[Gage Doble]

PSSOUND on YouTube has a bunch of great videos if you want to check him out.

 

[MadeinBologna]

You might take a look at the mobridge 8.1.1 amp, it replaces the factory Bose amp and has a built in dsp. I’m getting ready to put one in my 13gts. https://mobridge.us/product/mobridge-most25-amp/
Going to run morel elate carbon 93a 3way set up up front and a JL 10tw3 in a sealed enclosure under the spare.

Interesting, I hadn't run across that kind of solution! The only downside is that the MOST25 bus is limited to 44.1khz. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOST_Bus

 

[MadeinBologna]

Tell him he can buy a 500 dollar receiver and replace his ati hypex amplifiers as all amps sound the same as well

Ack... the wave of hair standing on end and a bit of nausea just crept over me.

 

[MadeinBologna]

First question before people start throwing amps, speakers and dsps about as like anything you will get 500 different opinions about what is good…

what are you using as a source for this stereo system?

Sony RSX-GS9

 

[MadeinBologna]

Thanks for the feedback! Like I said, just trying to get a lay of the land and I think I've got that now. No, I'm not spending Brax money. Just trying to get a handle of what people might mean if they say something like "Well, it doesn't sound like a Brax, but it's 10 times better than a Alpine."

I'll probably buy most of my gear used except for the speakers. I have rebuilt plenty of old tube amps, so I'm not afraid of a soldering iron. In fact, my Hakko does pretty good. I mean, face it, I bought a 17 year old car because it is such a fun, capable car! It used to be $120K new, it's 1/12th of that now, but still drives pretty close to when it was new after I fixed a few things. What's that saying? Champagne taste on a beer budget? Why spend money if you don't need to?

I'd put my home speakers against any speaker in the low-$20K range. But I built them from a fraction of that and I'm proud to have the skills and discernment to get to that point. Hopefully I can do something similar on my car/truck/whatever this turbo thing is.

I do plan on keeping it mostly stock/stealth looking. I don't want a rear cargo area full of amps and subwoofers. I'm going to build a Stealthbox clone using a Seas L26ROY like I did with my home speakers that fits into the left side storage area. I've got a tunnel under the rear seats that is roughly 2" x 7" x width of the car, so I'd like to keep all of the electronics in that area.

 

[FAUEE]

Try not to get caught up in the snake oil. Good amps are not difficult to find. Sure, there are crappy amps out there, but the majority of the good brands (Alpine, Kenwood, Pioneer, etc.) all make very good amps that will sound every bit as good as the luxury amps like Brax.

DSPs will be very important, FAR more important than the difference between a Kenwood Ecelon amp and a Brax amp.

Yup. People like to spend for boutique stuff. They think a couple people in a garage have more r and d and knowledge than a large company with experts in design, manufacturing, materials, etc. It's asinine to me, but people like the uniqueness.

Truth be told, with a good DSP you should be able to work around speaker deficiencies. That's how OEMs make systems sound good with very inexpensive speakers.

 

[MadeinBologna]

They think a couple people in a garage have more r and d and knowledge than a large company with experts in design, manufacturing, materials, etc. It's asinine to me, but people like the uniqueness.

Hmmmm, yes and no. I've worked for and with large companies. They have profit margins to think about and if they mass produce boxes, they need to use mass-produced parts. Mass-produced parts may mean +/- 5% or even 10% tolerance depending on where they put the parts. Quality = good enough, but not the best. There is also supply and demand. If you make top-of-the-line, there are only so many people willing to pay that price. Much smaller than the masses who think Bose sounds great. Small firms that don't have the large firm overhead and different business models can produce even the same topology as the big firms, but hand-select parts, use 1% tolerance parts, use extra materials for shielding, etc.

Of course, there are the people who pretend to do all of the above and maybe that's who you are referring to.

 

[Berk]

Yup. People like to spend for boutique stuff. They think a couple people in a garage have more r and d and knowledge than a large company with experts in design, manufacturing, materials, etc. It's asinine to me, but people like the uniqueness.

Truth be told, with a good DSP you should be able to work around speaker deficiencies. That's how OEMs make systems sound good with very inexpensive speakers.

How about the same good DSP with better amp and speakers?

 

[FAUEE]

Hmmmm, yes and no. I've worked for and with large companies. They have profit margins to think about and if they mass produce boxes, they need to use mass-produced parts. Mass-produced parts may mean +/- 5% or even 10% tolerance depending on where they put the parts. Quality = good enough, but not the best. There is also supply and demand. If you make top-of-the-line, there are only so many people willing to pay that price. Much smaller than the masses who think Bose sounds great. Small firms that don't have the large firm overhead and different business models can produce even the same topology as the big firms, but hand-select parts, use 1% tolerance parts, use extra materials for shielding, etc.

Of course, there are the people who pretend to do all of the above and maybe that's who you are referring to.

Flip side, if I'm a Harman Kardon, I have deals with all the people who supply the parts to make amps, speakers, whatever. Let's keep in mind, amp topology is not exactly a new thing, you can rearrange and repack it a bit, but at the end of the day, you're still a class D amp or AB or whatever. So if I'm the big guy on the block, my suppliers can get me WHATEVER I Need because I spend 50 million a year with them. Forum Boner Inc that sells 500 amps a year, they don't have those contacts, they're relying on their build house to do it, and getting what they are offered.

Bug firms pay less for materials, they have better access to workers, experts, etc. They have more overhead, but that's because they can afford things like legit QC, r and to improve things, marketing and sales support that isn't just a "send me a PayPal for these items".

If you want to buy small brands because you like supporting small business or whatever, that's fair. But a small manufacturer doesn't have any quality or design or material advantages.

 

[FAUEE]

How about the same good DSP with better amp and speakers?

I mean, if you have a good dsp and add more better, then that's more better. Though I suppose that only applies if your better speakers and amp move the goalposts on your weakest link.