ronjon228

Well I took a quick skim over those links and just had a few questions/comments to make to sum up my experience with car audio equipment and tuning.

Always, always remember KISS (Keep it simple stupid). Too many people go with all kinds of EQ's, Crossovers, Amps, Channels, etc. that absolutely murder the source to the point that it's already mucked up beyond comprehension. Here's a few good rules of thumb to go by...

-Always tune with our EQ's flat (only use the EQ after for MINOR adjustments +/-2db or so)
-Never cross over a signal more than once (ie running low pass out of head unit/pc and then having low pass filter on @ the amp = bad)
-Only go active if you have SQL experience and a good ear (also SQL equipment REALLY helps)
-Tune to what sounds good to YOU (this really is the most important)

If you follow those rules, you should be ok. Basically the less you alter your source, the better the end result is going to be. If you have to change your EQ settings, cross over settings, or gains out of spec, it means your hardware isn't made for what you're trying to do. Therefore at this point it becomes highly beneficial to purchase hardware suited to your application/preference. Then you can use the hardware as your base tune and fine tune with your EQ's, cross overs, gains, etc. In the case of signal processing, less is always more.

When purchasing various equipment there are important factors to consider. The following generally apply.

-Signal to Noise Ratio or SNR (the higher the better, especially important for amps)
-THD (lower is better)
-Frequency Response (Hz range)
-RMS power (peak power is useless)
-Ohms

When picking up amps or speakers remember that the above is important in COMBINATION.

First, decide whether you want to go active or passive. This will influence all of the purchases hence forth. If you're going active, do your homework and be prepared for some serious tuning. In the end, any finely tuned active system will sound better than a comparable passive system. However this tuning takes more experience and equipment than passive route. Just keep this in mind.

Next pick out your speakers based on your preference. If you like soft highs, get silk dome tweeters. If not, grab metal dome tweeters. If you like more heavy mid-range get mid-bass drivers that have lower Hz response. Etc, etc. Also, make sure to note the impedance (2ohm, 4ohm, etc.) of all the speakers you'll be using. This is important for matching up the proper amp.

Once you've got your speakers picked out, get an amp to match them. First and foremost, make sure your amp can operate at the proper impedance (ohms) of the speaker(s) you've selected. If your amp can't match the impedance of speakers being used it will render the amp useless. You can cause MAJOR damage to the amp or speakers by running incorrect impedance levels (especially to the amp). Check the x-over's on the amp vs. the Hz response of the speakers to make sure you can match them up. If you're going active, it really doesn't matter, but you get my point. Also, get an amp that pushes 25-33% more RMS (very important to use RMS on all components) than the speakers are "rated" at. This way you can keep the gains down and the signal clean. Remember that any amp produces more noise and higher Db levels, meaning that even an amp with a killer SNR will sound terrible if you're using 100% of the wattage it can produce. This is why using that 25-33% buffer zone is important.

Once you've got the speakers and an amp selected, the rest is up to you. Tune the system to your liking and DON'T mess with it after. One of the worst things you can do is try to fiddle with it too much or change/add/remove too many components. This will throw all the work you've done out the window, remember KISS again.

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