Putting the sub into play
 

Now that many people are doing the sub thing, we should discuss what music will give it the most exercise. I think we should stay with actual music and not test sounds or thumpy synthetic bass beats that kids play in their bewinged pseudo-drifters to overcome the bee fart exhaust noise.

Essam mentioned Bob Marley played well for him. "Back in Your Head", by Tegan and Sara is probably my deepest one. I want more! Post your suggestions.

As I am only playing songs through iPod using Intravee, the deep sound depends on several thing ... the EQ settings, the ripping quality, ... etc..

As a matter of fact, all MP3s ripped over 256k sounds perfect.. I never change the bass control setting on the headunit.. my iPod EQ is set on "Rock" all the time. I listen to all kinds of music, Oldies, Jazz, Salsa, Latin, Hard Rock, and of course a lot of Arabic music.

You can never reach a common setting. It is a matter of personal preference at the end :)

I am using Intravee too - Bob Marley "Rebel Music" sounds great :bow::thumbup:
Essam is right, different songs, albums sound different so sometimes I adjust bass control on the headunit but for the most part this system (sub box + Alpine sub) just perfect :band:

Rating a sound system.....
 

Given that the speaker combination in a sound system 'make'(?) the sound system, how does the Premium Sound system w/ DSP, but with its factory subwoofer replaced with the Essam Box, rate with you audiophiles? Would this rate at or near 'good+' sound listening quality or should the speaker combination be further modified?

Interesting! Being a Marley fan, myself, I did appreciate how Essam's Box(?) brought out the musical arrangements in other songs like BB King's, "The thrill is gone" - his 'Lucille' almost cries!, Alice Coltrane's, "Journey in Satchidananda", (talking about orchestration....!), then there are Santana and Isaac Hayes, among other ballads, that sound so much more 'rich' now, too! (Thank you - again - Essam!)

That is the jam!! Especially the version that features Bob Marley with Krayzie Bone....they are rolling in a BMW in the video! - It Rocks with an Essam Box!

I paid iTunes the 30c per song to convert my 128k MP3s to the 256k standard. Now, iTunes has most everything on 256k.

This is after I paid $40 for a program that would convert the iTunes format to MP3 so I could use my Garmin GPS to play the tunes through the aux input.

Before I did all this speaker stuff, I was wondering how good MP3s really were. With the 256k and new speakers it all sounds very good to me. I am not sure you can hear the difference from 126 to 256. Some people say they can, or that some tunes are improved noticeably and some are not. All I know is that it is the best standard and it all sounds really good to me.

My first introduction to "good" music in a car was a friend's Ford, around a mid-50s model, that had a factory built-in 45rpm record player. I think the tone arm and cartridge weighed about a pound and the needle was, hmmm, sturdy, but it sounded good to us. It would not track while driving, so you could only use it when parked.

Talking about learning something new every day....I didn't know they made a built-in 45rpm record player for a car!! I would love to see one of those in action! I still remember my first RCA victor box (white and burgundy) that I got for X-mas when I was a kid.......I still have 2 stacks of 45's (mainly Motown hits) from the 60's - 70's. Those were the days! :p:

Rage Against the Machine - Renegades of Funk

This will test your whole system, not just the sub.

This Ford also had a tinted plastic roof, the front third or so! When I posted the record player part I was thinking that car would be valuable today. More so now that I remember the plastic roof. Of course it had the mighty V8, not as fast as a modern 4-cylinder, but the glass packs sure made it sound cool. The interior was either an aftermart tuck and roll or a factory semi-tuck and roll, as was the fashion of the day. It was super-trendy car, in and out. I don't know what American car you could compare it to today. The function-over-form designs are better, of course, but the custom look is still interesting to me.

I still have a quality Denon record player stashed away, and a big box of records. I sometimes think about hooking it up, but then I remember the incredible hassle of records, the pops and scratches and all that. I don't buy into the "higher quality" sound that is creating a record come-back.

My mother had a box of old jazz and blues records. 78s, mono of course. They look like they were played on a $12 dollar player, but they need to go to someone who will digitalize them and clean up any defects. They could have some historical value and it would be neat to have them on disk or MP3 to enjoy.