My $.02 (archive)

1) First, if you want sound quality and don't need bass that rattles windows in houses as you drive by, I would highly recommend the JL audio stealth boxes, if you really want to save trunk space. They are 8-inch woofers that take the place of the factory rear speakers. Also, they are VERY efficient, so they do not need much power. I used them for a week with 50 watts RMS per woofer. They sounded incredible for 8-inch woofers. The only problem is that they would bottom out once in a while and make a poping sound that was quite unnerving. But I was really pushing them at that point.

I then decided that I wanted sound quality AND insane volume, so I switched to two Earthquake Magma 12's and 200 Watts RMS apiece, but the box weighs 80 lbs and it takes up half my trunk.

There are many good subs out there these days. JL is always a good choice. My brother, who works at a car-audio shop is really impressed by the Diamond-audio MacDaddy subs. I have not heard them yet, but I may try them. The magmas play 60 Hz and below unbelievably powerfully! but they lack a bit of attack on hard-rock bass in the 60-100 Hz area.

2) If you go with the JL stealth boxes, I would use a 2x25 watt amp for the subs that can be bridged to 100watts x 1 (to a 4-ohm mono load).

I would suggest a 4x25 watt amp that can be bridged for 2x100 watts for the front speakers.

I would also recommend Diamond-audio hex separates for the front. I have heard MANY speakers over the years and decided on these a year ago. They still bring a grin to my face.

If you are really into sound quality, I would Ditch the door mid/tweet locations altogether and place the tweets in the kick-panel with the midbasses.

Before I can make any real recommendations. You need to tell us more about your listening habbits.

1) What kind of music do you listen to.

2) Do you like a lot of bass

3) Do you prefer boomy bass or tight, accurate bass.

A few other points:

1) Make sure you do not skimp on wiring and understand that it can cost as much as another component ($200-$300)!

2) There is no such thing as "best amp" or "best subs". If anyone uses this phrase, avoid them.

3) Make sure you do not buy cheap amps. Amps that can double their 4-ohm power when driving a 2-ohm load are usually good amps. Most are using a tripple-darlington output transistor configuration. Plus you know the power supplys are strong enough to provide realistic headroom. A few brands come to mind. Rockford fosgate, Precision Power (my current amp), Phoenix gold, etc.

4) Make sure the amp you buy has some sort of "balanced Differential input stage" or some equivalent. An RCA or preamp cable has a center conductor, which passes the music and a negative conductor. This circuit takes the negative wire of the RCA cable, inverts it 180 degrees, and combines with the center conductor. This reduces your chances of alternator whine (ground loop induction noise) in your system. Good amps usually have this type of circuit.

5) Always look at "Watt RMS" ratings. All other rating are worthless...

6) A quality 50 watt amp will sound better than a cheap 100 watt amp.

I hope this gets you thinking...

Are you gonna DIY it or have it insalled?

Hello everyone,

I am going to do my stereo install myself, I think. I have already decided to keep the factory head unit and the factory rear speakers. I am going to get a/d/s for the front.

Here are my questions for you guys:

1) What kind of subwoofer setup should I get? I am looking for quality sound and decent volume. I would like to have something removable, so I could still use trunk space, fold down seats occassionaly. A removable box with a 1/4 jack maybe?

2) What kind of amp do you suggest? I guess I will need a seperate channel for the subwoofer(s), one for the rear speakers, one for the front tweeters, and one for the front kick panels. Is this correct?

More info: I have about $1500-2000 to spend after the front speakers. I will go higher if there is a significant reason to. I want everything to be of pimp quality. My car is a 1998 M3/4

Thanks for any suggestions.

Follow Ups:

Re: My $.02 Gaffes 13:02 2/11/2002 (1)
- Re: My $.02 Bill Clark 17:27 2/11/2002 (0)

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