Nirvalica

With a sucky front setup, you're simply relying on the rears (which I assume are 6x9s) to make midbass in the 80-200Hz area. With a good front setup, you'll never miss the rears. Easy, right? Deadener stops metal panels from vibrating and creating new sounds that aren't intended to be produced. A sound barrier would keep the sound in the car and outside sounds out of the car . Sound absorption will absorb sound in the car (think about those acoustic panels on studio walls). You don't really need the last two, sound deadener alone will make the music in the car sound better. Wait...how do you link to SDS then completely ignore the rest of the info on Don's site? MLV coupled with CCF is the BEST way to block road noise. Deadener alone is not only a waste of time, money, weight, and effort but it's also wrong for everything but vibration dampening. If you're using deadener to block road noise, you're doing it wrong. I think you quoted the wrong post...

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Isn't it more expensive then the SAZ-1000d though?

Not really, it won't help on any of the frequencies of your door mounted driver. I disagree mainly because I've tried it, and it makes a difference. Most people might be intimidated by your SSA tech team and your 40,000 posts and just take your word for it. I think, however, that you are just against it because it's not the "proper" thing to do. Yea, there are better ways to get a better result, but this does have some effect and you can't deny that.

Couldn't find it, maybe you can inform me. Basically non existent. But it's better then nothing, especially with the minimal work it takes to do and nearly no cost since most people usually have a roll of duct tape at home.

Couldn't find it, maybe you can inform me.

There's a refurb SAZ-1500 for $310. Also, the SAZ-1000d is on sale right now for $275. I would stick with a 15". Cramming an 18" will mean you will probably have to compromise on performance. Go with the BL if you can afford it. Sundown are great amps, but I've never heard anything negative about audioque until what tyoung just said. I would do some searches of audioque amps and see what other people who own them are saying about them.

I think for $400, that set up the OP posted isn't bad. Sure there are better subs and amps, but most of them also cost more. If I were you though, I would look at a 15" SSD from Ficaraudio.com. It's $40 more, but if you get the dual 2ohm version, you can run your amp at 1 ohm and get the full power from it. I also think it'll probably sound better and louder then the AQ. EDIT: just read your post above mine. If you need a new amp, I would look at Audioque or Sundown. The Audioque will be cheaper though. I doubt you can fit an 18" in your car. Do you have a set budget? A BL and a new amp will be well over $400.... infact the BL alone is nearly that much after shipping.

Makes a HUGE difference. Some cutting board, silicone, and rivets and it is easy. Louder isn't the goal, although it is a subset usually. Duct tape will make a not very effective seal. Need something with some mass, in fact the more the better. I usually deaden the plastic for that reason, but some MLV would be even better. Sure the Duct tape isn't a solid seal. But I would bet it blocks out some of the higher frequencies from canceling out with the front wave, which would make sense why it seemed a little louder after I did it.

Deadener stops metal panels from vibrating and creating new sounds that aren't intended to be produced. A sound barrier would keep the sound in the car and outside sounds out of the car . Sound absorption will absorb sound in the car (think about those acoustic panels on studio walls). You don't really need the last two, sound deadener alone will make the music in the car sound better.

No one here is down on the Q. Just don't understand why some people gravitate towards it when all they want is loud. 99% of the people that ask about the Q here are completely misinformed and think that the music they listen to has notes down to 20Hz and that the real lows are what makes things loud. After getting details from them it is obvious there are much better choices in drivers than the Q for them. In application the Q is a great driver, out of application it is a waste of money as it could have been spent getting what the owner actually wanted instead. It's just that I've noticed as soon as someone mentions the word loud, you automatically discourage buying the Q. In reality, it can get damn loud. Most likely louder then what most people who are looking to upgrade to it have. I'm only saying this because I've been in that position before too. When I was looking for a new sub, I really liked the Q. I read all reviews about it and everything that was said sounded like what I wanted. But there were people telling me to get the BL instead because I asked how much louder it would be then what I had. In the end, I love my Q. I'm just saying, it seems like people here are just quick to dismiss it as an option for most people.

I don't know why everyone on this forum seems to discourage everyone on the Q. There's nothing wrong using them. Especially when everyone always says performance is all about the install. I do agree that you should stick to one type of sub, not a bunch of different kinds. Get some good speakers that can go down to 60hz with authority, like a midbass woofer or something.

Sounds like that i s a sound barrier, like to keep sound in the car. Sound deadener is to improve the sound that is inside, not really to keep the sound inside the car. Different functions and results. Buy a few sheets of secondskin, use one or two on your moms car. Not more then $10 for a few sheets and you can save the rest for your car later.

I'd get some sound deadener. It's not too expensive, like $15-$20 for a dynamat door kit. Makes a noticeable difference in sound quality.

Lol, that sounds like overkill. I didn't go all out like that. I strategically placed pieces on flat surfaces where the metal could vibrate. I just went around tapping the door in various spots with the handle of my roller to figure out where I needed more deadener. If it didn't ring out at all, I was good.

You don't need a whole lot of sound deadener for the doors either. I used about 3-4 cu.ft. to deaden mine. Some people recommend sealing the doors as well. That means cover up the holes in the door panel with something. I've heard of gluing wood or plexi over the holes or using clay for smaller holes. I tried duct tape and I was surprised that it actually made the door speakers a little louder. I just used strips in an overlaping fashion over the big holes. I'd say its worth trying and can't really hurt anything.

Here is a track that demonstrates that you only need two speakers to get a surround sound effect. I just uploaded this, so someone please let me know if the link works. The track is from the Chesky Audiophile Test Disc Vol. 2. The Track is 47. General Image and Resolution Test in 192khz mp3 format (just for ease of upload and download) In the beginning of the track, it should sound like a tribal "band" is approaching you from out in the woods. They then go to the right of you and proceed to dance around you before leaving to the right and disappearing into the woods. At the end, you'll hear one of them go through and slam a door in the distance. (how tribal people have doors in the middle of the forest is beyond me) Check it out. I've only listened to it with my two studio monitors on my desk. I would imagine the effect would be more pronounced with headphones.

I'm running a Q with a SAZ-1000d. Works great.

Well, I will vouch for the Q. I have an 18" ported and it gets real loud. You can check my vids and see for yourself. SQ is alright, but not the best. I'm sure it has to do with my box though. But yea, I don't see why you shouldn't look at the Q. It definitely can get loud and low. Out of all of those you said you are looking at, I would choose the Xcon. Those things look awesome. Only problem with it is its rated for nearly double what the Q is.

Would I have to hack up my car to get those in? I have zero fab skills and just as much tools, my door speakers right now are 6x8s. Amazon.com: Scosche SA68 Convertible 6x8-Inch Speaker Adapter - Pair: Electronics That would make it simple to fit the 6.5" woofer into the 6x8 hole. Only problem would be finding a spot to mount the tweeters and crossovers. For tweeters, if you don't care a whole lot about looks, you can mount them right on the dash with some hot glue or double sided tape. I've never dealt with an Altima like that, so I'm not sure about your mounting options. For the sub, I would just stick with sealed. You said you aren't looking for ridiculous output or the ability to go real low, so sealed sounds like it'll work great for you. But, a single 12" sealed might not be as loud as the two audiobahns you had. It's difficult to be sure w/o trying both though. I would recommend going with a few 8's or 10's though. They'll likely be cheaper and it might give you more of the sound you are looking for I might look into gettin some of those adapter plates in the future, seems like nothing more than screwing them into place. What are the advantages to running 6.5's over the 6x8's? I would think the larger 6x8 would produce better bass, is it just the fact that the 6.5s would be dedicated to just bass and not any higher freqs? Well for one, there are more 6.5's available then 6x8. Much bigger variety, plus most 6x8's are coaxial, which means the tweet and mid are together on one speaker. Components tend to sound better in all around sq. If you have decent 6x8's, then just get an amp for them. If you have stock speakers, you'll want some aftermarket speakers for better SQ. I would go with 6.5's, but depending on what you consider good sounding speakers, 6x8's with an amp might be fine for you.

Right now I'm still using a 2003 model Hifonics Zues ZX7500 class AB amp, my Sundown shows up on Thursday. Crossover was at 80hz on the amp as well as the deck, but since then I've lowered the crossover point to around 60 and lowered the crossover point on my door/deck speakers to try to compensate. If you have WinISD alpha installed, and have some spare time, load up the "Audiobahn AW1251T" and let it choose a box for it. It's already built into my program so it should be in yours as well. I come up with a sealed box at 27.5cf for one sub. Load up the same driver in a box at 1.35cf and that's where I'm at. The transfer function graph shows that at 47hz I'm at -3dB, at 1dB by 60hz, and by the time it hits 80hz it's at 3dB. Which I'm assuming is where im gettin that boomy distorted bass. After looking at that graph I took advantage of the bass boost knob at 45hz on the amp, turned it up about a 1/4 turn so I can get some low frequency bass out of the subs. And out of curiosity what wouldn't you like about the setup. I'm not really good on the terminology for most of the stuff so its hard for me to explain. But I think loading up that sub in WinISD for yourself will explain it way better than I ever could. I'll see if i can load up my photobucket account and add soem pics of the graphs. edit: I had placed transient response as the graph title instead of transfer function I thought at the beginning you said you liked higher pitched bass like in rock and old school rap. I would turn your lowpass back up to somewhere around 80-100hz and turn the bass boost down. Probably part of the problem is that box is too small for the sub. If it's modeling best in a 27cuft box, that's like an infinite baffle setup. You might do better with different subs in that small sealed box. I still think you should get some 8's or even 6.5" like ...

I like that third one, that's pretty sweet.

Would I have to hack up my car to get those in? I have zero fab skills and just as much tools, my door speakers right now are 6x8s. Amazon.com: Scosche SA68 Convertible 6x8-Inch Speaker Adapter - Pair: Electronics That would make it simple to fit the 6.5" woofer into the 6x8 hole. Only problem would be finding a spot to mount the tweeters and crossovers. For tweeters, if you don't care a whole lot about looks, you can mount them right on the dash with some hot glue or double sided tape. I've never dealt with an Altima like that, so I'm not sure about your mounting options. For the sub, I would just stick with sealed. You said you aren't looking for ridiculous output or the ability to go real low, so sealed sounds like it'll work great for you. But, a single 12" sealed might not be as loud as the two audiobahns you had. It's difficult to be sure w/o trying both though. I would recommend going with a few 8's or 10's though. They'll likely be cheaper and it might give you more of the sound you are looking for

Sounds like you want some solid midbass. I'd look for some solid 6.5" comps up front with an amp to drive them.