copied and pasted from my vm and
amazon review: I was sent one of these to write a review, and after playing with it for a week here are my impressions:
I also own a pair of the lower quality VM Audio subs to compare. These have a larger surround than I was expecting. However it seems to be rubber just like the lower quality ones, so in freezing temperatures these will more than likely seize until it warms up(reminds me to update those reviews). With the large surround and loose spider, the sub has quite a bit of excursion. I swapped it with a Type R I had and it seemed to handle my 1k rms @ 2 ohms worst than the R, but I only tried ~1.3 cuft sealed. I was suprised how well they did sound, plenty of punch and have a pretty flat response.
The magnet does look like it's in a boot, and I would rate this sub closer to 800 than the current rating. They also upgraded to a harder metal basket which was a big con of the lower model. However I noticed for the removable plastic ring around the surround isn't mounted, and the drywall screws I used had to bore the hole some to actually fit.
Overall, It's a decent quality subwoofer. If this is the max in your budget and have the power to make it useful, do so. And if you live in a cold climate, I'd look for ones with a foam surround.