Need some experts advice

[autonoz 0]

Hello to everyone and thanks in advance for any help I may receive. My son has a 98 four door Jeep Cherokee. He has a Pioneer 3100 deck with 6.5 Pioneer speakers in front doors and back cargo area. He has asked for an amp and subs for xmas. Here is where I am an idiot. I have been reading but just can not get a good feel of quality subs. As you can see it is a Cherokee with Pioneer stuff so I am not looking for top of the line. Here are my questions. He wants two 10's, does this sound reasonable for this vehicle? They will be in a box in the cargo area. Also how many watts should he have for good SQ but also get some boom for his friends? He has stock charging system. I hope I have given enough info. I did read good things about Boston Acoustics, but would appreciate your expert opinions.

[shizzzon 461]

What is your budget, that will narrow the results down real quick.

We would need to know what all is needed to be purchased too.

As far as i know, u will need the sub(s), amp, wiring for both and box built.

I can say that stock electrical system should be able to handle up to 1,000w.

[autonoz 0]

What is your budget, that will narrow the results down real quick.

We would need to know what all is needed to be purchased too.

As far as i know, u will need the sub(s), amp, wiring for both and box built.

I can say that stock electrical system should be able to handle up to 1,000w.

I know I need subs, amp, box and wiring. I believe that is it. As far as budget I was hoping to stay around $150.00 per sub and then a a resonably priced amp to push them.

Edited November 23, 2009 by autonoz

[thebiggmann12 14]

too bad the new e series from sundown isnt out, the 10's are gonna b 130 a peice and they would definately b good

[thebiggmann12 14]

u could probably look into the fi ssd 10"s they are 169 a peice and they will definately sound good and will not require a rediculous sized amp. or u could look into a single 15 setup and that would give probably more output for about the same cost. a single 15" ssd runs 199 and only has an rms of 800 watts. so u could get the single 15, and then an 800 watt amp, or u can get a sundown saz1000d and then set ur gains down, and that would definately sound great. just my .02

[autonoz 0]

So you think one 15 would be comparable to two 10s? As I have know idea your input is very important.

[todd.brust 29]

If you look at the SSA Store, they have the dCon 10s for 140 a piece. You could definitely do two of those. Or I'd even go with a single 12" or 15". Either way, you son will get some boom. If I were going to buy for myself, I'd do a single 12" or 15" SSA iCon or Fi Q. Give you some very good bottom end and ability to get loud. I've never heard a Q in person however, but from what I through the grapevine, they are very very nice subwoofers.

Sundown Amps are great choice also, but not the only one. Depends on your Budget. Try not to skimp on the amp though. I don't know what would be a suitable budget amp, but I am sure a few people here have some suggestions with personal experience.

As for wire, go to a welding supple shop and run welding wire. Way cheaper and get's the job done.

[autonoz 0]

If you look at the SSA Store, they have the dCon 10s for 140 a piece. You could definitely do two of those. Or I'd even go with a single 12" or 15". Either way, you son will get some boom. If I were going to buy for myself, I'd do a single 12" or 15" SSA iCon or Fi Q. Give you some very good bottom end and ability to get loud. I've never heard a Q in person however, but from what I through the grapevine, they are very very nice subwoofers.

Sundown Amps are great choice also, but not the only one. Depends on your Budget. Try not to skimp on the amp though. I don't know what would be a suitable budget amp, but I am sure a few people here have some suggestions with personal experience.

As for wire, go to a welding supple shop and run welding wire. Way cheaper and get's the job done.

Thanks for the info. I will look into your suggestions. From the advice I have received on here, I am going to go with a 15" sub instead of two 10's.

[slim2fattycake 85]

For that price yes. Unless you get something used. I think your son and his friends would be more impressed with a 15" sub anyways. It is rare to find teenagers that are into smaller subs. Its the wow factor of having such a big subwoofer. But a 15 Fi SSD is a great choice. I don't think its under 150 though.

[todd.brust 29]

Glad I could be of assistance. What are your plans for an enclosure? Prefab, DIY? Sealed or Ported?

[thebiggmann12 14]

For that price yes. Unless you get something used. I think your son and his friends would be more impressed with a 15" sub anyways. It is rare to find teenagers that are into smaller subs. Its the wow factor of having such a big subwoofer. But a 15 Fi SSD is a great choice. I don't think its under 150 though.

the ssd 15 is 199 before shipping but if he is using one it will still be about 100 bucks cheaper than buying 2 10's for 150 a peice.

[deanmpereira 2]

Autonoz if you decide to go with any options these guys are suggesting im sure your son would be extremely happy. being that your son is asking for two 10's and a amp for christmas, without telling you EXACTLY what he wants he is probably how i was in highschool "only three years ago" he doesnt know much about subs, 95% of it is just to show off to his friends im guessing? At least this was me..

So i went to my "local" car audio shop and got a very mainstream name brand system that sounded ok at best and paid way to much, but at the time i was happy. you stumbled across the right place because any of the options these guys are giving you will completely blow your sons opinions and ideas out of the water.

If my dad came home with a FI ssd 15 for me for christmas 3 years ago. I would have had no idea what FI was. but after listining to it, he would have been dad of the year for sure. and yes 1 15 will have the same or more output as 2 10's and if your son is anything like i was he would much rather tell his friends he has one 15 anyway.

But after you figure out the sub/amp don't overlook the enclosure... it is equally if not more important...

As for exactly what to do, there are many people on here that are way more knowledgeable than I so ill let them give you ideas. but i just wanted to let you know your looking for information in the right place.

[mrray13 30]

As mentioned above, the enclosure will be the most important part of this project, don't skimp here!

With $300 as a budget for subs, a 15" driver makes a lot of sense. With more cone area, and most likely more xmax then a pair of compareable 10s, the output potential is greater. With the right enclosure/sub, the SQ potential is also there.

Amplifier should be of a quality brand, and in the neighborhood of 1000-1500wrms, for a stock electrical system. Here's a great combo from the SSA online store, ICON 15" with Sundown 1000d , with a price tag of $579, it barely tops your sub budget.

Wiring can be done from the local welding shop, or an online one. A package wiring kit can be had cheaply as well, if one looks. I'd recommend 1/0g as a minimum due to the fact that eventually, the boy will want to upgrade. If you install the bigger wire first, that is something that can be in place for future installs/upgrades and won't need to be touched. I'd also suggest a Optima yellow top, or compareable battery, installed up front. Avoid the red top, it's for starting only and isn't deep cycle. Streetwires 1/0 kit for $118. Figure that much for any wire, welding or otherwise by the time you had fuses and such. They kind be had cheaper, be wary of strand count. The higher, the better, IMO. A battery, while not needed, will run about $150 or so.

Back to the enclosure, will you build this yourself or have built? A quality enclosure will run in the $150 range or so to have built. We have good builders here that know the ICON very well. The downside to a 15 vs a pair of 10s is the enclosure size. The 15" enclosure will most likely be bigger, but again, output potential is greater.

Don't forget some deadning. Figure a couple of hundred bucks for a good kit, or so. Otherwise, rattle city!! The ICON will tear that truck apart, lol

Sum it all up, with the combo posted above, a wiring kit, and an enclosure, $800-1000 is what you are looking at. Build the box yourself, save some coin. Add some frills, like battery and deadner, have the enclosure built, the tag goes up. Hopefully I've helped some and not just rambled on! I'm known for doing that, or was....hehe

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[slim2fattycake 85]

Go to the deadener link in my signature for the best use of your dollars on deadening. The techniques are what will save you on money the most if you plan on deadening. But if you want, you could actually get a Mach5 iXL 15" sub instead of an SSD. The mach5 iXL is $220 shipped but I think that is Canadian dollars so it may be right under $200 dollars shipped for US dollars. Also, you can get an Audiopipe Ap1500d amp to wire that sub to 1 ohms for 1500 watts. I got that amp two months ago for 150 shipped off ebay. If you want, I can give you the link to the best seller I found for these amps. I actually built a system for my girlfriend's mustang with a 10" iXL and an audiopipe ap1500d. It gets loud and it sounds awesome on music. So amp and subs come out to approx. $350 shipped. Wiring kit can be had locally or online at many different places. Knukoncepts has a 4 gauge wiring kit that would be find for your son's set-up now. I think you should get him the 4 gauge instead of 0 gauge which will be different from what some people may advise because then if your son wants to upgrade, let him get into the system and learn about the hobby to install newer wires or subs and whatnot. Thats just my take. I think he will really appreciate the hobby a lot more later when he goes through doing it as well.

[autonoz 0]

Wow! Great info here and you have all opened my eyes to just how technical this stuff can be. As far as a box, I will be building it with my son. Once I get everything I will post what I have purchased and ask for what style of box would be best. Thanks for the info and the links to where everything can be purchased. I look forward to your responses on the box build once posted. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

[slim2fattycake 85]

So what are you going to go with?

[mrray13 30]

Looking forward to what you got planned sir!! Building the enclosure with your boy will be an experience, mine has helped with a few, lol. My next build is for him, a 12" ICON, a HiFonics Nemisis 750d (because I already have it) and a 1/0 wiring kit pulled from my truck. He's going to do alot of the work, lol.

Btw, if you go 1500wrms, you'd better go 1/0g. While 4g might be sufficient, why risk it? 1000wrms is about the limit for a 4g kit.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[jcarter1885 995]

Good luck, wish my dad would of took some time to do some things with me. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, keep us posted on your ultimate decision.