Alright so here's the deal. I decided to finally sacrifice the trunk space in my vert for some subs in the trunk. I'm going to be powering the subs with a Profile 600SX (I know its a Profile but for the price i couldn't beat it, and crutchfield sells it so it can't be all bad) which puts out 150x2 RMS at 4 ohms. So the 4 choices for the subs are:

Kicker 01C12
Alpine SWS-1241
Rockford Fosgate RFZ3412
MTX T4124

So those are the choices, at first i was leaning towards the Alpine but i'm not too sure if the extra cash would be worth it. Please post your opinions/experiences, they would be greatly apprecciated!

 

anyone with some advice?

 

step up to the alpine swr-1241. you can buy these at www.ikesound.com for about $125 a piece. they are spectacular subs. if that means you can only afford one, then just get one. quality over quantity. and you'll be very surprised at its sound and output. you may want to get the swr-1221 instead because its dual 2ohm voice coils. that way you can wire them into 4ohms for you amp

 

you think that one of the 12" alpine R subs would sound better than 2 12" alpine S subs? If so then thats the route I woudl rather take

 

well, how much are you spending on the type-s's? i do most of my shopping online these days because everything is so much cheaper. i saw type-r's for $230-250 each at local shops. and more is not always better. like i said before, i had bought one with the intention of buying a second down the line. so i bought one quality sub. i was very impressed with the decision. i had 2 jbl 12"s before and this single one sounded much better. will 1 12 be as loud as 2? not likely. but i'll take quality over quantity. it will last longer, built better, and better sounding. not knocking the type-s's, but this was my mentality and decision. and you might decide also that one is enough. plus these subs are rated at 300 watts rms each, and although they do sound good with less (i was feading mine 300 max with my old amp), i think they sound a bit better with more juice

 

well the type s's from etronics.com were 69.99 each for 12's. Thats why i was considering getting 2 12's, i didnt' think it was a bad deal at all

 

I've got 2 10" JLs in mine, they sound really great, a bit pricey though at about $100 each, although I bet you could find them cheaper. Also I've only got a cheapo 60W Sony amp for both of them and even with that so called 'crappy amp' they really pound out the thumps.

 

If you go with the type R, your amp will only be able to power one 12". Not necessarily a bad thing. I went with the type s for 3 reasons. #1 (and for sure the most important reason for every decision )I liked a type s in blue over a type r in red. #2 As you mentioned the cost difference. In terms of what CAMp3RO was saying about the type R being better, he's right. But I would like to point out that the entry level alpine sub is the type E, which can be had for even less. The type R is their top sub, and the type S fits nicely in the middle. If memory serves me correctly, the type S used to be alpines top sub before the introduction of the type R. #3 I didn't want an inordinate amount of bass. Well, at least I didn't at the time I bought them. The fact of the matter is, unless you really underpower a type R, it will be LOUD.

To sum it up, #1 won't matter if your car is red, or any color besides blue for that matter, and so long as you don't have an aversion to the term "Type-R". #3 won't matter if you want to set off peoples' car alarms from 30 feet away. And #2 is only a function of money. I will say that you get what you pay for. My friend just bought a pair pioneer 12" subs, and my alpines could put him to shame. Of course the fact that he put them in boxes from walmart may have something to do with it.

All of the subs you're listed are pretty good, I think you'd probably be happy with any of them.

 

JL 12W0s and here's why:

The JL subs have a higher sensitivity than any of those others, and with that amp, you'll need the highest efficiency you can get. The JL subs sound fantastic and have a higher sensitivity, so your SPL will be higher.

All of those subs that you listed are decent subs, but none are particularly spectacular. If I was in your shoes, instead of buying 2 medocre subs, I'd buy a single good one.

 

I say JL Audio but i would get 12" w3's, I have 10"w3's and they are great

 

W3s also cost 3x as much as the other subs he was looking at.

 

The Alpine SWS are gonna sound the best for the money you wanna spend. And with 150w per sub, they should be running right at their "sweet spot" if you get what I mean. I'd say the those are the only decent subs of the ones you've chosen.


Tim:rockon:

 

I'm looking to see if i can score a pair of those JL's for a decent price that I can afford, if not I think i'm definitely going to go with the Alpine's over the others. I would love the W3's but as Jim said they're way too much money for me. Thanks for all the opinions guys.

 

JL 12w0 $87.90
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/discount...ud1212sub.html
$89.99
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/caraudio.../11111151.html

 

would my profile amp be suitable for these subs though?

 

Honestly, the profile amp isn't suitable for any subs, but because it's a low powered amp, subs with a higher sensitivity like the W0s would be a definate plus.

Because JL doesn't authorize internet sales, if you do decide to buy online, I would strongly suggest you find a dealer that's well established so that if you need it warranteed, they'll be around. I don't have the link at home, but at work I've got a site for a fairly well known online retailer who sells them affordably.

 

Jim, I know that you know your stuff when it comes to car audio so I have a question for ya. I had one JL 12 wo in my car before, now thats gone. If I bought 1 12 alpine type R, and hooked it up to my rockford fosgate 360a2, and it was in the correct size box and all, do you think it would blow the JL away? Just wondering because I am looking into getting a new setup, and if I could get 1 12 thats going to be plenty loud that would be great. Also, what type would I get so I can have a final load of 4 ohms? If I wanted to add another one down the road, could I still wire it so its at 4 ohms for both of them? Thanks alot.

 

I really don't know. I have never used a type R sub, although I am considering one for the Vette, but I haven't decided on what sub I'm going to choose yet.

If you want a final impedance of 4 ohms, either get a 4 ohm single coil sub, or a dual 8 or dual 2 ohm sub. The dual 8 would be better because wiring is a little easier, but otherwise it doesn't matter.

 

I think Jim may have missed your point of asking about the Ohm load of adding a second sub, but keeping the 4 Ohm load... The answer is no, your amp would not be able to see the same load with two subs as with one. You would either have to buy an 8 Ohm sub for now to run 8 Ohm mono, then wire another 8 Ohm sub in parallel later to get a 4 Ohm mono load... Or, if you get a 4 Ohm sub now, you could run it mono until you added a second sub of 4 Ohms wired in series to run 8 Ohms mono (or stereo 4 ohms each channel).

As for your question about the type R sub vs. the 12 W0 JL sub... I've had both, but not running off of the Rockford 360a2 amp... assuming the amp is large enough to run the type R effectively (I don't have time to look up the specs of the amp), the type R should sound better and be more controlled. The type R is actually more compareable to the JL 12W6 more than it is the W0 series woofers, which is a good thing if you have the power to run it.

 

Actually, Jim doesn't have enough of an attention span to read all the way to the end of his post to see his last question.

I honestly didn't even see the last question. I read most of the way through his post and started my answer right away before I lost the thoughts in my head.

 

JL's Just got a set of 10's and i'm in love.

 

well i picked up a set of 12" JL W0's for my car. Can't wait to put em in

 

Well congragulations on the buy. I am sure that those 2 12's, in the right enclsure, should be plenty enough bass. Now I have a question of my own, for the pros. If I bought a type r(*** I hate typing those words), what do you think would be the best enclosure for me, sealed, or ported? Keep in mind also that these are going in the trunk of a car, it wont be in a hatchback. Thanks again.

 

If you're listening primarily to rap/techno then a ported enclosure will give you a bit more oomph. For pretty much anything else, I'd go sealed. And really, don't do a ported one unless you have all the necessary information, like port size and length.

nikh23, Congratulations on the subs! You'll have to let us know how you like it once you get 'em in.

 

personally I like Audio Bahn Flame Subs

 

want to sell that punch 360 a 2?

i love those old rockford amps.

jl w0's sound good for the money, yes a type r would hit harder than the w0 though, mainly because you could run it bridged at 2 ohms, mmmmmm power.

adam

 

dont get the mtx 4000 series they suck i blew a bunch of them the 6000 or 8000 series arent bads but id go for alpine or maybe the kicker.