Who Likes Sound Quality?

[The Dude]

Thanks for the info. After a bit more reading I saw that we seem to have some good focal and DD locally. I'm looking at some focal 6" comps for the front door and maybe a 10" DD for the trunk if it's not too big. I want to keep as much trunk space as possible. I need a woofer that can still keep up so I don't want to go as big as 12". I'm thinking 10 would be a good compromise.

One thing I kind of concerned about is counterfeits. I see some guys selling speakers for $400 a pair when they retail for about US$200. But there is a guy in chaguanas that I know has original focals and DD subs.

What you think about a separate amp for the components and sub. I could fit the component amp under my seat and attach the sub amp to the sub box. The Rockford amp has bad reviews concerning it's temperature. I'm looking at some Alpine class D amps that are supposed to run really cool. I'm also thinking to go the 4 speaker, 2 tweeter, sub setup that you were talking about.

I like to use the rear speakers to pull the sound back a bit so it sounds like it's coming from all around me but the best thing about rear speakers is that you can pull the music to the back if you want to have a convo with someone in the front seat. Not a big deal but it's convenient.

 

[nirtime]

I think you know what you want and that's important when setting up a system.

Honestly it doesn't really matter to me if you use 1 amp or not. Its really a cost factor, install or time factor. I ended up doing 2 amps because I had a nice class AB for my doors and I later wanted a sub but 4chs with the ratings I wanted were too pricy so I ended up doing a separate class D sub amp. For ease of install you can do 1 amp if you so desire or if you're getting one for a good price with the specs by all means do it.

If you're looking at the Focal, also look at the Hybrid Imagine, there's at least one more in the country that I know off available. hybrid isn't popular here but it ranks with Focal.

I don't buy Fosgates due to price of the amps. I know the quality is among the best but price wise I'm not able to afford them. I usually like to check around for what amps are available locally before I research though.

Other than that placement is the next thing to look at. Also for subs, some 8s may be able to do the lows but if you want as close to 20hz as possible then maybe a 10 is the way to go. Some of the MTX we have locally have FS of 25hz so when shopping pay attention to FS as a low FS generally means you'll get strong bottom end from the sub. You can even tune down to 25-30hz with some of those subs.

Counterfeits wise, I can't speak about it, I stick to a few shops that I chose based on reviews and haven't had any bad experiences yet so stick to reputable sources and you'll be alright.

 

[The Dude]

OK so I went into a place in Chaguanas today owned by a guy called Rovin. very well stocked and he seems to know what he talking about. Spent about an hour in there and decided on the following.

Memphis 6.5 mid and 1" tweeter in front $500
Memphis 6.5 coaxial in the rear $500
Rockford 10" sub (he also mentioned that the MTX was good tho) $750
Soundstream 5 channel amp $1800. That was the smallest and cheapest.

he said I'll need to build a custom box for the trunk tho plus I still need to buy adapters for the speakers and a tweeter sail panel for the front as well as something to deaden the door.

Looks like everything might be around 6000 when I'm done. I'm thinking of saving up a bit more and replacing the HU with a pioneer 4700BS and forget about the equalizer but that's a next $3000 there

I asked Rovin about the Faital Pro components and D&D sub that I saw he was promotion but he said that was more for loudness. He said the memphis and Rockford was better for SQ.

 

[nirtime]

Dude, Rovin sold me all my speakers and wire. I talked to him extensively on many occasions. I could tell you he's a man to buy from.

He has a good balance between SQ and Pro Audio gear. He sells brand new stuff and can be trusted.

You don't have to buy adapters for the speakers, you can make them yourself from left over MDF from.the sub box. No matter what you do it'll end up costing cheaper to do the sub box yourself if you're so inclined.

You can talk to Rovin about your plans, he will give you good insight. The x4700bs isn't necessary. I was considering buy that unit but I settled on an x2700bs as it has the same processing, the only difference is it has a 6.2" screen. It was very cheap to get it out of the USA as I was there recently. The processing when I compare it with my old head unit is worlds apart. The quality I got from just turning on the new unit was better with the radio than the old unit on 320kbps mp3.

If you can get a unit out of the USA and have someone bring it back for you, you can get it for a lot less. I paid just over $1300 for my x2700bs brand new and I bought the scosche ta021 plug in wire harness, 20 crimp caps from Rovin, the appropriate dash kit and installed the unit myself once again. If you want to do stuff yourself I can help you by providing you with resources to help you learn the basics as that's the best way to do it affordability wise.

The sound stream 5ch is a nice amp, the price isn't bad either. You can use the MTX Coaxials in the rear doors for the same price. I've heard those before, they sound extremely well balanced for coaxials. The Memphis components he has, the lower end model is a great set of comps, have heard those too and almost bought them for another personal upgrade im doing as well.