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An-i-no

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Posts posted by An-i-no

  1. Posted

    I agree 100% with chill. I am 23 and made the mistake of putting college on hold for something very similar to what you are doing.. The only thing I regret is not staying in school. Now I'm back in school, and still doing my side thing. Had I not stopped going I could have a decent job and still be trying to get my dream going. It is a lot of work but if you keep your priorities in check I think you should go for it. Advertising and communication should be your top priority, along with a good product.

    That's exactly what I'm worried about. I don't want to fall behind in school or any other part of my life that I find important. At the same time though, I wouldn't want to half ass my way through something that I've invested in. That wouldn't be fair to me, him, or a customer.

    Pretty easy to calculate how much you need to sell at what price to make what money. Then you need to figure out if the 4P's you've outlined will allow that price to get the volume you need to succeed.

    We discussed a little bit of the percentages and kinda sketched out some initial income figures. Right now everything is in a preliminary stage. He orders a small amount of product at a slightly discounted rate and sells it for more. What we're looking to do is increase sales so that we can order in larger groups for better discounts which obviously = more profit. If that takes off then MAYBE we'll look at some local warehouses or open a small shop. Like I said it's 95% eBay right now but we're looking to change that.

    80% of new businesses fail in the first year.

    80% of the remaining businesses fail in the second year.

    80% of those businesses fail in the third year.

    So, there is a ~99.2% likelihood the business won't survive past 3 years.

    Honestly, even if it is just a little side income for a few years, I'll take that. Of course there's the pipe dream of being a nice shop or a sales mogul but I don't fully expect that.

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  2. Posted

    Remember, an 8 ohm speaker is twice as hard to drive as a 4 ohm one so don't think "oh, at 8 ohms the head unit will barely be working," because it's working just as hard but the load is heavier.

    That logic is not true.

    The radio or amplifier will have the same voltage output on both loads, but the output current on the 8 ohm load will be half of the current on the 4 ohm load.

    The radio will NOT work as hard and will only provide half as much power with the 8 ohm load.

    If you plan on using tweeters on the headunit, you need to be more concerned with the sensitivity rating of the tweeter more than the max RMS. that is how loud the tweeter is with 1 watt input.

    Also keep in mind you need a tweeter with a passive crossover, or you will have to build one (on 20 watts, it can be as simple as a cap).

    We use tweeters directly on the headunit all the time and it works great.

    Oops, my bad.

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  3. Posted

    first , you have to think up a really good reason to buy at your place instead of all those other places !

    than you need to know how much you need to sell per month to make a living and find a way to realize that.

    third , a marketing plan !(website , a stand , advertisement , forum space , stickers and so forth )

    Thanks for the advice. All of those would definitely be part of the business model.

    Where is Texas are you because there are a few shops if your in Houston?

    A lot of shops start by just selling parts heresay and then blow up so you know it can be done.

    Pics of said S14?

    Waco, about 3 hours north of Houston/Houston area. A lot of people here go to the Temple/Killeen area to get JDM stuff. That's about 45 mins away.

    The 240 was recently in a wreck so it's being worked on currently. Luckily the frame was fine. I'll see if I can get some pictures

    i would do it as a side job and stay in college. make that your first priority and the jdm stuff your secondary that way if it falls on its face you'll have a fall back. you'll have nothing to loose that way, but if you make that store your first priority then look at everything you could potentially loose.

    Yeah I'm definitely going to stay in college. Money is just tight right now and I'm not sure if this is a wise investment. It sounds 100% plausible on paper but we all know how that can end up.

    Thanks everyone for the replies.

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  4. Posted

    Ok, I know there are a lot of vendors here so I figured I'd ask.

    A good friend of mine recently came to me with a proposition. He inherited a good bit of inventory of aftermarket JDM parts (not sure on the specifics yet as this is in the baby steps phase) from his dad who ran a small eBay-based business with a few local sales here and there. The thing is, he wants to take it big and make this his living, and has offered me the opportunity to sort of spread the word and maybe buy into the company in it's infancy.

    First off, I'm one year out of high school and currently at a Community College majoring in Mechanical Engineering and working at a pos fast food joint making ~$600 a month. I'm at a point in my life where I'm wondering if what I'm doing will turn around and feed me later. I do live with my parents (and our relationship is stable, so I don't expect to get kicked out any time soon) but I buy all my own food (I have a special section in the fridge just for my stuff lol) in lieu of paying rent. That's a little personal lol but what I'm trying to get across is that I'm attempting to break into self-sufficiency.

    I would LOVE to break into the performance scene and be a big part of an independent business but sadly I have NO (nada, zero, zilch,) experience with owning a business. Honestly, I'm not really worried about that yet. What I want to know is...how difficult is it for those who have attempted it, done it, or seen it done? What does it take to be a mega-super-ballin ass eBay seller that maybe has an independent website and is a vendor in multiple places? Also...from a business standpoint, if we're in an empty market (meaning people drive a few hours away to get real performance parts) would it just be more profitable to have a brick and mortar shop that sells parts? I mean...being in the Car Audio community you see it all the time, some guy has a few bucks and calls up an OEM company or somebody starts up a little service that blows up like Toolmaker. I'm not asking for a "road map" per se, but I'm trying to judge how feasible this is.

    One thing I DO know is that money makes money. By that I mean...you sell enough parts on the side (which he's doing already), get a few decals printed up (which is easy), put together a demo car (94 Nissan 240SX, he already has started work on) and put your name out there and find ways to make your business grow but once again, how feasible is that? Am I in over my head here or is this a golden opportunity?

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  5. Posted · Edited by An-i-no

    So i would be okay at 8 ohms if i am at external amp, but if im at head unit with speakers requiring low RMS...go head unit?

    I'm not entirely sure what you mean but maybe this will help.

    There's a lot more to sound than output power. An external amp will have a better dampening factor (cone control) and since the HU isn't responsible for being an amplifier AND a processor it will put out a cleaner signal itself (because it's not being pushed to it's limit).

    Remember, an 8 ohm speaker is twice as hard to drive as a 4 ohm one so don't think "oh, at 8 ohms the head unit will barely be working," because it's working just as hard but the load is heavier. An external amp will pretty much be better than a head unit (at amplifying) in EVERY way. Plus you can get a small, 4 channel amp for around $120 if not cheaper that will do the job well.

    There really is...no good reason to use your HU as an amp when you have the option to get an external one.

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  6. Posted

    Does the charging stud have plastic around it? Check and see if that's damaged.

    I recently had a problem with my alt not charging once it got hot. What ended up being the problem was the weld on the charging stud had come slightly loose and when the plastic around it got hot it ballooned and the connection got very very weak. Once the car/engine had sat and cooled off it charged fine.

    I was baffled in the beginning though.

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  8. Posted · Edited by An-i-no

    Brother just bought a new camry

    Nice car

    stock system? HORRIBLE. Probably the worst stock system i've heard.

    I've decided to surprise him with a setup, but im tryin' to do this on a super super strict budget.

    Here's what im looking at

    HU - Used pioneer deh p60mp(70 shipped)

    Speakers - ID ctx65cs $125, Incriminator comps $119, & cadence cwm6kit $65.99.

    Amp - toss up between 2 us acoustic amps from audioclinic on ebay $140-160 OR a ppi sedona 5 channel $155

    Sub - dcon 10 $119, or phoenix gold rsd 10 $50, 3 jbl gto 8s $150

    Yay? Nay? Any deals out there that i should look out for?

    Those CWM6KIT have the biggest f-king baskets I've ever seen on a 6.5 I couldn't use them because of it.

    It's erm...like notched...around the mounting flange and if he has 6.5" stocks you might have to cut metal. Just a heads up.

    EDIT: I can take pics if you need.

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  9. Posted

    this is a good topic. warefare inc. is one of my customers, a bit confused on what he REALLY WANTS but ive been trying my best to help him out. here is what i suggusted him to do. 4 dual 1ohm zcons, 2 mmats hd4000.1, and of course a custom fully braced enclosure that i will have my enclosure guy build (ported if possible) and firing forward into the cabin and sealed off from the trunk. lots of batteries, and a 2nd alt if he can have someone do it, cause im not familiar in that dept. now some have said that getting 4 zcons in a proper enclosure will not happen, but i know my stuff and will do my best to make it happen, ported if possible, seald if not. but either way im very knowledgeable in car audio since 1993 as an installer and now the owner of a car audio shop in chicago. ill post enclosure specs when available. i know for sure that if he lets me do the whole install and completely let me run with it, he will be extremely satisfied and have one of the loudest and best looking customized trunks in chicago.

    I'm still trying to figure out where all the amperage is coming from.....?

    Nice boxes and trim panels don't run amps....you need more AMPERAGE.

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  12. Posted

    Yes i know i have 2 much and no im not getting xcons i already got zcons, i go all out when i do stuff, i have 6 batterys in total and im getting 2 more and 1 220a alt and a stock alt i also plug my car in to charge when not in use i do know my wireing options im just wondering wich one is best to go with when thers 2 amps involed is it better to run them separate or strapped together

    I have a mmats hd4000.1d should i get a nother or should i run 2 crescendo bc3500.1d since every body thinks 2 crescendo bc5500.1d is a bad idea

    I do want to push these subs to ther full potential while still being safe

    I want this to be my last time upgrading the sounds i dont want amps that would just make them hit hard i want to be obnoxious im buiding a costum box ported firing into the car sealed off you could fit 6 dead bodys in my trunk so i do have the air space for the subs im going all out i dont have a budget i am upgrading the electric and if im going to upgrade anything it will be from a car to a truck so i could wall it off. O fuck Eds lil bus

    Let's do some math...2 3500's will make 3875 each, so that's 7750 watts. At 14.4 volts you will need 538.2 amps to make that. At 13.5 (which is about what voltage your batteries take over) you will need 574.1 amps to make that.

    You have a 220 amp alt. Idk how many amps it takes to run your car but we'll say about 50. You have 170 amps left to run the system. You said you will have a stock alt as well, so lets say its 100 amps (this is just a guess). That's about 270 that you have to run the system.

    You have about 270 amps to use. You need about 550. Batteries will only help so much. This is why we are telling you to go smaller, you don't have the electrical to back up the amps.

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  15. Posted

    I do have a mmats hd4000.1d should i get another or maby not get bc5500 and get 3500

    Don't second guess yourself...just take a step back and think hard about what you can realistically do. You have an upgraded alt and a few batteries right? It sounds like with a few more batts you could run one BC3500 just fine. Pair that with a couple of Xcons or Zcons (they don't HAVE to have 2000+ watts to be loud) and you could be tearing shit up. Then when you get the hang of having a bigger system and know from experience how everything works you can start to go from big to huge.

    It's like building a race car. You don't build a top notch 8 second car on your first try. Most people start with a street car that they added a few upgrades to and go from there. It's about experience.

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  19. Posted

    While it's probably pretty likely you won't really need an SSF, it is important to note where you might begin to run into problems. It helps keep you from doing stupid things like blasting a 20hz sine wave showing off for friends thinking you're "safe" because you have a sealed enclosure when it could in fact potentially damage the driver if excursion is too high in your enclosure volume with your power level. Or if you, for example, listen to a lot of classical music which can contain very low frequency reproductions.

    The other use for an SSF is to use it as an "equalizer" to smooth out a bloated bottom end smile.png

    Hmm...maybe one of these days I'll stop assuming people know what unloading sounds like.

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  22. Posted · Edited by An-i-no

    that sounds like something grounded out or a loose connection somewhere! almost impossible to tell when everything burnt up

    I should clarify....he melted the pwr/ground terminals, got it fixed. Later on he arced the speaker terminals because of melted speaker wire. Then after that he blew both the 150 amp fuse for the amp and the 120 amp fuse at the battery. The amp survived all of that. It finally just died one day. I have it right here and nothing on the board is burnt or looks bad (granted I don't know shit about amp boards) and it powers up but won't come out of protection.

    He has the AP18001D now and it's going through the same abuse and hasn't had any trouble yet. His lights dim like crazy and his rpm drops at idIe. don't see why people hate on these amps. In my experience they kick ass.

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  23. Posted · Edited by An-i-no

    Great starter amp. Just don't try to squeeze every last watt out of it and you'll be fine. They actually stand up to abuse pretty well, my friend put his through hell before it finally gave up.

    He had it on a stock electrical system and played it so hard that he melted the power/ground/remote, arced the speaker outputs, and blew several 150 amp fuses. When it finally did blow I was surprised, I didn't think ANYTHING would blow it haha...

    EDIT: He melted the power/ground terminals, fixed that, then arced the speaker terminals (due to his speaker wire melting) and blew a bunch of fuses. The amp survived all of these incidents and just decided not to ever come out of protect one day.

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  25. Posted

    yes you can send in the sub for a recone, you can go to FI car audio for recones, find your sub.. check the box " send in sub" it should give you the total. ..

    it should be a AA dust cap...

    i brought one from this dude he said it been recone from aa and they put a black dust cover on it

    It's just a sticker...?

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