SSA Icon vs ARC Audio Flatline vs IDMAX vs Arc Black Series

[murph 10+ year member]

Just going to state most people will not recommend the Arc Flatline because they don't know jack about it. If you want impressive sq with a nice thump it would be quite a refreshment.

 

[Mixman Premium Member]

We will see. I have an Arc Flatline inbound. I'll try it out. If it's close to an IDMAX.....as it should be then it will sound good. Heck I may keep both subs in two different size boxes.

 

[Ge_off_me 5,000+ posts]

Trust me on this, I have used many subs. If you want a sound quality subwoofer and are not looking to spend more than say 500 or so, the IA Flatlyne is your best bet, hands down. I have one in my house in a Transmission line, amazing sounding sub.

 

[Kangaroux 5,000+ posts]

Haven't had any experience with the other subs but my xcon exceeds all my expectations so the icon gets my vote

 

[Ge_off_me 5,000+ posts]

The Arc Audio flatline is essentially a decent sub, though it is not very impressive. I would much more recommend going for the Arc Audio Black Series sub if you wanted to stick with Arc.

 

[Mixman Premium Member]

I have seen several people mention this sub. It's too expensive new. I would have to wait on a used one to come by to try one.

 

[Mixman Premium Member]

Good mono amps to power these subs in the $350 and under range ? Figure I need about 700 watts 4ohms or 1000 2 ohms.

 

[Ge_off_me 5,000+ posts]

Do you need them to be efficient?

 

[mclerico83 5,000+ posts]

I see a lot of people are recommending the SPG555. Well that means you have to get a custom cab and that adds to the price of the sub. So even with a blowout price of $269, you have to add another $100 or so for a custom cab......And then you better like it, because that's the only sub it will fit.
I guess it seems my best bets are the IDMAX and the ARC Flatline, unless there are more recommendations?

spg555 is 229 now

 

[Mixman Premium Member]

spg555 is 229 now

Well then please find a reasonblely cheap box for it ! I sure couldn't.

 

[Mixman Premium Member]

Do you need them to be efficient?

Yes please. Efficiency is key. I do not want to upgrade my alt or even doing the big 3 upgrade on my new car.

 

[xShoWTeKx 10+ year member]

Soundstream REF1.1000 Mono Subwoofer Amplifiers at Onlinecarstereo.com

great amp here would fit what you need perfect and give you a little head room.

 

[mclerico83 5,000+ posts]

Well then please find a reasonblely cheap box for it ! I sure couldn't.

are you not going to get a custom box built. the price will not change due to cutout. if you are going pre-fab then i would entirely suggest that you go cheaper on the subs and then contact pro-rabbit or star mountain on here

 

[Mixman Premium Member]

I actually like this amp a lot. The only thing that puts me off about it is that it needs two sets of power/ground connections. I really don't want to run more wire than what I have. I already have 4 gauge coming from the battery.

 

[T3mpest 10+ year member]

Someone already said it man, but you really are wasting money.. The JBL is the mos effecient wooferc out of everything listed due to the dual drive system and the safest to run in a sealed application with as much xmax to boot. For an analogy It's like spending 500 dollars on shoes to see which one makes you the best basketball player.. Not gonna be much of a difference, time on the court is what you want to focus on lol. Try different boxes for your JBL, different orientations, external ports, etc. Those things are going to be a much better use of time and resources. Unless of course your only real goal is to blindly trynew product based on the opinions of others. Alot of people on this forum do that, and 3k and 12 stereos later consider themselves "knowledgeable" yet still can't create a setup they actually know they will like without guessing. If you haven't experimented with custom boxes yet then your really missig the boat. I can tell you from experience while the JBL's like a moderatly big box, they sound as good and gets as loud as really any other woofer can manage to do both at the same time, keeping cone area constant.