Is it really worth it?

SubCool
10+ year member

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Hey all, Ok im letting 2 years of steam off.

I just dont get it. Is it really worth it? not to offend anyone in the slightest.

I am a guru of audio as any other. I obviously have no experince in the field, but this is throwing me thru a loop.

I am coming to an end of my horrible roller coaster w/o a seatbelt.

I currently have two Adire Shiva's. Im considering a box... but since fiber looks easy to make possibly fiber glass. But once again is it really worth it?

I am down to two different component sets.. being vauge; DA or MB.

Tring to figure out to spend 100 or so on used or 300 on new....

200 or so on an Power Acoustics amp or 400ish on an Eclipse 34230 amp.

150ish on a HU Pioneer 8500mp.

and i still havent decided on mids..... this is really getting expensive.. now i could go and buy all this right now and be on my arogant lil way. but, Is it really worth it? I know im gonna have either the best Sound system around or the biggest headache when i cant get rid of this **** or tring to install it.

But when u think about it... i understand what all these products are "worth", but are they? 300$ for a component set that probably cost less than 50 to make(including labor)? 400 on an Amp..... ITS AN AMP!!

Im sorry, i know my thoughts make no sence... maybe its time to put the beer down.. but someone please help me on this...

Sub-

 
your right...put the beer down. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

j/k

It's really up to you to see if it's worth it. If you have a stock sound system now and it sounds bad, then it sounds reasonable. Now how much is directly up to you.

Now, the cost to build something, there are so many factors involved there with way more, than just build cost.

But if a $300 amp sounds unreasonale, then you can always buy 'cheaper' gear...but will it sound as good as the $300, who knows...doubt it...as far as components, the build/cost relationship is realavant to how well you want it to sound.

 
of course the stuff is not "worth" the price we pay, take a look at nike. they make the shoe for like less than a dollar per PAIR overseas, then the come back and sell them for hundreds. there are things like shipping, packaging, stocking, building, yada yada... then they have to pay the engineers that come up with the designs, copyright laws, patents, all kinds of crap.

do you think they would be able to stay in buisness if these costed less? is this market really that large? this IS an ENTHUSIAST market, not a mainstream one. therefore, stuff will be more expensive. thats how it is with all enthusiast products and hobbies.

espically if you go with the best sounding high-end equipment. its your call, i go mediocre because im not an audiophile who can hear the distortion. my cheapo headphones sound fine. all i want is a little more bass.

its all personal prefrence, and anyone who say otherwise should have his tongue cut off.

but, the reason why it is worth it. is because its fun to play with. its fun to install. and its fun to show off. this is why people have hobbies that they spend money on. do you think that coin collecting or stamp collecting is any different? why do those weird people collect message=of course the stuff is not "worth" the price we pay, take a look at nike. they make the shoe for like less than a dollar per PAIR overseas, then the come back and sell them for hundreds. there are things like shipping, packaging, stocking, building, yada yada... then they have to pay the engineers that come up with the designs, copyright laws, patents, all kinds of crap.

do you think they would be able to stay in buisness if these costed less? is this market really that large? this IS an ENTHUSIAST market, not a mainstream one. therefore, stuff will be more expensive. thats how it is with all enthusiast products and hobbies.

espically if you go with the best sounding high-end equipment. its your call, i go mediocre because im not an audiophile who can hear the distortion. my cheapo headphones sound fine. all i want is a little more bass.

its all personal prefrence, and anyone who say otherwise should have his tongue cut off.

but, the reason why it is worth it. is because its fun to play with. its fun to install. and its fun to show off. this is why people have hobbies that they spend money on. do you think that coin collecting or stamp collecting is any different? why do those weird people collect barbies, or old lunchboxeferent? why do those weird people collect message=of course the stuff is not "worth" the price we pay, take a look at nike. they make the shoe for like less than a dollar per PAIR overseas, then the come back and sell them for hundreds. there are things like shipping, packaging, stocking, building, yada yada... then they have to pay the engineers that come up with the designs, copyright laws, patents, all kinds of crap.

do you think they would be able to stay in buisness if these costed less? is this market really that large? this IS an ENTHUSIAST market, not a mainstream one. therefore, stuff will be more expensive. thats how it is with all enthusiast products and hobbies.

espically if you go with the best sounding high-end equipment. its your call, i go mediocre because im not an audiophile who can hear the distortion. my cheapo headphones sound fine. all i want is a little more bass.

its all personal prefrence, and anyone who say otherwise should have his tongue cut off.

but, the reason why it is worth it. is because its fun to play with. its fun to install. and its fun to show off. this is why people have hobbies that they spend money on. do you think that coin collecting or stamp collecting is any different? why do those weird people collect barbies, or old lunchboxes, even mcdonalds paraphernalia.

its all because its fun to do man

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/handclap.gif.0c301076f534e244f0460706894f19e0.gif

 
of course the stuff is not "worth" the price we pay, take a look at nike. they make the shoe for like less than a dollar per PAIR overseas, then the come back and sell them for hundreds. there are things like shipping, packaging, stocking, building, yada yada... then they have to pay the engineers that come up with the designs, copyright laws, patents, all kinds of crap.

do you think car audio manufactures would be able to stay in buisness if these costed less? this is why circut city and best buy is for... for people who have gone thru that all already- this is the enthusiast - is the market really that large for us? this IS an ENTHUSIAST market, not a mainstream one. therefore; stuff will be more expensive. thats how it is with all enthusiast products and hobbies. espically if you go with the best sounding high-end equipment. its your call, i go mediocre because im not an audiophile who can hear the distortion like some of us 'claim' they can hear. my el-cheapo headphones sound fine to me on my mp3 player. all i want is a little more bass- this is where car audio come in for me.

its all personal prefrence, and anyone who say otherwise should have his tongue cut off.

but, the reason why it is worth it;

Its because its fun to play with. its fun to install. and its fun to show off. this is why people have hobbies that they spend money on. do you think that coin collecting or stamp collecting is any different? why do those weird people collect barbies, or old lunchboxes, even mcdonalds paraphernalia.

its all because its fun to do man

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/ladysman.gif.b3d08666a805020911dd758f82cd9ab0.gif

 
its all personal prefrence, and anyone who say otherwise should have his tongue cut off.
Yeah, sound quality and such is personal preference. But there are some things you can't argue about in the differences between high-end and low-end........build quality, quality of parts used, and warranty/customer service. You buy a high-end amp, your paying for an amp that using the best quality components around, and an amp that is going to last you till the day you die (if you so choose). Along with that comes some of the best customer service in the industy. Look at brands like Zapco, Tru Technology, Brax/Helix.....yeah, their amps aren't cheap, but they'll do just about anything the customer asks for and have nothing but knowledgeable advice to share with the consumer. That's not something your going to get with a cheap-o brand.

 
I'll give you a quick rundown of what I consider decent prices.

HU = 200.00 or less

Comps = 200.00 or less

Comp Amp = 150.00 or less

Subs = 300.00 or less

Sub Amp = 300.00 or less

Just over a grand. Not to bad, and you could easily spend more (or less) on any aspect of the system you wanted. eBay is a great place if you know what you are doing and looking for. Prices have only gone down for car audio as far as I'm concerned, so paying $300 for a 1000W amp is nothing.

You aren't getting married and can always upgrade and sell what you don't like.

 
Car Audio kind of reminds me of paintball in a way. It's like a Tippmann or Angel paintball gun vs. a Walmart brand gun....There is a huge difference in performance. Like if you buy paintballs from wal-mart, and then you get them factory direct or from an authorized dealer you will be getting what you payed for. now in all actuallity the "Wal-mart" brand stuff works but if you are looking to get on something a little more high end then you have to spend the extra money.

idk maybe that post will make sense to someone but i lost myself trying to explain it

 
this board is broke or somthing, whenever i go to edit my posts, it insterts it into the middle of my previous post =\ (as long as im not totally changing my entire post\re writing it)

 
exactally, but going that route isnt the enthusiast anymore.

thats a professional. not a hobbyist. those things are too expensive to be classified in this catagory.. ya know?

its like saying to the fellow gentalmen at the range; "if ya wanna shoot somthing and get a bulls'eye every time, use a tank. or a nuke...youll NEVER miss, and they have great warranty plans!" (rofl) but suggesting that to a hobbyist range guys is retarded =) - same with suggesting a 4,000 AMP for some poor guys car, and saying that thats the only thing he should get. or like a set of 6.5 CDT's for some guys rusted out chevy corsica because his 3.5's blew and he should make kick panels too. i mean cmon.

there are SOME standards of sound quality where distortion becomes a factor. but when its like .01 THD versus .02 THD.... i mean cmon. get real, you cant seriously tell the difference between the two //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/cop.gif.57eb2cc10a7efd04d31083ca3c30d53c.gif

there are three factors in deciding what kind of equip you should get;

1. budget - how much can you spend?

2. difficulty - how hard will it be?

3. need - what need (or wants) to be done with this project

if you are telling yourself - i want spl. and ive got $3,000 to blow and my father is has a car shop, then you should be set.

if you say, my speakers broke, and i need new ones i have $100- go to best buy, and have them install whatever you can afford. then thats it.

as an enthusiast myself, i would try and find the best deals possible, factoring in the cost and warranty plans\tech support ect.- and get the most for my money, and fabricate all that i need for the install with as little $ as possible, and install everything myself. i find this fun and i love to show off what i can make.

look at what you can afford. get expert non-biased advice. make decision (factor quality\dificulty\cost\warranty\cust support. install.

thats my oppinion.

*edit* jesus - i suppose it was the quote tags doing it. what a pain in the a$$hole =p

btw, what the hell does 10 chars mean =) rofl! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crazy.gif.c13912c32de98515d3142759a824dae7.gif

 
btw, what the hell does 10 chars mean =) rofl! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crazy.gif.c13912c32de98515d3142759a824dae7.gif
Minimum required length for a post. If a post isn't 10 characters long people often just type "10 chars".
 
But when u think about it... i understand what all these products are "worth", but are they? 300$ for a component set that probably cost less than 50 to make(including labor)? 400 on an Amp..... ITS AN AMP!!

Im sorry, i know my thoughts make no sence... maybe its time to put the beer down.. but someone please help me on this...
$50, 000 for a car that costs $35, 000 to make?

$800 for a TV that is $500 worth of parts?

$1 for the matchbook that was made in India for 3 cents?

$50 polo shirt that is $10 worth of material?

Your two Shivas ... $125 a piece ... find me a sub that sounds as good or better to you for equal or lesser price ... then tell me if it's worth it.

- Steve

 
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SubCool

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