mjmarovi

you had mentioned the zapco competition series. those are ~750 a set depending on where you find them. the reference series are ~500 a set. I personally think both are great sets, and it's probably not worth spending that extra money to get their competition series, if you go with zapco that is. that's just my opinion. and same goes for the reference series as I stated before, they would probably take more power and have ability to get loud, but the Hybrids would have a little better quality. it's like comparing a Fi Q sub to a Fi BL, both are great and can sound good on music, but one is built more for quality of music, as other is built for more SPL. what kind of music do you listen to? if it's a lot of rock, you may like the hybrids better cause the zapco can be a little bright, which is sometimes overbearing on rock music.

lol never a good sign if you have to try and call at a certain time. a friend of mine called DC later in the day and got another answer right away. if Mechman was out of the office for a few days, I'm sure they were busy I'm not holding it against them.

lol wonder what OP ended up with...

DC and Ohio are the only two companies I found that wound and built their own alternators. Everyone else used more generic parts. they all work, but for me idle is most important, should see great results. BTW mechman never answered.

Only thing I ever recommend doing for doors if you plan on installing the mid-bass in the doors, and have mids picking up from ~200 hz range. the reasoning for this is so that starting with all the lower tones in the vocals, and higher frequencies are more directional therefore you wont want your speakers in the doors playing above 200 hz as long as you can avoid it. So for a 2-way setup, where the mid-bass is also being used as a mid-range playing to ~3khz then you really want to stay away from the doors. as far as goals are, it seems you are looking for something is clean, clear, mainly SQ, but also ability to Jam out when you want to. Not screaming heard from a mile away loud, but something that can be turned up on your favorite tunes. that is why I recommended what I did, and why I think you would be very happy with the Hybrid Clarus, or the Zapco Reference. I wouldn't worry about extra dough on the Zapco competition, I really think if you heard the difference you would feel the same way. Now as far as how much SQ you are going to accomplish, that is going to be install dependent.

yes I believe so in another thread I believe maybe the thread I had about my alternator going bad...

Ordered one from DC Power. they had a 250 and a 150, well 180 I guess, and Rob said both would put about about same at idle. I went with the smaller one. Looking at ~120 amps at idle if not more, and I guess they are working on getting casings for some in future that will do over 180 at idle. Thank you all for your input and I will be sure to let ya'll know how it works out!

oh here's the links, but i think I am just going to try and get something better, still undecided on the BNR, sorry for not posting links brain fart.... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360205499286&viewitem=&_trkparms=tab%3DWatching http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Nissan-Maxima-Infinity-I30-Alternator-200-Amp-1995-2001_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem518d3d782eQQitemZ350261966894QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

yeh, the two I am looking at, well here are the links....I am going to call mechman though and see what they have to say, I am waiting on a quote from excessive amperage, and highoutputalternator.com actually while writing this reply, I tried calling Mechman, said they will would be out of the office until today, but hence I still got that recording. Will try again later or tomorrow.

I take it as that's the woofer of choice, and the quantity is yet to come. LOL for doing what seems to be is going to a big build in a taurus...

that's the answer was looking for, thanks Jacob! BTW I'm ordering a new alty this weekend since current one took a crapper today, so I will be ready to move forward with a few more 1500d's hopefully by Xmas. Can't wait for fedex on friday though

so I knew it was happening, and was in process of saving up for a custom valeo Ohio Generator alternator. current alty decided to crap on my today, so I need to order a new one this weekend. I don't have the 450 to dish out for the Ohio right now, and saw what seems to be a reputable company selling a 200 amp for 210 plus shipping on ebay. BNR alternators and starters? I would rather spend the money on a 160 amp higher quality alty than a 200 amp piece of junk. My experience in past with alternators is iraggi, ohio, green monster, and that's about it. Any input would be greatly appreciated thanks! right now battery bank consists of a single hc1400 and hc2000, and plan on doubling this...

I think you are on the right track. nothing really wrong with the Q-logic kicks, you just need to reinforce them before install. yes the aiming isn't perfect, which is important, but I am really trying to help you with a simple install. I do not really know what your capabilities are...if you feel comfortable building kicks yourself, then by all means that is the way to go. both sets of speakers are great, I can't really tell you what you will be happier with, as I do not know what your perception is of SQ or "loud"

oh BTW thanks for those links, some interesting stuff there.

I use that for my basis of you not listening to Hybrid.... You brought up BL....not me, I mentioned a larger magnet, nothing about BL, and said it is used for greater cone control while keeping a very low moving mass. you keep trying to say everything I say is wrong, and have a comment for everything, yet your only comment is that you think I am wrong and you disagree. Anyone that reads this forum can clearly see you have something against Hybrid, and for whatever reason against me. and yet (I don't know who you are and don't like to assume) but I really don't know what your credibility as far as knowledge on this matter, someone that wants to comment and seems to have so much to say on the matter of SQ and evidently is in the loop in the current SQ world, for not even have every heard a Hybrid Driver amazes me. Not saying they are the be all end all, but damn, whether you like it or not they are the front-running company in sound quality right now and that's not just opinion, that is consumer/competitor choice. so maybe, just maybe you should try getting a demo and doing comparisons of your own as opposed to trying to just go by numbers. I originally brought up params because the L4 in detail from a research only standpoint is quite amazing.

the whole point would be to test each individual amp, as rockford, zapco, arc, and so many others do. Like I said, to me and most people on this forum, we are not really going to care. so many people always seem to be interested in the power output of the sundowns, and the power testing threads get so much attention, it just makes me think how well it can actually help Sundown grow and expand into the market. Like I said though I have no idea what Jacob's vision is of the future of Sundown or anything, just throwing it out there. good input as usual Jay-Cee! this is one of those I would be back and forth on myself, if it were my company....

It was my understanding from a physics standpoint, that the electrical power will travel the w/e the quickest way is. for example, if running a 8 foot 4 gauge wire from alty to batt, and running a 5 foot 0 gauge from alty to batt, the power would travel through the 0 gauge, therefore making that 8 foot of 4 gauge useless. My personal thought is that statement holds true, but when that cable can longer handle the current being drawn, that second cable would see current. remember, this is saying multiple cables from same source to same connection on other end. I am actually a little interested in this, as it seems in reality multiple runs even from same source to same battery help, although a physicist would tell me different.

Was just thinking about where the future of Sundown Audio was heading. It seems to me the company is growing and becoming more and more popular. (correct if I'm wrong) At some point in time I am assuming there will be a need for a new larger warehouse or building, and plans on incorporating standard Bench Tests for all amplifiers? Of course I, as most of the people on the forum know what the ability is of Sundown amps, getting bench results with the amp is always a nice little extra.

I love my pillars and my kick-panels, all custom built by me haha I completely agree with you dkh. I spent more time discussing and learning installation in my first years of car audio and then discovered all the different product. back to OP: It probably is best just to stay under that budget, until you have a stronger idea of what you really like, or have more experience and have listened to many ultra-high-end systems, it probably isn't worth it to invest....maybe next time after this you will know whether or not it is worth it to you.

How so? they Zapco competition series are build more for power, it's like comparing a Fi BL to a Q. both are great but each is geared toward a different type of install. It was my understanding the OP was looking for a more simple install. Building a correct a dash for mids/highs pods can be very intensive. Especially when you can purchase pre-fab kick-panels and make minor improvements for great results in that vehicle. Kick-panels- when I first spoke with Scott when I was looking into Hybrid Audio, I chatted for with for awhile about best scenario for an SQ build, and speaker location, etc...Fort best imaging and overall results he recommended kick-panels. I know you are quite intelligent, and I will admit my two favorite SQ systems were one with a dash install, and the other was an on-axis pillar install. One point if you have to remember about dash installs, (unless on-axis) is that the windshields interferes heavily with tone quality. I don't believe one is a compromise of the other, it really is vehicle dependent. In OP's circumstance he seems to be looking for a more simple approach. so IN THIS CASE IMO a two-pay passive setup with mid-woofer in kicks and tweeters in pillars would be most simple and still have great results. If it easy to do so, then mounting tweeters in dash will work great too.

I understand there is no absolute when it comes to being the "best", but I don't understand why it such a big deal for someone to voice their opinion. I stated my opinion, give my recommendation, and my reasoning, you either you like it or you don't. For whatever reason several of you seem to dislike Hybrid. You are trying to make them sound bottom end which anyonoe the world knows they are not. You like somthing else better, fine, I personally IMO have yet to find it. Say you want but people in SQ have been choosing Hybrid and continue to do so. There are plenty of great drivers out there, we all know this, and IDC if I like Hybrid because the pretty chrome job on the magnets, if that's what I like so be it. FYI in a blind test, even Focal execs liked the Hybrid audio drivers over their own Utopias. Maybe you personally wouldn't feel the same way, but hey it is opinion. Impious- for you telling me you have never even gotten a demo in a Hybrid vehicle, I don't know why you would even comment. Yes you did say Qts, not Q, my fault, but BL is certainly not the most important number to a midrange, and we all know that T/S parameters are not the best way to judge a speaker, but are good as a general comparison. It seems you have some bias against the company to claim something about a company you have never even heard, for that I am sorry as you are missing out. You said you are trying out some new mids for a new build, hope they work out, and hope you post some build pics on here, and good luck with the build. oh yes, btw I based the response curve of the 12m off the testing from the manufacturer, not zaph audio....I simply trust the manufacturer's posting over some random page you bring up.

Jacob has gotten great results with this kerfed box, I would expect great results from this as well

Yeah, that is a concern but I love my wall only incident I've seen with a walled build where the car went through a wreck, the vehicle rolled over several times and the wall kept the roof from collapsing and killing the driver. So I guess if you build it strong enough it can provide safety. sick build though, box looks great, can't wait to see it all finished and with more power! Sundown FTW!

you got that right, of course going out when you're single can be costly too...damn prices of drinks these days... I just hope Brandon Marshall can put up 29 points for me in NFL Fantasy before I go 2-6-1

it sucks, but now you probably end up saving up and trying to upgrade sooner than you had thought!