what components / amp to get?

[2TonHog]

Only a few stores in the company carry the F#1 status stuff, my store is not one of them. However, I've played with it and it's installed in the Alpine rep's PT Cruiser. He's by here twice a month, and I have run his system through the paces using 3 demo's that have served me well for 13+ years.

The amps, processor and decks are just awesome. Build quality, sound quality and fit & finish are absolutely second to none. The processor is on the level of some very high end home components in terms of actual processing features and name-brand components built inside. The feel of these units also evokes quality that has no real comparison in the car audio world.

The 3-way component speakers and sound very good. I don't think they're worth as much as what Alpine wants for them, but they do pretty well against similarly priced competitors. There are subs that sound better to me, like Eclipse's high-end subs and properly tuned JL W7's.

[sdharley03]

I'd love to hear just how good the F1 line is...

On a side note, I've been reading up on the SR Polk's. Seems like the only negative is the size of the crossover... would that be a problem on our trucks or would they just mount inside the door? The lowest price I have seen for them is $530 a set so I'm trying to find a local dealer so I can listen to them.

[1niceharley]

Here is how I mounted my Crossover. and a pic of the Q-logic Kick panels. The kicks look better in person. I have used q-logic kicks in several of my vehicles and love them.

[sdharley03]

Oh wow so you don't even have your speakers in the doors then? Where do you buy those kick panels?

[1niceharley]

Most local Stereo shops cary them. Here is the web site check them out. http://www.qlogic.ws/products/q_form...9&groupID=7942
Crunchfield cares them also.

And you are correct I don't have speakers in my front doors just the crossovers but I will let you know this getting the wires in and out of the door was a little difficult. And the kicks I got only hold upto 5 1/4" mids They might have new styles out that can hold up to 6 1/2's.

[sdharley03]

Well i decided to take a little trip to Tweeter today to listen to the Polk's. They sounded good, but not as good as the JL ZR series. I played them both right next to each other for a good 30 minutes messing with settings and the JL's sounded way cleaner to me. They also could take a lot more power. The Polk's distorted after not too much volume which was very suprising to me. They had the top of the line Boston's in there too which came in a distant 3rd to these 2 but if I could pick one, it would be hands down the JL ZRs.


The price tag on the JL's were $799 and the Polk's were $749. I left the store thinking "man I have to have those JL's". I got in my car and played some music and realized, my $200 components don't sound much worse than the speakers I was just listening to. Now I know the speakers are better, but $1100 better than my current setup....hell no. I don't understand how they can charge that much for speakers. I am more than happy with my current set up and will not be upgrading unless I can get the JL ZRs at a much cheaper price than they were there. Just wanted to share my experience for the day.

[2TonHog]

Glad you had some time to drop by and listen, and I really have to appologize for those guys. It's weird about what you said, I tried the set-up here at the store, and even when the Polk's and JL's were running off the head unit, the Polk's still seemed better to me.

We all have different tastes and different ears.

We have a pretty strict 10 second rule at my store that we beat each over the head with, the customer gets 10 seconds before being said "hi" too, not necessarily engaging for a sale, but just recognizing existance. The way my store is arranged, you'd actually have to walk past at least 1 home sales guy and 1 car audio guy to actually get into the center of the store, so it's easy.

Which store did you visit? I'd like to give the GM a call....seriously.

[sdharley03]

The store was in Escondido, CA. I must have walked by 4 people when i first walked in that all looked at me and said absolutely nothing before I made it to the car audio room. I was in there for a good 20 minutes at least and kept seeing workers walk by and look in without stopping (i could see their reflextions off the head units). I was really surprised at how the polks couldnt take the higher volume. I was using the $2200 Pioneer DVD/ nav head unit and the speakers were powered by the new alpine amp. They had a set of Focal's in the room too for $1000 but they didnt even work so i couldnt hear what those sounded like. When i turned up the volume on that head unit past about 14, the polks started distorting and the JLs stayed sounding clean for a few more notches on the volume. They both sounded real good, dont get me wrong, but the JLs just sounded cleaner to me.

[sdharley03]

Oh yeah i also walked to the room that had a Blu Ray dvd going and went in there for a little while and then just walked around the whole store looking at all the TVs for a while. Not one worker said one thing to me and i made my way through the whole store. Then when i left, I must have walked by 5 guys at the front doing absolutely nothing and nobody said anything again. Guess they dont like making money at that store.

[1niceharley]

Dude that sucks. I bought some stuff from tweeter in the past and had good experience with them. Polite and prompt.

[sdharley03]

Dude that sucks. I bought some stuff from tweeter in the past and had good experience with them. Polite and prompt.

Yeah i was very surprised.

Is it worth it to buy this type of high end speaker for the front and rear? I was talked out of getting 2 sets of diamond components by my friend because he said I wouldnt hear them over the sub. I think it sounds great right now,...but it can always sound better.

Thinking about maybe picking up a set of JL ZR 6.5s and throwing them in the front and then putting my diamonds that I have up front in the rear. How would that sound or should I spring for 2 sets of the JLs ?

The JLs can be found on ebay for right around $500 shipped which isnt nearly as bad as the $750 that stores want for them.

[1niceharley]

Well the only reason I have speakers in the back is because of Suround sound and the seldom trips that I carry passengers. For stereo listening I perfer just the fronts. So with saying that I would not spend a lot of money on your rears. You really wont hear them unless you plan on sitting in the back.
If you like the way the JL's sound go for them! Everyone has their own listening preferance.
Did you get a chance and look at the Q-Logic web site?

[sdharley03]

I may just pick up a nice set for the fronts then and put my diamonds in the rear.

Yeah i checked out the website. Do you have the kick panel on the drivers side too? It seems like the sound from that area would get blocked by your foot. I like the way they look there, but is it worth it to move the speakers to that location? I see the logic in how the speakers are facing but it seems like that location would be blocked by feet. I know i notice the sound quality in my truck isnt as good when people are in the back because their legs block the speakers there too.

Just wondering if it is noticeable and worth it to go through the wiring trouble to move it to that location.

[1niceharley]

In my opinion.. Yes it make a huge sound improvement! Plus I drive with my left foot back next to the seat to make better room for the sound to get to me. Yes the kicks are on both sides. All in all I love the way Kick-panel speakers sound.. If you do research on cars with High-end audio systems in them they usually put the front stage in the kicks (unless they can afford to put some High dollar sound processor in and pay someone to adjust it). Again my opinion.

[sdharley03]

Hmmm...that's good to know. So did you do all the install yourself or have a shop do it?

The only thing is that the panel doesnt seem to match the color of the plastic around it or sit flush which is a surprise since it is designed specifically for our truck right?

I like the idea of it, but would like it more if it looked factory.