250/1 for midbass?

[Hitson16]

Check this.....
I was browsing at my local tweeter today and I was looking to get kickpanels done and to get an amp for midbass drivers in the door.

The installer thought that a 250/1 would be a good amp to run the Kicker 6.5 midbass (rms 125). Is that a good idea? Will there be a loss of SQ with a mono amp?

Also they quoted me a price of 325 for kickpanels vinyled. I know I've asked about prices of kicks on here before and 325 is cheap. Can they be any good? The installer said they had some special tools or method to keep the price lower, whats that about?

I guess I'm trying to figure out if these guys are idiots or maybe business is slow and they are trying to do some business. Any thoughts?

 

[1sty]

One the 250/1. It can be done and there is no sacrifece in SQ as long as you don't try to go above 500 hz as the crossover on the amp will not allow it nor is the amp capable of over 500 hz.
Also the midbasses need to be bandpassed and the subsonic filter may not be high enough and you will have to use an external crossover or have radio that is capable.

I use a 300/2 on my midbasses and another on my kicks.
I run the full range from my headunit to my 300/2 for my kicks. I set that amp to about 200hz HP. Then set the RCA preout crossover to LP and run the RCA preouts to then next 300/2 for the midbass drivers and set its crossover at 50 hz HP.

The down side to this is that the Midbasses can not be set to play higher then the HP crossover of my kick panels.
Also you can use the Kicker RM8 on out doors asweel with some modifications.

$325 for kick panels is dirt cheap.
The only reason for kicks is to improve the image and staging. If they are not going to spend some serious time adjusting them and listening to test tracks then there is no piont in paying them anything. Also get some pictures of there other installs that the same installer working on your car did and ask tio contact that person. Kicks that cheap are SCARY!

 

[AFaceInTheCrowd]

i can make kicks for cheaper than that but i'm always scared to fiberglas becuase i haven't taken any advanced fabrication classes.

 

[1sty]

Making is the easy part, It properly aiming them that takes the time.

 

[Hitson16]

I have an alpine deck with the needed hpf to work the 250/1 in too the situation. I would use the rear channel for the midbass instead of in the rears.

I haven't been able to hear the 8's anywhere. How do they compare to the 6's, would the mods be worth it. 8's in the door ith a 250/1 would be sick I imagine.

I asked the guy on the floor about pictures and he said they didn't have any pictures of kicks, they had some pics of random boxes and amp racks etc. Later when I was talking with a installer I didn't ask him about pictures, but he said he would need a couple of days so I assume he would spend some time aiming them and making them good.

 

[1sty]

A single 6.5s won't put out much midbass atleast not for my tastes. The 8's will go lower louder and generaly put out more volume in the 40-300 range then the 6.5" can simply becuase of cone area.

Use the I personalize section on alpines website to make sure you can get everything the way you want it as there are some bad limitations.

If they have no previous work to refer you to then they probably have no clue what they are doing. Many times people will under price things if it is the first time they have done that type of work just to get the experience.

 

[Hitson16]

I guess I need to go back and talk to the installer. I also asked him about running a 1/0 power wire and he said 50, which is ridiculiously cheap too. Maybe they don't get much business sandwiched between bb and cc. Anywho, would I have to cut the door to fit those 8's?

 

[1sty]

Yep, all but definitly will need to cut.
Call the Better buiness burue and make sure this place doen't have anything filed against them.

Running 1/0 for $50 sound ok to me.

 

[Rider69]

1st...He is talking about one of your sister stores...another Tweeter. Said so in the first post.

350 does sound cheap for kicks, but I got mine done for a little more than that but they did not spend all the time doing acurate aiming as my system is not a competition system. If they are going to spend the hours aiming, the price will go up drastically. But I like the way mine sound and I really wonder how much more of a difference aiming would make with my kicks. My main goal of my kicks was to get decent sound, retain some feet area and I also wanted to retain my dead pedal. So they were a little limited on space to begin with. Aiming the speakers properly would have also increaase the amount of room my kicks took up.

I am still considering putting som Kicker RMB8s in the rear doors for more midbass. Sure some cutting will be needed but they are low profile speakers so hopefully not too much.

 

[1sty]

I want to hear the kickers before going that way so for now a I am keeping the JL XRs I have in the doors.
If I can get a better hook up I may get the dynaudio 8" instead.

As for it being a Tweeter. Some are Great ad some are complete garbage. It really depends on the manager and the installers.

As for imaging. Once you hear a system that has a perfect sound stage and you can actualy pick out instiment position you want nothing less. Kick panels can be poorly aimed to the poitn of getting totaly bad sound and you could be better off just doing 6.5"s in the doors at that point.

 

[Rider69]

As for imaging. Once you hear a system that has a perfect sound stage and you can actualy pick out instiment position you want nothing less. Kick panels can be poorly aimed to the poitn of getting totaly bad sound and you could be better off just doing 6.5"s in the doors at that point.

I do agree that kick panels can be poorly aimed and making the sound like s***, but I think mine were done good enough to make 'em sound good. I am sure it could sound better, but I did not want to spend the $$. Maybe at a later date down the road.

THe thing I hate about Tweeter/Sound Advice (in FL) is that they sell for MSRP which is too much money for most items they sell and they don't seem to be the most knowledgable staff. That is why I do most of my shopping online.

 

[1sty]

Actualy we mostly sell at MLAP.
Manufacturers lowest advertised price. Not to mention we are the same or lower then everyone else.
Obviously they can't beat online prices.

 

[Hitson16]

I know that is cheap for the kicks but the installer seemed like he knew his stuff. I got the feeling that he had done them before but they didnt have any picture which make me suspect.
How would you guys suggest finding a good quality shop to build me some kickpanels?
Also what does on and off axis mean when talking about speaker mounting?

Hey this is a off topic question but can I hook up car speakers to home recievers? Just wondering because I have some extra infinity comps laying around at the moment and was thinkg about putting them to use.

 

[1sty]

I know that is cheap for the kicks but the installer seemed like he knew his stuff. I got the feeling that he had done them before but they didnt have any picture which make me suspect.
How would you guys suggest finding a good quality shop to build me some kickpanels?

Go to a local show and you a guarenteed to see installers standing by there work.

Also what does on and off axis mean when talking about speaker mounting?

ON axis means the speaker is playing directly at you. Is the ares in the shape of a cone that the speaker si the loudest or ost direct. Off axis is how well, loud, accurat the speaker plays outside of that cone. THis was by no means a technical definition.

Hey this is a off topic question but can I hook up car speakers to home recievers? Just wondering because I have some extra infinity comps laying around at the moment and was thinkg about putting them to use.

Typicaly not becuase car speakers are 4 ohms and many home audio recievers can't handle a 4 ohm load. Most home recievers want a 8 ohm speaker load. Check you owners manual to see if yours can. Another thing to keep in mind is that car speakers are no shielded so they will royaly screw up the TVs picture.

 

[Hitson16]

yeah checking out a show seems like a good idea to find an installer. On the bright side, I found, what seemed to be a really nice shop today. I stopped by and they had tons of pictures of their work (including kickpanels). They seem to make really hot kicks and had a really high end shop (JL, Focal, a/d/s etc), The kicks they make are fully enclosed and all looked top notch along with all of the other pictures of their installs. They said they would need the car for a hole week to make and aim them right. The downside is that they said 800-1000 to get them done. I'm the kinda person who wants things done well and right so I probably hold off for a little bit until I can get the money together and get them done properly. Thanks for all the help so far guys!.

 

[1sty]

That sounds correct to me.
Where are you located, state?

Not all kicks should be fully enclosed just so you know.

 

[Hitson16]

I'm in Jersey. Right now I live in Trenton which is central jersey but my parents live in south jersey (right outside philly). So I could go almost anywhere in NJ and parts of PA to have them done if you happen to know a really good place.

What would be the situations where I would want seald or not sealed?

 

[1sty]

I will ask some friends on sunday at the show for any good installers in that area.

 

[Hitson16]

Nice, that would be a great help!

 

[impact]

To me $325 seems a bit high, but it could just be me. I made my kicks for my car and I wouldn't charge $325 for it. If you want to see what they look like just click the www button on the bottom of my post and look on that site for the pics.