I've been doing this forever (first competition event in '87). I've used old school 80's Rockfords, had 4 a/d/s/ PQ20s in a 4 way active setup, McIntosh, a/d/s/ P series, Memphis Belle, JL Slash, along with some cheap stuff (Coustic, Pioneer, Eclipse, Alpine, TMA) in secondary cars. Gotta say the a/d/s and McIntosh sound best, JL after that. Loved the convenience of the Belle (1000 watts for subs in a 5 channel is so cool).
I just got a couple used a/d/s/ PQ40's that I'm pretty jazzed about. The only problem is that they are huge and I'm usually a minivan drivin' old dude with kids along. Not sure where to put them, and I think my wife will just kill me if I build the amp rack into the roof or something like that.
My fun car (2000 Focus with a Roush intercooled turbo setup, Steeda suspension, 20's, and custom leather) uses a 300/4 driving ZR and XR components and a 500/1 on 2 8w7's (Well, it will when I get the sub box finished). Want to upgrade the Alpine to that new 9887 with the Imprint processing (almost as amazing as the old Pioneer ODR, but 10 times cheaper).
I'm excited to see the new JL HD amps, they are promising to ship this summer.
Fred Stay Tuned
staytunedaudio.com