Which brand?

Brands to avoid, and brands to aim for.

The following is a list of good and bad brands to look out for or avoid when you're out ICE shopping.

Maybe you've seen something in a shop, and it's a brand you've never heard of before?

Check here and see which list it's in!

The Good (A-List)

A/D/S

Alpine

AudioControl

Becker

Blaupunkt

CDT Audio

Celestra

Clarion

Crystal

Diamond Audio

Digital Designs

Directed Audio

DLS

Focal

Genesis

Helix

Hifonics

JL Audio

MB Quart

Nakamichi

Orion

Phase Linear

Phoenix Gold

Pioneer

Precision Power

Rainbow

Resonant Engineering (RE)

Rockford Fosgate (RF)

Sinfoni

Soundstream

SPL Dynamics

TRU

US Amps

Viper

Xtant

Zapco

The Good (B-List)

Fusion

Infinity

JBL

JVC

Kenwood

Lightning Audio

Mac Audio

Magnat

Maystar

Vibe / Fli

The Bad

Aiwa

Audiobahn

Berolina

Boschmann

Boss Audio

Crunch

Goodmans

Lanzar

Longmill

Megavox

Mutant X

Purple Mosfet

Pyle

RM Audio

Shark

Sony

Toxic

VRX

... and the Ugly

SPLx

Renegade

Remember that this list is not exhaustive (please PM me with any additions/omissions), and that certain manufacturers, although listed above, have different strengths in different areas.

Edited 22 March, 200719 yr by Foxie

why Vibe??

not the best gear....

although stated:

"certain manufacturers, although listed above, have different strengths in different areas."

their Monoblock 4 is good... but I'm biased as i own one.. id tend to swing towards other budget manufacturers for all other stuff such as lower spec amps and speakers.

need an amp to power mine

Thinking of selling though and going the JL route

to power your what ?

drop me a pm with what speakers you have..etc and your budget and ill see what i can dig out.

i have sony stuff all round, and its all good!

it really isnt.....

or are you just saying that on the basis that you've probably heard noting better ?

for the money there is much better kit..

You may or may not have noticed how Sony ICE is always getting a slating... There is a reason for this, and I shall attempt to answer this as fairly as possible.

Sony make excellent in-home products, and their hi-fi gear and TVs, etc are excellent quality. The brand just sells on the name alone. Sony is synonymous with quality.

This association is what sells their ICE. Reputation.

Unfortunately, the reserach and development team don't bother about the ICE. They just mass produce tat that basically "does the job" and no more. The quality isn't great, but the Sony badge is there, so the public will buy it. It is expensive for what it does, and much better deals are out there.

Their gear is aimed at the common kev, and for those who don't know any better, Sony is where it's at.

Advertising slogans such as:

"Maybe you like your music to be relaxing. Or maybe you like to shatter greenhouses and set off car alarms."

... and...

"With 1000w, you're sure not to be the only person hearing it."

Don't help matters.

Don't be duped - don't buy Sony ICE.

Some other good low budget brands to look out for are Magnat, JBL, Maystar and Mac Audio...

I disagree about the vibe bit

I disagree about the vibe bit

moved. :)

it really isnt.....

or are you just saying that on the basis that you've probably heard noting better ?

for the money there is much better kit..

no man I've heard some good stuff, I've got kinetic's in my mk.3. I'm just saying there good. Not everyone wants 12" subs for there banging Drum and bass.

Good for me anyway. :)

it really isnt.....

or are you just saying that on the basis that you've probably heard noting better ?

for the money there is much better kit..

no man I've heard some good stuff, I've got kinetic's in my mk.3. I'm just saying there good. Not everyone wants 12" subs for there banging Drum and bass.

Good for me anyway. :)

exactly, as long as your happy!

i have a 12" for my drum and bass :)

but the sub alone cost me £230.. amp £400...so its a bit better than you are X-

PLOP :)

1. thats just snobery. A mk.3 costs less than a Mk.6 and id rather have a 3! if you get my point

2.Dont you drive a corsa?

sorry. cheap shot

i have issues with your list

jl should be in B

as should anything to do with Directed, ADS,VIPER ect

jvc and jbl should be in the A list, and magnet actualy, ok there not up to zapco standards but the price reflects that and they are exelent value for money

hifonics should be in B and the new crunch lines should also be in B

I think everyone will have issues a with "list" like that.

Opinion and catagorising a brand based on the poor/strong performance of a number of specific proucts is always going to be wrong to a certin degree.

one thing I am curious about foxie, have you actually experienced product from every single one of the brands mentioned above or is based on reputation.

In fact scratch experience- have you actually bench tested them all as that would really be the only way to catagorise them so blatantly?

Then there is of course opinion, welsh_barnie beleives JL should be moved down to B list and JVC and JBL moved up to A list due to value for money. I might disagree? Also the list is what is "good" and "bad". In terms of what exactly? value for money? performance? technology and innovation? ease of use and install???

Having been involved in ICE for nearly 9 years and currently working for the UK's Largest independant ICE distributor I have seen fashions in brands come and go myself. Until people are in a position to test a lot of kit (for example Adam Raynor) then really I think they arent in a position to dictate what is "good" and "bad.

all the above is purely my opinion of course

who do you work for,

OK second thoughts about JL, may be they can stay i do like JL gear but there just to expensive for the lower end gear

to be honest, i copied that list from somewhere else.. most of it is peformance related in certain areas.. its more a case of the better all round brand.. it not meant to be kept to religiously but its a guide of what to look out for, mainly for inexperienced ICE peeps.

for example if "my mate Dave from the pub offered me a 3000watt renegade amp" for £150 and i knew nothing about ice id think i was getting a bargain..

id look here and realise as a brand Renegade is complete poo..where as if it was US Amps or directed id know it was possibly worth the money.....

like you said, youve been in the industry 9 years, you're experienced and know what you want, from experience... this is for the beginners :)

that list is straight from a thread on TA if I'm not very much mistaken...

who do you work for,  

OK second thoughts about JL,  may be they can stay    i do like JL gear but there just to expensive for the lower end gear

BBG - I'm faz@BBG off talkaudio

who do you work for,  

OK second thoughts about JL,  may be they can stay    i do like JL gear but there just to expensive for the lower end gear

BBG - I'm faz@BBG off talkaudio

yer thought so i cant keep up with name changes

foxie when he says hes been in the industry 9 years he means he the chief tea boy

has focal official y been added to the port folio yet

who do you work for,  

OK second thoughts about JL,  may be they can stay    i do like JL gear but there just to expensive for the lower end gear

BBG - I'm faz@BBG off talkaudio

yer thought so i cant keep up with name changes

foxie when he says hes been in the industry 9 years he means he the chief tea boy

has focal official y been added to the port folio yet

cheeky fecker!

Focal Has been on the official portfolio for a while now, we have just launched the new Focal Amplifiers at the CAR trade show :)

that list is straight from a thread on TA if I'm not very much mistaken...  

yep probably lol :(

good as i have a issue you may be able to help me with

have you had any issues with the access subs, i had one and loved it, had a dry solder so went off for repair, got new one then, chucked it in box and it would seal, thought it was me, not to much of an issue not sealing you know quite common, now i tried everything in the world to seal it even bought a new box @ £50 and siliconed all of it and it still would seal, tried ported and it still sounded gash, i gave up

but i think its down to the weave not being tight enough, thats all i can think of, have you had any other issues

hhhmm- now thats a wierd one. Thing is unless the box was a custom job- It will leak regardless. even with sealant round all th inner joins, the front face of the box where the sub meets the box normally has such a large play in it that when you put the sub in without screwing it down, you can still move it!

What you have to remember is that every sub has a different "lip" on the under side top edge of the basket, some will join to an off the shelf box quite well- some wont!

Have you tried building a custom box of your own?

EDIT: what spec was the box when ported? tuning? box volume?

hhhmm- now thats a wierd one. Thing is unless the box was a custom job- It will leak regardless. even with sealant round all th inner joins, the front face of the box where the sub meets the box normally has such a large play in it that when you put the sub in without screwing it down, you can still move it!  

What you have to remember is that every sub has a different "lip" on the under side top edge of the basket, some will join to an off the shelf box quite well- some wont!

Have you tried building a custom box of your own?

EDIT: what spec was the box when ported? tuning? box volume?

first 2 sealed boxes were "off the shelf, on the back off the sub theres grip grooves things so after it wouldnt seal with carpet i tried cutting the carpet away and i bought a rubber sheet and made a gasket which should have done the trick and didnt, next i tried a silicone layer no luck

inside of boxes was varnished and sealed and i tried talc and know the box was fine, it was ok with the old sub

ported was around 1.5cuft i think tuned to low 30's

actualy i did make a custom sealed and that didnt work, forgot we made it round a mates

I'm sure the air is coming straight through the cone