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I want to keep the amp/speaker budget within £200 (~$400USD) but that's way more money than the £50-£100 I'd originally earmarked for this "simple" end of the solution! The more I look at it, the more it seems I'm faced with spending. Perhaps there's a cheap and straightforward solution I'm missing here?

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Don't touch Bose - waste of money. Google "Bose is crap"

Personalized Results 1 - 10 of about 259,000 for Bose is crap.
Personalized Results 1 - 10 of about 2,330,000 for Bose is great.



P.S. I have no personal experience of whether Bose's consumer stuff is crap out not, I used to use some of their professional/semi-professional stuff (802s/302s) back in the 80s/90s and that was great stuff to use, if a little quirky.

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but then again people buy goods for 'image' reasons aswell as practical (heck, look at my car <grin> !!!)

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but then again people buy goods for 'image' reasons aswell as practical (heck, look at my car <grin> !!!)

Which reminds me, I think I might be buying a Tuscan later this year...

...or maybe a Tamora.

You won't regret it !!!!

(well, maybe you will - but you get over that )

Feel free to contact me to chat about it - we've never had a Tamora but we've had S3, Chimaeras, Cerbera and Tuscan...

Oh, and I know how to get a great Empeg install in the Tuscan in case that sways you

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The Sonic T amp was very tempting, but the Aego's integrated sub/amplifier appealed more because it reduced the amount of hardware*. I was also concerned a little about the heat output. That said, now that I know about the Sonic T, I think it's only a matter of time before I find an excuse to buy one for one of the bedrooms!

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You won't regret it !!!!

(well, maybe you will - but you get over that )

Feel free to contact me to chat about it - we've never had a Tamora but we've had S3, Chimaeras, Cerbera and Tuscan...

Oh, and I know how to get a great Empeg install in the Tuscan in case that sways you

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I wanted to put in my little review of the Sonic. That thing is a powerhouse! I got one a couple weeks ago to pair with these budget speakers: Insignia NS-B2111 speakers

Wow, those look really great. I'd probably end up getting those if my 4.1 Klipsch ProMedias ever quit on me (though they've been running strong for almost eight years now).

I know this isn't quite what was put forth in the original post, but in the spirit of these high-quality, low-cost, good value speakers, I'd just like to mention Fluance. Their SX-HTB+ system came highly recommended from the folks at Home Theater Spot when it comes to great sound for low cost. I took their advice and I'm glad I did. They sound great. Sometime I'll have to pick up their subwoofer, which runs the same cost as the 5-channel package

Question: can anyone recommend a good amp in the same vain? Something that really delivers a bang for the buck. I'd like to spend under $250 if possible.

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Probably teaching grandma but most cars you accelerate and pull out at the same time. Do that harshly in a Tuscan even at 70+mph with a damp road or cold tyres and you can *easily* spin the wheels and spin off. Pull out and accelerate in a straight line. I've felt this and just don't want you to get hurt

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Also don't ever forget there's no ABS - if you've been used to it you react differently.

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I am also going to need to be careful when dropping a gear to overtake.

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I'm used to a fairly light flywheel on the Impreza, but at least there all four wheels get the same level of engine braking when you lift the clutch.

I once drove a friends Impreza and was taking it gently. Then I realised I had my foot to the floor and was redlining it up the gears
It was a lot more stable than the Tuscan and probably handles better too. The Tuscan is twitchy and squirmy (see above).

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Helpfully I am used to that from the MX5. Had to control a 60mph slide under braking the other day when I cam round a corner to find some idiot attempting a suicidal overtaking manuouver coming the other direction.

Should be fun...

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I am also going to need to be careful when dropping a gear to overtake. I know of a couple of Tuscan owners who early in their ownership spun on quiet dual carriage ways doing this. They were caught out by the lack of a big flywheel and so unexpected amounts of engine braking when lifting the clutch after dropping down a gear.

I'm used to a fairly light flywheel on the Impreza, but at least there all four wheels get the same level of engine braking when you lift the clutch.

Before you go, you may want to practice making proper "racing" down changes in your impreza. When you declutch for the down change, you want to "blip" the throttle to raise the engine speed to what it will need to be in the lower gear. You engage the clutch when the engine speed matches what it should be for the gear you're entering. Theoretically, you should do this with upshifts, too, but it is less of a problem (no blip required, you just engage the clutch at the correct moment -- neither too soon or too late).

This can be done under braking, but its difficult to do while applying steady pressure on the brake. The technique is called "heel and toe" downchanging, but when you actually do it you sort of roll your right foot over onto the accelerator while the left side of your right foot uses the brake pedal. Doing this well takes years of practice.

"Rev matching" your down changes takes a day or so of practice. You can get it to the point where the only evidence of the down change is the increased noise of the higher engine speed.

When you get that good at it, you will find that it is not necessary to even use the clutch. The easiest way to start learning is to work on your upshift from 3rd to 4th without the clutch. You let off the throttle, and for a brief moment before the engine braking kicks in, your geartrain is "unloaded", meaning there is neither accelerating or decelerating torque. At this moment, you pull the lever out of gear. Wait until the engine speed drops to the exact speed it will be in the next gear, then firmly pull the lever into 4th. This is very easy from 3rd to 4th and 4th to 5th. Harder from 2nd to 3rd and very difficult from 1st to 2nd (this is because the engine speed differential is less and the torque differential is less; you need to be more exact in the lower gears because the synchronizer rings in the gearbox can only provide so much torque).

To downshift without the clutch, you pull the lever out of 4th, "blip" the throttle, then push it into 3rd at just the right moment when the "revs match". This is what you should be doing when you use the clutch, also. It minimizes wear on the clutch and it minimizes the torque jerk on the rear wheels. Anyhow, with some practice, you can drive to work in rush hour never using the clutch -- as long as you don't come to a complete stop. So, what is the function of the clutch? It is there to start & stop the car, and to cover up any tiny errors you make matching your gear changes.

Smoothness is the key to performance driving, and gear changes are no exception (in fact, they're probably the most important). Besides all that, matching up correctly adds a ton of fun to driving!

The people who spin out on a downchange are just putting the clutch in, ham-handedly slamming it into a lower gear, then dumping out the clutch suddenly. It's not the engine braking that spins them, exactly. Well, it is, but its the sudden jerk they get when the engine needs to race up to the correct speed. This can be completely eliminated with correct technique. You can drive a Camry like that, but if you do that in a race car you break it. It's not good for the Camry, either, its just that they don't have enough torque to damage anything. Power requires some finesse.

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When you get that good at it, you will find that it is not necessary to even use the clutch. The easiest way to start learning is to work on your upshift from 3rd to 4th without the clutch. You let off the throttle, and for a brief moment before the engine braking kicks in, your geartrain is "unloaded", meaning there is neither accelerating or decelerating torque. At this moment, you pull the lever out of gear. Wait until the engine speed drops to the exact speed it will be in the next gear, then firmly pull the lever into 4th. This is very easy from 3rd to 4th and 4th to 5th. Harder from 2nd to 3rd and very difficult from 1st to 2nd (this is because the engine speed differential is less and the torque differential is less; you need to be more exact in the lower gears because the synchronizer rings in the gearbox can only provide so much torque).

To downshift without the clutch, you pull the lever out of 4th, "blip" the throttle, then push it into 3rd at just the right moment when the "revs match". This is what you should be doing when you use the clutch, also. It minimizes wear on the clutch and it minimizes the torque jerk on the rear wheels. Anyhow, with some practice, you can drive to work in rush hour never using the clutch -- as long as you don't come to a complete stop. So, what is the function of the clutch? It is there to start & stop the car, and to cover up any tiny errors you make matching your gear changes.

Not sure I'd try recommend learning this in a hired Tuscan in the middle of the Scottish highlands

This is how I change gear on a bike - but they don't have a neutral between gears - I don't do it in cars because the neutral can allow too much rev discrepancy - and it's *my* gearbox . TVR did offer a sequential box at one point - not sure how many people ever actually had it fitted though.

It's a good heel'n'toe car though - the pedalbox is adjustable too.