I dont know a lot about car audio but ive found the sub i want. Im getting an Fi Q15 but I dont know where to go from there. I know I need a box and an amp. Any suggestions on a good fit for the amp ? Or will I even be able to find a box that will fit in the trunk?

 

Kenwood are good amps
or JL Audio has great equipment

 

I have a complete sound system in my tc an it is awesome because the bass bounces right off the window into the car...(no trunk). My suggestion, if you want to do it right, is save up money and get all new speakers plus an amp for those as well! That’s right, 2 amps total!! It gets expensive but with the sub, you will not be able to hear the stock speakers that well if you’re listening to loud music...like rap and stuff. The bass can be overpowering!!! If you just want to the sub/subs for now you only need like a 100w amp or somewhere near there. The higher you go, the louder its going to be = more power. But the actual quality is not really going to change. Plus with the subs you’re going to need a new cd player with the sub controls to control the volume directly! What size sub are you considering….10 or 12 in?

 

I have a complete sound system in my tc an it is awesome because the bass bounces right off the window into the car...(no trunk). My suggestion, if you want to do it right, is save up money and get all new speakers plus an amp for those as well! That’s right, 2 amps total!! It gets expensive but with the sub, you will not be able to hear the stock speakers that well if you’re listening to loud music...like rap and stuff. The bass can be overpowering!!! If you just want to the sub/subs for now you only need like a 100w amp or somewhere near there. The higher you go, the louder its going to be = more power. But the actual quality is not really going to change. Plus with the subs you’re going to need a new cd player with the sub controls to control the volume directly! What size sub are you considering….10 or 12 in?

 

I was actualy wanting a 15 in... Fi Q15. Ive heard its the best sq while still hitting the lows

 

Yea thats big but i dont know it you would need that much bass haha but its up to you...i personally have 2 10in alpine subs and it has a full sound in the car. what i recognized is that the smaller size subs 10/12 in have a better initial "kick" to each note where as the biger you go, the subs mostly carry out the note a little better. so its all prefference.

 

By the way....with a sub that big your going to need a bigger amp to really push the power.

 

i ran a crossfire 12", and a kenwood amp and it was good enought for me.. the bass was a nice hit and everything sounded good..
how much is your budget?
and where u located?

 

GatoradeTC,
The Fi Q 15 needs a very large enclosure to perform well. It also needs a great deal of wattage.
According to Fi, the specs for a sealed enclosure are 2 to 2.6 cu. ft.. The vented enclosure is even larger, ranging from 2.8 to 4 cu. ft.! There goes your entire trunk!
Fi also recommends 1000w RMS. You don't want to be pushing much less than this. Underpowering a sub is bad and can lead to premature failure of the woofer, amp, or both.
A 15" may be overkill.
You may want to shop around and find exactly what you like, then compare that to what you can afford and what you can fit.
Good luck!
If I can help you, just let me know.

 

Well Im kinda low on cash and dont wanna spend more than $600 for the sub and amp as of right now... But I will save up if I have to...

And I live in the Houston area

 

Thnx for the input. Im guessing I wanted the 15 just bc I wanted something a little dif than my friends with a little more power but i guess that isnt an option. Ill probably just look for a good 12 for now, however I still like the Fi subs

 

Ummm underpowering a sub can lead to premature failure.... LOLOLOLOL Oh yeah....

2cuft isn't all that big, I have a box in my car that is 3.1cuft overall and I can still throw a few things in the trunk.

1000watts isn't a "great" deal of power.

I had a 15" FI BL in my car before in a 3.5cuft tuned to 34hz after port and sub displacement before in my trunk.

A 15" isn't overkill if he wants it, especially if he uses it correctly (IE. properly constructed enclosure) it will be pretty much will be superior.

Oh and did I say....

 

try going to www.ikesound.com .. they have reli good prices thats where i got my 2 12'' alpine type E subs love emm

 

elementaldesigns.com

 

tcmetrics...you make me laugh. You did give him good advice, congratz, but this part made me chuckle.

You can never have too much bass. :D

 

underpowering a sub will not hurt it
its overpowering an amplifier that doesnt have enough power to get that sub to do what you want it to that destroys the sub because the amp is probably clipping by the time you realise that you arent gonna get enough power
its like driving a car in first gear only. its not gonna hurt anything till you start running it into the redline.

you can over power a sub though lol obviously, but not if its digital designs those things are beasts

 

ZTC has stated this a bit more clearly than I did in my previous post, regarding underpowering a sub. Typically, if the amplifier is not providing ample power to the sub, then the average user has a tendency to turn the gain BEYOND the point of clipping, which WILL cause premature failure of the sub.
The simple solution -- Make sure that your amplifier is capable of delivering the necessary power to drive your sub. Otherwise, you will be unhappy, either from premature failure or a disappointing sound system.
GatoradeTC, if you're in the Houston area, shoot me a PM. I live on the north side and have helped out quite a few other Scion owners with their setups.

 

trialsindude or whatever seems to know his stuff pretty well. but as stated, underpowering and pushing the amp past its limit will cause premature failure, i bought a fi Q12 used here and the person that was using before me was using too small of an amp and it fried a voice coil within a week of me owning the sub. i had it reconed and it has worked perfectly with my jl 1000.1 amplifier.

I dont have aftermarket speakers or an amp for my stock speakers and it sounds great. mind you its in a sealed box totaling about 1.1 cubit feet of air space after the sub, but i can turn up the gain and it definitely over powers the speakers. one 12 is all you need trust me. oh and bigger subs do not necessarily mean bigger amps ( ei: a 10" will take more power than a 18"). there are less expensive quality amps out there, im sure trails can point you in the right direction, but you are on the right track staying away from main stream subs. you can get a lot more bang for the buck with the smaller companies. i learned that after 3 systems, luckily i got a really good deal on my jl amp. they are usually between 900 and 1100. i got mine for 600ish.