System Eval. and Question

[Patrick2005 10+ year member]

I currently have an 03 Cavalier with a Pioneer DEH-P7700MP head unit, Audiobahn 6.5" components in the doors, Audiobahn 4"x6" plate speakers in the rear side panels, Lightning Audio 6"x9" in the rear deck, 2 12" Audiobahn subs in a dealed box, 1 MA Audio M289i 400 watt 2 channel amp for each sub, 1 MA Audio M489i 800 watt 4 channel for the mids and a Tsunami 12 farad capacitor. I also have an Optima yyellow top and a big 3 upgrade. My question is, to get the best sound would it be worth it to buy a 30+ band equalizer? Any comments or suggestions welcome!

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[blackbonnie 5,000+ posts]

welcome to the site, and to be honest it would be worth it to re-do your system. i dont think the 30+ band equalizer will be all that great for a setup such as yours.more high end equip yes.

 

[budahbuddy803 10+ year member]

i recomend better equptment. and the 12 farad cap is worthless in your situation. no dont waste money on a 30+ band EQ. i dont think you would know how to use it.

 

[Patrick2005 10+ year member]

whats wrong with the equipment i have?

 

[Geezerpoop 10+ year member]

Audiobahn and Lighting Audio are farely low level brands. MA Audio makes decent amps. There are much better sounding speakers and subs out there for a similar price.

 

[XanderMoser 10+ year member]

Have you done research on speaker brands? Where did you buy your equipement? If you stay around here long enough you'll learn what brands are generally respected and what brands aren't.

Each type of component (amps, speakers, HU) has good quality products from different brands. For instance, Brand A might make great speakers, but crappy amps.

Generally speaking, Audiobahn makes great...chrome plated paper weights.

An equalizer will do you little good at this point, and that capacitor does you no good. Congratulations on doing the Big 3 though, that was a step in the right direction.

Are you trying to get good sound quality, or just sheer volume? Because for the price you paid for all of those speakers, you could have gotten a fairly decent set of components for the front stage that would sound 10x better than "around sound."

 

[Patrick2005 10+ year member]

ok I know that Lighning audio ain't that great of a brand but all I care about for now is that it ain't stock. I'd like to upgrade to better stuff someday so what would you recommend? And I thought Audiobahn and Pioneer were good brands? My brother had 2 Audiobahns like mine with a Pioneer deck and that thing HITTTTT!

 

[Geezerpoop 10+ year member]

If you post a price range and what you plan on upgrading, people will be able to give you suggestions as to what would suit you well. Some audiobahn subs do hit hard, they just don't sound very good. Also they don't tend to be very reliable.

 

[blackbonnie 5,000+ posts]

ok I know that Lighning audio ain't that great of a brand but all I care about for now is that it ain't stock. I'd like to upgrade to better stuff someday so what would you recommend? And I thought Audiobahn and Pioneer were good brands? My brother had 2 Audiobahns like mine with a Pioneer deck and that thing HITTTTT!

yeah, i bet. now just imagine if you get the high quality brands. and imagine how those would hit

 

[Patrick2005 10+ year member]

well I work 40 hours a week, have about $100+ or so after my payments every 2 weeks coming in. Basically what would anyone think I need to upgrade from what I have now?

 

[XanderMoser 10+ year member]

Well, first I'd remove the rear 4x6 speakers. They really aren't needed and just screw up imaging. Unless you really need your rear passengers to hear the music as loudly as you do. Try listening without them, you might like it. If not, ignore that advice.

Ask yourself what it is that you want to change, if anything. Better sound quality up front? More clear, less muddy bass? Deeper bass? More control over the sound? Now based on your answers to the questions, go from there. However, buying an EQ right now wouldn't do much good. Before doing that I would get a better set of components. Crystal SSCS6, Pheonix Gold RSD, Alpine Type X, Blaupunkt VC660, CDT CL-S60A...

But if you don't car how it sounds and all you want is loud I can't help you much...

 

[1greek4u 10+ year member]

In the proper hands a 30-band equalizer is a great addition to ANY system... heavy emphasis on "proper hands."

If I was looking at his system I'd put my money that the first thing I would have to fix would be all amp gain, crossover, and head unit settings. After that I'd bridge that 4ch to the front speakers, disconnect the 4x6's and run the 6x9's off the H/U.

Once all the "free" upgrades were done I would go ahead and sound deaden the front doors and probably look for a better place to mount the tweeters.

It sounds like this guy has already spent a decent amount of money on this stuff and I'm assuming he could make it sound better with better install/tuning. This is all hypothetical of course because I have no clue what his install actually looks like //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif Once i was convinced he couldn't make his current equipment sound any better THEN I would throw more money on upgrades.

I bet I could have made my first 2-3 setups sound pretty **** good if I had the knowledge/know-how I have now instead of just constantly changing stuff. Then again, that's probably how I learned most of the stuff i know. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Patrick2005 10+ year member]

All I want right as of now is to make the mids and highs sounds as clear as the bass notes. I have great settings for the subs, not to overpowering but very loud and deep. Basically I just want a good all-around sound with some good, thumpin bass.

 

[Patrick2005 10+ year member]

But I would like to get an in dash dvd/cd unit. My pioneer is good and all but I want something with a lil more flash but still all the tuning capabillities.

 

[BassAce 10+ year member]

ewww audiobahn.