this link (http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/S-2SmqeSvxF3N/learningcenter/car/subwoofers_wiring.html).

This link (http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/S-GMBzsv6pb5P/learningcenter/car/subwoofers/shopping_guide.html) will give you a brief overview.
This link (http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/S-GMBzsv6pb5P/learningcenter/car/amplifiers/shopping_guide.html) is a small amp overview. You can find more info on that site, it's a handy.

Poke around there and see what you find.

In those diagrams, you want to try and get a 2 ohm wire up all the time. So If you have 2 DVC 2ohm subs for example, the second column on the left first choice, you can wire them to 0.5 or 2 ohms. Further down, if you have 2 SVC 4ohm subs, you can wire them to 2 ohms or 8 *bad*, You want to try and make sure whatever subs you buy will be able to wire up to 2 ohms, 4 is ok, but it will require more amp, and you will only be getting half the power out of whatever amp your using so whats the point.

lemme know if you have any questions. It's easy once you get to know the good combos.

I'm sorry but JL Audio(good **** and I am a big fan of it) and Alpine(also a fan of their equipment) are not budget minded systems. There are other brands out there for cheaper that wil perform just as good. JL subs are great dont get me wrong but untill you get to the W6V2 they are nothing out of this world. W3's will get killed by a similar priced RE sub and as far as amps JBL Power Valve series are nice and can be had for absolute dirt cheap.

I suggest a pair of Memphis PR 12's and a JBL BP600.1, that can all be had for under $250 total

ORIGINAL: Marty

I'm sorry but JL Audio(good **** and I am a big fan of it) and Alpine(also a fan of their equipment) are not budget minded systems.


I found a basically new Alpine Type-E sub for $50 shipped on ebay, so brand new defiantely not, but you can find alot of good deals on them.

ya cool, i like alpine and jbl, but i am limited if i do buy local, and ordering off ebay is cool and all but i also have had problems getting **** from the US to Canada, so.... but ill take a look and see if I can find something cheaper and just just as good a bang for the $, thanks marty

Always remember, good equiptment is cheap if it's stolen. Get a friend who knows some people who knows some people who robbed some people.

lol. as long as a cop never looks in your trunk, its all good.

thats what a tonneu cover is for, lol, quick someone cover it up!;)

Just remember this line:
"Prove it."
Besides, they cant search a locked 'trunk' (stupid yank word) without a warant. When you get pulled, turn it down, and they wont know a thing.

so what's the opposite of "trunk" ? "boot" ?

As in, just stick it in the boot..

Filthy buggars, he he.