Newbie needs sub selection help

[feiticiera 10+ year member]

how nice are the dcon subs? are you sure about 600 watts on the icon. From what I remember isnt it worse to underpower a sub? The icons are 1000 rms

 

[mast240 10+ year member]

no... underpowering a sub is not a bad thing.... its not optimal... cuz giving it rated power is what you really want to do... but thats just to get everything out of the sub...

the dcon is a nice sub as well... but if your running a single, i wouldnt put 600 on it.

your best bet would be to go with an icon with 600 on it

 

[USAFbro 10+ year member]

dcon is rated at 300 watts. ive put more than 400 at it and it loves it. gets pretty loud for what it is and how much it costs. and sounds amazing. but for 600 watts id go with the icon. definatly

 

[feiticiera 10+ year member]

ok, I just really dont want to go up to 1000 watts (even though I have an alpinr mrd-m1001) and have to upgrade electrical and all that. I really wanna keep it small but sounding quality.

As stated in the original post I can good deals on alpine amps mrx-m50 and pdx-m6. What do you think of these to push it or what amps would you recommend?

Thanks again for the input guys. Im really trying to get this right the first time!

 

[USAFbro 10+ year member]

honestly you should be alright on 1000 on stock electrical. only thing you should consider is big 3 and maybe an extra batt.

 

[mast240 10+ year member]

you woudnt even really need an extra batt for 1000 watts... just big 3, and if running 2 amps, i would do 1/0 gauge back, and spit it down to 4ga to the amps

 

[feiticiera 10+ year member]

ya, see thats what I dont want to get into. My factory has the upgraded boston acoustics with 275 watt amp on them. I have the mrd-m1001 and a 12" type x from 4 years ago that I was going to sell because I didnt want that much anymore and with the space issues.

I was looking for something nice and powerful that would complement the factory interior but would not need electrical help (hence the 400-600 watt range) By the way what is big 3?

 

[mast240 10+ year member]

big 3 is upgrading your wiring:

from your alternator charge to your batt

from your batt ground to chassis ground

from your batt ground to engine ground

basicly, your biggest power connections under your hood... with just a sub amp needing to be wired, you can run 1000 watt off of 4ga.

but if you dont want to do that, 600 will push an icon very nicely... you wont be dissapointed with that sub... very good sounding sub

 

[USAFbro 10+ year member]

you dont have to run that alpine amp at 1000 if you dont want to... i say get the icon and build a good ported box for it, then hook up the alpine amp and be happy.

 

[feiticiera 10+ year member]

ok, got it. So I guess the last question. What do you think of those alpine amps? Any others you recommend for this build in that range??

 

[USAFbro 10+ year member]

that amp will do 1000 at 2ohms. your going to need to order the Dual 4ohm version, and copper coils sound better (just what ive heard )

 

---------- Post added at 09:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:02 PM ----------

 

just save the money and use that amp. im sure it will feed that icon what it needs

OH. and BTW, underpowering a sub IS NOT BAD. thats a total myth lol

 

[feiticiera 10+ year member]

I really do wish I had room for a ported box but I dont. I am a shipping manager and soon to be father of 2 so I will need every inch in this daily driver. 2.0 cu ft is not going to happen.

 

[USAFbro 10+ year member]

im not really the guy to talk to when it comes to what works in what box, but that icon should do fine sealed. just build it to 1.35 cubic feet (what the company recommends)

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

ascendant chaos in a small ported box 1.25 cubic ft

 

[USAFbro 10+ year member]

@ mylows10 website says 1.8-2.5 cubes?