8 replies to this topic

[abmolech]

hi,
hope you can help.
trying to decide what to buy for a quality sq system.
only things for certain is the clarion head hxd2 and cd changer dcz 625,
and arvus fronts most likely these
2 x 6.5” Bass/Mid
Specifications
35Hz to 500Hz +/- 2dB
300 Watts RMS
4 Ohms 93dB @ 1w /1m
THD - 0.5% @ 5 Watts 2% @ 50Watts 5 % @ 150 Watts

Features
1.5” Voice Coil Edgewound CCA Wire
Polax Ceramic Magnet Design with “zero’ Eddy Current loses
Nomex Spider
Glass Fibre Twill weave Cone
Rubber Surround
Die Cast Frame
will be paired with 8" nlc passive radiator

2 x 4” Mid Range
Specifications
100Hz to 6kHz +/- 2dB
150 Watts RMS
4 Ohms 92dB @ 1w /1m
THD - 0.5% @ 5 Watts 1% @ 50Watts 7% @ 150 Watts

Features
1” Voice Coil
NeoMax Magnet Design with ‘Zero’ Eddy Current loses
Glass Fibre Twill weave Cone
Rubber Surround
Die Cast Frame

2 x 1.25” 2005 Silk Dome Tweeter (ex pre-production)
Specifications
1.5kHz to 50kHz +/- 2dB
70 Watts RMS
16 Ohms 95dB @ 1w /1m
THD - 0.3% @ 5 Watts 0.8% @ 10Watts 1.5 % @ 50 Watts

Features
CCA Voice Coil
Neomax Magnet Design with ‘Zero’ Eddy current Loses
New 2005 Dome Geometry
New 2005 lighter coil and N50 (highest grade available) Neodymium Magnet

now the hard bit,
I have little or no experience with modern car systems, my previous system is twelve years old.
I am very "nick picky" as described by blackrazor, I listen mainly to classical music with a strong bias for opera. my install is a stealth, so i don't care about looks much, anyway....
amps
would I be able to hear enough differce between zapco amps and the others
c2k4.0x, c2k6.0x, c2k 9.0x,
against
phoenix gold titaniums, jbl, zetus,etc
nobody stocks zapco in NZ so can't compare.
next subs
I need a highly responsive sub(s)
so far
arvus 4 X 8" plus 14" nlc passive radiator
arvus 2 X 10" plus 14" nlc passive radiator
adire koda 2 X10" Or a Brahma 12
Infinity Perfect 12VQ
RE XXX 12"
So far haven't heard any of these.
nothing ive heard is good enough yet, love my cello, bass and pipe organs
Hope you can help
thanks in advance.

[jas]

do not i repeat do NOT go passive distorter. I hate these things with a passion. You love classical then sealed is THE only way to go

i recommend a brahma 12inch with lots and lots of power. Look at an amp rated at LEAST 1000watts rms.

As far as front stage is concerned. The biggest difference will be in this order:

1)speakers (which you have already chosen)
2)position of speakers (which is very much dependant on the speakers you choose soft dome tweeters must be in an on-axis arrangement)
3)x-over settings and alignment, active vs passive or a combination
4)eq / time-alignment
5)power, the bigger the amp the less likely the rails will sag under load, however too many powerful amps will do this to your electrical system too. So a good powerful electrical system in conjuction with powerful amps will help.

6)amp design.

choose an amp brand that will make the rated power that you desire. More powerful amps are preferred.

sq amps on this forum go in and out of favour depending on the month or year.

as far as build quality go audison vrx, xtant, pg titaniums, zapco, brax, boston are all amazing

if i had the money id love to try the vrx2.400 for the front stage and a vrx1.500 for a re xxx12 or a brahma 12 (both based on the amazing xbl^2 motor)

[NUTTTR]

I've got a VRx1.500 driving an RE XXX 12" ported or sealed depending on my mood that day It's excellent and IMHO works best (from what i've heard!) in a sealed box about 1.5cuft or so... These are HEAVY subs so you need a strong box and magnet out setup does not work as they are so heavy they tip the box over lol

To be honest, if you pick a good quality amp, as above, the sound difference will be very minimal, i use a JL300/4 and an Audison on my front stage and cannot fault either of these, previously had an audison vrx2.150 and it was excellent too!
Depending upon what amp you use and what technology they have built in them (for example regulated outputs, class d, class t, etc, etc, etc....
I'd go class a/b DEFINATELY and you are not (i repeat not) going to hear the $2000 difference between a zapco top of the line amp or say the JL 300/4... (not sure if that is the difference just making it up for comparison)
The JL 300/4 (makes ~230wrmsx2 when bridged) is an excellent amp and i recommend it 100% for an SQ system.... If you are looking for design plus power then Tru Tech amps are the way to go (copper series if you are serious!) but they will set you back huge amounts of cash!
Aaron

[abmolech]

thanks,
just a note about nlc, normally they are set up with weights and are designed to add(tuned) at certain frequency(s).
arvus use them differently, they use torsion bars, to allow(correct) for a linear
tuning across the entire frequency range of the driver.

[Blackrazor]

Yeh, they Arvus NLC's arent used like a passive radiator, they effectively use them to make a 'sealed box thats more linear than normal sealed boxes'.

It doesnt matter HOW linear your sub is, the air in the box compresses and expands at different rates, the Arvus NLC's use a passive radiator coupled in a different manner to offset those differences by providing extra compliance when its needed without given extra compliance ALL the time

Trust me, if you'd been past the Arvus factory and seen what they can do with their speakers, stuff that noone else has even thought of or at least implemented, you wouldnt be calling them 'passive distorters', the Arvus guys primary industry is private cinemas for extremely wealthy people all around the world... not only are their raw custom made drivers sensational, but Matt is an enclosure design genius

[jas]

interesting

i would love to hear a non passive distortor, unfortunately all the products i have heard so far have been very very dissapointing. Hopefully Arvus can prove me totally wrong in this instance.

personally the two subs that i like for the home enviroment have been sealed enclosures.The krell sub and the martin logan statement subs both have that rare wow factor...and its not the dumbass price..which is also a "oh my god" wow factor.

[abmolech]

looked at the Audison very nice, how do they compare power wise. the zapco are very efficient.
Blackrazor are you trying to kill this thread ?
quote "Man, i'm like the thread killer, i post in an active thread and it just dies, it happens all the time"

[gooki]

jas here's a home sub for you: http://www.worldsbestspeakers.com/b_buster.htm

abmolech get the z4800 for your front speakers. It has just been released in europa for $700 euro's. It's been independently bench tested at 4x119 watts RMS at 4ohm, 4x 193 watts RMS at 2ohm, 2x 386 watts RMS at 4ohm bridged.

Or even better find me a buyer for my CA475+, I'll buy the z4800 and I'll let you try it out in your install for a month free of charge.

[-DJ-]

i feel, if your ears are up to it, you WILL hear the difference in amps. but thats an argument best left the the many threads of the past.

i've heard passive radiator designs sound "okay" but it may've just been the speakers i was listening to (sonus fabres... can't remember model... about $2600pr-ish)

if it were me, i'd buy myself an old (or a few old) phoenix gold amps... perhaps some ppi arts or orion hccas.... anything before cheapness started its big drive.

other than that, you'll love the zaps. jl and audison are also very good. add arc audio to the list too.

cheers

david