Best brand of car audio

Pioneer, Kenwood, Alpine, Sony, or some other brand...... I personally prefer Pioneer

[Accord Man]

it depends what you're considering.. There are many components in a car stereo..

Out of the 4 you listed, ALPINE would be the victor..

But for speakers and amps, there is much better than ALPINE.

Resonant engineering,Digital desing,Adire,Eclipse,ADS,Cliff Design,Onyx,Memphis.....etc

in dash screen, monitors, speakers, subs.....
i have two brand new Pioneer TS-W1241DVC subs max 1000w each(has been sitting in my room for about a year now), and i plan to get the 6.5 in monitors, and some 6.5s for the doors and the rear, but i dont know what kind of amp to use to push the subs.http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/Pi...9,1994,00.html

[ebpda9]

i like pioneer from the reasonably priced group. and sony blows ass in car audio but they rock in home stereos and tv's and....

[pdiggitydogg]

alpine baby...my whole system is alpine (minus the heavy subs and amp)
the name escapes me now but its a japanese company that is a lot better though...damn i wish i could remember them...theyre main color is orange/amber

you're possibly talking about nakamichi?


anyway adire, elemental designs, resonant engineering, alpine, pioneer, JL(overpriced as **** but nonetheless their gear rocks)

i say sell the subs and buy 2 new ED ed12.44s

Audiobahn is good for amps...but thats it....

i say the people who say any of those have never herd anything other than shit you can buy at bestbuy or soundwaves......the mainstream stuff is overpriced like crazy and half as good as something else you could buy.....pioneer and alpine make nice Decks.....alpine makes nice speakers and decent amps....but it's all overpriced......i bought a set of peerless mids....put them in custom boxes....bought peerless tweeters and 2 pairs of 6.5s for all less than $300 and they sound WAY better than any alpine or pioneer crap.....and way less expensive.......

[VR4_Craver]

I noticed that no one has mentioned these....Infinity? The subs are about 200 something each and the 6x9's are like 169 a pair. But the 6x9's pound like most 12's that i have seen. i agree with scorch i have 2 lightning audio 12's with a bridged 540x2 amp and those things just pound like no tommorow. Sometimes the non namebrand stuff are better then most.

[Shaved &/or Laid]

yeah its too bad lightning audio is jsut rockford fosgate.

I defnitely agree with scorch. REsonants are the shit ! my cousins got some resonant QVC 18's. My concepts aint bad either


you forgot KOVE and Image Dynamics Alumapro is also pretty good. Diamond, McIntosh, Massive, Crossifre are added to scorches list. I like my clarion CD player though.

Nakamichi is WAYYYY overpriced IMO. waaaayyyyyyy

[Wren57]

Infinity is some slick shit. They don't make amps to my knowledge. Right now Im running two component sets off a jl audio 300/4 amp and a kenwood mp3 headunit. it rocks loud, clear, and lots of mid-range punch. To fill in the low-end I have on order two Infinity Perfect subs, still haven't finalized decision on amp yet... to give you an idea, this whole system, including dynamat, custom box for subs, amps, everything will be around 2200...

[Shaved &/or Laid]

heh. My Clarion HU, ID speakers, Subs, and amps box everything was about that much. and, mines louder

I totally agree on the overpriced thing. At Best Buy you can check out all the subs and stuff and there was this pair of 12" subs that sounded waaaay better with like 4 times more thump and low freq ... $79. The others were $$$.

i'd have to say Xtant is pretty good. i like how the amps look, and they put out a lot of power.
@ Ultimate Electronics
Our customers liked them and we sold lots of them but now unfortunately we don't carry them anymore.

what do you guys think of PPI?

[Shaved &/or Laid]

theyre fine.

what about rainbow? and focal? and has anyone heard of Aura? i bought a 5½ aura component set for my integra and they sound awesome... i'm gonna put an amp on them as soon as i can 2 get the best i can out of them tho... either hifonics or planet audio... i'm also getting 2 planet audio zetar 10's... anyone ever heard of those?

[VR4_Craver]

Volvenhag....crazy 15's loved mine then the amp is gone now and looking for a decent amp now... The subs are all the nazi's are god for.

[B16DoHcCrx033003]

I would suggest DD audio. Great Great subs + amps. I got a friend wit a jimmy whos has 2 15 inch DDs in his trunk, and enter competition and hits about 168 db. Kinda expesive tho, but each sub and amp is hand made when you order it.

[AkimboStylee]

kicker anyone???? solobarics rule I RETRACT MY PREVIOS STATEMENT, but they still pound in my hatch!

What do you mean best? Best for normal people, or just best????

Best headunit? I'd say the denon DCT-Z1. Stepping down from there, maybe a Nak 45z, a sony cdx-c90, or maybe a nak c400, denon r1, pioneed P9. Most of those are pretty bland looking, but when you say best I usually think best reproduction quality.

Best drivers?? That's pretty subjective, it's all up to your ears. Rainbow Platinum, Focal Utopia, MB Quart Q, CDT Euro, so many choices. My preference for every day folks are CDT HD series, but that's jsut my personal taste.

Subs? WAYYYY too many to choose from, it all depends on your taste in music, and as mine changes quite frequently so does my choice for subs. IDQ, DD99xx, Brahma, Juggernaught, Solobaric, whatever sounds good to you and you get a decent deal on the. For now I have a pair of solobaric L7's in a HUGE ported unclosure(3.27ft^3 per sub, tuned in the mud). Aboslutely the best bang for the buck right now are elemental K series. Fantastic Sound, decent spl, and you can't shake a stick at the cost.(oh and krwheeler85, care to put a solobaric up against a DD, Maybe a Quad Juggernaught, or maybe a stroker, how about an atomic quad APX, how about a shocker extreme, hell even just a W7?)

Amps? this is another very subjective one. It depends whether you're looking for SQ or some RAW power. You could go insane with McIntosh Tube amps, celestra, cadence, US Amps, MMATS. For normal people, I like xtant, kicker, JL, soundstream, orion, phoenix gold, crossfire, a/d/s, , strangly enough audiobahn and earthquake stuff isn't bad(earthquake makes a serious run for competition amps), and can't forget memphis.

Interconnects? Kimber select hands down. Other than that it just depends on what color you get as the mid rung cables are all pretty close, I like Knu cables and wires for my stuff, although Moster comes in pretty close.

For sound processing I have to give notable mention to Audio Control. Love em...


It all depends how much money you are willing to spend and what you want to accomplish. I can put together a decent sounding system for less than a grand. I can put together a system that would give you permanant wood for about $5K, and for $20K you'd never want to leave your car

[AkimboStylee]

^ ported box is a bad idea for solo-barics, you have to make sure the box is tuned for the speakers, if not you could blow them. the best box would have be the smallest box with the most volume. that way the speaker doesn't have too much air that it cant push. btw have you seen a solobaric blow? ive seen one blow in an air tunnel box ( box with little foam beads, alot of little foam beads!!!!1) neway, it looked like a little nuke blowing up it was aewsome

Originally posted by krwheeler85
^ ported box is a bad idea for solo-barics, you have to make sure the box is tuned for the speakers, if not you could blow them. the best box would have be the smallest box with the most volume. that way the speaker doesn't have too much air that it cant push. btw have you seen a solobaric blow? ive seen one blow in an air tunnel box ( box with little foam beads, alot of little foam beads!!!!1) neway, it looked like a little nuke blowing up it was aewsome

Hmmm you mean a ported box using kickers ported box specs is a bad idea(well close, I changed the tuning a bit)? You mean the fact I picked up almost 13db over the sealed box with the same exact amp, and same exact subs is bad? Sure you can argue that ported isn't as good on the suspension, but they've been pounding for over a year with no signs of weakness.

Have you ever seen a stroker 18" with 20kw making a window blow in and out of the tracks? Have you ever had a chance to see a single shocker extreme pull over 170db???? The dbDrag 2003 extreme 1 Certified SPL leader just happens to have a single shocker extreme that burped an OFFICIAL 174.4dB, the #2 certified max SPL in extreme 1 was a single DD9915, The extreme 2 driver highest spl was a pair of DD9915s, the extreme 3-4 was using custom spl dynamics drivers, the extreme 5-8 highest db is using 6 juggernaught 18"s(with a 1500w amp per coil, 6000w per driver), the funny thing is the single shocker was the highest certified burp of the 2003 season. Did you notice any drivers missing from the extreme ladder? A real funy one, the extreme 9+ max certified spl was pioneer lol.

And what do you mean "the best box would have be the smallest box with the most volume" that's contridictory. The best box for the life of a speaker would be a point where the cone is reaching xmax it's can't overcome the volume of the box, meaning that the volume of the box is small enough to impede the driver from reaching xmax and bottoming out. This wouldn't sound too great but the driver would last a while.

The "best" box for solobarics is yet another subjective topic. It depends on what you're going for. The flattest curve and cleanest sound is a big sealed box, ~2ft^3 for a 12" solobaric. The curve is soooo flat and the driver is very warm and responsive. Putting a solo in a small enclosure it accentuates midbass too much, it really falls on it's face for the real low stuff. Putting any speaker in a ported enclosure will gain dB, and if tuned absolutely perfect you'll get a nice sound as well. I'm not talking ghetto flea market bandpass enclosures, I'm talking sit down with a pad of paper a calculator and a few formulas. Look for a power mouse folded horn enclosure. He has that thing tuned soooo beautifully, I've seen a pair of 10"s(custom 10"s that the designer of the power mouse also designed) that would give you and instant hardon because it sounded so clean, but at the same time was a monster. a pair of 10"s with barely 500w that pulled 147.2dB, oh and they were round. If you're really down and dirty about SQ your materials play a key point in how the drivers respons as well. Take my first setup in my car with the solos in 1.5ft^3 boxes using baltic birch ply. They were very warm, and still knocked out a decent burp. Yet the exact same driver in the same volume box in an MDF box doesn't sound remotely close.


When I see a statement of "SQUARE SUBS POUND HARDER THAN ANY ROUND SUB ANYDAY!!!" it just makes me chuckle. how about a solobaric 12" versus a JLW713? just about the same cone area, the W7 would eat the solobaric alive. How about a solobaric 15" versus a DD9500, 9915, or maybe a juggernaught? outclassed again. I know how about a soloX versus a stroker 18? hmmm. To you they very well may be the proverbial shiznit, but not everone will agree. Best bang for the buck in the SPL end of things I might concede though.

With all that being said, a sub is best for what you want it for. When I'm in the mood to actually listen to music I'd take the IDQ 10"s in my wife's car over my solobarics ANY DAY. Solobarics are great drivers, don't get me wrong, but they aren't the epitomy of perfection. They are FAR from the best SQ drivers around, and they aren't the best SPL drivers around either, they are just OK. I've had my 1st gen L7s in several different enclosures, and they've never comletely satisfied me. If they die they will be replaced with something different.

Originally posted by krwheeler85
kicker anyone???? solobarics rule I RETRACT MY PREVIOS STATEMENT, but they still pound in my hatch!

Too bad my radio shack 12's with a Rage amplifier blows those solobarics away....

If u wanted the best be prepared to spend lots of money. Personally I am more interested in "bang for the Buck!" What I can get a good quality stereo for cheap. It may not be a competition stereo but it sounds clear and hits hard.


Cheap "bang for the buck"!

Radio shack 12" sub (built by MTX if anyone wants to know)
Rage amp (bridged)
JBL 3 way (6.5inch) $70 or Polk Audio Coaxial (preffered)
JVC CD unit

verdict: Hits very hard with a properly built box. Stomps the crap out of Solobarics. Personally I like Polk Audio's for high end. They have the soft dome tweeters, and the sound is very smooth with them, but JBL is a much crisper sound, still good too for the price, and cheaper than Polks.

the quality "bang for the buck"!

12" MTX Thunder Pro series sub
Polk Audio DB series component set
Polk 3-way 6x9
Rage amp (4 channel)


verdict: hits very hard. Very clear and half the price of serious systems. Again I like the Polks for high end. They are very smooth.

list of speakers that I like regardless of price:

Polk subs, Polk components, Infinity components, JBL components, JL subs, Rockford Fosgate components, Orion XTR Xtreme subs, Boston Acoustics components, MTX Subs, MTX components,

list of speakers that I hated or wasnt impressed with regardless of price:

Kicker Solobarics, Pioneer (all), Kenwood (all), Alpine (all), Sony Xplode, Rockford Fosgate Punch subs, MB quartz, Kove Audio

[AkimboStylee]

i just order 3 infinity perfects and im in the process of building a box, mtx are nice, i like solo's cause i have a small car, and spl is crazy. i hit 130 with 2 alpine type es, they are nice speakers, well were, the new ones suck

well for not much room I guess solo barics are the way to go I just think they arent that good for the price (if u have the room that is). I just used my trunk in my hatchback (1.5 cubic foot proplerly built box) and a radioshack 12, and it hit hard and sounded good believe it or not. It hit so hard that my mirror bounced off the windshield a couple of times and driving at night your vision distorts and it is hard to see the road and the dash board when they become all wavy!

Originally posted by Honda_Tengoku
It hit so hard that my mirror bounced off the windshield a couple of times and driving at night your vision distorts and it is hard to see the road and the dash board when they become all wavy!

With my 2 12"s it hits so hard I'm on my 8th rear view mirror in 2 years. They keep snapping right at the base of the stalk. As far as using the mirror? not when the system is bumpin', can't even see out of my side mirrors when it's cranked. The system cost me more than just the parts themselves, it's a progressive cost lol. On top of the rear view mirrors($29 each from the dealer) I had a small rock chip that turned into a complete spidered window in less than 5 minutes after the rock chip happened. I've had to have my trunk lid replaced because the bass ripped the skin off of the ribs and warped the crap out of the trunk(I now have it glued very well with 2 ton epoxy, and a layer of dynamat extreme), I've had to have my back window taken out and resealed because the bass lifted it a bit and I had a leak on the back deck. Ahhh the fun of bass, this system is nowhere near as nasty as my last car, a stroker 18" in 8cf with 4kw going to it

Originally posted by illusion
With my 2 12"s it hits so hard I'm on my 8th rear view mirror in 2 years. They keep snapping right at the base of the stalk. As far as using the mirror? not when the system is bumpin', can't even see out of my side mirrors when it's cranked. The system cost me more than just the parts themselves, it's a progressive cost lol. On top of the rear view mirrors($29 each from the dealer) I had a small rock chip that turned into a complete spidered window in less than 5 minutes after the rock chip happened. I've had to have my trunk lid replaced because the bass ripped the skin off of the ribs and warped the crap out of the trunk(I now have it glued very well with 2 ton epoxy, and a layer of dynamat extreme), I've had to have my back window taken out and resealed because the bass lifted it a bit and I had a leak on the back deck. Ahhh the fun of bass, this system is nowhere near as nasty as my last car, a stroker 18" in 8cf with 4kw going to it

holy mother of GOD!!!! Are we just a little bit deaf!!!! OMG thats crazy. Dont get me wrong Cerwin Vega strokers and other very high priced car stereo equipment are good I just dont believe in paying that much money to have those things destroy my hearing! Besides when its really that lound can u really hear anything? I know on mine it was on the threshhold of really hearing the detail of the music. I have sat in competition cars that are just nuts and I couldnt really here the music in detail. The only thing I could think of was the pain, and the pressure; it definately was past my threshhold. Whatever makes u happy thpough.

i cant believe your solobarics are that loud! Well I was comparing one solobaric to my one 12 inch MTX radioshack sub. Now two subs are a different story. That and the new solobarics are alot better than the old ones that is for sure, but still overpriced in my book for what it does.

Were you comparing sealed or ported? Solobarics get insanse with proper ported box. I built my ported box on a whim, thinking "well if this doesn't work I'll just do a nice large sealed". I had the gains on my amps identical to where they were in the sealed boxes, and the first time I turned it up I freaked out because it was so loud. I double checked the non-fading settings on my deck, double checked my noise gate, matrix and amps, then cranked it up to the setting I usually listened to it when I had the sealed boxes, and no distortion at all, just stomach churning bass. I can't handle turning it up as loud as it will go. It makes me beyond nautious. I thought mine were nuts till I helped a friend install a solo X 18 in a 10ft^3 box in the back of an excursion with 3000w of mmats nut behind it, it was unreal but he wasn't happy. I just got a call from him at work today telling me he has a pair of MA Audio 4400w HC amps. So this saturday I'm installing them and he'll have 8800w going to a single 18, I can't wait to hear...errr. feel it lol.

The downside to my setup right now is it's not very versitile. It likes to play anywhere from 35-55 hz, anymore more or less it falls on it's face, and I mean bad, you can barely hear a 65hz bass note over the mids and tweets on a good song. I'm getting ready to rip this whole thing out and put in a pair of ID Max V2s in BIG sealed boxes (or a pair of PG Elite if I can get a deal on them), I'm past my phase of obnoxiously loud, I want loud but clean, plus I'm sick of buying mirrors, the guy at teh service desk recognized me the last two time I went to the dealer lol. The other downside is size. I can't even fit 2 plastic bags of groceries in the back right now. I might put my little boxes back in for a while, I'm prettymuch sick of the monster box.

I went from this modest 1.5ft^3 each sealed(I know they are facing eachother, everyone has a theory of cancellation, but that would only apply if they were out of phase, since they are in phase it causes the trunk to act like a bandpass enclosure, and they were pretty loud, and very clean)



to this 3.27ft^3 each MONSTER(with port vol about 8ft^3 total)



Here's a box plot I did in winisd, normal sealed versus large sealed, small ported versus mine.(it just look big, it's a gif, so it's small sized)(**edit:ooops fixed this link) http://home.pacbell.net/peter_s/l7.gif

[AkimboStylee]

the first l7s are better than tne new ones, now they are built by the lowest bidder. new word is the solo -x is nw going to be made 1n 12 and 15 inch. for those who dont know what that is, it is an 18 inch subwoofer that is 10000 watts max, and 5000 rms, that is insane. they can be seen in action in a bad movie, 2 fast 2 furious, in the begining where the kids are showing off thier systems, the last one shows a kid with an automated amp rack.

i was comparing my sealed MTX sub versus a sealed solobaric. Regardless of whether I like solobarics or not, your sytems is sweet man. Looks very clean!

BTW I am with u on the obnoxious part. I am tired of crazy systems myself. If u want to know, I am not running an amp anymore. All I am running is Polk Components in the front, and Infinity 3 way 6 by 9's in the rear. I am not running a sub anymore. My hearing is very sensitive to noise right now. I just cant stand loud systems anymore. That and I am going deaf. I just cant control myself with the volume nob (no will power to keep it low), if I have a nice system. So I take the amp and the sub out of the equation to control my urge to crank it.