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you can say what you want,anything rf since about '97 is shit,with the exception of the power series stuff,the punch line is absolute and total shit,just my $00.02
Damon

man i get a kick our of RF's new advertisemnts, they have this one ad were there a picture of a guy and a girl making out next to a fire place dressed real nice and it says "define who you are, lust,greed,power, the fosgate power line" LOL thats a new one, im not sure what there trying to accomplish there.

that means i gotta get my REs while i can :P

RF makes nice products. They just changed course and went from prety much all high end limited production products (80s, early 90s, pre series-1) to mainstream mass production products, most of which are competent products, just very middle of the road, or average in my view. They also have product lines I'm not that fond of, such as Lightning. MB Quart isn't that bad, but I still prefer other brands myself. Also personal preference.
As for Longevity and deep pockets though I could name several companies with similar histories or backing that are strictly high end still. McIntosh would be one. They're now owned by DMC. Parent company to Denon and Marantz. Two mid to high end brands in the home audio world.

Rockford in my view is similar to PPI and Orion now. The other two of the big three, except those latter two are owned by DEI now, and RF is still US made, but it appears that their marketing tactics aren't too dissimilar. Granted with todays economy and market, you pretty much have to appeal to the riceboy groupies if you want to make much money, and that is how ya stay in business.
It's just a shame to see the few remaining really high end companies slowly folding to mass market appeal.

I know what you were saying, I just get so sick of people dogging the big manuafacturers like RF and Kenwood when all they are doing is making good qualit products and selling them., its not like they are Jensen or something, thay make GOOD stuff, and you are slightly incorrect on the HX2 being their best sub. in BB you can only buy punch level equipment, and yes there was a Punch HX2, which is an awesome sub, I am running one in my conv. hitting high 130's (single 10, 1 cube box, slot port) BUT there was also a Power HX2 which is even better. AND there is the TypeRF sub which is a competition sub and both of those are only availble at a a specialist. Yes I do agree BB and CC installers and salesmen are morons, no doubt about that, I am just saying, to stay alive in this business, sometimes you have to sell to the big box stores if we want the best products. Also, yes, there will always be a small micro company making ultra highe end stuff, but they wouldn't be there if it wasn't for all the big guys coming up with the technologies that are too expensive fot them to use and profit from where the smaller guys can build less products and charge a premium. All I am saying is please give the respect due to the big guys, they are the ones who created our industry and are the ones who purpetuate it. If they disapeared,so would the industry.

Never said RF was crap, so you must be sorely mistaken!

If they re-release the Punch series with the "chip" in the bottom (IX line) I will probably be buying. Well providing they also remake the amp links.

Them amps are classic and I wouldnt hesitate.

RF was just as an example. You can go into BB and buy HX2's (was there best sub). With CLarion you can only buy the low end line. The Prop Audio line is only sold to actual shops.

BB and CC gets a lot of rips simply because the staff is almost always stupid. I have only had one experience in CC where the installer actually knew what he was doing. I guess when I was prodding the salesman with questions I overloaded him. He went and fetched the installer

Ryan from Ohio wrote:They are starting to go RF.

Pretty soon they will be selling it in Best Buy! LMAO

I heard that Kicker is going to Best Buy and Circuit City...

and the reason some dis on BB and CC is because rarely do they hire MECP installers. even then, they have little to no experience. working with lack of experience is where crap products belong, so the high school kid with acne can brake something worthy of it. on top of that, they tell you whatever they have to becuase they want to make a sale. they dont give a rats ass what happens as soon as they have your money.go to a real shop and talk to guys that live for this hobby. they care about money yes, but they care more about what they sell and what you're looking for.

welllll....

i agree, Jim Fosgate is one hell of a guy. started in '73 and since has made several legend products. but just because he did doesnt make RF the best ever and for always. i'm not sorry to say that i think there are better quality products out there now, that can rock most of RF's product line's world. technology will go on, and other people will emerge with better stuff. thats the way it works. rf is still good equipment, but there is better.

and i believe jbl also made a radical amp last year. something like 8k+ watts RMS. but really, just about anyone can build something like that, but its not cost effective, and its not practical except for hardcore rich spl competitors. you can't power that amp with even a heavily modified electrical system. about the only one that could is something i saw at a car audio show, where a jacked-up bronco had a litteral alluminum wall in a modified engine area, full with 9 200+Amp alternators. i dont even want to know how much that cost. and this truck only had one of those jbl amps, plus a few for speakers.

and so what if the start selling in BB or CC? Best buy is a cash cow that helps build the top of the line products we all use! Clarion is in BB and you still like it! nothing wrong with selling in the big box stores. they won't sell the good stuff, just the cheao stuff. it greatly increases the buying power of a company. This is how business works. the more product you sell, the more money you have for R&D and the cooler stuff you get. its a fact of life and business.