I'm Lost?

Discussion in 'New Member Introductions' started by josh99ta, Dec 8, 2003.

  1. josh99ta

    josh99ta Full Member

    Woo hoo, I'm a n00b :baby: well, kinda ;) I recognize alot of screen names over here that I used to see on the one or two forums that I frequented, but haven't seen on much if any at all in a long time. For those that don't know, all my info is in the signature. As far as credentials go, for what it's worth, 2002 MECA SQL TN State Champion and World Finals 2nd Place by 0.7 points (Stock Class, Sony C90/210EQ, Rainbow Pro tweeters, Adire Koda mids, Avionixx amps, Brahma 12 sealed). I played around in Modified SQL for some of 2003, took home a few second place finishes and gave some VERY strong cars some competition, but in the end, I decided that I was so focused on tweaking so much that I had stopped enjoying the whole reason I got into audio in the first place, so I'm not competing anymore for the moment, and just trying to focus on school, work, and debt. Not alot past that, just bored with the other forums as some more than others are turning a bit juvenille, and one seems to be coming back around, but I think I just need to spread the grace of my presence elsewhere :p LoL Anyways, here is the run down of whats in the cars now as my signature is rather vague. I probably won't post a whole heck of alot since I'm really busy during the week, but I'll get on when I have time and see whats going on. Having my wisdom teeth out this Thursday so I'm sure come then I'll have plenty of time to make a few posts :) Anyways, take care everyone. Glad to be on over here. Hopefully I can contribute a little knowledge and learn alot.

    My daily driver:
    95 Neon Sport
    Alpine 9813
    Phoenix Gold Octane R8.0:4
    Adire Audio Koda 6.1 comp set
    Elemental Designs E8A.44 (ported, 30 hz)

    NOTE: Paying half on this car this Tuesday, and the other half at XMas time, and it's mine then. Best buddy's aunt is selling it and she cut me a heck of a deal on it. Already have the Adire Kodas for it. Got the E8A as well. I wanted an 8 or a 10 and while I'd really like something Adire w/ XBL2, they didn't have anything that small, or in my price range ($150ish for the sub). Thought about a Shiva but figured I'd pick up the E8A on sale, see what a high output 8 can do, and when Adire does finally release an XBL2 10" thats around $200 I can always upgrade no problems. Pretty set on the Alpine 9813 and the Octane amp, but those are the only missing links. I've got everything else ready to go. This car will definantly save me insurance money (this car and my bird together are $2300 yearly, bird alone is $3350 yearly), gas money (38 mpg on 87 octane vs 21 mpg on 93 octane), and mileage and the ensuing wear and tear on the Trans Am. It helps my wallet out everyday, and it'll pay for it's self, not to mention it'll put the joy back into driving my TA, and speaking of....

    My toy:
    '99 Trans Am
    Stock Monsoon CD player
    Navone Eng N-7V line output converter
    AudioControl EQX that I STILL haven't installed yet
    JL Audio 653CS XR three ways, 6.5" in really dead door, 4" in deadened Q-Form kickpanels, 1" tweeter in a-pillar
    Phoenix Gold Tantrum 300.2 on the JL comps, but will be moved to sub duty, and the Phoenix Gold Tantrum 500.2 will be moved up to the comps
    JL Audio Old School 10W6 if this fruit will ever send me my sub, he's about to have an internet fraud case filed on him and a pissed off credit card company after him.
    Might pick up a JL Stealthbox for the 10W6 if I can find one, if not, just build my own box

    NOTE: I did have my own 'glass kicks made, but they weren't flawless enough to paint or vinyl. I wanted something that looked more factory, so I picked up a set of Q-Forms of ebay and they really blend well with the car. They were flimsy but I guarantee each kick has roughly 5-7 full layers of sound deadening on them and they are SOLID now. I did give up a teeny tiny bit in sound, but not too much, and what I lost there I gained in comfort, extra foot room, and stock like looks. Preparing to wrap the a-pillars in grill cloth to hide the tweeters here soon to, as well as hiding the amps and EQX behind a panel in the back, and tucking the sub off in a cubby hole. Stealth like ninja :ph34r: Trying to keep the install as stealth as possible so as to not disrupt the factory design too much. HU has 7 band graphic, and the EQX offers me stereo 13 bands, plus a nice crossover section, so when all is in and dialed in, I'm hoping it sounds awesome. Current I just have the LOC, the PG 300.2, and the JL 653CSs running full range and it's still sounding sweet as can be. Not so much as worried about the nitpicky details, just enjoying what I've got.

    I think that'll do it for my first post. I've been known to talk too much in my posts, but I think this is a forum that can actually appreciate the detail and thoroughness in someone's post. Getting past my bed time, catch you guys later.
     
  2. geolemon

    geolemon Full Member

    Sounds cool!

    Don't sweat not having the EQ installed yet, it's just saving you currently from a whole bunch of headaches. :lol:
    EQ's are so difficult to really tweak correctly...
    It'll save a lot of effort, if you have access to an RTA, but that'll still only get you so far.. and not to mention often lead to sorting out which dips in the response are due to response anomolies, compared to which ones are due to phasing anomlies, or even which are phantom due to the measurement mic placement...
    ...aaargh! run to the hills! :bag:

    I think I'm going to remove mine. :lol:

    How's that Navone line converter doing for you?
    I always hated LOC's... I've even gone so far as to run speaker-level signal unattenuated right into the RCA's to get around some of the degradations of most (and that works surprisingly well on some cars).
     
  3. josh99ta

    josh99ta Full Member

    Since this looks like such a good place to stick around, I went ahead and did up my signature, avatar, personal info and personal pic. Now time for a quick reply and THEN bed, LoL.

    As for the EQ, I know it'll be a huge pain, but it's worth it to me just for the crossover network alone. I can always hit the little bypass switch and disable the EQ :) But I figure I'll just tweak by ear to where I personally like it and be happy with it. Spent too much time tuning to what it's "supposed to sound like" and not enough time tuning to the way I want it to sound on a day to day basis. As for the Navone LOC, it is treating me VERY well. I switched from a Clarion 835MP directly to this, and after dialing in the factory CD players EQ as much as I could, the sound barely changed. The Navone unit is supposed to be of better quality than the others, and give up to 9.5V out, but who knows. I do know that I have zero system noise and no ill effects from it that I've detected thus far. I mean if you really think about it, all RCAs do is carry the musical signal to the amp, the same as speaker wires would using high level inputs on an amp. Just usually the RCAs have more voltage going through them. Something in the HU has to boost the signal to that voltage to begin with, so if the Navone unit really does boost the voltage and boosts it cleanly, I dont see why it wouldn't be any different than a built in preamp output inside an aftermarket HU. I realize this is oversimplifying some complicated electronics, but in the simplest of terms a signal is a signal is a signal, and as long as you aren't inducing noise and other nasty things into the signal chain, there SHOULD be no problems. If it isn't obvious, I don't have a very deep understanding on this aspect of car audio, but just from logical deduction, thats what I've came up with. Could be 180* backwards on it though. If so, someone please let me know so I can learn a little more. Always nice to further one's knowledge.

    And with that, g'nite everyone.
     
  4. Steven Kephart

    Steven Kephart Full Member

    Josh! Nice to see you here. You're one of the ones I miss from over on SIN. I know you will enjoy it here. This board is as cool as the smilies. :robot:
     
  5. black00

    black00 Full Member

    :rolleyes: too many words...i refuse to read that much jibber jabber....blah bleh blah bleh sq= sounds quiet.... ;)
     
  6. josh99ta

    josh99ta Full Member

    Yeah Stephen, you're one of the ones I was talking about when I said that I noticed some people that I haven't seen in a while. Always been cool with you man, but I do understand why you among others dont post over on SIN anymore.

    And Poohbah, how did I know that if you responded, it was going to be with a response like that. Seriously, I said to myself "Ohh, Marshall posts over here? If he reads this he's going to say something about how SQers talk to me and we aren't loud" LoL :p
     
  7. sandt38

    sandt38 Full Member

    I'll second this. We got to talking about some of the SIN guys that we missed. Of course Monty came up, but I'm embarrased I forgot to mention Josh :oops: . Good to see you around bud. When I browsed the initial thread this morning I thought about Marshall's upcoming comment :p .

    Anyways, to the fellas that don't know, Josh is a wealth of info when it comes to SQ installation. Also, Josh likes to change his gear like most people change socks :p . He has alot of hands on with alot of gear. Truely a benefit to any forum, and a welcome addition to our little home.

    Did you opt out of the 3 way XR set, or is it just that they didn't work in your install? Last I talked to you, you were getting the XRs (yeah, it's been a while).

    Welcome aboard Josh, I am pleased to see a man of your caliber joining CAT. :alien:
     
  8. josh99ta

    josh99ta Full Member

    And there is the other person I was talking about when I made that comment above, good ol Seth. Yeah man, settled on the XRs and they have been treating me very well ever since. Full range vs. full range, the midbass and authority are a touch off what the Kodas were doing, but with a sub both sets of midbasses sound awesome and pack plenty of punch. Just had to dial the tweeter back -3 dB on the crossover and switch the phase of the 4" mid in the pass kick and the whole sound came together. Also, had to stop switching out equipment so much. One reason was because I got those XRs on a SWEET deal and while I could make some profit on them, it's not worth it to me to sell them because I like them so much. Same goes for my Phoenix Gold Tantrum amps. Finally found some stuff I really like. I wanted three ways and found them, wanted solid amps and found them, not alot else to get. And then I got all the old stuff I loved for the daily driver (mainly the Kodas). Thanks for the warm welcome man. Hows business been?
     
  9. sandt38

    sandt38 Full Member

    Thanks Josh...

    I'm glad to hear the XRs are workin out well for you. Cort (flawlesskid) will be pleased to find another PG man aboard too ;).

    Buisness has been pickin up again lately, but it fell off for a while. Just glad to be on the upswing again ;).

    Anyways, I gotta keep it short, my lunch is almost up. As I said before, glad to see you here Josh. If you need anything, drop me a line.
     
  10. geolemon

    geolemon Full Member

    SPL = SPeak Louder
    ...I can't hear you... what did you say?
    :lol:

    maybe.... Spent Piles of Legal tender ?

    :lmfao:
     
  11. trifle

    trifle Full Member

    Welcome to CAT man..
     
  12. geolemon

    geolemon Full Member

    I have faith it'll be picking up again.. ;)
    I need to get you up to speed on what's going on over here! :cool:
     
  13. geolemon

    geolemon Full Member


    <!--QuoteBegin-sandt38
    @Dec 8 2003, 06:17 PM
    We got to talking about some of the SIN guys that we missed. [/quote]
    SIN is certainly a forum that I don't miss going to...
    I've never seen so much :stupid: in my life. :lol:
    No doubt there are some great people over there... and every forum of course has it's newbies, and immaturity episodes, and lemming movements...
    But when you pile all that into an aggressive environment...
    No thanks. :bye:

    Glad to see some "good guys" over here though, always!
     
  14. trifle

    trifle Full Member

    o wow a certain someone has the last THREE posts :bye:

    :lmfao:
     
  15. The_Ancient

    The_Ancient Full Member

    I have faith it'll be picking up again.. ;)
    I need to get you up to speed on what's going on over here! :cool: [/b][/quote]
    Well I may not be a Dealer anymore, but you could keep me in the loop as well ;)


    I think you need a new web design :D :D :D
     
  16. geolemon

    geolemon Full Member

    lol...

    You know, I'm actually taking a college course, in web design and accessibility using CSS...

    I'm redoing my personal pages as we speak!

    You are definitely right though, on our web design. It'll get there.
    I think the web design needs to follow the products, and the product concepts keep evolving... our website would be a mess if we didn't just leave it alone until we really solidified things! :lol:
     
  17. The_Ancient

    The_Ancient Full Member

    I am been thinking about going back to school myself (maybe in August)

    The State Collage has a Course in Web Management whcu covers everything from sever Managment, Networking and Web Design

    2 Year associates Degree

    i just dont know if it is worth the time and money
     
  18. sandt38

    sandt38 Full Member

    I have faith it'll be picking up again.. ;)
    I need to get you up to speed on what's going on over here! :cool: [/b][/quote]
    I got a few boxes sittin around over here!!! Let's have at it!!!

    I was so busy all weekend. My firewood guy broke down and needed some help, so I was workin most of the weekend. Well, I got plenty of free firewood this winter so it worked out well for both of us ;) . You gonna be around tonight or tomorrow? I'll give you a holler.
     
  19. geolemon

    geolemon Full Member

    State colleges aren't too much... that's why I'm doing this now, while I'm not employed...
    I'm just taking one class in web design though...
    A whole degree in it I am sure would be valuable - obviously, it's something you love to do... it would make you more valuable to that end! :yes:
     
  20. The_Ancient

    The_Ancient Full Member

    No I think it would cost me like $3K for the degree, maybe a little more, ($75 per credit hour)

    I am still reasearching the fields, and the possiblites for such a degree the thing with thsi while it may be geared toward web design it covers soo much that any aspect of IT it open