Zapco I-Force?

[elementxero 10+ year member]

Hi, looking at these for my setup.

Any thoughts on them? I know Zapco is highly regarded but not sure if anyone has experience with this particular set. I would be putting 50wrms each on them.

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[BlackMaxima 10+ year member]

its crap.

 

[Rich B 5,000+ posts]

Those are lowend amps.

They'll probably make rated power, but they arent made as well as the rest of Zapco's line.

 

[2kchevy06civic 5,000+ posts]

Heh.....I don't know to many people who have these so I'll try and do my best giving you "my review."

I don't know how much you are getting them for but I paid 250 from a local shop. My doors are deaden on the outside a lot and a good amount on the inside. I also have deflex pads right behind the speaker. My tweeters are down in the kicks and will probably stay there(explaining in a moment)

Now the review

Lightning audio 150.2 (gains set for 40 watts or so)

Whenever I first put these in I had a little bit of dampening but not everything that I just listed above. The sounded pretty flat overall and didn't have horrible peaks anywhere. The one thing I did notice was the lows were lacking a lot and the midrange wasn't all that great(to be expected). Now after all the dampening was put in and after the deflex pads the midrange just got wonderful and I mean wonderful. It gave bass notes a clear sound and they can stand out when needed. However, the lows (bass drum kicks) still kind of ****.....it's really my only gripe that I have with these.

Now...the tweeter placement. I've tried putting the tweeters higher in my doors and did not, and I mean did not like how they sounded once they got higher. They got very very harsh for silk dome tweeters. I had to attenuate the tweeters -3db and they still sounded somewhat harsh to me. I've just decided to keep them down in the kicks they sound very nice down there.

The next step I plan on doing is putting the mids and tweeters in fiberglass kicks so I can aim them better and get a real feel for em. Overall though for the price, I have been more than happy with my purchase. If you put your budget up a little more I'm sure you can better but for a set under 300 dollars it's pretty hard to argue how well they sound compared to others. People have sat in my truck and been very impressed.

To sum....If you are on a tight budget and want some solid performers and can deaden your doors as well...I would highly suggest these speakers. I've been very happy other than the lows. I plan on getting a better amp though, gonna try and give them around 80 or 100 watts. I'll let you know once I do...I hope i've helped a little.

-chev

 

[elementxero 10+ year member]

Heh.....I don't know to many people who have these so I'll try and do my best giving you "my review."
I don't know how much you are getting them for but I paid 250 from a local shop. My doors are deaden on the outside a lot and a good amount on the inside. I also have deflex pads right behind the speaker. My tweeters are down in the kicks and will probably stay there(explaining in a moment)

Now the review

Lightning audio 150.2 (gains set for 40 watts or so)

Whenever I first put these in I had a little bit of dampening but not everything that I just listed above. The sounded pretty flat overall and didn't have horrible peaks anywhere. The one thing I did notice was the lows were lacking a lot and the midrange wasn't all that great(to be expected). Now after all the dampening was put in and after the deflex pads the midrange just got wonderful and I mean wonderful. It gave bass notes a clear sound and they can stand out when needed. However, the lows (bass drum kicks) still kind of ****.....it's really my only gripe that I have with these.

Now...the tweeter placement. I've tried putting the tweeters higher in my doors and did not, and I mean did not like how they sounded once they got higher. They got very very harsh for silk dome tweeters. I had to attenuate the tweeters -3db and they still sounded somewhat harsh to me. I've just decided to keep them down in the kicks they sound very nice down there.

The next step I plan on doing is putting the mids and tweeters in fiberglass kicks so I can aim them better and get a real feel for em. Overall though for the price, I have been more than happy with my purchase. If you put your budget up a little more I'm sure you can better but for a set under 300 dollars it's pretty hard to argue how well they sound compared to others. People have sat in my truck and been very impressed.

To sum....If you are on a tight budget and want some solid performers and can deaden your doors as well...I would highly suggest these speakers. I've been very happy other than the lows. I plan on getting a better amp though, gonna try and give them around 80 or 100 watts. I'll let you know once I do...I hope i've helped a little.

-chev

Fantasticly informative review. Thanks alot, the responses I expected were more along the lines of brand whoring either for or against, depending on what they personally own for epeen purposes.

 

[2kchevy06civic 5,000+ posts]

lol

NP man....I'd have a listen to them first though. I listened to jbl's, memphis's, and focals that same day and liked the zapcos better out of all of them. They just had a better overall sound. I'm sure once I get an RTA to them they will sound much better.

 

[troy_audi0 10+ year member]

I got a chance to hear some the day they came out..

Tom At Beach Audio On Beach Blvd in Hunington Beach,Ca

Has a very good ear.. its the only Zapco item he has.. He likes them very much..

I enjoyed the sound of the Zapco's.. as they sit next to Dyn & Focal on the very nice lisoning area..

I would use'em if I had the chance...

I have Focal Polyglass V1's on a Arc Foose Amp Right now..

Love'n it

Peace Troy

 

[elementxero 10+ year member]

This might sound like a strange question, but how do they do in a crappy install?

This is by lightyears the nicest car I've installed a system in, and to be honest I usually half *** it. I want to do my absolute best and put some real effort into this install, but because again I usually half *** it, despite the fact that I've installed 3 complete systems I feel unconfident in my ability to do this one well.