putting subs in my car?

[John Fabre]

Buy a good head unit first that's powered, make sure it will accept a amp and buy it later. You can always add more amps and subs (Rockford Fosgate), later add front and rear speakers, budget permitting.

[Derek Gilmer]

Derek, I know they aren't great, but I'm trying to do a budget setup. Right now I'm lookin at about 230$ for an amp and a headunit and the two 10s. If you know of a set up that's under $300 including headunit, please let me know. I'm kinda new to the speaker world, when you say the Sony xplods are cheap , how bad are they? One of my friends has a whole car set up with a combination of xplod and kicker and his sounds pretty good and he has his calculated to around 130db.

A lot of this gets back to the frequency range question. I'm sure a sony xplod can hit 130 db in a small car. Maybe even more. But the distortion is most likely at extreme levels and the sub is filtered to not go below 60hz or something relatively high like that. Any pair of 10" subs in a ported box pushing 120 db are not going very deep into the bass.

If you can swing it an FI 15 in a sealed or small ported box will do great. It has a high efficiency so you can swing a smaller amp and still make good volume. And a sealed box will protect it on the low bass with out a filter (at most power levels) so you can skip a high pass filter. The cabin gain from a small car will really pick up down low so you get the best of both worlds. You aren't removing any bass from the songs and you aren't flogging the speaker to death like a 10 in a ported box would. It won't happen for under 300 though. The two xplods are what about $100 for two of them? This sub is $140 so not a huge step up in price. What amp and head unit are you using?

https://ssl.perfora.net/www.ficaraudio.com/sess/utn154ed0dfafa99d4/shopdata/0050_Speakers/0045_X/product_overview.shopscript

That said, if you are happy with your friends setup that is what really matters. Audio snobs like me can take a long walk off a short pier if you like what you hear . I just don't think you'll be happy long with the xplods. And their resale/upgradability are pretty low.

[Jim O'Dell]

Another former stereo installer with bad ears here. And I was religious about using hearing protection when I was using an air chisel for door speaker cut outs!!!! I really was! (this was back in the day when you had to make your own speaker holes, especially in pickups) But we don't wear those when listening to the music, do we?

I've got all Kenwood electronics in my van, and some of it pretty old. I have replaced the head unit a couple times over the years, but the 3 amps are all 25 years old! As is the EQ with the sub out. I'm running a small 15-20 watt/channel amp on my Kenwood 4" mids, 37/ on the Rockford/Fosgate 6"/1" separates, and 90/ on the two 15" subs, but since they are dual voice coil units run in parallel, each channel is an estimated 137. It doesn't rattle the license plates, but the mirrors bounce pleasingly. Nor is it a thump mobile. It has a nice pleasing low end. It would be hard to put a system together for what I have in mine, but I don't think you are going to get anything worthwhile in the 300 range for all you are looking at. So if you are ok with the current sound except for the bass reproduction, look into subs that add on to an existing system. They aren't great, but you might get a little better sound that what your money output will give you otherwise. And go listen to anything you buy...don't just see something and order it over the internet. You may be disappointed with what you end up with.

Oh, and don't worry about dropping the back seat down. If you have decent bass output, it won't matter...unless you are wanting to tickle the hair inside your ears! Jim.

[curtis rosche]

Derek, the headunit i was looking at was the sony xplod head unit from walmart. they have a deal on a headunit and a ten inch sub to go with it for around 80$ and then $20 to get the second sub with it. i had just started looking into a amp when i posted on here. if i set up that sub that you posted the link to, how much is that gonna rattle my car? i understand it will have much better quality, but theres always a little fun in making the windows and mirrors rattle and if i were to put the 15inch in, am i gonna need more power for it? as in a bigger battery to power it or anything like that?

[Tim Morton]

Once i read "xplod" i kind of tuned out and a sadness appeared on my face....if thats your plan...stay with your factory set up and throw a cheap 10" bazooka tube in the trunk. Or better yet, just stay with your factory set up.

in my original post...i said stay away from anything with chrome on it...and i should have added "or has the word "xplod" on it.

[Derek Gilmer]

Derek, the headunit i was looking at was the sony xplod head unit from walmart. they have a deal on a headunit and a ten inch sub to go with it for around 80$ and then $20 to get the second sub with it. i had just started looking into a amp when i posted on here. if i set up that sub that you posted the link to, how much is that gonna rattle my car? i understand it will have much better quality, but theres always a little fun in making the windows and mirrors rattle and if i were to put the 15inch in, am i gonna need more power for it? as in a bigger battery to power it or anything like that?

That 15 with a good amp at around 400 watts is going to sound better and louder than the xplods can dream of. The 15 produces 92 db per watt at 1 meter from the sub. The xplods are 88db per watt at 1 meter. That may not sound like a big deal but it is a huge gain in sound quality and efficiency. I can't find complete t/s parameters for the xplods (which is usually a sign of a craptastic sub) but it has an xmax (distance the cone can travel before physical damage is likely) of 6.2 mm the fi has 18mm of travel. The xplod is physically incapable of making low notes at any good spl. For comparison this 5.5" mid woofer has more bass potential below 70hz than an xplod: http://www.diycable.com/main/product...437b350eb58ecf

[curtis rosche]

Once i read "xplod" i kind of tuned out and a sadness appeared on my face....if thats your plan...stay with your factory set up and throw a cheap 10" bazooka tube in the trunk. Or better yet, just stay with your factory set up.

in my original post...i said stay away from anything with chrome on it...and i should have added "or has the word "xplod" on it.

sorry Tim, i didnt really know any better.

[curtis rosche]

so if i get this headunit
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sony-CDXGT...opOneGiantItem
and the 15 that Derek posted, i need to find a 400watt amp? any suggestions on an amp thats around 100$? would i need a capacitor to go with it?

[Derek Gilmer]

so if i get this headunit
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sony-CDXGT...opOneGiantItem
and the 15 that Derek posted, i need to find a 400watt amp? any suggestions on an amp thats around 100$? would i need a capacitor to go with it?

I'm really with Tim on saying you are better off saving a little coin and getting anything but xplod. Something like this head unit: http://www.crutchfield.com/p_105KDA5...5.html?tp=5684 has ipod connections and front/rear/sub preamp output for future growth. And this amp: http://www.crutchfield.com/p_777M150....html?tp=35834. All told it might be about $100 more with the sub than you were looking at. But the life span and quality will be much much more than 33% better.

[curtis rosche]

ok. that looks good. i guess i will start off with just the headunit for right now, and save up some to get the sub and amp. whats your take on the discount websites for audio things? carstereoonline has some good loking prices, but ive heard that it runs the risk of cheap immitation knockoffs

[curtis rosche]

would this headunit work as well? it has most of the same features, the one you linked too was listed as not being compatable with my car

[Tim Morton]

would this headunit work as well? it has most of the same features, the one you linked too was listed as not being compatable with my car

stop shopping for car audio at wal-mart...its ALL crap...try sonicelectronix .com Or even better at least walk into a local car audio store...you might be surprised. They know walmart sells stuff cheap, so they are constantly looking for product they can put on the floor to help guys like you out.

[Tim Morton]

what vehicle is this going in? A head unit may be the last thing you want to consider.

[Derek Gilmer]

stop shopping for car audio at wal-mart...its ALL crap...try sonicelectronix .com Or even better at least walk into a local car audio store...you might be surprised. They know walmart sells stuff cheap, so they are constantly looking for product they can put on the floor to help guys like you out.

Giving local guys a shot is a good idea. But price/feature shop before you do it. The two local shops here are somewhere between con-artists and morons. The times I've gone in asking about stuff they didn't even know what t/s parameters were and thought monster cable was the only way to go. Curtis, if local shops to you are about like the ones here I'd call crutchfield. They have service and expertise that is top notch. And you can often find coupons online or get them to give a better price on the phone.

[curtis rosche]

a 2001 ford focus.