New to car audio, input greatly appreciated

[321seeyaa]

Hello,

So to start off, I'm new to car audio and I fully accept that my question is most likely common and might be annoying to some veterans of the car audio world. However I am doing my due diligence to get the best setup for the best price, so I'm sorry to those people. I've done a little research and come up with preliminary answers, however I am going to proceed as if I know absolutely nothing so I can get all the advice possible.

I just bought a used car and the sound system is ok, but it definitely needs bass. If it makes a difference, I got a 2016 Honda Accord Coupe Touring. My goal is to get the really tight, crisp bass. I'm not interested in the constant reverberations, the type that feels sloppy and just kind of ruining the song instead of complimenting it. I went to a car audio place today and they suggested a ported box, with 2 Arc Audio 10 in subs and a 2 channel Arc Audio Amp. I'm not sure of the exact specifications of either. Installed it would cost $950. However from my research I thought that a sealed box would produce more of the tight accurate bass I'm looking for, and ported is better suited for other goals.

That experience made me question their integrity, they very well may be right but they also could just be trying to sell me on equipment they have a good profit margin on. So I figured why not get all the advice possible, and possibly buy the right equipment and just pay someone to do the professional installment.

In addition to spending a good amount on a nice sub / amp setup, I also want to sound dampen my car. I was hoping someone would know of the best material to use, as well as if lining the trunk would suffice or if it was worth it to do the entire car. (I was quoted about $350 for the trunk and license plate).

So in conclusion (sorry for the long post), I'm looking for..

1) Number / Size of subs

2) Brand

3) Enclosure type / size

4) Amp to go with it

5) Sound dampening info

All with the goal of super super crisp, quality bass as opposed to loud and boomy.

Budget is not too big of an issue as I plan on saving my money for a really good system, but I'm not trying to spend money just to get the best of the best. Looking for high quality equipment where it's worth it, and save where it's not gonna make a difference.

If you've made it this far in the post, I sincerely thank you for taking the time and any help is greatly appreciated!

Thank you so much.

Click to read more...

 

[BOOMINGRANDPA 5,000+ posts]

2 10's ported tuned low (32hz) will sound good, if u want sealed fine with me.. arc has good stuff but man u can get a pretty nice set up (2 amps 210's like $600 still need custom box) much more power than they will sell u for that price.. u can get daytons subs they great sealed (parts express.com) or maybe image dynamics or alpine sws (alpine 12 on sale at best buy for $75) sound deadener this is best & thickest u will ever see, not cheap but u only need 1 layer *GP STFU V2 250mil 20 SQFT (5 sheets) - gp car audio

 

[THATpurpleKUSH 5,000+ posts]

Arc Audio is high end and sq oriented. You can save money learning to install the equipment yourself.

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

Arc Audio is high end and sq oriented. You can save money learning to install the equipment yourself.

Fun fact about Arc. The Black speakers are cheap SB acoustics. And NVX X series.

Super high end.

 

[ciaonzo 5,000+ posts]

You've equated affordable with low quality, at your misfortune. I'll venture a guess that you've never heard actually heard them.

Fun fact about SB Acoustics - They are affordable but they are very high quality. Half a dozen engineers from ScanSpeak design those drivers and they intentionally went for a lower price bracket by sourcing a first rate Indonesian buildhouse with first rate quality control. They are phenomenal drivers and I know this because I have a shelf full of them for building with. In over 20 pairs of SBA drivers I've owned there was not a single quality issue with glue, sound, cosmetics or anything. The only driver I have heard a more natural sound from is the EAD E100HD MKII but that is on a completely different level, yet the performance of the SBA drivers is extremely close by comparison, close enough in order to deserve the comparison to begin with. They are as utterly transparent in their passband as it gets for a dynamic type driver. The aluminum (black or silver cone) or white cone ceramic drivers are some of the finest devices you will hear at present.

And hey, I won't even ask you to believe me. I'll let others who do the same thing I do reinforce what I'm sharing.

www.audioexcite.com » SB Acoustics SB17NAC35-4

SBAcoustics-61-NAC

SB Monitor SB15CAC30-08 & SB21RDC-C000-4 - iAMP - DIY way to build Your own amplifier

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

You've equated affordable with low quality, at your misfortune. I'll venture a guess that you've never heard actually heard them.
Fun fact about SB Acoustics - They are affordable but they are very high quality. Half a dozen engineers from ScanSpeak design those drivers and they intentionally went for a lower price bracket by sourcing a first rate Indonesian buildhouse with first rate quality control. They are phenomenal drivers and I know this because I have a shelf full of them for building with. In over 20 pairs of SBA drivers I've owned there was not a single quality issue with glue, sound, cosmetics or anything. The only driver I have heard a more natural sound from is the EAD E100HD MKII but that is on a completely different level, yet the performance of the SBA drivers is extremely close by comparison, close enough in order to deserve the comparison to begin with. They are as utterly transparent in their passband as it gets for a dynamic type driver. The aluminum (black or silver cone) or white cone ceramic drivers are some of the finest devices you will hear at present.

And hey, I won't even ask you to believe me. I'll let others who do the same thing I do reinforce what I'm sharing.

www.audioexcite.com » SB Acoustics SB17NAC35-4

SBAcoustics-61-NAC

SB Monitor SB15CAC30-08 & SB21RDC-C000-4 - iAMP - DIY way to build Your own amplifier

I’ve actually installed a few pair.

You totally missed my point. Look at the markup from Arc

You just look for a reason don’t you? Pathetic.

You think we tune to play flat so I would never trust your opinion anyway.

You probably have no idea what imaging even is.

 

[ciaonzo 5,000+ posts]

I’ve actually installed a few pair. You totally missed my point. Look at the markup from Arc

You just look for a reason don’t you? Pathetic.

I wasn't defending ARC being a good value, It's not. I was offering an alternative view to that of yours where SB Acoustics is a cheap, low quality driver. So that folks with a brain might deduce that they are actually very good and can simply buy the raw SB Acoustics drivers, bypassing the ARC offerings. See how I offered a possibility to someone and you usually choose to just poo-poo with a six word sentence and move on? You're usually vague and negative, while coming off as someone who really has tried and done everything and therefor anyone who doesn't agree with you or do it your way, is simply wasting their time. That is pathetic.
So yes, I think I might make a habit of following you around simply to offset your narrow, inexperienced point of view. At least until a few others can get a feel for it as well.

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

I wasn't defending ARC being a good value, It's not. I was offering an alternative view to that of yours where SB Acoustics is a cheap, low quality driver. So that folks with a brain might deduce that they are actually very good and can simply buy the raw SB Acoustics drivers, bypassing the ARC offerings. See how I offered a possibility to someone and you usually choose to just poo-poo with a six word sentence and move on? You're usually vague and negative, while coming off as someone who really has tried and done everything and therefor anyone who doesn't agree with you or do it your way, is simply wasting their time. That is pathetic.
So yes, I think I might make a habit of following you around simply to offset your narrow, inexperienced point of view. At least until a few others can get a feel for it as well.

Never said they where low quality. Again, you are pathetic.

A fat guy sitting eating a bag of Cheetos is all I see.

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

You really are papermakers brother. You can spell and neither of you have done anything productive this decade.

 

[ciaonzo 5,000+ posts]

Never said they where low quality. Again, you are pathetic. A fat guy sitting eating a bag of Cheetos is all I see.

Yeah, you did. It's too late to backtrack on that. You even finished with the sarcastic "super high end" remark to solidify your impression of the driver quality. But again, you messed up the correlation between value and quality. That's the point I was clearing up.
And I have no idea how you ever lumped us together, lol. I don't know they guy, never met him. I sold him something once, I think that might be why you have the impression that we are friends? I dunno. You've had more verbal exchanges with him than I have, so...

Anyway, I think I've already expressed that I don't spend every waking minute on my vehicle preparing it for the audio olympics. Because real life? Because I tune my vehicle for me? And for pure musical enjoyment? Not so some guy can tell me I did it right so I can go around bragging and seeking validation. I get on here purely for entertainment and you are currently providing quite a bit of it for me.

Try it. Try posting something that is just positive help, nothing more. An open ended possibility for them that doesn't dismiss others' beliefs and experiences. Instead, why not just say "you might try this, I tried it and like it so you might also?". See if you can do it for a whole day. If you can manage, I will let up and leave you alone and I'm sure others would as well. But the second you say something like, "even thought others say they can hear it (but they're wrong, they just make up words for it that don't mean anything)" or something along those lines, I'm gonna post and I'm sure those same others will as well.

 

[Jcsaudio]

You've equated affordable with low quality, at your misfortune. I'll venture a guess that you've never heard actually heard them.
Fun fact about SB Acoustics - They are affordable but they are very high quality. Half a dozen engineers from ScanSpeak design those drivers and they intentionally went for a lower price bracket by sourcing a first rate Indonesian buildhouse with first rate quality control. They are phenomenal drivers and I know this because I have a shelf full of them for building with. In over 20 pairs of SBA drivers I've owned there was not a single quality issue with glue, sound, cosmetics or anything. The only driver I have heard a more natural sound from is the EAD E100HD MKII but that is on a completely different level, yet the performance of the SBA drivers is extremely close by comparison, close enough in order to deserve the comparison to begin with. They are as utterly transparent in their passband as it gets for a dynamic type driver. The aluminum (black or silver cone) or white cone ceramic drivers are some of the finest devices you will hear at present.

And hey, I won't even ask you to believe me. I'll let others who do the same thing I do reinforce what I'm sharing.

www.audioexcite.com » SB Acoustics SB17NAC35-4

SBAcoustics-61-NAC

SB Monitor SB15CAC30-08 & SB21RDC-C000-4 - iAMP - DIY way to build Your own amplifier

I totally agree with this assessment. Just because they are not expensive doesn’t mean they deserve to be labeled as “cheap” as if they have no place associated with great sound. I own a pair of those “cheap” NVX/SB Acoustics woofers and the dimpled tweeters and man-o-man do they sound good to me. The tweeters are especially impressive for me.

 

[Jcsaudio]

Hello,
So to start off, I'm new to car audio and I fully accept that my question is most likely common and might be annoying to some veterans of the car audio world. However I am doing my due diligence to get the best setup for the best price, so I'm sorry to those people. I've done a little research and come up with preliminary answers, however I am going to proceed as if I know absolutely nothing so I can get all the advice possible.

I just bought a used car and the sound system is ok, but it definitely needs bass. If it makes a difference, I got a 2016 Honda Accord Coupe Touring. My goal is to get the really tight, crisp bass. I'm not interested in the constant reverberations, the type that feels sloppy and just kind of ruining the song instead of complimenting it. I went to a car audio place today and they suggested a ported box, with 2 Arc Audio 10 in subs and a 2 channel Arc Audio Amp. I'm not sure of the exact specifications of either. Installed it would cost $950. However from my research I thought that a sealed box would produce more of the tight accurate bass I'm looking for, and ported is better suited for other goals.

That experience made me question their integrity, they very well may be right but they also could just be trying to sell me on equipment they have a good profit margin on. So I figured why not get all the advice possible, and possibly buy the right equipment and just pay someone to do the professional installment.

In addition to spending a good amount on a nice sub / amp setup, I also want to sound dampen my car. I was hoping someone would know of the best material to use, as well as if lining the trunk would suffice or if it was worth it to do the entire car. (I was quoted about $350 for the trunk and license plate).

So in conclusion (sorry for the long post), I'm looking for..

1) Number / Size of subs

2) Brand

3) Enclosure type / size

4) Amp to go with it

5) Sound dampening info

All with the goal of super super crisp, quality bass as opposed to loud and boomy.

Budget is not too big of an issue as I plan on saving my money for a really good system, but I'm not trying to spend money just to get the best of the best. Looking for high quality equipment where it's worth it, and save where it's not gonna make a difference.

If you've made it this far in the post, I sincerely thank you for taking the time and any help is greatly appreciated!

Thank you so much.

Hello 321seeyaa,

I’m going to suggest you try the Alpine SWS 10” D4 as a single subwoofer in a custom built box of 1 cu ft net after port displacement and sub displacement, and tuned to 35 Hz. Don’t let the low price of this subwoofer fool you when it comes to sound quality. I currently have this setup in my van and I’ve been experimenting with different Sundown and JL Audio subwoofers in different boxes and for me, I just cannot top the nice clean good sounding bass that this subwoofer puts out using an inexpensive but very good and under rated JBL GTX 500; available on Chrutchfield right now for just $99. This amplifier has been dynoed at well ever 600 watts RMS.

Also check out AudioFrog G & GS series, Incriminator Flatlyne series, FI SSD series, Focal, Dayton Audio HO series, and Morel. I have not actually had experience with these but know that they are highly revered among those that have used them on here. for amplifiers check out SoundQubed S1 and SQ series, Infinity K series, Zapco, and believe it or not Pioneer 8601 or 9601.

 

[youdoofus]

Arc Audio is high end and sq oriented. You can save money learning to install the equipment yourself.

that pawn shop that i mention fairly frequently has an arc audio amp too. They have all kinds of weird stuff there. I could easily go broke in their 12 volt section

 

[youdoofus]

Hello 321seeyaa,
I’m going to suggest you try the Alpine SWS 10” D4 as a single subwoofer in a custom built box of 1 cu ft net after port displacement and sub displacement, and tuned to 35 Hz. Don’t let the low price of this subwoofer fool you when it comes to sound quality. I currently have this setup in my van and I’ve been experimenting with different Sundown and JL Audio subwoofers in different boxes and for me, I just cannot top the nice clean good sounding bass that this subwoofer puts out using an inexpensive but very good and under rated JBL GTX 500; available on Chrutchfield right now for just $99. This amplifier has been dynoed at well ever 600 watts RMS.

Also check out AudioFrog G & GS series, Incriminator Flatlyne series, FI SSD series, Focal, Dayton Audio HO series, and Morel. I have not actually had experience with these but know that they are highly revered among those that have used them on here. for amplifiers check out SoundQubed S1 and SQ series, Infinity K series, Zapco, and believe it or not Pioneer 8601 or 9601.

i agree with all of this. You can get an awesome zapco for a really reasonable price on amazon. Really good amps.

oh, and for sound dampening, i got a sheet of FatMat for $20 for my trunk. Made a HUGE difference. Im going to order more now that its not -20 degrees where i live LoL

 

[Jcsaudio]

i agree with all of this. You can get an awesome zapco for a really reasonable price on amazon. Really good amps.
oh, and for sound dampening, i got a sheet of FatMat for $20 for my trunk. Made a HUGE difference. Im going to order more now that its not -20 degrees where i live LoL

Just in case you haven’t read the commentary on Sound Deadener Showdown (sure you have as you’ve been around for a while), they have some great information about sound deadening practices and products that I have used in my vehicles. I acquired samples of their deadener, Second Skins products, Fatmat, and a few other popular ones and ran some tests with them applied to identical metal pieces. The Second Skin and Sound Deadener Showdown seemed to work the best, but all were effective at what they were designed to do. I only applied enough of each product to each identically sized piece of metal to make up 25% coverage. I believe based on my testing and as SDS described that adding any more than 40% coverage has greatly reduced deminishing returns.

I’m sure the OP or someone else here will find this site helpful. https://www.sounddeadenershowdown.com