Want to upgrade from SA-8v2's. Want more SQ. Need suggestions

[neo_styles 10+ year member]

Yeah I dunno I just really like an "all around" sound better.
Probably why I have a 7.1 surround system for my HT setup too haha. Well 7.0 actually. Apartment so I unhooked sub haha.

I'll tell you what...the biggest bitch when it comes to what I've learned here and on some other forums is that I can't enjoy a lot of live systems now. I can tell too easily when DJs are bottoming out systems and playing bad rips of tracks (enough so that my wife has learned to do the same lol). I have royally pissed off one of my coworkers who paid about 2 grand so far for a setup in his Cruze that's all Rockford and still doesn't like it because his shop doesn't want to take my recommendations on deadening the doors so he has ZERO midbass. Sometimes I wish I could just forget everything and enjoy whatever like I used to when all I rocked were Bazooka coax off deck power and no sub lol.

 

[gamehawk55 10+ year member]

You've actually done nothing with my theory because you're not factoring in the phase relationship your subs share with your speakers. You have essentially ZERO EQ on your phone and haven't accounted for the adjustments I recommended you make. You can sit here and try and argue with me or take my advice (which ends up SAVING you money, mind you). Honestly, I could give a shit less since it's not my system. I'm just trying to help you out.
Do whatever you want, man, it's your fucking money.

I wasn't trying to be a dik or anything just saying there was no change in the way it sounds running the sub by itself or where I cross over the speakers or the sub. With the absolute perfect box it might be close but even the guy at mobile enclosures said it would be hard to get that kind of response out of these subs since they're more focused towards SPL

 

[gamehawk55 10+ year member]

And I wouldn't think that I have to have a crazy midbass front stage to get the type of kick sound I'm looking for because I can cross my sub at 50hz and still hear the kick but still muddy as all hell. Crossing over higher just makes it come out louder but not any cleaner.

 

---------- Post added at 09:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:05 PM ----------

 

And plus the fact that in my old car when I had no money I had no midbass and the kicks sounded amazing and were pretty much all sub bass

 

[neo_styles 10+ year member]

I wasn't trying to be a dik or anything just saying there was no change in the way it sounds running the sub by itself or where I cross over the speakers or the sub. With the absolute perfect box it might be close but even the guy at mobile enclosures said it would be hard to get that kind of response out of these subs since they're more focused towards SPL

I didn't really take offense at your previous statement, so no worries there. The point is that the changes in design that Sundown made between the V1 and V2 SAs accounted for a higher emphasis on the overall sound quality of the SA line, so I can't agree with the statement that there is NO way the SA-8s can do a fast kick line. It really does come down to tuning sometimes and, while it's not the easiest thing to do, ends up being the most rewarding in the end because YOU did it yourself and it's catered towards what you like to hear, not whatever shop set up your equipment. When I mention tuning, btw, I'm not talking about the box's tuning, either. You should have enough bands on that Kenwood that you can at least play around with your EQ levels until you find a better blend. Two SA-8s on less than rated power should be MORE than able to reproduce what you're looking for. Don't look at the giant surround and large magnet and think it's not possible, man. Just gotta keep playing around.

 

[gamehawk55 10+ year member]

I didn't really take offense at your previous statement, so no worries there. The point is that the changes in design that Sundown made between the V1 and V2 SAs accounted for a higher emphasis on the overall sound quality of the SA line, so I can't agree with the statement that there is NO way the SA-8s can do a fast kick line. It really does come down to tuning sometimes and, while it's not the easiest thing to do, ends up being the most rewarding in the end because YOU did it yourself and it's catered towards what you like to hear, not whatever shop set up your equipment. When I mention tuning, btw, I'm not talking about the box's tuning, either. You should have enough bands on that Kenwood that you can at least play around with your EQ levels until you find a better blend. Two SA-8s on less than rated power should be MORE than able to reproduce what you're looking for. Don't look at the giant surround and large magnet and think it's not possible, man. Just gotta keep playing around.

Theres not really much I can do with my current deck. It's only a 3 band EQ which is NOT independent of the sub channel so turning the bass/mid/treble affects the sub channel as well. And the only way I can get decent bass out of my regular speakers is cranking the bass setting all the way up which isn't good for the sub and doesn't really sound that great anyways. Sounds best when I leave it all flat.

 

[neo_styles 10+ year member]

Theres not really much I can do with my current deck. It's only a 3 band EQ which is NOT independent of the sub channel so turning the bass/mid/treble affects the sub channel as well. And the only way I can get decent bass out of my regular speakers is cranking the bass setting all the way up which isn't good for the sub and doesn't really sound that great anyways. Sounds best when I leave it all flat.

So have you considered taking that 200 and putting it towards a better deck instead? Something like maybe the Clarion CZ702 would offer you TONS more adjustability, TA, and better processing when listening to CDs.

 

[gamehawk55 10+ year member]

So have you considered taking that 200 and putting it towards a better deck instead? Something like maybe the Clarion CZ702 would offer you TONS more adjustability, TA, and better processing when listening to CDs.

I don't listen to CD's anymore. Why would I when I can have instant access to 5000+ songs on my ipod. And I know the signal isn't as "clean" but it's not the cause of my muddy bass because it doesn't matter whether I listen to a CD, FLAC or, high bitrate MP3 on the Ipod through USB. They all sound 95% the same.

 

[gamehawk55 10+ year member]

And to add to that. Back when I had my "best sounding sub" I was ONLY running my mp3 player/satellite radio through 3.5mm aux which is the WORST possible signal you could feed ur system

 

[Sonic. 10+ year member]

How much would it cost you to have one 12 shipped to BC, assunimg the 12 sub cost $200 ?

 

[gamehawk55 10+ year member]

How much would it cost you to have one 12 shipped to BC, assunimg the 12 sub cost $200 ?

Not sure. Depends on the weight and how far it's going. The 2 SA-8v2's cost me $100 in shipping direct from sundown via fedex ground. But that was all the way across the US and up to BC. If it was coming from say California it would probably be cheaper.

 

[Sonic. 10+ year member]

Not sure. Depends on the weight and how far it's going. The 2 SA-8v2's cost me $100 in shipping direct from sundown via fedex ground. But that was all the way across the US and up to BC. If it was coming from say California it would probably be cheaper.

That's not bad at all.

 

[gamehawk55 10+ year member]

That's not bad at all.

I was a little pricey. If it was local in Canada it would have been less than half that price for shipping haha.

 

[neo_styles 10+ year member]

I don't listen to CD's anymore. Why would I when I can have instant access to 5000+ songs on my ipod. And I know the signal isn't as "clean" but it's not the cause of my muddy bass because it doesn't matter whether I listen to a CD, FLAC or, high bitrate MP3 on the Ipod through USB. They all sound 95% the same.

Comes from my SQ roots. Certain decks possess the processing power to show you the differences in media. I've heard the difference and can pinpoint certain details in dynamics that are significantly different between a CD and a 320 MP3 from my iPhone when playing them off the Eclipse deck I'm currently running. TBH, the internal DAC on the iPhone is shit in comparison. On most consumer level decks, there's no way you're going to be able to tell the difference and that's why you haven't so far. The bigger problem is there are very few HUs out there that will bypass the iPhone's DAC (the P99RS and Eclipse Sound Monitors will, for example). I'm not trying to dis what you're used to hearing, but I am extremely picky and I can hear the difference and it's mainly in the overall dynamics through part of the midrange and from about 10KHz on up. FLAC is a solid option, but again only as reliable as the DAC that is converting it.

 

[Sonic. 10+ year member]

I was a little pricey. If it was local in Canada it would have been less than half that price for shipping haha.

I order alot from the US to Toronto and it does get expensive lol...

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

wow, dude, i need cliff notes to sort through all this. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

so you want something that can play a double bass with impact and accuracy?

and you want to spend less than $200?

it's not an issue of size of sub. it's an issue of power and mechanical parameters (BL and Qms). it's an issue of the enclosure. it's the amp.

first, you want a sealed enclosure with a Q=0.707

second, you want to locate it in the rear passenger corner of the trunk.

third, you need front midbass that is very capable down to 60Hz and and very well powered. the illusion of impact comes from midbass.

fourth, you need an amplifier that is truly capable of handling transient power needs.