I TOTALLY agree with you EXCEPT the Rockford Fosgate. They USED to be GREAT amplifiers I remember my old Punch 400. But ever since they, RF, were bought out by Lighting Audio there amps, HU's, sub's and etc. suck.
And the ONLY problem with the Manufactures that you named off are ALL going to cost more $$$ except for maybe Pioneer, MTX (Which sucks, in my opinion) Sony, or Kicker (Which I also hate.)
The truth is for $600.00 that's NOT going to buy you a very Loud Compition like sound. So try buying used equipment (E-Bay, Forums, Etc).
You also have to ask yourself which type of "setup" you would prefer an SQ (Sound quality) setup or an SPL (I forgot what it stands for) setup. Basically SQ goes for nice tight bass and crystal clear sound and SPL is just, "Boom". It's ALL SPL at competions.
I suggest that you, "Build-Up" your system. Patience is a virtue.
So start with the head unit, I like and in your price range a Kenwood Excelon. They seem to have the best Signal to Noise ratio. Kenwood and Blaukpunkt (Which is a TOTALLY underestimated HU.)
Next get ALL the wiring finished for everything. The wiring is NOT cheap. Ironically I do prefer the RF 0 awg. power/ground wire.
You WILL be AMAZED at what those two things will cost you. You need a good AT LEAST 15-20 feet of no less than 4 awg. power/ground wires.
Fuses, distrubuters, distribution caps (If you want one), MAYBE a better H.O. alternator.
All in all you CAN get a better than stock system for about $600.00 but it won't be what you would probably like it to be. So do it in parts.
Oh yeah and FORGET those kick panels.
Storkdork said:
Don't be afraid to check ebay for some stuff too. You can find some awesome prices there.... You can never go wrong with product from JL Audio, Alpine, MTX, Infinity, Phoenix Gold, Hifonics, Sony, Cerwin Vega, Pioneer Premier, Audiobahn, Eclipse, Kicker, Rockford Fosgate (Punch)....... so many to choose from but these companies have my trust and upmost respect.