That's about it right? So...for 260 or so...is that a nice system? Enough thump? Or will I regret it later?
Their is no way that amp can push 600 RMS. Maybe 600 peak with a high regulated power supply but not RMS. And SR20 and I will debate on monster. Ive used Streetwires and RF and the build quality of Monster seems superior. It sounds clear on my SoloL7 but then again, it isnt exactly a crystal clear sub.
Their is no way that amp can push 600 RMS. Maybe 600 peak with a high regulated power supply but not RMS. And SR20 and I will debate on monster. Ive used Streetwires and RF and the build quality of Monster seems superior. It sounds clear on my SoloL7 but then again, it isnt exactly a crystal clear sub.
Uh i know nothing about amps...so what kind of wattage do I need?
And SR20 and I will debate on monster. Ive used Streetwires and RF and the build quality of Monster seems superior. It sounds clear on my SoloL7 but then again, it isnt exactly a crystal clear sub.
Well I'm not talking about the build quality, from what I can tell by looking at them they do appear to be built well (though I have heard lots of people say the wires like to pull out of the terminals). Unless it's built like crap, build quality doesn't really have anything to do with signal transmission either.
Looks like I jumped in a bit late. I'll just add in my 02c for the hell of it.
Let's jump off the subject of Bass and talk about mids/highs. I'm not completely sure about the RF package, but if it's anything like the Bose package in the Maxima, you also have to dump the mids. Even if the mids are salvagable, most stock speakers suck and require upgrade. This leaves the question of what speakers to use and how do you plan on powering the mids? Upgrading the mids is pretty important to keep good balance, but it once again ups the price. A good set (4) of entry-level components/coax could add on another $2-300 and if you wish to power them by an external amp (like I do with a JL 300/4), that can add on another $200+.
Now if you're jus Bass hungry, I recommend for the time being, upgrade the HU, yank all the sub components from the RF package, run the new Bass off an external amp and try to run the stock mids off the new HU. You will eventually want to upgrade the mids and most likely power for the mids b/c an internal 45x4 or 50x4 amp is just a pure waste, it may as well say 25x4 b/c the power from a HU is shitty.
In case it wasn't answered before, SQ is sound quality, SPL is sound pressure level (db). IMO, going for SPL alone is just plain stupid, unless you are willing to put $1000s in the your car's audio and fry components on a regular basis in the name of competition. SQ is where it's at when it comes to car audio. I like to enjoy my music, not break my trunk off it's hinges. That doesn't mean you can't have SPL when you go SQ, but keep in mind, this is the setup you're going to be jammin to when you're cruising around. You don't want your rattling licence plate to sound better than your speakers.
Here are my recommendations for components:
>HU: only Alpine (maybe Clarion or Pioneer's Premier line)
>Amps: I'm a fan of JL for my personal use, but the only ones I know much about are the higher level amps like Xtant and McIntosh.
>Subs: I think some good entry level subs would either be JL (2 w3's or 1 w6), Xtant, or Infinity Perfect.
>Mids: Once again, entry level. Try Alpine, Infinity, Boston Accoustics or maybe a lower end MB Quart (MB's are a bit too fancy for me, not to mention the tweeters could break glass).
>RCA wires: Low-profile Monster RCAs are my fav. Very easy to run and very well made.
>power wires: jus get an amp kit at any audio store. Any 4AWG wire you see in the 100ft spools is no better than the next.
>speaker wires: hell, I jus got some 12-14AWG speaker wire a radio shack and it works fine.
What's rms? how do you know the ohms? oh wait...i see it says it...well...that won't work then...
With AC (music) power, you basically have 2 kinds of ratings, peak and rms. Peak is pretty much worthless, because it can mean 2 things. It could either be the maximum amplitude of the power wave (it looks like a sine wave), this is the electrical definition of peak power and it's the best since it's consistent and accurate. They can also take "peak" to mean the max power that the amplifier is capable of achieving if struck by lighting, if the company takes this interpretation, they can really slap any number they want up there and they can get away with it (it's a loophole where they can get away with false advertising). This is the reason you see "1200 watt" Legacys and "2500 watt" Rockford Fosgate amps that really put out 200 watts. Because of this whole mess, you can't really trust peak power ratings, instead you look at the rms (root-mean-square) power. This is basically the average power and there's no way to "misinterpret" the definition and put a fake value here. All amps will make their rms power unless they're just plain shitty amps that will overheat before they can. Always look at the rms power when you're dealing with speakers and amps.
Well I'm not talking about the build quality, from what I can tell by looking at them they do appear to be built well (though I have heard lots of people say the wires like to pull out of the terminals). Unless it's built like crap, build quality doesn't really have anything to do with signal transmission either.
I have never heard audible distortion from my monster home products and wouldnt a better build quality help ensure an oxygen free cable?
I have never heard audible distortion from my monster home products and wouldnt a better build quality help ensure an oxygen free cable?
You normally can't hear distortion until you've heard it back to back with a system that has no distortion, meaning if you've always used Monster in your home system, you would never know that the signal is less "pure" since you've never heard it on something else to compare. Another way to think of it is this, if you grew up only listening to mids and highs and never once heard or heard of a subwoofer, you would never know that music has any information below ~80-100hz. It's only until you hear the music with a sub that you realize how much you're missing by not having one.
Also, the build quality has almost nothing to do with the cable being oxygen free, and being oxygen free has almost nothing to do with signal transmission, it only slows down corrosion. Of course a huge amount of corrosion will screw up the signal, but your rcas aren't going to rust into nothingness inside your car so that doesn't really matter. And besides, nearly all rcas and audio cable in general is oxygen free.
You normally can't hear distortion until you've heard it back to back with a system that has no distortion, meaning if you've always used Monster in your home system, you would never know that the signal is less "pure" since you've never heard it on something else to compare. Another way to think of it is this, if you grew up only listening to mids and highs and never once heard or heard of a subwoofer, you would never know that music has any information below ~80-100hz. It's only until you hear the music with a sub that you realize how much you're missing by not having one.
Also, the build quality has almost nothing to do with the cable being oxygen free, and being oxygen free has almost nothing to do with signal transmission, it only slows down corrosion. Of course a huge amount of corrosion will screw up the signal, but your rcas aren't going to rust into nothingness inside your car so that doesn't really matter. And besides, nearly all rcas and audio cable in general is oxygen free.
Well your the audio man so I shall take your word.
Well your the audio man so I shall take your word.
I'm just going off of what I've heard, I wish I had actually heard them personally back to back with something else, but I haven't. You really have more of a reason to have an opinion than I do, you actually own them. If you like them that's all that matters, and it may be that the people I heard this from had a bit of the placebo effect going on, either way they should be built well, and any loss in sound quality with them or another brand should be inaudible when dealing with subs anyway so it doesn't really matter.
Do you work in an audio store or something? Where'd you learn all this?
Little here little there
I'm in my 3rd year of electrical engineering and I spend too much time on www.soundillusions.net and www.caraudioforum.com so that explains most of it
I finally got home and looked at that amp. I've never heard of that brand, it really seems like they're trying to leech off of Phoenix Gold's reputation, and I don't have any respect for companies that do that. Another option for an amp would be the Profile California CA800. Out of all the extremely inexpensive amps out there, these are most likely the strongest and most well built, and they actually put out their rated power.
With that amp, that PG I linked to earlier (or a kicker 15L7 or something), and shipping, that leaves maybe $100-150 for wiring and a LOC which should be plenty. Look for any generic 4 gauge wiring kit, make sure it has around 20ft of power, 5ft of ground (make sure both are 4 gauge), an inline fuse holder with a fuse larger than 60 amp, 20ft of remote wire, and some speaker wire. Check out the David Navone line output converters, the N-777 or N-7V would work well for what you're looking for.
I saw your setup demon and it looks kick ass...i'm back in the market and want piece together a kick ass system....I have a bigger budget this time...
I see you have an amp for your components and your sub... is that just because you have really high grade stuff, by that i mean powerful, or is it an audiophile thing?
I think i can bring my budget to about 1000 now, i've been working which means paychecks and more money...plus christmas and my birthday will come again so i could possibly bum a piece for that....
welcome back, I was wondering what had happened with this thread
Hm, up to 1000 now? That will buy you a nice sub setup and some pretty decent highs to go with it. Is there any chance you can do the install yourself if we kind of walk you through it? If not you're going to spend probably $200 of that budget just on install, if you can manage to do it yourself or get a friend to do it then that money can go towards better equipment.
And any half-decent set of components will need to be amped to realize their true potential. Even a decent 50x2 amp will be worlds better than using the headunit to power them. You can use the headunit to power the rears though, so you can save money there.
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