What happend to car audio? My little rant

[hatedonmostly 5,000+ posts]

Hey this guy made a lot of F-ing sense it is so true, so many punks just got a bunch of BS they threw together didnt pay attention to any detail. I love installing for friend and family and im sorry but some of the "crap" people throw together embarasses me and its not even in my car. The guy owns a shop and he's speaking his knowledge there isnt any reason to knock him down, we are all supposed to be audio lovers here.

no

 

[IamDeMan 5,000+ posts]

I run a small shop, and over the years before and while ive been in business, the whole 12v industry with the exception of a hand full of companies has just went down the drain. I'm sure im not the only person who thinks this.
At one time all of the "big brands" that are now crap were great. I personally blame most of the people that complain about them. People only seem to care about one thing big power for cheap. Well those two things dont go together.

Power and reliablity come from high quality components, design and workmanship (both in the product and installation).

People used to complain that the "big brands" cost to much when they were built well, now they complain that they **** but they are cheap. The "big brands" are just trying to give the people what they want but they can't seem to make up their mind.

So another player showed up. The "very small brands" these brands claim big power for cheap, and they do but there is nothing special about them, cookie cutter boards, heatsinks, designs, and miles and miles of internet hype, fanboys, and general idiots supporting them. The ideal, brainwash the market and do it to the extreme.

By doing this they destroy the industry. Your used equipment is now worth nothing because everyone has it, in one form or another. The local shops (not defending all of them because some are ran by idiots or people that will just rape your wallet) go out of business because their 2000 watt amp cost alot more that you paid for yours (even though it carried a local warrenty and a warrenty backed by the factory that made it). Therefore you loose the installation knowledge. When you loose that alot of stuff seems to break because little johnny thought his factory electrical system could support a 250 amp draw because little johnny number 2 told him a few extra grounds and a piece of 1/0 would be fine. All of this because one of them saw someone on youtube get very loud using his same woofer and amplifier. But because they are stupid they didnt know the person on you tube had a proper enclosure, and electrical system.

Years ago people had common sense they asked people that actually knew what they were talking about. Not just shops but people who actually had a background in 12v electronics or the "big brand" factory's with real engineers and not people that ordered 250 amps from korea or china and had a logo slaped on it. The equipment would last for many many years, didnt overheat because someone had an improper electrical system for the equipment or ran it at rediclous impedances, or a leaky enclosure tuned to 75hz with too little port area. Cutting a hole in your box is not the proper way to port something!

There is no art or anything to be proud of in most peoples work anymore. Almost no one spends time on it. "I built my box out of mdf, deck nails and silicone, ran the power wire threw the door jam across the brake pedal on top of my carpet and for terminations well i just cramed it the best i could". People used to spend as much on the installation accessories as the amplifier and drivers and spent probably 800% more time on the installation. What used to be barrier stripps, carefully ran and terminated wires, amp racks, and trim panels, has turned into thrown together crap.

If you want a high performance 2000 watt system, you cant just save up $1000 and buy a 500 woofer and a 500 dollar amp, and throw it in your car, you will never see its potential and it will probably all meet a horrible end. Why people dont understand this I dont know.

I realize i probably missed about a thousand points and probably just rambled alot but it would take me months to really get this off my chest. But thats the start of my rant and i feel alittle better.

I certainly wouldn't give you any money to butcher my car in the same fashion you butchered your post.

 

[The HACKER 10+ year member]

Going home for the day, but yes. for so many reasons. Anyone with a HS diploma at the least could at the least understand the point of view.

 

[Mike465 10+ year member]

Well here is my take on everything.

I do not really think people understand what shop owners are paying for their equipment. Example, someone on here talked about their local shop selling CVR's for $199. Yeah you can find them on the internet for $40-60 each. Does that mean the shops are getting the equipment at that price? Hell no, you have manufacturing pricing, distributor pricing, dealer pricing and MSRP. I know the local distributors in my area if I were to buy a CVR my cost is almost three times what you are going to buy it online for. Most of these shops don't charge MSRP but they don't make nothing off the product. Where they are going to make their money is off installs and install accessories.

Look at big chain stores Best Buy, HHGreg, Fry's electronics, etc. In order for these chains to stay competitive they all have for the most part the same pricing on products. These companies are not making jack off the sale of a TV or computer or IPod (When I used to work for Best Buy the store only made $10-30 profit off the sale of a computer) Where they are going to make up for this is selling cables, cases, extended warranty and services.

Yes, shops can get better pricing on products if they go direct with the manufacture. Well the problem with this is high buy-ins. I know Kenwood wants close to $6k for your first buy-in and then you have to order a set amount each month. Other lines are like this as well. What shop is going to do this for all their line when 75% of the people that walk in their store bought something online?

Let's look at the whole install thing. I have come across a few posts on here talking about install prices being too high. Most small shops are going to have one or two people working their. One dong installs and the other running the front and helping customers. So lets say the average shop does 2 head unit installs ($40-50 plus parts), and a sub amp ($60-80 plus parts) So the shop pulls in $200-300 a day in labor. You have someone that wants a box built and they are quoted for $300 and up. A lot of people are *****ing about this but lets look at it thought the shops eyes.

If they have two people working there that means the person who is installing is going to build the box and depending on how complex and how fast he/she is it is going to take about a half a day to build the box and then they have to install everything as well. Well someone comes in wanting some speakers installed but the shop cant touch it till the next day. Nine times out of ten the customer is going to want their stuff installed that day and when you tell them you can't get to it till tomorrow whats going to happen? They are going to find another shop to do the install.

So what if they built the box and did the amp install for $100? (Hey that's a really good price) Well that puts the shop losing $100-200 for that day when they could have done a few quick installs and made more money.

 

[kr15 5,000+ posts]

despite this whole thread, myself along with about 95% of the people on this site will continue doing our own installs and purchasing online...when someone asks me about systems, I dont direct them to the local shop unless they meet 1 of 2 criteria; extremely lazy (wont do their own install) or they have plenty of money (dont mind pricing)...other than that, I direct them to online sites and tell them I will assist with the install for a case of beer or something...online has essentially become the "walmart" of car audio, driving prices down and dragging down the smaller stores/moms and pops....but guess what? 99% of America shops at walmart for something, so it shouldnt be of a surprise that Americans also seek discounts elsewhere....gotta love capitalism

 

[d77543020 10+ year member]

i talk to a lot of shops in my area and i always ask them why they dont carry brands like sundown,aq or fi and they always say either the buy in is to high or my customers wont pay for them because they don't know the brand,its time for these shops to take a risk and try something different from there competitors because every shop now a days carry the same brands,i would rather go into a shop and get a great deal with a warranty for a sundown amp instead of having to wait for shipping

 

[RidinSwangaz 10+ year member]

Not sure if someone already said this since I haven't gone threw the whole thread.

Money = Everything

Cheap Parts = Less Money

What was once quality brands = What MOST people want.

What most people want = No longer good, Cheap parts, More money.

More money = more profit

More profit = more people buying due to more being out there.

Moral of the story, Proft.

 

[Lakota 5,000+ posts]

Myspace and Facebook killed car audio.

 

[budahbuddy803 10+ year member]

OP......shutup. If you arent happy with the 12 volt shop industry get out of it.

 

[Cruzer 10+ year member]

Why doesnt the OP just make a website and do like all the internet places now. Look at crutchfield its been around forever and stupid people still buy from them.

but look at sonicelectronix it might have been around for a little while, but recently they have boomed and lots know of them now.

Plus when shopping, even on the internet, why pay $250 for a Rockford fosgate amp that will do quite less when u can buy an AQ amp for $250 that will do so much more and still have reliability and still has a 2 year warranty?????

 

[budahbuddy803 10+ year member]

Not sure if someone already said this since I haven't gone threw the whole thread.Money = Everything

Cheap Parts = Less Money

What was once quality brands = What MOST people want.

What most people want = No longer good, Cheap parts, More money.

More money = more profit

More profit = more people buying due to more being out there.

Moral of the story, Proft.

So what are you saying here?

BTW Those dogs in your sig and stuff. Is it a bully pit, or what is the proper name of those? Is a bully pit a mix between a bulldog and a pit? I know someone who had one sitting over 60lbs and i really liked it.

 

[hatedonmostly 5,000+ posts]

i talk to a lot of shops in my area and i always ask them why they dont carry brands like sundown,aq or fi and they always say either the buy in is to high or my customers wont pay for them because they don't know the brand,its time for these shops to take a risk and try something different from there competitors because every shop now a days carry the same brands

Okay...

i would rather go into a shop and get a great deal with a warranty for a sundown amp instead of having to wait for shipping

That's because you know the brand //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

 

[RidinSwangaz 10+ year member]

So what are you saying here?
BTW Those dogs in your sig and stuff. Is it a bully pit, or what is the proper name of those? Is a bully pit a mix between a bulldog and a pit? I know someone who had one sitting over 60lbs and i really liked it.

All they care about is money, Not quality.

He is a pure bred blue gotti, cost me $4500..Only 60? Mine is only 11 months and weighs 116, If you really like it, Come buy one in 9 weeks females $1,500 males $1,700 He only cost so much due to getting the right bloodline, The dog itself was free... He is the only puppy from a litter I didn't sell.

 

[cleansoundzz 10+ year member]

Good read

 

[Johnny Law.Lulz 5,000+ posts]

All they care about is money, Not quality.
He is a pure bred blue gotti, cost me $4500..Only 60? Mine is only 11 months and weighs 116, If you really like it, Come buy one in 9 weeks females $1,500 males $1,700 He only cost so much due to getting the right bloodline, The dog itself was free... He is the only puppy from a litter I didn't sell.

Good prices. Thats what i sell my GSD pups for depending on pedigree, i always thought with peoples ignorances toward pit bulls that you wouldnt be able to make that much. I personally love pit bulls. Great family dogs.