TC Sounds Epic 8 or Sundown Audio SA-8?

[J31Rob 5,000+ posts]

Just read Thilo's response.. *clap* at him being so modest. At least he's being 100% honest.

 

[Trancer 10+ year member]

Just read Thilo's response.. *clap* at him being so modest. At least he's being 100% honest.

He is always been very honest with me.

 

[J31Rob 5,000+ posts]

He is always been very honest with me.

Can't say the same about the community here, however. You called the Sundown nut riders and everyone is quick to poll the other guy. Then when the other guy admits the competitions woofer is gonna be better for your application they'll switch again. Oh how the sheep herd.

 

[ciaonzo 5,000+ posts]

He is making me a two for 1 offer. Two of my TC1000's for one of either his Epic 8, 10, 12's or LMS-R 12's.

*clears throat*

 

[wenn_du_weinst 10+ year member]

raising the seat in those pick ups actually makes it more comfortable as long as your not 7ft tall.

 

[Trancer 10+ year member]

I didn't read the thread, so I hope I don't repeat something already said.. but it really just comes down to what you plan on doing with it and what type of sound you're looking for. I've owned both and they've both got their advantages.
SA8 is going to handle power better and sound pretty good doing it. Epic is lesser in the handling area but is going to sound much better. You could do some proper design work and they'd both perform identical. My choice, however.. for flexibility reasons i'd go with the SA. The Epics just don't get loud like the Epics.

Its purely based on what you plan on doing and what your goal is.. but due to the overwhelmingly good customer service and warranties from Sundown plus the performance aspect (custom tooled baskets, cooling, etc) i'd go with Sundown. How many times has TC gone under now? ..that's coming from a die hard TC lover.

Thanks for the reply. In one of your sentences, you said that the Epics just dont get loud like the Epics... Which did you mean? The Epics dont get get loud like the SA's or the SA's dont get loud like the Epics?

What I am trying to achieve, is to get that "OMG, those are 8's!? Those are loud!" Obviously I want some sound quality. I want a lower tuning so I can get the 8's to dive down low. I listen to 70% rap and 30% rock like Linkin Park, Breaking Benjamin, RED, etc....

I have plenty of power on tap. I have an Audiopipe 3000D. And to be honest, I am extremely suprised and impressed with this amplifier. Its a bit power hungry unfortunately, but a great amp and thats taking out the extremely low price factol I'd prefer to run 4 subs instead of 3, mainly because the amp is two amps internally bridged so running 3 amps would be a bit of a task and would have to be wired internally and would have to be bridged and would have to have a final ohm load of 2 ohms or higher since it would be bridged.

I have been told that the Epic 8's and 10's can be run at 600wrms. They are rated for 500wrms. Not sure if that is ported or sealed. Of course, running ported will lower your power handling. The SA-8's are rated for what? 750wrms?

3 Epic 8's or 10's @ 600wrms = 1800wrms

4 Epic 8's or 10's @ 750wrms = 2400wrms

3 SA-8's @ 750wrms = 2250wrms

4 SA-8's @ 750wrms = 3000wrms

Now that rated at 2 ohms, which I obviously wouldnt get.

If I run three 2 DVC subs, I would either get 1.34 ohms or 3 ohms

If I run three 4 DVC subs, I would get 2.67 ohms

If I run four 2 DVC subs, I would get 1 or 4 ohm load

If I run four 4 DVC subs, I would get 2 ohm load

So I need to run either

Three 4 DVC subs @ 2.67 ohms

or

Four 4 DVC subs for a 2 ohm load

Obviously Four 4 DVC subs is the most optimal with box rise.

 

[J31Rob 5,000+ posts]

Sorry I derped that, I meant Epic doesn't get loud like the SA.

Reading your last post.. I would solidify the SA choice bro. You don't need the "audiophile" side of the TC woofer (which is the main selling point) listening to rap or rock music. The SA offers exactly what you're looking for. Low end loudness.. the Epic is just low end. The loud isn't there.

If it were me.. i'd go Sundown. Final answer.

Honestly.. there is a reason "forum boners" exist. Products get better. The owners of these "newer" (not so new anymore) are bassheads from around the way. They know what's going on and generally don't repeat the mistakes of previous companies.

 

[J31Rob 5,000+ posts]

I don't mean to limit the SA to only low end either. It's everywhere if you design correctly. To be honest I scrapped the idea of multple TCs for the SA10s I ended up getting, so I may be biased.. but if you ask me I'm confident I made the right choice and instead of having to rack your brain about it I can at least show you my thought process as reference.

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[Vettefiend 10+ year member]

*clears throat*

Good catch, ciaonzo.

OP, take ciaonzo's advice about the LMS-R.

 

[zako 10+ year member]

Have you looked into the new Alpine Type-R 8s as well? They have been the most recent forum boner sub at DIYMA for a few months now.

Alpine SWR-823D / 843D 8" Subwoofers - DIYMA.com - Scientific Car Audio - Truth in Sound Quality

Alpine SWR-823D GAME OVER!!! - DIYMA.com - Scientific Car Audio - Truth in Sound Quality

I wonder how the SA-8 will stack against these, specially the new prototype that was being discussed recently here.

 

[Trancer 10+ year member]

raising the seat in those pick ups actually makes it more comfortable as long as your not 7ft tall.

Really? Hmmm didnt think of that... How much of a raise are you talking?? I just dont want people to be hitting their heads on my roof. Plus its hard enough to get in and out of my truck as it is. These NBS pick ups sit up alot higher than the OBS trucks. My 2WD Sierra sits higher than my 2003 Silverado Z-71.

 

[Trancer 10+ year member]

Have you looked into the new Alpine Type-R 8s as well? They have been the most recent forum boner sub at DIYMA for a few months now.
Alpine SWR-823D / 843D 8" Subwoofers - DIYMA.com - Scientific Car Audio - Truth in Sound Quality

Alpine SWR-823D GAME OVER!!! - DIYMA.com - Scientific Car Audio - Truth in Sound Quality

I wonder how the SA-8 will stack against these, specially the new prototype that was being discussed recently here.

I would be curious also on how well those Type R 8's would stack against the Epic 8's and the SA-8's. And for the price at $100 a pop, its definitely appealing.

Might have to check those out... Maybe I could buy an Epic 8, SA-8 and a Type R 8, but them in the same ported box and do a review on it... If only I had the money...

I had a mishap early this morning with some deers in the road in my truck... Did some pretty good damage, so this might be put on hold or Im just gonna have to go with the cheapest option, which would be the Type R's.

I ran the new Type R 12's in my Grand Am in a slot ported box tuned to... I believe 32hz and I LOVED them. They sounded great. I think they were the only mainstream brand I have ever used as my primary substage.

I just wish the Type R 8's could take a bit more power. I would like to utilize as much of my 3000wrms on tap as possible. Im sure I can give them a little more than their rated power of 350wrms. Probably be able to throw 500wrms at them no problem.

With a minimum recommended ported box volume of .25 cuft and a maximum recommended ported box volume of .60 cu ft, I should be able to fit 4 of these in my truck. I would need 2.4 cu ft of airspace before driver and port displacement... This should be do-able

Thanks for the recommendation. Im going to check into this further.

 

[Trancer 10+ year member]

Good catch, ciaonzo.
OP, take ciaonzo's advice about the LMS-R.

Im sitting here talking about 8's and you are advising me to go with a monster 1000wrms subwoofer that needs 2 cuft net each? How on earth am I suppose to fit that under the rear seats of my truck?

Trust me, if I had a car or an SUV, then I'd already have the LMS-R on the way.

 

[ciaonzo 5,000+ posts]

Doesn't concern me much where you put it, or if you use it at all. It's just a no-brainer to trade in two TC2+ motors in exchange for an LMS-R 12".

Make the trade for the LMS-R and if you're not slick enough to make a single 12" work in that giant you drive around everyday, then sell it for a bit less than PE does and buy what you need from the proceeds.

One LMS-R 12" stroking 3 inches linear, or two Alpine 8" making 10% distortion at just over an inch. Hmm... Wow factor should take the backseat to true performance. Unless you're young.

 

[Trancer 10+ year member]

You're funny...

First of all, no I am "young" so no, I'm not taking out any part of my back seats... I didnt buy a $40k 2 seater truck. Thats just stupid. Now... I have thought about building a box where my 40 part of my seat is that folds up from my rear 40/60 seat, build it from the floor all the way to the ceiling and running a couple 15's I have had in mind for a while... This would be made so that I could take it in and out very easily

Secondly.. yes, its a beast of a truck, but do you actually really know what is under the back seat of my truck, let alone most trucks? There is little to no room there what so ever.

And yes, I was already thinking about going with the LMS-R, but the difference is like, $40.... So if I were to sell the sub, I'd probably have to sell it for atleast $40 less than what it's worthlll Then we gottta talk about shipping cost, then me having to deal with shipping it, buying the subs I was going to get int he mean time.. it just seems like alot of hassle without getting ahead with it