Recommendation for a SQ 12 in a convertible, high budget

[IonutZu]

Hey there! First post on this forum, I see there's a lot of active people so I'm hoping someone might chime in with an opinion //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

I just got my dream car, and being into pro audio, I needed a dream audio setup as well!!

I have everything figured out and acquired but the subwoofer, which I'm hoping I'll get an answer from you guys about.

Frontstage

OEM Headunit -> mObridge DA3 DSP -> Zapco Z150.6LX -> Focal Utopia BE 7 (3 way)

Substage

OEM Headunit -> mObridge DA3 DSP -> JL Audio 1200/1v3 -> ???

The car is a 2013 BMW M6 convertible, and there is most definitely a space constraint in the trunk //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif Ideally, a custom fiberglass enclosure will be built and anchored behind one of the stop lights, to fit a single 12" in what would most likely be a sealed configuration.

I've been looking at the Image Dynamics IDMAX 12 D2 V.4. Suggestions and advice would be very much welcome!

Sound quality is imperative!

Thank you //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Click to read more...

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

CDT QEX-1220 works great in a 0.45 cubic foot sealed enclosure. A 1200/1V3 is a bit more power than it needs but you could wire it to 4 ohms for better sound quality. It's a dual 2 ohm subwoofer.

 

[C1500martin 10+ year member]

Jl audio w6, might be alot of amp for it but thats what the gain knob is for i guess. Ima be selling mine soon if you were interested in 10/10 condition mechanical and cosmetic

 

[IonutZu]

CDT QEX-1220 works great in a 0.45 cubic foot sealed enclosure. A 1200/1V3 is a bit more power than it needs but you could wire it to 4 ohms for better sound quality. It's a dual 2 ohm subwoofer.

Do you have a frequency response curve so I can see what the sub behaves like and what the drop is? It has a fairly high Fs, and I'm looking for low end extension. Also I'm looking at subs within the 7000-1300RMS range.

Can you also explain why a 4 ohm would sound better than a 2 ohm?

Jl audio w6, might be alot of amp for it but thats what the gain knob is for i guess. Ima be selling mine soon if you were interested in 10/10 condition mechanical and cosmetic

Had a 13W7 in the past and wasn't really impressed with the sound quality of the sub. It was definitely better than anything I had before it but I'm really looking at something with low end extension (should've mentioned in the thread)

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

Do you have a frequency response curve so I can see what the sub behaves like and what the drop is? It has a fairly high Fs, and I'm looking for low end extension. Also I'm looking at subs within the 7000-1300RMS range.

I can e-mail you the tech sheet. It's not on CDT's site. The Fs listed is a typo. It's 31.45 Hz.

Can you also explain why a 4 ohm would sound better than a 2 ohm?

It wouldn't make a huge difference if you somehow had two identical subwoofers other than the impedance, but distortion would be reduced at 4 ohms vs 2 ohms. What would really help is if you used a low tuned ported enclosure rather than a small sealed enclosure, but that's very tough to do when space is tight. If you could manage to fit 1 cube plus a 13" long x 3" tubular vent the bass with QEX-1220 should sound very, very musical with no peak.

 

[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

Wasn't impressed with the W7? Then something is wrong because they're made for LSQ. (Loud Sound Quality).
@NoLoud4U where is ya at?!

The x series subs by Sundown Audio are made to play low if low end extension is what your after.

 

[IonutZu]

[quote name='boomintahoe']Wasn't impressed with the W7? Then something is wrong because they're made for LSQ. (Loud Sound Quality).
@NoLoud4U where is ya at?!

The x series subs by Sundown Audio are made to play low if low end extension is what your after.[/QUOTE]

Sorry man not for the price of that W7... it has similar specs to other subs that are 1/2 if not 1/3 of the price.

I also want something that is 100% sound quality, and from what I've read and heard from other people about Sundown, there are other companies who focus on quality a lot more.

 

[Massive spl]

It's all about the enclosure. I know you said sealed but I'd really go ported. I would do X with standard cone/surround. Or an ssa icon

 

[shauncox26]

http://www.caraudio.com/forums/subwoofer-classifieds/618665-bnib-cdt-qes-1220-12-woofer.html

This^^^^^

 

[The_Quiet_One 10+ year member]

If you truly want "SQ" it's going to be difficult to beat an underhung motor or one of the other linear BL motor topologies. They are super low distortion drivers, but they have a different "sound" that's really hit or miss with most people. Most people like at least a bit of distortion.

This list is rushed as I'm running a bit late for work.

Underhung options:

IA flatlyne

Sundown SD3

Any Neo radial Motor (if you can find one used much less new) I want to say there were/are some 12"s floating around which use this motor.

LMS/LMT topology:

LMS-R

Split Gap/XBL:

CSS SDX 12 (mounting depth may be an issue)

Stereo Integrity MB MKIV/MKV

Now if you just want a solid overhung SQ oriented sub which fits your particular install there are tons of options, and I'll leave those suggestions to people with hands on experience with each particular sub.

Hit up DIYMA forum since many of them are into SQ oriented setups. They should be able to help as well.

 

[denim 5,000+ posts]

My biased opinion, based on goals and power would be the SSA Icon or Xcon.

 

[JoshC 10+ year member]

I have some eclipse 8812s, all sq drivers

500wrms tc9 motors, these don't mind being sealed though. Around 1-1.25cuft

 

[C1500martin 10+ year member]

Sorry man not for the price of that W7... it has similar specs to other subs that are 1/2 if not 1/3 of the price.
I also want something that is 100% sound quality, and from what I've read and heard from other people about Sundown, there are other companies who focus on quality a lot more.

Well if your paying retail then yea of course jl is not worth it, the Fs of a w6 is 26.9

 

[IonutZu]

If you truly want "SQ" it's going to be difficult to beat an underhung motor or one of the other linear BL motor topologies. They are super low distortion drivers, but they have a different "sound" that's really hit or miss with most people. Most people like at least a bit of distortion.
This list is rushed as I'm running a bit late for work.

Underhung options:

IA flatlyne

Sundown SD3

Any Neo radial Motor (if you can find one used much less new) I want to say there were/are some 12"s floating around which use this motor.

LMS/LMT topology:

LMS-R

Split Gap/XBL:

CSS SDX 12 (mounting depth may be an issue)

Stereo Integrity MB MKIV/MKV

Now if you just want a solid overhung SQ oriented sub which fits your particular install there are tons of options, and I'll leave those suggestions to people with hands on experience with each particular sub.

Hit up DIYMA forum since many of them are into SQ oriented setups. They should be able to help as well.

I posted on DIYMA as well but didn't get too many answers... I've been trying to find the difference between overhang and underhang coils but I don't know how that affects me. Can you help me understand that a little better?

My biased opinion, based on goals and power would be the SSA Icon or Xcon.

The Icon's definitely another sub I'm considering. Right now it's between the Icon and the IDMAX.

Well if your paying retail then yea of course jl is not worth it, the Fs of a w6 is 26.9

New ones you can find around $450. For $450 you can find a less mainstream sub around 1000W RMS instead of just 600W like the W6.

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

With a CONVERTIBLE you'll likely have such a high noise floor the whole SQ argument is silly anyway IMO. Also I'm not sure why you're obsessed with playing under 35hz since outside of slowed "music", test tones, pipe organ, and movies you really don't find much of that in actual music AND you really won't get any significant output in that range in a convertible without a monstrous amount of space, cone area, power (or all three).

IMO what works well in a convertible is the Aura Bass Shaker transducers hooked up to the seats. Throw in any small sub in a small sealed box in the trunk then put a couple of those Bass Shakers on each seat and you'll get the illusion of good low frequency impact and the actual "sound" from the small sealed sub in the trunk will complete the illusion that you have a lot of low end.