Need Help Choosing Subs and Amp

pHilLyBluNt

Im pretty new to car audio, and i dont know too much about any of it. But right now i have a little bit of a system in my focus. I am looking to upgrade my subs and amp, and i was wondering if any of you can give me some suggestions for some new subs and an amp to power them. Right now i have 2 12" JL W0's http://www.jlaudio.com/subwoofers/12w0.html, and they're being powered by a Eclipse EA2212 amp http://www.eclipse-web.com/index_amp.html. I have about 1000-1500 dollars to spend on the upgrade and im more interested in SP than SQ, so if anyone has some suggestions, please help me.

Thanks
pHiLlyBluNt

MacLeod

OK, $1500 is a great budget and you can get some serious DB with that. I shall start off with the baddest you can get which will eat eat up most of that $1500 but will pound your eyeballs out of your skull.

The meanest SPL subs Ive ever heard are these Kicker L7's. They have a warehouse of output and will pound you til you puke! You get you a pair of these and feed em with This bad **** MTX amp that puts out an underrated 1500 rms and will move some serious air!! Now this will cost you $1400 which will not leave a lot left over for the -20 guage wire youre going to need to feed this monster amp but on a cheaper note Im sure I can find something a little easier on the wallet.

Go here and check out Diamond Audios CM3 15s. They have a MSRP of $240 each (which means you can get them for about $200) and they will not only handle 600 rms but work in a very small box. I would stick with the MTX mentioned above but be careful with the gain setting as this beast will put out 150 rms each over its rated power! This set up will be a little tighter sounding but not have as much DB as the Kicker set up however this will cost you $1100 which will leave you with some more scatch for wiring and all.

Im pretty much all about SQ and dont care that much for SPL but if I were to build a system for decibels only I would go with the Kicker/MTX set up. The subs are super loud and the amp is indestructible and will put out more power than you can handle all day long and never so much as whimper.

exalted512

what kind of car do you have?
-Cody

pHilLyBluNt

I've got a 2000 ford focus hatchback

exalted512

do you know how many amps your alternator is?
if not, look on it, it should say somewhere, if not, go to a dealer and ask, when youre dealing with that much current draw, you could be asking for electrical problems
-Cody

pHilLyBluNt

My 2000 Ford Focus Hatchback has a 110 amp alternator, which im guessin aint gonna cut it.

neomagus00

not for the kind of power you can afford. staying at the same price point, you can get more sq and less spl if you change drivers. since you're spl tho, i'd say get a yellowtop or 2, cap (couldn't hurt), and good wiring (and the big 3), and spend a couple hundred less on the subs/amp. result is twofold - one, you increase powerhandling of the car's charging system, and two, by spending less, you're (while staying at approximately the same quality level) using less power.

Systems

I would take that 1500 bucks and basically get 2 JL 12w3v2d4 that would pount and power it off a jl 500/1 if what your lookin for is bass and power it up with some monster cable and nice set of rcas and you would be set not too mention that would only take about 1100 dollars you still got 400 for some interior speakers and it would blow you away

neomagus00

if you're looking for pure spl, try treo engineering. i'm not sure how much they cost, but they're worth a look (i think cody sez they have the world spl record right now).

i like the interior speakers idea too, make it sound balanced. assuming you don't already have some.

exalted512

im not sure if they hold it right now, but i think they at least used to...
i wouldnt think you should use them in your daily driver though, i think theyre meant for competition only
-Cody

exalted512

this amp
$250
this sub
$430
put it in a sealed 3ft^3 box
its not going to put a huge draw on your electrical system at all
and it WILL get loud
its only 600 watts--but youll be surprised what 600 watts can do in the right box with the right sub
$680 total
get 2 of the same amps i listed
and get a set of mm6 components and run it off that amp
so thats another $250 for the amp and $300 for the components
(assuming you have 6.5" speakers in the front)
since its a hatchback, i really dont know what size speakers you have in the back, do you know?
my suggestion is to replace them with some DB or momo coaxials and run them off the deck
so like $1400
plus wiring
you can get power wire insanely cheap from www.knukonceptz.com
just get 1/0awg power wire from the battery and run it to where youre going to mount your amps, get a FUSED distribution block with a single 1/0awg in and dual 4awg out
run 4awg from the distro block to your amps
i promise you, that setup will blow you away and you will not have to upgrade your alternator or anything like that, if you have a really small battery, you can pick up a 900CCA Engergizer for like $90
best investment i ever made towards my electrical system
later this year im going to get a dual battery set up, but you will not need to--but i guarantee you it will be a screaming system
-Cody

pHilLyBluNt

Yeah i already have some aftermarket speakers. i have 5 x 7's in both the front and in the back. Theyre the Eclipse SE8373
http://www.eclipse-web.com/index_speaker.html
I mean they're nothing spectacular, or anything. Right now i have them running off my HU which is a Eclipse CD5444
http://www.eclipse-web.com/index_cd.html
So ill prolly end up using my eclipse amp that i have now to power my speakers.