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Advice on subs and fitting.

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Advice on subs and fitting.

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Unreal Numbers

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Hey everyone! New here so, Hi!

Basicly im looking into a sub for my car. Im new to ICE so i thought this may be a good place to start as its cheap, and includes everything i need. Is this correct and can you give me a bit of advice on one, is the sub any good? and two, Is it hard to hook up and get going?

Sub: Fusion EN-AB1120 Active Subwoofer £79.90
Car: Grande Punto 'Stripes'

ww.fusioncaraudio.com/united-kingdom/car-audio-1/active-enclosures-8/enab1120-26-product.aspx

Thanks in advance!

Unreal Numbers
 
It is a very common misconception that an active subwoofer is more easy to install than a seperate subwoofer and amp. It is just two more wires.

As for the subwoofer: For the price its not bad.

If you are looking to spend no more than £100 then you might want to research into secondhand products.
 
Just to warn you the built in amp is a bit rubbish, i know someone who installed that system and it was distorting very easily compared to his reactor components and 2x80w RMS amp (cant remember brand or model sorry).

He disconnected the built in amp and bought a mutant black (240wRMS @4ohm) and it sounds massively better. Basically what he told me when i was going to go down that route is that its £80 for a sub, box and wiring kit.
If your just looking for something simple and you know you wont upgrade it, it does the job but you might find yourself spending another £80-£100 a few months down the line if you get more into it.
 
Thanks you guys! Will have to research a bit morei see!
My budget is around £100. Preferably less then that. Any known good subs and amps i could get for that money?

Cheers again!

Unreal
 
The problem with active subs is often that to make the spec seem more impressive they have a more powerful sub but then to cut costs they underpower it with a weak amplifier.

Reviews are always mixed with active subwoofers. Some people seem to love them some hate them.

Try eBay but nearly all subwoofers are pick up only as the combined weight of a sub and box is very heavy to deliver.

Check out talkaudio to find reviews on car audio.
 
I2EBORN said:
This is bang for your buck.

ww.caraudiosecurity.com/shop/product/products_id/1233.html
Click to expand...

cheers for that. Is the audio £40 better sounding?
Just wondering how much of a difference i will see between this and the previous mentioned fusion...

Thanks
Unreal
 
Unreal Numbers said:
cheers for that. Is the audio £40 better sounding?
Just wondering how much of a difference i will see between this and the previous mentioned fusion...

Thanks
Unreal
Click to expand...

Nope its £140 better sounding. The fusion tubes IMO arent worth the materials they are made from.
The JBL sub/amps will be worth the extra all day long (y) You will be very surprised how loud these kits go for the money. Also caraudiosecurity.com wont charge you a premium price for a $hit product like Hellfrauds.
 
volxstu said:
Nope its £140 better sounding. The fusion tubes IMO arent worth the materials they are made from.
The JBL sub/amps will be worth the extra all day long (y) You will be very surprised how loud these kits go for the money. Also caraudiosecurity.com wont charge you a premium price for a $hit product like Hellfrauds.
Click to expand...

Well then, i guess Halfords is your number one shop ey ;)
Im just going to paste one more link to halfords for some more advice :)

The only reason i am really looking into them is because they are very close by and hate big item online shopping.

Another thing, are you saying all Fusion products are naff or just this model?

Please have a look at;

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...uctId_508555_langId_-1_categoryId_165702#dtab

This any better? Looking for somthing inbetween the £79.99 fusion and £119.99 JBL.

Thanks!

Unreal
 
Yeah the only reason they sell it is because fusion will sell it to them, that doesnt mean that its not cheap crap made for halfords.
Seriously the JBL kit is night and day over anything that you have posted. If you hear the difference you would know what i mean. ;)
My friend works in a salvage auctions so we get all this cheap stuff all of the time. I test it all before its sold so i know what i think is good and what i dont (y)
 
volxstu said:
Yeah the only reason they sell it is because fusion will sell it to them, that doesnt mean that its not cheap crap made for halfords.
Seriously the JBL kit is night and day over anything that you have posted. If you hear the difference you would know what i mean. ;)
My friend works in a salvage auctions so we get all this cheap stuff all of the time. I test it all before its sold so i know what i think is good and what i dont (y)
Click to expand...

Thanks, oh and btw, dont think im dissing your knowledge of ICE, im not! :)
What about the cheaper JBL kit i mention before. Like to save the pennies you see ;)
 
Fusion are a good brand. It's just that the encounter series is the entry level range and it gives entry level sound. The powerplant series subwoofer is award "winning best subwoofer under £150".

The difference in cost between the Fusion kit and the JBL kit is really very small if you look at it as a long term investment. It's up to you really but I would save up another month or so and buy the JBL.

The cheaper JBL package there is no good in my opinion.
 
Unreal Numbers said:
Thanks, oh and btw, dont think im dissing your knowledge of ICE, im not! :)
What about the cheaper JBL kit i mention before. Like to save the pennies you see ;)
Click to expand...

Yeah but your really are talking pennies in the grand scheme of things. There is a saying "you get what you pay for". There is nothing truer in Mobile Audio. JBL Will go on for years and years the other stuff wont last a year.

Please dont listen to awards, they are all a load of rubbish, awarded to those who pay the most money or knowing the right people ;). I have some design award, i forget what it is but it is very highly regarded and i didnt get it by working hard and doing a good job i have it because i know the right people. Hence why i dont put my name to it, i have morals and clearly fusion dont.
I can tell you now that the SNG whipes the floor with the Powerplant sub.
 
volxstu said:
Yeah but your really are talking pennies in the grand scheme of things. There is a saying "you get what you pay for". There is nothing truer in Mobile Audio. JBL Will go on for years and years the other stuff wont last a year.

Please dont listen to awards, they are all a load of rubbish, awarded to those who pay the most money or knowing the right people ;). I have some design award, i forget what it is but it is very highly regarded and i didnt get it by working hard and doing a good job i have it because i know the right people. Hence why i dont put my name to it, i have morals and clearly fusion dont.
I can tell you now that the SNG whipes the floor with the Powerplant sub.
Click to expand...

Yeah thats true. I say i dont want to spend over £100. But i could probably push to... £140 MAX

Would you still recommend the JBL sub? I would also like a control for the bass up front (Like with the fusion). Are they cheap and easy to fit to this JBL sub?
 
I would say that bass controllers are not a good idea if you are knew to ICE. They increase clip and can cause problems if there is clip in the setup already.
Edit:- The JBL will sound good for the money but if you are able to up the budget then phone them up and ask weather your Extra £20 will be able to get you the Dual Voice Coil version of the JBL sub. This way you will get iirc 350w RMS rather than 200w RMS from the amp.
 
Last edited:
Urm no i cant explain proficiently lol but i can have a go this may not be 100% correct but the outcome is.
Basically there are a number of things that affect the signal that is sent to a subwoofer. Clip is the Squaring of the sound waves i.e distortion and it is this that causes the speakers to blow.
The first is the Gain, this is a Voltage that is sent via the RCA from your HU if you dont match it correctly on your amp then you get clipping. Things like the Bass controller will just artificially tell the amp to that the signal has a few more DB increasing the risk of clip.
Clip can come from the HU by using the EQ settings i.e the bass on Max which is a problem so on each setting you may be amplifying and adding to the clip.
Most people use an Oscilloscope to check that the waves are not squaring.
 
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