Car Audio

[Mithosphere]

[quote=drew and not u;128684]Are you planning on upgrading the rest of your audio system?[quote]

No.

Simply because the stock system is already pretty damn good. Got some stock tweeters, front door and rear door speakers and a stock sub. The only problem I have is that I don't have enough thump behind the subs. In my Caddy I had to upgrade the front door speakers because the driver's side was blown, and to be honest I really couldnt tell the difference between the old and new.

I'm really just looking to be heard from a couple of blocks away. Yea yea, I know, its stupid, but its a goal I have.

[quote=screwball]A 10" or 12" sub should handle the metal and rap easily with deep bass, fast response time and a single ~300W amp should give enough punch to not overpower the rest of the system. Going much higher on the amp without also boosting the rest of the system will be all bass and nothing else. Also a 1 Farad capacitor should be plenty as they are rated to 1000W (1 Farad per 1000W, so 1500W = 1.5 Farad minimum).[quote]

Yea I had a 300W amp in the Caddy that worked ok, just wish there was more power. So I looked/listened to 1000W+ subs, found out its what I'm after.

Plus, since I'm a low brass person, I don't care all that much about the top end; I just am looking for seat/car/car-next-to-me/house vibration.

Also, what approximately does a capacitor do, yea it stores power for the big hits, but can I use one of those instead of upgrading the "Big 3"?

[Boy'nBlack]

Drew's on to something as to how myth's form. It's just easier to drive a 12" than a 15", and thus..."normal". A 15" sub CAN kick your teeth out with a fitting set of equipment, but it's just not normally done.

I'm a big Rush fan. That drum, WILL play better on a 15". Because that Drum IS over 15" in diameter. Right? That's why kick drums aren't 12". They're much bigger.

Speaker cones are only a part. They move air. The bigger they are, the more air they move. It's totally false to say a 15" can't play rock and are only growling rap monsters. True, two 12's would be better than one 15", but two 15" subs and the right amp will be better at huge volumes.

It's not the music you listen to, it's the way you look at the sound system and how much you want to spend...and how your hand controls the volume. 10's do great for just average run of the mill listening. I've driven them off 500 and 1000W monoblock JL amps and there's no loss in quality or volume at mid-knob. 380W, if made, would be fine for a pair of 10's and get you the sound anyone would want. As you turn the knob up and want to piss off neighbors, you then move up in cone size and wattage to drive the cone. My single 12" does just as well with the 300W slash. I just can't pass air as far as a 15.

So I listen to Rush and AC/DC. If I want to have everyone in the neighborhood to hear my music and force it upon them, I'll get bigger speakers. So how about aiming at good speaker design where a 12" sounds better than a 15? That's what the W7 series was all about, and really...really...really dated as a debate. Surface area is the same, yet it's only 12? I must not be able to play rap. Pthhhhhhhhhh...come remount my rearview mirror please.
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And reading...I can't help the OP. Thump to hear down the block? I cuss that crap that drives by. Cheap amps and stock crap will get you boom. $250? That's what a good set of components will cost...but that'll get you the one sided boom. And your crackling tweeters on that 2v head unit will...well...hurt my ears.

Get some MTX and whatever they have at Best Buy (Rockford Fosgate?) and that should get you boom. You know they make seat shakers? Really...they do. They shake your butt to make you feel like you have awesome bass. Vibrations aren't awesome bass.

Caps are a joke, but so is boom...so have at it.

[screwballl]

For those that do not have sensitive ears and can't tell the difference... sure, a 15" sub can play their rock and heavy metal just fine... but when you get into those fast hitting portions it becomes a buzz simply because the sub cannot keep up. Now if you spend $300-500 per sub plus $200-400 per amp then sure, it goes back to what I said... the high dollar speakers may be able to handle it but for the budget originally mentioned in this thread, a decent 12" with a 300-500W sub and amp combo should give more than enough bass... for the type of setups that shakes houses and neighborhoods, you better look at spending much more money for at least 4x 15s running at 500W apiece minimum with the proper amps and capacitors.
The caps hold a charge that takes the peak power draw from the cap rather than your electrical system to get consistent repeated thumps without those spikes nailing the amp and electrical system...
Lets face it, that Honda Element is not meant to have an extra several hundred Watts drawn from it constantly so it tends to burn up alternators once you reach around 600-1000W depending on the vehicle..

[Mithosphere]

Well I spent about 600 on my last setup. My expected costs on the next one are to be maybe the same or a bit more. I tend to stay away from the top brands, I mean my subs are Alphasoniks along with the amp, and they worked perfectly fine and still do.

I had originally thought about stuffing 12 10" woofers into the car, pushing like 3000W, but after realizing that i would have to get a few amps, it wasnt worth the cost. Then I thought about just getting an 18" (Kicker Solo X), but seeing the cost for an amp to run it, and a box to fit what i was looking for was out of the question.

So i figured i could get away with two 15s or two 12s, which I may still end up doing, given that I can find a couple of deals. I still need to keep a decent amount of room in my car, as I still have to transport tubas and sousaphones and loads of other crap and people.

Also, while I do listen to rock and metal, most of my music about 65-76 % of it is rap and hip hop. I actually arrange some of the bass lines from hip-hop songs for tuba ensembles.

Anyway, I am looking at putting in 1000W+ into my car, even if it is just with a sub and an amp.

[screwballl]

1000W with a single sub? Do you even have any hearing left?

[dedgar]

Originally Posted by screwballl

1000W with a single sub? Do you even have any hearing left?

Huh? What you say?
Speak up, I can't hear if you mumble.

[Mithosphere]

Originally Posted by screwballl

1000W with a single sub? Do you even have any hearing left?

It's already pretty bad, all those snare drums and crash cymbals during marching band and then the whole percussion section behind me during concert season doesn't help with the whole hearing thing.

[gvblake22]

You're crazy man, you're crazy.

[BrokenHalo83]

Here's an explanation of what a capacitor does: LINK.

EDIT: I still did the "big 3" on my dakota, because even though I had a capacitor I still suffered voltage drop. All I'm using is an Alpine 600w RMS V-power amp and 2 10" kicker comp subs (300w each). Also you need to remember, capacitors create added strain on your alternator which is why I advised the big 3 first. If/when you decide on a capacitor make sure it's rated high enough to cover the peak power on the amp, not just the RMS. (example: 500w RMS/1000w peak amp, get a 1 farad capacitor, not a .5 farad)

[screwballl]

I learned that early on: 1 Farad = 1000W peak.. so if you use 1500W peak, get a 2 Farad cap...