How many of you have migrated from SPL to SQ ??? (or the otherwise)

[Shyne151 10+ year member]

Wow crazy thread... I was just thinking about it a couple days ago when driving. My highs were incredibly harsh... so i went to work and spent three hours with my o-scope, and ****ign with crossovers and my eq.

I then decided my next setup is going to be sq.

 

[LuNaTiC 10+ year member]

I like loud.

 

[Raven 10+ year member]

IMO going for all out SPL is only a real challenge if you don't have any sponsorships or money. I'm not saying SPL installers don't have their work cut out for them, I'm saying all the ones in my local area that I've talked to are complete idiots and wouldn't know the difference between DD and AudioPipe.

In my area, if it's not loud enough, everyone's first response is to add more. More power, more speakers, more cone area; more more more. Once you've filled up the back of your huge SUV with enough 15s, 12s, 10s, and 8s of different makes/models and more amps than your alternator can handle, it's all over. (Real story, you seen a truck with "SPL" 15s, Audiobahn 12s, audiopipe 10s, and random 8s on an MA 4400D at Lord-knows-what impedance? I have.)

It would be a far greater challenge to be stuck going for the dBz with few subs and a small amount of power.

 

[phantom240 5,000+ posts]

when i was like 15 and 16 i was hardcore about trying to get the loudest system i could. I spent all my money on upgrading my system...well what little money i had. I bought a cheap (sony) head unit. Cheap wires, new front speakers (alpine w00t), and a basic bazooka 10 in a slotted vent box. then i went to some kicker substation 80 8" tubes, which by the way are awesome for their time. Then i added the bazooka and the kickers in one setup. Okay, so it wasnt competition SPL, but it was louder than a lot of setups for a guy my age. Then i realized something. It sounded like shit. plain and simple. So i upgraded to a nice (okay eBayed it, so it was 3 years old... it was nice to ME) pioneer head unit. That sounded pretty good. then i upgraded my rear stage. Very nice sound. Pronounced highs, clan midbass... but kinda muddy on the subs. Upgraded to an alpine amp. Sounding better. much better. then i upgraded to 2 12s in a sealed box, the first audio component i had ever bought new (gasp) They sounded great, but the lil alpine amp that could, was just too small for the setup. so i bought its big brother. yay. Now the time came to upgrade wire, cuz 8 awg just doesnt cut it on big amps... and i had already fried a ground wire before. Well my car broke, and now for my *planned* setup, im going with alpine 6.5's and 6x9's and a type x 12 with a different amp. Total SQ

My theory is, if you cant enjoy the full range of your music, what the hell is wrong with your system? i love hearing drum kicks with pronounced bass buitar, and the scream of the electric guitars with smooth voacls. hell... makes me wanna nut sometimes...lol not really... but sorta. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[azbass 5,000+ posts]

funny i do a lot of thinking while dropping a load.

 

[MBrock4u 10+ year member]

I am a sq quy. Why have it loud if when you turn it up it sounds like garbage, I have a co worker thats has just that. When he turns up his system it says to me , let me out of this damm car! Yuck!!! My system sounds great at all volume levels and believe you me this sucker can get damm loud. I like to show off now and then like the next guy, but I don't care what it sounds like outside, my concern is what it sounds like inside. Don't get me wronge, I understand the spl people, my little brother is one, he wants to blow out his back window lol. That all fine and dandy, but I have no room for mud in my car. My 2 cents worth. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Sleeklsc 5,000+ posts]

I'M GETTING RID of everything i own...im never going to be satisfied...

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

next step is a quality 5 ch with a moderate sub channel and im done...simple comps and co-ax rear fill...

im a simple guy growing out of a expensive( could be alot worse) hobby...(never completely though)...

i think alot of it has to do with my car though..its impossible to make loud...

im 65/35 spl/sq ...in my car now it 20/20....make sense??? no...thats how bad it was....

 

[Slaugh 10+ year member]

hey guys, this was intended at first to be a thread about how many of you changed style (SQ to SPL and vice-versa) but i felt like writting some personal opinions from my point of view and this is how the thread ended up like //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

well, but that's my thinking since i got into this thing... i think audio is meant to be music right? therefore you pay for speakers to hear music, not noise, right? of course i respect this SPL thing... and sometimes i like to stick around with some friends in a car and listen to shit loud and stuff, but it lasts like a few hours then we all get bored of it and put it down lol...

oh and i see people often quitting SPL to become SQ, but i never see the otherwise... well there must be a good reason for this...

oh well i don't want to sound like a dick, and i respect both parts equally, just pointing out that some people could put it down a little more hehe... and i like SPL too, just think it has a limit... a limit you guys have trespassed a long ago (of course in my humble opinion hehe)

 

[fosgate140 10+ year member]

like others said there is 3 sides of car audio kind of like high school. car audio-sq,sql,spl and high school-jocks,stoners,nerds. everybody has a preferance. im an sql type of guy but i respect a nice sq,spl setup also. a lot better hobby then gambling,drugs,etc

 

[Do_ 10+ year member]

I continue to progress in the other direction... //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif I disconnected my interior speakers. They don't sound all that great to begin with and I realized all the songs I play I just skip around for the good bass hits anways so why even play the high range?

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

I was never a pure SPL guy....but in my early days I was more concerned with the bass output than anything else..like how good it sounded, how my interior speakers performed, etc.

But, years ago I kinda fell out of that. It lost it's challenge. Anybody can throw a lot of subs in their trunk with a big amp and have a loud daily driver. There's no challenge there. But, it takes time, knowledge and skill to setup a system for good sound quality (imaging, staging, etc). And, I realized that the better the music sounded, the more I actually enjoyed it. So, ever since I've been into SQ.

And, with the above, I am not implying that competition level SPL is "easy". It takes more talent and knowledge than I have to break into high SPL numbers. I was simply talking about loud daily drivers (since that's what my systems are for, listening to)....where a couple 12's and a high powered amp are enough to annoy people 3 blocks away and impress the heck out of your friends.

 

[theCybe 5,000+ posts]

SPL is a sport; Most noobs have a misconception about an "SPL" setup. An "SPL" setup isn't what you listen to music on, it's what you put up big numbers with. And guess what; In order to put up big numbers, you tune high. And when you tune high, you lose SQ because your tuned point should be the peakiest peak in your response curve.

Who listens to music on a system with huge peaks intentionally?

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"SQL" or "loud *** music" is more like what most people are after when they say "SPL." Basically, SQL has to do with a reasonably good-sounding front-stage, and gobs of bass.

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SQ happens when you realize that "SPL" isn't what you really want, and that listening to an "SQL" setup fatigues you, and generally isn't pleasurable after the initial rush wears off.

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IMO, that's why. So I have an SQL setup in the Audi, and I'm working on an SQ setup in the Honda. Best of both worlds.

It's a Loudi and a Squaalude. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[RandyJ 10+ year member]

I always wanted to have a great system. Now I am focusing on just getting balance back to my stereo. I sold my amp for tuition and the movers wrecked my box, so I am shitless right now. One day when I am not so lazy, I am going to amp up the infinities in the front and see hw they sound. If I don't like them powered, then I'm putting my Boston Pro's up there and calling it a day, with no rear fill. Then once I get money, I'll build a sealed box for my Ti and load it up with about 1kW. Then with proper equalization, I will have the balance I desire..... Or at least I hope.

 

[RandyJ 10+ year member]

SPL is a sport; Most noobs have a misconception about an "SPL" setup. An "SPL" setup isn't what you listen to music on, it's what you put up big numbers with. And guess what; In order to put up big numbers, you tune high. And when you tune high, you lose SQ because your tuned point should be the peakiest peak in your response curve.
Who listens to music on a system with huge peaks intentionally?

---

"SQL" or "loud *** music" is more like what most people are after when they say "SPL." Basically, SQL has to do with a reasonably good-sounding front-stage, and gobs of bass.

---

SQ happens when you realize that "SPL" isn't what you really want, and that listening to an "SQL" setup fatigues you, and generally isn't pleasurable after the initial rush wears off.

---

IMO, that's why. So I have an SQL setup in the Audi, and I'm working on an SQ setup in the Honda. Best of both worlds.

It's a Loudi and a Squaalude. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

There are a few crazy ones woh listen to thier SPL set-ups

 

[60ndown 10+ year member]

i love music, i listen at different volumes depending on the day , the mood , and the track. i want it to be able to hear/feel the low lows whem im talking to someone while we drive , and i want to be able to hear the 'top end' when im wanging some 'rap or metal' without that 'top end' being unpleasant. i will listen all day to a system that sounds good @ any volume, but would rather walk than ride if it sounds like poop.