Sorting the good bad and ugly

kevinberry1 · Post by **kevinberry1** » Fri Feb 15, 2008 6:04 pm

Bwcad1 wrote:hey research my posts i do reccomend other brands and if i really was worried i would have suggest they went to highly reccomended. i support the best product for the job and with maxxsonics they have one of the most comprehensive lists of products hence y you see the reccomendations so often.

I was just giving you crap Bill, hence the

and J/K. You have a lot more experience with different brands than I do so I know you are much more knoweldgeable. The same goes for the majority of other long-term posters on here, definitely a knowledgeable group for sure.

I just hope people try to be objective with their opinions while compiling the list. It is a little disconcerting for me to hear that EA is no longer considered to be very good because it wasn't too long ago that EA was one of the most recommended brands on this forum. I used the advice and recommendations of others to make my decision about purchasing two EA comp subs, and while I've had no problems in two years it does make me a little concerned. I'd like to think it was just a coincidence that there were 3 or 4 EA dealers on here at the time. EA's reliability may have gone completely down hill, I don't know because I haven't followed up much the past year or so, but everyone has their biases for a number of reasons and I just hope everyone can be as obejective as possible.

What would be ideal would be to obtain some reliability data, but I doubt that is very accessible. It is a tedious endeavor to create a list like this based just on a very few individuals' experiences. Not saying it wouldn't be valid, just that the sample would be too small to provide any real significance.

Bwcad1 · Post by **Bwcad1** » Fri Feb 15, 2008 7:42 pm

the reason ive changed my mind is the Customer service and the failure rate there products seem to accumulate.

subster87 · Post by **subster87** » Fri Feb 15, 2008 10:04 pm

audio pulse is good but way over priced following tc sounds through and through still quality puts them in high end... ascendant makes that sick midbass driver but thats all i know on them, ive read great things on other forums about american bass, and mike will tell you massive is also good "bang for the buck". i am way to tired to go through this list right now.. but id say FI is on the list in the good to maybe high end their customer service is slipping gradually do to the high demand i think they are running in to.

Post by **GlassWolf** » Fri Feb 15, 2008 10:06 pm

Scarrell wrote:like Dual, Sony.. id put them up to Questionable..

sony, dual, and soundstorm are all shit.

smoker · Post by **smoker** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 10:04 am

dual ill give ya, its crap. sony i dig the head units and have NEVER had a return on them. and soundstorm has its place, i have installed complete soundstorm systems for people on tight bugets and guess what?? in the year and a half ive been selling soundstorm ive had a single return. plus they offer a 6 year warranty on the amps if they are dealer installed.

cargodz · Post by **cargodz** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 10:17 am

smoker wrote:id say we need to consider a "bang for the buck" category...quantum for example is reliable but overrated. as is soundstorm and a few others. fusion should be in the questionable list for the time as they have had a massive increase in failures over the last couple years. at least where the subs are concerned. dual doesnt deserve the space it takes to bash them and sony actually i love the head units. used to hate them but theyve done a good job of weeding out the lowest end of the spectrum. theyve done away with all the junk that didnt even have rca preouts. and guess how many sony returns ive had? 0.....thats important

^ Actaully I think Terry has a good idea on the "Bang for the Buck" catagory... and maybe place it in between "Questionable" and "Good"
I haven't encountered all the problems with Fusion Terry has, but he was dealing with a lot more of their products than I was.
As for Elevation, their customer service is poor, but they still seem to make pretty decent amps, so maybe move the amps to "Good", but the subs are definately questionable.
For Massive Audio, I'd rate them as "Good" as I've done quite a bit of Massive stuff over the last year and haven't had a single return or service on any of their equipment.
Sony, although I don't deal with them has been improving on their H/Us and the H/Us should probably be moved up, but the amps, speakers, and subs are still all crap.
DB Drive is the parent of Quantum, but makes superiour products to Quantum too... So I'd put DB Drive in "Good" and Quantum in "Bang for the Buck"
SoundStorm seems to have become the big brother to Boss Audio and should be moved up to "Bang for the Buck" or at least "Questionable" and Powerbass would sit well in those same catagories.
Dual still makes crap
Interfire would also work well in a "Bang for the Buck" catagory as I haven't had any problems with their equipment either, but their amps are a little questionable on power with the way they badge them, but they will do rated power of what is put in the manuals, and everybody that has purchased has been more than happy with the price.
All of the Maxxonics line just keeps getting better and better no matter what any rumors get thrown around the forums.
Cerwin Vega is solid... They do exactly what they say they'll do
Kenwood, although they make some decent H/Us still has big problems with amps and really poor quality subs and speakers.
Jensen's and Phase Linear's Multimedia players would also fit well within a "Bang for the Buck" catagory... some of the other Jensen H/Us have improved greatly, leaving Phase Linear to deal with the other cheaper junky models.
US Amps should probably drop from "highly recommend" to "Good" or "Questionable" as their quality has dropped off, but I would still highly recommend RE Audio if you can afford it... The quality may have dropped some, but they still do rated power.
Fi does seem to be running into some customer service problems, but they still make solid subs, so I agree with keeping them in "Highly Recommend"
Phoenix Gold has definately dropped in quality and should be moved to "Questionable"
Okay that's my take on just a few for now.

brisgreat1 · Post by **brisgreat1** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 11:31 am

Yeah I was gonna mention making a category for like price compared to quality... in other words bang for ur buck... in example, JL would place low on bang for ur buck despite their quality products

cargodz · Post by **cargodz** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 1:42 pm

Well this isn't so much to catagorize your upscale high dollar items on a bang for the buck basis, it would just sit well with a lot of companies that would fit in that catagory... and that's why I thought a "Bang for the Buck" catagory would work well in between "Questionable" and "Good"... JL does make good if not some great products, but can be pricey for most... Which is exactly the reason for this list in the first place

William from NOLA · Post by **William from NOLA** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 6:57 pm

What if we put an asterisk next to the bang for the buck ones and keep them in the highly recommended section?

cargodz · Post by **cargodz** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 6:35 am

William from NOLA wrote:What if we put an asterisk next to the bang for the buck ones and keep them in the highly recommended section?

If we do the asterisk with it, then I would suggest putting them in the "Good" section rather than the "Highly Recommended"... Simply do to the fact that many of these are lower budget good performers, but may still not be on par with some of the top ranked equipment... That's why I thought Terry had a good idea of a new catagory as it helps to filter out, but the asterisk in "Good" would probably work with a little explaination for the asterisk under the catagory.
Power Acoustik, SPL, and Kole amplifiers should also be placed as a bang for the buck... Many of their other equipment would have to rank questionable, but the amps are good for cheap power.