Best Bang for your buck car audio for under $800?

[jimihendrix465 10+ year member]

Hey guys im new to this forum so let me start by saying wassup! I'm looking to buy a used car soon, either a 2006 acura TL or 2006/2007 bmw 3 series and the first thing i want to put in the car is a sound system. Right now i have 2 kicker comps 12"s in a sealed box, 150 RMS each, crappy generic 1800 watt Hitron amp, after market headunit, and rest is stock. Currently in an infiniti i30 '97 so the speakers are pretty decent for stock, havent felt the need to upgrade them. Im saving around $850 for the new sound system though, which doesn't include selling my current one which can probably get me another ~$200 total maybe? Im expecting to pay an approximate amount for the following..

New headunit - ~$150

New Subs - ~$200 (2 12" Kicker CVR's currently have my attention, can get both for $160, are there better alternatives for the same price?)

New Speakers - No idea since ive never upgraded them before, how much would i have to spend for good quality, while being loud enough to keep up with the subs? ~$100?

New Amp - ~$250-300, Hifonics Brutus? Or something else?

New Enclosure - ~$75

So basically if you guys could suggest me the best bang for your buck for each of these in their respective price ranges? Or if you guys have suggestions about which categories need more or less spending while still keeping it in the same total budget. I want a system that prefers sound quality over loudness, but still has some good bass to play rap, dubstep, trap, etc. I really dislike buying things without doing as much research as i can first so any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

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[bgowdy 5,000+ posts]

Hey guys im new to this forum so let me start by saying wassup! I'm looking to buy a used car soon, either a 2006 acura TL or 2006/2007 bmw 3 series and the first thing i want to put in the car is a sound system. Right now i have 2 kicker comps 12"s in a sealed box, 150 RMS each, crappy generic 1800 watt Hitron amp, after market headunit, and rest is stock. Currently in an infiniti i30 '97 so the speakers are pretty decent for stock, havent felt the need to upgrade them. Im saving around $850 for the new sound system though, which doesn't include selling my current one which can probably get me another ~$200 total maybe? Im expecting to pay an approximate amount for the following..
New headunit - ~$150

New Subs - ~$200 (2 12" Kicker CVR's currently have my attention, can get both for $160, are there better alternatives for the same price?)

New Speakers - No idea since ive never upgraded them before, how much would i have to spend for good quality, while being loud enough to keep up with the subs? ~$100?

New Amp - ~$250-300, Hifonics Brutus? Or something else?

New Enclosure - ~$75

So basically if you guys could suggest me the best bang for your buck for each of these in their respective price ranges? Or if you guys have suggestions about which categories need more or less spending while still keeping it in the same total budget. I want a system that prefers sound quality over loudness, but still has some good bass to play rap, dubstep, trap, etc. I really dislike buying things without doing as much research as i can first so any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

i wouldnt rush to buy the kickers. the hifonics amps are ok, better can be had tho how much power are you wanting to run?

 

[DoesDad 10+ year member]

You might like the Kicker Comps if you'd get an amp upgrade and a nice ported box for them. The CVR's are going to be louder unless you put those in a sealed box too. Have you thought about running 1 12 or 1 15?

 

[bgowdy 5,000+ posts]

You might like the Kicker Comps if you'd get an amp upgrade and a nice ported box for them. The CVR's are going to be louder unless you put those in a sealed box too. Have you thought about running 1 12 or 1 15?

this

 

[jimihendrix465 10+ year member]

i wouldnt rush to buy the kickers. the hifonics amps are ok, better can be had tho how much power are you wanting to run?

Preferably no more than 1000 RMS since im guessing it would be out of my budget to make everything else keep up with it, like the amp and speakers... No less than 600-700 RMS, i want a big difference from my current 300 RMS, im not sure if 600 RMS would be that big of a difference? I could be wrong lol

 

[jimihendrix465 10+ year member]

You might like the Kicker Comps if you'd get an amp upgrade and a nice ported box for them. The CVR's are going to be louder unless you put those in a sealed box too. Have you thought about running 1 12 or 1 15?

Honestly whatever i can find a better deal on, having one powerful 12"/15" or two weaker 12"s? Would it be better getting one 800 RMS sub or two 400 RMS subs, hypothetically?

 

[Knowmadic 10+ year member]

I jumped from 300 to 650 awhile back and it was a satiable difference. Especially with some good gear.

 

[jimihendrix465 10+ year member]

I jumped from 300 to 650 awhile back and it was a satiable difference. Especially with some good gear.

Hmm, interesting. I think my problem is that i've been spoiled by my friend's 2 12" Kicker L7's running at 1400 RMS, now i just want something way better than what i have now lol

 

[Better-Action 10+ year member]

Hmm, interesting. I think my problem is that i've been spoiled by my friend's 2 12" Kicker L7's running at 1400 RMS, now i just want something way better than what i have now lol

2 l7's spoiled? No. Just..... no.

 

[bgowdy 5,000+ posts]

Preferably no more than 1000 RMS since im guessing it would be out of my budget to make everything else keep up with it, like the amp and speakers... No less than 600-700 RMS, i want a big difference from my current 300 RMS, im not sure if 600 RMS would be that big of a difference? I could be wrong lol

i mean for a budget build, the audiopipe apsm-1500 will give you 1000rms without any troubles and can be had for like $120 shipped. most of these guys will either say dont get it, or its dirty power. they will put out around 1500rms but get dirty around 1300ish. but for a budget build on a pretty good 15" it will more then get the job done.

 

[Better-Action 10+ year member]

http://www.caraudio.com/forums/subwoofer-classifieds/568869-audioque-hdc318-w-splaudio-recone.html

Buy this.

http://www.caraudio.com/forums/amplifier-classifieds/564240-ss-rubicon-2500-1d-%24250-00-shipped.html

And this

 

[Serpent710 10+ year member]

2 sundown sa's on aq1200d

 

[jimihendrix465 10+ year member]

Thanks for the suggestions so far guys, already convinced me to not get Kickers and im considering Audioque and Sundown, would one HTC 312 be good on a aq1200d? Anything higher would be a little out of range on budget. Im mainly playing rap, dubstep and trap so whatever subs sound best on that would be preferable //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Full Tilt 10+ year member]

Preferably no more than 1000 RMS since im guessing it would be out of my budget to make everything else keep up with it, like the amp and speakers... No less than 600-700 RMS, i want a big difference from my current 300 RMS, im not sure if 600 RMS would be that big of a difference? I could be wrong lol

An SA-15 would do wonders for you.

 

[sjv13 10+ year member]

[quote name='jimihendrix465']Thanks for the suggestions so far guys, already convinced me to not get Kickers and im considering Audioque and Sundown, would one HTC 312 be good on a aq1200d? Anything higher would be a little out of range on budget. Im mainly playing rap, dubstep and trap so whatever subs sound best on that would be preferable [/QUOTE]

I think you meant HDC3 12? And yeah, that would be nice, but you might also want to look at an HDC3 15, which will give you about 9.5 more square inches of surface area (=louder) for $30 more. That 15 plus the aq1200 would be a great combination, and the 1000rms rating on the sub is conservative and should be able to handle all 1200w from the amp.

Something people havent really mentioned yet, is that you NEEEEDD NNEEED NEEED to get a good box. An awesome sub and amp in a premade box will do you NO favors. Have @pro\-rabbit; or @double 07; build you a box. It will cost about $150-160 for a simple slot ported box and that includes shipping. You will gain a lot of output by sticking your sub in a good home so it can push the perfect amount of air and so it will sound just the way you like it for the type of music you listen to.