The build Q is outstanding. I've clamped the 2 of them at almost 700 for a minute, its scary (panel and glass rattling) loud, yet amazingling controlled. Usually, when one gets near the RMS level, you can kind of hear it in lesser subs, not these, out an abundance of caution and a deferment to the wallet in the right rear pocket, I am kind of afraid to push it further though, sound is really good. That Heart misses a beat deep, hair on the arms raised amazing sound even though one is listening to Sarah McLaughlin's "Building a Mystery". It's not that SPL blow your hair back (sell sort of the one time I pushed them for show) but that tight thump thump thump, fast accurate attack you expect from a smaller 8 or ten. I'm a fan. I run A DS18 Hooligan 3k at 4 ohms so 1000 watts possible, doesn't break a sweat and seems to love working with the Focal subs. Defiantly more refined than rough, not what I would call a BASS head, ridiculous mega bounce it subs, definitely on the finess side. The one comment I get a lot is "wow, i can feel it in my chest and I know it is loud, but it doesn't seem like it is - as they are yelling to make the a point. My SPL days are behind me, but good SQ bass doesn't have to be quiet or exclusive, these do a real nice job. I might have to add an 8" version in front of the front seat looking back at the passenger, we'll see.
That sounds cool.
I have my primary job, but my secondary with is in this industry. I definitely admire and have respect for high quality and/or expensive gear, but personally I like trying to find the best values. Some people hate on DS18, but I've never witnessed a bad product from them. I will admit I don't personally like the color red, so I don't enjoy the aesthetics of their lower amps and the phase plugs on their speakers, but that's just personal taste.
I am using the most hated brand right now for subs... Skar. 2 12" EVLs. They're much better than I expected, honestly. I like them better than the Kicker solo-baric I was using previously.
For really cheap subs, I like the Recoil PW12 - they're like $90 a piece, 700 RMS, dual 2 or 4 ohm. I think the full cover dust cap looks really cool, too. They're better than the Skar SDR and CT Tropo for less money. I then recommend people pair it with the Recoil RED1200.1 or the $78 Audiozerone ZE1000.1. I'm using one of these cheap amps right now bc I wanted to test it out myself to see if it holds up before I recommended it to anyone. Fused @ 105 amps and does rated power. It has worked well for me for 5 months so far. I've used it on 4 different sub setups at 4, 2, and 1 ohm loads. It does have a cheap looking bass knob, but it works all the same and I like that it has the telephone plug. I don't like the headphone style, particularly.
I'm thinking about possibly trying a stereo integrity ht18v3 out. I need to model it, but in a vehicle I think it would work in maybe 6 ft³ tuned to 26-28 Hz. I'm kinda getting tired of using subs that are currently popular and that other people use vs what I personally would like to use. Sometimes I just so happen to get a sub(s) and if I haven't tried it out before so I'll hook it up for a couple months just so I can have an honest opinion about it. Even more so if it is already in an enclosure. I've tried all kinds of subs, but I don't like using anything under a 12". With everything else being equal (it frequently isn't), a 12" sub will be able to play lower and with less distortion than it's 10" counterpart.
Focal and JL (and a few others) have a good product with these 13" subs. I've seen the marketing research from Recoil/Edge and this is exactly why they don't make a 15" sub. Statistically, most people just don't buy them, and the enclosures are too big for most people. That extra inch helps play lower, be more efficient, etc in a very reasonable enclosure.
The only thing I don't like about some of the Recoil amps is that the DI series use fork terminals. The RED series uses set screws, however. I asked the company why they did that and they basically said it's bc that's what they had available. They've got the best 5 channel value on the market, imo. Powerful, 1 ohm 5th channel. Plus the 2500.1 I can get for $175-180. You can't beat that for 2500 @ 1 ohm and it has a clip light and a nice bass knob.
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