what do you think the most important component to an SQ application is..?

[Diplexers 10+ year member]

a real time analyzer!//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

lol Amen to that. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[DJ FURY 10+ year member]

Well said Taycron...lol

 

[Mark_ab 5,000+ posts]

Processing power.

And I'll tell you what is NOT the most important, or even close to. The Head Unit.

 

[geolemon 10+ year member]

Definitely the front speakers.

They are the things making the sound, and nothing colors the sound like the front speakers.

Amps are generally naturally neutral.. they may bomb out as far as not having enough headroom, but compression of the sound isn't as serious as actually muddying up details or coloring the actual response... particularly as it only happens at full output levels.

I'd still rank the component set amp #2 on my list though... it tends to handle other duties than pure amplification, those preamp duties can color the sound, and it either has capable built-ins or not.

Head units are just the signal source. A good D/A converter is nice, but the difference between an OK one and a great one is very subtle.

The subwoofer only covers the bottom two octaves, and in those frequencies, you can't hear detail as much as you can in the upper ranges...

The subwoofer could be reaching distortion levels well exceeding 5%, and our ears simply can't perceive it... the frequency is too low.

And hence, the subwoofer amp I'm ranking significantly low.

As far as sound quality goes, you really essentially can stick a POS sub in a sealed box and generally get at least OK sound out of it, as long as you aren't expecting much output...

But a SQ car just needs to be able to keep up with the front stage, in realistic terms, not boomer terms. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[wickedmax 10+ year member]

great replies guys, keep 'em coming. many of you said, equilizers and time delays....will an alpine CDA-9813 HU cover that for a non-competing install? and guys im little bit of a noobie, but who makes the CDT-61A's? (i belive that's the comp set im thinking of...lol)

and for a low budget system, will a profile amp be decent for the front comps??

 

[#1AlpineFan 10+ year member]

Everything is important. I'd start with a decent headunit, and go from there.

 

[Dr. Boom]

It's all important, but the head unit is most important. End Of Story. If you don't produce near perfect sq, you can't get it any other way. think of the deck like your voice. If you have a crappy voice, it won't sound good with the best mics, amps, speakers, or processors on the market.

 

[WeDgE 10+ year member]

It's all important, but the head unit is most important.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh no.

 

[geolemon 10+ year member]

I definitely disagree with the head unit as most important.

It can provide you with some nice additional features...

But if you don't need those additional features...

I've seen quite a few "stealth" installs - in magazines - competition cars - retaining the stock head unit.

There's really just not much that's fundamentally limiting, or degrading, in terms of a stock head unit.

Even in terms of something like a D/A converter... there's not a significant difference, even compared to my 20 bit D/A in my Alpine.

 

[Diplexers 10+ year member]

Processing power. And I'll tell you what is NOT the most important, or even close to. The Head Unit.

OK, you install a Kraco HU and run all the processors you want. I'll keep my Eclipse and run kicker comps with my simple PEQ-114 then we'll RTA it and see what happens.

Do processors make the biggest difference? Sure. But if you process the signal coming out of an Eclipse or a McIntosh its going to sound much better than a processed signal from a jensen or a kraco.

I listened to an install a couple of years ago that blew my mind. He was running PPI power with the usual W6 10". Had a PPI FRX-456 and a sweet Eclipse deck. The shop manager thought he was running MB quart comps. When I listened to it I asked him what kind of highs he was running cause it sounded so good and I couldn't see any kicks or speaker grills. They both laughed and said,"they're stock". This system was in a Ford Festiva. So yes you can make **** speakers sound good given you have a clean signal going to them.

 

[LBX2G 10+ year member]

ok see the head unit is important cuz. Ok lets say u have a Jensen head unit. up front and u got macintosh amps and focal subs a speakers. Seein how my headunit sux now i have to my more and more equiment to fix it . so there goes that nice fiberglass install i wanted. There goes the tv tha i wanted to hind in the upfront consle. See that is why it is so important u can fix it but it will cost u much more. And all those proccesor but an strain on ur elctrical system. But if u have a good head unit then most of that stuff is not needed.

 

[Diplexers 10+ year member]

ok see the head unit is important cuz. Ok lets say u have a Jensen head unit. up front and u got macintosh amps and focal subs a speakers. Seein how my headunit sux now i have to my more and more equiment to fix it . so there goes that nice fiberglass install i wanted. There goes the tv tha i wanted to hind in the upfront consle. See that is why it is so important u can fix it but it will cost u much more. And all those proccesor but an strain on ur elctrical system. But if u have a good head unit then most of that stuff is not needed.

hoocked on fonicks werkd fer mee!

 

[forbidden 10+ year member]

There are many factors that give sq, but it all starts at the head unit. A eq is band aid for most uses, unless it is for an identified problem. Speakers play what you give them, feed them good sound, they deliver good sound, feed them bad sound, they deliver bad sound. The best of systems use a good cd player #1, then good speakers #2 and proper amplification #3 followed by proper installation in the proper location which is for all the above. After that a healthy dose of eq if necessary for any identified problem that dictates the use of an eq to solve the problem.

 

[Rmsanger 10+ year member]

Ok I would think this answer would be obvious but an EQ would be the most important component. With an EQ you can make almost any system sound better, even if you think your's is already perfect. I just got an Audiocontrol 4.1 (only 5 or 6 channels) it made a huge difference. It also acts as a line driver so it took my Hu's crappy 2 or 3 volt outputs and raised it up around 8. Which don't hold me to this but the higher the voltage the stronger the signal strength which helps the overall SQ as well. So there ya go, my vote is my Audiocontrol 4.1.

 

[adam71 5,000+ posts]

I went with "other" or all of the above. A decent to great SQ install is like a chain and the chain is only as strong as the weakest link. I mean why have a great HU, amps, subs, and put crappy components into the mix.?

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