My Son Wants a Sub (Car)

[Pogre]

How about this Kicker combo? Or this Fosgate sub in a ported box + this guys's 250W Kicker amp?

I contacted the guy with the kicker and got a little more info This is the speaker and this is the amp. The amp is okay I guess. would like a little closer to 300w. What do you think Rojo (or anyone else in the know)? The guy goes out of town for a couple days in a couple hours.

 

[Pogre]

Am I reading it correctly? Can all 4 channels be summed for 300 watts or can it only do 2 x 150 in bridged mono (@4ohm)?

*Edit: Sorry for all the questions. I haven't been in car audio for a long time.

 

[rojo]

Am I reading it correctly? Can all 4 channels be summed for 300 watts or can it only do 2 x 150 in bridged mono (@4ohm)?

*Edit: Sorry for all the questions. I haven't been in car audio for a long time.

The Craigslist ad said the Kicker amp was a mono amp. I didn't see a four channel. If it is a four channel, you won't be able to bridge all four channels, but you might be able to bridge each stereo pair. If the sub you choose is dual voice coil you could drive each coil with a bridged pair from that amp.

 

[Pogre]

The Craigslist ad said the Kicker amp was a mono amp. I didn't see a four channel. If it is a four channel, you won't be able to bridge all four channels, but you might be able to bridge each stereo pair. If the sub you choose is dual voice coil you could drive each coil with a bridged pair from that amp.

That's the model number he gave me when I asked. Not quite the amp I would use for a single sub. Thought about the dual vc thing, but that woofer is a single I believe.

 

[rojo]

That's the model number he gave me when I asked. Not quite the amp I would use for a single sub. Thought about the dual vc thing, but that woofer is a single I believe.

Ooohhhh, you're talking about the Kicker combo. Yeah, that amp is a bit of a mismatch for that driver. Hey, it ought to make you feel good that, no matter how long you've been out of the game, you still know enough that you wouldn't have bought a 4 channel amp to drive a single svc sub.

That combo still might be a good deal though. Save the 4 channel amp for the in-cabin speakers and buy this guy's $40 250W mono amp (which is what I thought you were talking about when I was reading this thread on my mobile phone) for the sub. The 4 channel amp will be an improvement over factory power.

 

[Pogre]

Ooohhhh, you're talking about the Kicker combo. Yeah, that amp is a bit of a mismatch for that driver. Hey, it ought to make you feel good that, no matter how long you've been out of the game, you still know enough that you wouldn't have bought a 4 channel amp to drive a single svc sub.

That combo still might be a good deal though. Save the 4 channel amp for the in-cabin speakers and buy this guy's $40 250W mono amp (which is what I thought you were talking about when I was reading this thread on my mobile phone) for the sub. The 4 channel amp will be an improvement over factory power.

Here is the 250W amp he has pictured. Looks like 140w at 4 ohms. How about those Boss Audio amps? I've never heard of them.

 

[rojo]

Here is the 250W amp he has pictured. Looks like 140w at 4 ohms. How about those Boss Audio amps? I've never heard of them.

I don't think they're very. I've most often seen them at flea markets, discount audio sale events at convention centers, and other affairs frequented by mullets and screen print t-shirts. I'd trust the Kicker amp far beyond the Boss amps.

If you went for that DVC Fosgate sub you'd have a 2Ω load if you wired the voice coils in parallel, and you'd get 250W out of the amp.

 

[Pogre]

I don't think they're very. I've most often seen them at flea markets, discount audio sale events at convention centers, and other affairs frequented by mullets and screen print t-shirts. I'd trust the Kicker amp far beyond the Boss amps.

If you went for that DVC Fosgate sub you'd have a 2Ω load if you wired the voice coils in parallel, and you'd get 250W out of the amp.

Yeah, that looks good. That's a pretty nice sub and the amp should do the trick. Won't cost a fortune either. I think it's well worth the asking prices. I'll run it by him and see if he wants to spend that much.

 

[highfigh]

Thanks guys. Yes, I had a 10" sub in my truck and it was enough. I had it in a sealed box I built with a little help. What do you think about panteragstk's offer on the 15" and I only pay shipping? I've barely even heard of audiobahn.

Rojo! Lots of info here. I used a 1 farad cap in my truck system, so I'm on board with that. My son has a newer car and the stock system is actually not bad, but he's lacking bass for sure. He was looking to do a whole system and I suggested starting with a sub. It might be all he needs. Thanks for the well thought out reply. I'm gonna keep reading and figure out what's up. I'm seriously thinking of taking panteragstk's offer.

Look into the alternator's capacity- if it's at the edge only for what's already in the car, it will fail and Murphy's Law dictates that it will fail at the worst time. If you pick a power amp that's not well regulated, it will demand peak current that the alternator will never be able to handle and when the engine is running, the alternator is running the show, not the battery.

 

[Pogre]

Okay. He just went through his wallet and found $200 in Best Buy gift cards. We're heading out to one here in a bit to see what they have.

 

[lsiberian]

I will say you might be able to IB the 15" sub. I know I did a car build I'd IB it.

 

[annunaki]

Car audio can be easy however in today's cars it is significantly more challenging.

We need to qualify a few things first:

1. Source unit. What is being used as a source? How are you feeding the amplifier signal?

• Today's cars are a bit of a challenge to work with. The days of throwing a line output converter on the factory speakers are gone. May of the signal are DSP controlled and bandwidth limited so adding a sub that sounds good can be a challenge.

2. What is the goal of the system? What is he trying to achieve?

3. How much work are you willing to do yourself?

 

[MrBoat]

I'm about to install a stereo in my Toyota truck. I'm thinking about Alpine everything else and using the Dayton RSS315HF-4 in a semi portable cabinet that I can remove when I travel and have to leave the vehicle unattended for periods of time. The last Toyota xtracab I owned had 2-10" MTX speakers in a box that sounded pretty good.

Like you, it's been awhile for me. For one, there wasn't all the outrageous power claims based on peak output. A lot of names do this, and that has always pretty much spelled overhyped junk to me in the past.

 

[panteragstk]

I'm about to install a stereo in my Toyota truck. I'm thinking about Alpine everything else and using the Dayton RSS315HF-4 in a semi portable cabinet that I can remove when I travel and have to leave the vehicle unattended for periods of time. The last Toyota xtracab I owned had 2-10" MTX speakers in a box that sounded pretty good.

Like you, it's been awhile for me. For one, there wasn't all the outrageous power claims based on peak output. A lot of names do this, and that has always pretty much spelled overhyped junk to me in the past.

Sony car stuff used to be REALLY guilty of this.

I will say, even though you guys have been out of car audio for awhile (me too) not much has changed with the exception of App radio type stuff. Android and Apple car (I forget the actual names for both) are both pretty neat ways of getting phone apps to play nice with your stereo or mirror apps on your phone. If you aren't interested in that, then really nothing much has changed in over a decade.

 

[MrBoat]

Sony car stuff used to be REALLY guilty of this.

I will say, even though you guys have been out of car audio for awhile (me too) not much has changed with the exception of App radio type stuff. Android and Apple car (I forget the actual names for both) are both pretty neat ways of getting phone apps to play nice with your stereo or mirror apps on your phone. If you aren't interested in that, then really nothing much has changed in over a decade.

lol. . .a decade.

 

[MrBoat]

I have been researching a bit since I posted and there are still head units, albeit with Bluetooth and other connectivity. I like the idea of MP3 etc over CD's, because even with the best oversampling, a truck can prove a challenging environment for CDs. One of a few things that still seems to remain consistent is, if it doesn't at least have a removable faceplate, it's pretty much low end.

I'm probably going to buy something about mid price range on the head unit, and that or slightly higher on speakers. I have found with just about everything these days, that seems to be the best overall value. Another thing I am noticing is, there is more mention of, and more hardware with pre-outs for subs. I can work with that.

 

[lovinthehd]

I have been researching a bit since I posted and there are still head units, albeit with Bluetooth and other connectivity. I like the idea of MP3 etc over CD's, because even with the best oversampling, a truck can prove a challenging environment for CDs. One of a few things that still seems to remain consistent is, if it doesn't at least have a removable faceplate, it's pretty much low end.

I'm probably going to buy something about mid price range on the head unit, and that or slightly higher on speakers. I have found with just about everything these days, that seems to be the best overall value. Another thing I am noticing is, there is more mention of, and more hardware with pre-outs for subs. I can work with that.

I've got a Kenwood KDC-X493 head unit in my van with pre-outs for two amps, use one for a sub and one for some of the additional speakers that the head unit's 4ch of amp can't cover. It's a pretty comprehensive unit in terms of sub/speaker setup for relatively cheap. No bluetooth, so added an adapter for that. I'm driving on rough roads a lot and use the cd very little these days, prefer a usb memory stick in the usb slot or the bluetooth adapter in the aux input.

 

[slipperybidness]

I have been researching a bit since I posted and there are still head units, albeit with Bluetooth and other connectivity. I like the idea of MP3 etc over CD's, because even with the best oversampling, a truck can prove a challenging environment for CDs. One of a few things that still seems to remain consistent is, if it doesn't at least have a removable faceplate, it's pretty much low end.

I'm probably going to buy something about mid price range on the head unit, and that or slightly higher on speakers. I have found with just about everything these days, that seems to be the best overall value. Another thing I am noticing is, there is more mention of, and more hardware with pre-outs for subs. I can work with that.

Yeah, they even make mechless units nowadays (no CD slot, just a USB port and maybe an Aux port). My 02 Mustang was the first car I ever saw that could read MP3 off a disc (factory head unit).

I have been pretty pleased with the Kenwood head units. The performance to price has been a pretty good sweet spot to me. Of course, there are several good brands to choose for the head unit (Pio, Alpine). Yeah, an aftermarket head unit, sub-pre-outs should be a given, and really it is pretty common to have a couple sets of pre-outs (sub and full-range).

In my experience, the main brand I avoid for car audio is Sony!

EDIT: Reading through this thread, we basically have 2 votes for Kenwood, and 2 votes against Sony

 

[MrBoat]

I've got a Kenwood KDC-X493 head unit in my van with pre-outs for two amps, use one for a sub and one for some of the additional speakers that the head unit's 4ch of amp can't cover. It's a pretty comprehensive unit in terms of sub/speaker setup for relatively cheap. No bluetooth, so added an adapter for that. I'm driving on rough roads a lot and use the cd very little these days, prefer a usb memory stick in the usb slot or the bluetooth adapter in the aux input.

I had just started to scratch the surface with connectivity. Kind of like what you guys were telling me about with home audio in my beginning here. Half of why I lost interest in car audio is for skipping CDs and all of the advertisements with FM radio, being most of my vehicles in recent history have had the ride one might associate with an ox cart. In my old Bronco, even the painted stripes on the pavement are bumps. My ex-wife's grandfather affectionately referred to it as; "The ball buster." lol

 

[MrBoat]

Yeah, they even make mechless units nowadays (no CD slot, just a USB port and maybe an Aux port). My 02 Mustang was the first car I ever saw that could read MP3 off a disc (factory head unit).

I have been pretty pleased with the Kenwood head units. The performance to price has been a pretty good sweet spot to me. Of course, there are several good brands to choose for the head unit (Pio, Alpine). Yeah, an aftermarket head unit, sub-pre-outs should be a given, and really it is pretty common to have a couple sets of pre-outs (sub and full-range).

In my experience, the main brand I avoid for car audio is Sony!

EDIT: Reading through this thread, we basically have 2 votes for Kenwood, and 2 votes against Sony

Yeah, I recall years ago seeing the Sony Xplod speakers and them giving me a feeling of some way overdone sneakers that I would not be caught wearing.

Kenwood is one of the names I have been looking at. Some of these in dash units are way over the top for my needs and cost more than some home audio flagship AVRs. I would basically have to live in my car travelling across country frequently to make use of such and park my car in an armed guard compound. I am not about to be dealing with a chirping alarm system every time I need to get in and out of my old truck, either.

I finally took official possession of my 'new to me' truck yesterday and I was pleased to see it is the model that also has speakers in the rear of the xtra cab. I think all four factory mount speakers are 6.5" and for all I know, it may even have decent ones in there already. I was in the middle of work (my company bought it) when I test drove it and really haven't gotten a chance to check it out in depth. Basically, my boss had a mechanic go through it and I have maybe spent 15 minutes total with it to date.

In my last Toyota 4x4 I had dual 10" MTX speakers in a carpeted box, a Clarion marine stereo that a supplier left with us, and I don't recall the door speakers I had in there. The amp for the MTX speakers was either Rkfrd Fsgate or Bostn Acstcs. That meager system actually sounded quite good. Perhaps even overkill in an 87 Toyota xtra cab