Havoc Evan 10+ year member
Junior Member
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.
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.
