Best bang for the buck woofer

[zerocover]

So Ive finally gotten my friends into the car audio scene. Well they are schooling me now.
One guy got a audiobond 12" in a ported box. With a fosgate power amp its a mono amp with a fan on it. Ive only seen it with the cover off. Looks bad ass. sounded like **** when he just hooked it up but after I got done tweeking the frequency and getting rid of the bass boost it now kicks the **** out of everything.

Another guy did went to pep boys and bought him self a $65 prebuilt system (2 ported 10's). I have to say its pretty nice. It will probubly only last a few weeks but it does hit fast clean and nicely complements the music.

Its time I strike back.

I went to circuit city and asked the guy for the lowest hitting sub they had and he showed me a square kicker in a ported box. That thing was nice and it would only cost me 250 with box (box was nicely made too).

Ive read that the square subs were garbage. And would like another opinion. Ive read really good things about the kicker CVR12 COMPVR, and there dirt cheap now that I look them up ($50).
I would run them off my 160watt rms amp. But am looking for a mono amp with 400rms.

[Marc93lx]

I have a single 10" DVC CompVR and I love it. It sounds really nice. Im running it off of a 2 channel sony amp and it still hits pretty good. I had a friend who was pushing the same sub with a kicker amp, and that thing hit hard.

[blue LEDz]

the benefit to the square subs is that they have more surface area than an equal size round sub. so if you have a 12" square sub, it's like having a 15" round sub. that is the only benefit.

the thing is, it's the enclosure that dictates how the sub is going to sound. if you played some really low notes on either of your friends systems, you'd hear the lack of low end that the prefab enclosures produce.

[1967cutlass]

Comp VR's are decent subs. When it comes to bang for the buck, theres a lot out there. If you want the "lowest hitting" sub for your price, get this

http://www.acoustic-visions.com/~acoustic/products/subwoofer_drivers/parts_dayton_15_dvc/

and build a ported box tuned to about 25-30hz. This will work with 150-400rms.

If you want something louder, you're going to have to spend more $$ or sacrafice quality, it's up to you.

[blue LEDz]

http://www.ascendantaudio.com/assassin12specs.html

helluva deal, and rather efficient. or if you really want to hit low and loud:

http://www.ascendantaudio.com/arsenal15specs.html

[firelizard]

For bang, something simple like MTX or Rockford oughta do it, they're both real cheap.
But of course, JL is the way to go if you want good quality

[blue LEDz]

For bang, something simple like MTX or Rockford oughta do it, they're both real cheap.
But of course, JL is the way to go if you want good quality

JL is the way to go if you don't care about saving money.

[1967cutlass]

JL is the way to go if you don't care about saving money.

No, he's right, the w6's are one of the best SQ subs you can buy and the w0's can't really be beat for how much you can get them for.

[blue LEDz]

No, he's right, the w6's are one of the best SQ subs you can buy and the w0's can't really be beat for how much you can get them for.

trust me, you don't have to tell me that w6's have won a crap ton of SQ comps. and yes you do get quality with JL. BUT there are subs that are just as good or better for less money. as for the w0's, they only offer 6" and 8" this year. they where an ok value, but nothing all that special for their retail price.

[firelizard]

Better for less? Please, do tell :D

[1967cutlass]

trust me, you don't have to tell me that w6's have won a crap ton of SQ comps. and yes you do get quality with JL. BUT there are subs that are just as good or better for less money. as for the w0's, they only offer 6" and 8" this year. they where an ok value, but nothing all that special for their retail price.

I don't mean the new w0's, you can get used 10 and 12 w0's at pawnshops throughout the nation for 40$ or less with a box. That's pretty hard to beat IMO. The old w6 is my favorite sub BTW and I've owned plenty of "bang for the buck" subs from ED, RE and stuff. I'm actually getting rid of my RE SE12 and getting a 10w0 to save weight.

[BuGS]

The best bang would be a Kicker S12L7. The L7 series is the highestest without going like pro stuff. You can get them relatively cheap off ebay, and they hit. I don't know anyone that has ever put too much Power to them. My hits HARD, and sounds nice. Sounds louder when I turn it up than most 15s.

[FineWine]

I don't mean the new w0's, you can get used 10 and 12 w0's at pawnshops throughout the nation for 40$ or less with a box. That's pretty hard to beat IMO.

I'll second this. a pair of JL w0 12's and a box for around $100 and a $100 amp to push them and you have serious bang for buck with pretty decent quality.

My last setup in a protege was a $100 JL 15w0 and a $100 200w Jensem amp from walmart in a custom built (by me) wheel well box. Talk about bang for buck.....

[blue LEDz]

I don't mean the new w0's, you can get used 10 and 12 w0's at pawnshops throughout the nation for 40$ or less with a box. That's pretty hard to beat IMO. The old w6 is my favorite sub BTW and I've owned plenty of "bang for the buck" subs from ED, RE and stuff. I'm actually getting rid of my RE SE12 and getting a 10w0 to save weight.

bringing up used subs in a discussion of value for your dollar is a mute point. you can find a ton of used subs for good prices, but i would NEVER recomend buying a used sub because you don't know how it has been abused. i've owned over 50 different model subs and installed well over 100 different subs. the only one that has truly impressed me is my brahma 10, which i've had for a few years now.

[blue LEDz]

Better for less? Please, do tell :D

considering the brahma series subs produce less distortion and get louder than the w7 series, there's an easy comparison. for the lower level subs, there are plenty of lesser known brands out there that can achieve the same output levels with an equal amount of SQ but for a lower price tag. ascendant audio and acoustic elegance come to mind. RE will blow away JL in terms of SPL, but their SQ isn't the greatest.