Brand Ratings- Is this Brand Any Good? Good, Bad and Ugly

[Ryan from Ohio]

The below lists are the property of Car Audio Central. They may not be reproduced in any form, in part or in whole, without express written permission from Car Audio Central's administration, or the authors. Please contact:
Chris from Washington
GlassWolf
Ryan from Ohio or
William from NOLA
for permission, or note a link to www.caraudiocentral.net with credit to the authors when reposting this information (giving credit as per MLA stipulations.)
Posting this list in part or whole is not permitted without express permission or credit given.

This is the infamous Good, Bad, and Ugly list.

These are very subjective. We've simply stated our experiences with the products whether they are direct installs, personal property or through extensive research. You should always physically audition a product before purchase because you are the one who will determine whether or not an item "sounds good."
The overall groupings are based on performance, reliability, and build quality, without regard to price.

This topic, while being controversial, is simply a generalized guide meant for beginners in the hobby. Many brands specialize in certain items, ie. better amplifiers than speakers, better mids than subs, etc... Also almost all manufacturers offer entry level products as well as high performance lines. Good luck with your decisions.

We've broken this into 4 catagories:
1: Bad (avoid)
2: Questionable (mixed reviews, disputed, unsure, or depends on the item)
3: Good (just about always worth consideration)
4: Audiophile Grade (considered top of the line, for professionals, competitors, and show cars)

[GlassWolf]

This should help out many of you. Each category is sorted alphabetically. Remember, not all of the brands on here are still being manufactured.

*BEFORE YOU PROCEED*

This list is generally a consensus of members of this forum, and online communities in general. It is a ranking generally reflecting the overall build quality, business practices, warranty practices, and performance that enthusiasts such as ourselves typically seek.
This is by no means an objective list - no independent testing was performed on any products in the list, and any manufacturer in the list may make some products, which would individually fall into varying catagories, making lists like this difficult.
Furthermore, many products are application-specific; good for one application, bad for another. Determining if a specific product applies to your needs is your decision.
We strongly advise readers to independently research any products they are considering purchasing. This list is simply a starting point for making your own informed decisions in teh buying process.
Tthis list is here to steer newbies in the right direction. Not every product under every manufacturer, or even every category listed is equal.
There are still quite a few brands missing. If you would like to suggest corrections or additions, please post in this thread:
http://www.caraudiocentral.net/forum...ead.php?t=1076

Head units
----------------------

Audiophile Grade
Alpine F#1status
McIntosh Labs
Pioneer Premier (flagship models)

Good
Alpine
Blaupunkt
Clarion
Clarion ProAudio
Eclipse
JVC
Kenwood Excelon
Nakamichi
Panasonic MXE
Pioneer
Pioneer Premier
Sony Mobile ES
Phase Linear
Pioneer

Questionable
Jensen
Kenwood
Panasonic
Sony

Avoid
Audiovox
Boss
Dual
Jensen (older models)
Sanyo
Valor Multimedia

Amplifiers
----------------------

Audiophile Grade
Arc Audio
Audison
Brax
Eclipse
Esoteric Audio
Genesis
Harrison Labs
Helix
Incriminator Audio
McIntosh Laboratories
Orion (classic GS, HCCA, SX, GX, and XTR series)
Precision Power Inc (PPI) Art and AM series (classic)
Rockford Fosgate (early 90s, Punch and Power series)
Tru
US Amps (old models only)
Xtant
Zapco

Good
a/d/s
Alpine
American Bass
Audioque
Atomic
Autotek
Avionixx
Cadence
Cerwin Vega
Concept
Coustic
Crossfire
Diamond Audio
Directed (DEI)
Elemendal Designs (eD)
Elevation Audio
Hertz Audio
HiFonics
JBL
JL Audio
Kicker
Lightnihg Audio
Memphis Audio
MMATS
MTX Audio
Orion
Phoenix Gold (classic US-made)
Planet Audio
Precision Power Inc (PPI)
Rockford Fosgate
SoundStream
Sundown Audio
US Acoustics
Viper

Questionable
Alphasonik
Audiobahn
Crunch
dB Drive
Earthquake
Interfire
Kenwood Excelon
Lanzar
MA Audio
Massive Audio
Phoenix Gold (newer)
Tsunami
US Amps (newer models only)

Avoid
Bazooka
Coustic (old AMP series)
Jensen
Kenwood
Kole
Legacy
Optimus
Power Acoustik
Pyle
Pyramid
Sony
SPL
Visonik
Volfenhag

Main Speakers
----------------------

Audiophile Grade
Accuton
Alpine F#1status)
Bravox
DLS
Dyn Audio
Eton
Focal (flagship line)
LPG
Morel
Rainbow
ScanSpeak
Seas
Vifa

Good
a/d/s
Adire Audio
Alpine
American Bass
Arc Audio
B&C
Beyma
Boston Acoustics
CD Technologies (CDT)
Cerwin Vega
Crystal
DB Drive
Diamond Audio
Eclipse
Earthquake
Eminence Audio
Focal
Hertz Audio
Hybrid Audio
Focal
Fusion
HI-VI Research
Illusion Audio
Image Dynamics
Infinity
Interfire
JBL
JL Audio
Kicker
LPG
Massive Audio
Max-Fidelity
MB Quart
Memphis Audio
Peerless
Pioneer
Polk Audio
Quantum
Resonant Engineering (RE)
Rockford Fosgate (RF)
Usher Audio
Visatron
Zapco

Questionable
Kole
Phoenix Gold
Planet Audio
Power Acoustik
Powerbass

Avoid
Audiobahn
Boss Audio
Crunch
Dual
Jensen
Kenwood
Sony
Soundstorm
SPL

Subwoofers
----------------------

(Due to the constantly changing nature of the subwoofer market, and the fact that there are numerous subcatagories for competitors, an Audiophile Grade catagory has not been included for this section.)

Good
Alpine
Alumapro
American Bass
Arc Audio
Ascendant Audio
Atomic
Audiopulse
Audioque
Autotek
Boston Acoustics
Bravox
CD Technologies (CDT)
Cerwin Vega
Concept
Coustic
Crunch
Crystal
DB Drive
DC Sound Labs
Diamond Audio
Digital Designs (DD)
DLS
Dyn Audio
Eclipse
Fi Audio
Focal
Funky Pups
Fusion
Hertz Audio
HiFonics
Image Dynamics
Incriminator Audio
Infinity
Inhuman Audio
Interfire
JL Audio
Kicker
Lightning Audio
Massive Audio
MB Quart
Memphis
MMats
MTX Audio
Onyx Audio
Orion
OZ Audio
Pioneer
Planet Audio
Polk Audio
Powerbass
Quantum
Rainbow
RD Audio
Resonant Engineering (RE)
Rockford Fosgate
Shok Industries
SSA (Sound Solutions Audio)
Sound Splinter
Stereo Integrity
TC Sounds
Treo
Xtant

Questionable
Adire Audio
Coustic
Earthquake
Elemental Designs (eD)
Elevation Audio
Kicker Solobaric square subs
Kole
Phoenix Gold
Power Acoustik
SoundStream
SPL

Avoid
Alphasonik
Alpine (Type-E series)
Audiobahn
Bazooka
Boss Audio
Dual
Jensen
Kenwood
MTX (6000's and under)
Pioneer (lower models)
Power Acoustik
Pyle
Sony
Soundstorm
Volfenhag

Wiring
-----------

Good
American Bass
Audiopipe
Audison Connect
Directed
Hooker Audio
Kicker
Knukonceptz
JL Interconnects
Phoenix Digital
Scosche
Streetwires
Tsunami

Questionable
American Bass
Audiobahn
MA Audio

Avoid
Raptor

Batteries
---------------

Good
Deka
Duralast
Eagle Picher
Everstart (Maxx batteries)
Exstatic
Interstate
Kinetic
Northstar
Odyssey
Optima
Powermaster
Scosche
Sears Die Hard Gold and Platinum series
Stinger
Tsunami

Avoid
(none placed here yet)

Alternators
-------------------

Good
DB Electrical
DC Power
Excessive Amperage
H/O alternators
Lestek
Mechman
Ohio Generator
Powerbastards
Powermaster
Stinger
Wrangler

Questionable
Iraggi
Motor City Reman (MCR)

Avoid
(none placed here yet)

Dash Kits/Install Accessories
---------------------------------------------

Good
American International
Metra

Questionable
Scosche

Avoid
(none placed here yet)