Unknowledgeable Shops

[Deschain420]

I like you!

Just as friends though right?

[Mrbubbles00482]

The fact is, that the shop "did competitions", is why I was surprised they hadn't heard of ANY of the top tier competition brands; not just Fi.

This can be true.

I've worked at two shops, one which I am employed at. Both did shows/comps, the one I work at now is only knowledgeable on the big 3. They didn't know about DC, FI, Ascendant, SSA or any of that...the other shop knew the big three, FI and that's it...Let's not get into power wire recommendations for appropriate power..

You have to think, these are RETAIL shops...online distributes and companies that don't have street cred as "name brand" and don't have many dealers nation wide aren't appealing...

Hell, we are an RE and Crossfire dealers and it's hard enough to persuade those over diamond..

I see the retail world and "our" world different I guess you could say...retails are there to make money, with "name brands". Kicker, Memphis, Diamond, Rockford, Infinity, Panasonic, Pioneer. Now don't get me wrong.. these companies make good stuff, but it's not everyday you have people coming in a buying Solox's and Rockford 2500's...Unless it's a custom shop also that does lot's of fiberglass work and larger installs, 75% of customers stick with entry level or maybe one step up..

Literally...I had someone say they would rather have 2 P2 12's over a LvL 4 XL 10" even after hearing it and watching my broken roof brace flex. Two completely different worlds.

It's not that they are not knowledgeable...well not all the time, but the thing is they are there to sell what people ask for.

Btw ya the box and powerwire ordeal was rediculous..

[TeamHT]

since it hasnt been done figured id try it on for size...

just a couple things i want to point out. even though i find this topic to be overrused, oversaid, and basically just beating a deadhorse, i do agree to an extent youre new and just looking to post. maybe the mods were a bit harsh but you have to understand their point of view on this topic. not to mention the same logic you use stating they dont have to read the thread or risk losing members and visiters to the forum also works both ways. you dont have to post here, if the mods seem mean to you, you dont need to come back, if you dont like it then dont come back.

now to your post =)

there are going to be a lot of retail shops that wont be familiar with some of the lesser known companies that really are only available online. and a lot of competitions are local, regional, and not always what you see on tv. its not hard to imagine that a lot of the local events are with people who dont know some of these online brands, let alone about websites like SMD. my first vehicle was built with a wall with four team rf 12s but i never entered any bass comps or show my stuff off besides people wanting demos.

d3s are awesome subs. of course, nothing like my btls but VERY good speakers. and on your rant about overpricing stuff...a friend of mine ive known since high school has a shop here in town. he sold 2 12" l7s....for $1200. and charged $450 to make a box. and sold a capacitor....for his 1000watt amp.....HA HA HA HA. sometimes...you get what you pay for. but businesses are in it to make money.

[fritosaregood]

I can understand the topic being old to those of you who have been here for a period of time...but the posting of how tired you are of hearing something, from someone very, very new here...especially by mods, I cannot.

It comes off as very elitist, and it's certainly not conductive to keeping members coming back to the site, let alone contributing.

And the fact remains that you are not required to look at a thread. If you don't like the topic, or are tired of hearing it...move on. Don't take something we all are supposed to enjoy and make it a negative because you've heard it all before.

To answer your question: I have known of Fi for a couple years. My preference is based on hearing them in person, and the performance for dollar ratio. I feel that you cannot touch their level of quality at that price, IMO. And their looks really remind of the old Ev, which I have fond memories of. Then again, you probably never heard of them because they were popular before you were walking and talking.

The fact is, that the shop "did competitions", is why I was surprised they hadn't heard of ANY of the top tier competition brands; not just Fi.

As an aside, I have known of Meade for a couple years as well...and while I am a fan of his, his videos or choice of equipment has nothing to do with my choices. I didn't sign up here because I'm on his nuts; I only signed up recently because I love car audio, and I'm in the planning stages of a new system and wanted to learn and share from the vast pool of personal experience here; like everyone else.

How many comps have you been to where there have been fi subs? I dont think there has ever been any ive been in. There also hasnt been any other Tc sounds/audiopulse or T3 audio stuff. or even sundown except my amps. and usually when you do see someone with some. they dont really know what they are doing and meter low, so the shops impression of the sub isnt good. Do you think RE is a good brand? a guy at a comp i was at sunday had 2 RE 15s bragging about how good they were and that my 18 TSNS was crap because "the cone on 18s are too heavy" He got and 88 in his first steetbeat run because he didnt know anything about it, I think his highest spl score was 136ish, and my heavy 18 shamed him.

and your right, ive never heard of EV because ive never been around it. Does that make me retarded?? Look at my setup and tell me im just some stupid punk kid with a system because i havent heard of EV

And what are you comparing Fi to to say it the best for the money? unless your tried 50+ brands you cant definitively say that.

also about shops... If they say they did comps. they probably "did comps" in the 90s or early 2000s before Fi was really around. thats how most of the shops around here are. bragging about how many trophies they have from way back then. Using equipment you havent heard of.

Shops also get really cocky about there knowledge because be honest. How many ppl do you think go in there trying to talk about how good there setups are that actually know anything? Theres a show around here that tries to give me 4 gauge when i ask for 0 and 8 when i ask for 4, theyve never heard my setup though. Another one held a comp a month or so ago, id gone i there talked to them a bit about sundown and audiopulse and one guy knew of them. they didnt really think much of me. At the comp they hardly said a word to me, until after all the runs of 132s-143s had gone and i did my 152.1 they i was really popular with them. So show the shop your fi sub, demo for them, get there name out there more. dont just come on here and throw up all your red flags...

[Mr. Darkjustice]

i just find it funny how some people reacted over his first or among his first posts being somethin others have posted. but there are people that post the same question 50 times lol

[Deschain420]

just a couple things i want to point out. even though i find this topic to be overrused, oversaid, and basically just beating a deadhorse, i do agree to an extent youre new and just looking to post. maybe the mods were a bit harsh but you have to understand their point of view on this topic. not to mention the same logic you use stating they dont have to read the thread or risk losing members and visiters to the forum also works both ways. you dont have to post here, if the mods seem mean to you, you dont need to come back, if you dont like it then dont come back.

You are correct...I was testing the waters in a new place for me to gauge the community. Reading the forums can only go so far, so you need to interact. Especially something subjective like audio. Might as well be religion or politics.

And I totally understand their (or anyone's), aggravation at something which has apparently become commonplace. Just not used to the approach. And while you have a valid point of me, or others not having to post here either...it is certainly not the goal of this site (or car audio in general), to become stagnant, with the same small handful of people posting. Unless I'm mistaken, as I can't speak for Meade and those who run/mod things here...but communities that want to stay small, tend to be invite only.

now to your post =)

d3s are awesome subs. of course, nothing like my btls but VERY good speakers. and on your rant about overpricing stuff...a friend of mine ive known since high school has a shop here in town. he sold 2 12" l7s....for $1200. and charged $450 to make a box. and sold a capacitor....for his 1000watt amp.....HA HA HA HA. sometimes...you get what you pay for. but businesses are in it to make money.

Again, I didn't say Diamond was junk...just not Fi, as you said yourself. And at almost twice the cost of similar spec Fi, they are overpriced. My issue was lack of what I consider to be general knowledge to those into basic car audio nowadays (maybe I'm wrong there for expecting an audio shop to be up on info with audio outside of mass brands?), but more importantly, it was price gouging to fit what they normally charge for "typical" installs, rather than just making a decent/good profit; which I am all for!

[Deschain420]

How many comps have you been to where there have been fi subs?

None. I've never been to a competition at all. I don't care about who's the loudest, or who has the most wattage. I just love music and electronics in general, and I like to drive.

Do you think RE is a good brand?

Can't say. They seem like they make good stuff, but I've never heard them in person, and that's what matters.

a guy at a comp i was at sunday had 2 RE 15s bragging about how good they were and that my 18 TSNS was crap because "the cone on 18s are too heavy" He got and 88 in his first steetbeat run because he didnt know anything about it, I think his highest spl score was 136ish, and my heavy 18 shamed him.

But hey...Cool story bro!

and your right, ive never heard of EV because ive never been around it. Does that make me retarded?? Look at my setup and tell me im just some stupid punk kid with a system because i havent heard of EV

Wow. A little touchy there for no reason. It's not your fault there was car audio before you born. I'm not upset that there TV's before I was born. Lighten up.

And what are you comparing Fi to to say it the best for the money? unless your tried 50+ brands you cant definitively say that.

They're the best for MY money. I don't need to hear every speaker on the market to tell you that, and I don't have to justify my personal opinion to anyone. I like the color blue. Should I paint my car every other color so I prove to you, for sure that I like blue?

So while I may listen to your thoughts on a matter, I think the point that it's my opinion and choice in the end will be missed by you.

Another one held a comp a month or so ago, id gone i there talked to them a bit about sundown and audiopulse and one guy knew of them. they didnt really think much of me. At the comp they hardly said a word to me, until after all the runs of 132s-143s had gone and i did my 152.1 they i was really popular with them.

I bet they felt stupid prejudging you and your equipment huh? Another cool story bro!

So show the shop your fi sub, demo for them, get there name out there more. dont just come on here and throw up all your red flags...

If it was just because they didn't know about the brand, or big 3 etc...that would be something I would do.

But right now, I'm going to throw up two red flags just because you told me not to.

And another, super absorbent flag (think Maxi-Flag, with wings), for how hard you were sweating me in parts of your reply. Not sure why you were so touchy, and am trying to joke around...but you're welcome to stay mad or whatever.

And on that note, I bid you a good day.

[Rogers]

Diamond is good shit... its my favorite main stream brand...

anyhow you threw a red flag by telling 2 different mods to stay out of your thread...IT IS THEIR JOB TO READ YOUR THREADS!... thats what they do...

[clintcav]

These kind of posts were what we used to laugh about 15 years ago when people argued over too much polyfill and common chamber and divided boxes, amps that weren't made in USA with their false watt ratings and why would you need bigger than a 4 gauge wire. Im 33 yrs old and back in the day you didn't have the internet to learn from. Ported and bandpass box building was like a trade secret. It was just build a sealed box the biggest you could possibly fit even if it was twice the size it should be. We ran subs with 60 oz magnets and were still hitting hard or at least we thought it was. Car audio is cheap now compared to what it was, and it there are fewer "real shops" than there used to be. A shop cant compete to the flea market or ebay. Most shops now just do a radio and speaker upgrade and add a simple sub enclosure. So if you already know all about car audio then why would you go in there? And do you only know about Fi, Dc, or AA because of this forum? Probably. I didn't know either until I came across a Meade video on youtube. I thought my power HX2 18s were the shit

[DClark3one3]

Deschain, im just curious as too what shop your are talking about?

Theres one shop close to me that alot of my friends have went to, and im just plain out sick of fixing there hack jobs.....

And to clintcav, power hx2's are the shit lol. Granted they cant keep up with whats out there today.