I think local car audio store screwed my buddy.

[ArmyNavyCopGuy]

Last year I made a thread inquiring about a setup without knowing a thing, and you guys hooked me up big time with information that it led me to building a setup I'm very happy with. A setup that a lot of friends were impressed by and inspired some to get their own.

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Long story short, my buddy bought 2 HDC3 10s (D2). I just got a call from him and he told me he went to the local shop and they sold him a few things and I wanted to run it by you guys because I think they took advantage of him.

Here's what he got:

a 0AWG amp kit for $280

a battery for $110

Lightning Audio LA-3000MD for $200

They told him that the HDC3s don't do the rated RMS and if he put the rated RMS to the subs they would blow. They insisted that their wire is pure copper and worth the money. They also told him that he should go with a sealed box, and not ported for those subs. Then they said $400 for amp install and $400 for a built box (He didn't purchase the last two luckily).

I don't know enough but I told him that I'm confident he could have done much better, which is now why we're here. What, if any, advice could you give me to pass on?

Sidenote: I plan on doing the box build with him. I did a 2.5cu ft 32hz box for my 12. What would be a good box size for 2 HDC3 10s?

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[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

I'm pretty sure they did. Ask him if the wire feel light or heavy ? The amp is maybe 1500 rms if that the hdc3 subs do every bit of rated and will take more I'd tell him to take that crap back he can get better

 

[ArmyNavyCopGuy]

I'm pretty sure they did. Ask him if the wire feel light or heavy ? The amp is maybe 1500 rms if that the hdc3 subs do every bit of rated and will take more I'd tell him to take that crap back he can get better

What amp do you recommend?

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

A solid 2k amp will be fine for him. There's a few out that will foot the bill. His budget will determine what amp. But a sq 2200 would be good or a ampere 2000 to name a couple

 

[kr15 5,000+ posts]

Hdc's are a horrible option sealed. They definately worked him.

The price on the amp isnt too crazy because it does close to 1500rms allegedly.

That wire price is just stupid. Mylows is a dealer and i bet he could get you a legit amp kit for half that

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Last year I made a thread inquiring about a setup without knowing a thing, and you guys hooked me up big time with information that it led me to building a setup I'm very happy with. A setup that a lot of friends were impressed by and inspired some to get their own.
(Video:

a soundqubed 2200.1 at half ohm or if you are on a budget two audiopipe 1500 at 1 ohm each should be just fine for your coil configuration settings. Either way you'll need to do the big 3 upgrade and have a decent sized group 31 battery in the rear. If the car's alt is less than 130 amps, it might need beefing up as well. anything over 2000 watts will drain your electrical system pretty bad.

If you want to actually get full potential out of those hdc3s you'd want a 3.5k amp.

That lightning audio claims 3000 watts but has 4 gauge inputs. What kind of bullsh*t is that.

 

[loudenuff]

There should be some type of advertisement for people who don't know ***** about car audio to not go into car audio shops... I've never been to a single shop that was honest and didn't try to spend all my money.

 

[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

Nearly 300 bucks for an amp install kit?? Wow...that's beyond ridiculous. Shouldn't cost that much.

The fact that they told him the subs would be better sealed....how do they even know? Are they a SQ dealer?

Don't go back to that shop again. And spread the word everywhere as to what happened.

800 bucks for an amp install and enclosure built. Yeah no wonder some shops go outta business. There's no way in hell it should cost that much to install an amp. I don't even think Best Buy charges that much lol. A simple sealed enclosure should be 1/2 that. Something ported would be better off. CSCStang can hook him up with a dam good design if he wishes.

 

[ArmyNavyCopGuy]

Thanks for the replies guys. Im going to show him this thread.

SQ sells a 0AWG amp kit for $60. Is that a good kit to go with?

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Last year I made a thread inquiring about a setup without knowing a thing, and you guys hooked me up big time with information that it led me to building a setup I'm very happy with. A setup that a lot of friends were impressed by and inspired some to get their own.
(Video:

The price on that amp kit is absurd. Even premium priced mainstream brands (Rockford/Kicker) which sell really good cable are only 160ish. Unless he is also running a 4 channel amp and he's getting battery terminals, distro + a second amp kit for a second amp he's getting hosed.

Dunno much about Lightning amps, but I'd have low expectations out of a 200$ "3000W" amp. Sounds like something that'll make 1000 if you're lucky.

HDC3 should hang with 1200W continuous 50hz sine wave for 8 hours straight. It is likely you could run a legit 3500K amp to the pair and be fine if you didn't act like a complete retard. Also Soundqubed has always been essentially a DD95XX knockoff. They are designed to function in ported alignment (sealed would likely sound terrible and be inefficient). Go to the DD website, look up DD box and use their cookie cutter plans and they will get LOUD. Space makes bass, so go as large as you can within the recommended range of sizes for your cone area.

I'm also suspicious of a 110$ battery.

Actually are you sure he didn't pay 270 for a battery and 110 for the amp kit? That actually sounds pretty reasonable.

As far as labor, bear in mind you live in NYC. The cost per square foot of renting or owning commercial property there is very high as is the cost of living (ie. hiring competent help). Add on oppressive taxes and regulations and I suspect that's not way out of line. If you think 400$ for a box is a ripoff try renting enough space to set up a woodshop in NYC, buy all the tools you'll need, then try to pay someone competent to show up to work to make boxes for you..... OR just order a box from someone online who can build elsewhere at a low enough cost to cover shipping and still be competitive.

Ditto with the cost of install. If you own a garage bay in NYC you could just as easily be doing oil changes, brake jobs, etc. etc. and billing 150$ an hour for your shop time.

 

[tymoto21 10+ year member]

amp kit should have been NO more than $150 maximum

amp install should have been no more than $150 (unless they were doing something like big 3/ extra work but even then not $400)

box should be around $200 for a nice ported box (just guessing ive never bought a box)

hdc3's do well in ported, slightly large ported at that.

tune around 35hz

 

[ArmyNavyCopGuy]

The price on that amp kit is absurd. Even premium priced mainstream brands (Rockford/Kicker) which sell really good cable are only 160ish. Unless he is also running a 4 channel amp and he's getting battery terminals, distro + a second amp kit for a second amp he's getting hosed.
Dunno much about Lightning amps, but I'd have low expectations out of a 200$ "3000W" amp. Sounds like something that'll make 1000 if you're lucky.

HDC3 should hang with 1200W continuous 50hz sine wave for 8 hours straight. It is likely you could run a legit 3500K amp to the pair and be fine if you didn't act like a complete retard. Also Soundqubed has always been essentially a DD95XX knockoff. They are designed to function in ported alignment (sealed would likely sound terrible and be inefficient). Go to the DD website, look up DD box and use their cookie cutter plans and they will get LOUD. Space makes bass, so go as large as you can within the recommended range of sizes for your cone area.

I'm also suspicious of a 110$ battery.

Actually are you sure he didn't pay 270 for a battery and 110 for the amp kit? That actually sounds pretty reasonable.

As far as labor, bear in mind you live in NYC. The cost per square foot of renting or owning commercial property there is very high as is the cost of living (ie. hiring competent help). Add on oppressive taxes and regulations and I suspect that's not way out of line. If you think 400$ for a box is a ripoff try renting enough space to set up a woodshop in NYC, buy all the tools you'll need, then try to pay someone competent to show up to work to make boxes for you..... OR just order a box from someone online who can build elsewhere at a low enough cost to cover shipping and still be competitive.

Ditto with the cost of install. If you own a garage bay in NYC you could just as easily be doing oil changes, brake jobs, etc. etc. and billing 150$ an hour for your shop time.

Hey thanks for the reply.

I gotta correct you a bit though.I don't know where you got NYC from but I don't live in NYC. I live on LI. I also work in NYC and no one is paying $150/hr for oil changes. Maybe in midtown Manhattan in the Diamond district but not the majority of NYC lol.

In fact, work is generally cheaper in NYC because of rent control laws. I had a quote for body work for my car where I live, and where I work. $800 cheaper in Brooklyn. Property tax is very cheap in NYC as well. I don't really know where you got any of that from because none of that is true.

But to give you a comparison, I had my system installed in my new car this year the same town he got that quote from for $60. They did an awesome job too. $400 for an install is absurd.

And yes, he paid $7/ft for the power cable alone. $25 for the RCAs, $21 for the ground cable etc. The nickel and dimed him for everything. I think he also paid $40 for the fuse holder.

 

[kr15 5,000+ posts]

This is exactly why shops go out of business...and exactly why many shops hate the "online shopper" and "online price comparison" crowd. There is a shop near me who charges insane amounts like this for brands like Boss and Absolute. Gtfoh

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Hey thanks for the reply.
I gotta correct you a bit though.I don't know where you got NYC from but I don't live in NYC. I live on LI. I also work in NYC and no one is paying $150/hr for oil changes. Maybe in midtown Manhattan in the Diamond district but not the majority of NYC lol.

In fact, work is generally cheaper in NYC because of rent control laws. I had a quote for body work for my car where I live, and where I work. $800 cheaper in Brooklyn. Property tax is very cheap in NYC as well. I don't really know where you got any of that from because none of that is true.

But to give you a comparison, I had my system installed in my new car this year the same town he got that quote from for $60. They did an awesome job too. $400 for an install is absurd.

And yes, he paid $7/ft for the power cable alone. $25 for the RCAs, $21 for the ground cable etc. The nickel and dimed him for everything. I think he also paid $40 for the fuse holder.

I live in a very poor area and pay 30$ or so for an oil change. Considering I'm in and out in under 10 minutes, I'd say they pull in a fair piece per hour.

That said, simple supply and demand I can't imagine rent is that cheap in or near big cities, but if you can get a shop to work for less that's fortunate.

Anyway, yeah, your boy got raped on the wiring and what kind of battery did he get for that cheap? The one in my 4 wheeler was like 70$.

 

[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

This is exactly why shops go out of business...and exactly why many shops hate the "online shopper" and "online price comparison" crowd. There is a shop near me who charges insane amounts like this for brands like Boss and Absolute. Gtfoh

Brick and mortar stores are slowly disappearing thanks to online shopping from our cellphones/computers at home.

One thing I clearly don't understand is if buying something online is cheaper than in stores for the same item, I would think they would honor that online item so that the customer wouldn't have to wait 2-3 days or so for that item.