suggestions on stereo stuff??

[strokin'_tatsch]

ok guys i got a few questions for y'all since i'm not totally sure about which speakers and stuff i want, so here y'all go...

-- i was thinking of the clarion DXZ855MP cd touchscreen deck or the Panasonic CQ-C9801W cd deck. what do y'all think? any different suggestions i can look at?

next up, subs... remember i only have around 5 1/2" of mounting depth in my box. maybe a little more, i still need to go measure it. what is the difference between a 4 ohm sub and a 2 ohm sub anyways? i see the different ones but the prices are all the same.

-- i was thinkin' maybe 2 Phoenix Gold RSd12's or Kicker CVT122 or CVT124's or maybe some Rockford Fosgate P3SD412's or the P3SD212's. i can't really make up my mind on the subs right now so input on that is greatly appreciated.

-- what size amp do y'all recommend for powering 2 of these 12" subs?

 

[550roofer]

personally i prefer Pioneer Premier Products. They are the same as regular pioneer stuff, just made with better quality internals and are made in the USA. Clarion are also great. The owner of the stereo store I go to uses the clarion flip screen deck and loves it, has tons of features and u can get 5.1 surround sound with a couple of add-ons
If u want sound quality, most people would agree JL audio would be the best. The W1v2 sub are the cheepest model but are really good for about $200. They are also about 5 or 6 inches for the monting depth. W3v3 subs is what i would want but they arn't that cheep. Really worth it.
As for ohms, u should buy an amp and sub at the same time since they should match. If u have two subs and they are 4ohms each, u can wire them to give the amp a 2 ohms load or an 8ohms load. Now if your amp is "stable" at 2 ohms, wire the subs in parrallel to get the most power out of your system. If ur amp is stable at 4ohms and u give it a 2 ohms load u might have a melt down, if it even works at all. If u give an amp a 8ohms load and it is stable at 4ohms, you will not have a very loud system. some subs come in dual voice coils, these give the user some different ways to wire the sub to the amp so that the amps stable ohms can be met. Example: one sub-dual 4ohms voice coils can be wired in parallel to get a 2 ohms load at the amp, which is a pretty comin, i mean the two ohms amp.


what ive noticed is if u get subs and underpower them they will distort and sound bad if they are under powered. if u over power them it is always better but u have to use your own will power not to turn it upall the way. That means if u turn them up so loud they distort or even clip, they are not operating properly and will eventually fail.

I have a 1200 watt MTXamp that is very flexable, it is stable at 1 ohm. so at 2 ohms it gives 750 watts. at 4ohms it gives about 350 watts. so what this means is if i hook up one 4ohm sub i get 350 watts. if i hook up 2 subs in parallel the amp puts out 750 watts. now if i hook up 4 subs in parallel the amp gives 1200 watts. if i hook up one sub with dual 2ohm voice coils wired in parallel the amp gives 1200 watts.

usually if u have the same brand amp as subs, they play well together, ive noticed alpine subs dont sound as good with pioneer decks, but sound good with alpine decks. But pioneer decks, mtx amps and Jl subs is what i reccomend and have used these products for years, so maybe i'm not that up to date on some of the newer stuff available

 

[big_rooster]

Yeah i have the JL audio 12W3V3's i only paid $525 for the 2 of them and they are the best sub i've ever installed. However they wont fit where you need them to go so i'd go with either 3 10w1's for 100 bucks a piece. There is another thing bout decks dont ever put a deck in that is more than you want to buy twice.

 

[strokin'_tatsch]

haha.. i don't want to buy any deck twice. LoL. so would i be better off buying a 2 ohm sub or a 4 ohm sub??? that stuff kinda confuses me sometimes.

 

[550roofer]

two 4ohm subs would be best if your amp says max power at 2ohms. The JL amps will give the same power at any ohm, but other amps are picky and should be set up properly to get the most power. Are u gonna wire the amp yourself?

 

[bushpilot]

haha.. i don't want to buy any deck twice. LoL. so would i be better off buying a 2 ohm sub or a 4 ohm sub??? that stuff kinda confuses me sometimes.

depends...on the AMP....if the amp can handle the load (or lack of load).
ohm's = resistance...the more resistance the hard the amp has to work
to drive to the same power level.

generally speaking an amp rated @ 100w could be rated @ that 100w
or a 4ohm speaker....if the same amp was connected to a 2ohm speaker
the effective output COULD double (to 200w output)...assuming the
manufacture built the amp to handle it.

most speakers are rated at 4 or 8 ohms, although multi subs can be
wired in a manner that would REDUCE their resistance.

you should be matching the resistance of your speakers to the amps
your considering & determining the output wattage from that.

to me whats MORE important is cleanlyness of the output...which is
measured in THD (total harmonic distortion) in % at 1watt/1meter distance.

you want the LOWEST %THD you can afford...and you want it in
no more than .05%....

in cars/trucks the power (voltage & amps) is not as consistant as
in a home...you want an amp that can work well w/in these voltage &
current deliverly ranges.

JLAudio makes the best amps/powersupply combinations...theyre uneffected
by the changed in supplied voltage (because of their internal power supplies),
and they deliver consistant (clean) power regardless of the resistance
(ohms) rating of the attached speakers. <check out their specs @ jlaudio.com>

 

[big_rooster]

Most amps you find for the price you wanna pay will not be stable down to 2 ohms. Then you will have to deal with the embarrassment of sitting at a light and have your speakers cut off. I'd go with 4 ohm speakers.

 

[bushpilot]

JLAudio 250/1, 500/1 & 1000/1 are stable to 1.5ohms
but again theyre stable and their rated output is the SAME
regardless of 2 or 4ohm.

the bulk of any systems money should be invested in the speakers
(crappy speakers wont sound good no matter how good the amp
or head unit)...that being said a GOOD CLEAN amp should be a close
2nd when considering the systems over all investment.

invest the money wisely...the amps and head unit SHOULD last you
for years (i have some 20+yr old equipment)...as they say...you can
pay me now or you can pay me later....

the speaker you use will determine the amount of power you CAN have
and what maximum wattage youll be able to consider.

having a 500w (rms) (900w peak) amp could be disasterous and a complete
waste of $ if you have a speaker that can only handle 200w

I have no experiance w/ the "flat" pioneer subs...but several superduty
owners speak very well of them...also consideration should be given
toward KICKERS Solobaric Subs...not just cause its what i use...but because
L-5 10" has the speaker/surface area of a 12" but has a shallow mounting
depth *AND* it can handle the power (it also has dual voice coils).

 

[550roofer]

I've hed my MTX amp for 12 years, it was compititon grade. still workds great, just gets to hot every 3 or for years in the summer and has a melt down.. i attribute this to turning the base up on the deck. don't turn the base past Zero and all amps should be fine, also i was running 4 10inch subs wired together that created a 1ohm load. To make it worse i bridged it. HeHe, was really loud but not reliable. Thats why its a compitition amp, turn it up for like 15 minutes and then turn it off.

If a JL audio amp is stable at 1.5 ohm, this is because most subs arn't true 4ohms, they are 3.6 or close to it. so when two subs that are 3.6 are wired together, the load would be approximately 1.8. so when JL makes an amp to be stable at such a wierd number like 1.5 ohms, u can trust them that two four ohm subs wired in parrallel will work! Just pick the right power for your taste

My last set up had two 125 watt subs (250W TOTAL) and 350watt amp, overpowering a little lets u use the amp at less than full throttle, increasing reliabillity, all u do is turn the button on the amp that says "gain" to the 3/4 position. Then just play music from the deck and don't worry about blowing anything up.

 

[bushpilot]

you have some good points...but i dont run my amps for spl OR
for 15min....and i have my solobaric wired for 2ohm...the jl amp
drives it fine w/OUT overdriving it or the amp (which is pointless...or
should i say CLEAN power is BEST) !

i dont build my systems to impress...i build em for LISTENING !