Upgrade Needed?

[els]

Please bare with me on all of this, I had only casually listened to my ex when it came to his sound system so I only know the basics.

I have XM and monsoon and love it all but I need more base. I've only had the car for about 3 months and I worry that the passenger side speaker in the back is blown because sometimes I hear it rattling. The music that I mainly listen to is rock and techno and the techno can be loud when the windows are open and sunroof is down. Do ya'll think I should get subs and an amp? Would I need a capacitor(sp?)? Do you think I've blown the back speaker and if so, will the warranty replace it? Can the system be tweeked so that I get more highs on the monsoon and get all lows to the subs if I do go that way? I'm leaning more towards subs by the day and would prefer 2 10's or 12's even though I know I don't need something too overpowering. I'm not trying to compete but want to enjoy my music and don't think I'd be satisfied with only having 1 sub (I still want to impress of course).

So, if I should get a sub & amp, I'm not sure which company to go with either. I want good quality and read the post about everyone's preferences which helped for sure, it's just that I can't go all-out money-wise. I'm not rich by ANY stretch of the margin.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks

[bluegtp33]

the warranty should cover the speaker, if it is blown, test it with volume down and push the fade and balance to it

as for subs, i have some that should do what you want for sale, check the for sale section for details or pm me

[simplyred]

I have 2 10's and love them... I did it basically for the same reason you want to upgrade. 2 12's would be pretty loud if your just trying to enjoy the music a little more but thats just my $.02

[mdahms]

Subs all the way makes a huge difference

[BlackKnight]

your back passenger speaker might not be blown, i have a monsoon and i thought mine was blown too, but after riding in my trunk (not gonna get into that story) it was the layers of sheetmetal that the roof of the trunk (not door) that was making the rattling noise. i wouldn't suggest riding in trunks tho

[els]

now, I HAVE to know this story! lol

So, what exactly do I listen for when I turn the balance and fades to that speaker? I can try and do that on my way home. But, if it isn't blown, how do I make it so that it doesn't rattle? Just take out some sheet metal?

I'm 99.9% sure I want subs but now it's just a matter of knowing exactly what I want. 2 10's will probably be fine for me. How many watts?

[bluegtp33]

just listen for it to sound choppy and like static is coming thru it

also sound crappy, compare it to the other side to tell the difference

[GTPGuy82]

So blown speakers would still vibrate then I'm assuming? Because you could just touch each one from the trunk to see if it was still functioning with the music on.

[disposablehero]

Blown speakers do vibrate. The only way to tell is testing the impedence or just listen to the speaker. If it so distorted and crackely then it is blown. As for subs if you want some good clean full non over powering sound you can't beat a pair of 10's. But if you are like me and want to feel the bass throughout your body and make it to where you can't read street signs then at least 2 12's ported with 500 watts rms to each. For what she wants I would get a pair of jl w3v3 or v2 10's and power them with a 500/1 from jl. That would sound great and she can either port them or leave them sealed. She would peobably be happier ported though. I had the v2's sealed in my truck for like 2 months before I ported them. Huge dif and not much loss in SQ.

[simplyred]

The only problem with that is even on Ebay those amps can run mid $300, that can be alot of money for someone just looking to enhance audio sound a little.

[bluegtp33]

yes it can be

[disposablehero]

That was just a recomendation. Hiphonics and mtx and several other brands have great amps that will put out the same power. I just prefer to keep my ohm load at 4 than having to drop to 1 to get the power. You could always get dual 2 ohm subs and have an apt that gives you the power at 2. 1 ohm just seems to cook subs easier and seems to make the amps work harder.

[GTPGuy82]

well I'm happy with my little 400.1 Kicker and 10" L5....anything louder and all you'd hear is bass and trunk rattle.

[Interfire]

Depending on how much you want to spend I think one 12" with a nice amp would be enough.

Personally I'd go with a couple 12's in a sealed box.

If your speaker is blown it will be covered under warranty. Like said, if you hear any scratching, crackling etc.. coming from that speaker it would be blown. You don't need to turn it up much to test it out.

[Hazycard]

hey

i was just looking to add a sub to my new g6 gt, and a local shop will give me a nice small eclipse 10 4 ohm with 200 rms, an alpine 250rms amp bandpass box and install it for 475, nothing super loud but nice, you can get set ups like that pretty cheap they usualy give you a package deal if you buy it all at once.