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re: Best brands for car speaker systems
Posted on 5/4/25 at 9:23 am to Tr33fiddy
Posted on 5/4/25 at 9:23 am to Tr33fiddy
quote:
As an old bass head I've gotten addicted to watching old amps getting put on Amp dynos. It's hilarious to see just how false the ratings where on most stuff back in the day
You may get better today, but RMS can still be misleading. I’m coming from music and live sound perspective, but most of the Class D power amps that you see with an RMS of say 1,000 watts, you can count on getting maybe 1/3 to 1/4 of that in real watts sound. You can find some that are truer to their RMS boasting, but it will cost a lot.
1
Posted on 5/4/25 at 9:53 am to Flyingtiger82
That’s sort of what I want to do but the newer Wranglers are extremely more complicated to work on. My 96 Wrangler back in the day was simple.
There are very few plug and play options for aftermarket upgrades for the new Wranglers.
I ended up getting a Kicker 10” powered hideaway sub (should be easy to install) and 4 of the 3.5” Kenwood Excelon speakers for the front dash and roll bar. They should be plug and play. Mounting depth and using the factory grill covers limit the options significantly. I do not want to get adapters and lose the OEM look.
Installing everything this week so will see how it turns out.
There are very few plug and play options for aftermarket upgrades for the new Wranglers.
I ended up getting a Kicker 10” powered hideaway sub (should be easy to install) and 4 of the 3.5” Kenwood Excelon speakers for the front dash and roll bar. They should be plug and play. Mounting depth and using the factory grill covers limit the options significantly. I do not want to get adapters and lose the OEM look.
Installing everything this week so will see how it turns out.
Posted on 5/4/25 at 10:12 am to Chad504boy
I gave up on that a long time ago. . I used to have the top notch sound system in my car but it kept getting stolen.
Posted on 5/4/25 at 11:26 am to salty1
quote:
I’ve been waiting for this thread forever…I compete in car audio sound quality. What kind of vehicle? If you can, share your overall budget (equipment and labor) What are your overall goals? (Just big bass or are you looking for good overall sound quality) I love helping folks design a nice system that will meet their needs, regardless of budget. You will be making a huge (possibly costly) mistake going in blind. I do not work in the industry and have no real brand loyalty…I’d be happy to assist. I compete at the national level and have had good success over the years. Personally, I’ve built numerous vehicles.
Double DIN, 2010 Jeep wrangler, would like to replace existing speakers and add a small powered sub. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Posted on 5/4/25 at 11:49 am to Chad504boy
Bazooka bass tube and some satellite tweeters
Posted on 5/4/25 at 12:03 pm to i am dan
Man, that Crutchfield catalog brings back some memories! That company used to be epitome of customer service. I can’t remember what the guys name was when you called, but he was as helpful as could be!
Posted on 5/4/25 at 7:46 pm to wareaglepete
quote:
You may get better today, but RMS can still be misleading. I’m coming from music and live sound perspective, but most of the Class D power amps that you see with an RMS of say 1,000 watts, you can count on getting maybe 1/3 to 1/4 of that in real watts sound. You can find some that are truer to their RMS boasting, but it will cost a lot.
Seriously? What's the issue with the class D amps? I've used several for subwoofers and have been blown away at the output.
There is no way a 2000d Amp I am running is only putting out 1/4 of that power level.
Posted on 5/4/25 at 9:11 pm to Chad504boy
I had the following installed a few months back…
Components: Audiotec Fischer (Germany) & McIntosh Labs (USA)
Total power: 3,440w
# of drivers: 14
~ (1) Helix Ultra S 12-channel DSP
~ (3) Helix C Four, Class A/B power amplifiers (4 x 220w @2ohms)
~ (5) Helix Ci7 T20–FM SC (0.75” tweeters)
~ (3) Helix Ci7 M100FM-S3 (4” midrange drivers)
~ (2) Helix Ci7 W130-S3 (5.25” mid bass drivers)
~ (2) Helix Ci7W200FM-S3 (8” woofers)
~ (2) Helix IK S10 (shallow mount subwoofers)
~ (1) Helix HEC HD-AUDIO USB direct-in interface unit (up to 32bit/192k)
~ (1) Helix Conductor lighted, multifunctional rotary control knob
~ (1) Helix SDM25 digital interface (allows full usage of factory PCM/knob/steering wheel controls, etc.)
~ (1) McIntosh MCC 404M power amplifier in bridged mode (2 x 400w @2ohms) for the subs
~ (1) custom built/fitted sub enclosure
~ (1) custom amp rack in front trunk (for Helix amps)
Components: Audiotec Fischer (Germany) & McIntosh Labs (USA)
Total power: 3,440w
# of drivers: 14
~ (1) Helix Ultra S 12-channel DSP
~ (3) Helix C Four, Class A/B power amplifiers (4 x 220w @2ohms)
~ (5) Helix Ci7 T20–FM SC (0.75” tweeters)
~ (3) Helix Ci7 M100FM-S3 (4” midrange drivers)
~ (2) Helix Ci7 W130-S3 (5.25” mid bass drivers)
~ (2) Helix Ci7W200FM-S3 (8” woofers)
~ (2) Helix IK S10 (shallow mount subwoofers)
~ (1) Helix HEC HD-AUDIO USB direct-in interface unit (up to 32bit/192k)
~ (1) Helix Conductor lighted, multifunctional rotary control knob
~ (1) Helix SDM25 digital interface (allows full usage of factory PCM/knob/steering wheel controls, etc.)
~ (1) McIntosh MCC 404M power amplifier in bridged mode (2 x 400w @2ohms) for the subs
~ (1) custom built/fitted sub enclosure
~ (1) custom amp rack in front trunk (for Helix amps)
Posted on 5/4/25 at 9:30 pm to Marco Esquandolas
Holy shite. What’s all that in?
Posted on 5/4/25 at 9:34 pm to jordan21210
911
Posted on 5/4/25 at 9:34 pm to Tr33fiddy
quote:
Seriously? What's the issue with the class D amps?
It’s not class d amps, it’s the manufacturers and their testing standards. I trust my Alpine class d amps to dyno at or above rated power. Skar is a Chinese brand that makes low to mid grade equipment. It’s fine, but it’s not going to measure the same as name brand.
Posted on 5/4/25 at 9:35 pm to Marco Esquandolas
That’s some serious equipment. Love it.
Posted on 5/4/25 at 10:08 pm to jordan21210
You do know they get tested independently for power right? Skar may not be considered top of the line but they always make at or above rated power.
The point is, they are cheap and make big power. That's what's nice about them. I've had one banging away for years at 1 ohm without problems. According to both my ears and dyno results it's making above rated power. Certainly not 1/4 power as someone else claimed.
You can go to youtube and watch almost any Amp get put through an Amp dyno session by private individuals.
This post was edited on 5/4/25 at 10:19 pm
Posted on 5/4/25 at 10:13 pm to Marco Esquandolas
Holy mother of sound quality. You spent a crap load but I bet it sounds amazing.
What alternator you running to power up those a/b amps?
What alternator you running to power up those a/b amps?
Posted on 5/4/25 at 11:15 pm to jordan21210
quote:
It’s not class d amps, it’s the manufacturers and their testing standards
This! Nowhere in my post did I trash Class D amps, just a word o caution.
Posted on 5/4/25 at 11:50 pm to wareaglepete
quote:
I’m coming from music and live sound perspective, but most of the Class D power amps that you see with an RMS of say 1,000 watts, you can count on getting maybe 1/3 to 1/4 of that in real watts sound
Which are you talking about? Because I do a lot of shopping for class d amps and I don't see most of them overstating power. That use to be very common 20 years ago but nowadays too many ways to actually check the power.
I'm sure a lot of people don't get all the power based purely on stock electrical and crappy wiring. 1000 watt class d amps that make rated power for 100 bucks are everywhere now thanks to China/Korea
Posted on 5/5/25 at 2:10 am to Chad504boy
Focal.
Infinity Kappa Series.
Infinity Kappa Series.
Posted on 5/5/25 at 5:42 am to wareaglepete
quote:
This! Nowhere in my post did I trash Class D amps, just a word o caution.
I’ll probably go to my grave without running another class A/B amp. My last three builds have used nothing but class D…starting with an Acura with three of the original Alpine PDX amps. All I care about is sound quality, so I would use A/B if I believed it would net me an exta point or two on a score card…I don’t believe it would.
My current build uses four JL VXi amps (8-channel, 4-channel, and two monos for front and rear subs). I use Focal Utopia M for my front stage. I could run any amp/dsp combo I want, and I choose to stay with JL VXi.
The current three-time triple-crown world champion in sound quality is Jeffrey Hald and his amazing Mazda. He’s won the last three years running. He uses VXi with an RD on each of his W7s (max power with VXi is 1000 watt mono and he obviously needs more than that, hence the two RDs). Every amp in his build is Class D.
Everything in Jeffrey’s car is off the shelf. He’s not using the most “esoteric” equipment and killing it at every show he competes at.
Helix (popular brand amongst sound quality competitors) has made class D for a long time. They’re amazing amps also. BRAX (adiotech fischer’s flagship line) is now making class D amps (revolution series).
The class D vs. A/B debate was ended years ago, in my opinion. There’s simply no distinguishing between a top shelf class D and a comparable class A/B. Why run less efficient A/B amps if there’s no audible or competitive advantage? Nostalgia maybe?
Everything comes down to tuning today. Unless someone is just obsessed with perfection, there’s no reason to spend tens of thousands on a build. A well installed low-buck system that is tuned properly will sound amazing. There are guys out there now that can tune your system remotely. I’ve personally heard some vehicles remote tuned, and they sound great. The remote tune will get you 97% there, and it’s up to you to fine tune that last 3% (if you are so inclined).
TLDR: Class D is the future (has been for years). Proper install and tuning matter more than equipment used, and you don’t need to spend a year’s pay on a system to have amazing results.
Posted on 5/5/25 at 5:46 am to Marco Esquandolas
Pics baw. Love it.
Posted on 5/5/25 at 6:29 am to Tr33fiddy
quote:
You do know they get tested independently for power right? Skar may not be considered top of the line but they always make at or above rated power.
Yes. I think Skar is one of the better chi-fi companies, but I’ve seen plenty posts online about Skar not dyno’ing at rated RMS or breaking after less than a year. Not saying they’re bad, just illustrating why some might argue class d aren’t as good.
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