slick Posted October 26, 2009 Report Share Posted October 26, 2009 As far as talking to a pro, talking to ABC would be my last choice. A few years ago when I was a professional installer, I had to fix ABC's shitty ass work all the damn time. Nothing but a bunch of crooks and hackjobs. I had the software that I invested myself, and I spent my time working with, and in, a few teams that did SQ and SPL competitions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boulevard Posted October 26, 2009 Report Share Posted October 26, 2009 No offense but you've been a walking advertisement for that place. I went in there to get a quote for PARTS ONLY when you sent me there first, and ended up getting shit much cheaper from your sister's Best Buy discount with the same or better specs. Sorry, but I'll be building this myself and saving money. I HIGHLY doubt they have adequate bracing for their 15" sub boxes, and I'm not paying their prices. I had enough when I went there the first time. Not my type of business. I don't have money to throw away. I'm building myself a box to fit MY frequency tuning and my space specifications, and I'll do it at a fraction of the cost you paid for your box. When you compare full retail price like at ABC to an employee discount at warehouse prices at Best Buy (via my sister)... yeah...! you're gonna save ALOT of money. That's why it's a hook up! That's why you pay cash but when I spend money there at ABC instead of at Best Buy, you'll only spend time and money once. I've done that Best Buy audio. It's crap. It's all crap. I spent money on Fosgate subs, 4 pairs of Alpine mid's, 3 Kenwood Amps and a Headunit and after months of unhappy performance and sound I finally broke down and paid for quality audio equipment that was worth every dollar. You didn't go in there with my name introducing you. They didn't give you that special attention. You would change your mind if you only broke down and paid for a premium audio system once. Mines not top of the line but it's definetly not "Best Buy" quailty, other than my Kappas that can't handle the wattage they spec'ed. I'm swapping those out soon for Kenwood Excelons. Thankfully I only paid $165 for both sets. $165 down the drain, no other way to look at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boulevard Posted October 26, 2009 Report Share Posted October 26, 2009 As far as talking to a pro, talking to ABC would be my last choice. A few years ago when I was a professional installer, I had to fix ABC's shitty ass work all the damn time. Nothing but a bunch of crooks and hackjobs. I had the software that I invested myself, and I spent my time working with, and in, a few teams that did SQ and SPL competitions. I've known ABC for 15 years. Owners and managers. I spend free time (when I have it) there sometimes checking out new products or whatever. Never hear anything bad about them from anyone in Chicago. All other shops open for a short time promising cheap prices and equal quality work but they close before the warranties they have sold expire. They stand behind their products and work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremerevolution Posted October 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2009 No offense but you've been a walking advertisement for that place. I went in there to get a quote for PARTS ONLY when you sent me there first, and ended up getting shit much cheaper from your sister's Best Buy discount with the same or better specs. Sorry, but I'll be building this myself and saving money. I HIGHLY doubt they have adequate bracing for their 15" sub boxes, and I'm not paying their prices. I had enough when I went there the first time. Not my type of business. I don't have money to throw away. I'm building myself a box to fit MY frequency tuning and my space specifications, and I'll do it at a fraction of the cost you paid for your box. When you compare full retail price like at ABC to an employee discount at warehouse prices at Best Buy (via my sister)... yeah...! you're gonna save ALOT of money. That's why it's a hook up! That's why you pay cash but when I spend money there at ABC instead of at Best Buy, you'll only spend time and money once. I've done that Best Buy audio. It's crap. It's all crap. I spent money on Fosgate subs, 4 pairs of Alpine mid's, 3 Kenwood Amps and a Headunit and after months of unhappy performance and sound I finally broke down and paid for quality audio equipment that was worth every dollar. You didn't go in there with my name introducing you. They didn't give you that special attention. You would change your mind if you only broke down and paid for a premium audio system once. Mines not top of the line but it's definetly not "Best Buy" quailty, other than my Kappas that can't handle the wattage they spec'ed. I'm swapping those out soon for Kenwood Excelons. Thankfully I only paid $165 for both sets. $165 down the drain, no other way to look at it. Yeah, I went in there telling them Eddie sent me, and they gave me a shitty deal. It was crap. I offered them cash. They wanted $1000 for a 400W Diamond sub + box, sub amp, and stereo amp, not including wiring or installation. I never went back. I got 3 amps, sub, sub box, distribution blocks, and capacitor from Best Buy from your sister for $660 out the door. My components and rear 6x9's aren't from best buy. They're Polk Audio. I'll let the name speak for itself. As for the discount, you can go online and price match everything in Best Buy's selection and find it cheaper. After I bought those amps, I found them online for $10 more each. I saved cash compared to best buy prices, but not everyone goes to best buy. For the record, those Kenwood amps aren't crap. As far as talking to a pro, talking to ABC would be my last choice. A few years ago when I was a professional installer, I had to fix ABC's shitty ass work all the damn time. Nothing but a bunch of crooks and hackjobs. I had the software that I invested myself, and I spent my time working with, and in, a few teams that did SQ and SPL competitions. I've known ABC for 15 years. Owners and managers. I spend free time (when I have it) there sometimes checking out new products or whatever. Never hear anything bad about them from anyone in Chicago. All other shops open for a short time promising cheap prices and equal quality work but they close before the warranties they have sold expire. They stand behind their products and work. And I sand behind the claim that I can do the same work with as high or higher quality and with as good or better results, for cheaper. Why would I pay them $150+ to build me a custom 15" box tuned to my desired frequency and designed to fit my specific trunk specifications when i can do it myself for cheaper? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted October 27, 2009 Report Share Posted October 27, 2009 It's really no offense to anyone, but it's just that everyone has there such own idea's of car audio, how things work, and how it's done, that I'm so damn happy that I graduated college with my engineering degree, and got a good full-time job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leadfoot Posted October 27, 2009 Report Share Posted October 27, 2009 I have no knowlesge of ABC personally as they are not here in TX. With any stores there will be problems and esp with chain stores. Ask my brother in law who let the "best" Car Toys in Dallas do work on his C6 vette. Problems for over a year. It spent a week at the dealer more than once for various gremlins. The dealer had found several things installed wrong. On the last trip the dealer just unhooked everything they had done. They found out the "best" installed Car Toys had in Dallas had tapped into wires going into the ECU which wreaked havoc. All said and done. He had to pay $4k to the dealer for all the repairs. Car Toys initially wouldn't reimburse him. After he threatened to sue them they paid most of it. He is still stuck with an aftermarket stereo that hardly sounds better than stock. When you go shopping for car audio, you MUST be an informed consumer. My time spent in and around the car electronics business taught me something else. There may be a great installer, but he will do terrible work if he doesn't feel like it or isn't compelled to. Your buddies may do awesome work for you and their top customers. But, I guarantee you there are cars that go through there who argued them down on price or might be hard to deal with. They are sick of it and do an average or poor install because they don't care. It sucks, but it happens. They may do great deals and work for you, but I bet you get better service than the average customer given your relationship with them. I would go there too. I have several friends that I go to because of those types of relationships. If I refer someone to have work done on there car, I call and set up the appointment. I make it clear they need to treat this person as they would me or tell me up front because my reputation is on the line. Should it be that way? No. Is it that way? Absolutely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boulevard Posted October 27, 2009 Report Share Posted October 27, 2009 And I sand behind the claim that I can do the same work with as high or higher quality and with as good or better results, for cheaper. Why would I pay them $150+ to build me a custom 15" box tuned to my desired frequency and designed to fit my specific trunk specifications when i can do it myself for cheaper? I can't disagree with you more. It's insane what they charge for one of them to build a custom box. I should of called ahead of time for you. Next time. They fired the guy who worked there before when you went in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boulevard Posted October 27, 2009 Report Share Posted October 27, 2009 I have no knowlesge of ABC personally as they are not here in TX. With any stores there will be problems and esp with chain stores. Ask my brother in law who let the "best" Car Toys in Dallas do work on his C6 vette. Problems for over a year. It spent a week at the dealer more than once for various gremlins. The dealer had found several things installed wrong. On the last trip the dealer just unhooked everything they had done. They found out the "best" installed Car Toys had in Dallas had tapped into wires going into the ECU which wreaked havoc. All said and done. He had to pay $4k to the dealer for all the repairs. Car Toys initially wouldn't reimburse him. After he threatened to sue them they paid most of it. He is still stuck with an aftermarket stereo that hardly sounds better than stock. When you go shopping for car audio, you MUST be an informed consumer. My time spent in and around the car electronics business taught me something else. There may be a great installer, but he will do terrible work if he doesn't feel like it or isn't compelled to. Your buddies may do awesome work for you and their top customers. But, I guarantee you there are cars that go through there who argued them down on price or might be hard to deal with. They are sick of it and do an average or poor install because they don't care. It sucks, but it happens. They may do great deals and work for you, but I bet you get better service than the average customer given your relationship with them. I would go there too. I have several friends that I go to because of those types of relationships. If I refer someone to have work done on there car, I call and set up the appointment. I make it clear they need to treat this person as they would me or tell me up front because my reputation is on the line. Should it be that way? No. Is it that way? Absolutely. Agreed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremerevolution Posted October 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2009 Picked up the MDF cut to specs, wood screws, glue, and carpeting for around $65. I'll be assembling it some time this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremerevolution Posted November 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2009 Box is built. I used 2 pounds of wood screws and half a large bottle of wood glue. I reinforced the corners inside with cut MDF sticks about .75x1.0 inches to ensure a complete seal and add some strength. Damn that thing weighs a lot. I haven't carpeted it yet, but it BARELY fits in my trunk. it actually rubs up against the rear deck on the left side that scrapes about 1mm of the MDF away when you force shove it in there, and the trunk barely closes. Now my Alpine R12 is not an awesome sub by any means, but its decent for what it is. I measured 119 db SPL playing some random song with that sub. This thing though is a whole different animal. It hits REALLY hard. I wired it in a 1ohm configuration. The amp doesn't even list what wattage it will support at 1 ohm, just says "900W at 2 ohms, 900W+ at 1ohm." Whatever power its pushing right now, its insane compared to the last sub. I'll get pictures of the box in the trunk soon. This thing is simply awesome. In the end, I spent $27 + tax on MDF, $26 for carpeting, $18 for wood screws, and $8 for wood glue. $80 plus tax for a custom tuned and custom fit 15" box with extra bracing on every edge of the box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted November 1, 2009 Report Share Posted November 1, 2009 Good, I'm glad you like it!! I was worried about the damage that it received during shipment, but it sounds like you got it fixed it well!! I remember playing it around 3/4 of non-distortioning volume while doing about 70mph on the highway (which means at that engine speed, the alternator should be able to put out it's full amount of amperage, if called for). Every time it hit, my lights would dim. I desperately needed a high output alternator in that car, since I had already upgraded everything to 0 gauge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremerevolution Posted November 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2009 Yeah I love it. The electric tape and silicone sealant patched up the tears in the foam very well. I put in a couple extra screws in the section that cracked and its holding up great. Its loud as hell with that box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremerevolution Posted November 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2009 Damn, my amp is cutting out after like 5 minutes of heavy load at 1 ohm. So much for being advertised as 1ohm stable. Looks like I'm going to have to get that Directed 1500D set up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94GPGTP Posted November 2, 2009 Report Share Posted November 2, 2009 pics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leadfoot Posted November 2, 2009 Report Share Posted November 2, 2009 Damn, my amp is cutting out after like 5 minutes of heavy load at 1 ohm. So much for being advertised as 1ohm stable. Looks like I'm going to have to get that Directed 1500D set up. Had you tried putting a cooling fan on it to make sure it is getting good airflow across it? This can help. I can't recall what brand, but I want to say the Alpine V12 amps cooled much better mounted flat rather than sideways. Could that be the case as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted November 2, 2009 Report Share Posted November 2, 2009 Typically you want to have the amplifier mounted so that it will allow air flow under the amplifier. You also DO NOT EVER want to mount an amplifier to an enclosure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremerevolution Posted November 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2009 Typically you want to have the amplifier mounted so that it will allow air flow under the amplifier. You also DO NOT EVER want to mount an amplifier to an enclosure. I hear you on the amplifier mounted to the enclosure. My amps are flush mounted to a carpeted board. I suppose I could raise them up a bit with some washers, hoping they'll clear the strut tower bar. The amps each have their own fan cooling, so I'm not sure how much of a difference mounting them will make. I've never had the two stereo amps cut out on me though. In order to mount the mono amp differently, I'll have to take the board out (which is a bit of a pain), so if I'm that far into it, I might as well go ahead and install the Directed 1500D. The current Kenwood KAC-9103D is only rated for 900W @ 2 ohms and is advertised as "1 ohm stable" without any ratings for 1 ohm operation. The Directed 1500D is advertised as 1200W @ 1 ohm. I'll pick up some washers so I can give it some better cooling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted November 2, 2009 Report Share Posted November 2, 2009 We used one of the two, depending on the application, as a spacer: http://www.installer.com/item/display_item.php?it=sst http://www.installer.com/item/display_item.php?it=sb8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremerevolution Posted November 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2009 Eddie, I can't wait for the next meet. I can say with 100% certainty that this sub in the box will blow the pants off your two 12's. We used one of the two, depending on the application, as a spacer: http://www.installer.com/item/display_item.php?it=sst http://www.installer.com/item/display_item.php?it=sb8 I picked some nearly identical but slightly taller spacers from Lowes. Slightly more expensive, but no shipping charge. I'll mount the Directed amp tomorrow with the spacers and let you know how it works out. For starters, I'll need a new amp. I have a 8AWG and a 4AWG wire going to the battery, and the battery has all 0/1 AWG wiring, and my headlights lights dimmed half the way down when I ran my bass note test. I might need to find a high output alternator for this car, a smaller pulley if that's even possible, or an extra battery. That capacitor is worthless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted November 3, 2009 Report Share Posted November 3, 2009 Yeah, same problems I was having with my Bonneville. I have an HO alternator from a cop car Impala 3800. From what everyone says, it requires a different tensioner bracket, however from what I tested, a simple spacer would do the trick to get proper tension on the belt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremerevolution Posted November 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2009 Would one of those even fit on a series 1 3800? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted November 3, 2009 Report Share Posted November 3, 2009 No clue. If you were closer, I'd just lend it to you to try it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremerevolution Posted November 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 Here's a picture of what it looks like now, electric tape patch and all. The patch looks bad, but it works perfectly. It was damaged during shipping and the foam surrounds tore a bit, but this fixed it right up. I've been blasting it at my amp's peak on the way home from work every day, and surprisingly my lights don't dim. They only dim badly when I'm sitting at idle. I'll have to see how the Directed amp does later. Still haven't had any time to install it. Oh yeah, and of course, I still need to carpet it. Somehow, the cutting got messed up on the right side if you look at the bottom. The front panel sticks out about a quarter of an inch. No big deal though, the bracing helped a lot and made sure the seal was good. You have to hear it to believe it. I'm very happy with the results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slick Posted November 19, 2009 Report Share Posted November 19, 2009 Good deal. I'm still mad about what happened during shipment. If you ever decide to have it re-foamed, let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BXX Posted November 19, 2009 Report Share Posted November 19, 2009 Looks good, also looks like you used enough screws to keep it from coming apart with dynamite in it.. Carpet that like you said and your in business!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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