Well I went ahead and ordered the Kenwood 7100 double din all in one, now I am looking at the other components. I have been out of the Car Audio world for awhile (Still own a PPI A404 along with some Solo-Baric round subs). Well I remember that JL used to be pretty good stuff and I am curious to your opinions about their amps, speakers and subs for the NISMO. I am thinking about either (1) 10w7 or maybe (2) 8w7s. I would also go with JL's High end components for the highs and mids. So what do you guys think?

 

seriously, unless you're legally def, one 8w7 is more than enough for the small interior of the Z.

 

Do you like a low drop, or a tight kick?

 

99% of this board runs more than 1 , 8" driver

 

Just a question and a serious question.....why JL Audio?

 

https://my350z.com/forum/south-west/340183-new-audio-video-nav.html

 

A question for you: why not? JL happens to make absolutely superb equipment. We've been a JL Audio Signature dealer for over ten years, and their products have done nothing but get better and better. I hate it when people trash the name.

 

Its cause if you buy brand names you're two things to the My350Z Community;
1) Wrong ( )
2) A "Brand *****" ( )

 

.

I was wondering why the OP chose to go with JL Audio equipment. I have never once trashed the brand, just tell it like it is. When you buy JL Audio, you are not only paying for the r&d behind the product, but also the advertising costs, sponsorships, commissions, brand recognition, etc. It is no doubt that JL makes great subs, quality amps, and (IMHO) ok component sets. I just am curious as to why the OP is choosing JL equipment (discount from friend, good deal used, strictly based on brand recognition, etc). If the OP were to answer "a good discount from a friend", then that's great, maybe a 10w7 will fit the bill nicely. If the OP says "brand recognition, but I'm looking for top notch gear", then some members here might be able to assist the OP in making his dream system a reality via alternate routes. I would never claim that JL equipment is the best stuff available (as I have read a couple people post in the past), especially for the MSPR, but I would also never say it was garbage.

I'm not trying to get into a debate here about this. I was asking a question that would hopefully lead to the best possible options for the OP.

 

+1
That's what I will be running in my Z.

 

Thanks for the input guys, sorry for the late response. I prefer a tight hit as opposed to the real low bass. I guess I could go with (1) 8W7. Should I make a custom enclosure where the stock sub goes? I don't want to sacrifice the space rear of the strut tower brace. So the little space between the rear speakers and brace will be where I put my amps. So what kind of components should I go with?

 

OP asked for opinions of JL Audio and I don't care who sells what, JL Audio is crap and you can quote me on saying that. I keep seeing people in threads suggesting the W7 sub. I think that the W7 is one of the least musicals subs on the market. Its great if you want loud bass and a vibrating sensation but its no good at actually playing music. Needless to say I'm also not impressed by their components either.

To the OP you can find WAY better for much cheaper, that is if you are actually into listening to your music. If your in to having a "me too" setup that will impress the local teenagers down at the movie theater with a brand name that they will recognize then stick with the JL equipment.

Before anyone ask, yes I have owned several JL subs in the past and the only positive thing about them is that they are easy to sell used since they are a recognized name.

 

I wouldn't go so far as to say they make superb anything - they make relatively good stuff that can be used in a variety environments. Plus, they offer a broad range of products, so it makes it a bit easier to put a system together if you want to use their stuff.

Now, is there stuff the be all and end all? Nope, not close. Is it even the be all and end all for the money? Matter of opinion I suppose, but my vote would also be in the no category on this too. Have they made good products in the past and/or do they make good products now? Some yes, some no.
I've owned some(and still do..the sub I have in my Datsun happens to be awesome, but its about 11 years old now). The amp I have in my Datsun (500w/5) is at best, 'ok'. Alot of people tout them as "the best" because of alot of different reasons. Alot of the same people who tout it as the best, don't have exposure to some of the smaller, maybe more esoteric products. Can't fault them for this, but you always have to take someones breadth of experience into the grand scheme of things


So, like anything else you do to your car, from audio, to suspension, etc. is ask yourself a few questions

1. what are your goals with the system? IE - alot of volume? More geared towards SQ? A blend of both?
2. what is your budget?
3. who is doing the install?
4. what music do you listen to (also refers back to #1)


from the answers to these relatively basic questions, it becomes much easier to make more specific product recommendations. Some of that stuff might end up being JL, some might not. The worst thing you can do though is tying yourself to one specific brand for everything, as you end up missing out on potentially significantly better equipment, that might better fit the overall goal you have in mind.

 

I'm happy with my complete JL system. Sounds great to me and I'm happy while driving my car. I think too many people get upset when someone makes a choice defferent from there own. For someone to say a company like JL makes crap is just iggorant. Cause if it was crap it wouldn't sell or be so successful for so long.

 

i currently am runninng a complete JL system in my Z...i have 6.5 XR components in the front and 6.5 VR coaxials in the rear powered by 300x4 black series amp and for my bass i'm running 2 10w3v2 powered by 500x1...my headunit is the kenwood 7100....i couldnt be happier with my setup

 

Scrap the 'sub in the OE sub location' idea unless you are willing to do 1 of the following:
1) purchase the Wicked CAS glovebox enclosure.
2) make a fiberglass box similar to the Wicked CAS glovebox enclosure.


If you want a tight, controlled, SQ bass response, and you don't want to take up ANY hatch area, here's what I would do......

Mount your amps in the OE sub location. Mod the rear speaker locations a little and seal off about .3 cu ft enclosures in each one. Purchase and install 2 of these CSS SDX7's (http://www.creativesound.ca/details.php?model=SDX7) in the stock rear speaker locations. They are 8ohms, so you can wire them in parallel to a 4ohm load and they want 100 rms watts each, so you will want an amp rated for 200 rms into 4ohms. A .3 cu ft should give you an fs of around 37Hz. With cabin gain, you are looking at dipping well into the low 30Hz region. This is more than sufficient for most music out there today.

A quick review of the CSS SDX7:
http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/890/

So lets do some math here:
the JL system you wanted-
JL 8w7 - $370
JL 250/1 amp - $200 (which will be underpowering the 8w7 by 50 rms watts)
a lot of time and money in constructing a box for the OE sub location and then building a show-worthy amp rack

The system I propose-
2 x CSS SDX7 - $200
Zapco REF200.2 - $300 (run bridged to 1x200 @ 4ohms)
Less work on amp rack, hidden amps, stealth mounted 7" subs, your entire hatch is free.

You could even save more by going with a slightly cheaper amp than the Zapco. The Zapco can be purchased here: http://www.woofersetc.com/index.cfm?...Product_ID=596

 

There's a reason why JL Audio has come to be so widely recognized - because of the quality of their products. Do they make the best of everything? No, absolutely not. There are less renowned names out there that make slightly better components, but those companies do not have good amplifiers. There are other companies out there that make better amplifiers (although in my opinion JL's amplifiers are excellent) but then, those companies don't make good subwoofers, and so on. I wouldn't think it's going too far to say that JL makes superb equipment at all. No one said it was the best of the best, but superb? Absolutely. Not only that, though, but all of their equipment is manufactured to a higher standard - they don't simply specialize in one product like some of the smaller manufacturers.

Like I said before, we've been dealing with JL almost since their conception, and we will continue to support their products for as long as we have the pleasure of using them. There's no doubt that if you want a truly magnificent and unbelievable sounding audio system, the last thing you want to do is limit yourself to one brand name. However, if you want something that will sound damn good and you're not an obsessive compulsive audiophile, selecting JL equipment will not leave you dissatisfied.

 

That sums up my audio build right there.

 

Budget is not an issue but I don't want to go crazy. I think I might be headed more towards focal mids and highs now. Anyone have experience with their 5" subs? Think they would make pretty good midbass? My goals are mainly SQ, but I also want it to pump pretty good, but nothing crazy. Just loud clean music!

 

BTW, I will be doing the install myself. I have some experience with fiberglass so this will be an interesting project.