New guy researching "Sound Quality" equipment

[jmimac351 0]

Hi all, I signed up a while back and am researching Sound Quality equipment while trying to cut through the marketing hype.

Thanks.

[Mark LaFountain 1,054]

Hi all, I signed up a while back and am researching Sound Quality equipment while trying to cut through the marketing hype.

Thanks.

You hit the nail on the head with this website. welcome

[jmimac351 0]

Thanks. There seem to be a few more adults around versus other places.

[altoncustomtech 773]

Sound Quality is awfully subjective, biased so heavily by personal opinion from one person to the next, quality of installation, attention to detail, etc.... the best thing to do is start by giving your goals for the system, budget, etc.....

[jmimac351 0]

Sound Quality is awfully subjective, biased so heavily by personal opinion from one person to the next, quality of installation, attention to detail, etc.... the best thing to do is start by giving your goals for the system, budget, etc.....

Hi Alton, I wasn't planning on doing that in this section but I'll tell you what I have at the house...

• Merlin Music VSM-M 2 ways (Dynaudio Esotar / Custom ScanSpeak woofer)
  www.merlinmusic.com
  

• Joule Electra VZN80 Output Transformerless (OTL) tube amp
  www.joule-electra.com
  

• Joule Electra LAP 105mkII All tube preamp with phono stage
  

I like silk dome tweeters, musical bass, and tonally correct midrange. Space is a consideration and I am considering using 1 JLW7 8" sub in a sealed enclosure in the trunk. I want the bass to be accurate and don't care how deep it is. I am looking at 6.5" components for the doors and can do components for the rears doors, if necessary. I think I can find something to make me happy for under $400 per set, but we'll see.

I think records sound better than CDs, MP3s is the dumbing down of music, and analog (tube) is better than digital - everytime. ZED Audio is supposed to bring out a tube amp that I am going to take a real good look at. I think it will incorporate crossovers that will make using raw drivers a real and workable possibility.

[bigrank916 72]

Welcome dude. It sounds like you know what you are after. That will be a good step to people helping you here.

[rattlebox317 1]

whatever you need to know is here. all you have to do is post it and many people will reply with what you need to know............

IAK

[mjmarovi 8]

forget about mounting/installing any speakers accept for in front of you.no need for speakers in rear doors. remember, whole idea in SQ is to create a stage in front of you, as deep and wide as possible with correct height. achieving true high quality SQ in a vehicle is much harder than home audio.

really for SQ recommendations, need to know what budget is, and who is doing the installation along with what their install capabilities are. that makes a good start. also, people tend to like whatever they come across, what are your first instincts for what SQ equipment you like?

you already mentioned two on my top ten, dynaudio and scanspeak.

Edited November 15, 2009 by mjmarovi

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

[jmimac351 0]

forget about mounting/installing any speakers accept for in front of you.no need for speakers in rear doors. remember, whole idea in SQ is to create a stage in front of you, as deep and wide as possible with correct height. achieving true high quality SQ in a vehicle is much harder than home audio.

really for SQ recommendations, need to know what budget is, and who is doing the installation along with what their install capabilities are. that makes a good start. also, people tend to like whatever they come across, what are your first instincts for what SQ equipment you like?

you already mentioned two on my top ten, dynaudio and scanspeak.

This is going in a daily driver (2007 Ford Fusion) that I put about 25,000 miles on per year so I want quality because I spend a lot of time in the car. I am not going to compete with this stuff, I just would like something that does not fatigue or annoy me compared to what I have at the house. I haven't had super high quality speaker components in the car and I mention rear doors because that's what I've always experienced. I'm sure quality components would change that. I will be doing the install including sound deadener. I am not willing to do fiberglass fabrication but if it were worth the effort I could do limited fabrication for a door driver. The doors will handle a 6.5", albeit in a plastic enclosure which I'm already thinking about replacing somehow. The stock tweeter position is high near the corner of the door / window. I am willing to put a hole in the door to mount a tweeter, if necessary. If I don't do something for rear fill then that does raise what I am willing to spend on the fronts. I'd say definitely under $1,000 for components and at anywhere near that they'd better be able to make me a sandwich. I am willing to spend money on quality but the main issue I am trying to figure out is which brands actually deliver that quality versus price their components high then try to convince you they are worth it. "They're expensive so they must be good / better." I have looked at the Hybrid Audio stuff. I have heard the JL Audio C5 components on a sound board that thought they were decent. Definitely fuller sounding. I very much prefer silk dome tweeters and I'd say that is a must.

I have an old A/D/S P640 amp that I bought 10 years ago maybe. It's in a closet. Generally I would change vehicles so fast it wasn't worth installing. Now I would like to do that. As I recall, that amp sounded pretty good. But that was 10 years ago...

A few years ago I had planned on piecing together some components from things I purchased at Madisound. Madisound was closing out some Dynaudio 15w75 - 4 ohm drivers. I bought a pair of those as well as a pair of their Vifa autosound silk dome tweeters - D26NC05. One thought is to use the crossovers in the A/D/S amp to run those drivers. If I do that, it would be 40w on the front midbass, 40w on tweeters, 120w on a sub. Or, I could run it as 120w on the midbass and 40w on the tweeters. Then purchase a small amp to power the sub.

Thanks for any help or advice.

Edited November 15, 2009 by Jim

[jmimac351 0]

Looking back through the Hybrid Audio stuff...the way their product is positioned is the sort of thing I am looking for. Obviously they are going after the quality end of the spectrum. It could be as easy as going with the Hybrid stuff or trying to use some of the components I already have. I should mention that the Dynaudio drivers and Vifa tweeters are brand new. I could sell the 15w75 pretty easily I think as they are popular among guys wanting to build their own monitor speakers. It's more important that I get the ideal setup versus just using something I have for convenience. One thing that did catch my eye is the trade up program from Hybrid. Apparently they expect you will be pleased with their product and want to invest in it more. Interesting.

Edited November 15, 2009 by Jim

[porkchop 304]

Welcome

[nem 2,019]

Welcome