Found this on a great car audio forum, this is a great generalized guide for people new to car audio.... have fun, sticky it please i think this would be a great add on
This is the infamous Good, Bad, and Ugly list.
These are some pretty generalized groupings and also very subjective. We've simply based our experiences with the products whether they are direct installs, personal property or extensive research. You should always physically listen to a product before purchase because you are the one who will determine whether or not an item "sounds good" or not.
This topic, while being controversial, is simply a generalized guide meant for beginners in the hobby. Many brands specialize in certain items, ie. better amplifiers than speakers, better mids than subs, etc... Also almost all manufacturers offer entry level products as well as high quality lines. As I stated before, this is a GENERALIZED guide. It is your responsiblity to research and audition every brand before you purchase anything. Good luck with your decisions.
We've broken this section into 4 catagories:
1: Bad
2: Questionable
3: Good
4: Highly Recommended
Bad
American HiFi (Rockwood)
American Pro
Audiovox
Automobile
Becker
Boss
DHD
Dual
JDL
Jensen
Kenwood (speakers)
Kole
Kraco
Kronik
LA Sound
Legacy
MA Audio
Optimus (Radio Shack)
Planet Audio (Boss, by any other name)
Power Acoustik
Profile
Pyle
Pyramid
Rockwood
SAS Bazooka (amplifiers)
Sherwood
Sony (anything by Sony)
Sound Storm
Sparkomatic
SPL Audio
Thump
Ultimate Sounds
Visonik
Volfenhag
Questionable
Alpine (lower model speakers)
Autotek
Audiobahn
Blaupunkt
Aiwa
Crunch
Elemental Designs (eD)
Hifonics
Hollywood
Kenwood (amplifiers, head units)
Kicker Solobaric (L5, L7, Solo-X square subs)
Lanzar
Lightning Audio
Matsui
MTX (subs)
Onyx Mobile Audio
Panasonic
Phoenix Gold (ask on specific models)
Pioneer (amplifiers and speakers)
Precision Power (PPI) (newer non-US made amplifiers)
Rockford Fosgate (current products)
SAS Bazooka (all products)
We had something like this stickied a while ago and general feeling is that it's helpfull to some but it's based on opinion so it doesn't need to be stickied. Thanks for contributing though.
WOW. Im very impressed with some of the highly recommends... i didn tthink anybody else on the planet knew about KEF or Butler or Morel for that matter.
However, Audiovox has come a loooonnnngggg way since they started out. They are whipping out some fo the better lcd screens on the market. And I must say Optimus was a great bang for the buck. All of my house subwoofer rock old school 'Pro Series' subwoofers by radio shack because they were cheap but yet very good in quality for what they are.
Like AMG said, Audio is a subjective matter. I sell it(high end albeit ie:morel, focal diamond, eclipse) and can tell you from experience that beuaty with audio is in the EAR of the beholder. Its only as good as you think it sounds, there is no "best" well, I have my opinions but thats my point. Mostly an accurate list, debateable(sp), but eh thats exacly what I'm trying to say I guess. Oh yeah, and I rock a set of old school Akai's, for those that remember that brand for my home monitors!!
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Its not a race car, its a carrying device for my stereo equipment
i have to disagree on Power Acoustik being under "Bad". Sure, they are cheap but there subs do out perform most budget setups. My friend has 4 mofo 12's in his deville and 2 power acoustik amps and it hits so hard its hard to breathe.
again everyone, this is a guide based on trials and errors and is only meant as a general guide for new guys in the game. "generally" speaking, power A isn't going to sound good when put up against higher end products. Fight it all you want, but thats th hard fact, i think we can all mostly agree that your product quality is going to depend on the price(unless your paying for the JL name........ like me.... lol) For example, those 4 power A subs were lets say $75 eachish (i think thats what they run for) but your telling me that that $300 would beat 2- W3's in SQ, or 2 alpine type-r's in SPL??
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with love, Todd
project, 95' Del Sol-- the ugly duckling
1998 honda civic EX 4-door (yes 4!!!)
5-speed manual
D16Y8
(sticky please) good guide for noob car audio
lol) For example, those 4 power A subs were lets say $75 eachish (i think thats what they run for) but your telling me that that $300 would beat 2- W3's in SQ, or 2 alpine type-r's in SPL??
