Most Important Part of System?

[sungwei 10+ year member]

Well I think every part plays a roll, but what do you guys think is the most important part of a sound system? Headunit, amp, speakers, subs, set-up, install, or other? My emphasis here is for sound quality, but feel free to chime in for what you think is important for SPL and other categories.

Personally I always thought it was the amp. But I'm thinking the headunit is pretty important too. But if the most money had to be spent somewhere where do you think it should be?

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[Diplexers 10+ year member]

MONEY //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rotflol.gif.b453361716769b8110ddefc85ff03cd2.gif

 

[BiaBia 10+ year member]

Install is key to finishing your system. Everything has a vital role in the sound.

For instance in installation, I had my sub in my back seat firing towards the front seats, then I fliped it firing in the trunk and it noticeably got louder, possibly double as loud as it was before.

 

[60_cent 10+ year member]

IMO the type of vehicle and speaker placement plays the biggest factor.

Also I would spent the bulk of my money on amps because they usually stay around for a long time, with speakers and subs people tend to replace them a more often. A good amp could be a part of your system for years to come.

 

[urwhatueati8god 10+ year member]

I would have to say the headunit or an equalizer is the most important part. It doesn't matter how good the rest of the system is, if you can't adjust the system to sound the way you like it, then all the other work you might have done is pretty much worthless. Also, if you buy a pair of high-power components for example, you'll need an amp, and most people go out and buy a cheap headunit with only one set of preamp outputs, so they can't even really amp them unless they split the outputs, but then it still sounds bad. If you don't amp them at all, you risk the chance of clipping the amp in the headunit. If you're starting to build your own system, get the headunit first, and make sure it has three sets of preamp outputs. Of course, that's just my two cents but still, I think a good headunit makes all the difference in the world. But then again, what do I know, I'm just a moron.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

The speakers are what must convert the electrical energy into mechanical energy. You can spend a fortune on the best HU, amps, and processors; buy the most expensive interconnects and speakerwire; even hire the best installer in the world to put it all in; but if you have marginal speakers all those other things are wasted.

Buy a more expensive HU. What do you get for the extra money? Maybe more outputs or a few extra features or a pretty display and hopefully higher voltage preouts. The preout voltage is about the only discriminator for a high end system. Most all of the processing will be done outboard so all that extra crap is wasted. The bottom end deck from Alpine will do just as well in a system as the top of the line. In the end they will all put out the same signal and if they don't one of them is broken.

An EQ isn't even always needed. Unless you compete, most HU's have more than enough adjustability to get the sound to your liking for daily listening.

What does a more expensive amp get you these days? Pretty much reliability and underrating. The power classes are all but gone nowadays, why not just tell me how much power the amp actually makes? Do I get a better sound for the extra money? If a cheap amp and an expensive amp are both running 10W to a set of speakers the difference is impercetible as long as neither amp is clipping. Differences do exist between cheap and expensive amps when they are run into clipping. Expensive amps tend to clip a bit more "gracefully" shall we say. They don't get nearly as harsh sounding and they also don't tend to go up in smoke. Keep an amp in the linear range and the differences between them are not noticeable.

That leaves us with speakers. You can get the most pristine signal in the world to a cheap set of speakers and it will make the London Symphony sound like the first practice of a middle school band class. The speakers are the cornerstone in any system and cutting corners in that area will have the greatest consequences.

 

[sungwei 10+ year member]

Wow so many different points of views and opinions but all very good arguments. Helotaxi, I see what you're saying. The only thing, however, is I've heard a set of stock speakers on stock equipment and then a zapco amp and eclipse headunit on the same stock speakers and I must say that set up made those speakers sound like they were after market. I mean it went from rattly noise to crisp music. But I'm sure it would be a ton better with the right speakers.