altoncustomtech

Those are gorgeous. I think they'll be the new best seller you guys will have given their power rating. Can't wait to find a reason to buy one and play with it!!!

I wouldn't waste money on a pre-fabbed box that comes from a mass produced supplier. The specs are always questionable and always seem to be tuned higher than they advertise IF they even specify it. The best thing to do would be to hit up DC Creations, Triple R Performance, or another reputable box builder and get the box built right. It's a little more expensive but worth it in the long run.

Honestly, whichever one fits your budget the best. The power difference between the MBQ/US Amps and the Sundown 1200 won't be audible, and SQ won't be a factor with any of them.

Great job guys!!

Lol, thanx, and yeah, that's where I was trying to go.

I can see that, and totally agree. I've just been speaking on general terms. Or at least that's what I've been trying to point out and only pointing out in reference to every one of the general questions people tend to ask about getting louder. Such as when they ask about buying a 1200 watt amp to replace their 1k amp. Or they think they're wanting to compete and ask if getting a 1500 watt amp for their pair of 12's would get them that much louder than their 800 watt amp does. General terms, nothing on the level you're building and competing at.

Even so, that's STILL hella loud outta that amp.

I don't know what your talking about. What this guy has done is just magical. Cone area or not, those are 3k rated N3s getting just under 400watts each. There's more to it than just cone area. I don't think the same is possible with 4 dcons. Then again I don't know much about anything. Very impressive vid none the less. I was referring ONLY to the fact that power is the least economical way to get louder. That point, as I said, is in reference to all the questions people ask about buying new amps when the power difference is insignificant. I was in no way undermining what he's done. In fact I find it quite amazing. I know I couldn't do it with any combination of equipment. I was just trying to point out that considering he only lost about 6dB with a 10x reduction in power proves that power is the least economical way to get louder. Think of it backwards. Had he gone to the 14kw from the 1500D and only gained 6dB a lot of people would think there was something wrong. That he should have gained more than that. I think that much output from that single 1500 is amazing. I also believe that 161, 162 is crazy loud. He's got a great setup.

to the forum and the family!! I do believe you're going to love how that sub performs for you.

This is a PERFECT example of why cone area is king. Every time someone posts asking about upgrading amps and they hate the answers they get (which is usually keeping their current amp) from the members here they need to see this. 14kw compared to 1500 and it only made about a 6dB difference? At about a 10x difference in power? Standard theory says that 6dB difference should have been made at 6kw. Sure wish more people could understand that. On the other hand, that's a terrific score on that power difference. Love the video.

It sounds to me like the amp has an internal issue. Unless you were running the amp at .5 ohm or so it shouldn't have been blowing fuses like that even if they were a tad smaller. That aside, if the amp is flickering on and off and has a draw on the remote line strong enough to affect the HU then something's not right in there IMHO. I would contact dB-r about having it looked at and repaired.

to the forum!! You're going to love the Fi sub and you definitely got one hell of deal on it. Unless there's a problem with the Kenwood amp it should be a fine match for the sub. You're not really going to hear a difference between 800 watts and 1000 or so. The enclosure you put it in is FAR more important than the amount of power it's going to see. While I do agree that planning ahead is a must, I completely disagree with starting at the amps and subs and working your way forward. Consider this, the subs play a few frequencies from around 25hz to less than 100hz. Your highs play everything from that about 80-100hz range all the way up the scale. Unless you're building a competition rig trying to break class records, wouldn't it make more sense to start with the HU, any processing you're planning on using, sound deadening, the highs and then work your way back? Just some food for thought.

Damnit!! I sure wish I could have gotten the engine in my '98 Blazer fixed faster!! I was hoping to be the ORIGINAL quad 15" DCON setup with it. Oh well, it will still be the craziest setup around here, LOL. Good luck on the build man! I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

Yeah, it looks a little funny but it worked out great. I put the factory charging wire under the brass stud, then put a second nut on the brass stud and put the 1/0 on that. Thanx on the doors, they are very quiet but are missing MLV and another layer of CCF. I plan on getting that stuff ordered from SDS very soon.

More updates! Got the passenger door done yesterday. I have to say the Bravox components are well worth the money I paid. They're super smooth sounding with no harshness and they're very accurate as well. I really really can't wait to get the 125.2 on them and see how they really sound. The HU's small power so limits how good a set of speakers can sound, reaching distortion at listening levels that border on the quiet at times with bass, midbass and often midrange as well. Which is one of the many reasons that everyone should put at least a small amp on their highs. Well, enough of that, onto the pictures. Aside from the fact it's the passenger door instead of the drivers door, everything went pretty much exactly the same so I focused more on what it looks like finished than on the entire installation process like I did with the drivers door. Got the door panel off. Tweeter connector on. Bravox tweeter in with new connector on. Same as the drivers door, got the gasket foam on under the baffle to help seal, decouple, and allow for some minute adjustments. Voila, all done and both doors don't look too shabby.

Got my tshirts today!!!! Damn is they nice!

LOL..... Why not try the GCONs first when they become available? Then move up the ladder to the ICON's, XCON's, and even a ZCON sometime in the future?

Yep I knew about it, but there's no logical reason for me to do so. I don't have the money to randomly buy equipment I don't need and don't make changes to my setups unless there's a problem with them. For example, the components in the van are on their way out, so I got a set of Bravox CS603CF's for it when they went on clearance for a price that couldn't be passed up. I also didn't even look into getting the Fi Q's and Sundown amps for it until the subs in the setup that was in it before this blew and the amps were causing problems. I do appreciate the look out though. I've got a set of ID CTX's I picked up through a trade that I'll play with sometime soon.

Awesome, be sure to let us know how it works out! Those components are on my long list of equipment I want to try out someday too, lol.

I'm married and have four kids, I KNOW all about the inability to save money!!!! LOL.... Keep researching, you can never learn too much about the multitude of products that are available. $500 is a GREAT budget limit, even $350 isn't bad. I hate it when I see people start threads about needing new components and giving it a $100 or similarly starved budget. Finding a straight up simple component set that will "keep up with" that BTL is probably going to be tough, no matter the budget. Just my two 12" Q's can easily drown out the components in the van if I turn them up, I can't imagine how any could keep up with and be equally heard with that 18" BTL. Looking for something with a true and high sensitivity will be about the only way to achieve that. Unfortunately, a compromise will have to be had somewhere it seems to get the results you're seeking. I wish you the greatest of luck with it.

18" BTL? I'm surprised you can hear anything at all over it, lol. $350 may be more than you can afford at one time, but that's the beauty of patience. Of course it sucks with a blown driver, it's almost a necessity to grab something cheap for the time being but I digress. It's in your best interest to save your money and buy what you really NEED and WANT rather than buy whatever you can afford now and spend money again later because it wasn't the best purchase choice. That gives you the time to figure out exactly what is the best course of action, time to research products, and time to maybe learn about some of the finer aspects of customization such as fiberglassing. Then you will have spent your money wiser and be that much farther ahead in the long run.

to the forum!!! To answer your question it's 25 posts. Won't take long to get there, lol. Out of idle curiosity, why are you selling the TC Sounds for the SA-8's?

THAT is a great option if you don't mind swapping the enclosures out. The output of the 15" DCON in a proper ported enclosure should far exceed that of the W0. Swapping them back and forth is a good option IMHO. It's not for everyone, but it gives the best overall flexibility.

Thanx, can't wait to get things done! Thank you sir, I'm glad to finally be posting a fairly steady set of updates on this thing. Speaking of updates, here's the pictures from this weekends drive to get things done. I got the PCMforless performance tuned PCM installed this weekend along with the K&N cold air intake and the new Singer 250A alternator along with the Intimidator battery and BIG 3. Things went pretty smooth throughout the installation and the only hiccup I had was that I forgot about a slightly longer belt for the engine with the new alt installed. Quick trip to O'Reilly's yesterday nabbed me a 1 inch longer belt that fits perfectly to finish it and the BIG 3 up today. Onto the pictures. Here's the stuff, Knu Kolossus 1/0 cable, battery terminals and ring terminals, Singer alt and The Intimidator. Love Knu's stuff. The alt is nifty as hell. As you can see in these pics, how the charging stud is done is a little odd to me but it should work just fine. Besides, I'll only be running an SAZ-1500, nothing real crazy. This is how I saw it out of the box. Not drilled and tapped in the center. Working on getting the new battery in I found a little issue as you can see below. I had to make a quick modification to the battery tray. Luckily removing it was a snap and a quick run at the 10" wheeled bench grinder and it fits great. More pics of the alternator and BIG 3 installation. Well, hopefully in the next day or two I'll have the passenger side door baffle and the second half of the Bravox CS60K components installed and the pics of that up. Also, with the week off on vacation I plan on working on the amp rack and sub enclosure in between playing with the kids while they're on spring break. I bought the kids a pair of little four wheelers of their own yesterday so we'll be pretty busy playin' it up this week!!! Thanx for looking at the build.

I'm glad to hear you've had some experience with the brand/series. I would imagine that the new CVL's you linked would/could be better than the 5.25's you owned before. Most companies only make improvements over the years so I wouldn't be too worried at all having prior experience with the series like you do if I were you, that is if you liked the first set you owned. Also on the tweeter brightness, they don't have to be that way if they're not designed that way. My Bravox CS60K's and the HIfonics Atlas components I'm currently using both have metallic domes, aluminum and titanium respectively. The tweeters on both sets are smooth and subdued, sounding much more like silk domes than metallic. There's no way to know without hearing them in person, but just because it's a metallic dome tweeter doesn't mean it's going to be harsh to listen to. They're also discontinued, so if you're wanting them and have the cash on hand I wouldn't hesitate for too terribly long. I've missed out on so many great products and/or good deals by hesitating like that.