I don't know if this is the right place, but I'm buying my first sub!

[Stanko 10+ year member]

I think I like the Skar 12", the SA-12, and the Obsidian Audio 12" and 15" Very affordable at $158 for 15"? Yessiree. I'll look at more reviews of each and then probably go for one of them.

Is the 15" Obsidian worth the extra $20 over the 12"? And if that's not worth it, is the SA-12 or Skar 12" sound quality/chest poundage worth the extra money over the Obsidian 12" or 15"?

Edit: Well, with shipping the 15" would be $177, so that's right there with the Skar 12.

 

[Stanko 10+ year member]

Ok, I think I've decided on the Obsidian Audio, now it's just between the 12" and the 15". If I were to put them in their optimal enclosures, what would be the difference in sound? If it's not noticeably louder or harder-hitting, I'd rather go with the cheaper 12" option.

Edit: double-post, sorry.

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

Ok, I think I've decided on the Obsidian Audio, now it's just between the 12" and the 15". If I were to put them in their optimal enclosures, what would be the difference in sound? If it's not noticeably louder or harder-hitting, I'd rather go with the cheaper 12" option.
Edit: double-post, sorry.

A 15 will be noticeably louder than the 12" version. But the box will also be about double the size. Figure out the space you have available, and/or want to give up to this project, and that should make the decision for you.

 

[zako 10+ year member]

Not sure how the op arrived to the preferences between either 10 sealed (relatively small box) or 12 ported (big box). Shouldn't the preference be reverse. 10 will sound less strained in an average sized ported box, while 12 will probably sound loud enough in sealed. Anyways, it has been discussed many times. The sonic difference between 10 and 12 from the same manufacturer series will not be as big as comparing different subwoofer models. Ignore the subwoofer size, just look for the best sub that works for your application. I like the sound and higher sensitivity of a sealed 12 (compared to sealed 10). Alpine Type-R is probably a decent starter sub. Will take a lot of abuse and sound respectable in a right box. Slightly more expensive options could include Image Dynamics IDQ V3 (accurate) or IDMAX (loud but still accurate).

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

Not sure how the op arrived to the preferences between either 10 sealed (relatively small box) or 12 ported (big box). Shouldn't the preference be reverse. 10 will sound less strained in an average sized ported box, while 12 will probably sound loud enough in sealed. Anyways, it has been discussed many times. The sonic difference between 10 and 12 from the same manufacturer series will not be as big as comparing different subwoofer models. Ignore the subwoofer size, just look for the best sub that works for your application. I like the sound and higher sensitivity of a sealed 12 (compared to sealed 10). Alpine Type-R is probably a decent starter sub. Will take a lot of abuse and sound respectable in a right box. Slightly more expensive options could include Image Dynamics IDQ V3 (accurate) or IDMAX (loud but still accurate).

Your reply implies that 10's inherently sound different than 12's ("I like the sound and higher sensitivity of a sealed 12"), this is untrue. Many factors, such as the speakers specs like Fs, and the enclosure's size/type/alignment play as big a, if not bigger, role in the over all sound characteristic the system will produce. To say you prefer the sound of a 12 is to greatly over simplify the situation.

But yes you are correct that it is a bit confusing to compare a sealed 10 to a ported 12, as the size difference between those two setups will be on a scale of 4x (usually). Usually people look at a sub system the way I advised earlier in this thread, by how large an enclosure they can use, which makes it more logical to compare a ported 10 to a sealed 12, where enclosure size will be relatively similar (given like-model drivers).

 

[Stanko 10+ year member]

My trunk is big enough for probably two 12s, maybe even two 15s (in which case my trunk would BE the two 15s haha). But from reading around on a bunch of forums it seems that the general consensus is that a 10 will reach its loudest in a sealed, ~.75 ft^3 box, whereas a 12 will achieve its peak in a ported ~2 ft^3 box, notwithstanding what an experienced audio guy can do with either size sub (1 10 louder than 2 12, 1 12 > 2 10, etc...), and I have room for either setup. I do need to find some good designs for building boxes though. The more I research the more I'm realizing I can do it WAY cheaper myself than I thought.

My main concern with getting a 10 was that it was generally cheaper for not much of a difference in sound, but now that I've found Obsidian Audio it turns out I can actually afford a 15"! Size was never my issue (with a single sub, anyways), just the money, which means I'll probably be going for the 15. The 12 is still in the running though, I mean it IS another $20 cheaper //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif