SorcererXIII

Thanks for all the awesome advice guys, you've really helped me get a handle on all my different options. I also contacted mandos to see what he has to say.

SCI_TC_GUY

I'd DEFINITELY stick with the Elemental Designs equipment... Their SQ is amazing compared to other entry level subs/equipment and the price/performance is outstanding... not to mention you get a discount just for being a SL member. Talk to Chris (mandos) alot before making your decision, I trust you'll see the light...

Daurigon

www.caraudiodeals.com <-------------- has some good stuff and has full kits for about $250-300

L4rry_B1rd

sorry, but having had a LOC and then a Pioneer HU with the same exact setup, the LOC doesnt even touch the SQ of a dedicated preamp.

disgookonfiya

stay away from sony, it's cheap for a reason..... sure their top of the line stuff sound ok, but their mid and bottom range stuff isn't very good.... you can get a JL w3v2 12" probably for about 200 bucks, then find a decent amp, like the JL 250/1 will still be in your range, i've used some kicker amps and like them, though they got really hot, they def. pushed out some power

speddlysmitt

This is similiar to what I have and it sounds really clean.

1 sub - Phoenix Gold Ti10 - 135 shipped
http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAu...roductID=13027

But a .5cu ft box from local audio store: 40 - 80

I have a very clean cerwin vega amp that you can not get anymore but this amp looks pretty good.
Kicker 06ZX400.1 - 183 shipped
http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAu...roductID=17031

200 watts RMS will def be enough to bump and sound real good.

Total price - 358 - 398

SorcererXIII

Won't that 200w amp overheat trying to power the 500w subwoofer?

speddlysmitt

You ae going to have so much voltage going to that amp from the head unit you will not need to crack the gain that much. You do not need to make out a sub's rms. Trust me with stock speakers you will not want that much power going to the sub.

SorcererXIII

So I went to a local audio store (Sound Advice - a branch of Tweeter) and demoed a single JL audio 10w1v2 sub in a vented enclosure ( http://www.tweeter.com/product/index...entPage=family) and a 12w1 (I think this http://www.tweeter.com/product/index...entPage=family) in a sealed truck box. They were connected to a 200 watt (at 4 ohm) mtx amp.

While in the store they sounded "ok", the salesperson assured me they would be better in my car. So I pulled my car up to the garage and they put the sub in the hatch, powered externally. They used a radio transmitter so I could tune the pioneer to their music, which was set to dance music (close enough to what I listen to normally that I didnt' make a fuss about it).

Unfortunately I think they both sounded a lot worse in my car - just lots of vibrating. I was hoping the sound would be more like the sub in my living room (which is nothing special - it came with my Onkyo HTIB) - just sort of fleshing the sound out and adding deep tones you feel in your ribs. Instead it sounded more like when the neighbors upstairs are moving furniture - i.e. like noise and not like music. Turning down the volume seemed to help only a little.

I explained my concern to the sales guy. He said that sound deadening would help the problem a little, but not completely, and that since JL subwoofers are among the best for sound quality, I'm not likely to be able to do much better.

So I think I'm going to move in another direction now, or give up altogether. I really don't like the "vibratey" sound but I think that just comes with the territory. I'm also not big on pulling the car apart to deaden it unless I'm absolutely sure it'll help the problem. Any suggestions you guys have are welcome.

L4rry_B1rd

like I said before, things like LOC and those radio transmitters degrade the sound alot. If you were to have that same setup, hooked up to a decent HU, then the sound would be much better and closer to what you are looking for...

07SCIONTC

I have 2 JL 12W3s in a box and a JL 500/1 ill sell it to u for 600 even if u dnt wnt both ill do 250 for the subs and 375 for the amp and i am also in orlando so u can hear it if u would like...

SorcererXIII

The radio transmitter was only for my car's speakers to pick up the music generated by a head unit in the store; the sub itself was hooked up to directly to their head unit. I didn't ask which one but I assume something better than stock.

The more I think about the more I think my whole expectation of what a sub should sound like is flawed -at least in a car. Probably anybody else would have thought the setup sounded great.

Nematoad485

Your expectation of a sub should be that of just a sub, so I believe you are not thinking incorrectly. Shouldn't sound like vibrations, but nice clean bass. I have no vibrations, and that is with no sound deadening anywhere in the car.

I can tell you that from my setup (even with the hated LOC), my bass is extremely clean. Matches the quality and cleanliness of my friends (who is running 2 JL 12", Sony (I know, yucky name) 700w amp, and a Pioneer HU in a Monte Carlo. I'm also one of those people who are extremely picky for good sound. I am not dissapointed at all with my setup and look to improve it better by replacing the front speakers with some components (eD of course!), the sub just sounds too good and I need some fronts to match.

I'm sure a dedicated pre-out would sound better, but don't rant on the LOC, it is capable of making some good music.

chrischoi

iTrader: (2)

i'll sell you a brand new w6v2 and a jl500/1 amp and all wiring for $550 + shipping... something's wrong with my head unit.. so i can't figure it out... so i gave up...

SorcererXIII

Nematoad, your experience gives me hope. How do you think your eD sub would fare against a single 10" JL like I demoed?

I'm hoping there could be several things I can try to fix to get the sound I was hoping for:
-Try a higher quality sub than JL (eD?)
-Try 2 subs instead of 1
-Turn volume lower
-Different placement in car
-Look for loose things in the car, tighten them up

Maybe I should go back and turn the volume lower. It was hard to adjust the volume properly becuase the **** was on a cart behind my car so I couldn't hear the changes as I was turning it, I had to go back into the car and check. I felt embarrassed setting it at 1/4 the volume the sales people set it at but it still sounded like someone dragging furniture across the floor above. My car's speakers didn't sound like they matched volume-wise until I turned them up to 52 or so.

07sciontc and chrischoi, I appreciate the offers, but I'm not quite decided on what I want, and I prefer to buy from a store or a place like eD.

SCI_TC_GUY

eD's definitely the way to go.... JL's products are dollar dependant... if you're not getting at least the w3's, it sounds like you'll be disappointed...

look into ed's Ov.2 line... either 10's(11Ov.2) 12's (13Ov.2) 15's(16Ov.2) or 18's(19Ov.2)... all are excellent SQ woofers and have sweet pricetags on them...

jallamas

www.elementaldesigns.com

Nematoad485

I would also agree that JL's are dollar dependent, and you really pay for a name. I would say from your experience my eD would rock a lower end JL sub (similar to the one you tested). eD is definately the way to go with some nice sounds and very classy "old school" looks. Take a look:

The amp



The sub


I myself have the 11Kv.2, and it hits relatively hard with the Nine.4 powering it. When I talked to Mandos I told him that all I was looking for was just a nice, full low end. Not extreme bass. He recommended the 11Kv.2 and it suited my tastes exactly. The 11Ov.2 are better subs, and are certainly capable of handling alot more power.

Here's how I see your setup (assuming that you want more bass than I do, as most people probably would):

Nine.2X amp = $265
11Ov.2 sub = $175
Box w/carpet = $85 (sealed enclosure, these eD subs seem to really like small spaces)
You'd also need a wiring kit, speaker wire, and the beloved LOC.

Now with eD you do get a discount for making packages, so the total price would probably be alot lower.

nebster

i'm running 2 16ov.2's and a nine.1 and the sub box is almost done. I'll have some pics. The guys ofer at eD are awesome. and about teh vibrating.

you have no sound deadening in your car at all so it wont be crisp. your going to have some vibration and it sucks. but stick with eD and you can get enough sound deadening to do your whole car and still be under the cost of a crap jl system. (i say crap bc for 600 you'll have to have a 10w0 or 10w1.

nodsetse

No, that's not a problem. The only way it might overheat is if the gain was set too high with the volume way up, the load impedance was too low, or it didn't have room around it for the heatsink to do it's job. Even if the amp were to overheat, it's more common to damage the sub in such a scenario, because some people try to push the amp too hard, all the way into clipping with lots of distortion, which can cause the sub to operate outside of it's design parameters.

When set up correctly, nothing bad will happen when feeding a "500w" sub with 200 watts from a 200 watt amp. The only difference between that and the same sub powered by a 500w amp would be about 4dB SPL, with SQ staying the same.