need help with a small system

[TurboKA37]

my goal: increase the bass in my S14 coupe with a single 12" alpine type-r sub while providing quality and cost-efficient bass.

i have a bauplunkt(sp?) head unit i bought a while back that has some nice features such as mp3 & wmp readable, auxilary/cd changer input, and i think 4 pre amp outputs. i also replaced the stock 6.5" speakers with some decent infinitis for the rear and some cheaper pioneers i believe for the front. anyway im looking to add a small/not to expensive sub system. im thinking of using a single 12" alpine type-r that i can get real cheap used from a friend but i need help/suggestions for the other parts. suggestions on the box: i listen to mostly hip hop/ rap so what type of box would be best for this? ported, sealed? and i was also thinking about making my own box so i could fit it to the trunk nicely so the sub is aiming through the empty section from the fold down rear seat. how difficult is making a box to someone who is fairly competent in making things on his own and familiar with woodworking? and will making my own box sound just as good if not better than a premade box (assuming i keep the volume within the sub's range)?last but not least i want some suggestions on a amp. i like alpine and infiniti but would really like to keep the price around $200-$300 without sacraficing quality. i know that this is a lot but im more into car performance so i need a little help with audio. it also doesnt help when a lot of your friends think they know alot about audio and their setups but they all suggest different things. im not a total newb (i know a decent amount about electronics and circutry, 2 high school classes) but when looking over the whole picture it gets confusing and i want to make sure i get what im looking for. thanks for the help

[TurboKA37]

nothing? anybody know any other audio forums or web sites that will help me out?

[Rex]

Give us a little time, we're not as heavily trsfficed as most of the other NICO fourms.

"real quick" I'll throw out an amp suggestion - Autotek, they're low priced and have strong power for the $, without being crap. (search on Autotek in here and you'll find lots of budget amp talk)

Box - it's hard to say, if you've made a decision on the sub what to do, but as a general rule you shold figure out how much & big of a box you want/can fit and then find out what sub performs best in that box. There's some sub (size/number of drivers) discussion here as well.

[TurboKA37]

thanks for the help rex. i did a search for some autotek amplifiers and found some good prices on them. check this one out:http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISA...&rd=1seems like a really good deal for about $200 shipped and should be plenty of power, if not too much? the typr r is rated at 300w rms so should i go with something with less output?

for the box i have decided that i want to make my own. the specs for a type r are .7-1 cubic ft for sealed and something like 1-1.75 for ported. i just need help decided which type of box to go with

[AustinSilvia]

you could probably make a better box than a pre made one if you have any skill at all with wood work or with fiberglass, or have half a brain. a lot of pre made boxes are partical board (which sucks as you probably know, but does the job for low end deals)... you could, for much less cost, and a little labor, make one with good quality wood or any number of other components if you want to be experimental... pre made boxes usually run around $100 or so... in my opinion a waste. Anyway just make your own, and do a search on google or jl audio or boston acoustics or anywhere that sells speakers (they usually provide tutorials on building boxes)... For the rest, well for $2-300 you can get a pretty decent amp, as long as you dont go retail. search ebay or somewhere else like it and get a good one. I have a jl audio 500/1 am and I love it. Some people say it's mainstream, but it really really really gets the job done. I bet you could pick up one of those on ebay for around $300, or you could get one of their 300/2 or something like that amps and bridge it... either one will do very well for your subs. I just searched ebay... there are plenty of 500/1 for $300 and less.... I have never used Autotek, but Rex gives great advice, so I'm sure going with what he is saying would be wise also. In any case I think you wil be fine.

[TurboKA37]

i was looking at the 500/1 awhile ago and liked it. the only thing s that i dont know if i need that much power. i will only have one 12" type r which i think is rated at 300w rms.

[Ghettokracker71]

No offence,but I HATE alpine subs. IMO they sound like absolute ***. Try to get a better sub. If it doesn't sound like crap yet,it will,trust me. My freind is on his 3rd set of Type R's in his accord,and these ones sound like **** now too. He is even using alpine head unit,componet speakers,and amps. The first set starting sounded like crap,took them in b/c hes got a warrenty. Second,and now third......Needless to say at this point hes looking for better subs.

Infinity,Pioneer ,Sony ,Phoenix Gold, Memphis, MA Audio, JL Audio, Rockford Fosgate....etc....all sound better. Hell even my BAZOOKA brand subs with the same wattage hit harder,have better sound quality and go louder then the type Rs....and I've got a really ****ty MTX box thats falling apart ! Hes got top-of-the-line custom made ****.

Bottum line: Alpine subs blow.

My car audio shop (http://www.cartoyzva.com) even says that. They'll tell you straight up don't buy an alpine sub...

[TurboKA37]

thanks for the help, i always heard decent stuff about type rs (not saying much cuz i havent done much research)ill look into some other brands

[Rex]

I think someone even has RF amp for sale in the BST now that would be in your price range.

Amps

• Rockford Fosgate
• JL Audio
• Precision Power
• Phoenix Gold
• Autotek
• Orion
• MTX

Subs

• Rockford Fosgate
• JL Audio
• Orion
• MTX

I'm sure there arte more expensive options for both, but these reco's are based on a "budget" system. Actually, I recently gave Wes (elwesso) an old Kenwood mono amp and MTX pre-fab sub & box and it's giving him enough ... for now.

Also, I've seen good prices and I think a couple of guys have used CBR Stereo, give 'em a look.

[Ghettokracker71]

http://www.crutchfeild.com

http://www.sounddomain.com

http://www.ebaymotors.com

Thats where I got my ENTIRE system for substaincially cheaper then retail/MSRP.

Look into MTX before you buy them,some of them sound AWSOME but usually get distorted at higher volumes/wattage.

IMHO The best 10" sub under $100 is the Phoenix Gold Tantrum IIRC series? Its only $70 and sounds awsome.

The best 10 I personally have ever heard was an Infinity Kappa Perfect 10.1D. That was my first sub,I ran it at 350rms then later 500rms and it sounded AMAZING. Its a very high excursion sub though,so be warned.

My best advice is to goto some places and listen to their subs;You might prefer ___ brand b/c of it has a sound you really like,whereas you might hate other ones for the same reason. Then firgure out 2-3 subs you REALLY want and find them online at half the price:D

Have fun with it.

EDIT:One more thing,make sure all you want is one ten. Listen to different wattages on different sub combos too. Its addicting;I had one ten,then upped the wattage from 350sms/500peak to 500rms/700peak. And now I am running two 12's with 800rms and 1400peak:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D Its alot easier to put in one system,then rip one halfway out and redo it b/c its not enough for yah.

[AustinSilvia]

i know nothing about alpine subs. you definitely wouldn't want to over power it though... cuts the life down a lot. I can definitely vouge for those jl amps though. go with a sealed box also... more accurate/ better sounding/ cleaner... the list goes on

[blacks13ek]

Since you mostly listen to rap and hip hop, you should avoid getting a tube. Yeah they hit deeper but hip hop and r and b beats are fast. The tube will slow down and not be able to keep up with the fast beats. I have a 10" audiobahn ported tube, I listen to rap mostly but it gives me the bass that i need