Is Jaycar's "Response" brand any good?

[Jim]

I'm not looking for competition stuff here, just something that gives good value for money and sounds good.

I'm thinking of buying a decent head unit, but using it with the Response amps and speakers.

it'll work out about a $2000 difference than buying the whole lot from Alpine which is what i'd do if I won lotto...

any thoughts on this approach?

[paradoxx]

the DVC responce subs are suprisingly good!!
just need lots of power!

[tomee]

nuffin wrong with them imo
i used a 4x100respinse amp to drive my JL W3

tho iw ouldnt recommend there amps if you want to run some quality speakers

[robgs13k]

their stuff seems to be very good for the price and will keep up with most other stuff in its price range.
i wouldnt mind trying out a set of their 6.5" kevlar splits going for $199 .looking at their specs and look they look like they will sound good.
their amps also put out a fair bit of power so all up they look to be worthwhile,oh and the saving also helps sweeten things.
Rob

[Kinks]

good value for money, as tomee says if you really care about quality then you can do better but if you're not looking to piss into a gale force wind then they're a good option.

Essentially you get what you pay for. I don't especially like jaycar's car speakers (the response coaxials I mean, although some very simple crossover tweaking would improve the sound) but I would be interested in listening to the $200 splits to see what they're like.

All stores should have a demo board of some of their range, whether they have the kevlar splits on the board I'm not sure though. give the newy store a ring and see if they have them on the board for a listen :)

[Nucci]

Response amps are the best you can get for the money in their price range - As far as I am concerned. I am going to be purchasing the response 2x150w RMS amp soon, it sounds sweet!! However it seems to me it is cheaper to buy these amps online at autospeed than getting them instore at jaycar, so shop around for the best price. But you definitely will not be disappointed with their amps, they are the bees knees :D

[Kinks]

the black 2x150W and 4x100W amps are meant to sound better than the older blue models judging from people I've asked. That's where my preference lies, for amplification on a budget they seem like the best option. If I was going to go past jaycar I'd probably be spending double the price to be sure I was getting something that sounded really good.

[denjam69]

i got the 150x2 running my orion xtr 12inch sub and it pumps.

in a test about 6 months ago in street machine, the re response amps got the best bang for your buck prize.

[Au2low]

Hey, if any of you want jaycar subs or AMP for 20-30% cheaper than the stores, Let me know (all brand new with warranty!)

[snavy]

good bang for your buck, but basically near the bottom of market.

[SteveGT4]

Responce amps about the best bang for your buck, but they have proven to be unreliable. They tend to spike sometimes and have been known to blow subs. Usually if you leave them on about half gain they are ok. But if you turn them up to about 3/4 or higher that cause the problem.

[NinetySix]

if you have the gain up a bees dick from what the head unit is putting out then of course they will waste speakers ...


isnt it funny how the response amps won the BFYB award .. and damon dupriez is good friends with some of jaycars engineers ...


I call shenanigans!

[AutokaT]

I think you can find better Jim,have a look at the SANSUI range of gear from strathfield,It's cheap and sounds nice and will be reliable,get a quote for the gear you want with model numbers on a card from a salesman and I'll get it for you cheap.The subs are on sale for $60 for a 12" or $38 for a 10" and they are a dead ringer for the older JL stuff :) team them up with the SANSUI 3way 6x9's($89)a pair of phillips splits ($189)for the front running of the SANSUI 4 chnl amp ($289)with a prebuilt box for the 12"($89) and your choice of head unit and you'll be more than happy with the system for the price. approx.$700 plus head unit.

I've sold and installed heaps of systems like this and the customer is always happy with it.

I assume this is for the statesman so get a alarm fitted to it at the same time,they are doing the black widow 9900 alarm for $269 installed ATM...EXCELENT VALUE!

[Manuel]

I have a Response 2x150 running my sub, and I must say it does an excellent job. Plenty of power, which meets, if not exceeds the manufacturer's ratings.

I needed a cheap amp with a fair bit of power so I chose this, I dont think you could find many other amps of this quality and output for the price, I was looking at Strathfield gear (shoot me now) but for some reason I didnt think any cheap amp with a 20A fuse could effectively compete with the jaycar.

Ive had no problems at all in a year of owning it, had been running 2 12" DVC subs, and is now running only one.
...oh, and the internal construction of the amp is very nice indeed.

for more info, go to www.caraudioaustralia.com and run a search on their forums, tons of info

[AutokaT]

manuel, there was a test done a little while back by the pioneer reps up here in QLD.they tested some amps on a bench to see which actualy made more power infront of a whole bunch of sales people at a training night. they tested the pioneer,sony,altec,sansui,kenwood and another one that I cant remember which.
the results were a little suprising in that the pioneer made the most rms power of the bunch,The sansui was second ahead of the sony and the kenwood and the altec was last....but the pioneer was most exspensive,the altec cheapest and the sansui second cheapest.

if you doubt this ring the pioneer reps and ask them.

[Spoonfed]

AutoKAT, im suprised the Sony even worked in that test, maybe i was only a short test :) haha

I have 4inch Jaycar Response spks up front and 6inch Response at rear (they are one unit but with separate pivot speaker and 12db cross over)

For the dollars i'd say very good. I don't think i have heard any $200.00 brand name splits sound as good. While they aint big on bass they are perfect for pairing up with a sub (i only have 10inch Kicker Comp series from yrs ago :)

If you get 4inch Response but don't worry about a big amp unless you plan on capping they low frequency imput (i've blow 1)

Bar over powering, have been in car for years with no prob.

As for amps im looking for a new cheap amp for the sub, and am thinking Jaycar.

The other speakers just run a cheap coustic amp, and use to have a sony amp but stuffed up after 1 yr (no supprises)

[Unique-Autos]

To the bloke that recommended sansui..
U have to be kidding right? Look at there amps theyd be under rated for sure.. Sansui had alright home audio years ago but they make shit house qaulity car audio..
My sister got a sansui deck and 6x9s and they sound shit house..
And comparing to spl wise.. 4 x 12" Jaycars can hit a 152.2 with only 4 2 x 150 jaycar amps, what can sansui hit?

:)

[pearlvk]

sansui make really good subs for the price i have to say though, because i have listened to them, the amps are ok, but not the greatest, for the price there ok.but not as good as buy as jaycar. the rest of sansui, i dont know, ive never touched and prob wont.
but yeh, jaycar is a very good brand in quality for the price.

[tomee]

if you want sansui gear stick to their home range, not their car audio range :)

[Manuel]

autoKat, I have no reason to doubt you, but any brand that looks like it could be sold at Parklea Markets just doesnt instill a great deal of confidence in me. And being a casual salesperson myself, I can attest to the fact that we are full of shit alot of the time, so I go by my own experiences from now on, and 'don't believe the hype'. :D.

Reps are even worse, they actually make money from selling their stock!

I dont know where Sansui stock is sourced from, but I'd be assuming that Strathfield would be making a considerable profit margin out of it, explaining the big push for it. No more talk of Strathfield now, I am experiencing flashbacks...

The Response amp's power specifications were tested by Hot 4s, and regardless of what we all think of the magazine or of the journalists, their findings seem to agree with real world application. I have the figures for the amps tested in the mag, I can dig them out if you guys like.

The fact that Jaycar notifies prospective customers that their 2x100WRMS amp is really only 2x84WRMS is an example of their no bull marketing and sales.

In terms of reliability and output, as well as flexibility in application, have a look at the site i posted in my last reply, alot of guys are using jaycar equipment for some impressive results.

[karl_2ltGC]

iw went into jaycar and had a listen to their responce speaker and must say the ones they sell as 'high qaulity' are FANTASTIC

Though the cheaper ones they sell are very ordinary....u can tell which ones which cos the high qaulity ones have humungous magnets wereas the low end ones dont

[nitrane]

i've had a response carbon fibre 12" sub - and that thing kicks hard.

the magnet is nice and big, and takes the power quite well from my big arse lanzar :)

relatively tight bass too for the money...

[nikz]

ninetysix: i agree... it's funny how jaycar always seem to win all the Magazine shootouts...... i'm always a bit sceptical when you see Hot 4's rave about the latest jaycar sub/speaker/amp followed by a 2 page jaycar ad. - bit sus if ye ask me.... but conspiracy theory's aside.....

i can't say much for the jaycar amps, but i can't give their sub's a good rap, i had 3 jaycar 12" ReSponse subs, the first 2 were polycone, and the last was the carbon cone, all 3 shit thir voice coils. and that was with a sounstream amp.

if i can make a general comment here, for eveyone... cheap is bad! i spet countless dollars on cheap amps & speakers over the years... but then i finally bought a comp grade amp, and some AVI speakers, and have not had to change my setup.

if you buy good stuff in the first place you need not replace it later when you get better whatevers.....

start with a good amp, shit amps will kill speakers when they distort, then progress on.

- my 2c