My sig should show what I have. Right now it's not kicking as hard as it used to, but I can't tell if it's because of my amp being turned down or me being accostomed to it.....but I want it louder and crisper. My first thought is to upgrade the subs to one of the upper level RF subs. Then upgrade my sub amp later. What do you guys think?

I know I'm running a relatively low powered system, but do you think a capacitator would help out at all? I rarely have problems with my headlight dimming, or other lights with that problem, but for less than $100 I don't see how a capacitator would hurt, especially if I would upgrade the system in the future.

Ideas?

Thanks guys......

 

what exactly are you wanting to be more "crisp". The bass or the vocals?

 

Building a custom ported box for your subs would do wonders in revitalizing them, that Q-logic box is most likely restricting their crispness!

 

if you want new stuff id drop al that rf and get better stuff.

 

could you be any more vague? I was under the impression that the upper level RF subs and amps (that I don't have yet) did a pretty good job.

as for the crispness, I want it to be in the subs. I know my speakers aren't very good, but I don't have any problems with them.....yet.

about the custom box, shouldn't I wait until I get new subs so they match each other?

 

your 1st post was very vague, nobody knew what you wanted to fix. give us a price range and everyone will throw out suggestions.

 

Well, I basically want to upgrade every aspect of my system, but one step at a time since I don't have much money to work with at any one time. I was just curious as to which parts of the system should be upgraded first. Like I said, my first thought would be to upgrade the subs first, then the sub amp, then work from there. I thought the Q Logic box was decent, but I guess not.

Since I'm new to the audio world, what are some generally good and bad brands for subs? Amps? Speakers? I get the feeling that I will be buying the parts off Ebay since they have a great selection and awesome prices.

EDIT: For the pricerange, for subs, lets say $500 for both, and about the same for an amp. I'll say around $300 for speakers and another $400 for the speaker amp. I know these prices seem to be around what I paid for this system, but with Ebay I can get much better items for the same amount of money.

 

if you have/want to spend that much $ you can get a killer system. do you want 10,12,15's? and what type of box? sealed, ported? lets start with this 1st. and what type of music do you listen to?

 

I think I'll be staying with 12's. I'm pretty sure the Q Logic is sealed, and from what I've heard, it keeps the subs crisper as opposed to a ported box. Just not quite as loud. I listen to a lot of rap, but also all sorts of rock, funk....whatever. Probably mainly rap though.

 

$500 for both subs? Are you willing to get just one sub thats just under $500 shipped? but will do the job of about 6-8 of the subs you got right now?

As mentioned above, we need to know what kind of music you listen to most of the time to determine a few things. It will also determine if you go ported or not.

Your price range is very reasonably and you could easily build a slamming, yet crisp setup with that much budget. SO back to the imporatant question...music?...what kind?

 

So you want to stick to 2-12's. Alright, but 1st things 1st I say ditch the Q-logic. Build or get a box build for the subs your going to be using. That will be determined later, but 100% get ride of the pre-fab box. They all sound like crap IMO.
If you listen to rap most of the time, you'll like the ported setup but if you prefer to remain sealed, your speakers will be a bit more tight and accurate, but that all depends on the sub you get. My box is ported and I could listen to most every kind of music & it stays accurate to the most part. It does however have trouble keeping up with super-fast bass like non-stop drumming. It more then makes up for that overall & in SPL.

 

Well, what makes a good box? Size, composition? Are there better pre-fabbed boxes on the market? And why should I get the box before I figure out the type of subs? Seems backwards to me. Do you guys think I should upgrade the subs/box before the amp?

Yes, I'm willing to get one REALLY good sub, if it does what you say it does. What kind of sub are you reffering to? What type of box would go well with it?

 

Most pre-fab boxes just arnt built perfectly. They arnt 100% sealed off, and even if they get that right the material used sometimes just doesnt make it sound right.
You dont know what sub your going to get as of yet so I would definetly hold off on the box type until the sub is decided. Even if you decide to get two 12's again, personally I still would not use the pre-fab box. So for now lets leave the box be til you decide what sub your going to get

Onto the sub, there are a few choices when it comes to the sub(s). Im going to suggest one of the supersubs to start with. Im not sure if your familiar with these brands but trust me, they get the job done & then some
First is the Brahma made by Adire Audio. I would also suggest the XXX (go into products to find it)
by Resonant Engineering.

Both subs are quite powerful to say the least, but offer some of the best sound quality you can buy when it comes to woofers. Id love to see a pair of 12s of either brand in a sealed box. The SPL output will be over 140db, but regardless even at that level they will hit every note dead. That would be costly though, the 12's are about low $400's shipped.

Here is the path that I chose. I got myself the Brahma 15, I got in in a 3.5cu.ft box ported & tuned to 28hz. Last week I finally got my big amp on it (1600w/rms) and its quite devasating to say the least. Its smooth as hell and I dont regret the price tag one bit. I still have to work out a few rattling issues but overall im pleased with it. The RE XXX is also somewhat similar, I think the XXX looks a little better Honestly, you cant go wrong with either one. They are both overkill & can get unbearably loud if need be. I just love the fact that they reproduce music perfectly.

Both brands, regardless of box will be loud as hell. If your looking for 100% sound quality, then seal them up. If you go with a 12, give it about 1.75-2.25cu.ft If you go with a 15, then id say get a box about 2.75-3.0cu.ft.

If your looking for a mix between SQ and SPL (SQL) then go with a slightly large box and port it, tune it low though. 27-28hz should be just fine. The 12 would sound good in a box about 2.5-2.75ft. The 15 id say get a box thats about 3.0-3.5ft. You dont need as much power t get em loud in a ported box, so if you choose to go this route, id say stick with the amp you got til you can get a stronger one. I had a 500w amp on mine for about 1.5months, and it didnt lack one bit. The extra 1100w just made almost 2x louder

Anyway ill wrap it up, I know this is long. Go over to www.caraudioforum.com and use the search button to find all the info you'll need to make your choice.
Like I mentioned be4, im suggesting the sub(s) that will give you excellent sound quality, both drivers have nearly 0 distorion. XBL^2 is a wonderful thing.

 

yeah to save some $$$ id get 1 15" xxx and put it in a sealed box. im sure it will be loud enough and be very accurate. 1000 watts rms should be fine for that sub also. some prefab boxes are good, but in general custom is better, especially with an xxx or brahma. my prefab was actually well built andmakes my subs hit pretty damn good. just to give you an idea of loudness.. my 2 pg ti 10's in a sealed box with 600 watts rms total can be heard 3 stories up with my windows up and on half volume. so 1 15 with 1000 will be LOUD.

 

15's are sloppy. I'd stick with 12's. Like mostly everyone has said dump that box and get a different one. My system (click www to see what I got, not gonna list it, too much). Also, I'd look into getting some new amps.

I originally had my RF amp for the subs and then I upgraded to the Eclipse components and an Eclipse amp powering them. And it sounds so much better then it did. I plan on dropping more money into my system and getting a 4000 watt amp for my subs and get Eclipse Aluminum subs Oh man it's gonna be nice.

All in all, I'd steer away from RF

 

everyone who says 15's are sloppy must have had very bad experiences, or had/heard very crappy installs. i had a 15 solo baric the round kind and it was accurate and sounded great. i also had a pioneer 15, with he diamondplate and it was great too!

 

exactly. i think its easier to make a 15 sloppy than a 10, but they both can sound good/bad pending on the install.

 

It all depends on the install. As for 15's being sloppy...in most cases its still upto the install but with these subs it doesnt matter. They are anything but sloppy. Both are made for SQ but can put out stupid levels of SPL. They are both equipped with XBL^2 so its more accurate then even the Eclipse Alums or Titaniums would be. Both have a flat BL curve and dont lose output at higher volumes like most subs would, so dont let the SPL sensativity fool you.
They are called Supersubs for a reason
If you guys dont belive me, please by all means go over to www.caraudioforum.com and try to debate this over there. Id suggest just searching 1st

Even though my sub is ported, its still accurate 99% of the time, yeah its in a big @ss box but its still smooth as hell and devastating when I want it to be.
Id love to try out two Brahma 12's in a sealed 3.5ft box with 1.0-1.2Kw to each sub. That way it will keep the tight response of a sealed box, but will still dish out the SPL of the single 15 that I have right now. Unless you listen to metal/rock type music all the time, I dont think any1 will have a problem with a ported setup. 75% of the time I have rap type music going, so it doesnt bother me one bit. In a ported setup, if done correctly the sub can put out nearly 10db more then it would in a sealed setup. To the ear, thats one hell of a difference.