Both amps are good. JL is class AB, not sure about Brutus but that's a pretty well known amp as well

Flyaudio isn't too bad. They make touchscreens that can replace the VW system and make it look OEM except with a helluva lot more features

Really? I've got a few friends using Flyaudio on their VWs and have been happily using for a few months now. No issues whatsoever with their GPS, movies, etc.

You got a custom passive done for yourself?!?! WAh.. respect

Speaking of which I have a pair of modified Dynaudio passives with mundorf caps in place of the stock stuff and mundorf resisters everywhere. Thinking of letting it go since I'm not using it. Anyone interested? Heh.

I'm curious to have a listen to your m-line. Have they been run in completely yet?

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Added on January 4, 2013, 7:44 amUh.. why did you buy two? One type-R sub in a sealed box or a ported box is plenty of bass man. But being a dual 4-ohm means you can hook both subs up at 1ohm. But that PDX can handle only 2 ohm or 4 ohm. So hooking up the two type-R subs will have to be 4ohm which personally I find is quite soft. Even at 1200w RMS (14.4v) 4ohm may or may not be your cup of tea. If it's not, I recommend you go with just one sub.

Oh since it's 4ohm, use sealed if you're going to stick with using both subs wired to 2ohm each.

This post has been edited by izso: Jan 4 2013, 07:45 AM

That's not true. Got the money play with different brands of caps and resisters and transisters, that's tuning also what. Blackgates vs Panasonics vs Mundorfs, etc. Different caps produce different types of sound and different values adjust the crossover points, slope, etc.

Passive crossover tuning is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more expensive than active but messing with passive crossovers is a lot more interesting and active can't change the characteristic of the sound whereas passives can.

Just a matter of interest, know-how and money.

This post has been edited by izso: Jan 7 2013, 07:22 AM

Aiyo.

The most basic sound system consists of a player (HU/headunit), speakers (components or 2-way/3-way) and a sub (active/standalone). All cars have these things (ok.. maybe not a sub).

If you have a car that has a built in stuff like the VWs then be prepared to replace the entire dash (middle panel) with an aftermarket adaptor to fit aftermarket players.

Since your car is just a Kembara, replacing the player is just a matter of taking out your old one and installing the new one. There's no such thing as whether it can "fit your car" or not. If it's a complete panel player like those taken out from a Camry, it will not fit. If it's an aftermarket from Pioneer, Sony, Alpine, etc.. then it'll fit for sure. Just a matter of with or without an aftermarket bracket/adaptor.

This post has been edited by izso: Jan 7 2013, 07:22 AM

semi-active? Now you're just picking on words already. You specifically said active is this this this, passive is this this this.. so I said not true.

Now you talk about semi-active that's a different thing already la.

If you don't have money for expensive caps, you can always opt for the cheaper audio caps from China. May not have the same effect but still works. So tuning isn't just "limited to HU EQ Bands" only.

Quote for truth!

This post has been edited by izso: Jan 7 2013, 01:33 PM

Even at RM600 I don't think that's possible

I've heard a Focal Utopia setup before as well with hardware similar to what Ezmeer has pointed out. Tuning a 3-way isn't easy and getting it right is a pain in the a$$.

Having said that even after getting it right I don't like the characteristic of the Utopia tweeters and midbass. The mids are ok though. Kinda thin sounding overall.

CV audio Uptown Damansara is the closest I can think of

I'm just curious about why it matters?

Uncle Howie? The fella almost 10 years younger than me... later the fella charge you extra RM500 for calling him uncle.

It's a controversial topic.

A really good passive setup can shine if setup correctly but the passives alone probably will cost an arm and a leg. And you'll need to be very patient in testing all the different cap brands and combinations.

A really good active setup can also shine if you have a very good external crossover. The inbuilt crossover in HUs these days is too basic even though it does do the work. Plonk in a very well tuned audiocontrol or a processor and it'll be heaven and earth difference.


Now, if you phrase your question differently and put a cap on the price "Would an active setup costing RM3k sound 'better' than a passive setup costing RM3k?"

My answer would then by yes. But if you jack up the budget to 10k, then the answer would be "not necessarily"

If you're gonna talk about OEM passives, the most expensive passives you can find are.... OEM. Meaning it's ultimately still designed with cost and pricing in mind.

If you're talking about custom made passives or modified passives, then you're gonna give active setups a run for their money. People always complain that Dynaudios are hard to run and need massive power. It's not entirely true, with the original passive you'll need big power (preferably). I had my passives modified with a whole lot of Mundorf stuff and an amp with just 100w RMS is more than enough to make it sing quite well. But the Mundorf parts kinda changed the characteristics of the speakers and wasn't quite what I wanted so I'm not using them anymore.

So basically if you fiddle around with the hundreds of audio-quality caps, resisters and whatever, you might actually get a pretty interesting sound passive setup. The last time I saw an extreme custom passive, it was the size of a Alpine PDX amp. Massively huge and had so many huge expensive caps on it. One of the caps costs RM450 to buy per piece! Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to hear this expensive passive but point is you can do a lot with passives if you have the patience to learn and fiddle around with the different brands.

ezmeer : "A lotta money" is debatable. It's just frequency separation as howie pointed out so as long as he/she (the designer) has sound electrical knowledge they can make one out quite easily. I guess the "lots of money" would be spent on that persons salary.

Carcrazy : I can't see the pic but i'm guessing it's one of your psychotic custom passives. If yes - YES.. siao gila babi betul.

Howie : aisay man. One mans poison is another another mans meat. It's kinda like how I enjoy fiddling with my car to squeeze out extra power. The amount of money I've already spent on my car far exceeds me buying a brand new (more powerful) Kia Forte 2.0. But I haven't chosen to upgrade or change to another car because I like my car. So it's the same for passive users, they just like the hobby of messing with passive components and achieving something different.

Having said all that I've done both custom passives, active direct to the amp, external crossover and even processors and I can safely say I like active/processors best. external crossover too cumbersome to adjust from the boot and passives just aren't cost effective to me.

For that kinda budget I recommend you go to a reputable audio shop like CV Audio Uptown Damansara / EA Autoworks and tell them what you want and just let them sort it out for you. I think you can easily get all that done for 3K.

For 1K to have both USB and punchy bass would be a long shot. If your stock Myvi player already has USB, then it's possible. If it doesn't then your budget isn't really quite enough

Basic setup : Component speakers, stock player, underseat woofer and door panels, about 2.4k all in all new. If you have a higher budget you can do much better than that.

SPL = sound pressure level, usually refers to the blokes who like to blast loud loud loud bass.

Erm.. Save 500 this month, 500 next month, then 500 the following month, then only consider doing something about your ice

This is hard to say. My setup in my Myvi costs around there plus a little more and to me it's pretty decent. And if I were to put it in a different perspective, it's pretty damn good for that sort of money.
However compared to my much more expensive setup in my other car, this setup in my Myvi is just 'average'.

But ultimately it really depends on your ears. If you feel what you hear is good, then it's good no matter what the cost (cheap or expensive). Kinda like my wife, she can't tell the difference between my Myvi and my other car, except that the more expensive setup is "sharper".

So if you're interested in a 1500 setup, have a listen to my Myvi one of these days and decide if this is good enough for you or not then only conclude yourself.

This post has been edited by izso: Feb 17 2013, 09:59 PM