I'm always peepin in & out undecided at this local shop in the neighborhood. Today he quoted me $450 which includes install for the following...

*Gravity Amp with power cable & fuse
*(2) 12" Rockford Fosgates
*Custom HatchBack Box for two 12" on carpeted board that fits behind rear passenger seat


So what do you think?

 

I've never heard of gravity amps, that can't be a good thing?!?

As far as the subs, Rockford's aren't all bad. It just depends on what model you are getting? Find out, and look up the specs.

Also, what kind of box is it? Is it one of those prefab deals? If so, is the airspace right for that sub?

 

I have been back and forth with the owner and he told me that the box is better than q-logic bcuz it's cheaper, does'nt crumble, and it has a sealed coating in the inside of the box. I'm not a stereo wiz so I'm kinda wondering if he's not bull****ting me by telling me what I want to hear. I kinda took it as personal opinion and not a fact. Anyways...
As for the Fosgates, I didn't write down the specs or model number. He mentioned the Fosgate Punch RFP4212 so I think it's those. I pointed to the Fosgate subs on the display floor that were on display. He played them for me and they sounded decent. I put a down payment of $50 for the box, amp and speaker because he offered me $450 includes installed. He wrote the receipt and gave me a 1 yr warranty and 90 day satisfactory and a lifetime warranty on the amp if it should blow. I thought I'd jump on the verbal agreement and put it in writing!!! I told him "heres the $50 down so now you can deliver it and I want to see what you have when it arrives. Later today I'm going back to the store to see what the setup is.
Anyhow...If I go with the setup..I'll tell what I think.

 

I've never heard of that amp before either. I'd be willing to bet it's not much of an amp. Probably like a pyramid or profile or even worse--something cheap so he can make more off you. You should't let him just give you a total for all this. Make him break it down individually so you know what the heck you are paying for each component.

You can get a Fosgate HE2 4212 from ikesound for $90 plus shipping. So if he would have broken his pricing down, you'd know if you could get a better deal elsewhere. I'd be skeptical of this myself.

What kind of box is he doing? Just some rectangular job that's going to slop around in the back? Or an actual custom piece that fits. Or like was mentioned above, one of those prefab boxes from ebay?

I can't believe he told you his box is better because it's cheaper. That is the biggest bunch of horsesh!t I've ever heard. Totally laughable. Something is better because it is made better, has better materials or craftsmanship, is bigger, fancier, faster, or has more features or benefits to the user. Not because it's cheaper. I have never heard anyone say a caviler is better than a z28 because it's cheaper. Just doesn't make sense does it?

Some ppl don't mind paying a little more if they are getting something. The main downside of the q-logic is the fact that it is made with particle board. But I doubt that your guy here can make a box that fits as nice and looks as good as the q-logic does and do it in one day.

I went thru this same thing a long time ago. When the q-logic boxes for the f-bodies came out, I thought they were pretty cool and I wanted one. But 300 (plus shipping) was a little steep at the time. So I went to a local shop and they suckered me right in there and I ended up paying 300 for one of their custom boxes and it didn't fit right and wasn't built to the proper air space for the overpriced subs they sold me. Not to mention that they had my car all day and it was covered inside and out with saw dust and glue smell. They didn't even put terminals on the box. Just drilled holes thru the bottom and ran the speaker wire out thru the holes. The bottom of the box wasn't even carpeted. So I decided I could make boxes better than that. But that's the sort of thing you run into if you don't know exactly what you're getting and exactly what you're paying.

Again, if you truly want him to build your box, ask him what the exact price of it is and how it's going to look. What the air space will be, etc, etc. Don't just let him make you something and be stuck with it.

 

Ok, I have the box, amp and I went with Kicker Comp's instead. The total came out to $500 installed.
The box is different to the q-logic. The q-logic runs flush with the rear side panels and runs flush on top of the plastic t-top storage thingies. Well, the box I got requires to remove the plastic t-top thingies in the trunk. I was kinda hesitant about removing the t-top storage thingies in the trunk but I never use my t-tops anyway and I'm going with a custom box for two 12"s so I might as well take em out.
Anyhow, this "noname" box sits really low in the back all the way down to the very bottom floor. I can tell ya that this box hits pretty darn hard and I'm happy with it. The bass sound from outside my car was pretty impressing as well. I had no idea that it was going to sound like that cuz my expectations were a little different, working with a tight budget. I know $500 aint nothing but I thought I'd start out with something simple cuz I'm in the direction of focusing on mods than stereo.
Well, my buddy has a q-logic that fits two 12"s. It has pyle speakers in it so what I'm going to do is put my Kickers in the q-logic box and see what the sound difference is. I will let you know. For the price I paid I cant really snivel over it but I'm happy with the sound. I only paid $100 for the box so if I decide I like my friends q-logic box better after the comparison...he might sell them to me cuz he mentioned that he wanted a box that fits 15's...so I may get lucky to have two boxes. I kinda wish I knew this before I bought this "noname" box but oh well. .In the meantime, I'm ganna try finding time to take a digi pic of the box in the trunk so you can see what it looks like in the back. Until then...ciao

 

http://www.cardomain.com/id/96blackz28

Click page 5 to see the box installed.....

 

$500 for that????? oh man coulda got alot better stuff and did it yourself for that price....is the box particle board or mdf?

 

Well around $500 was the price for the subs, box and amp. I was charged somewhere around $35 dollars for labor. I saw the receipt and the owner charged me barely any labor. I know it might not be to anyone's taste, So what do you recommend then? I'm all ears...I'm pretty much a new booty when it's comes to car audio I admit, So any help would be good. I got this because this is what I wanted right now. I'm alright with it for the time being. Eventually, yes..I will go on to big and better things. It would be good to see what this forum suggests. Some resourceful ideas is what I'm looking for. I consider this as my first system so shed some info on me as to what's the hotest subs, mids, tweets, cd deck & amp. After I finish with my mods on my car, then I will look into what I really set my eyes on.
If I had the money....I was condidering a kenwood deck, 2 pheonix gold amps , two 15" JL's in a custom box, Focal mids & infinity tweets. This would probably be a couple $$ grand so that's why I went with what I could handle as far my first purchase. So what's your advice?

 

Nice box by the way, what is it? I want a box that's flush to the top like yours. Mine sits too low as you can see. Taking my box back is no problem...I suppose to meet up with a buddy of mine and fit a Q-logic in..so I guess we'll see what if it fits fluch to the top.