kicker's new shallow mount 10. we jsut got these in 10's and 12's at the shop. and finally got an opportunity to install/ listen to one.
first things first, we also carry the pioneer shallow mount and the clarion. the pioneer is a 12 and lists for $220. the clarion is a 10 and lists for $200. the kicker lists for $170 for the 12 and $150 for teh 10. all three are rated around 400wrms, so the kicker wins this part hands down. value=8/10
looks are ugly. this is no beauty queen. teh clarion wins this part, but if you buy subs based on looks, well, i've got a real nice chunk of ocean side property in kansas i want to sell you. anyway, cosmetics=5/10
on to the good stuff. we've installed all three brands now in various different vehicles, but all similiar box sizes, ranging from .4 to about .7ft^3 net sealed.
sound quality goes to the clarion, but not by much. the pioneer sucks at everything. output and soundquality, it's no better then a OEM sub. the clarion can get loud and low and remain clean doing everything. no real boominess from the clarion. the kicker, well, the kicker is nice! while not as clean as the clarion, it is competitive. we installed the 10" version in .4ft^3 net sealed in an avalanche off a kicker 400.1 birthsheet rated 486wrms. it's a nice sounding sub, but tends to be boomy. it's quick, but does hang up a bit on the faster stuff. really quick double kicks aren't it's thing, but it'll throw down on t3h boom like so!!! sq=6/10
output, man does the kicker shine here. it kicks the hell outa the pioneer and walks the clarion, by ear. it drops low, gets loud. it's output in that enclosure in that vehicle was nothing short of impressive. it really can get loud and handle power. the other two pale in comparison. output=9/10
power handling is a good attribute of the cvt. liek mentioned, it's getting close to 100wrms more then rated and having no problems doing it. i probably won't go much more then 500, but it could probably take 650-700, if a person was responsible. the other two, only the clarion can handle it's rated rms, the pioneer is junk. power handling=9/10
overall, this is the best shallowmount sub i've heard. small box happy (the recommened small sealed box for it is .7ft^3 IIRC), it gobbles up power and gives you outstanding output in return. neither the clarion nor the pioneer really hold a candle to this sub. kicker really nailed this one. the one downside is the boominess. it's happier playing lil jeezy then it is playing slipknot, but it'll do both fairly well. one other neat featur kicker gives you is a metal plate with gasket to help in mounting the sub in shallow boxes. you can remove a portion the enclosure to allow the motor to clear and using the supplied gasket and plate, simply screw it down to seal it back off. allowing the 4 3/16" deep sub to be mounted in as little as 3 1/2" of space. no more glassing over a hole for us!! overall=9/10
i recommend these things to anyone looking for a cost effective way of getting a sub in a shallow area. throw the recommended power at em and boom away!!!
i'll probably be pulling the 4 mclass10s in my silverado for either 4 of these 10's or 12's. maybe i'll get closer to the output i crave!!
wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/peace.gif.2db28b618ed8d1964ebbe2f5021d2c39.gif
