1976 Chevy Caprice

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Forgot to say that I will be upgrading to either Sundown or DC Audio subs, I listen to mostly rock but always like the low lows of rap...
Out of the two subs mentioned what option/level of build by either of these companies would work best with single minotuar at first then a minotuar to each sub, paln on building a sealed enclosure...

Was thinking level 3 for DC audio or X series with Sundowns

How much space do you have for a box? Why not ported? Do you own a CD with some test tones on it? I think a lot of people very much overestimate how low they need to tune to play the music they like.

The Sundown X series sounds really nice. That's what I have in my car right now. They can take a lot of power.
I've heard that DC's have sh*tty soft parts. I don't know if they still do

I've not been impressed with the DC softparts either, but I know anything Sundown V4 lower than Nightshade is all built in China these days, so I wouldn't really break out the pom poms for lower end sundown on general principal. Older Z and nightshade series used American made coil and was build in-house which IMO makes a world of difference in reliability. About the only DC sub that impresses me (besides the Neo) is the LV6, which actually would be a pretty good match with a pair of Minotaur. They're quite efficient for a 4" coil sub, you're not dependent on proprietary softparts, and they'd be pretty much indestructible on 2500W.

Of course in the realm of 4" coil motors, you have other great options as well...

Also, my biggest beef with the X series is that you have softparts that can mechanically hang with probably 6KW on a coil that will fail over 1200W continuous. You're adding a lot of cost and complexity to the system which is largely cosmetic only if you're using them within their continuous power limitations. That being said, I'd take a Zv3 or older Nightshade over the X or other new parts Sundown 9 times out of 10.

 

[adulbrich 5,000+ posts]

I've not been impressed with the DC softparts either, but I know anything Sundown V4 lower than Nightshade is all built in China these days, so I wouldn't really break out the pom poms for lower end sundown on general principal. Older Z and nightshade series used American made coil and was build in-house which IMO makes a world of difference in reliability. About the only DC sub that impresses me (besides the Neo) is the LV6, which actually would be a pretty good match with a pair of Minotaur. They're quite efficient for a 4" coil sub, you're not dependent on proprietary softparts, and they'd be pretty much indestructible on 2500W.

Of course in the realm of 4" coil motors, you have other great options as well...

Also, my biggest beef with the X series is that you have softparts that can mechanically hang with probably 6KW on a coil that will fail over 1200W continuous. You're adding a lot of cost and complexity to the system which is largely cosmetic only if you're using them within their continuous power limitations. That being said, I'd take a Zv3 or older Nightshade over the X or other new parts Sundown 9 times out of 10.

I got my X bnib for a steal. I just bought some DD 9512h's to replace it though. It just didn't have enough cone area.

I had mine at 3.5k and didn't even get the coil smelly.. Have you personally fried an X coil?

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

I got my X bnib for a steal. I just bought some DD 9512h's to replace it though. It just didn't have enough cone area.
I had mine at 3.5k and didn't even get the coil smelly.. Have you personally fried an X coil?

You mean you had 1 ohm nominal wired subs to an amp that is rated to make 3500W into 1 ohm. Whether or not your amp ever made close to rated power into them and for how long is a matter of debate unless you can show me an impedance curve of the subs in the box or some clamp results. Continuous power thermal limits on a 3" 4 layer coil is 1200W this is why they're rated at 1200W... Chinese coils have proven in the past to be a bit less forgiving than American made coils in general.

Not saying they're bad or anything, they're certainly a lot of sub for the money even at MSRP. Put the DD's in a big box to DD specs and they'll get LOUD. 6-7 cube 15" port per cube 18" long.

 

[adulbrich 5,000+ posts]

You mean you had 1 ohm nominal wired subs to an amp that is rated to make 3500W into 1 ohm. Whether or not your amp ever made close to rated power into them and for how long is a matter of debate unless you can show me an impedance curve of the subs in the box or some clamp results. Continuous power thermal limits on a 3" 4 layer coil is 1200W this is why they're rated at 1200W... Chinese coils have proven in the past to be a bit less forgiving than American made coils in general.
Not saying they're bad or anything, they're certainly a lot of sub for the money even at MSRP. Put the DD's in a big box to DD specs and they'll get LOUD. 6-7 cube 15" port per cube 18" long.

I ran at 2 ohms, but you're right about the impedance curve. I have not clamped the amp either. Its got an old school MA audio board. I'm purely going off rated specs and properly set gains.

As for the DD's, I'm going to see how big I can build the box in the space I have.