oh, no offense taken whatsoever. i'm sure you understand that i've heard your opinion as well as its exact opposite at car audio places all over Dallas. i just ended up taking the average of all of the solicited and unsolicited advice i got, put it in a budget, and, well - we'll see what i get. hopefully no explosions.

 

Pinky,

I'm curious about your complaint with Rockford being not so good quality. Do you which companies placed in last years IASCCA finals. Do you know how Rockford placed?

 

So Pinky, what mid-to-high range components and amps do you recommend? I listened to the MB's (PSC-216's, I think)and they did sound too metallic for my taste. At the lower end of price, I liked a Cerwin Vega set but it was almost not bright enough (same head/amp combo at a local stereo shop).

 

fotch, if you end up taking it to someone for the install, let me know. I'd highly reccommend Audio Tunes on Alpha Road. They did mine and it really sounds amazing. Happy to give you a listen if you like.

 

I remember about 8 years ago, RF Punch amplifiers had S/N ratios of like 80db (when every other high-end company had amps with 95-105db S/N).

But that is no longer the case... RF Punch/Power amplifiers have just as clean specs as all the other "better" amp manufacturers...

Have fun! Buy whatever fits in your budget, looks cool, is easier to install, etc...

 

Just came back from a shop that did an install on a new corvette with two Rockford power series amps (800.2 and 800.1) and Dyno Audio speakers. What a great sounding system. I recommend the Dyno Audio speakers for the front. They sounded great!

 

Yeah I'm not a fan of MBQ for sure... Their stuff's too bright. Made popular after low-quality components needed a "big daddy" to look up to, I think. As for Rockford, well... I think back in the day they just started making lots of products for low cost, and they never concentrated much on quality. They're a popular name, and a lot of their business comes to them by default. Y'know, some kid looking to start a system will think, "Okay I need a CD player, some speakers, a Rockford, a sub..."

And there you have it! Well, that's what I think anyway.

Insofar as amps, I have an Alpine MRV-F353 five-channel in my Subaru. Nice amp, yes, but I heard an Xtant 603x and I am SO in love with it. When money allows, I'll upgrade.
Now THAT is American-made beauty!! When push comes to shove, nobody knows car stereo better than the USA. Well...
when it comes to sound output, anyway. For CD players and electronics like that, the Japanese, Germans... and others are the key players. But for power production (amps) and speakers?

A LARGE chunk of REALLY top-end, super-quality products are made in the States. The US is just really good at acoustics, in many respects. Look at guitars... Nobody in the world (excepting private luthiers) can build 'em like we can.

[Edited by Siper2 on 05-25-2001 at 09:37 PM]