I spoke to Rick Reus and met with him in person, good guy and they do know they're stuff....I dont like quoting other peoples prices on boards because that then becomes "THE PRICE" and maybe he was giving me a deal, or maybe he was shafting me.....The price to me was alot more than I wanted to spend and the only question was the amount of REALLY low end. He said that his system does not do rap bass well...not that kinda system, for my work I listen to LOTS of different music, so I thought that maybe its not the right system for me.

 

Any news?

 

not yet....they were trying to put a package together for door baffles for 6.5" mids in the doors...so I am waiting for that...I do want to get it handled SOON!

 

Rick is not big on $ quotes but his systems start at 3K and up. Mine was a little more. IMO a bargain. The guys in my area couldn't come close for the price. Wish I could show one of you guys, but no one seems to be from this area.

 

What area?

 

I believe Neil is a Philly area guy...

 

Gator is correct. It used to say that in my info. It doesn't any more. ???
Anyway I would be glad to give a listen to anyone interested. And there Are a lot of guys in the NYC area as well.

 

You guys are almost correct about the Reus system. I guess it depends on whether or not you are talking about the older version without the midbass driver or the newer one with the midbass driver. The difference is night and day. You won't get SPL winning bass out of a Reus system but you will get copious amounts of bass depending on what you are listening to. Much more bass than you could begin to imagine with the setup.

The sub is ported so it's a bandpass design. Therefore, it's super efficient and can REALLY hit hard around a particular "sweet spot" in the bass freq range. Not all bass is in this range so outside of that range you tend to get some "sloppy bass". This is why the Reus system doesn't do well with 20% of the music out there. That's completely normal for any bandpass design.

A perfect example is Hotel California by the Eagles from the Hell Freezes Over album. (Neil if you haven't tried this.... do so immediately! I'll even email you the MP3 file if you need it) It hits so hard that my staff could clearly hear me coming down the back alley from inside the building. That's pretty amazing for a subwoofer ported into the passenger compartment of a cab! Why? Because the kick drum on that track is smack dab in the middle of the "sweet spot".

Then you could play some techno stuff and it might not sound so hot. Why? Because the bass above the "sweet spot" is weak. Bass below the "sweet spot" resonates. With the midbass driver, everything changes. The older Reus system prior to the midbass driver sounded like there was something missing. There was some super low bass around the sweet spot with some sloppy bass below it and a hole above it. If I had to estimate, I would say there is a void around 80hz. The midbass driver completely fills that void and as a result bass hits hard down low and in the middle. You could go after super low bass but to me systems with too much bass below a certain point tend to resonate regardless of design and don't sound good at all.

Again, the Reus system doesn't quite hit 20hz low but pretty good considering you are not sacrificing any space in the passenger compartment. The most amazing thing about the system has to be the ability to play at insane volume levels without distorting. You would think there is a limit but it just seems to go louder and louder. The other thing about the system is the position and accuracy of the soundstage. Someone on this board has argued this point and said that it is possible to do better but I think considering they come out to you and there is no custom fabrication involved. It's pretty damn impressive!

I believe a system like the one I had in my cab started around $5-6k without the midbass driver. I opted for McIntosh amplification which was more money. (total waste of money, the Reus amps sound just as good in the Reus system) You could probably get tighter, louder, deeper bass but you have at a price. Custom fabrication time, loss of space, more power required, increased weight, plus the whole tedious process of even finding a decent installer/shop. Even then, the sound quality would probably not even compare with the Reus system. It's all about the quality of the sound not the depth of the bass. You really have to hear the Reus system before passing judgement on it. Just make sure you listen to a version with the midbass driver.

 

As usual Robert is correct. And as usual GREAT analysis. Yea, I have listened to Hotel California, and you are right. Also rick Gives a demo disc that shows off the system as well. The bass and imaging, etc. If there is a $ limit and/or you want 12 or 15 inch woofers, than remove your rear seats, build a box to house the woofers and amps and your good to go. I didn't want to do that. For me Rick's system is more than I expected in a close space.

Everyone I have ever shown the system to has been very impressed, even guys from high end shops in my area.

 

Great analysis Robert. I had a Reus system put in my cab in February, and I do not regret it. I have the midbass driver as well as the mirror tweets and the sound quality is second to none.

 

Congrats to everybody that has a Reus system but ANY install is only as good as the components used & the tuning performed by the installer.

I think I'm correct that Reus doesn't manufacture their own drivers or crossovers so they are using some available set of component speakers. From one of the posts previous, they certainly use readily available amps.

Besides the midbass, which I assume they use the footwell area, the only other trick install is the mirror mounted tweeters.

After that its comes down to a matter of crossovers & proper tuning...doesn't it?

I have a speaker set I already love (Morel) with highly tunable crossovers and an amp series I love (Tru Technology). Besides the mirror tweeters, the only other thing I was trying to replicate was trunk mounted bass for stealth purposes. Not totally opposed to doing 12's on the rear deck but stealth is always optimal.

JL Audio for subwoofers should be more than sufficent.

I guess what i'm getting at is, if all of the install locations are known and you already have some high quality components...then "replicating" the quality of Reus is a matter of the competency of your installer in tuning the system.

The installer I'm using comes highly regarded and the accuset crossovers with the Morels is kinda of acclaimed for its tunability.

Given I have everything but the custom subwoofer box (either front or rear) I'm pretty much there for having a high quality system without too much additional cost.

 

Gator,
Rick does make his own amp and speakers to his specs. Only the head unit is a major man...mine is eclipse, which he believes is the best.
I am sure you could match the sound with a good tuner and installer and components. I am sure there are better systems out there, I just don't know of any. You see what others here say. Some like Robert have been to his shop and heard first hand the difference between Rick's and other speakers and amps. I mean how they compare in sound.

Call Rick, he is a nice guy, he may sell you the sub in the trunk. It fits IN the spare not instead of.

Also, Rick has done after market systems for 30 years and has done 1000s of 911s, so he has almost perfected the tuning before the install and then tweeks it once it is in your car. The installers in my area had done maybe one or two and no cabs. They were gonna put some high quality components together and said to me "it should sound good" For that kinda money they should know, but they can't without doing that car itself.

Gator,
Where do you live?

 

Neil, where did you get the REUS installation completed? You guys have me very interested.

 

Reus travels to do installs...I believe that is how Neil's was done.

I'm a New Yorker, who lived in San Fran for a minute, and now resides in S Florida. Florida is a return as I went to school in Gainesville, hence the handle, and lived in S Florida my 1st couple of years out of undergrad.

Eclipse is well regarded but I'm going with the new Alpine w200 double-din LCD with hi-speed ipod interface...its the new king of DVD/NAV headunits...the LCD is detachable which is a huge plus down here in the MIA.

If Rick is willing to sell the sub seperately, I might be interested.

 

Ed,
I had mine done in Long Island, where rick does installs out of a detail place called detailing dynamics. Their web site is www.detailingdynamics.com. I heard he is booked up until Sept, but call him. He may be able to fit you in. To Rick are cars are cake, because he has done so many.

Gator,
One of Rick's guys operates a place in Florida, but I don't know where. His name is Craig and he is the guy who did my car in NY. As I said it doesn't hurt to call and talk to Rick or you could talk to Cliff.