mjmarovi

with tuning at 38 hz, I'm assuming he would try to crank some real low tunes and it would cause unloading....but hey that's just a wild guess

that's what I thought, thanks wrench. crazykenkid- first alternator was stock OEM and it was pushing battery bank of system of 4 thousand watts, I didn't expect it to last. This alternator was a small upgrade, and pretty sure it was used or refurb or something, I plan on purchasing an Ohio Generator by Christmas, but was hoping this one would get me by till then.

So basically as the topic says, I think my alty is going out. It is causing some whining background noise, and I know all grounds are good, and rca's are clean. I remember having the problem when my old alty when out, and when I got the new one the background noise went away. Any ideas on how to test the alternator? I know you can disconnect battery after vehicle is started, but that it will really only test complete failure...

maybe a small extra charge for w/e color you want with *cough* matching dustcap Sundown logo *cough* would also be sick on these. and the rest of the woofer the classic sundown black. just throwing that out there

generally don't see any worries with glass till you get over 155 db's, and then it's very vehicle dependent. with a single BTL, no worries, with 4 18's on a wall and 4-5k on each, then yeh would probably expect a little more window flex...

yes, so port opening would be for example 10" x just under 5" or however you use choose to build the port. the reason you generally only see huge ports, is on more pure SPL systems where tuning is much higher, so they don't have to build the port very long. when you have to make a port longer, and make it turn in the box and what not things can get a little goofy. so sometimes it is easier just to go with 12-13 sq. in. of port and really that still works out quite nice.

sent you a PM, can probably just help you from here via PM.

lol you would have shit yourself with my old setup than...and it wasn't anything too special... "active setup" means using xover's before amps receive signal. in an active setup amplifiers are connected directly to the speakers. so the amp is told, or if it has a built-in xover then is used to cancel out what frequency you want said speaker to receive, and the amplifiers powers that speaker. in a passive setup (most common) the amplifier is wired or powers a "passive crossover" which is then connected to the speakers. coaxial speakers have bass-blockers built in which helps them handle power directly from an amplifier without the need of a any crossover. that is also why they are the lowest quality sounding speakers. I could go on for days about croosovers and difference in passive/active benefits and what not as that's my bread and butter but unless you really want to know I'll save it. since you did have to ask, I would say stick to a more basic deck. something with at least a 7-band eq with 4 volt pre-outs will suit your needs just fine. stay away from crap brands like dual, and really stay away from any entry-level model from any company. for 200 bucks there are plenty of options out there for great quality decks.

alright, open your ears and I am more than happy to help. I also like the fact you took the time to PM me, that shows me you are truly looking for help and not LOL ok so lets see if we can get a fresh start. I understand your goals, now lets truly see what you have to work with. take measurements of space you have available in your trunk, remember you will have to fit this box into the trunk so be sure it is not larger than the opening. we'll go from there....

to be most helpful here lets make a list of what you have available... 1) probably about 4-5 cuft airspace after port and displacement in a trunk....that leaves you with the option of 2 12's or a single 15 as I believe M5 STATED above. 2) POS 1400 watt amp, *cough* I mean ~700 real power lol. anyway that's fine no worries just use for now and upgrade in future. ok that was a short list now here's what you need... Join the club, you're on a budget, that's straight so lets see what we're working with. You said profit 200? well how much TOTAL will you have/are willing to spend on this? I'm gonna go out on a limb and say 500 dollars. If so then you are looking at a single BTL or two BL's. so looks like coincidentally the same as another thread, you are looking at a single 15" BTL, or two 12" BL's. You you will want to be looking at 2000 up to 3000 watts total that either sub setup could handle, so thinking in future have space for two middle sized or one larger battery. Be thinking about an alternator upgrade as well when making the amplifier upgrade. It seems you have no problem with ability to fabricate a box so I have confidence you can do that alright. fi recommends between 12-16 sq. in. of port area per cubic foot of box volume, for best results you probably want to try to get into the larger side of the recommendation, although that can be difficult someitmes since a larger port must be longer to achieve same tune. tuning, since you are looking to be more musical, probably in the 32-33 hz range.

no offense, but I'm sure M5 and I both have knowledge far more vast than your friend, and the Q's being louder than BTL's comment makes the test a one question failure for your friend. this forum is filled with people that have been doing car audio for most of their lives, people that own and design speakers for a living, and people that work with those people and do everything they can to improve car audio. so basically if you want to go listen to your friend, then go do that, don't come onto a forum like this and ask for help then go off and listen to your friend who heard about Fi through the grapvine and thinks he is the shit for hitting 151. give me a break! btw I have seen a BL 10" do a 152 out of a trunk, I have seen a single Fi Q do 147 on music on a thousand watt amp, and the list goes on and on.....

they can all get loud, I have ran Q's, BL's, and heard plenty of every sub in the line, I have even installed and IB3 in two different vehicles and now have it in home theater, so I feel I have plenty of experience with Fi. the BTL is def. the LEAST musical of everything in the lineup. it is meant to be an SPL woofer with options that allow it to be used as a daily driver. everyone speaks of musicality as if they really think a 150 db daily ground pounder is an SQ build...not hardly. As long as you have a decent install, it wont sound like crap, and I understand you want it loud. so don't worry about what is going to sound "better" on same amount of power, same size woofer, the BTL is the loudest, second is the BL, and third is the Q. and just opposite, the Q is most musical, second is the BL, and then the BTL. (this is keeping SSD's and IB3's out of the equation as neither should a woofer option for you and this amount of power) as I stated before, the increase in cone area of the 2 12's would overcome the sensitivity of the single 15", so two 12" BL's would really be the best option for you. They will be the loudest you can get besides going with two 12" BTL's in that amount of airspace, and will still remain quite "musical". this is what is recommended by how each lineup is designed...just remember the final and most important influence on performance is the install job. I have seen systems running Q's hit over 160 db's, and have also seen BTL's ran as daily musical subs, but it is very install dependent, and since you already know what space you ave to work with, again, BL's with your range of budget are the best choice. as for how to place subs/port. well facing subs and port into the cabin and sealing off the enclosure to the trunk is generally the loudest. This does require a little more work and fabrication, and if you are an amateur one of the harder installs to do successfully. As long as there is some air passages around the box, sub back and port back works extremely well and is def. the best option for building a box that you can take in and out of the trunk.

for the most part, magnets will be very large on higher-end speakers that can handle more power, but if the rest of the woofer or speaker is crap, it doesn't really matter. many inexpensive posers out there have huge magnets but sometiems like 1 or 2" voice coil then claim to be a 3000 watt sub, lol no way. lots of things factor, but thing to remember is yes, generally speaking you need a large magnet to handle large amounts of power, but just because there is a large magnet doesn't mean it can handle a large amount of power.

alright thanks guys

if you round the if you round the corners on the inside it will add SPL, probably not audible though...a 1 db gain at most I would say.

I personally have not used the imprint, so no real feedback on that, but you can always opt into a dedicated eq after you get your system in and figure out how it is. Alpine and Eclipse are both great companies, and IMO on a practical price range the two best decks out there. The 9887 is well worth every penny, but if you don't plan on a running an active setup then the 9886 is enough to fit the bill. Just let me know man, always fun to put some beat in someone's vehicle. By the time you have money and get equipment for your's mine should be done so I can give a demo of what is possible from a trunk

that amp will push more than 3000 watts, especially with backed up electrical. BTL's are a little more sensitive to power, which means they are louder per watt, but by going to the BL's you are adding ~50 sq. in. of cone area I would say that will give you a larger increase in SPL. Plus the BL's would be a little more musical, but I don't think with either you need to worry about the "SQ" of the woofer, with 3kw and knowing you are probably going to be driving around using all 3000 watts, I would say there will be no SQ to your system.

you should get the boxes wrapped to match seats whenever you do it

and you Eagle, you got pics of 3500d's in your sig, lets see the 4500's! lol

well alternator don't really put "more power" just cause battery is lower. they will put out w/e voltage they are constantly, and can put out up to w/e their max amperage output is. your alternator is the power source, so it really powers everything in the car including the batteries, batteries are just their as reserve power. now yes, if batteries do undergo less voltage loss if fully charged to say 15 volts, voltage drop will still occur but not as bad. so yes that will help the alternator from trying to work as hard. still waiting on other inputs about chargers though, I think I have a pretty good grasp on alternators and their job as I said before I'm used to more daily systems than pure SPL burping monsters.

the 3sixty.2 is cool for the fact of bluetooth control, but personally I am much happier with my 9887. I had that processor paired with a older alpine deck, can't remember model no. but it was the highest end in like 2005. Even the xover on the 9887 seems to be cleaner. of course the eq on the 3sixty.2 was very detailed opposed to the 9887, but you can get a dedicated eq for much less than a 3sixty.2. depending on install, I haven't had to do much with the eq anyway. personally I'm not a fan of kenwood decks, they just seem to be as clear, have higher distortion at lower volumes than others, and appearance which is all opinion is well lacking. the excelon 993 does get the job done I'm sure. clarion's higher-end decks are a good choice as well.

Hardly the case. The install they are in is weak. I've heard the SLS 10's. The sls 8's are going to have a higher output compared to the mli's. Both are very nice sounding midbasses but if you have the room, go for an 8. I am very critical of equipment, and know what I'm doing when it comes to install. IMO the mid-bass is weak. and i had 100wrms on them in my car, and friend now has 150wrms on them. He bought them from me cause I sold them to him for practically nothing. You can hear them, but there isn't much authority. I am happier with the hertz hi-energy's, but of course there is a price difference.

yeh he has done some sick fiberglass work, they had a show when they opened up the new shop, it was pretty good, no audio competition though, which is what I want to talk to them about.

I'm looking at those similar speakers myself, haven't had the Peerles but I think that's what I'm going to buy. Many ppl recommend them and I know the company is very reputable and does make a great product as far as history is concerned. the MLI-65 I have had, and a friend is using them now, IMO their mid-bass is quite weak, it is a decent choice for a budget 2-way system, but I would not recommend it as the lower end of a 3-way system. since you are running them, how have you liked your SLS? I am looking at doing 3 pair in my doors for mid-bass, and can't decide whether or not to squeeze in 8's or just go with 6 1/2s. how deep do you have your's playing?

The MKII is pretty sick, was looking at it when I bought my 9887, which I got cause of the better deal. Not sure why you hate the 9887...it is a great deck, I have had no issues with mine and I'm using the processor to run a 3-way active... what do you not like about it? plus IMO alpines are much easier to use than Eclipse, not a fun of eclipse layouts or looks, but the technology in the MKII is top notch. Nakamichi is quite nice as well, but a little price, there is a deal on a couple from woofersetc.com though