My Passion For Noise


When I was about 14 or 15, I got in to home audio because a neighborhood friend was a designer and audiophile of sorts. So most of the money I could scrape up went to HiFi Buys near the oil change place where I worked… and Crutchfield.
I had so much stuff I don’t remember it all but at its best my system had a pair of Cerwin vega 15″ 3-ways and a pair of Advent 2-ways, driven by a Carver Integrated amp/tuner with a Soundcraftsmen 3rd octave EQ looped in. No CD’s back then, then so cassettes were played in a Nakamichi deck… or we jammed FM stereo.
The Eagles “Take It Easy” and Dire Straits “Money For Nothing” would bring tears to your eyes. The high’s were crisp yet buttery smooth. Mids were present, natural, and well-balanced. And the bass would knock pictures off the walls, you could feel it in your soul with no muddiness or dead zones to speak of. It was a great combination that took lots of buying, selling, bartering, and experimentation.
When I started driving, I wired a system in the first, and every subsequent ride I had, except the motorcycles. The most radical autosound system I had was a wall in a 2 door sentra with two 15’s and four 10’s. I bought the box from a friend I met at Nashville Tech who had won a few shows with it. I cut enough of the Sentra out to make that box fit and loaded with with Rockford Fosgate’s that specd similar space requirements as the drivers the box was made for. I drove each 15 with a Punch 150 amp and I drove the four 10’s with 2 Sherwood 240’s bridged to 2 Channels. Talk about some heaters! LOL but hey, they were BANGIN!

Now I’m 50 something and I have as close to a bulletproof combination of speakers and amp that you can get at the price point. I settled on this configuration after blowing probably 12 or 14 subs and 6 or 7 amplifiers. So i like to drive my bass to the extreme. I like to feel it. And I may tend to sacrifice some of that smoothness and butteriness for a hard slap on the back at 32Hz.

I have destroyed Fosgate, Yamaha, Alpine, and I think a Kicker as far as drivers go. And i’ve smoked Infinity, Sony, and multiple Hifonics amps. And then I decided to see how 2 Skar 12’s in an OEM box would do on a Taramps Smart 3000 at 1 Ohm. And let me tell you what… I’m probably jinxing it but… I have had the same 2 subs and box since Feb. 2021 and they still hit hard and sound great. And I’ve tried to kill that Taramps amp and I can’t. I know this is lower-end equipment but I am very impressed with it, because no matter how much punishment I put the system through, they just keep on playing.
So if you are in the market for two 12’s and an amp at the lower price points that are well paired and proven to be reliable in my book, here is what I am running:
Skar 12″ SDR Series Vented Subwoofer Enclosure SDR-2X12D4

Taramps SMART3 3000W Class D Monoblock Smart Amplifier

NOTE: It’s critically important that you have adequate and proper power for these amps. This means you will probably want 1/0-gauge power and ground wires. A high output alternator, Additional batteries, and/or caps may be required. Be sure to consult the equipment manufacturers and/or certified autosound professionals for power requirements, etc…