Quadratec subwoofer setups any good?

[0okami.Digital]

Hi everyone. For my first post, I have a question about the quality of quadratec subwoofer setups. I am planning on buying this in the next few hours BUT, I'm not 100% sure if this set up is good for my TJ.

Custom Rear Dual Subwoofer Kit with Kicker CompVR Speakers & Boss 850 Watt Amplifier
Quadratec Part No: 14136.361
Manufacturer Part No: JW-210CVR
(see attached image)

Friends tell me kicker subs are great...
I see no specs or model of amp aside from knowing its 850 watts boss i know nothing else. It could be peak power or constant... no idea. no mention of ohms either.

Basicly, I want something that i can feel a bit while going down the highway ~60mph.

Quadratec staff said it can be bolted in with the backseat in place too... So thats quite a plus. But my question is, is this setup really worth the 700.00 plus shipping? Or should i hit up my local custom car audio shop? (i'd hate to do that after the $450.00 slop job they did on my alarm setup)

I have yet to meet anyone who has this setup. I dont know if thats good or bad.

 

[0okami.Digital]

Ah, I forgot to mention, It will be replacing a 200w Kenwood KSCWD250... (see attachment).

The kenwood works great, but I cant put my backseat in while its there... and it calls too much attention with the sub facing forward and the (imo) flashy grill and silver port at top.

 

[TerryMason]

$700 plus shipping is alot of money for that setup, but it does look like a nice box. I'm not familiar with the name Boss, but I'd say that that amp is 850 max, not rms.

Do you need any storage space? It looks like that box will use up your entire behind - the seat storage.

 

[Wrangl3r93]

I have a box very similar to that with the amp mounted under the seat. I'm not a fan of mounting the amp to the box due to the vibrations speeding up the death of your amp. It also looks like that box is a single chamber which I'm also not a fan of. Let me look for the brand of my box here in a minute but I put my system in for less than 700 and if you need help with installation I can provide you pictures of how I did that too.

here's the amp bolted to the floor under the seat

The bottom of the box

How it sits behind the seat

 

[SteelHeadz]

850 watts is more than plenty to blow every orifice in your body and then some plus have something for a thief to think about taking , all for $700.00 plus shipping isn't wort it for me.

 

[TerryMason]

850 watts is more than plenty to blow every orifice in your body and then some plus have something for a thief to think about taking , all for $700.00 plus shipping isn't wort it for me.

850 peak is nothing like 850 rms. That amp won't really push 850 watts - it will really only do 200 watts consistently:

Boss Audio GT1000M Riot GT Series MOSFET 850-Watt Mono Power Car Audio Amplifier

 

[Wrangl3r93]

850 peak is nothing like 850 rms. That amp won't really push 850 watts - it will really only do 200 watts consistently:

Boss Audio GT1000M Riot GT Series MOSFET 850-Watt Mono Power Car Audio Amplifier

I definitely wouldn't buy the quadratec setup with a pathetic amp like that. The amp is the most important part of a clean sounding system, followed closely by the box, and finally the actual subwoofers. It's alot harder to overpower subs than it is to damage them with not enough power.

Edit:Here's the link to the box I have.Audio Enhancers : : : 2003 Product Catalog

 

[0okami.Digital]

850 peak is nothing like 850 rms. That amp won't really push 850 watts - it will really only do 200 watts consistently:

Boss Audio GT1000M Riot GT Series MOSFET 850-Watt Mono Power Car Audio Amplifier

Thanks for the link...
so boss and bose are two different companies... and not a typo?

I definitely wouldn't buy the quadratec setup with a pathetic amp like that......

why is the amp bad? (i'm not too familiar with amps so anything you can tell me helps.)

 

[B'ham Jeeper]

First welcome to Jeepz! Where are you located?

 

[0okami.Digital]

First welcome to Jeepz! Where are you located?

thanks.
I'm in Ohio at the moment.

 

[Wrangl3r93]

Subwoofers are rated at a certain wattage, same as regular speakers. If you run an amp with too low of a continuous wattage output for your subs you'll get what is known as clipping. The amp sends power to the subwoofer to make it move and create a sound wave. You can imagine the power signal as a sinusoidal wave with the area under the curve being the amount of power being sent to make a certain audible wavelength. An underpowered amp essentially cuts off the peaks of the sine wave distorting your music and hastening the death of the amp. I've been told the loose waves created from the distorted signal can also damage your subwoofers but haven't seen this firsthand.

 

[0okami.Digital]

Subwoofers are rated at a certain wattage, same as regular speakers. If you run an amp with too low of a continuous wattage output for your subs you'll get what is known as clipping. The amp sends power to the subwoofer to make it move and create a sound wave. You can imagine the power signal as a sinusoidal wave with the area under the curve being the amount of power being sent to make a certain audible wavelength. An underpowered amp essentially cuts off the peaks of the sine wave distorting your music and hastening the death of the amp. I've been told the loose waves created from the distorted signal can also damage your subwoofers but haven't seen this firsthand.

ok, i understand how that part works. thanks.


Is the Boss amp a bad/weak amp? if so why? I dont really want to get into brand wars (which i hate being a part of) I'd just like to know if x brand is bad, why so? Customer service? bad electronics? Bad experience? High harmonic distortions?

 

[Wrangl3r93]

I've heard some boss amps hound but they were bigger than that one. Electronics are murky water with a lot of brand puppets pledging loyalty to this or that. I personally love my Memphis, they aren't sloppy and hit pretty decent for two 10's in a sealed box. I wouldn't hesitate to own Alpine, Rockford Fausgate, or JL's. Audiobahn is decent but overpriced. Some people would ask how many subwoofers and what size you want but the real question to matching you to your subs is what kind of music do you listen to? Different sized subwoofers react different and the same subwoofer will sound different in different boxes.

 

[0okami.Digital]

I've heard some boss amps hound but they were bigger than that one. Electronics are murky water with a lot of brand puppets pledging loyalty to this or that. I personally love my Memphis, they aren't sloppy and hit pretty decent for two 10's in a sealed box. I wouldn't hesitate to own Alpine, Rockford Fausgate, or JL's. Audiobahn is decent but overpriced. Some people would ask how many subwoofers and what size you want but the real question to matching you to your subs is what kind of music do you listen to? Different sized subwoofers react different and the same subwoofer will sound different in different boxes.

a little rock, bosanova jazz, lots of hiphop/reggae and electronica.

 

[TerryMason]

Before you buy that $700 kit, take a look here:
http://www.jeepz.com/forum/items-sa...738-reposting-rough-spot-need-some-money.html

you may be able to get that setup for $100 - save a boatload of money

 

[0okami.Digital]

just got word back from quadratec. It appears that sub box setup does NOT bolt to the jeep. And its an open chamber. hmm.. meh. more research.

 

[Wrangl3r93]

I'll try to break it down. Smaller subwoofers(8's or 10's for example) are lighter and more compact. With less mass they are much more manageable and produce a tighter, cleaner soundwave, giving you a cleaner bassline. The downside is with the smaller surface area they aren't capable of producing notes as low as a 15 or even a 12. It's the same with the 12's or 15's the bigger you go the lower, louder notes you can make but the clarity suffers from such much mass moving around.

The two main type of boxes are sealed and ported. A sealed box has no openings to the outside air and when the sub fires back into the box compresses the air which helps it fire back out. This is a little difficult to visualize because it happens so fast. This helps keep the bassline clean and tight. Important for rock or any similar music where bass notes come quick. The problem with a dual open chamber box is if one sub stops firing, the second sub is suddenly seeing twice as much air on the backside and without the compressed air behind it can fire too far back into the box damaging it.

A ported box on the other hand has an opening to the outside air and soundwaves will come off both the front and back of the sub(the backside coming out from the port). Ported boxes are quite a bit louder for this reason but lack the sound quality of a sealed box. Most manufacturers have a spec sheet on their equipment that will show the optimized air space for sealed and ported boxes. Ported boxes being the larger of the two types.

With all of this in mind and the lack of space in a wrangler I'd put you with tens in a separated chamber sealed box. I might just be biased though

Edit: And please don't let an electronics shop rip you with installation. I saw your other thread and you're pretty handy with electronics. Once you get whatever setup you go with it's all simple circuits wiring it in.

 

[0okami.Digital]

I'll try to break it down. Smaller subwoofers(8's or 10's for example) are lighter and more compact. With less mass they are much more manageable and produce a tighter, cleaner soundwave, giving you a cleaner bassline. The downside is with the smaller surface area they aren't capable of producing notes as low as a 15 or even a 12. It's the same with the 12's or 15's the bigger you go the lower, louder notes you can make but the clarity suffers from such much mass moving around.

The two main type of boxes are sealed and ported. A sealed box has no openings to the outside air and when the sub fires back into the box compresses the air which helps it fire back out. This is a little difficult to visualize because it happens so fast. This helps keep the bassline clean and tight. Important for rock or any similar music where bass notes come quick. The problem with a dual open chamber box is if one sub stops firing, the second sub is suddenly seeing twice as much air on the backside and without the compressed air behind it can fire too far back into the box damaging it.

A ported box on the other hand has an opening to the outside air and soundwaves will come off both the front and back of the sub(the backside coming out from the port). Ported boxes are quite a bit louder for this reason but lack the sound quality of a sealed box. Most manufacturers have a spec sheet on their equipment that will show the optimized air space for sealed and ported boxes. Ported boxes being the larger of the two types.

With all of this in mind and the lack of space in a wrangler I'd put you with tens in a separated chamber sealed box. I might just be biased though

Edit: And please don't let an electronics shop rip you with installation. I saw your other thread and you're pretty handy with electronics. Once you get whatever setup you go with it's all simple circuits wiring it in.

thanks! That helps. Now i know why my kenwood sounds so loose/sloppy being ported has something to do with it. I will be going with sealed box set up this time around for the sound quality. I was getting tired of that loose sloppy sounding bass.

As for electronics of it, I'd do the wiring my self. I dont think i'd trust anyone anymore after that birds nest of a wiring job that audio shop did under my steering column for my alarm.

Any opinions on this box ?
Quadratec Exclusive -SUB03-CVR - Custom Rear Subwoofer Kit with Kicker CompVR Speaker & Boss 850 Watt Amplifier for 03-06 Jeep Wrangler TJ - Quadratec

 

[Wrangl3r93]

That's a much better power setup. The same amp running 200 watts continuous but to only one sub. I just wouldn't run two subs off of it. Kicker is a fairly decent brand and the cone is a "injection molded" (plastic that will take better to the rough conditions of a jeep lol). A quick google search on the vr10 shows good reviews and looking at it's specs it seems to be matched with that amp fairly well. If there's a way you can find out the specs on that box I don't see them listed on quadratec's site, but the sub calls for a minimum of .8 cubic feet and a max of 3 cubic feet in a sealed box so if it's between that you're good.

If you need any ideas on the wiring I did all of mine myself and can snap some pictures if you need them.