Better than a powered subwoofer in a little plastic car?

[notford]

Hi there,

I blew an oem speaker on my 19 year old car and that spiraled into a budget subwoofer system. This is for a 1992 Saturn SL2.

Musical Goals: More low end, equal mix of SPL/SQ (SQL?), mostly Rap and/or Rock from Pandora

Budget Goals: ~$200 and/or better bang for the buck than an RF R300-12 (12" Prime, 300W RMS)

Difficulty - $125 of eBay gift certificates

Enclosure - 1.5 cubic feet max, ported or sealed, DIY (cost not included)

Amplifiers - 3-500 watts RMS into 2-4 ohms seems doable for the $$$

Cadence Xa400.1

Soundstream TRA340.2

Soundstream TRX2.550

Soundstream PCX2.540

Cadence FXA1500

Kenwood KAC-8105D

Bazooka ELA500.1

Others to consider?

Sub - Single 10 or 12, 1.5 cubic feet max

Kenwood kfc w3012

Tidal TM12 OEM

MB Quart RWE

Arc Audio Foose

Cadence TXW10-D4

Or, should I just wuss out and a get a powered subwoofer?

Previous Experience: Ghetto x3, JL 15w4 sealed, 2X Round Kicker 15" Solo Barics sealed, 2X JL 12W3 in a bandpass but that car was sold in 2005 and nothing since. All installs DIY.

Thanks much,

Matt

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[Bassin Buick]

mb quart RWE and one of the SS amps should do it nicely.

 

[bugflipper 10+ year member]

DIAMOND AUDIO D6450.2 2 CHANNEL AMP CAR AMPLIFIER NEW - eBay (item 130482412963 end time Mar-04-11 18:18:54 PST)

SSA Shop - SSA Dcon 12D4 subwoofer300rms

or http://www.soundsolutionsaudio.com/store/products/12%22-187-Series.html Would go with the ssa for the lows though.

 

[notford]

Thanks for the replies, gents.

re: MB RWE - I have heard that they like a lot of space: will I be leaving anything on the table with my 1.5 cubic foot constraint?

Re: SSA DCON - those did look good and I meant to include them. I thought power handling was 300 watts RMS? Can they take more? What would the benefit of those be over the Tidal OEM?

Also, I was hoping to get into a discussion regarding powered subs vs. individually selected amps and speakers? Any thoughts there?

 

[bugflipper 10+ year member]

Honestly I have never heard the tidal oem, so no idea. SSA dcons are some of the best budget subs out for reproducing lows.

As far as power handling just threw in the cleanest amp I could find for under 125 on ebay. The gain can be adjusted down to whatever you want. Yes they will handle the 450 though. I ran 4 at 2200 rms for 3 years and they were still stiff and sounded good when I got rid of them.

 

[mclerico83 5,000+ posts]

NEW Phoenix Gold RSD12 12" 4-ohm subwoofer 500 Watts - eBay (item 390096054892 end time Mar-13-11 13:48:10 PDT)

sub has been compared to an idmax

Phoenix Gold RSD12 Car Audio Test Report - Review Reviews - Car Audio and Electronics

Phoenix Gold RSD12 Car Audio Test Report - Review Reviews - Car Audio and Electronics

Phoenix Gold RSd12D - 12" Car Subwoofer - Sonic Electronix

read the reviews

Cadence TXA3002 600W 2-Channel Stereo Power Amplifier - eBay (item 260738200757 end time Feb-22-11 09:55:59 PST)

pair with these

Cadence Q2300 2-Channel 500 Watt Class AB Amplifier - eBay (item 260738741544 end time Feb-23-11 09:57:35 PST)

q series a lil better id throw the extra 10 and get this beautiful amp

 

[Trancer 10+ year member]

Is the budget for the amp AND sub or just the sub(s)?

 

[notford]

Mclerico83: thanks for those finds; I had just purchased my amp when I saw your reply. The xA400.1 for $80 was the best deal for an amp with good reviews under 500 watts.

So, now I have $120 to spend on a 4 ohm DVC sub (need 2 ohm load) to be powered with 425 watts. 10 or 12, but I would like to go ported and 1.5 cubic feet or less. DCON, MB RWE, and PG RSD have been mentioned (and I like the price on the Tidal OEM); which would sound the best in a small, ported enclosure?

Thanks,

Matt