Rep Power: 0

I went saturday to circuit city to install:

Alpine CDA-9833 headunit
Alpine KCA-420i (ipod adapter to hook my ipod to my car using Ai-net)
Polk db650 (front speakers)
Polk db680 (back speakers)

They did an OK job except i think they

1. overcharged me for the front 6.5 installation (133$ just for the front). They said they had to cut holes in the door and put spacers but 133$ is too expensive
2. They left all the damn factory screws from the stock speakers rattling between the metal in the back above the trunk area (annoying as hell)...So I took it back and after waiting forever they took them out an they told me no charge (They were thinking of charging me? HA)

Sounds pretty good (because of the v-drive) without a subwoofer and i love how the ipod displays artist, album, song title on the screen although navigating through the ipod songs can be annoying.

Anyone have any experience with the audiobahn powered subwoofers?

 
Rep Power: 786

audiobahn is awful. build quality is horrible and so is sound quality and electrical component quality. internally, their amplifiers are similar to pyramid (cheapy cheapy brand).

for example, I had some tight fitting RCA's and an audiobahn line driver. after unplugging and plugging them in a few times the RCA's plain fell apart and I had to replace it with one of GOOD quality

 
Rep Power: 786

$133 is too much for the front speakers though. They should not have to cut the front doors at all. They should just have to put in spacers which cost a few dollars each maybe and they just snap in so install should be free

 
Rep Power: 288

audiobahn def isnt garbage, but like n e other manufacturer they make a low, mid and high quality/level of products to meet n e users needs. u shouldnt judge a manufacturer by there worst product...

 
Rep Power: 0

I know Audiobahn has some kick *** amps. I just don't want all that crap in my trunk. I don't want ghetto thumpin from 2 streets over bass... i just want something to fill up the low end.

This is the powered bass cylinder for Audiobahn.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Audio...oductDetail.do

 
Rep Power: 528

Audiobahn are the only amps that are chrome, and chrome holds heat like a ****, which is why they're the only amps that come with cooling fans because they get so hot.

For some reason, people seem to think that chrome makes things on your car look good. Because of this, manufacturers do things like make amps that are chrome plated.

Anyway, I hear it's pretty common for Audiobahn amps to overheat. I don't know about the quality, tho.

 
Rep Power: 786

Of course not. I judge them by all of their products. The low is stuff is more horrible or at least AS horrible as their high end stuff, but the high end stuff is still bad. There are a few (very few) exceptions of course, I mean I would shank my own mother between the eyes if the reward was an A5000SPL (http://www.cardomain.com/item/ABNA5000SPL) (Just kidding mom!). That is one of their museum worthy pieces but 95% of the other stuff is just awful.

I give a lot of respect to their work that actually is high quality and high end, but that doesn't change the fact that the overwhelming majority is still entry level. A lot of the emphasis behind their brand as I am sure you can tell is on showiness and flashiness and is geared toward the newbie or the mid-level enthusiast. Only a select few really have a need for the high end stuff, to put it to its intended use.

I believe that since so few people actually do use their GOOD lines is what gives them a poor reputation since the huge majority of people use their low to mid level lines without having a chance to see what the high quality stuff is truly capable of.

 
Rep Power: 328

All audiobahn products are just flashy peices of garbage. I've yet to hear or see a piece of equipment that I actually thought sounded decent by them.

$100-$150 is a common price for a component set install. figure on $60 an hour for any labor.

 
Rep Power: 328

This would rape that Audiobahn competition amp: http://www.zapco.com/prod/comp_prods/c2k4kwFrame.htm

 
Rep Power: 812

CC did a terrible job installing dynamat. Just pressed it on, no roller or anything so I had to redo that.

They used 1 inch long screws to install a grill and pierced through the sub box.

My front door speaker spacers are broken from the screws they used, so now the door panel won't go on completely.

 
Rep Power: 786

Many amps have cooling fans. The Phoenix Gold Titanium and Xenon series do for example. The PG Ti Elite MPH10K has like... lots and lots of fans which are computer controlled (smart cooling)

 
Rep Power: 786

P.S.: The Elite MPH10K would rape all your sissy little girl amps

2500wrms x 4 > j00

http://www.phoenixgold.com/2004/tielitemph10k.html

 
Rep Power: 320

that would rape your ears too :P

 
Rep Power: 328

That doesnt count, its not a production amp.

 
Rep Power: 786

Not YET available for purchase... not YET... that would imply that it is a production amp, just not quite on the market YET

Good audio conversation today in here if I do say so myself

 
Rep Power: 786

If it didn't, I would be very very very very very disappointed

 
Rep Power: 310

CC put 2.5" screws through my buddy's amps, into the back of the rear seats on his bmw, and uhhhh, through the front of the seats too. DOH They had to give him everything for free, Amps, 3 ways, Screen, Rears, Cap, Box, subs everything-free. The seats were still worth more. Thats a hell of a mistake that installer made!

Jason

 
Rep Power: 328

It's said its under development for over 6 months...still no production date. That means its not a production amp yet, therefor it doesnt count.

 
Rep Power: 328

If he had the money for a BMW why didnt he go to a real car audio shop? And why didnt they get him new seats?

 
Rep Power: 528

I was gonna ask that, too.

 
Rep Power: 786

Why you ask? Because in classic Circuit City style, they attempted to fix the problem and ended up fixing absolutely nothing

 
Rep Power: 310

Dude, I didnt' say he had the money for the BMW. LOL. He borrowed like 15 grand @ 10.5%.

I actaully offered to do the install for him but he didn't trust me. Oh well, I wouldn't have put a spike through your leather man. Besides, he went to CC for the same reason he accepted 10.5% interest, he's dumb as a stump.

 
Rep Power: 0

Problem #1: You bought crap. Problem #2: You bought it from Circuit City. Problem#3: You paid them to install it.

 
Rep Power: 0

maybe #3 is correct but polk is not crap and alpine HU's are definetely not crap...

 
Rep Power: 310

yeah, 9833 is one of the better HUs you can get for the money.

 
Rep Power: 328

I think Polk is crap, but Alpine isnt

 
Rep Power: 346

I disagree...Polk has gone down a lil bit...but they make some of the better entry level speakers, and I love the way their silk tweets sound.

IMO, Polk Entry level speakers at the same price as Alpine's are better.

 
Rep Power: 328

Well I also think Alpine speakers sound like crap (with the exception of the SPX line, but even those dont impress me)

I think Polk sounds just like every other entry level speaker out there...which to me sounds like crap

 
Rep Power: 786

No love for F#1 status Mystic?

 
Rep Power: 323

golden - it looks like you got charged the base rate plus extra labor for your front speaker installs - I'm guessing their custom rates are probably higher. Did they inform you about the extra $$ up front? If they didn't - you have legitimate reason to dispute.

As frustrating and time consuming as DIY can be for me ( I always tell myself never again after I my bady aches and hands are all cut up from a weekend spent doing an install) but then I read threads like this and no way would I want to deal with sub-par installation issues.