RomanticMoments

It's a simple matter of opinion here. It's not originally my question, but I am a little curious myself what draws us to our respective brands/models. Since I'm starting this thread, I will say that I chose my brands because I felt that they gave me the best of what I was looking for at the time I bought them. I have a mis-mash of RF, Kenwood, JL, MTX, Earthquake, Clarion, and a slew of other small things (aka an N64 in the glovebox to name one LOL). The RF gave me the sound I liked at a price I wanted to pay, the Kenwood HU gave me all the features and upgradeability I wanted, the JL sounded and looked good in my install, same with the MTX, the Earthquakes had the sound and power handling I wanted, and the Clarions voice-matched the Earthquakes well enough to use them as a 5.1 rear effects. The rest was added more or less for bragging rights. Who's next?

Denonite

iTrader: (1)

All my choices are based on my own experiences with the the brands/models over my years in the hobby (since 1986). I love RF amps (never had a failure with one, and I still have punch 45/75/150 from '88), Morel speakers( love the sound!), Alpine electronics (heads and procs, and again never have had a problem, and still have units from '89 and '90)), as well as many others, Denon when they were available, JBL Gti components and subwoofers to name a few. Occasionally something new will come out from other brands that will get me curious enough to buy them...Pioneer ODR stuff looks awesome, DD subs, Arc amps, and many others. I never buy on other's opinions, or by what is popular at the moment, but I will gladly and open mindedly look into products recommended by others to see what's so great about it...if I feel the same way they do, then I'd consider buying it as well.

420guy

iTrader: (5)

There were several factors that influenced the gear I bought this time around. This site, and the info I got from reading alot of posts. A now good friend (BigRedGuy) made some suggestions, and also hooked me up with a great shop to deal with. ( Radioactive in Burlington ) Price was NOT in any way a factor though. I learned mostly from this site that do it right the first time is the only way to go. If you can't afford what you really want, wait until you can. Now as for brand choices, Kenwood because I have used them before and know the quality. Clarion was chosen on a recommendation, and I decided to try them based on their reputation. My 2 amps were bought used, the Hifonics amp was chosen as it would do what I needed and was cheap. My Memphis amp also was chosen for the same reason. Did the job needed and was cheap. ( Also good rep too) So far after almost a year I have no regrets at all. All the SQ and SPL trophies from the last year tell me I did something right.

ALL4SQ

CD Player: Tascam, Chosen for the serial control Port.

Engineering solutions Midi/serial Bridge, Chosen for its ability to control EQ presets with CD track Change.
Midi/Serial Bridge

Behringer DEQ2496 EQ, Chosen becasue of the Midi control port. Easy to use power supply conversion. Has 60 EQ memory Presets. No laptop needed for tuning.

Behringer DCX2496 Crossovers, Chosen for Easy to use Power supply conversion. Multiple types of crossover options. No laptop needed for tuning.

Amps: Three JL Audio HD600/4 and One JL Audio HD750/1, Chosen for the ability to fit 13 channels of amplification in a small area.

SPL Subs: Two JL Audio 12W6v2 Subs, Chosen for added SPL incase its required in SQ competition.

SQ Sub: Kicker CVR 10, Chosen beacuse it worked in the .9 Cubic Foot enclosure with a 3" Vent to the Out side of the car. Tried four different subs in this enclosure and this one worked the best.

Midbass Drivers: Hybrid Audio L8's, Chosen for there ability to play midbass with authority. These are installed in the firewall/footwell area just inboard of the kicks.

Midrange Drivers: Hybrid Audio L3's, Chosen for there small size. Needed them to fit in the wheel well area without tire rubbing problems.

Kick mounted Tweeters: Hybrid Audio Pro L1's, Chosen for there ability to play 4k-8k and sound really natural.

Pillar Tweeters: Hybrid Audio L1's, Chosen for there small size and detailed sounding upper end.

Center Mounted 6" driver: Hybrid Audio L6, Chosen for its ability to play midbass and midrange really well. May get used for either center channel duties or playing some of the Midbass frequencies.

I know this sounds like a lot of gear. But its all done to try and overcome problems I had in pervious systems.

Please Forgive my Spelling and Grammer.

Thanks

AAAAAAA

iTrader: (7)

^ Wow

For me it's simple: Deals, impulse and forum boners.

BigRedGuy

iTrader: (11)

Excellent criteria......

This is likely the reason most of us have left-over bits and pieces in our basements/garages......things we saw or heard about, figured we could do something with later if not right now and never did get around to using. You might have tried them out or maybe just tested 'em to make sure they worked, but they end up becoming 'spares'......

JohnVroom

I am prone to impulse buys too (DEH-P01).

But I generally do things to prove a point or just to meet my selfish needs.
Lately I have been very disappointed in a lot of things with the industry. Sometimes the manufacturers sometimes the customers. Anyway my previous competition setup was all from retailers who sponsored MECA car audio shows in my region, and from manufacturers who supported MECA competition. Also I made my system very low cost so I could prove another point (a $800 SQ system (using HU power) that was also a modest SPL system (147dB) going up against $7k to $10k systems in the highest sound orientated class(MASTER)) and it was fun getting a respectable showing with it.
The current build has been a little more costly but with similar restraints as to who I would buy from and what I would by. This is much closer to a no compromise build as far as materials and equipment but really nothing exotic (Eclipse CD7100, Zapco DC ref 650, HAT L1 and L3, Dynaudio MW162, Stereo Integrity woofer, Kimber Kable). I might put the DEH-PO1 or McIntosh HU to replace the Eclipse, and I may upgrade the Dynaudio if I can find one that has the timbre.

Lord Huggington

iTrader: (1)

Spl apx 12
sql xxx 12
sq sw8200

d4rin

What made me choose certain gear? Well, it's all basically because of the CCA forums. I asked the question and got the answers.

Eclipse CD 5030 / from MR2NR
Morel Tempo 6.5 / from MR2NR

He runs a shop so I said to myself "Hey this guy obviously knows what he's talking about".

The only place on this boring island to buy car audio is Future Shop. There selection is kinda dull and the same ol' stuff every year. So I looked into the Eclipse HU and the reviews were good, and by reading the manual before I buy it "I do this before I buy a HU" it was really easy to use.

As for the Morel Tempo's, I have not heard them yet. They are still in the box but I plan on getting them installed in January, I still don't have a sub or any amps yet.

SQL Monte

Re: the first part, my thoughts exactly.

Re: the second part, that made me LOL.

I chose my deck based on the fact that I wanted to try something different, I've always had Kenwood/Alpine/Clarion. Also, it was sexy as hell and had tons of features that catered to the SQ guy in me.

I chose my mids/highs based on the sheer volume of raving reviews about them, the fact that they were very affordable didn't hurt either.

I chose my subs cause they are highly regarded in the SQ world as being some very nice woofers that can not only bang out the lows but are very musical too. I had been wanting them for years but always ended up getting other stuff cause the deals were too good to pass up.

My sub amp was/is a forum boner but has proven to live up to the hype.

My mids/highs amp was just a good price and did the job