Subwoofer dilemma... My brain hurts. HELP!

[CVP71 10+ year member]

Ok guys... I've been slaughtering brain cells by the millions thinking about this subwoofer dilemma of mine. I've been comparing one sub setups to two sub setups, machine stamped to handmade, spl to sq and I think I've narrowed it all down.

Let's start with the amp. I've already purchased it. It's the Rockford Fosgate P1000-1bd. Mine in particular pushes up to 1357@1Ohm and 906@2Ohms.

Now to the real issue. I've been looking into the handmade market recently. Namely Digital designs and Fi. I like what they have to offer but, price

is the issue. If a one sub setup was what you had decided to go with and you had 250-300 dollars to spend, would you:

a) buy a nice handmade sub from one of these manufacturers, minus the box for 300 dollars

Or

b) Buy a 12" Alpine Type R (because you work at Best Buy and can get it for 105 dollars) and put the rest of your money toward a custom box?

I've heard numerous times that while the sub does matter, it doesn't matter as much as the box. In your experience, does the quality of a handmade sub warrant the extra cost, and in my case 200 dollars? In a blind sound test would you be able to tell the mass produced from the handmade?

What would you do?

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[4OZGLOVES 10+ year member]

buy 2 type r 12's and build your own box.

 

[amartin_72]

lol What do you listen to , take up as much of your car as you can be happy with, cone area/box size always wins for sq and spl. and then fill that space with decent subs and a box. There isnt a difference between handmade and "mass produced" - type rs are mechanically (not thermally) indestructible(that 2" coil cant hurt the good suspension) but they are mass produced. Where as some subs have too much motor and not enough suspension like aq's. If you listen to rap the loudest for your money would be the type r's especially if you can get them for 105 better than 125 on ebay. If you want it to play above 55hz for rock and other music get something else. R's play from the bottom up- low end monsters, great for rap. most other subs play from the top down, get quieter as it gets lower, unless you tune them low then they lose efficiency whereas a type r is still loud tuned to 35.

 

[mrogowski 5,000+ posts]

Despite the fact I am one of those 'hand made sub guys', install matters more than the sub you choose.

 

[CVP71 10+ year member]

Well I listen to Rock mostly. It's fun diving into rap a little just because the bass is so ridiculous. I did have a pair of 10" Type R's before and the definitely got loud and sounded good and I know they take a beating. I've just never strayed from the brand name side of car audio. I don't really know what I'm missing. Maybe ignorance actually is bliss in this case. SQ is definitely above SPL for me... Thanks for the replies.

 

[mclerico83 5,000+ posts]

Well I listen to Rock mostly. It's fun diving into rap a little just because the bass is so ridiculous. I did have a pair of 10" Type R's before and the definitely got loud and sounded good and I know they take a beating. I've just never strayed from the brand name side of car audio. I don't really know what I'm missing. Maybe ignorance actually is bliss in this case. SQ is definitely above SPL for me... Thanks for the replies.

IXL-12 v2 BR [iXL-12 v2 BR] - $149.00 : Mach 5 Audio

great sub for the money incredible deal

1 hooked up to your amp takes 1000rms

2 Elemental Designs 13Ov2 subwoofer 600 watt Dual 4 Ohm - eBay (item 220559694575 end time Mar-01-10 19:25:51 PST)

2 of these wired to 1 ohm

should not cost you more then 100 to 150 bucks to have someone build you a quality subwoofer box

 

[mrogowski 5,000+ posts]

I appreciate the reference, thank you. CVP, if you are serious about the 'quality of sound over volume' statement, it still comes down to your installation. If you liked what the Alpines gave you, just think what they could do if you tweaked things a bit? Heck, you can make a Funky Pup sound great/loud with the right setup...

 

[CVP71 10+ year member]

Thanks for your replies everyone. You have helped a lot. I'm going to go with the R's and concentrate on building a good box. Now I just have to decide if it's going to be sealed or ported.

Thanks again.

 

[mrogowski 5,000+ posts]

Many folks on here say that running the R's in a sealed box has less than optimum results. Not sure what they are referencing here - could just be sheer output.

Good luck!

 

[Tw1st3d13 10+ year member]

Buy a DD510 0r 1510 in a loaded enclosure and wire it at 2Ohms It is amazing for rock