12" Fi Car Audio Q vs 12" Stereo Integrity Mag D2 Review

[LowEndTheory 10+ year member]

great review, from your install point of view. funny you're the first person i've seen with both drivers that prefered the q (including guys with lots of testing).But like you said the Q works better in your install and thats not argueable.Unfortunately i don't see where SI or FI even recommends the box you used but good review none the less. AS for the guys reading this review, unless you use the same box he's using please take this review with a grain of salt. Just for the fact that you said the Mag didn't hit low as good makes me really beleive that theres a box problem, considering thats the first thing most discovered about the Mag.What makes me laugh is weeks of reviewing subs for the great 12 challenge basically put the Mag on top but one review from db has people saying this review was better than the great 12 challenge. What also makes me laugh is all the guys thinking about buying the Q or owning a Q seem all excited from the only review i've seen that put the Q on top. I haven't heard both but seeing how the guys at FI and the guys at SI seem to pretty much agree and which sub is better, from what i've read. I honestly would be happy with either sub, but glad i got the Mag.

Why would you be skeptical of the Q being louder down low when the 12" challenge proved it on the graph? I've owned both and I totally agree with the reviewer. The Mag is a very precise sounding sub, very detailed and accurate, but the Q is not far off. And it is louder than the Mag I had. I think someone said his review was more detailed and thorough than the challenge review, which may be why he considered it better. He also used some rap for reference which is always good.

 

[mrray13 10+ year member]

great review, from your install point of view. funny you're the first person i've seen with both drivers that prefered the q (including guys with lots of testing).But like you said the Q works better in your install and thats not argueable.Unfortunately i don't see where SI or FI even recommends the box you used but good review none the less. AS for the guys reading this review, unless you use the same box he's using please take this review with a grain of salt. Just for the fact that you said the Mag didn't hit low as good makes me really beleive that theres a box problem, considering thats the first thing most discovered about the Mag.What makes me laugh is weeks of reviewing subs for the great 12 challenge basically put the Mag on top but one review from db has people saying this review was better than the great 12 challenge. What also makes me laugh is all the guys thinking about buying the Q or owning a Q seem all excited from the only review i've seen that put the Q on top. I haven't heard both but seeing how the guys at FI and the guys at SI seem to pretty much agree and which sub is better, from what i've read. I honestly would be happy with either sub, but glad i got the Mag.

very well said. in my testing with the mag 15, i found that it didn't like the upper bass region, anything over 50hz, it fell on it's face. but play that sucker in the 15-50hz region and it killed! and that's in a box deemed too small by most, 2.5 cubes at 34hz and 25in^2 of port. power was an orion 2500d, wired at both 1 ohm and 4 ohm for efficiency testing and the mag simply ate up the 2500 like it wasn't even there. and it still got loud off "just" 1200. i will agree that it wasn't the loudest woofer i tested in that box, that honor goes to the treo ss's that box(s) was built for, but then again, that wasn't the optimum box either.

i also agree that the mag did tend to be a bit sluggish on the really fast stuff, but then again, i had a 15, the 12 might fair better.

i need to listen to a Q. from all aspects, it seems like a great driver, especially at it's price. but, no disresect intended, like t-money hit upon, in most reviews, the mag wins. even with it's bigger price tag. i think, again like mentioned earlier, people need to realize that db dom clearly mentioned that this is in his personal setup. in another application, the Q might not (and again, in most reviews) fair so well against the mag. not saying the Q isn't deserving of the win, i do believe from what i've read about it, it most certainly is, but as always (i'm beating on a dead horse here, but in this forum, that can't be one enough) this review is subjective, is the owner's opinion and is application dependant.

in the end, either sub is a great choice when it comes to designing a system. both subs are backed by outstanding people, are excellent build qualtiy and excellent performers. budget might very well be the only deciding factor as either sub, by all reviews read, will do whatever is asked of it, in the proper enclosure.

ok, i've rambled enough...

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/peace.gif.2db28b618ed8d1964ebbe2f5021d2c39.gif

 

[t-money 10+ year member]

Like i said i haven't heard a Q and i had my first Mag before Fi was around. For the price you can't go wrong, i may have bought two 15 Q's if they were offered at the same time. However they are two different subs and it gets tired really fast that people keep comparing them, they both play bass and they both do it well and thats should be all that matters. Half the people here who are so concerned about which sub is better should probably look into their front stage more. Remember guys the purpose for these subs is to enjoy music.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

and mrray13 that box was truly too small for the Mag 15, i had mine in a 2.2df @30hz box than a 3.7cf @27hz box, big difference is sq and spl.

 

[dB Dom 10+ year member]

Guys, I am not trying the subs in other enclosures... I have sold the Mag off already.

But believe me, the box is optimal for both drivers. Like I said it was designed for low FS mid Q mid Vas, and both these pecisely match the category. And since the mag calls for a smaller box, it was more at home in this box than the Q.

Also I didnt say the mag didnt have low end. It had good low end, the Q just did that much better in that region.

The graph from the Great 12" challange proved to be correct in my install too. The Q is at least 1 db louder at lower frequency. Defenitely an audiable difference.

T-money, if you dont like people comapring these two, then why did you even open this thread?

The whole point of this was to determine which is better in MY install with MY prefrence, everything I wrote was an accurate listening test done by me myself and I. But like Lowendtheory (one of my fav hip hop groups btw) stated my findings were not much off from his own.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

What makes me laugh is weeks of reviewing subs for the great 12 challenge basically put the Mag on top

Weeks of reviewing subs? The SQ portion was done in a single day...one very long, very busy day. But we weren't listening for weeks //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

but one review from db has people saying this review was better than the great 12 challenge.

Then those people are idiots for saying one review is "better" than another. The only part of a review you can objectively make a judgement on is how it was performed and written up...types of reference material used...and Dom did an impeccable job, something you don't see too much around here.

 

[xluben 10+ year member]

i'm not saying one is better than the other. i think they compliment each other well (dispite coming to different conclusions).

i think in audio, objective testing can only go so far, and then subjective comments fill in the rest. depending on how well a review is written will greatly influence the impact of the results (IMO).

the 12 challenge is a bit lacking on the subjective write up (obviously due to lack of time), so i think, the more comparisons the better (especially one's that are very will written, and do a good job of describing how the reviewer feels).

 

[lilmaniac2 5,000+ posts]

so we should just take down the results since they dont matter right... ill be sure to talk to loyd about that

 

[MTXman 10+ year member]

sir, do i have permission to say i'm on your deek?

LOL X2 +1 for low-end bass - great for rap.

 

[MTXman 10+ year member]

i'm not saying one is better than the other. i think they compliment each other well (dispite coming to different conclusions).
i think in audio, objective testing can only go so far, and then subjective comments fill in the rest. depending on how well a review is written will greatly influence the impact of the results (IMO).

the 12 challenge is a bit lacking on the subjective write up (obviously due to lack of time), so i think, the more comparisons the better (especially one's that are very will written, and do a good job of describing how the reviewer feels).

the point of the test was to be as objective as possible, because all other reviews are SUBJECTIVE.

the 12'' test session gave you hard evidence as to which sub performed the best, and which ones didnt fare too well.

this is a great review don't get me wrong, but don't condemn the 12'' test session review, they are totally different types of reviews.

Yes, the test session didn't give a million personal reviews as to which sub sounded the best with Lil jon or which sounded better with Beethoven, because that's not what they were designed to do.

 

[bigbangtheory 5,000+ posts]

Interesting read, I will have to give my review once I get everything squared away with the Q. Nice review though.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

this is a great review don't get me wrong, but don't condemn the 12'' test session review, they are totally different types of reviews.
Yes, the test session didn't give a million personal reviews as to which sub sounded the best with Lil jon or which sounded better with Beethoven, because that's not what they were designed to do.

Huh?

 

[xluben 10+ year member]

so we should just take down the results since they dont matter right... ill be sure to talk to loyd about that

????

what's with all the hatred. guess what, your test wasn't the end all of subwoofer comparisons.

it was probably the biggest, and most objective testing ever done, but that doesn't mean all other reviews should be disregarded either.

i never said the 12 test results don't matter. in fact, i said they compliment other reviews quite nicely.

 

[Hundreth 10+ year member]

I love it when forum boners go against other forum boners, people get so personal.

 

[xluben 10+ year member]

the point of the test was to be as objective as possible, because all other reviews are SUBJECTIVE.
the 12'' test session gave you hard evidence as to which sub performed the best, and which ones didnt fare too well.

this is a great review don't get me wrong, but don't condemn the 12'' test session review, they are totally different types of reviews.

Yes, the test session didn't give a million personal reviews as to which sub sounded the best with Lil jon or which sounded better with Beethoven, because that's not what they were designed to do.

exactly. i feel that both types of reviews are good to consider.

also, objective only goes so far, especially when each person's listening conditions will be so much different.

ps. i have neither of these drivers.

 

[newusername 10+ year member]

Not to stir the pot more, but I think the objective results and preferred frequency range is as much a comment on your front stage and enclosure used as it is the actual products themselves.

Neil