Car Audio is a buyers market..

[basswiigee]

So, are subs becoming less efficient (at the compromise of louder capabilities), or are people just running way more power than they have to?

i have no clue, but man i remember that set up i almost bought it again, i seen two 12 vrs at salvation army for 40 bucks in the box.... they wouldnt let me test or remove subs from the box so i passed... but in the 90s i dont remember any body saying yeah i got to upgrade my alt or add batteries.... lol

 

[T3mpest 10+ year member]

So, are subs becoming less efficient (at the compromise of louder capabilities), or are people just running way more power than they have to?

Power has become cheap and subs have changed a bunch. Used to be weak motors and small light cones and coils.. Needed a huge box to get bass, and fairly low powerhandling capabilties and requirements.. Amps werent' class D, electrical sytems on cars were MUCH weaker too since they didn't have built in electronics like you see today People often bought multiples and did isobaric setups to reduce box sizes. Kicker IIRC, was the first company to make a real car audio sub as we know them today. Putting a 12 in a 1.5 cubic ft box was unheard of before that.

As far as loud, the world record during this period at one point was in the 150's and was just a bunch of sealed subs in a wall, and that was NOT on a termlab, so it was probably upper 140's on todays meter.. Standards were def different, a 140 back then was like a 150 now.

 

[Full Tilt 10+ year member]

Power has become cheap and subs have changed a bunch. Used to be weak motors and small light cones and coils.. Needed a huge box to get bass, and fairly low powerhandling capabilties and requirements.. Amps werent' class D, electrical sytems on cars were MUCH weaker too since they didn't have built in electronics like you see today People often bought multiples and did isobaric setups to reduce box sizes. Kicker IIRC, was the first company to make a real car audio sub as we know them today. Putting a 12 in a 1.5 cubic ft box was unheard of before that.
As far as loud, the world record during this period at one point was in the 150's and was just a bunch of sealed subs in a wall, and that was NOT on a termlab, so it was probably upper 140's on todays meter.. Standards were def different, a 140 back then was like a 150 now.

So you're saying when I'm 45 we'll be doing 60s like they're walks in the park? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

buy a new one, amps and subs are like under a 100 bucks... NAKAMCHI is chinese crap now!!! just you dont make the same mistake i did!! lol i remember when you couldnt even touch nakamichi... theres a whole thread about nakamchi... if you want the link hit me up...

thats pretty sad to hear. grew up with great nakamichi sound from my grandpa's collection.

 

[basswiigee]

thats pretty sad to hear. grew up with great nakamichi sound from my grandpa's collection.

yeah when i showed my dad, you could see his heart hurt... it was kinda sad... I got him right though.... i should do a build log... lol

 

[Bass4Days 10+ year member]

Very Interesting Thread. Im prolly gonna give my dad a demo this summer. LOL should be very very interesting. Over 4k

 

[jrdnhsnbrg 10+ year member]

Haha, yeah man. I love hearing my dad talk about when 'back in the day' Alpine seemed to be the gear to have. Now, whether or not that's totally true, who cares; I just listen for the stories. Old school stuff is way cool.

My dad always told me that Alpine is top of the line equipment, as well as Kenwood.

 

[AAAAAAA 10+ year member]

Alpine was and still is.

Can't say that for most companies still around.

 

[jrdnhsnbrg 10+ year member]

Alpine was and still is.Can't say that for most companies still around.

They're nothing special anymore though. For the price there is better equipment out there.

 

[AAAAAAA 10+ year member]

They're nothing special anymore though. For the price there is better equipment out there.

That may be true when looking at individual products but when you take their entire body of work, it's hard not to see them as premier in the feild.

We know they design a lot of (if not most or all) their own stuff and we also know they put their stuff through klipel.

 

[ds0110 10+ year member]

PPI used to be top of the line...

Planet Audio was made by Zed...

Rockford by Denon...

The HU market used to be competitive...alpine vs eclipse vs pioneer

Zapco has held up through the years. Although you do pay for it.

I like that the old high end stuff is affordable now. Something about running ppi art's that used to be so high.. The only thing I miss is availability. I remember being able to buy soundsplinter rl-p's for 150+shipping all day long, old xxx's for $350

 

[whitedragon551 5,000+ posts]

They're nothing special anymore though. For the price there is better equipment out there.

They arent special, but they are still competitive. You still cant find a quality headunit thats 3 way active capable unless you go with the cheap feeling PRS80. Even the 880PRS and the 800PRS are over powered by the CDA9887. The 9887 keeps up with Pioneer's latest offering unless you drop $1200 on a headunit.

 

[ds0110 10+ year member]

They arent special, but they are still competitive. You still cant find a quality headunit thats 3 way active capable unless you go with the cheap feeling PRS80. Even the 880PRS and the 800PRS are over powered by the CDA9887. The 9887 keeps up with Pioneer's latest offering unless you drop $1200 on a headunit.

Clarion DXZ775USB , Clarion785USB , Eclipse 7100, Eclipse 7200 mkii , Pioneer 860mp

 

[whitedragon551 5,000+ posts]

Clarion DXZ775USB , Clarion785USB , Eclipse 7100, Eclipse 7200 mkii , Pioneer 860mp

Have you read the thread at all?

 

[ds0110 10+ year member]

Have you read the thread at all?

Sure.