The DSP408 (have one in my home setup) is great for a basic setup. Doesn't have all the bells and whistles you get with the big names but it gets the job done very adequately and is pretty intuitive if your friend wants to learn.
The app sucks though. Sliders were a bad design choice.

All the noise issues have been solved in various threads around the forum.

If they want to come in the door swinging with a heavy hitter, there's a PS8-50 in the classifieds

https://www.diymobileaudio.com/threads/stereo-integrity-sql15-arc-audio-ps8-50-arc-audio-nighthawk.478487/?post_id=6400690#post-6400690

 

Thanks for the input. I’ll be tuning but this is low budget so it looked to have what I need. And yeah I saw the noise issue and was worried so that’s good to know.

 

Snag a used arc audio ps8 or used rf 360.3 they are decent for the money, or if you want Bluetooth control the rfdsr1 is good, also very small.

 

That would be awesome if I can find one. And one under $200 ish. Thank you for the input!

 

And more specifically can you vouch for the rainbow products audio intensity has in stock. I’m not worried about audio intensity it’s that wasn’t rainbow bought out like 2 years ago and now it’s one of those cheap Chinese brands like so many others. Aren’t they a new brand called like audio circle or something now?

 

Well, I just purchased the Rainbow Dream 1.2k, so I guess I'm a fan.

The little minis, I believe, are made in Korea. Much of the Rainbow gear AI sells is new old stock. The purchase by the Chinese group Hangzhou Summer Commercial Service Co. moved the manufacturing to China using the original designs; to what extent that has affected this gear, I can't honestly say, but I don't think they would change much the first year or two, as just the lower manufacturing cost for the same unit is still more profitable, might as well sell off the reputaion then consider changes with followup gear.

At some point, probably, as you always have to have something new, right?

That said, the stuff is priced no more than and in some cases even less than, comparatively, than other questionable gear on the market, so I don't see any downside.

I'm not going to politicize it like some will, pretty ignorant to think, at least in this industry you can stay true to made in USA unless you're made of money, and why deprive yourself of many different products from all over the world, regardless, some great stuff out there, my $0.02.

I do speak with my dollars, but that's my business, and I enjoy the forums as an escape from all that bs.

The owner of AI is also going to sell the Rainbow break-off, Audio Systems, led by Paul Jelko, Rainbow's former top developer, who is widely considered an expert in electroacoustics. That bodes well for the new products.

Not sure where that leaves Rainbo, going forward, likely they will still do well, making decent products, but as is typical, at some point, probably more profit-centric than product-centric.

I love my Rainbow products that I have acquired to date, all of them, and trust Scott's advice on what he sells; he's pretty picky about the lines and products he carries and what they bring to the table.

If you're really on a budget, then the 6-channel might do just fine if you're able to use the head unit to time/phase/tune the subs separately, not critical, at least not AS critical i most builds as tuning/timing/aiming the front stage.

Ps, I'm not getting anything in return for promoting that site or that gear, no affiliation, just a happy customer of the site and the gear.

 

@Copeland Taylor btw, that PS8-50 is a dsp/amp (8ch bridgeable +2) and is fcking tiny

Salt 200.2 for reference

 

If you’re interested i have a audio control Acx 600.6 new in the box for 300$
Stereo integrity TM65 MKii gently used for 250$

 

300$? That’s a good deal. Will you ship it if we pay? This might be the way to go in a few days (I want to see what other Amps get offered in my want to buy ad).

 

I have a match pp82 dsp for 250 - that’s 8x55w or 2 pre outs for a sub instead of the last two amp channels. It’s runs off the helix dsp software and is probably a more reliable option. Otherwise I’d go for a dsp.3 or arc ps8 and dedicated amps. Rainbow stuff looks suspicious to me. Ps8-50 isn’t half bad either.
the stereo integrity mid and tweeter are not good. Too much distortion caused by cone breakup, and they aren’t flexible with the crossover. Ideally you want a mid that can go to 300hz or below.
super budget gems:
SB acoustics sb21rdcn. This is a very small tweeter with super low distortion, much better than the m25. $110/pr
scanspeak 10f 8414g10
low distortion, plays all the way to to 20khz, can cross as low as 250-300hz. No cone breakup or harshness. $180/pr on sale right now
peerless hds 6.5 - multiple models, all are good. 120/pr
Stereo integrity lied about the tm65 xmax so these have just as much but more finesse.

 

I have a match pp82 dsp for 250 - that’s 8x55w or 2 pre outs for a sub instead of the last two amp channels. It’s runs off the helix dsp software and is probably a more reliable option. Otherwise I’d go for a dsp.3 or arc ps8 and dedicated amps. Rainbow stuff looks suspicious to me. Ps8-50 isn’t half bad either.
the stereo integrity mid and tweeter are not good. Too much distortion caused by cone breakup, and they aren’t flexible with the crossover. Ideally you want a mid that can go to 300hz or below.
super budget gems:
SB acoustics sb21rdcn. This is a very small tweeter with super low distortion, much better than the m25. $110/pr
scanspeak 10f 8414g10
low distortion, plays all the way to to 20khz, can cross as low as 250-300hz. No cone breakup or harshness. $180/pr on sale right now
peerless hds 6.5 - multiple models, all are good. 120/pr
Stereo integrity lied about the tm65 xmax so these have just as much but more finesse.

Not certain I agree with either assertion on the TM65 or the mids, not a month goes by where somone that is selling an extra pair jumps on them when they are available.

Needing a mid to go to 300Hz, bit of a stretch, and absolutely build specific, enclosure-specific when you start to get in that frequency range, size-dependent too.

I'm going to be pushing close to 150 watts to my mids, at 250-300, better be in a good quality stuffed .5 to 2l sealed pod or box, or you'll likely be getting a buzz that is definitely not what I would consider a pleasant high at all.

The scans are nice, but again, they require a decent sealed or vented enclosure to play between 70 and 130 Hz, respectively.

Now the Scanspeak Discovery 10F/4424G, that's about $130.00 each, and they are a pretty killer midrange/midwoofer drivers.

The Scans are not going to handle much power tuned that low, either sealed, vented, or IB, they won't handle much more, if any more than 15-20 watts, maybe 30 watts peak.

The other consideration is the breakup. They do go low, but the trade-off is the other end. The
10F/8414G-10 will only really play well up to around 3k before significant breakup and off-axis issues start to occur.

The 10F/4424G is even worse. Goes a bit lower but has an effective usable range to about 2.2k+; breakup and off-axis response suffer a bit.

Not terribly, but these are designed primarily for a controlled home environment, not so much for cars, IMHO.

I'd not want to use them any higher than 3.5- 4k, which is fine, just not sure how that would do.

Now the SB acoustic line has some very good, reasonably priced drivers, such as the SB Acoustics SB12CACS25-08 4"ceramic 4" woofers, or the SB Acoustics SB12MNRX2-25-04, excellent for the money for sure.

Even so, they want an enclosure; most of these are not intended for IB use and they will suffer as a result.

Not trying to shiz on anyone's faves here, but the Si mid is much more geared to automobile use/installations than any of the afore-mentioned drivers.

It's going to play louder, take more power, and play effectively from 300/24LR to almost 6k, that's a pretty impressive driver.

And the Karma Mobile Audio: Aspect 3 - 3 Inch, at $199 a pair, may play well from 150 hz in a .02 cu ft enclosure, maybe a bit higher bottom end in an IB configuration, and is clean and clear to 6k, again, designed for use in a car, it does make a difference.

What sayeth you @RickWilson ?

My unrequested $0.02.

 

Pm me about the dsp amp that sounds great. So with sub using the pre outs it’s 6 channels? So like works with active 3 way and sub?
Also I’m seeing the sb acoustics for $50 on madisound and the scanspeak for $90, and the peerless on parts express for $55. These are better than thw SI stuff? Any other vouchers? Because the price tag looks great.

 

That’s single driver prices and I can show you measurements that show they’re better, I’ll PM you when I’m off work about the match

 

The gear snobs hate it, but I've used Power Acoustik Razor amps with built in DSP for a few years now and they've been great. The app is clunky, and they don't do rated power (but they're clones of PPI Ions that do rated power so you can find out what they'll actually do easily), and they're actually really high quality, and built in South Korea not some communist dictatorship **** hole.

Amazon.com: Power Acoustik RZ4‐2000DSP Razor Series 2,000-Watt Max 4-Channel Class D Amp with DSP and Bluetooth : Electronics

Amazon.com: Power Acoustik RZ4‐2000DSP Razor Series 2,000-Watt Max 4-Channel Class D Amp with DSP and Bluetooth : Electronics

www.amazon.com

I have one bridged on my midbasses, and one running the mids and tweeters. Tons of power, low noise, and an amazing value.

 

Buggy software and lots of reports of noise issues, plus they only recently added parametric EQ. They kind of just rode their reputation and didn’t keep up with good technological advancements in dsp processing.

 

I see. I think the equipment is good quality. I personally have an 6 channel amp from them and I love it and the controls.

 

To be fair I haven’t messed with them since they added real eq

 

I like his tweet and mid suggestion,especially for the price, but the midbass idk how it’ll perform in doors. Like you said SI does engineer specifically for car audio application. But it’s also on a budget so I love shaving off $200. I think I will go with his mid and tweet suggestion but I’m still considering the tm65. But with dsp and good door sound deadening and such maybe the peerless will keep up. I love the cost. More opinions please

I don’t plan on sending that much power to anything and my crossovers can be conservative. I’ll probably do the bare min to make sure the tweets and mids aren’t leaking into the dash. Spray foam behind them in the dash then line it with polyfill or something. But I would be using the mid as a dedicated mid not a full range.

 

I hadn't thought it really, the midbass that is. I do happen to have an open box pair of CDT HD-M6 drivers that are very good 6.7" drivers.

$150 for the pair, delivered, lower 48.

CDT Audio HD-M6

As for midranges, have a BNIB pair of Morel Virtus Nano 2.5" mids, $175 shipped, $250 a pair if you also want these German-made allumium pods.

Mids:

MOREL VIRTUS NANO CARBON MM2 2 1/2" MIDRNAGE 60W RMS ALUMINUM DOME SPEAKERS NEW | eBay

Pods:

Morel Virtus Nano MM2 Carbon , Aluminum Pods For Midrange Morel MM2 | eBay

Morel Virtus Nano MM2 Carbon. 1 Pair Aluminum pods black + Standard Mounting Set + screws for midrange. Aluminum pods for Midrange and Tweeters. Ball joint set angle adjustable for Midrange. can fabricate aluminum - pods, Spacer rings,Rings with Grills for Car Speakers.

www.ebay.com

Pair of these BNIB Sony Kappa 203S 2" silk dome mids:

$125.00

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-JmxUW815uMp/p_108K203S/Infinity-Kappa-203S.html?XVINQ=GZ0&XVVer=1CBQ&awcr=628153108289&awdv=c&awnw=g&awug=9029596&awkw=pla-1438359540232&awmt=&awat=pla&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=18593334232&gclid=Cj0KCQjw9JLHBhC-ARIsAK4PhcoRzBcbJqdWTRo079GvDppy712vRs0O_exxq2-C7iF-DvxvpgeKFegaAmq-EALw_wcB

BNIB pair of Dynaudio ESOTAN MF171 3"

$250.00 for the pair:

Dynaudio ESOTAN MF171 3" 120W RMS Midrange Speakers

<ul> <li>Diaphragm design: 3in diameter MSP</li> <li>Impedance: (4±15%)Ω at 3550Hz</li> <li>DC resistance: (3.6±15%)Ω</li> <li>Measured characteristic sensitivity/1m: (86±3) dBSPL</li> <li>Recommended frequency range:

www.woofersetc.com

And that about does it!

😁

 

It's all good, and frankly, I've been a fan of Peerless for years. The CDT, with its thick alloy baskets, sandwich cones, just a great midbass designed specifically for the auto environment.

Heck, right now, probably sitting on about 16, 4" midwoofer Peerless, 4, 6.5", couple of 8's, 2 of my home theaters 5 subs were built/made using a specific Peerless 10", two in a 3 cu ft ported infrabass enclosure that I'll never part with!

My intent was to shine light on what most will encounter. When using drivers for "other than" their original intent, you might have to do a bit more to ensure they perform the way they were intended to.

You're always going to have compromises.

Accuton, Scan, Vifa, Seads, Peerless, etc, all have automobile drivers they make, similar to their standard line of home use drivers, pro-style drivers as well.

Autos have very complex acoustical attributes, and they present a very unique acoustical signature and often more challenging installation requirements, that is usually better suited to drivers designed for the environment.

There are exceptions, always will be, but in general, that's applicable and why I tend to stick to those that are designed for such.

 

Appreciate the response tho