All,

This is something for the thinkers out there.

Im interested to see what sort of opinions there are about the really high end gear. And more importantly, i'm trying to get an idea of what gear is out there in the really high end bracket.

So.... a little challenge....


The Challenge: Create an ultimate SQ system within a budget....

The Rules and guidelines:

#1. The budget for the system is $30,000.

#2. The budget is for EQUIPMENT ONLY. Installation costs are not to be included within the $30K budget. Wiring IS to be included.

#3. Reasons for your selection must be given. Nothing to in-depth but a general explanation will do.

#4. The vehicle the gear is being installed into, has not been selected yet.

#5. All prices must be Reccomended Retail Price.



I know this has probably been done before but not in recent times. If you have any questions post away but if you don't have anything of benefit to add to the thread, feel free to hit the 'back' button instead of the 'submit' button.

Looking forward to seeing whats out there.

Woody

well IMO i have my ultimate SQ system, untill someone beats me by a far margin then ill change.

but there will be some changes.

Hu will change next year. at the moment it looks like ill go a Pioneer p90 combo. But may change my mind and get a Mcintosh or Nak deck and H701 but rather the p90.

Tweeters i would upgrade to some Scanspeak revolators.

and wouldent mind another OZ ME12

if i was to change Mid's it would be for some Hybrid audio Legatia L6's
7.1in and paper cone

and for amps well, the SS ref is one of the best amps i have ever had the plesure listning to. again if i really wanted to upgrade it would be to Brax.

brands like DLS/rainbow/dyn etc would not get a run in my car for my ultimate SQ system.

amps i would run
Brax
Zed audio
Mcintosh

speakers
OZ audio (cause mine have proven themselves)
Hybrid audio

Decks
F1
p90
McIntosh
Nak

subs
Oz (again cause it's proven itself)
Boston (i have loved every boston sub i have owned)

Clarion HX-D2 Headunit - $2099
3-way active + sub. Awesome, most reasonably priced high end deck.

2 x Tru Technology C7.4 Amplifiers - $4999 ea
4 x 100wrms @ 4ohm
The name speaks for itself. I've never heard a bad word about these, and they look the sex. Only alternative could be Brax Graphic edition 4 channel amps.

1 x Rainbow Reference CS-360.30 3-Way Active - Approx $7000 I think?
The rainbows i've heard have all amazed me, so i'd have no doubt these would be amazing. Run active off the HX-D2 and Tru amps.
Alternatives could be Focal Utopia Be's, Hertz Mille's (would love to hear the ribbon midrange though), or Alpine F#1 Status 3-ways (mmm revelators).

2 x Rainbow Vanadium 12" Subwoofers - $900 ish?
Either these or Focal 33KX's. The focals would have to be the best sounding sub i've heard. Insanely quick and clean, however have not heard the Rainbow yet... Who in Melb wants to get one so I can demo it? Run these off a bridged pair of channels from one of the Tru's.

Cabling/Installation accessories... choose your esoteric brand. Nothing wrong with Stinger Dream Series gear.

So for around ~$22k + cabling and what not, there's my dream system...
Keep it simple

Clarion HX-D2 - $2k

Tru tech amps - $$$ unsure but a lot of m&ms worth

Focal Berylium splits - $4k (JMLab use these in their $100k grand utopias so they cant be too bad...or something)

Phoenix Gold EQ232 - I already own one but love this piece of kit to death...

IDMAX 12" x 2

Probably go some exquisite high end home audio cables - QED, KimberKable, VanDenHul etc etc

And if I could choose the vehicle, it would be a Mercedes W140 S500. Fort knox on wheels. Big, solid, dashboards wider than Oprah's ass.

Well rrp on my system is about 30G and like Rob, I am happy. Be careful what you wish for Rob lol What is a fair margin ? My advice...start saving
peace
Cyberpunky

myself, i'd end up doin something silly like:

Rega P9 Turntable $7.5k

Tru tech Hammer $2.5k??

Stroker Pro 12 $2.3k

TacT Millenium 2ch $9.6k

theres $22k so i could blow 8K on a set of speakers and we r laughin.

mind you, i havent had the opportunity to listen to a stroker pro, the TacT or the Turntable BUT they all do get excellent reviews.

but if I had this system, the only thing that would be holding it back would be my tuning

Deck& DAC: McIntosh MC402 and MDA5000 $5k

Amps: The choice here would be either Brax Graphic Edition or McIntosh. Id be going for 3x 2-channels. One left , one right and one for the two subs (stereo <-cause I can). ~$8k all up.

Speeks: Dyn Esotar tweet with a MW150 mid and MW180 midbass. 3-ish k. Either that or the Morel Supremo Piccolo + CDM88 + SW9 combo.

Subs: 2x PHD AL12W. If you have heard these, you'll realise why I chose them. $2.5k

Cables would be VanDenHul or Kimber.

The other 10k, Id throw it all into a Custom Passive Xover for the fronts, courtesy of AA&T. Id prefer a bit more for a three-way, but hey it seems Ive run out of money.

alpine dvi-9990 (dvd player)

alpine pxi-h990 x2 (full active processor)

clarion Tb851P (indash tv)


Genesis Absolute D1 Tweeter x3 (front + centre)

Genesis Absolute 15w Bass/Midrange x3 (front centre)

Genesis Absolute 18w Bass/Midrange x4 (front midbass)

jlaudio 13w7 x 2 (subs)

alpine spx-z15m x2 (rear fill)

rockfordfosgate t15004 x2 (front + centre amps)

rockfordfosgate t8004 (rear fill)

rockfordfosgate t4000bd (sub amp)

*note might be over budget but can be scaled down by only making it a stereo system, using one alpine h990 processor +no indash tv + no centre channel or rear fill + only one sub.

30g isn't enough for a serious system....hahaha

for purely stereo

I get the Pioneer ODR H/U
and 2 ODR 4 channel amps (ch1 for tweeter, 2 for midrange, bridge ch 3+4 for midbass, 1 amp per side, fully active for now(have to install & test before building any crossovers)).
and a nice amp for the sub (most likely ODR as well)

front speakers Alpine F#1 Status 3-ways (same as Scanspeak Revelators)
sub probly Focal 13"

cables all Stinger Expert Series

Pioneer RS-D7XIII + RS-P90X (modded opamps and DAC chips)
Milbert TC-4R (modded power supply and tubes)
Mcintosh MCC602TM x 3 (2 amps to bi-amp tweeters and mid range via custom passive x-over, third amp run mid bass active)
Focal Utopia Be Kit N.7
Mcintosh MCC301M
PHD AF12W x2

Any cable that is well built, long lasting will do the job

Drews ute - Tweakd. =)

Alpine DVI-9990/PXI-H990 ~ 8K
Focal Utopia Be No. 7 ~ 4K
Genesis Miniblock (6 units) ~ 10K
Diamond Audio D9 ~ 1K
Genesis Monoblock ~ 4K

Pioneer ODR (5k?) Looks the goods and offers me control
Morel Supremo set 6 (1.5k) Have at present and absolutely love it.
PG Ti12DElite (2k) Have at present and absolutely love it.
Audison Thesis x 3 (18k) Have the VRx and love it, am guessing the next model up would be even better.
QED cables.

You basically have that now Ant!!

My approach would be a little different.
Head Unit- It makes little difference to me what brand the source is. All that matters is it has a raw digital output. I think I would most likely use a carputer for source. A touch screen and a dash mounted ROM. Software similar to Pro-Tools will allow me to manipulate the digital source as needed. I would then use something like an Apogee X series DA converter for the best possible sample and conversion.
For processors something like a RANE AC23B would do nicely for cross over and a RANE PEQ55 parametric equalizer.
A ribbon and soft dome tweeter combination I find works well in cars. For woofer something like Dynaudio MW 160 7“ with a 3“ aluminum voice coil paired with 2 MD 140’s which are 3“ soft dome midrange with a sealed and acoustically damped rear chamber. For sub woofer JBL 1500GTi are the ticket.
For amps I just don’t know. What I will say is that I would be buying something American in design. Along the lines of old school Orion and PPI. And lots of it.
For cabling, Streetwires and Esoteric Audio.

I'm obviously not bias in any way =)

I'm sure we could find a way to lose the rear half of your car and transform the backseats into a wall of speakers.

Not to mention painting the car jet black.

You must really want a $30k car SQ system because a $10k home SQ system will blow it away Anyway, my choice:

Head unit: Pioneer ODR. I have never seen one much less heard one, but it's meant to be a step up over the P9. I know very well how a P9 performs since I have one and have listened to quite a few P9 setups.

Amplifiers:
Millbert tube amp , one channel for each speaker. (3 x $5,000)
Butler TDB-2150 bridged for subwoofer

Yeah that's right i'm a valve amp sucker

Speakers:
Dynaudio MD-330 Esotar tweeter
Dynaudio MD-140/2 mids
Dynaudio MW-160GT woofer
Sub: not too sure

Speakers run fully active.

I haven't heard high end speakers from other manufacturers but I know the Dynaudio sound and love it. I particularly like the Esotar's but alas I can't fit that in my car.

Car:
Land Rover Sport or BMW X5. Nice and solid with a wide and deep dash. I would also upgrade the battery and maybe the alternator to suit the high current demand. I would also strip all the trim and Dynamat every surface.

I think that should be about $30k easy.

Hummer. Biggest. dash. ever.

I would get a pair of Dynaudio C1's, take out the mid and tweeter and stick them up on the top of the dash somehow ($10K roughly), use a single IDMAX10 for low bass ($800), a C7.4 to run the lot ($4500), my trusty 9255 Clarion HU ($1500 new) and some nice speaker and RCAcables ($1000 say) plus a shed load of sound deadening ($1000)> Total, $18800. To save $8000, I'd use a pair of 240 Esotars and spend the other $20K on a nice low K's Ducati 996, but thats just me.

HU: Jensen MP3 Tuner

Front Stage: Boss Audio 3-ways

Amps: Pyle, or Pyramid

Sub: Rampage 12"

Cabling: eBay Wiring Kit

Deadening: Black Electrical Tape


HAHAHA... jokes...



onto the real thing

HU: Alpine F#1 CD Tuner, or McIntosh
(havent heard the alpine f#1 tuner, but from all reports it sounds great, heard mcintosh in a liberty B4, was impressed with it, even tho its a factory system)

Front Stage: Rainbow Reference 3-ways, or the Alpine F#1 3-ways
(have heard Rainbows Profi Venadium line splits, and was VERY impressed. read up on the f#1 splits, also good reports.havent heard them tho)

Amps: Tru Technology, or McIntosh
(heard a tru tech amp, sounded nice, not sure what model it was. heard mcintosh in a liberty B4, was impressed with it, even tho its a factory system)

Sub: Rainbow 12", or Focal 13"
(heard the Rainbows Profi Venadium 12" and liked it lots, read up on the focal, havent heard it, by all reports its excellent)

Cabling: Stinger Expert
(seen it, looks kool)

Deadening: Dynamat Extreme
(heard cars with deadening)


sorry for no prices, since its a dream system, its better that i keep it that way...

- mad89

im gunna take a wild guess and say most people on here are picking things like the Rainbow ref's cause there mega $$$ even though have never heard them (and may not have even heard anything from the range)

most of Amfibius's setup sounds nice.. not sure about the dyn mid's they just dont do alot for me. but then again in Amfibius's car they sound beautiful with the tube amp

Who picked the References??

I picked Dyns, and they arent THAT expensive... (Ive heard everything I chose except the amps). How many other people have chosen based on an open wallet, and how many on actual listening?

2x focal beryllium kit 7s
2x focal 33wx
audiosystem amps
pxa- h-701
dva- 9965
Stinger bling
Based on minmal installation mods to the current system, id say berrllium tweeters and mids in the a-pillar(passive with x-block) and twin midbasses in the door run actively, the remainder of the 2nd beryllium set in the rear(passive with x-block also), subs in the boot
2 matching f600 audiosystem amps, 1 for output to the middbases
other for the front and rear and 2 matching highest power 2 channel audiosystem amps bridged for the subs

I've heard every componenets I've picked earlier except for the Diamond Audio D9 subwoofer.

Here is a system with speakers that I've never heard and would love to have if I strike lottery:

HU: Alpine F1 combo
Mid-Bass: Audio Tech C-Quenze 18H521706SD
Mid-range: Scan Speak Revelator 4" 12M/4831G00
Tweeter: Scan Speak Revelator R2904/700005
Subwoofer: Audio Tech SK300-344DVC
Amplifiers: Brax Graphic X 2400.2 + Brax Graphic X 2000.2 + Genesis Monoblock

presume ur referring to me?

my post has been edited accordingly...



- mad89

Bwahahahaha!!
Well, they did say to justify your choice

well i dunno wot else to say...

ive heard cars WITH dynamat, ive heard cars WITHOUT it... it sounds alot better WITH it, so thats my justification as to why i chose it...

- mad89

i think i'm very fortunate to pretty much have everything i could ever want. if i was to change, it'd be for the sake of change without great expectation of things sounding better.

but for $30K:

*source: alpine F1 status; if not the older model i have, the newer one
*processor: alpine F1 status (tunability is simply awesome); ditto
*amplifiers: audison VRx (very nice if not too smooth/mellow), tru tech, butler; butler is probably what i would change to if i had to change though wouldn't use one for sub duties; i'd go a tru tech monobloc in that instance
*3-way front stage: dynaudio and/or morel; i love the morel supremo's and would consider a full morel setup
*centre channel: i think this is a key feature for great imaging and would use a 2-way version of the above brands, as big as will fit; requires very careful installation and tuning for the perfect blend
*sub: image dynamics IDMAX12 (can't fault this sub), boston acoustics G5
*terminals/wiring/RCAs: stinger expert series terminals, stinger wiring of suitable colour to match the car! stinger bullet series RCAs look bling
*sound deadener: dynamat xtreme

if i look at my own system, i'd probably just change the amps. i'm very happy with the audison's, but they're physically big, and i can't help but wonder that they lack a bit of bite which i would prefer.

You wouldn't go for the Thesis Venti as un upgrade amp Shiny?

Hmmm ... might blow the 30K budget with just the amp .....

i been looking at this thread for a while and even though i cant post my dream setup because i dont know any high end stuff . BUt i had a look in on a freinds 100K+(rrp) home audio setup and i could see how 30K could be used up very quickly...........zion

ill make it easier for you zion

choose an all pioneer ORD or all alpine f1status components (amps, subs, tweeters, mids headunits).

at least you know they will be of reasonable quality

am i going to be the only one to recommend an analogue source?? sure its not practical, but that wasn't ever a condition.

What, the turntable? I reckon it would look good, and thats about it.

Just imagine changing disks at the lights. Real goofy

my ex reference system had both a turntable and a valve cd player. it was great to have a turntable but we didn't actually use it very often. still sounded as good as a cd player if u didnt mind the extra bit of noise.

How would the turn table go in the harsh car environment?
How would it like going over bumps, or sudden braking?

Not the best. My dad used to have his sitting on marble. I don't think the car environment is the right place for a piece of equipment like that unless you are stationery and out of the car.

it would sound goddam awful. most of the advancements for turntables have been about keeping the needle from bouncing out of its groove. the biggest difference between a $200 turntable and the $700 ones are generally that the needle is leaving the vinyl less often.



and he never specified that it was in a moving car. if it was a moving car u probably couldn't hear the difference between a 20k stereo or a 30k stereo.

Personally I kinda think spending $30k on car audio parts isnt really necessary to have an ultimate competition winning setup

If I was trying to make a sweet sounding setup why complicate things more than you have to

Source Unit: Alpine F1 Status
Reason: Benchmark Electronics Quality
Cost: $3000

Front Sp: Dynaudio System Esotars with 7" MW160 Driver
Reason: Superb sound and proven SQ winner
Cost: $2000

Main Amp: DLS Ultimate A4 4 x 85w Amplifier
Reason: Great sounding Amp with heaps of dynamics
Cost: $2000

Sub: DD 9112 12" SQ woofer
Reason: Just bought it sounds unbelievably smooth
Cost: $1400

Sub Amp: DLS Ultimate A6 Monoblock Amplifier
Reason: Great sounding Powerful Amplifier
Cost: $2000

Cabling: Stinger Expert Series Power cable, RCA's, Distribution
Reason: Simply awesome gear with no noise
Cost: $2000

Deadening: Dynamat Extreme Bulk kit
Reason: Industry Benchmark in deadening
Cost: $1000 for 3 bulk kits

Battery: Optima Yellow Top
Reason: Industry Standard
Cost: $350

Thats the hardware and with retail I come to $13750 for parts which I think would be extremely difficult to pick the difference between that and a $30k system

of course it would be hard to pick the difference between a 10k system and 30k system for the majority of ppl. thats because u have hit the point of diminshing returns.



and i personally wouldn't be spending 30k on any car audio. i'd be into home audio, but thats not wat he asked.



and having an analogue source or having an amp for each channel isn't really going to complicate things now is it? primarily because u would think only very experienced audiophiles would purchase 30k of car audio gear.

I agree. Though if I had 30k, Id be spending 15k on both home and car.



And Kov, IIRC the F#1 status head has jack all processing (read:none) without the outboard processor (extra 4k). So you might wanna add that to your list as well

dont nead a processor, just another thing to make noise, and screw up through mucknig around...

passive on the dyns,

sub active off h/u...

i would run the F#1 processor if i was getting the source.

Affirmative I havent heard the 2 together so I guess Im not equipped to make that call but being an Alpine purchaser from way back I have nothing but praise for their electronics after buying my last 5 headunits of that brand 9815, 9831, 9833, 9855, IVA310E being my last 5 headunits would u believe the first 3 were stolen and not just the headunit the whole car on all occasions in differnt cities talk about your crap luck lol..............

I think your probably right.


A lot of people when given an unlimited budget pick exptic things just because they are huge $$ without actually trialling them. I guess reality is most people would never get to audition most of that top end stuff let alone all of it to make a truley informed decision. Even for those who have heard it all to do it justice you would need to hear it all under the same conditions in the same vehicle.


I know i have never heard amps like Brax or Butler altohugh i do hear good things about them.

PS when your running a heaunit into a processor (i.e.e headunit is transport only) how much difference is there anyway between optical outputs in SQ terms?

Since you mentioned Brax, I thought I might mention this: Brax Graphic HELP Edition Auction

Still way too rich for my blood, but at least the money's gonna be used for a good cause. Too bad it ends on this Saturday their time. Anybody up for it?

Cheers,

Bon

you hope that these top end products are as good as their price tag. Its not like we can borrow them and use them in our cars for a few weeks

I would love to audition dls, genesis, tru and brax amps these do look like a lot of fun. Then we look at exotic speakers like dyn esotars ( i do love these), brax graphic pros, rainbow reference, focal be, seas lotus. These speakers would be awesome to play with as well.

it seems in high end side of audio to get a little bit extra you have to pay an insane amount more. How much more is it to make a better speaker or amp compared to the standard range???? (for example hexlix vs brax amps, or the 5 or so different levels of rainbow speakers).

i think that initially, in rainbow anyway,

the jump from say, the lower level slc, to the profi van would be massive,

then right upto the platinum and reference gear, you would get still a big improvement, but not nearly as drastic

well i think i have finaly found a sub worth upgrading to
http://www.criticalmassaudio.com/catalog/i...mp;productId=21

going by a review i read etc this is supposed to be one nice sub



big call i say but would like to have a listen.

For that sort of money, Id rather get a Velodyne