Ok, so I love big bass in my car, but never have a decent budget, so Im always trying to keep costs low. I think I have a good plan to slowly upgrade what I currently have and still stay within a reasonable price range. First, lets start with what I have... I've got a Pioneer head unit driving 2 MB Quart 6.5" components in the sail panels and a JL Audio 250/1 mono block amp powering 2 12" JL Audio 12WXv2 subs wired to 2 ohms. Yes each sub is being underpowered a bit, but I have the gain correctly set so it is not clipping. So here is my plan...

In the next month, replace the JL amp with a Rockford Fosgate R500X1D mono amp and run the 2 subs off that until I can afford the next upgrade step. yes the subs will now be overdriven a bit, but again, if I measure the amp output and set the gains for roughly 28V AC, that should give close to 400watts RMS and the subs should be fine. This will be about 150 bucks or so.

Step 2 involves buying a new pair of dual voice coil subs. Each rated for a minimum of 500watts rms. Not sure on what brand I would go with, the JL's have been awesome so far, but they tend to be expensive when compared to other brands. But I would wire those to the single amp bit only wiring one voice coil on each sub, so the ohms stay at 2 and not drop too far down. Hoping to keep this to around $300.

Step 3 would be buying a 2nd Rockford amp and running one amp per sub. Wiring both voice coils up this time to keep that 2ohm load per amp. another $150 and I should be good.

Knowing that Rockford amps typically put out more than their rated power, I guesstimate I will be around 1200 watts rms when that third step is complete. Anyone see any flaws in this? Wife has already given the green light on it (expecially since her car is going to get the leftovers to boost up her stock Hyundai system)

 

Ok, I have already scrapped this plan to a point. It sounds great in theory, but I have found a better (and cheaper) alternative. A single Hifonics Brutus 1100.1 will go in next month and I will set the gains very low as to not over power the JL subs, then I will upgrade those to a pair of Alpine Type R and really unleash the power of that amp.

 

I bought a fosgate amp and thought it was garbage. I traded it out for a hifonics and the differnce was amazing! I love hifonics and you will too! I ran two cvr's on a hifonics titan that was 750.1. I ran the amp at 1ohmn and it was all the cvr's could handle. i also would recommend staying away from a bandpass box as they are garbage in my experience. It's actually better to get a amp that puts more power than your speakers can handle and just turn the gain down. This will keep your amp running cool and it'll be more reliable!

 

Well, thanks for the opinions. I know I hadnt posted anything in a little while, but I have done a TON of research on a few high end car audio sites and found Hifonics to be very hit or miss with quality, with more misses than hits. Glad you had good luck with yours, but it seems Hifonics requires just that, a bit if luck. I have settled on a pair of Sundown E12 subs that can carry 500 watts RMS per sub and matching those to either a Sundown SAE100D when it comes out next month or a Soundqubed 1200.1. Both amps put out 1200watts RMS into 1 ohm and the Sundown subs, even though they are rated at 500 each, can handle well into the 700 range if need be. Given the older electrical in these cars, I dont think I will ever actually hit that 1200 mark playing music through the car, so Im not worried about them burning up. once again, thanks for taking the time reply.

 

Sundown amps.