two sundown audio sa12s on sundown saz2500 v2 at 1 ohm

[blkvenm97]

I just installed a pair of sundown sa12s in a ram designs custom ported box built for me by a local audio shop here. It is 3.7 cubic feet after displacements tuned to about 31 hz via a full length 6 inch aero port from parts express. I have subs firing up port firing to driver side wheel well in the back of my 2003 ford focus svt hatchback. I have an Xs power s3400 under the hood and an Xs power xp3000 in the back with all 1/0 gauge audio pipe off wire for the big 3 etc and they are powered by a sundown saz2500 v2 at 1 ohm. I've had them in about a week and a half and they take the power easily (tuned with my smd dd1) and on decaf music they slam the lows and sound great on all notes and hit HARD! I LOVE THESE SUBS. everything I've read is true...they're very underrated and they get down and aren't even broke in yet. Sundown ftw!!!!

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[lew-e 10+ year member]

I'm just curious why fire the ports to the drivers side? Aren't hatchbacks typically sub up port back? Not knocking, just curious.

 

[blkvenm97]

I actually heard online that firing to the driver side is what the focus hatch likes best and this came from someone very knowledgeable (he was in the 154-155 range without a wall while still retaining the back seat in a focus hatch) plus the amount of room I have worked out better firing to the side anyways. I also heard having the port as far away from the mic when metering is good for best numbers....so if you meter on the passenger side dash as most do it should hit better numbers like this...and I can actually tell its slightly louder when I sit in the passenger seat which is pretty cool for demoing as well I guess. Not a comp setup just a daily ground pounder but if I ever do get it metered I'd like to do as good as I can like all of us I guess. Its a very musical setup...it pounds the **** out of the lows and hits all notes hard and loud even well up into the 50 hz range. I'm very happy with it. Subs up port back would do great in this car as with most hatches I'm sure but in my perticular setup it was best to side fire. Unless you are competing I wouldn't get too hung up on port placement as far as side or back or whatever. Its important but its not make or break in a daily ground pounding setup IMO. My last setup was subs and port up it was slot too...its hard to tell how much of the upgrade can be contributed to these changes or just having better subs and more power etc (last setup was a couple new model rf punch p 3 12s on a rf t1000-1bdcp). I know I'm very happy with the setup and I now am a sundown lover lol

 

[adulbrich 5,000+ posts]

My car is also much louder in the passenger seat. Just the way things worked out acoustically

 

[vandenberg_1017]

Im looking to get either 2 sa 12s or 12 ssd FIs. I know sundown is amazing ive loved the sa 12s for years. however i just came across the fis and the fact theyre 1000 rms vs 600 rms intrigues me and i am wondering if this will make them louder than the sa's. however ive heard a lot of negatives towards fi and their customer service so im leaning towards the sa's. they would be playing in a 2010 mazda 3 hatch with a custom box made to both subs specifications. Also, id probably be running the new brutus 2000 or 2400 to these subs... what do you think ma man? sa or ssd?

 

[blkvenm97]

Sorry for the long delay haha. I haven't heard the ssd but I've seen them in videos and heard they are awesome subs. I wouldnt put too much thought into the whole 600 RMS vs 1000 rms thing the sundkwn might as well be rated at 1000 I've got mine on 1250+ each before rise and they gobble it up and spit it back at me in the form of extreme bass with ease lol. You can't go wrong with either having fi would be a little more unique than sundown but even sundown us unique in my area locally nobody else runs them far as I know. I live in a small town lol. I know that with the fi ssd they're all built on order and take much longer to receive after order so if getting them in a hurry is important go sundown if not you can basically flip a coin. I'd say a stock ssd would be similar to an sa as far as power handling goes but if you got it loaded with cooling and the other options that rating might go upwards of 1500 or so but that's also going to drive up price to where they're no longer comparable. It is a 3 inch coil vs the 2.5 on the sundown but I can tell you this the sundown has one bad cooling system that makes it perform as good or even better than a lot of 3 inch coils (ecspecially the ones from the mainstream companies). If say a stock vs stock comparison would be a close match power handling wise with the edge going to the ssd because of the 3 incher and as far as what gets louder I'd say it'd be a toss up if they were both on say 2000-3000 RMS and both could handle that power easily if set up correctly. I too thought about going with the ssd but in the end decided on the sundowns because they matched my saz2500d v2 I had and I've always wanted to try them. I ran mine for 3 months mounted normal in about 3.75 cubes net tuned to 32 hz with a side firing 6 inch aero but a couple weeks back I inverted them to increase air space and lower tuning for even better lows than it already had and also for looks these sundowns chrome magnets and slick black 4 spoke basket just look too **** to hide....I switched the phase on my amp from 0 to 180 and called it a day they play perfectly and look awesome. So they are now in just a hair over 4 cubic feet tuned to 31 hz and they're still taking the power with ease. I have never smelled coil except when I clipped them for a few seconds with my gain way too high before I set it with my dd1 and every now and then if I play way below tuning (like 20-25 hz) which is rare. It plays hard down to 26-27 hz and very hard from 28-30 on up they have a very broad response in this box and kill the lows. I love them and would recommend to anyone. I have my gains set with the -10 db track that came with my dd1 and I set the gain with my sundown remote bass gain knob set to half....that way I can lower it on louder songs and raise it up on quiet recordings like older music and classic rock. Most of the decaf I listen to my knob is at a about quarter turn some higher some lower. I set it as high as it'll go on whatever song I am listening to without the clip light coming on AT ALL (even though some have said its OK if it just flashes every so often I lower mine to where it doesn't flash at all) and doing this method I have had 0 issues....some say those clipping indicators aren't accurate but one on my saz2500 v2 seems to be pretty **** accurate....at least accurate enough to keep my sa12s pounding for 30-45 min straight sometimes full tilt on 2500+ RMS with no issues...in a 4 cubic foot net box lol. I'll take that. Setting the gain with a scope or dd1 is recommended but its nice to have that AND the aid of the remote gain knob with clipping indicator....kept mine going strong issue free for 4+ months now. As long as you set your stuff right you won't have any issues. I love my sundown subs and my sundown amp I highly recommend both to anyone.

 

[blkvenm97]

 

[blkvenm97]

 

[blkvenm97]

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[blkvenm97]