# Why do you think the Rockford Fosgate 3sixty.2 sucks?



## gjmallory (Apr 13, 2010)

Hey Everyone,

The 3sixty.2 seems to be the best thing for my system, but I have never heard a good report about them from anyone on this forum...Why? What else is comparable?


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## stereo_luver (Oct 30, 2007)

I liked using mine. Many folks complain about floor noise. I never had any. My set-up was dead quiet. I used a laptop and didn't screw around with a tiny palm. If I wasn't using a P99 headunit, I'd be using the BNIB one I have on the shelf.

Chuck


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## ncv6coupe (Oct 25, 2009)

It is not the most technical tuning device. It only has 2 inch T/A increments and only 5 ms of delay available.

I also saw a test where the crossover's were not exactly 24 db per octave. As we learn more about audio and the importance of phase in crossovers, that could be a problem if 99% accuracy is what you are after. But wait, you have never seen that as an excuse for people to bash the product so it certainly has went by unnoticed.

The real issue is the bluetooth connectivity thing. This is a real downer for sure as that's really the only tuning method allowed.

All in all, I use one for my midbass only and the certain quirks don't affect me as much because I knew it's weaknesses and "helped" it in the install portion of speaker placement. Independent speaker control and 1/3 octave eq capability each is paramount. 

If you are not the pickiest of soundstaging and tuning guys out there this will be more than enough for you and user error should be blamed for less than satisfactory results. Things are modernized now so blaming the equipment doesn't have the weight that it used to.


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## brocken (Apr 26, 2010)

I used it with an OEM hu and with an aftermarket hu. Worked great with both.
Easy to setup and use. Not a crazy set of options like more expensive units but definitely enough for a decent install.
I would say it's definitely a good budget device.
It was super easy to use with my laptop. Only problem is if you want to tweak it all the time that's a hassle. That's where the palm device would come in handy.

I did notice a tiny bit of a noise floor issue with the aftermarket HU but not in the OEM install. Might be the higher voltage LOC in the OEM install that prevented picking up noise.

If you get a 360.2 make sure it has the V2 firmware. That fixes the BT connectivity issues.


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## gjmallory (Apr 13, 2010)

Thanks for the input! My car is a VW cabrio (convertible) so I already am at a deficit as far as being super SQ guy...LOL! The budget device would probably be the bomb in my environment...If I have a palm device, could I set up two different set-ups? One for top up, one for top down?


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## BlueAc (May 19, 2007)

gjmallory said:


> Thanks for the input! My car is a VW cabrio (convertible) so I already am at a deficit as far as being super SQ guy...LOL! The budget device would probably be the bomb in my environment...If I have a palm device, could I set up two different set-ups? One for top up, one for top down?


Yup... you can save your settings and load them up when ready.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

I've owned a few, they are OK but they do introduce noise and distortion, especially if the pre-amp inputs clip (which you can adjust but only so much.) 

HOWEVER, at the time they were made, you'd be hard pressed to do better. I had issues with the sub stage not being time align-able (in vehicles where the sub was closer than some other speakers), I also had issues with BT connectivity but turns out RF knows about it and will repair it if you send it in. By repair, I mean swap your unit with a functional replacement. That's one joy of owning one of these, their turnaround is SNAPPY and they have a flat rate service to get it replaced. The replacements I got had perfect BT connectivity, and an increased dB range on the gain/cut sliders on screen. 

A laptop is the only way to go, IMO.



Alternatives? Processors built into amps are a great way to go, like the X4R and the JBL amps. Another way is to use the MiniDSP boxes.


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## bkjay (Jul 7, 2009)

fourthmeal said:


> I've owned a few, they are OK but they do introduce noise and distortion, especially if the pre-amp inputs clip (which you can adjust but only so much.)
> 
> HOWEVER, at the time they were made, you'd be hard pressed to do better. I had issues with the sub stage not being time align-able (in vehicles where the sub was closer than some other speakers), I also had issues with BT connectivity but turns out RF knows about it and will repair it if you send it in. By repair, I mean swap your unit with a functional replacement. That's one joy of owning one of these, their turnaround is SNAPPY and they have a flat rate service to get it replaced. The replacements I got had perfect BT connectivity, and an increased dB range on the gain/cut sliders on screen.
> 
> ...


When it was fixed did you still have noise issues?


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## gjmallory (Apr 13, 2010)

Why HU's are there that have time alignment?


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

bkjay said:


> When it was fixed did you still have noise issues?



The noise issue is just the nature of the unit I think. It isn't an annoying noise, its sounds like tape hiss/white noise, a moderate amount. I am 100% sure it was the processor. I later removed the processor and ran with just the amps (X4R had onboard processing), no noise audible.


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## DarkScorpion (Nov 22, 2009)

I have a 3sixty.2 as well. For me, there is a slight hiss when nothing is playing, but is not audible when listening to music. I don't have the typical BT problem, but I do have an issue where it takes a few tries for my laptop to connect to the unit. However, once connected, there are no problems. Personally, I'm satisfied with the 3sixty.2 since I'm mostly using it for active crossovers and a little bit of TA; also I got it for only $240, which sweetens the deal.


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## gjmallory (Apr 13, 2010)

You guys rock! Thanks for the feedback. Thinking with the 3sixty.3 being announced @ CES this month, the 3sixty.2 is getting ready to take a price slide! This is gonna be my next purchase.


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## Lanson (Jan 9, 2007)

.3 will be worth purchasing I think. Lessons learned on the Gen2 model, different engineer.


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## Oliver (Jun 25, 2007)

gjmallory said:


> Hey Everyone,
> 
> The 3sixty.2 seems to be the best thing for my system, but I have never heard a good report about them from anyone on this forum...Why? What else is comparable?


One , two , three

Get as many as you can of the newest untried one - I've never seen one but I just know it will be worth ten time what they are asking for it.

Just like waving a magic wand


*BwaHaHaHa ... Bwa Ha Ha* :laugh:


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## Chaos (Oct 27, 2005)

Rockford is a large corporation, and they are in it to win it in the long run (i.e., market share / satisfying shareholders)

They were on the cutting edge of delivering substantial processing devices to market years before some companies even thought about it, so I suspect that they know what they are doing. 

The 3sixty.2 was probably brought out when it was as a stopgap measure because the version we are apparently about to see now wasn't ready yet, even though they knew the market was ripe for such products. 

There were problems with noise and with connectivity in the .2 that they must have known about, but figured it was worth it to produce until the .3 could launch. Let's hope that they realize how critical it is to early adapters that the new device works as advertised out of the box, or else they will stuck with what I'm sure must be a huge R&D expenditure that might never be recouped if it doesn't. 

Personally, I'm stoked to install a .3 ASAP - if it delivers the goods, it will be in my truck. If not, JBL will get my business.


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## Sleeves (Oct 22, 2010)

I've used 2 of these for factory integration (one in a H2 Hummer and the other in a S63 Mercedes) and they have both been working with no complaints from the owners for over 2 years now. Both were set up with a Palm Tungsten E2 (yeah, this thing dates the systems, lol) and there were no problems encountered during or after the installs.


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## computerjlt (Nov 29, 2010)

im buying one for my setup


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## gjmallory (Apr 13, 2010)

Here's the update...fed ex just delivered my 3sixty.2 v2! Can't wait to install it this weekend


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## Angrywhopper (Jan 20, 2010)

I've installed a few and the only issues I ever had involved Bluetooth connectivity.


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## sy0296 (Aug 28, 2010)

like many said, when they were introduced they were not many other choices other than a lessor friendly option by alpine, an expensive option from audio control, and maybe a couple others. i ran the first gen 360.1 in my wife's car back in '06 or '07 and it worked great for OEM integration.

lots of new technology available now though...any reason you are stuck on the 360.2?


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## Angrywhopper (Jan 20, 2010)

^Probably because of price.


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## sy0296 (Aug 28, 2010)

Angrywhopper said:


> ^Probably because of price.


hard to argue then. great bang for the buck


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## gjmallory (Apr 13, 2010)

sy0296 said:


> like many said, when they were introduced they were not many other choices other than a lessor friendly option by alpine, an expensive option from audio control, and maybe a couple others. i ran the first gen 360.1 in my wife's car back in '06 or '07 and it worked great for OEM integration.
> 
> lots of new technology available now though...any reason you are stuck on the 360.2?


I'm not interested in the ms-8 or alpine imprint because to me a big part of the fun is doing it myself...not looking for self-tuning...but in reality the bottom line is the 3sixty.2 does everything I actually need (time alignment, x-over, subsonic filter, and 31 band equal per driver) and it is pretty cheap (relatively speaking). I just bought mine for $220. 

Gjmallory - sent from my phone...


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## Thumper26 (Sep 23, 2005)

Skimmed the first few posts, but here were my issues over a couple months of daily use. I controlled it via a palm tungsten t5. Saw the list below with two different units, one a direct replacement from Rockford:

Noise level
Ground loops
Bluetooth connection wasn't reliable. Would have to pull the power out of it and plug it back in to make it connect.
Turn off thump
Unit would just shut off with a great turn off thump/scratch-hiss noise in my mids. I talked to my shop, and this was common on some bc the power plug wouldn't seat just right, even though it was firmly anchored in place. Happened a few times with the car parked and no heavy bass.
Updating an equal band took a second. Do a swipe across several band, and it takes that much longer.
Going between left and right channels on the eq, it would sometimes switch to linked mode, where both sides would be changed instead of just one. You can imagine what that can do to a tuning session if youre not paying attention.
Loading presets took FOREVER.
Had sub and center channel each just stop working at different times. The only way to fix it was to go back through the initial setup and then load a saved config other than the one I was using when it **** out. RF tech support had no answer for this one.

Maybe it was the palm, but I doubt it. It just seemed overall that the software wasn't fully baked. I'm hopeful for the 3sixty.3. It seems to be done by a different team, and could be amazing if they do it right.

I'd say if someone wants to have DSP, but doesn't tune all the time or compete, this would be fine, but if you really run a processor hard, making changes, listening, changing again, trying different things, etc, then you should pass.


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## gjmallory (Apr 13, 2010)

So after using it for several months now, I have to say I am 80% happy with it. There are only a few things I would change...ability to tune with IPhone app, faster processor-so that eq changes are so slow, 2 more stereo outs, subwoofer TA, and more ability to fine tune TA. With all of that though...for $220...it is way the heck better that what I had!

Gjmallory - sent from my phone...


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## quietfly (Mar 23, 2011)

Glad you ended up liking it!


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## gjmallory (Apr 13, 2010)

One more thing...I did have the noise floor issue that some have mentioned...keyword- DID. I just re-did the set-up process and viola! No more noise floor! Much happier. It was my gain settings on the 3sixty.2 and my amp. 

Gjmallory - sent from my phone...


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## ousooner2 (Jan 6, 2011)

What did you do to lower the noise floor??


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## computerjlt (Nov 29, 2010)

ousooner2 said:


> What did you do to lower the noise floor??


probably just did the setup by the book; if you dont you wind up with a 360 thats gain is set very low causing you to have to ramp up the gains on your amplifiers. 

Also the 360 seems to be picky about grounding.

all in all not a bad unit when setup correctly, now someone go buy mine lol


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## gjmallory (Apr 13, 2010)

That's totally what I did. 

Gjmallory - sent from my phone...


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