dcoils101
Junior Member
I have been wondering something for a little while now. Ever since I started really getting into car audio about 5 years ago, I learned about all these different brands I'd never heard of before. Brands like SoundQubed(Audioque), Fi Audio, DC, Sundown and basically everything on soundsolutionsaudio.com; What makes them so different from more mainstream brands like Alpine, Rockford Fosgate, JL Audio, Kicker and Memphis?
Is it really just a price thing? The bigger mainstream brands just charge more money for the same product? Or is there something else to it?
I've had 2 sets of kicker 12's, 2 07 Comps and 2 07 CVRs. I've had a JL10W3, and I currently am running an Alpine Type X 12" ported at 37hz.
I've also had a model of 2013 Fi Audio SSD 15" stock, ported tuned at 34hz and right before I bought the Alpine Type X, I had a SoundQubed HDS200 15" in a sealed box.
The Fi SSD 15", powered by a Hifonics Gladiator series 1400 watt amp @ 1 ohm, replaced the 2 kicker CVR 12s running on a Hifonics 1000W RMS amp @ 1 ohm and it was definitely a huge improvement. Of course I expected such considering it was a $250 subwoofer. It was extremely loud and clean sounding, much more so than the CVRs, more SPL and better SQ with less cone area, but with about 300 more watts and what I guessed was just fantastic specs in every way better than the CVRs combined.
But to get the equivalent sub from kicker at that time, you'd be getting a 15" L7. which are twice as much. They are listed at $499 on crutchfield.
If they are able to mass produce their products the way that they do why wouldn't their products be less expensive, and the smaller brands like I mentioned more expensive...like a Ferrari vs a Mustang GT.
Currently I have to say that my Alpine Type X system is the best sounding setup i've had ever before followed by the Fi SSD15. The SSD15 did have a little bit more SPL and get a little bit lower, I'd say that all things considered I prefer the sound of the Type X because it seems to play the 55-80hz range much better. This is surely also because I have the type x in an 08 malibu, sub and port forward with the rear seats down and the box pulled all the way back towards the tail lights. While the SSD was sub up port back, in the very middle of the trunk of a 2001 BMW 525i which only had a ski hole, rear seats did not come down. I'm willing to bet that if I had the SSD in my current vehicle set up the same way then it'd probably sound better.
TLDR:
Is it really just brand names that you're paying for? Did companies like Alpine used to be much smaller the way a company like SoundQubed is now? How can it be that you can get a 1200W RMS subwoofer that is supposedly of very good build quality such as the SQ HDS300 series for $170~?
Every single other brand name on the market would be charging you at least twice that price for a similarly rated subwoofer. So what gives? What's everyone's general opinons on SoundQubed here?
I can't keep the same subwoofer setup for more than a year. I'm always wanting to try out new and different types of setups. So I'm beginning to do some research for what I want next.
Size preference: I want either 12s or 15s
Budget: I don't want to pay much more than $250
Power: I've got a Kicker CX1200.1 Amp to play with, 1200w RMS @ 2 ohms.
Available Space: I have no more than 14 inches of height to play with. Width need not exceed 30 inches, and I have up to 18 inches of depth.
Goals: I want a setup that has a great deal of SPL but also has a clean musical sound. If 1 is pure SPL and 10 is a pure SQ setup. I'm looking for about a 6. I'm kinda thinking 3 or 4 subs in a sealed box. I've had 2 12s ported, 1 12 ported, 1 15 ported and 1 15 sealed. The one that I thought had the best sound (most musical) was the sealed 15 (SQ HDS215 600w RMS) but it didn't have enough boom, so I kind of want to get 3 or 4 12s and put them in a relatively large sealed enclosure.
Is it really just a price thing? The bigger mainstream brands just charge more money for the same product? Or is there something else to it?
I've had 2 sets of kicker 12's, 2 07 Comps and 2 07 CVRs. I've had a JL10W3, and I currently am running an Alpine Type X 12" ported at 37hz.
I've also had a model of 2013 Fi Audio SSD 15" stock, ported tuned at 34hz and right before I bought the Alpine Type X, I had a SoundQubed HDS200 15" in a sealed box.
The Fi SSD 15", powered by a Hifonics Gladiator series 1400 watt amp @ 1 ohm, replaced the 2 kicker CVR 12s running on a Hifonics 1000W RMS amp @ 1 ohm and it was definitely a huge improvement. Of course I expected such considering it was a $250 subwoofer. It was extremely loud and clean sounding, much more so than the CVRs, more SPL and better SQ with less cone area, but with about 300 more watts and what I guessed was just fantastic specs in every way better than the CVRs combined.
But to get the equivalent sub from kicker at that time, you'd be getting a 15" L7. which are twice as much. They are listed at $499 on crutchfield.
If they are able to mass produce their products the way that they do why wouldn't their products be less expensive, and the smaller brands like I mentioned more expensive...like a Ferrari vs a Mustang GT.
Currently I have to say that my Alpine Type X system is the best sounding setup i've had ever before followed by the Fi SSD15. The SSD15 did have a little bit more SPL and get a little bit lower, I'd say that all things considered I prefer the sound of the Type X because it seems to play the 55-80hz range much better. This is surely also because I have the type x in an 08 malibu, sub and port forward with the rear seats down and the box pulled all the way back towards the tail lights. While the SSD was sub up port back, in the very middle of the trunk of a 2001 BMW 525i which only had a ski hole, rear seats did not come down. I'm willing to bet that if I had the SSD in my current vehicle set up the same way then it'd probably sound better.
TLDR:
Is it really just brand names that you're paying for? Did companies like Alpine used to be much smaller the way a company like SoundQubed is now? How can it be that you can get a 1200W RMS subwoofer that is supposedly of very good build quality such as the SQ HDS300 series for $170~?
Every single other brand name on the market would be charging you at least twice that price for a similarly rated subwoofer. So what gives? What's everyone's general opinons on SoundQubed here?
I can't keep the same subwoofer setup for more than a year. I'm always wanting to try out new and different types of setups. So I'm beginning to do some research for what I want next.
Size preference: I want either 12s or 15s
Budget: I don't want to pay much more than $250
Power: I've got a Kicker CX1200.1 Amp to play with, 1200w RMS @ 2 ohms.
Available Space: I have no more than 14 inches of height to play with. Width need not exceed 30 inches, and I have up to 18 inches of depth.
Goals: I want a setup that has a great deal of SPL but also has a clean musical sound. If 1 is pure SPL and 10 is a pure SQ setup. I'm looking for about a 6. I'm kinda thinking 3 or 4 subs in a sealed box. I've had 2 12s ported, 1 12 ported, 1 15 ported and 1 15 sealed. The one that I thought had the best sound (most musical) was the sealed 15 (SQ HDS215 600w RMS) but it didn't have enough boom, so I kind of want to get 3 or 4 12s and put them in a relatively large sealed enclosure.