Critical Mass

Below, I only listed brands that I have owned, installed or helped a friend install and been around quite a bit..

Also the Brands are listed in no order and are Brands I would buy again myself or recomend to a friend...

Headuints

Kenwood, Clarion, Pioneer, Sony,

Sound Processors

Audio control

Amps

Hifonics

Sundown

RF

MMats

RE

Old School Phoenix Gold

Planet Audio

Components

Polk Audio

RE

Alpine

JL Audio

Subs

FI

RE

JL Audio

Treo

Alpine (type Rs)

Wiring, Fuses, PDBs, RCAs, accessories

Stinger

Phoexnix Gold

Knuconcepts

Deadeners

Dynamat (all I've bought in the past, this next system will try some of the other know brands)

Sprayfoam from Home Depot or lowes

I each catagory there are a few brands I'd love to try sometime, but thats what I have atleast some exp with and would use again...

Fi

Sundown

Sound Solution Audio

Alpine (for headunits)

Alpine H/Us

ED like the NINe.1 and few of the subs

Arc Audio amps

US Amps

Older RF my first gear all fosgate

Fi Audio

RE Audio

Phoenix Gold Titanium

Adire Brahma

Damn, how could I have missed this thread???!!!

Here's mine.

HUs:

Alpine, Eclipse, Sony and Denon have been my favorites to deal with. Not a problem from any of them. Clarion is okay, but they don't really cut it for me, even though I'm running one now. Can't forget NAK. Awesome units back in the 90s.

Processing:

AudioControl, no more needs to be said. PG and MTX have been awesome for me too. Coustic is pretty untouchable in the X-over area if you ask me. Proven performers for years! The Design Reference series of anything from them is still a contender today.

Amps:

Where to start. Okay PYRAMID! Yes, you read correctly. I have an old Pyramid amp that is "rated" 200x2 @ 4 ohms, and I have put this thing through hell and back 100 times. It's seen 1 ohm loads bridged, and countless years of the gain cranked and never even so much as blown a fuse. You can fry eggs on it, but I've had it for 14 years and it has yet to show a weakness.

My all-time favorites- PPI Arts as seen in the sig. Been running them for as long as I could afford them.

Audison, Helix, and Brax- If I had money to blow, they'd be mine.

Old school Lanzar Optis, The first RFs that came out that were 1 ohm stable, these rocked! My old Blade SE 6. something or other. This 4-channel monoblock was a powerhouse and small as hell. SoundStream Class A and Refs. Had a ton of these.

MTX has been in my collection for years and always will be. THEY HAVE NEVER MADE A BAD PRODUCT! I don't care what anyone says. And for all you who say your fans, you ain't got nothing on me!

Drivers: Damn, I think just about everything out there has been good to me. I find if you put a little extra effort into the install (and some EQ), you can pretty much make anything sound decent.

MTX comps have been a stable for me. ID, the horns kick ass, but are a bi*ch to integrate. Vifa, Peerless, Morel, DLS, DYNAUDIO!!! USD, the waveguides are sweet as well. Rainbow, A/D/S, I could go on forever.

Subs: Well, my favorite as of now is my beloved MAG!!! I was so skeptical of this driver at first. In fact, I had a negative feeling towards it because of all the hype it received. Well, I am SO happy I took the plunge! Now I know what the hype was about. This one will be with me til it's end!

My favorite of all time has to be my pair of SPL 160s. Man these things were so sweet in 3 cubes TOTAL for the pair and only 400 watts. Most impressive sub system I've had to date!.

MTX, can't say enough here. I think I've had at least 1 of every MTX sub made since I was 11. The old Terminators kicked butt! Black Golds are my Fav, yet I have to sell mine. The RT pros, and ThunderCast series rocked for years.

Pyle. First set of subs I ever had. Hit HARD, sounded okay, took power like nothing and didn't need too big of an enclosure. 8" Pyle Pros were awesome in a hatch. The Pyle Driver Series I and II were good for the money.

Adire. Everything I've had from this company has done nothing but impress me. My favorite budget driver and HT monster has to be the Tempest. This thing can do NO wrong. Liked my Brahma, but it just wasn't for me.

RE. Well, the XXX was similar to the Brahma except for it seemed to just keep wanting more power. IT was never satisfied with what it was fed. Had this been different, I'd probably be running RE today.

And last but not least, JBL. Loved every GTI sub I had! Their drivers are all proven-performers and well-rounded subs. They'll suit the Audiophile, and the Bass-head.

My first ever sub setup was a single 15inch spl 160!!!!! all i could say murder loud!!!! That was last year lol in 2009....15year old sub now.

/////Alpine

Head Units are the best for function

PDX amps are amazing

Customer Service is legit.

Type R series as yet to let me down. eBay: 500 bucks you can get (4) 12" Alpine Type R's

Kenwood

Double Din and Single Din Head Units are really nice.

JVC

Has some nice Head Units

KnuKonceptz

Awesome wiring.

DC Power

Only heard great things.

Fi

BTL is like the mothership of SPL

AudioQue

Their stickers look nice on my truck lol

Sundown Audio

Only heard great things

EDIT: As much as i read about SSA subs and Sundown Audio on this forum im surprised in how little they are mentioned.

Edited May 10, 201015 yr by BanginGMC

/

EDIT: As much as i read about SSA subs and Sundown Audio on this forum im surprised in how little they are mentioned.

Many of the people that have posted in this thread have not used either.

Sundown Audio (Own and run)

Incriminator Audio (Own and run)

Sound Solutions Audio (Won and run)

Oz Audio (R.I.P.) (Own and run)

Eclipse (R.I.P.) (Own and run)

Wow this guy is crazyy I AM A go with kicker jk hertz dimond cerwin Vega fi ds hmm an asa

Wow this guy is crazyy I AM A go with kicker jk hertz dimond cerwin Vega fi ds hmm an asa

Edited May 30, 201015 yr by denim

I don't have much to add here:

Headunits-Kenwood, Alpine

Coaxials-Alpine

Subs-ADIRE! (favorite of all time), old school MTX, round Solobarics, Clarion (impressive for the money)

Amps-PPI (Had an old one years ago but can't remember which one. Got hot as hell but ran like a champ.), MTX

Chevrolet - Truck / Camaro - All Year Models.

Forums / Competition Orgs. - SSA / USACI-BassBattles

Linear Power - Amplifiers / EQs & Crossovers

Blues Car Audio / Exodus Audio / Boston Acoustics - Tweets & Drivers / transducers / Computer Speakers

Code Alarm - Alarm Systems

Pioneer / Kenwood - Home Entertainment / Head Units / Coax Speakers

BlackBerry - Cell Phones

Studio / PA / Commercial - Peavey / Bose

COMCAST XFINITY - For all your home or business Television / Internet / Telephone needs.

Edited May 28, 201015 yr by Cablguy184

Diamond Audio subs are great

Ascendant audio havocs are just awesome, and beautiful

Mmat pro audio amplifiers are some of the best I've used and they are the love of my life, brut power with such a small footprint, recommend to anyone.

FI-their subs are the shit

AQ-killer amps great quality for price plenty settings

pioneer-Head Unit, and door speakers

JL-for there over priced chinese garbage

kenwood amps, and subs. Good for what you pay for them.

kenwood head units, never had a problem always hear good things

DC audio, always reliable and helpful

I use some others but i don't think that some of them deserve to be put up here. Just saying.

Always have liked JL !!German Engineering!!

Used to have some Mach5 MAW-15's LOVED THEM!!!

SSA's I have seen nice things

• Ascendant Audio/Fi- Their bad ass product are built and made here in the US (for the most part)
• Kenwood- I heard a pair of their subs, and they sounded amazing for the price
• Mechman- They have good customer service and their alts are affordable, but reliable
• Pioneer- Good headunits for a good price.
• Rockford Fosgate- Constant Power is the main reason. I like all the technology that goes into the 3Sixtys too.
• Secondskin Audio- Their Deadener serves it purpose
• Sundown- I love my Sundown 3k. I just dont like how the products are produced and built in China
• Techforce Services- Richard is very professional, laid back, funny, and is easy to get in touch with

im starting this post to see whats your favorite brand of choice.

please dont bash if somebody says a brand you THINK is not good.

one of my all time favorite is ORION because they keep it simple with only a few items but are all good.

my other ones are CROSSFIRE, PLANET AUDIO, ID, ED, RE just to name a few.

these would be my frist picks if i had to build a system.

now what are yours.......

jamie

SSA

But really I havent ever heard any SSA products (plan on it soon though). But I love Rockford Fosgate...except the price. RE and Soundstream aswell.

Eclipse, in my mind, makes someof the best head units around. Sundown I think makes some of the best subs around. But my favorite brand of all time? SSA. I have never heard nor owned one of their products, but for being such a small company, I don't know how they made such a huge impact on the car audio world. Keep it up, SSA!

Memphis and Mmats have always been my go to choice for amps.

Premier and Nakamichi head units have always been good to me.

Audiocontrol never dissapoints.

SUNDOWN AUDIO - (MY FAVORITE, THE ONE TRUE LOVE OF WOOFERS NAME IMO)

CRESCENDO AUDIO- THE BC SERIES IS MAYBE THE HARDEST TO BEAT AROUND, SAME AS SUNDOWN AUDIO,AND RELIABLE!

KNUCONCEPTS - THEY MAKE TRUE WIRE, WITH NO B/S FACTS JUST TRUE GOOD SOLID HIGH OFC WIRE!

KICKER - ALWAYS HAS GOOD STUFF FROM THE CHEAP TO THE NASTY, SOME OF THE MOST DEMANDED AND USED BRAND NAME, ONLY MAINSTREAM I LIKE.(ZX SERIES AMPS!)

ILL ADD EM AS I USE EM!

My favorite brands are

Sundown Audio: great subs and amps and a popular name

Kicker: great wires! And their amps are great too

Kenwood: their cheap amps and subs are great starter equipment. I love their headunits

Rockford Fosgate: overall great company with great products. I especially love their component speakers loud and clear

Crescendo: GREAT amps. Not so expensive but outputs alot of power

my not very favorites are infinity reference jl audio re audio hifonics orion alpine and Fi.

Brands I absolutely hate are Focal Audiobahn JBL and selenium. Never had anything good out of their products.

Edited July 5, 201114 yr by Angelboy863

I am only going to list my favorite brands of what i've used. Getting ready to try some new stuff here soon, so i should be adding to this list

Alpine: love their head units

Atomic: Loud tough as nails subwoofers

U.S. Amps: expensive, but nice

Bostwick: had great subs and amps, but now nonexistent

Cerwin Vega: Loved their older subs, especially the first strokers!!

Alpine - I've run nothing but alpine decks from day 1. Some of the best in my opinion. I ran a 9856 for 8 years; never a single problem with that head unit. Alpine subwoofers, door speakers, and amps not so much - thats a big old negative ghost rider. I've had 3 alpine amps, all ran hot, all went into protect after extended periods of loud listening. Type-R and Type-S Component sets - mediocre at best. Fried 2 10" Type Rs in a ported box - powered by a kicker zx1000.1 putting out ~500W RMS each of clean power. Never again.

Kicker Amps - Good clean power, some of the best you can buy

Kicker L7s - Good loud subs but don't expect any sound quality

Infinity - I love infinity component speakers. I ran a set of 60.7CS 6.5" for a long time also - still some of the loudest cleanest speakers in my opinion. They do lack on the mid bass and the treble can be extreme if not toned down with an equalizer or sound processor. Haven't heard the new kappas or perfects yet.

Hifonics Amps - Used to be the cat's ass. Not anymore. Nowadays they've turned into budget amps; even still, very decent amp for anyone on a budget.

Eclipse Subwoofers & Door Speakers - Very very very good component door speakers, ran these with a pair of 12" titanium pros. Nice SQ setup.

ANY FINALLY - Hopefully SSA makes it onto this list. I ordered a pair of GCON 12s last night. This is my first time using any of the SSA products and based on the rave reviews, I am expecting a lot from the GCONS. Time will tell.

Regards,

Snapper