looking to buy amp and ONE sub in the near future...i just want an idea of your systems and what you would say is descent...not kick a$$ but something that will be like better than systems without subs u know? i'm thinking of getting a sub with like 300 to 600 watts...and i guess an amp with like 500 to 600 watts is ok? what u guys have and what u would say is about average?

i don't understand how people can mess with these amps that have wattages less than 100

 

I recommend 1 12" kicker sub! Kickers sub pound very very very very very hard...for an amp, go fostgate or MTX or Alpine...good luck and I hope your system bumps...if kicker is outta ur range, maybe JL Audio W3, or Eclipse...

 

ATTENTION: This is MY OPINION and you should formulate your own by listening and pricing for yourself.

That said, I would buy used. There is nothign liek a used amp or speaker. Sure, you are taking a chance, but I tell you what, all 3 of 4 amps, my front speakers, my sub and my head unit I bought all USED. My stereo retails for some ridiculous amount and I paid about 1/3rd - there is something to be said for patience when buying. Right now, on eBay, there are a few things that I like that don't go for NEARLY what they should because they were little known products. My personal fav is the Infinity Beta 100. This amp does 400 x 1 into 4 ohms and is a digital amp. They can be had on eBay for about $150 ... WHAT A BARGAIN.

As far as subs, this is tricky. Used subs are a tough call. Buying from someone on here would be your best bet, but if you MUST buy on eBay, buy from someone who has a receipt (than you can alter and put your name on if necessary) and is STILL under warranty. Infinity Beta products, for example, all had a 3 year warranty. NEVER change the date, just your name if necessary ... (they shoudln't get out of having to fix it just because you bought it used.)

For brands, the JL W0's are cheap and sound good. They can be had on eBay. Infinity Beta subs also go for cheap and sound great IMHO. DEI (Directed) makes GREAT subs and very few people buy Directed compared to RF/JL/Alpine, etc so you can find them for a good price online.

Good Luck.

 

thanks for the info...my next question is what's the difference between 4 ohm and 2 ohm amp hook ups? is there a weaker quality wit 2 ohms? is there a more likely chance of soemthing busting? reason i ask is because i see amps with like 500 watts wit 2 ohms hook up and 250 watts with 4 ohms hook up...if i CAN hook up with 2ohms, then i'll do so so i get more wattage....what do most people normally hook up with and what do u guys recommend?

 

damn it ham, i was going to bid on the amp, now i have to be a good little boy and let you have it, all because your a fellow ORG member.

good luck,
MrGone

i dont know why, but ever since my dad bought his durango with the infinity's in it, 4 years ago, i have only really liked infinity stuff. i wish they would make amps again, and what if they made head units? ohhh

 

I'm probably not getting one, feel free to bid away. I bid it up to $65 which, with shipping would be the price it will cost me to fix my amp. I know I will get outbid. Secretly, I'm hoping I will be, I barely have enough money for a happy meal right now :-(

 

mecca - I think you need to read a bit more into car audio before you hop in and start putting stuff in the Max. The main point I'd like to make is, a stereo isn't measured in quality solely by the power output. An amp that puts out 500W rms isn't better than an amp that puts out 250W rms at the same impedance, just because its pushing more juice. There are many other factors involved - some keywords to take into consideration: distortion, SPL/SQ, low-impedance loads, class-D amplifiers, etc, etc...I'm not a huge audiophile, and only dabble a bit in car audio (a car is a horrible soundstage in general, I know that much) due to monitary reasons.

That's not a good statement to make if you're around big audiophile nerds (in the sense that they'll take their time poking fun at you and purposefully give you bad information instead of truly helping you). I mean, check something out like this:

http://www.ampmanaudio.com/details.a...lifiers&ID=997

That's just a sample of a lower-end "non-consumer" model amplifier. I've seen people buy 50x4 or even 6-channel component car audio amps that cost from $4000 to $12000. Just making an example.

I'm not tryin to come with any hate or nothin, don't take it that way. I'm just sayin to do some more research/studying on the subject - it'll treat you well in the end. Hit up some audio nerds, let them know you don't know a whole lot, try to ask intelligent-sounding questions to get good answers. What I know, I picked up on from my brother and a few personal friends, and some of the guys on Efnet #caraudio/#efnet-caraudio were real cool about helpin me get some knowledge.

And also, go to a higher-end stereo shop and listen to some of the equipment. Compare it with your own ears, and set a standard so you know that the stuff at Best Buy isn't primo quality ****. I could try to give you some more solid recommendations if I had some more info (what kind of music you listened to, where your tastes fit on the SQ/SPL curve, if you're going to dump all your factory eq and start over, budget, etc), but I only have mediocre car audio knowledge, and a lot of it is from research two-three years ago. You'd be better off consulting some experts. Use the internet - IRC, forums, etc. I wish you much luck - I'm sure in the near future you'll end up with a system that puts a big grin on your face.

 

...Wattage is truley overated...

 

sadly, this is all too often true.

anyway, 100 watts dont = 100 watts...

you can have an mtx and a boss amp, rated for the same power, and the boss wont put out 1/2 as much as the mtx. this is even somewhat true for some mainstream amps like the kenwoods, sony's, etc.

if you need a sub amp, regardless of whether its for sq or spl, try a class d amp (NO YOU CANT HEAR A DIFFERENCE!!!) like the jbl powervalve amps. the 1200.1 does 1300 watts (true watts, not jensen/boss/profile watts ), and can be had for less than 300 bux on www.thezeb.com . the 600.1 is 1/2 the power, but its only 70 bux cheaper, so i reccomend the 1200.1 if you can afford it.

as for subs, if you dont want to spend a lot of money, check out adire audio's shiva $125 and tempest $150 (12" and 15" respectively). they are fairly inexpensive, and will absolutely STOMP jl w3's, kicker comps,...etc. adire subs can be found at www.ampmanaudio.com or at www.deltasoundworks.com (definitely a good place to deal with). something else you might wanna check out are the edesign audio e12k's, and e15k's. they arent too expensive, and love ported boxes, but sound great in sealed too. the same goes for their big bumping brothers, the e12a's and e15a's. if you want some more ideas, IM me @ illusionsnismo on aim.

eric

 

Why is everyone and their mother on this board talking about and buying Adire Audio? I have never heard of this company before this board and I've been on TeamROCS (www.teamrocs.com) for years and have been into car audio for 8 years. I would think people on this board make money from how many Adire Audio subs are sold ...

That said, if you want decent sound from a subwoofer (not competition, but good sound), the box will make more of a difference than the sub. Bazooka's thing is to make one of the worst/cheapest subs and engineer a PERFECT enclosure for it. They run test after test on the sub to find out what is optimum and then play around with those numbers and make different enclosures until they have the best sound. Ideally, this is the way we should all make boxes, but unfortunately, that requires 2 things not many of us have ... money and time.

 

My Soundstream Class A 3.0 is IASCA rated at 12.5 x 2 but will do 300 x 1 at 1 ohm and is one of the original cheater amps along with my Soundstream Class A 6.0. The 6.0 is only rated at 25 x 2, but will push 600+ watts to a one ohm load. Pretty impressive amplifiers.

 

well, i was looking at buying jl's, but i heard about this guy i know, that hit 152.3 dB's with a $150 15" sub, and 500 watts, with it tuned for music, and not spl (in the 25 hz range ). i got to looking, and was amazed at all the good things i heard from those who had used them, and i noticed that nothing bad was being said about them. i contacted adire about a pair of their 15's, and the president of the company! gave me designs for the type of sound i was looking for. i then found out about their NEW subs (ones actually designed for the car--instead of home subs that work well in car, they were dedicated car stuff). i ended up getting on the preorder for the 15" brahma instead (beats out a 13w7 in both SQ and SPL ), and ive never been happier with speakers. the brahma's are superwoofers on a mid-end price.

so now i try to help people out, and introduce them to something that not everyone else has.

eric

 

I have blown one of my 15's and I now want to replace both. Where can I get more info on Adire and there Brahma series 15's??
thanks.

 

You can get a pair of Directed Comp 15's (4154 SVC or 4158 DVC) for $326 from www.mmxpress.com and they are GREAT speakers with awesome power handling. While I obviously cannot speak for Adire, I can say the DEI Comp series is AWESOME.

 

Adire makes amazing products at great prices, the DEI Comps are good, but can not come close to the Brahma, maybe the DEI Comp X would be a better comparison
back to the main topic, go to www.soundillusions.net and go to the forum and tech center to catch up on ohm loads and other information

 

www.deltasoundworks.com (defintely reccomended firsthand)
www.adireaudio.com (also reccomended firsthand - but the pics are still of the prototype)
www.ampmanaudio.com (heard good things about them)

as for info, check out http://www.adireaudio.com/car_audio/...hma_series.htm

here's a few pics for ya...
[img]http://www.adireaudio.com/car_audio/subwoofers/Bhrama12FrontSmall.jpg/img]

(btw, that last photo of the backplate, it is black, not chrome.

eric

 

Sadly the wattage being over rated is true. I have a Kenwood Excelon X401 M amp that has a peak watt rating of 1200 watts yet runs a measly 400 watts RMS to my subs at the voltage of the maxima, it runs 600 watts at a higher voltage. But thats only a fraction of the power of its peak rating. I have had no problems with this amp however, it runs my subs just great.