Wolfram Silver or Sundown SA v2

[Blackout67]

Planning on building a custom box for either, 12 inch.

Both have similar box and tuning recommendations and almost identical price from Down4Sound, however the Wolfram has a slightly higher power rating although from owning 3 Sundowns I know they can easily take 1.5-2x their power ratings like a champ. But the Wolfram has a 24.5 Xmax rating. The sundown I believe has a 19 Xmax rating, both one way. Im not sure about build quality in regards to the Wolfram except that they're built in the US as far as I know. On the other hand, the sundown has shorting rings in I remember correctly so maybe it will sound better? Looking for the loudest whole also maintaining a decent sound.

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[Firewalker]

Last I had heard from a few people was that Wolfram subwoofers were coming from a Chinese build house with some of their amplifiers being Chinese and the high end ones Korean.

SSD v4 Series | Fi Car Audio

ficaraudio.com

With options for different spiders and the options for extra cooling and a RMS of 1,500 watts. Fi also under estimates their rms ratings.

These are also awesome and really hit nice as well according to a few people that I have seen buy them here and DIYMA.

ICON 12" 1250W Subwoofer by SSA®

Shop ICON 12" 1250W Subwoofer by SSA® at the Guaranteed lowest allowed price of 385 with 20+ yrs of the best customer service, only at the SSA STORE

store.soundsolutionsaudio.com

Would be a tough choice between those two if I were to upgrade what I have now.

 

[Bobbytwonames 5,000+ posts]

Planning on building a custom box for either, 12 inch.

Both have similar box and tuning recommendations and almost identical price from Down4Sound, however the Wolfram has a slightly higher power rating although from owning 3 Sundowns I know they can easily take 1.5-2x their power ratings like a champ. But the Wolfram has a 24.5 Xmax rating. The sundown I believe has a 19 Xmax rating, both one way. Im not sure about build quality in regards to the Wolfram except that they're built in the US as far as I know. On the other hand, the sundown has shorting rings in I remember correctly so maybe it will sound better? Looking for the loudest whole also maintaining a decent sound.

What amp are you going to run? I would go with the SA. If the want something more then go with the U or X series.

 

[Clifff150 10+ year member]

I would go SA over Wolfram any day. I could be wrong but I highly doubt anything Wolfram is made in the US. They catalog shop like most other companies. SA will have better warranty as well (if you buy new from authorized dealer). I loved my SSA Icon so I would give that a hard look as well as the Incriminator line.

 

[djdilliodon!]

Both are made in China but I would rather have the sundown sub. I don’t believe any xmax specs on the subs coming from overseas as I’ve rebuilt plenty of them to know that the winding lengths I’ve measured would make the figures impossible mathematically. Wolfram I doubt tests to confirm specs but I’m sure sundown even with it being made in China they are actually retesting to make sure it’s meeting the standard. It’s most likely why the sundown sub has less xmax cause it’s a true rating.

 

[Blackout67]

What amp are you going to run? I would go with the SA. If the want something more then go with the U or X series.

Would be putting it on an SIA1250. Running off stock electrical in a 2003 mustang with Big 3. Thought about going with an X8 v3 I already have a box for it but I doubt it'll have the output I'm looking for as I don't have the alt to back up a 2000 watt amp

 

[Blackout67]

Last I had heard from a few people was that Wolfram subwoofers were coming from a Chinese build house with some of their amplifiers being Chinese and the high end ones Korean.

SSD v4 Series | Fi Car Audio

ficaraudio.com

With options for different spiders and the options for extra cooling and a RMS of 1,500 watts. Fi also under estimates their rms ratings.

These are also awesome and really hit nice as well according to a few people that I have seen buy them here and DIYMA.

ICON 12" 1250W Subwoofer by SSA®

Shop ICON 12" 1250W Subwoofer by SSA® at the Guaranteed lowest allowed price of 385 with 20+ yrs of the best customer service, only at the SSA STORE

store.soundsolutionsaudio.com

Would be a tough choice between those two if I were to upgrade what I have now.

Ive been eyeballing those SSA's for a year now. It was a top between that an an AB Hawk 12. Should've went with the SSA because I didn't realize till after I'd bought it that they only come in dual 4 so I could only wire it to 2 ohm load and get around 1200 watts to it :/ sounded good tho.

As for the Fi, I'd love to use one in a build but if I'm gonna be spending too dollar on a sub to take a beating, without having the amp to push it it'd be a waste

 

[Firewalker]

What is the amp output on that alternator? ICR what Ford did on those 3.8 but iirc the 4.6 was 130 amps and I know on my '03 Explorer with the 130 alternator I used around 2K total between the two amplifiers and didn't have any voltage issues. Also if you are only going to do a 1.2K amplifier then you should be looking at subwoofers around 800 watts or so because of box rise and what not. Not looking at 1,200 watt-1,500 watt subwoofers.

IF you are really wanting to go to those 1,200-1,500 watt subwoofers then I would wait and upgrade to a HO Alternator of at least 250 amps before going to a 1,200-1,500 watt subwoofer. Otherwise then go with a little lower rated subwoofer like the ones below. If this isn't an option which we can all understand because of money and what not then check out the ones below. IF you can afford to do a HO alternator I would consider Autotech as a couple people here have used them and like them so far. They have them for the 3.8 and 4.6 for about 325 dollars and usually you will have to run a little shorter belt as well.

Parts Search - High output alternators for Car Audio Made in USA

Find the right high-output alternator for your vehicle. High amperage alternators in 30 different colors. Find your make and model.

autotechengineeringusa.com

I would be looking at this one below. Ampere makes nice stuff as well. So does SSA all around.

Ampere Audio 2.5 RVE 12" 800w RMS Subwoofer

Shop Ampere Audio-2.5 RVE 12" 800w RMS Subwoofer at the Guaranteed lowest allowed price of 249 with 20+ yrs of the best customer service, only at the SSA STORE

store.soundsolutionsaudio.com

These SSA Gcons can take a beating as well and have a few custom options and would be right in that range you are going to be running with that amplifier. I would go with the upgraded spider, upgrade would coils and lead wire upgrades. IF you are ever thinking of doing a second one then do the Dual 1 ohm for now and run it at 2 ohms otherwise yeah go for the Dual 2 ohm option. These really have a nice rep all around. Don't think you would be disappointed with the SSA Gcon one bit.

GCON 12" 950W Subwoofer by SSA®

Shop GCON 12" 950W Subwoofer by SSA® at the Guaranteed lowest allowed price of 369 with 20+ yrs of the best customer service, only at the SSA STORE

store.soundsolutionsaudio.com

Tbh that Gcon was one I looked at as well when I bought my Fi Xv3's and it was a tough choice. Either way I knew I was going to be happy with what I bought. Also like dillon said Sundown is going to be more honest then Wolfram about their specifications with the way they are. And SSA will be as well. The owner posts here now and then. He is also very helpful if you email him and usually will respond that day. Good company all around to deal with. @denim

GL!

 

[Blackout67]

What is the amp output on that alternator? ICR what Ford did on those 3.8 but iirc the 4.6 was 130 amps and I know on my '03 Explorer with the 130 alternator I used around 2K total between the two amplifiers and didn't have any voltage issues. Also if you are only going to do a 1.2K amplifier then you should be looking at subwoofers around 800 watts or so because of box rise and what not. Not looking at 1,200 watt-1,500 watt subwoofers.

IF you are really wanting to go to those 1,200-1,500 watt subwoofers then I would wait and upgrade to a HO Alternator of at least 250 amps before going to a 1,200-1,500 watt subwoofer. Otherwise then go with a little lower rated subwoofer like the ones below. If this isn't an option which we can all understand because of money and what not then check out the ones below. IF you can afford to do a HO alternator I would consider Autotech as a couple people here have used them and like them so far. They have them for the 3.8 and 4.6 for about 325 dollars and usually you will have to run a little shorter belt as well.

Parts Search - High output alternators for Car Audio Made in USA

Find the right high-output alternator for your vehicle. High amperage alternators in 30 different colors. Find your make and model.

autotechengineeringusa.com

I would be looking at this one below. Ampere makes nice stuff as well. So does SSA all around.

Ampere Audio 2.5 RVE 12" 800w RMS Subwoofer

Shop Ampere Audio-2.5 RVE 12" 800w RMS Subwoofer at the Guaranteed lowest allowed price of 249 with 20+ yrs of the best customer service, only at the SSA STORE

store.soundsolutionsaudio.com

These SSA Gcons can take a beating as well and have a few custom options and would be right in that range you are going to be running with that amplifier. I would go with the upgraded spider, upgrade would coils and lead wire upgrades. IF you are ever thinking of doing a second one then do the Dual 1 ohm for now and run it at 2 ohms otherwise yeah go for the Dual 2 ohm option. These really have a nice rep all around. Don't think you would be disappointed with the SSA Gcon one bit.

GCON 12" 950W Subwoofer by SSA®

Shop GCON 12" 950W Subwoofer by SSA® at the Guaranteed lowest allowed price of 369 with 20+ yrs of the best customer service, only at the SSA STORE

store.soundsolutionsaudio.com

Tbh that Gcon was one I looked at as well when I bought my Fi Xv3's and it was a tough choice. Either way I knew I was going to be happy with what I bought.

GL!

I believe its rated at 105 amps. Fuse rating on the amp is 120. Sundows rated it at 1250 at both 1 and 2 ohms but independent dyno tests rate it at around 1700 watts. My plan was to get a ho alternator and hopefully be able to squeeze in that extra 500 watts with the better voltage. So judging on everyones opinion I'll end up going with the SA v2 or the GCon (I love being able to customize the subs before you buy them btw I hope this is something more companies add to their websites it the future)

 

[Firewalker]

I would do the HO alternator then first then go with the Fi Xv3's or the SSA Icon if you are set on that. Otherwise the Gcon would be the choice to go with. I can tell you running a pair of Xv3's that Fi is conservative with their RMS ratings because I am running for now a SIA 3.5K and they are begging for more power hence my future upgrade to a Cab-45 for them. Wouldn't be shocking if SSA is conservative with their RMS ratings as well. They both have a good rep for a reason.

 

[Bobbytwonames 5,000+ posts]

Planning on building a custom box for either, 12 inch.

Both have similar box and tuning recommendations and almost identical price from Down4Sound, however the Wolfram has a slightly higher power rating although from owning 3 Sundowns I know they can easily take 1.5-2x their power ratings like a champ. But the Wolfram has a 24.5 Xmax rating. The sundown I believe has a 19 Xmax rating, both one way. Im not sure about build quality in regards to the Wolfram except that they're built in the US as far as I know. On the other hand, the sundown has shorting rings in I remember correctly so maybe it will sound better? Looking for the loudest whole also maintaining a decent sound.

Two hundred and forty bucks and this is all that you need. I would get the SIA2500. You could eventually add another 12 if this wasn't enough for you. The power is almost the same at 1 and 2 ohms. All subs have Chinese parts in them. Just sayin. I'm running subs that cost me $105/each and have competed three times (two first place and one second place). You don't need $700 subs to get loud and sound good.

 

[Clifff150 10+ year member]

XFL’s are a nice option too