Let's say you were going to buy a subwoofer for your car.....

[blurredvision]

Cast aside size, wattage output, etc., which subwoofer would you choose to buy right now, assuming your budget was around $100-$150? What suits your fancy, and why? I'm currently considering a subwoofer purchase for a future car audio upgrade, but I know nothing about what I'm looking at. Past searches revealed that brand does matter, but I obviously do not keep up with the stuff.

TIA

 

[Slvrtg277]

My Polk's that ran strong for me for almost 10 years finally crapped out the other day. I'm replacing them with subs made by Bravox. I've heard them and they sounded great. I only know of one place in the US that currently sells them though. Other brands that are good are:

JL Audio
Diamond Audio
Kicker (look at the solobaric L7's)
Rockford Fosgate (not as good as they used to be, imo)

 

[shortspanishguy]

Adire Audio Shiva Mark IV 12"

http://www.acoustic-visions.com/~acoust...ucts/subwoofer_drivers/car_audio.shtml

 

[Slvrtg277]

Originally posted by: shortspanishguy
Adire Audio Shiva Mark IV 12"

http://www.acoustic-visions.com/~acoust...ucts/subwoofer_drivers/car_audio.shtml

Yes, Adire are good too!

 

[shortspanishguy]

Originally posted by: Slvrtg277
My Polk's that ran strong for me for almost 10 years finally crapped out the other day. I'm replacing them with subs made by Bravox. I've heard them and they sounded great. I only know of one place in the US that currently sells them though. Other brands that are good are:

JL Audio
Diamond Audio
Kicker (look at the solobaric L7's)
Rockford Fosgate (not as good as they used to be, imo)

JL is overpriced... very nice though
Diamond is good
Kicker has declined (I prefer the round solo barics)
RF has also declined.... Although I still respect their SPL team

Look at CDT, Resonant Engineering, Ascendent Audio, Elemental Designs and Adire which I already posted.

 

[MikeMike]

ascendant audio atlas 15.

MIKE

 

[95SS]

Adire Audio Shiva

 

[Slvrtg277]

Originally posted by: shortspanishguy

Originally posted by: Slvrtg277
My Polk's that ran strong for me for almost 10 years finally crapped out the other day. I'm replacing them with subs made by Bravox. I've heard them and they sounded great. I only know of one place in the US that currently sells them though. Other brands that are good are:

JL Audio
Diamond Audio
Kicker (look at the solobaric L7's)
Rockford Fosgate (not as good as they used to be, imo)

JL is overpriced
Diamond is good
Kicker has declined as well
RF has also declined

Look at CDT, Resonant Engineering, Ascendent Audio, Elemental Designs and Adire which I already posted.

JL is overpriced if you pay full price, but you don't have to if you know better. They still make a good product though.

Kicker has declined, yes. That's why I said to look at the Solobaric L7's. They are nice. Expensive though! (if you pay full price)

Have you heard of Bravox?

 

[shortspanishguy]

I still think JL is overpriced even unauthorized... too many fanboys keep the market price high.
I like Bravox... oh I forgot Arc audio as well.

 

[BrokenVisage]

Originally posted by: shortspanishguy

Originally posted by: Slvrtg277
My Polk's that ran strong for me for almost 10 years finally crapped out the other day. I'm replacing them with subs made by Bravox. I've heard them and they sounded great. I only know of one place in the US that currently sells them though. Other brands that are good are:

JL Audio
Diamond Audio
Kicker (look at the solobaric L7's)
Rockford Fosgate (not as good as they used to be, imo)

JL is overpriced
Diamond is good
Kicker has declined as well
RF has also declined

Look at CDT, Resonant Engineering, Ascendent Audio, Elemental Designs and Adire which I already posted.

Excuse me, but Kicker has NOT declinded. Their L7 Solobaric's absolutely own subs priced up to twice as much as them, plus their Solo-X is a freaking beast and the first of its kind in car audio subwoofers.

However, JL is overpriced, SOME diamond subs are alright, and Rockford Fosgate was never even good enough to begin with to say their subs are on the decline. The Adire Brahama is a beast of a sub but is definately too much for the average daily driver. CDT never impressed me much, never heard an Ascendent Audio sub, but I do respect RE as a quality sub manufacturer.

My vote is always Kicker to those who just want clear, strong bass for a good price. A sub is really only as good as the install, meaning the box that is built for it.

Edit: I forgot to mention Image Dynamics. They make a sub called the IDMAX that was very, very impressive with a tight response and incredible booming bass. They are very hard to come by though, sometimes someone sells them on Ebay.

 

[Slvrtg277]

Originally posted by: shortspanishguy
I still think JL is overpriced even unauthorized... too many fanboys keep the market price high.
I like Bravox... oh I forgot Arc audio as well.

That's exactly what I'm getting put in on Friday. Bravox subs and an Arc Audio KAR 400.2 amp. My component set will be ran by my old MTX Blue Thunder Pro1502.

 

[MikeMike]

Originally posted by: BrokenVisage

Originally posted by: shortspanishguy

Originally posted by: Slvrtg277
My Polk's that ran strong for me for almost 10 years finally crapped out the other day. I'm replacing them with subs made by Bravox. I've heard them and they sounded great. I only know of one place in the US that currently sells them though. Other brands that are good are:

JL Audio
Diamond Audio
Kicker (look at the solobaric L7's)
Rockford Fosgate (not as good as they used to be, imo)

JL is overpriced
Diamond is good
Kicker has declined as well
RF has also declined

Look at CDT, Resonant Engineering, Ascendent Audio, Elemental Designs and Adire which I already posted.

Excuse me, but Kicker has NOT declinded. Their L7 Solobaric's absolutely own subs priced up to twice as much as them, plus their Solo-X is a freaking beast and the first of its kind in car audio subwoofers.

However, JL is overpriced, SOME diamond subs are alright, and Rockford Fosgate was never even good enough to begin with to say their subs are on the decline. The Adire Brahama is a beast of a sub but is definately too much for the average daily driver. CDT never impressed me much, never heard an Ascendent Audio sub, but I do respect RE as a quality sub manufacturer.

My vote is always Kicker to those who just want clear, strong bass for a good price. A sub is really only as good as the install, meaning the box that is built for it.

kicker is no where near as good as the online companies. their "clean" bass really isnt that clean, its pretty sloppy compared to Ascendant Audio, and what not. Kicker is overpriced, by a lot.

MIKE

 

[shortspanishguy]

Originally posted by: BrokenVisage

Originally posted by: shortspanishguy

Originally posted by: Slvrtg277
My Polk's that ran strong for me for almost 10 years finally crapped out the other day. I'm replacing them with subs made by Bravox. I've heard them and they sounded great. I only know of one place in the US that currently sells them though. Other brands that are good are:

JL Audio
Diamond Audio
Kicker (look at the solobaric L7's)
Rockford Fosgate (not as good as they used to be, imo)

JL is overpriced
Diamond is good
Kicker has declined as well
RF has also declined

Look at CDT, Resonant Engineering, Ascendent Audio, Elemental Designs and Adire which I already posted.

Excuse me, but Kicker has NOT declinded. Their L7 Solobaric's absolutely own subs priced up to twice as much as them, plus their Solo-X is a freaking beast and the first of its kind in car audio subwoofers.

However, JL is overpriced, SOME diamond subs are alright, and Rockford Fosgate was never even good enough to begin with to say their subs are on the decline. The Adire Brahama is a beast of a sub but is definately too much for the average daily driver. CDT never impressed me much, never heard an Ascendent Audio sub, but I do respect RE as a quality sub manufacturer.

My vote is always Kicker to those who just want clear, strong bass for a good price. A sub is really only as good as the install, meaning the box that is built for it.

Well last time I checked RF still held quite a few SPL records. Kicker is nothin special in my opinion. I just don't like the SQ. I have yet to hear an L7 that sounds as good as my RE XXX. And yes the sub is only as good as the install.

 

[shortspanishguy]

Originally posted by: Slvrtg277

Originally posted by: shortspanishguy
I still think JL is overpriced even unauthorized... too many fanboys keep the market price high.
I like Bravox... oh I forgot Arc audio as well.

That's exactly what I'm getting put in on Friday. Bravox subs and an Arc Audio KAR 400.2 amp. My component set will be ran by my old MTX Blue Thunder Pro1502.

thats a sweet amp. I have a Memphis Belle. I want to get a zapco

 

[BrokenVisage]

Originally posted by: nourdmrolNMT1

Originally posted by: BrokenVisage

Originally posted by: shortspanishguy

Originally posted by: Slvrtg277
My Polk's that ran strong for me for almost 10 years finally crapped out the other day. I'm replacing them with subs made by Bravox. I've heard them and they sounded great. I only know of one place in the US that currently sells them though. Other brands that are good are:

JL Audio
Diamond Audio
Kicker (look at the solobaric L7's)
Rockford Fosgate (not as good as they used to be, imo)

JL is overpriced
Diamond is good
Kicker has declined as well
RF has also declined

Look at CDT, Resonant Engineering, Ascendent Audio, Elemental Designs and Adire which I already posted.

Excuse me, but Kicker has NOT declinded. Their L7 Solobaric's absolutely own subs priced up to twice as much as them, plus their Solo-X is a freaking beast and the first of its kind in car audio subwoofers.

However, JL is overpriced, SOME diamond subs are alright, and Rockford Fosgate was never even good enough to begin with to say their subs are on the decline. The Adire Brahama is a beast of a sub but is definately too much for the average daily driver. CDT never impressed me much, never heard an Ascendent Audio sub, but I do respect RE as a quality sub manufacturer.

My vote is always Kicker to those who just want clear, strong bass for a good price. A sub is really only as good as the install, meaning the box that is built for it.

kicker is no where near as good as the online companies. their "clean" bass really isnt that clean, its pretty sloppy compared to Ascendant Audio, and what not. Kicker is overpriced, by a lot.

MIKE

Whatever, that's your opinion, I've been around car audio my entire life and Kicker has gotten better if you ask me. However, your claim that they are overpriced is rediculous.. for instance their Comp VR's 12" is widely renowned as being perfect for a starting out sub and can be had for less then $80 some places.. that is NOT overpriced. And no, their clean bass IS "clean".. if I could show you osiloscope graphs and whatnot to back up that claim I would, but I can only go with what I hear.

Edit: I do bow to the RE XXX though, excellent sub with amazing excursion.

 

[Mojoed]

My vote goes for the JL audio subs. I'm not sure what they sell for today, but I've had (3) 10W6 10"s for almost TEN years now and they still kick total ass.

 

[Slvrtg277]

Originally posted by: shortspanishguy

Originally posted by: Slvrtg277

Originally posted by: shortspanishguy
I still think JL is overpriced even unauthorized... too many fanboys keep the market price high.
I like Bravox... oh I forgot Arc audio as well.

That's exactly what I'm getting put in on Friday. Bravox subs and an Arc Audio KAR 400.2 amp. My component set will be ran by my old MTX Blue Thunder Pro1502.

thats a sweet amp. I have a Memphis Belle. I want to get a zapco

I could go with Zapco as well....they sell those also. Why would you go with Zapco instead of the Arc?

 

[Deeko]

I don't know how much they run anymore because its been awhile, but I had a 12" Alpine Type R DVC. That sub could hit.

 

[jfall]

IDMAX

 

[shortspanishguy]

Originally posted by: Slvrtg277

Originally posted by: shortspanishguy

Originally posted by: Slvrtg277

Originally posted by: shortspanishguy
I still think JL is overpriced even unauthorized... too many fanboys keep the market price high.
I like Bravox... oh I forgot Arc audio as well.

That's exactly what I'm getting put in on Friday. Bravox subs and an Arc Audio KAR 400.2 amp. My component set will be ran by my old MTX Blue Thunder Pro1502.

thats a sweet amp. I have a Memphis Belle. I want to get a zapco

I could go with Zapco as well....they sell those also. Why would you go with Zapco instead of the Arc?

To run balanced lines.. 16Volts!!! My Eclipse 8053 has the capabilities. What HU are you running?

 

[Howard]

Ascendant Audio Atlas 15

 

[Slvrtg277]

To run balanced lines.. 16Volts!!! My Eclipse 8053 has the capabilities. What HU are you running?

Alpine CDA 7894. Nowhere near 8v....only 4. That's one hell of a nice HU you have there.

 

[shortspanishguy]

Yours is nice as well. I like Alpine alot. I would love to have a Denon HU. I had the Alpine 9835 last year.

 

[AMCRambler]

I had a JL and honestly I wasn't impressed with the quality. The voice coils ending up burning up on me. The sub itself didn't look or feel well made either. I recently purchased an Infinity Kappa sub to replace it and boy what a difference. Screw down terminals to connect the wires, nice chromed magnet housing. The JL had a piece of rubber wrapped around the magnet and a flimsy spade connector terminals that were mounted on a piece of carboard like material. My friend has two Image Dynamics and I hear they make very nice subs too. I ended up going with the infinity because the RMS raiting on the size I was looking for was a little higher. I wanted to be sure I didn't burn up the new sub.