rockford isnt garbage. they dont make the best stuff (though they used to make EXCELLENT subs), but their new stuff isnt exactly garbage. their amps are still very good units.

kenwood isnt garbage. i would take a kenwood head unit over a sony, pioneer, etc etc. not the best (i'd be looking at an eclipse or something of the like), but kenwood doesnt make crap either.

bestbuy and circuit city DO suck *****.

also, you dont need 1000 watts to have a good system. you can get a sub designed to work with 300-400 watts or even less and with a quality amp with similar power ratings and you would be perfectly happy.

i decided to do a quick search for new 10" subs on ebay with a 500w or less rms rating....

heres a nakamichi i found on ebay for 50 bucks with shipping. it was one of the first things i saw when i looked, and it actually looks like its gotta be a pretty good deal. this would be a great sub for sound quality. its one of those brands most adverage people (the kinds of people who shop at best buy) dont know about.

other things worth looking at are....
a soundstream sub for 40 bucks shipped,
a precision power sub for 50 bucks shipped,
a cerwin-vega for 40 bucks shipped,
a kicker comp for 60 bucks shipped,
an OLD SCHOOL rockford fosgate punch xlc back when their subs were good for 35 bucks.

possible amp choices (all new) could be....

a 175w rms memphis amp for 85 bucks shipped,
a 210w rms mtx amp for 50 bucks shipped,
a 250w rms kicker amp for 100 bucks shipped,
a 300w rms cadence for 90 bucks shipped,


hiss, to turn this thread into a healthy debate about the best bang for the buck i'd like to hear which sub and amp of the ones i listed you would pick just to have a nice sounding little system in your car (not to slam and make the whole neighborhood hear you).

 

RF is garbage.

Yes, their old stuff was good, but they are sellouts just like sony/alpine/audiobahn.

Kenwood is more garbage than RF. How You could ever take a Kenwood Head unit over Pioneer is beyond me. Have You ever even played with any of the n series, d series, and especially the z series Pioneers!?
Eclipse does make good head units, but they are pricey.

If I had to choose the sub/amp combo of the things You chose I would go with the soundstream and either the Memphis or Cadence. Just because I know Memphis and Cadence make very well put together car audio toys.

Cerwin Vegas new stuff is garbage.
Kicker low line is garbage, and their high line is not worth the money.
It is beyond me why You would ever reccomend MTX.

My77, You honestly seem to have just came out of a time capsule from 1993 and expect times to be the same. I don't get it.

[&:]

 

How did I know this would get to you?

 

well to be honest i was very into the whole "scene" in the late 90's, when the solobarics were round (and 1 of the best speakers available) and kicker didnt make a crappy anything. rockford power punches were like sex. i never really liked mtx subs, but their amps were always potent (though plain looking which doesnt matter). i was standing there when alma gates set the (at the time) current record in db drag racing with 64 10" PPI flat piston subs. when i was dealing with this stuff orion, soundstream, us amps, audio art, mcintosh, and matts were kings in the amp dept. i had a resellers license while i was still in high school and was buying from distributors and certain things direct (like stinger power wires).

i havent messed with any of the newer pioneer stuff, because last time i did their head units were crappy overrated walmart pieces, the premier stuff was mediocre at best. i have used a few different kenwoods and have installed a handful in other peoples cars and i've always had good luck - especially with their excellon line.

audiobahn always sucked it was just flashy ghetto crap, but alpine used to make some of the best head units you could buy. btw, have you ever heard of nakamichi? aura?

 

Alma Gates is the old lady with the bronco right?

And I have never heard of Nakamichi or Aura.

 

hey hiss what if i just took some house speakers that i bought at this gradge sale and wire em in my trunk? [&:]

 

^ lol @ house speakers

hiss, yes she's the old woman with the bronco. when she was with PPI she had 64 10's, 32 amps, 32 batteries, and god knows how many alternators hooked up. that truck was absolutely insane. she then went with kicker and their square solobarics, and then teamed up with JBL. i was actually there once when she was having a "bass boxing" competition and all of a sudden you could smell one of the amps or subs cooking. the whole crowd was like "oooooooohhhh!!!!!"

nakamichi is one of those japanese companies that has been making super high end electronics for quite a long time. their headunits look really plain but their quality is among the best out there.

aura, they made the somewhat cheesy "bass shakers" - they also make studio quality loudspeakers and weird sh*t like generators for the military that allow the troops to use sensitive electronic equip in their hummers (genny is belt powered from motor and produces clean power, unlike your standard home generator). check out their teardrop shaped neodynium magnets used on their 18" studio subs. they have been pioneering stuff like this for years and make EXCELLENT quality products. my brother had two of thier 10" force series subs with a 1000w infinity beta digital amp (the first digital amps ever made IIRC) and i swear to you they were the best sounding 10's i have ever heard and i go to the spring break nationals in daytona almost every year. i bought 8 8" aura rpm subs (their lower line) and put them in my wifes contour with an 800w rms 4 channel kicker amp, they slammed incredibly hard and sounded crystal clear. you'd be absolutely amazed at their subs, and even more amazed that they never really went mainstream.

check out this crazy *** thing



and a quote i found while googling them looking for a price (about 750.00 each). mind you these are not car speakers, but it demonstrates their quality

 

House speakers ftl.

And I don't buy that Aura stuff, but at 35 lb. per sub, I'd expect a high price tag.

 

save some money because your going to need an aftermarket deck to run your amp, but for $200 you going to get some really weak **** beause a good box for a camaro cost around $100 but if you want to cheap out look for those jl audio stealt boxes and get yourself a ****ty amp like sony or kenwood *yuck* 2 worst brands out there,

PS, Hisss04Cobra
Rockford Fosgate is my favorite brand they are some of the best subs and amps out there, theres a reason that you see them still go for reatail price even when used for like 7 years, HX2s and bd1000 will make you go deaf.

 

Rockford fosgates old stuff is good and it still holds its value. the new stuff not so much. Just by some soundstream stuff. I have to admit soundstreams old stuff is also better than it is now.