need recommendation

[scorpion055 10+ year member]

ok heres the deal....i just helped my friend install his system and it made me catch the bug again. so i decided to somewhat upgrade what i already have

2 pioneer ts-w250r 10's

rockford rf2002 amp

premade q-logic box

i know its not much but its worked for me....so all i was wanting to do was sell that and use the money to put towards a new system. mainly just so i can mess with it again.

well my problem is that i was looking at the kenwood kfc-w3011 but after reading some comments on it here, im not sure of the quality of it.

so what do you recommend i do? it looked like such a good deal at ~$50 a sub and i kinda based my budget around that. are there any other subs out there that i could use that are right in that $50 range? and i know that most of you will say that i should just save up my money to buy something better but the truth is that im pretty happy with what ive got already.....i just want to mess with car audio stuff again.

so, in conclusion. what are your thoughts on the kenwood sub? do you have any recommendations for a similarly priced sub? and thanks in advance for any advice.

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[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

The sad truth is that $50 subs are simply that ~ $50 subs. Nothing more, nothing less.

There unfortunately isn't anything that your average person would consider an even adequate performer in that price range unless you find a great deal on some used equipment.

I think currently (until June 30th) THE best bang for the buck option in subwoofers is the sale that Kicker is running through most, if not all, of their authorized dealers which is Buy 1 Get 1 Free on the Kicker CompVR sub.

It's working out to $100/pair for the 8s, $130/pair for the 10s, $150/pair for the 12s, and $250/pair for the 15s.

Okay - well, I just proved myself wrong. The CompVR 8s work out to $50 each while on sale.

The problem with upgrading to a new set of subs is that likely you'll want to upgrade the amp as well. THat puts an even deeper strain on the ole budget, eh? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif

 

[scorpion055 10+ year member]

first off thanks for the input, its much appreciated

but like i said...the system i have right now works fine for me and as you can see its not much......almost as cheap as you can get. im not the audiophile some of you guys are.

and i am gonna upgrade my amp, ive already figured that into my budget. its just the subs that are holding me back now.

im gonna be going for the profile ap1000m as its cheap (good for me) and ive read good things about it. and id like to go for 12's this time around.

do you think that the kenwoods would suit me fine? i know a lot of you guys are picky about your stuff so maybe you judge some of the lower end stuff a little too hard? im not sure.

 

[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

Actually - there is an option within the target budget you're after ~

There's a member on the forum currently trying to sell an old pair of Kicker Comps for $60 + shipping (I think is the figure he's after)

They are SVC 8 Ohm subs which can be wired into a 4 Ohm load with the subs wired in parallel.

You could then use your current amp in bridged configuration to power them.

As long as they were in an adequate enclosure (and a $20 sheet of MDF and a saw could get you a sealed box for them pretty quick) I would wager they'd outperform the Pioneer 10s you're running now.

 

[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

I'll post another post entirely rather than editing my above one....

I promise you I'm not being overly critical of the more entry-level offerings from various manufacturers.

You'll likely not find a more die-hard Kenwood fan on this particular forum outside of myself. I won't own another brand of headunit, period (been running a Kenwood headunit of some model or another since the '92) I simply do not care for the tonal qualities of Kenwood's lesser subs. They aren't particularly accurate and the output levels, even when properly enclosed and amplified, are disappointing.

I have a pair of Kenwood's upmarket line (eXcelon) 10s that I ran for a great long while before I got the Diamond Audio M6mkII 12" I use currently. I paid $100/shipped for them on eBay and fed them somewhat beyond rated power and I liked the way those sounded for the 2 years I used them. But they weren't anything to particularly brag about - they were just decent.

The 'regular' Kenwood subs and speakers are...well.... unimpressive in my humble opinion.

 

[scorpion055 10+ year member]

first, about the guy selling the subs...sounds like a good deal and thanks for the heads up but i think im gonna stick with new.

i think i may be able to up my budget some so what do you think of these? and will they work well with that profile amp?

http://www.millionbuy.com/kik07cvr124.html

 

[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

first, about the guy selling the subs...sounds like a good deal and thanks for the heads up but i think im gonna stick with new.
i think i may be able to up my budget some so what do you think of these? and will they work well with that profile amp?

http://www.millionbuy.com/kik07cvr124.html

I think the Kicker CompVR is a fine driver for its pricepoint. Hence my recommendation for them in an earlier post.

Though if I were going to buy them I think I'd get them through Crutchfield. For a pair of 12s you'd be looking at $150/shipped with a full one year warranty.

The drawback to getting a pair of those is that they do not match particularly well with that Profile amp. The AP1000M is rated for 500w @ 2 Ohm. The CompVRs are rated for 400w RMS each. That Profile amp has enough Oomph for one of them by itself but on a pair of them they'd be starving for wattage. You'd want more in the neighborhood of 7-800w to properly power a pair of them.