I am new to the car audio world and a couple of months ago I started researching car audio systems. I found this new adventure both fun and exciting. I also found it confusing and frustrating. I went to a number of different dealers and installers and the only consistent thing I heard from these stores was that the only product to buy for my vehicle was miraculously the exact brand they had in their store! This was confusing because they all sold different products. That said, all of those stores sold quality product: arc, focal, hertz, jl.
The problem I had was that I couldn't hear any of them side by side even though many of these dealers sold more than one of those brands. I knew that I needed to pick the right product for me and my ear despite what the representative said.
So I went online. Here mainly. And I knew I was in the right place. I learned a lot of critical information that helped me make the right decision. In fact, I would not have half the quality of system I do now. On this site I also heard about a number of things I had no previous knowledge. Especially in speakers. I heard about many speaker systems that I wish I could have listened to like dynaudio and rainbow speakers among others. The problem was, in Sacramento, I couldn't find a store that had these to demo.
So I made a decision. This is what I chose:
Kenwood dnx 9900hd
Hertz hsk 165l - front
Hertz esx 570 -rear
Jl 600/4 hd to power the fronts bridged
Jl 900/5 hd to power the rears bridged and powering the sub
Jl 10w6v2 sub
I put a lot of sound deadening in and used some nice thick wires for the speakers.
I bought all these items online and had a professional install them.
I was super excited. Until I turned on the stereo. And then felt extremely disappointed. The sound was decent but, really, I didn't pay all this money to get mere decent. I played around with the sound but no dice. Minor improvements but nowhere near where I wanted to be. I felt ripped off.
I needed help so I asked for it here. And got it! Yesterday I went up to Lincoln and met Zach, a prominent member of this forum. He didn't know me from Adam yet told me to come on over and he proceeded to spend 3 hours with me setting up my system.
The difference? Day and night! Zach turned a nob here and pushed a button there. Put in a bunch of special cds and set the eq, gains, speakers and sub. I can't believe the difference! I can close my eyes and it feels like I'm in the studio wth the musicians. Crystal clear, accurate and clean. Loud, very loud. And clean loud too!
There are a number of lessons I learned:
1. Do your research here. I avoided a lot of pitfalls by learning.
2. Buy the best front speakers you can afford.
3. Get someone who knows what they are doing for setup. Again, props to Zach. Thanks again bud. I found you can have the best components but if you dont know what you are doing, you won't be happy.
I now am flirting with going active. I think I have plenty of power with the amps and it looks like the only thing I need to do is to get a sound processor and wire the tweeters.
I would then be able to phase and set the sound stage to the proper location of the artists.
Anyone have any thoughts on this?
The problem I had was that I couldn't hear any of them side by side even though many of these dealers sold more than one of those brands. I knew that I needed to pick the right product for me and my ear despite what the representative said.
So I went online. Here mainly. And I knew I was in the right place. I learned a lot of critical information that helped me make the right decision. In fact, I would not have half the quality of system I do now. On this site I also heard about a number of things I had no previous knowledge. Especially in speakers. I heard about many speaker systems that I wish I could have listened to like dynaudio and rainbow speakers among others. The problem was, in Sacramento, I couldn't find a store that had these to demo.
So I made a decision. This is what I chose:
Kenwood dnx 9900hd
Hertz hsk 165l - front
Hertz esx 570 -rear
Jl 600/4 hd to power the fronts bridged
Jl 900/5 hd to power the rears bridged and powering the sub
Jl 10w6v2 sub
I put a lot of sound deadening in and used some nice thick wires for the speakers.
I bought all these items online and had a professional install them.
I was super excited. Until I turned on the stereo. And then felt extremely disappointed. The sound was decent but, really, I didn't pay all this money to get mere decent. I played around with the sound but no dice. Minor improvements but nowhere near where I wanted to be. I felt ripped off.
I needed help so I asked for it here. And got it! Yesterday I went up to Lincoln and met Zach, a prominent member of this forum. He didn't know me from Adam yet told me to come on over and he proceeded to spend 3 hours with me setting up my system.
The difference? Day and night! Zach turned a nob here and pushed a button there. Put in a bunch of special cds and set the eq, gains, speakers and sub. I can't believe the difference! I can close my eyes and it feels like I'm in the studio wth the musicians. Crystal clear, accurate and clean. Loud, very loud. And clean loud too!
There are a number of lessons I learned:
1. Do your research here. I avoided a lot of pitfalls by learning.
2. Buy the best front speakers you can afford.
3. Get someone who knows what they are doing for setup. Again, props to Zach. Thanks again bud. I found you can have the best components but if you dont know what you are doing, you won't be happy.
I now am flirting with going active. I think I have plenty of power with the amps and it looks like the only thing I need to do is to get a sound processor and wire the tweeters.
I would then be able to phase and set the sound stage to the proper location of the artists.
Anyone have any thoughts on this?