ok yall i have a plan on using 2 thou on a project on my dads old s-10... im plannin on using at least 4-6 10 inches in the bed of the truck...ive picked everything except the subs and amp 4 itr woch leaves me about 900 bux 4 4 10's and 2 amps...wat should iuse 4 good clear sq, im inkin of atlases or 2 18 inch TI's
Sound quality competitions are mainly judged on imaging, tonality, RTA response, and the overall listening experience. Basically how accurate and pleasing the system sounds to the judge's ears, that is what accounts for the majority of points earned, and the soundstage your system creates. Most winning SQ setups use 2 ways and a sub, be it conventional 2 ways or midbasses and horns. Typically mids are in kick panels, tweets will either be in kicks near them or in the A pillars with phase/time correction and crossed over around 6khz or above. Subs are usually 10" or 12" in most cases, enclosures used will vary. 15" or higher are only used when a powerful enough front stage is used, as 15" subs don't do quite as well in midbass transition and upper bass performance due to resonance and inductance, creating a high frequency rolloff. The 18" Ti (Pros?, regular Tis only come up to 15") wouldn't be any better in upper bass performance. In cases such as IASCA you must hit 140db as well. The equipment required for SQ competition gets expensive, as you spend on high end head units, amps, speakers, subs, and also processors such as EQs, crossovers, etc. EQs will typically be 1/3 octave, sometimes an additional parametric EQ is used as well. In all honesty, $2000 isn't going to get you the equipment you need to compete, depending on the competition you plan on, unless you get some REALLY good deals on ebay or from friends.
not to jack your thread but Jonathon can you i want to do a great sq system. What comps, amps,HU equalizers,crossovers, processors. I dont need subs for now, I thnk im going to go with eclipse,IDmax,or X.X.X. But in the future, not now.
basslova, the equipment is up to you. If you go to competitions, you'll see tons of different equipment, but typically it's the high dollar setups that win out. A lot of it boils down to getting the best you can possibly get for the money, even if you don't hear a difference, competitors go to huge extremes even if it only looks better on paper .
Furthermore, competitions such as IASCA judge not only on SQ and SPL, they also judge on install, on it creativity, if it was done safely and correctly, if it is ergonomic and easy to use. This effects your choices for equipment as well, as you can imagine. In IASCA, install actually accounts for most of the points earned.
Head units, you will want something that is ergonomic, plays the media you want, controls the rest of the system (or processors it may lead to), and is well built. In the affordable range, this will point to Eclipse, some Alpines, Premiers, Clarion Pro-Audio, and of course others. Higher end would be things like the Alpine F#1 Status, Nakamichi CD700, Mcintosh head units, etc.
Speakers: Sound quality is a personal preference. The big factor that determines how good a system sounds isn't just the equipment itself, it is in the installation and how well it is implemented. You can make a great system sound bad with a poor install, and you can make so-so components sound great with a good install. This means getting good transition between the drivers, choosing a system (or building a system with raw drivers and crossover) that work well with the axis you intend to put them in, perform well in the enclosure you intend to use, and of course provide good sound quality, tonality, and a realistic listening experience. Companies like Dynaudio, Focal, DLS, Rainbow, MB Quart, Morel win competitions often. In the horn arena, Image Dynamics is #1 for the time being, USD also makes great waveguide horns.
Subwoofers: You, of course, want an accurate subwoofer, something that provides good sound quality and also SPL. You do NOT want a subwoofer that sticks out, is boomy, or distorted, you want the bass upfront and it must integrate well with the front speakers. This means a low distortion driver that isn't very forceful and blends well with the front speakers, a relatively low crossover frequency if subs are in the back. This will also mean choosing fronts that go down to a respectable frequency range so that they can integrate with the sub without losing program material, and speakers that don't distort trying to do so.
Amplifiers are all about build quality and material quality. Main thing is to choose somethign that is well designed, the best amplifiers are generally very simple, don't boast a lot of technical mumbo-jumbo about their topology, they are just a high quality build that use top notch components. Companies like Zapco, Arc Audio, TRU, US Amps, Brax, older PPI art series and older Orions are in many competition setups.
Processors can include many things. You have time correction, which IMO isn't as good as taking the time to integrate drivers well such as in kick panels, then you have equalization and possibly active crossovers. Equalization needs to cover a broad range and be effective, 1/3 octave is a must in competition. Companies like Audiocontrol make great EQs, then there are more exotic setups like Zapco, etc. that are more proprietary to other equipment, another example would be the Pioneer P9 combo, the Alpine F#1 status processor, etc.
What are you planning to spend on? Top, top notch (spending HUGE amounts of cash), or more affordable equipment that will more than do the job?
One last thing, the best thing you could do to plan a system is to go to a competition yourself, competition dates are all over the internet and you can easily plan ahead for one. Look for cars the same as yours or similar to yours, and take a pen and a notepad with you. Competitors are proud of their setups and vehicles, and most are happy to show you their setup and/or let you listen to it. After all, any competitor worth his weight in gold knows that the best way to evaluate equipment is in a car instead of a soundboard, and most are willing to help others out, time allowing of course. Your main focus should be the speakers and subwoofers, things like amps are a given and won't help you much, there is no black magic to installing an amp or head unit. Anyway, write down what they're using, note how the equipment is installed, ask them why they did it that way, ask them if they had changed anything about the setup such as crossovers, a driver, etc, and write which setup you liked most, if you have time then write down what you liked about each system and what you disliked, and try to be somewhat specific so you won't forget by the time you get home. Of course you should let them know that you like their setup and appreciate the help. Once you get home, you can look up information on the equipment and see the differences in the setup and note what the competitors did to accomodate that, and note the characteristics of it. If you have questions about specifics, we're always here. That, IMO, is one of the best ways to educate yourself not only in audio, but in your specific application, somebody else has already done a lot of the thinking for you .
lol, thanx for the help. I plan on using around 2000 just for the processors,crossovers,HU,comps,and comp amp, im pretty set on the ppi art series amp for the components. The install will be performed by me.
Jonahan, i already have a 2-way set, do you think it's worth the money getting two 8"s ($100 a pair) and use them as midbasses so it is now a 3-way set?
.