Please help choose subwoofers - Two 12"

[jedwards83]

I have a HiFonics BXI1608D amp, said to put out 1600W @ 1 ohm. Yes, I understand that's probably overrated by a fair margin.

Not too far back, I blew a single RE SX12 hooked to it, the voice coil rubbed against the magnet and the sub was done. Not sure if it overheated or what happened. That sub was a 4 ohm DVC model, so only wired to two ohms.

I went from that single RE SX12 to two Audiobahn Alum12Q's, thinking they (rated at 1000w RMS each) could handle the power, but they only lasted about 6 weeks of steady use before the coils burned up. That was a 1.5 ohm load at the amp for both subs. The cones would get so hot you couldn't touch them.

Now I'm scratching my head because I don't want to spend a fortune, but I don't want to keep blowing subs either. Both my previous setups SX12 and Alum12's were a good combination of SQ and SPL, so I'm not looking for anything louder or "better". Just something that will sound good, get reasonably loud and not burn up in the process. Want to use the amp to it's full potential, so it should be 4 ohm DVC, or 2 ohm SVC.

My budget is $150-250 per sub. Cheaper the better, of course. Enclosure is 2.5cf per sub, tuned to 35hz.

I've been looking at the JBL W12GTI MkII, Alpine Type R & X, RE SX & SE, and a few others. I just don't want to be buying subs again in a few months. Suggestions welcome and appreciated.

Click to read more...

 

[FtheNutHuggers]

i can't help unless you are fully open to suggestion and don't have a bunch of hangups that we can't work around or just ditch totally. that said:

are you willing to think "outside the box"? as in.............ditching the box? if not, we are doing the same thing as building a race car made specifically for let's say.....circle track use.....and you have your favorite transmission in there from your uncle's 1/4 mile race car......you won't take it out because it holds sentimental value or some bs......and you keep replacing motor after motor, rear end after rear end.....and it just doesn't win any races. with me?

 

[Trancer 10+ year member]

I think you need to learn how to properly set your gains... Those RE SX's can take some power when properly setup.

 

[jedwards83]

I just custom built the two enclosures, it maximizes the trunk space in my vehicle with a tuning frequency that will work with a lot of subs. So I'm not getting rid of them.

As for the gain settings, I know how to set them. I've been in car audio for a long time, so please don't mistake my asking for help for ignorance.

I owned the RE SX sub for about 3 years, and early in it's life I had an old amplifier short out while it was attached, sending the full rail voltage to the sub. That may have contributed to the subs failure, though it played for another ~2 years or so after that. Who knows...

I'm not opposed to going the RE SX route again, but I've heard RE's quality has slipped. Just looking for some good quality subs for a decent price that hold up under the power I have, that play nice with a 2.5cf 35hz box.