Favourite Subwoofers

wb131988 · TweakNOOB Joined: 03 Feb 2005 Posts: 194 Location: UK

What is everyones' fave sub? The following, but not all factors have to be considered:

- Sound Quality
- Loudness (mid-high frequencies)
- Sensitivity (dB)
- 'Bassiness' (low frequencies)
- Appearance
- Composition (capabilities/strength to be pushed hardest/longest)
- price to quality relationship (e.g. was that £300 sub really worth it?)
- Overall Features

Thanks for postin n get thinkin!

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Hoedizzy · Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2005 12:38 am Post subject:

I've really been an alpine fan. I've had my Type S 10" bandpass box for 3 years now. I know that alot of people really do not like the sound of a bandpass but for me I find that it blends with the music much better. (its smooth rather than harsh) Same goes with there 5.25" and their 6'9's, I find their audio equipment to be very well rounded.

JayDubya · Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2005 1:12 am Post subject:

JL comes to mind. as does eclipse and orion . . . does orion make subs anymore =(
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sandness · Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2005 1:17 am Post subject:

Well, since most people have seen/heard/read about a lot of the mainstream subs, I'll go ahead and post some links of some not-so-mainstream companies that have some excellent products available. These are for your consideration:

www.adireaudio.com
www.aespeakers.com
www.ascendantaudio.com
www.audioque.com
www.cdtaudio.com
www.crystalmobilesound.com/
www.ddaudio.com
www.diamonaudio.com
www.edesignaudio.com
www.imagedynamics.com
www.incriminatoraudio.com
www.powerbase.com
www.reaudio.com
www.soundsplinter.com
www.stereointegrity.com
www.treoonline.com

I think that covers most of the smaller, lesser know brands (was bored, so they're in alphabetical order even). They all offer some great products- especially if you don't want what everyone else has.

Personally, I purchased a pair of 13Kv.2's from Elemental Designs recently. Spring break is coming up in a few weeks, so hopefully I will get a box made to put them in play. They are pretty good bang for the buck.

Subs that I have run (in boxes that I built)

*Audiobahn Alum12- not bad, overrated power handling, crappy build quality, sounds decent in a small sealed box, died on me
*Radioshack ProSeries 12- had 4 in a bandpass box for a week until 1 blew (I overpowered them), put one in a small sealed box for boss's daugher- actually sounds pretty decent, the other 2 are still chillin in my shed without a home
*Orion XTR10- ran this in a bandpass box for some time, wasn't too bad, decent output from a single 10, transient response and sound quality was much better after switching to a ported box, takes abuse well- took 600w from a Memphis ST1000D for months - not bad for a 250wrms speaker
*Alpine Type R 10- currently running, is in a ported enclosure tuned to about 22Hz, has a solid low-end, decent output for a single 10 as well, takes 500w no problem, excellent build quality

sandness · Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2005 1:20 am Post subject:

wb131988 · TweakNOOB Joined: 03 Feb 2005 Posts: 194 Location: UK

Since I have had interest in sound systems etc. the only brand I have been recommended and heard friends etc. talk about is ALPINE. ALPINE ALPINE ALPINE.... At that point I didnt know much about Alpine in terms of spec, but I was more of a fan of looking good lol yes i no vry shallow of me....... and Alpine did not fulfill my thoughts.... Now I have gained knowledge about their products in depth, I say they are the best audio company in terms of speakers and HU, for that quality almost anyone can afford at say age 17+.

wb131988 · TweakNOOB Joined: 03 Feb 2005 Posts: 194 Location: UK

What does everyone think of the Kicker Comp VR subs??

JayDubya · Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2005 11:22 pm Post subject:

They are a competition speaker. Sound quality isn't all that great, but they can get loud and take a fair amount of power to run properly.
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FreeTheRock [banned] · Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2005 11:30 pm Post subject:

what about w6's are those good subs? sorry im not to familar with subs that much arent they made from JL Audio?

JayDubya · Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2005 11:34 pm Post subject:

If i remember right, those are those absolutely insanely big subs, right? Something like a depth of 12"?? I've head two of those in an s-10 regular cab (box was cut into the cab) It hit 150dB's and then i got out (i like my hearing)
Quality isn't as good as the w3's, but they can get a whole heck of alot louder. Not to mention they take about 2 or 3 times more RMS wattage.

WB131988, maybe instead of looking for different subs, you should invest in a GOOD amp . . . my 2c
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Sally · UberTweaker Joined: 31 Mar 2004 Posts: 1158 Location: WA

I am a HUGE fan of the Orion that Matt was talking about. When he retired that sub from his car and put it in a friends, there were actual creases in the cone from excursion. Many subs would have died under less stress and poly-cone subs would likely have cracked under the pressure—but these pressed onward. The sub I chose for my car and that I run today is quite similar in traits to this orion, only a bit more extreme. I currently run a Single Rockford Fosgate RFR3112 POWER HX2 subwoofer. Also having a paper cone, buytl surround, and a no-frills design, the RF takes this to another level. A power handeling of 1000W RMS and dual 2Ohm voice coils allow this sub's wishes to be fulfilled by my Memphis 1100W RMS amplifier @ 1Ohm. Other impressive stats are a 19mm xmax, a 203oz magnet, and it stands more than 8" tall if sitting magnet down.

http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/rnt/rnw/docs/AnswerID_157-B.jpg
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ToggleHead · TWEAKGURU Joined: 03 Mar 2004 Posts: 4360 Location: Jersey

first of all...sandness misspelled one....its www.diamondaudio.com

w6's are GREAT subs if you like a lot of air movement....not my style speaker...but again...your ear matters.....

im more of an efficency fan.... better quality....loud..but not overbearing....

competition subs are NOT...i reapeat NOT meant to be run for longer than 30 seconds or so at their highlevels...... they are competition ONLY..... be careful what you pump through them.....
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JayDubya · Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2005 3:22 am Post subject:

^^Exactly. Some of those thing can only handle bursts of energy and not sustained high wattages. Many a voice coil burns out at competitions with lots of power and subs that need the power.

You should be fine for the things your looking at.
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wb131988 · TweakNOOB Joined: 03 Feb 2005 Posts: 194 Location: UK

JayDubya I have posted a new topic on what I would like to do concerning a new amp.......

[KoG]^weaZel · Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2005 1:53 pm Post subject:

I am a fan of Cerwin Vega subs. I currently run a Vega series 124 in a Q-Logic box (I know the box sucks but I havent had time to design and build the custom box yet).
Kenwood has also served me well in the past. I ran a pair of tens in a custom ported enclosure for an extended cab s-10.
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wb131988 · TweakNOOB Joined: 03 Feb 2005 Posts: 194 Location: UK

Check out my Setup Arrangement topic to help me on deciding which amp to buy!!! Cheerz

Rocksteady · Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2005 8:30 am Post subject:

Anybody like JBL? I have a powered 250w JBL Sub in the house, which is good, but don't know much about the unpowered subs for cars.. I'm looking at Alpine, Kenwood, Blaupunkt, MB Quart's... Gotta check the ohms I'll need, but I want something that can take 100w to 500w peak.
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namelessjoker · Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2005 1:08 pm Post subject:

How yall like some old school strokers?

ToggleHead · TWEAKGURU Joined: 03 Mar 2004 Posts: 4360 Location: Jersey

Man....those Cerwin Vegas are the best around man. I LOVE those oldies...=D
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namelessjoker · Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2005 1:57 pm Post subject:

They finaly started making them strokers again....From what i hear they backed off for a while.
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wb131988 · TweakNOOB Joined: 03 Feb 2005 Posts: 194 Location: UK

Can anyone please tell me what specific areas the Alpine Type R 12 inch subs are good in i.e. sound wise??

fussnfeathers · Lord of the Tweak Joined: 14 Dec 2004 Posts: 2763

Just chiming in......

If you look at most of the websites, they'll give you a base recommendation for where they work best, and what type of box. Alot of it has to do with what sort of sound you want, too. Those mondo-massive competition subs, honestly, sound like crap, unless they're cranked to the max (which is what they're for.......show, not tell, so to speak).

Crutchfield used to have a really good "spec sheet" for their subs, as far as what type of music they'd sound best for, I don't know if they have that anymore.....it was in their print catalogs, but oddly, not online.

For me, I'd probably go this way:

Polk Audio if you don't want thunder, but crave smooth.

Infinity adds some punch, but keeps the overall smoothness of the sound......i.e. not good for rap/hip hop/techno.

JBL if you want an even mix of the two.....again, not especially great at "fart level" bass tones, but very musical.

EV for higher power, better low end response, and more thump, at the expense of a slight amount of low-mid (where you really hear the sound, IMO).

JL, Audiobahn, et al..........they all go for the most boom, but really sacrifice sound quality overall.

To my ears, JBL sounds the best, especially in pairs, and with a high-quality amp at twice the power rating of the combined main speakers. They'll rattle your teeth, shake your underwear loose, but they do it so smoothly you don't even notice.
Alpine for more bass-heavy stuff, again, at the sacrifice of low-mid,
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wb131988 · TweakNOOB Joined: 03 Feb 2005 Posts: 194 Location: UK

so those Alpine R's are competition subwoofers?

dene · Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 6:34 am Post subject:

sandness · Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 6:49 am Post subject:

I would not consider the Type R's "competition" subs. Typically, subs used in dB competitions cost well over $400 a pop and are made to handle thousands of watts for bursts. This means 3"-4" coils, as opposed to 2.5". Also, the common misconception that such woofers only work in competitions is false. Practically any speaker can sound decent if given the correct install. This is because typically 70% is in the install and 30% is in the equipment. An SPL competitor's system is not setup to play music- it is a one-not wonder, essentially, that plays test tones. They usually run a huge ported enclosure tuned in the high 40's to mid 60's. This produces the most output by utilizing the speakers impedance peaks and the cars resonant frequency, which both usally fall within that range.

Now, if the speaker were used in a sealed box, a low-tuned ported box, free-air, etc, etc, that was designed according to its T/S parametes, it can sound good.

fussnfeathers:

I don't see EV producing mobile audio equipment, but no biggie.
Also, as far as JL being "most boom, but really sacrifice sound quality overall" I'd have to disagree. In fact, I'd say none of their subs fall under such category. W7 especially- considered a reference woofer by most in terms of sound quality. And its lil brother, the W6v2, is definitley no slouch.