A full Sony System.?.opinions please.

05srt4clone · Post by **05srt4clone** » Fri May 13, 2005 4:14 pm

What do you think of 2 12" Sony P5's (350 watts RMS), A nice Q Logic "sealed" box, Sony 1400 watt amplifier (600W x 1 @ 2 ohms), a decent looking Sony head-unit, and then some mids and separates all made by Sony.

For the price would it be a bumping system?

Plus if I am doing a red color scheme then it would be bad ass.

Thanks,
Ryan "SRT-4 Poser"

J-Villa · Post by **J-Villa** » Fri May 13, 2005 4:15 pm

i personally like clarion

05srt4clone · Post by **05srt4clone** » Fri May 13, 2005 4:16 pm

E3EsXt02 wrote:i personally like clarion

Everything Clarion?

Also what do the Clarion subs sound like? Compare them to a well-known brand.

DjTransifi · Post by **DjTransifi** » Fri May 13, 2005 4:18 pm

I have a 10' Sony X Pod in my car and never had a any problems with it.. Its in a sealed box and bumps really hard. Compliments the car really well.. I personaly like RF myself.. Thats another option you might want to go with but you didn't list tne prices so I couldn't tell you if its good for the price.. I'm sure It will sound good.

noTe · Post by **noTe** » Fri May 13, 2005 5:15 pm

Sony is junk compared to the other brands anymore. When I sold stereos we had 3-4 Sony amps come back bad and the headunits were never better than Pioneers.

Speakers weren't all that great compared to other brands either.

05srt4clone · Post by **05srt4clone** » Fri May 13, 2005 5:28 pm

I have a good deal on a 12" MB Quart in a Q Logic sealed box, what do you think?

noTe · Post by **noTe** » Fri May 13, 2005 7:38 pm

05srt4clone wrote:I have a good deal on a 12" MB Quart in a Q Logic sealed box, what do you think?

MB Quart subs are good for sound quality... it's not a sub you want to make pound hard. So if your into good sounding music and not just all bass.. MB quarts are excellent.

BlackRoseRacing · Post by **BlackRoseRacing** » Fri May 13, 2005 8:11 pm

AUDIOBAHN brand....I never had a problem with them, ever! there components are weet lookin and sound just as good!

03sxt · Post by **03sxt** » Fri May 13, 2005 8:52 pm

brr wrote:AUDIOBAHN brand....I never had a problem with them, ever! there components are weet lookin and sound just as good!

I would also go Audiobahn if you didn't have the money to go with JL Audio. JL's awesome and they're the only subwoofers I've ever owned (other than the Pyramid Super Blue's I bought when I was 16). I've used Pyramid amplifiers to power the JL's and they actually do a great job. Don't make fun of Pyramid - They last forever and are extremely affordable.

Spork · Post by **Spork** » Sat May 14, 2005 1:57 am

I can't believe I'm reading that.

Friends don't let friends run Audiobahn. I'm sorry... I've heard all their stuff, and it's crap. The quality sucks, the customer service is far from any type of service I've ever seen (cept maybe the bread lines in Moscow from years gone by). I've got friends who I've told to stay away from Audiobahn due to extremely sad service and quality only to be bitten by the same snake they knew of beforehand. Tread very lightly with Audiobahn... you get what you pay for.

Back on topic... The extremely high end Sony equipment that you cannot find at your local Best Buy isn't that bad... for the price though, you can find similar features of equal or greater quality against one of their competing brands.

MB Quart speakers are made by Rockford Fosgate. They are built a little differently and geared for sound quality rather than raw bass. Since Rockford bought the MB Quart company, Q-Logik (also a subsidiary of Rockford Fosgate) wouldn't be a bad choice... just not your best choice is all. Give you an idea, I've got a Rockford Fosgate 12" DVC 4Ohm P3 sub rated at 500W RMS. In the recommended Q-Logik box with the specified port length it's not that bad. When you build a customized box with a transmission line port you would think you are dealing with an entirely different speaker. I would say get a sub and have a box professionally designed to match the specifications of the speaker itself. You won't be sorry. Just please, stay away from Audiobahn. For a cheap speaker that will knock the socks off of most competition: http://www.soundsplinter.com

I almost forgot. When looking at amplifiers for subwoofers, ignore the peak rating and look at the RMS rating. Also, make sure the sub amplifier is a class D amp.

05srt4clone wrote:
E3EsXt02 wrote:i personally like clarion
Also what do the Clarion subs sound like? Compare them to a well-known brand.

I would compare Clarion subs to be a little better than Kenwood's Exelon speaker line of subs. More refined bass with a cleaner sound. So when you are doing the 140+ beats per minute test, the response is very accurate with a good box.

05srt4clone · Post by **05srt4clone** » Sat May 14, 2005 6:40 am

OK this kid has 12" JL 12w0-8 SVC and 12" MB Quart Discus Series DVC and 12" Bazooka ELW1204.

He will sell me one of these subs with a box for $50 which will be better and louder??

Which one would you choose and why??

03sxt · Post by **03sxt** » Sat May 14, 2005 8:01 am

05srt4clone wrote:12" JL 12w0-8 SVC . . .
Which one would you choose and why??

Go with the JL. Refer to my previous post for why.

05srt4clone · Post by **05srt4clone** » Sat May 14, 2005 8:02 am

03sxt wrote:
05srt4clone wrote:12" JL 12w0-8 SVC . . .
Which one would you choose and why??
Go with the JL. Refer to my previous post for why.

JL is what I am leaning towards.

03sxt · Post by **03sxt** » Sat May 14, 2005 8:09 am

Just make sure the box is within the recommended dimensions for that sub or it'll affect the sound quality big time. That's one thing that I've learned with my experience with JL Audio equipment - Double check box measurements.

I've had a single JL Audio 12w0-8 in my Thunderbird for about 2 years now with a single Pyramid 1200w Amp running it and I love the setup... Hits hard and sounds great!

Just to help you out - Here are the specs for that model subwoofer:
Sealed Enclosure Range: 1.00-1.75 cu.ft.
Ported Enclosure Range: 1.75-2.75 cu.ft.

I, myself, would only go with sealed enclosures with JL.

05srt4clone · Post by **05srt4clone** » Sat May 14, 2005 8:11 am

03sxt wrote:Just make sure the box is within the recommended dimensions for that sub or it'll affect the sound quality big time. That's one thing that I've learned with my experience with JL Audio equipment - Double check box measurements. I've had a single JL Audio 12w0-8 in my Thunderbird for about 2 years now with a single Pyramid 1200w Amp running it and I love the setup... Hits hard and sounds great!

Just to help you out - Here are the specs for that model subwoofer:
Sealed Enclosure Range: 1.00-1.75 cu.ft.
Ported Enclosure Range: 1.75-2.75 cu.ft.

I, myself, would only go with sealed enclosures with JL.

Good cuz he has a sealed enclosure and then a big ported box.

Spork · Post by **Spork** » Sat May 14, 2005 9:52 am

I would recommend going with the MB Quart over the JL and then start saving for a good setup if you want more volume. The MB Quart Discuss 12" DWF304 sub can handle 400W RMS (600W Peak) where as the JL 12W0-D8 can only handle 125W RMS (250 Peak). In comparison the difference is about a 6db gain and that would be audibly different, but not by much. The Bazooka would be an excellent choice if you were concerned with trunk space but then, it's only a 100W (RMS!) amplifier.

The Pyramid 1200W amp is not 1200W, it's more along the lines of 500W with a hype multiplier. the same circuit board has been sold by many different makers of amplifiers with the exact same components on it, just different connector configurations. Some of the amps have the ability to accept 0/1AWG wire, others the largest of 8AWG. Some of them you could find with RCA inputs and a switchable voltage for setting the gain for high voltage preamps while others only offer line level inputs. These amps have been marketed with the exact same RMS but different peak performance, brand name, case style, and external connection options. The point is, the amplifier is not 1200W.

Now, if you need an amplifier for dirt cheap, you can't go wrong with the MTX 2501D mono amp. The amp pushes 250W RMS and the MB Quart will take all of that happily. You can find the MTX 2501D for as cheap as $80 if you look hard enough. The amp is a solid little package and great for someone just starting to amp up their system. It has a good resale as well since it's a small little unit with a good brand name. Most people will see the amp and laugh at how small it is then stagger a little at the output you can do with it. If you go with the MB Quart speaker, wire the voice coils up in parallel for a 2Ohm load.

Please, when comparing amplifiers don't look at the peak wattage output, compare only the RMS. It will keep you from looking like too much of an audio nooB. No offence intended... I'm just hoping to educate.

If you have any questions, ask... I'll be happy to post more info.

05srt4clone · Post by **05srt4clone** » Sat May 14, 2005 11:50 am

LMAO!! I have the MTX Amp that you are talking about. So you think I should go with the MB Quart over the JL with this amp??

soldierofink · Post by **soldierofink** » Sat May 14, 2005 12:08 pm

I have an xplod head and I love it, I have it hooked up to an infinty amp and kenwood 12...they all work nice together, but then again its all electricity.

BlackRoseRacing · Post by **BlackRoseRacing** » Sat May 14, 2005 12:21 pm

I did not think Audibahn was that bad...
The last setup I bought was from a company called Sell2All on Ebay. The product showed up to my house in a wooden crate, very detailed instructions, and sound quality was perfect. I never had to worry about TECH support, I saw no deen for it.
The last car I installed audiobahn in was my old 92 Daytona, and I purchased OEM replacement speakers..and the sound quality was better than I ever heard. As for the subs and amps, I have not experienced them yet though....

05srt4clone · Post by **05srt4clone** » Sat May 14, 2005 12:51 pm

Yeah, my wife's brother just bought 2 12's in a bandpass box, it hits pretty hard.

Spork · Post by **Spork** » Sat May 14, 2005 1:09 pm

05srt4clone wrote:LMAO!! I have the MTX Amp that you are talking about. So you think I should go with the MB Quart over the JL with this amp??

I would, even more so since you have that particular amp. Think about it, the maximum wattage you could run the JL at is approximately 75W (minumum power if I'm not mistaken) due to ohms laws. The 8 ohm voice coil will drop the volume by half for the same amount of work done by the amplifier. The result is the sound quality will be much more defined but not as loud. The MB Quart can be wired at 2Ohms on the MTX amp to give you a much better pounding for such a small setup. Going from 8ohm to 2ohm you sacrafice sound quality a bit, but if you are looking for loudness... that's the way you will want to do it. Put the MB Quart speaker into a GOOD ported (slot type) box for a 3db boost at 30-35hz. While it may not turn heads or overpower other systems at the stoplight, you will have a good amount of bass that you can easily feel.

Kansas City eh... Interesting. I'll have to check out your setup sometime. Also, stop by a place called Max Speed & Sound for one of the best box builders in Kansas City.

brr wrote:I did not think Audibahn was that bad...
The last setup I bought was from a company called Sell2All on Ebay. The product showed up to my house in a wooden crate, very detailed instructions, and sound quality was perfect. I never had to worry about TECH support, I saw no deen for it.
The last car I installed audiobahn in was my old 92 Daytona, and I purchased OEM replacement speakers..and the sound quality was better than I ever heard. As for the subs and amps, I have not experienced them yet though....

I will give Audiobahn that... they sound better than stock. Not by much though. If you have a chance, see if you can find someone with a car that has stock speakers who is upgrading to something better than Audiobahn. If they have a sub, ask them to turn off the sub and run the coax/components in full range. You will really start to see the major differences between Audiobahn and better quality speakers. Good speakers don't have sharp (aka hot) highs and the low end will have a warmth to it like you would find in some of the home theater tower speakers.

There was one set of 6.5" coax Audiobahn that started "barking", per say, when I played nothing but vocals. By the term "barking" I mean when the speaker is not holding tones correctly, often mistaken for low volume distortion. I've found this can be corrected by fixing the problem with the enclosure the speaker sits in. Now, if the 6.5" speakers were designed to be infinite baffle, there's no way you can begin to "fix" this problem. Putting the speakers into their own box may help, but it won't correct the problems.

If you want to read some horror stories on Audiobahn's service, have a look at caraudio.com forums and just search. It's an eye opener for some.

05srt4clone · Post by **05srt4clone** » Sat May 14, 2005 1:13 pm

I live right down the street, I have bought numerous JL equipment there, what do you drive and where you from?

Spork · Post by **Spork** » Sat May 14, 2005 1:40 pm

03 ES Graphite - I'm in land of misery (Kansas City) as well. Chuck's one of the best audio enthusiasts I know. Bob the Box Builder is the freak... build anything out of MDF he can.

03sxt · Post by **03sxt** » Sat May 14, 2005 7:11 pm

Spork wrote:The Pyramid 1200W amp is not 1200W, it's more along the lines of 500W with a hype multiplier. the same circuit board has been sold by many different makers of amplifiers with the exact same components on it, just different connector configurations. Some of the amps have the ability to accept 0/1AWG wire, others the largest of 8AWG. Some of them you could find with RCA inputs and a switchable voltage for setting the gain for high voltage preamps while others only offer line level inputs. These amps have been marketed with the exact same RMS but different peak performance, brand name, case style, and external connection options. The point is, the amplifier is not 1200W.

And you're assuming I'm not aware of this. This is why the amplifier was only $90. And why in my right mind would I REALLY try to put 1200w to a single JL Audio subwoofer? I'm not an idiot - Thanks for trying to impress me with your car audio knowledge.

Spork · Post by **Spork** » Sat May 14, 2005 8:35 pm

03sxt wrote:And you're assuming I'm not aware of this. This is why the amplifier was only $90. And why in my right mind would I REALLY try to put 1200w to a single JL Audio subwoofer? I'm not an idiot - Thanks for trying to impress me with your car audio knowledge.

Previously, Spork wrote:No offence intended... I'm just hoping to educate.

...

BlackRoseRacing · Post by **BlackRoseRacing** » Sun May 15, 2005 1:34 pm

lol....we should start an AUDIO forum in here VS interior.....I never thought Audiobahn was that bad until now....

ram50rocket · Post by **ram50rocket** » Sun May 15, 2005 1:55 pm

Anyone have experience with alpine subs?

Spork · Post by **Spork** » Sun May 15, 2005 2:27 pm

ram50rocket wrote:Anyone have experience with alpine subs?

The Type-X are very nice. They are on par with the JL Dub7 and the Kicker Solo-X. Alpine designed the line of Type-X subs to be their SQL line.

05srt4clone · Post by **05srt4clone** » Sun May 15, 2005 4:50 pm

Hooked up the MTX Amp and ran all the wires under the carpet. Picking up my cheap and used Sony Head-Unit on Tuesday and then will be waiting for the MB Quart sub. Will let you all know what it sounds like. Thanks for all your help.

BlackRoseRacing · Post by **BlackRoseRacing** » Mon May 16, 2005 7:44 pm

yeah buddy....