This past summer, I went through the trouble of mail-ordering one (free shipping, wiring, etc.) and installing it in my rig, and I finally discovered what I had been missing for so long. Rich, powerful bass. The kind that seems to penetrate your flesh and rattle your bones.
Most of the music I listen to is very bass-heavy, so it was definitely a warranted purchase. Metal? Every beat of the bass drum is like a kick in the ***, and I can hear and feel every note of the bass guitar. Trance? That continuous beat thumps hard, and along with the bass samples, I feel like I'm sailing through the clouds in low frequency heaven. IDM or drum 'n' bass? That music comes alive in my car like I have never heard it before.
"Clubbed to Death (Kurayamino Version)" by Rob Dougan, for example, sounds ****ing amazing. The sub not only adds a ton of bass, but also helps to fill out the sound. I would probably enjoy the song only half as much without it. Though, listening to the stellar keyboard interlude in the middle of the song, I determined that I could use some new tweeters. I believe the ones in the door (separate from the front 4-channel 6
I have a friend that just recently put a decent system into his car. It sounds nice, but then again he spent 2grand.
THe 2 most common complaints I have with most sound systems that people put in is that they either just put in *** horrible systems that rattle panels or distort sound (the latter of which i CANNOT stand) or the head unit doesnt have a full graphic equalizer, leaving you only with the option to adjust "bass" or "treble". MAybe its just the music geek and control freak in me, but there are more than 2 ****ing frequencies that music consists of.
The less common one is that when you just want to drive around and chill without THUMPTHUMPTHUMP going off in your truck, you generally have to turn the overall sound down way too much. This isnt a big problem for me since I dont have a system like that, but from time to time i experiance it in my buds car (6am, drive to work with a hangover? TURN THE ******* BASS OFF).
/disjointed rant