I'm intending on coming to the next Victorian SQ comp, and possible competing some time in the future, just had a few questions... When it comes to choosing speakers, if you have two brands with very similar specs, but one is 1.5 times, or twice the price, is the more expensive brand going to be better? Or does how you tune your system have more effect on how well you'll go when competing? I've heard systems worth a heap more than mine, that sounded bad - seriously not a jealousy thing, just me noticing and being super surprised that my relatively modest setup seems to sound better than some 'better' systems....

generally u cant go by speaker specs in deciding how well they will sound.
its all dependant on ur ears, what sort of music u will be playing through them, ur cars interior, and the installation of said speakers.

different speakers suit different types of music, from classical to metal.
installation is probably the most important factor in deciding how good a system will sound
so if u are out looking at speakers, listen to as many as u can, take ntos for pros/cons of each, and then make an informed decision

Here's a bad analogy.... but it works for now:

Specs are like the quality of the ingredients in food. High quality specs/ingredients can make great food - doesnt guarantee it.
But if dont you mix/install those high quality ingredients together prooperly... ur food/speaker is gonna taste/sound like sh*t.

I think you'll find that the quality of construction of a component is the most crucial... and unfortunately there's no spec which defines that. Like a "glue" rating, for how well joined a speaker is hehe. I wish it exists but it don't.

Audition a whole lot of speakers, both within and outside your price range, then pick the speaker you want and save for it. If it's like $5000/pair, well, maybe that's a little outside your price range... so be realistic too. But if your favourite pair of speakers costs $250 then buy them

Realise that build quality determines how well a speaker sounds.... I could build a speaker with gold voice coils, carbon fibre cone, etc.... but since I'm putting it together, it's not even going to produce anything more than distortion. Your best bet is to hear a whole range of speakers, pick a few that you like, come back here, post up the names, and ask what people think of the 3-4 brands that you're considering

Thanks guys! I'll keep all that in mind - I'm out hunting for the Sheffield Labs CD103 atm - anyone got an unwated copy?

Mine's quite wanted thanks

important things in sq:

position of speakers

sound-deadening

x-over points

eq'ing

its not what you have but how you can make the most of the products you own.

jas - That last point is good to know. I've heard over and over that it doesnt matter how much you spend, if its tuned badly, it will sound bad, and vice versa for equipment that may not cost as much, but is tuned correctly.

*Goes and searches previous posts for x-over tips

Its how u use it that counts

Contact Marc or Tiger for the CD-103 - they have a batch for sale

Many people on here do quite well in SQ comps with "ordinary" speakers, it is very much about how / where you mount them, and what you feed them with.

yeah auditioning audio stuff is by far the best way to do it
goes for hometheatre stuff too

and that ingredients analogy was good

-Gaz