Help with choosing equipment

[BastianM3 10+ year member]

Hey guys, I'm looking for some guidance as to what I should do for my car.

I've got a Mark4 Jetta. Basically a sedan type car, with fold down seats.

120AMP alternator...

My first system was an AQ 1200 amp, with 2 10" 450RMS Soundstream Rubicons...

I was pretty disappointed with this setup. Ported box as well. It wasn't nearly as loud as I wanted, and ended up blowing one of the subs. Dead.. No DMM reading on either voice coil.

I have an optima redtop up from, and a big three upgrade installed as well. It seemed to solve my dimming issues, but the amp would still clip fairly easily. Eventually, once that other sub went, the subs sounded ******, so I opened them up to solder the speaker wire to the box outlet (inside). Noticed that one was blown, so setup just one sub.

Anyways, I'm wondering what subs I should go with? I would like some deeper bass, and stronger waves. I want the bass to make the back of my throat vibrate--which those 10s didn't even do.

Questions:

Will I get this with 12s? 15s? should I go for 1 18?

Do I need to upgrade my alternator for some 15s? Or will getting another battery for the back solve the issue?

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[USAFbro 10+ year member]

audioque HDC3 12"s get loud as **** and sound OK. they are pretty cheap too. you just need some good amounts of power to get them going at full potential

 

[BastianM3 10+ year member]

And would I need to get a ported or sealed box for that? THat's actually exactly what i'm looking at right now.

But, for an AQ 2200 would I need another battery etc? How would I get my electrical up to par?

 

[USAFbro 10+ year member]

ported box, tuned around 37 hz. my friend bennie has 2 of em in his saturn ion and hits a 147 at 45hz. yes you would need an extra battery or 2, deffinatly 1/0 everywhere. if you have a weak stock alt you should consider that as well.

 

[BastianM3 10+ year member]

What Wattage amp does he have? Is 120 amps considered weak?

 

[USAFbro 10+ year member]

2 of those aq 2200's is what he had for the 147. when he demoed it to me, he only had one of em hooked up and it was rediculously loud. hes getting a dc 5k now. and no, 120 amps stock is actually pretty good.

 

[BastianM3 10+ year member]

ah, alright. And should I just get a prefab, or do anything in particular if I make a custom?

 

[USAFbro 10+ year member]

dont buy prefab, its more expensive and wont be built to the subs liking. what are you looking at getting? 1 12", 2 15"'s?

 

[BastianM3 10+ year member]

i'm thinking two 12's or idk... I want some deep bass, but i don't think the 10s put out as well as I thought. I would really like to be able to crank it up loud enough to possibly get some hair movement. Can I do that with some HDC3? 1 18? 2 15s? 2 12s?

 

[ColterDC 10+ year member]

Don't bother with extras batteries unless you plan on playing the stereo with the car off for extended periods of time. Just get a HO alt and do it the right way.