I need a car stereo sub recommendation...

[MTG#10]

When I was a teenager - around 10 years ago - I always had a great system in my car. I was constantly selling/upgrading components. I havent had a nice stereo since and Im oblivious to the latest/greatest brands. In my day nothing beat a nice Alpine head unit, Pioneer mids, and JL Audio subs - (unless you were rich of course).

Basically all I am in the market for right now are some subs. I dont listen to (c)rap, I am a metal-head and Im not looking for "rumbling' bass. I want some subs that are great for mid-bass and punch the lows really hard. Im not looking to spend more than $500. Thanks.

[Chiefmanwillcatch]

http://www.mtx.com/caraudio/products/subwoofers/jackHammer_img.cfm

[MIAdragon]

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-6cm9dlVfI9z/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?I=2067DCVR10

this is what I have, I listen to everything and it all sounds good.

[dtebbe]

What kind of car do you have? Do you need a drop in sub, or can you do your own box?

DT

[MTG#10]

What kind of car do you have? Do you need a drop in sub, or can you do your own box?

DT
Nissan Pathfinder/I will be building my own box.


http://www.mtx.com/caraudio/products/subwoofers/jackHammer_img.cfm

Holy shit!

[dtebbe]

[QUOTE=MTG#10;4635079]Nissan Pathfinder/I will be building my own box.

Do you already have a sub amp, if so what is it, and if not does that have to fit in the $500 budget too?

DT

[Hays]

I haven't had a pair of mtx in a long time not sure if they are still good or not.

but a nice set of rockford fosgate subs were always nice.

[MTG#10]

[quote=MTG#10;4635079]Nissan Pathfinder/I will be building my own box.

Do you already have a sub amp, if so what is it, and if not does that have to fit in the $500 budget too?

DT
Yeah my cousin gave me his "old" amp for $150. I dont know much about the brand but its a Memphis MCH-600.

[dtebbe]

[quote=dtebbe;4635083]
Yeah my cousin gave me his "old" amp for $150. I dont know much about the brand but its a Memphis MCH-600.

That's actually a nice amp for what you are doing. If I remember right that is a 5 channel amp with 55x4 for your mids/highs and a 1 ohm stable mono sub channel that does 400w at 1 ohm.

Here's what I would do, considering the power you have, budget, and music taste. I would do a sealed box with 3 JL audio 10w1v2 4 ohm subs. Do a box with 1.9 cubic feet of internal space and let all 3 subs share the space (ie. do not divide them in seperate chambers). When you do the front baffle, mount the woofers as close as you can together. With 3 4 ohm woofers in parallel you will have a 1.33 ohm load on the amp, so you will get about 350w to the subs. What this does is give you the output of a vented box with the tight bass performance you want for Rock & roll. The 10w1v2 are very economical, and I've used them for years with great results. You'll have output in the 128-132db range and it will be tight and clean.

For mids/highs, the Memphis power reference series coaxials give awesome bang for the buck for rock & roll listening. You could easily spend 2-3 times more and not get much better sound than the memphis will give you. They are a little on the bright side, but most rock & roll guys love them.

Just my .02

DT

[MTG#10]

[quote=MTG#10;4635154]

That's actually a nice amp for what you are doing. If I remember right that is a 5 channel amp with 55x4 for your mids/highs and a 1 ohm stable mono sub channel that does 400w at 1 ohm.

Here's what I would do, considering the power you have, budget, and music taste. I would do a sealed box with 3 JL audio 10w1v2 4 ohm subs. Do a box with 1.9 cubic feet of internal space and let all 3 subs share the space (ie. do not divide them in seperate chambers). When you do the front baffle, mount the woofers as close as you can together. With 3 4 ohm woofers in parallel you will have a 1.33 ohm load on the amp, so you will get about 350w to the subs. What this does is give you the output of a vented box with the tight bass performance you want for Rock & roll. The 10w1v2 are very economical, and I've used them for years with great results. You'll have output in the 128-132db range and it will be tight and clean.

For mids/highs, the Memphis power reference series coaxials give awesome bang for the buck for rock & roll listening. You could easily spend 2-3 times more and not get much better sound than the memphis will give you. They are a little on the bright side, but most rock & roll guys love them.

Just my .02

DT

Thanks for the info. Do you do this sort of thing for a living?

[dtebbe]

[quote=dtebbe;4635312]

Thanks for the info. Do you do this sort of thing for a living?

I did for about 10 years. I have a good friend that owns a shop, the one I used to work at. All my buddies know this, so as you can imagine I'm the guy they call everytime they get a new vehicle. I don't really mind, it's fun to do a few nice systems a year, and keep on top of things. I'm getting too old for it though, installing is for sure a young man's game. :)

I am most familiar with the lines that my buddy sells, which is what I always use. He sells JL, Memphis, Clarion, and Alpine. He used to sell Kicker, but when they sold out to the mass merchants he dumped them. IMHO JL still makes the best subs. I like their amps too but they are a little pricey. Memphis is one of the best brands out there when it comes to bang for the buck. They are also one of the few brands who really protect their brand, they sell only to higher-end shops who service what they sell. They also keep a close eye on internet sales, so you usually don't see their stuff whored out on Ebay like a lot of the other brands.

Anyway, if you go that direction, I guarantee you will be happy with the results :). Just make sure you get the box sealed up good, and make it out of at least 3/4" MDF. If you can find 1" MDF that would be better. If you use 3/4" just do a little internal bracing on the longer/wider panels and you should be fine.

DT