Shocking Performance

Bazooka BTA8100FHC 8 Inch Powered Subwoofer

I spoke w/ tech support at Bazooka (well, I called them and kept asking questions and they eventually put me in touch with a techie:)...Super nice staff, gentleman there suggested the 8" are their most popular size for the tight bass it produces. The 100 series amps you do NOT need to run a power wire up to the battery (you don't need ANYTHING besides what's in the "FHC" box). The 250 watt amps you have to manually splice into the speaker wires, and run a fused powerline thru the firewall up to the battery). For me the 8100 sounded perfect, and after installing it this weekend, it does sound perfect! I wasn't looking to win any bass competitions or rattle the parts off of my truck, just fill in all the missing lows in my rock. Fit under the rear seat of my Honda Ridgeline. Not sure how it would sound in a car trunk, but is great in the truck.

Nice advantage is you can put your headunit's bass settings lower, which allows you to turn up your door speakers louder as well w/o pushing them as much. It really adds a big "sound" for pretty cheap and the install, if you are DIY motivated was pretty simple. I ran the wiring under the door sill trim to the back seat even just took a few hours. If you have a Ridgeline search the ridgelineownersclub.com for install pics.

I should advise that my Honda Ridgeline did "not" have the stereo/12v "remote amp" power line that one of the 6 FAST 9999 wires was supposed to splice into. But, their tech support informed me (they answered my tech support request on a Sunday even!!) to just put both of the 9999 power lines into the main ACC/12v switched power line. Not sure if others will have this issue as well, but you can contact them for support on their online forum from their company website if so. Not sure if Amazon will allow this link but you can see the install issue I had and the solution there: [...]

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Sound Improvement / Reduction

Dynamat 10435 Self Adhesive Deadener Xtreme

I tried researching this product prior to the installation, and concluded that it works only if it is applied to the metal surface - for vibration dampening. It does not work as a sound barrier like other thicker sound damning materials do. So it seems to me that some recommendations to apply this product to the car doors look misleading - they show the product being installed in place of the door vapor barrier. The inside panel of the door has lots of openings and crevices, and the mat is not going to block the noise when it just covers a large opening. The best place to apply the product to a car door - is the inside of the outside sheet of metal the door is made of.

I tried to cover as much of the door surface is I could, using every leftover piece in the hard-to-reach places. I also applied some of the product around the speaker grills, and on the plastic grill spacers to kill the sound resonance.

I installed this product to my RAV4 car in steps:

- Front doors. It decreased the front tire noise considerably, but the noise shifted to the back. It was very uncomfortable, it felt like increased noise pressure right behind me.

- Rear wheel wells (inside of the car compartment). I noticed that the car had almost no soundproofing in those areas, so the tire noise leaked inside. Result - the overall noise pressure decreased somewhat, but now I could hear very directional road noise coming from the rear doors. The doors edges facing the rear wheel wells allow the noise to leak through.

- I applied the product to the rear doors, paying special attention to cover the door edge (covered both surfaces inside of the door) opposite of the hinge side. Result - the directional noise decreased a lot, so there is just uniform muffled road noise inside of the car, quite comfortable for my ear.

Of course the wind noise is now much more pronounced - side effect of the road noise decrease. My next plan - to cover the hood under the stock hood liner (the metal there sounds like an empty can) to decrease the engine noise, and add more lining inside of the tailgate to decrease the road noise even further.

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Exceeds expectations so far

SANOXY Transmitter Charger Holder iPhone

I was kindda skeptical about an electronic item that's only $11. Plugged it in and it works just fine! Does what it needs to do. It only offers a very minimal amount of stations but the one I use with it works. There's a bit of static during a silent song change, but you can't hear it when a song is playing. I use my iphone and it does get VERY hot because of the foam backing. I cut a vertical striping through the middle of the foam to give it some ventilation but it still get's hot. So I cut the foam that I took off (quick and it was right there) cut it in little squares and placed them on the strips of foam that is still left on the transmitter. The phone now has about 1/2 inch space between it and the transmitter. Another problem I've encountered was the 12v socket for the transmitter. It was loose. I thought it was the rubber part of the transmitter was not working correctly, but after a minute of looking at it I realized that it wasn't the transmitter but the socket itself. I had to tighten it because the transmitter has a bit of a weight to it, so when you make a sudden turn the weight makes it fall. All I had to do was tighten the socket in the car and it fixed that problem.

Overall, the overheating is the only problem I've faced with this product.

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Outstanding piece of audio equipment!

Rockford Fosgate Processor Integration Capabilities

I was torn between this and the audiocontrol dqxs with the ddc. Both really high quality processors packed with all the features you need for tuning as well as excellent integrated line drivers. This won due to the ability to tune using a full computer screen, which sure beats fuddling through tiny menus on a small controller. The excellent parametric eq in this has allowed me to reinforce any frequencies lacking and turn down high ones. The crossover is accurate and very tunable. I was able to group the speakers and work with the groups in isolation to tune more precisely simply done with checking the groups mute box. You sit in the car and you stay there tuning, not having to jump out continuously and run to the back for gains, or crossovers. In my case where my stock navigation system/multimedia center thing built into the dash seriously lacks tuning wise this unit really shines. The built in bluetooth audio is a nice feature although it's already built into my car, I'm sure someone will find that handy. I did not use the built in oem integration so I don't know how good that is. I'm using an audiocontrol lc6i with summing mode I already had it in there, it's probably the best loc that I have every used, so why change what's worked perfect. The controller they provide with this allows me to select different eq tunes for different genres which is a real nice feature and if using any of the other inputs allows you to toggle in between them. The knobs are assignable I use one for sub volume to turn it up and down and the other for punch eq. No additional bass knob needed. I used to work in car audio for years and I can say most processors are a pain to tune and something your backyard mechanic would be able to use effectively. A novice can use this device, the wizard makes setup a snap and the way they laid out the controls on the main screen it's very intuitive. Call them if you need help they aren't the nicest people but they sure are knowledgeable. All processors of decent quality are not cheap and this is no exception, although I will note when compared to my other choice I sure did save a bunch, and feel I have lost nothing, probably even gained.

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The ONE to Rule Them All

HTC One Factory Unlocked International

I got this app back when I had my Droid Incredible 1 on Verizon, a long time ago and it's always been great. Since then I've replaced my car and changed phones 3 times, and all the while the only thing that stayed constant is this app; it keeps good records of everything I do to my car. It's simple, no bull and straightforward and adding fill up records is surprisingly easy. I have bought a Nexus 10 tablet and downloaded it to my tablet as well, but found that the interface stretches and looks pixelated so I was wondering if they could update the app for tablets and allow syncing across devices (to be fair the Nexus 10's high dpi adds to the pixelation). Currently I save my database to dropbox and download it to my tablet and this keeps me updated but it could be easier. Also wish they could make a Windows 8 app or a web interface but I understand that's a very tall order.

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Niiice.

Cooloy com Car Maintenance Reminder Pro

I got this app back when I had my Droid Incredible 1 on Verizon, a long time ago and it's always been great. Since then I've replaced my car and changed phones 3 times, and all the while the only thing that stayed constant is this app; it keeps good records of everything I do to my car. It's simple, no bull and straightforward and adding fill up records is surprisingly easy. I have bought a Nexus 10 tablet and downloaded it to my tablet as well, but found that the interface stretches and looks pixelated so I was wondering if they could update the app for tablets and allow syncing across devices (to be fair the Nexus 10's high dpi adds to the pixelation). Currently I save my database to dropbox and download it to my tablet and this keeps me updated but it could be easier. Also wish they could make a Windows 8 app or a web interface but I understand that's a very tall order.

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WOW

Rocketfish Mobile Car Charger Rf m657d

I have a consulting business which I am routinely on the phone for a couple of hours a day and I am always looking for a better speakerphone. With that being said, I use this device as a speakerphone and not as a speaker for listening to music. I have owned the previous Jabra 410 version which was good but the newer 510 I believe has better sound quality and connectivity. The 510 connects seamlessly with my iPhone via Bluetooth and I have had no problems with any interruptions. What is great about this speakerphone is the sound quality and clarity. When I call others, they always mention how it sounds like I'm not even on a speakerphone. The battery life on the speakerphone is also very good in that I have spoken for 2 days about 4 hours each day and didn't need to charge it. Finally the speakerphone has a very small footprint so it is very portable and comes with a soft neoprene case. Anyways, I would highly recommend this product if you own a small business or just need a speakerphone for daily use!

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