Subwoofer Recommendation for an Old Man (1 Viewer)

[Mark gas]

You can get hi low converters. I think sounddomain.com has them.

 

[Tyler Cookson]

the name brands mentioned above are excellent, but doesn't mean its the best out there. Most of the time you are paying extra $$$ for the name. You will love the tangband subwoofer, but another excellent small box sub is the ED (elemental designs) O series subwoofers. They are specifcally meant for small sealed boxes, and are some of the most affordable sound quality subs out there. The sound quality on them supposedly match that of JL audio's $800 flagship subwoofer. PM the one member who actually has the 12 inch O series from ED, he will be able to give you excellent input on them.

 

[Mark gas]

The p seriea nit not ed's top of the line sub and enen there top of the line A series dones not match the JL W7 ands coming straight for the owner of ED.

 

[Tyler Cookson]

speak english next time

I never said it was their top of the line sub. The 15A will outdisplace the w7. The w7 does have more xmax by a few mm, but because the 15A has more SD, that gives it more displacement.

I am not dissing the W7's in anyway, they are truly incredible. They do require a large box though, and are very expensive. you can buy 2 A series subs for the price of one W7. you can buy 4 O series subs for the price of one W7. the price/quality ratio of the O series destroys the W7.

All he wanted was a small box sub with great sound quality, something just to enjoy his music, and that is exactly what the O series does, without emptying your wallet.

The O series also has a lot more displacement than his old sub as well, so he can play it louder too if he ever gets the urge.

 

[Mark gas]

What about a JL w7 12 verses a 12A. The 12 inch W& only needs 1.25 cubes sealed, in my book thats not that large of a box. The only place tha A series wins is with the price. Also for the price of 1 O You could get two 12 or 15 inch PG Ti subsof ebay.

 

[Tyler Cookson]

yeah but your missing the point, he doesnt want a big sub, I am trying to reccomend a sub for him that fits his needs.

The pheonix gold ti's are very good subs, dont get my wrong, but they also like large boxes, and he just wants a good SQ sub, and the O has exactly that

 

[Jay Centeno]

If you want to keep cost to a minimum, then I'd suggest something entry to mid-level from JL or Kicker in probably a 10" or 12". The extra cone mass should help you move a little more air than that 8" you've been using. You could probably get away with still using your existing MTX amp. Keeping cost in mind, you could do a larger pre-fabricated enclosure...there's nothing like building your own though. The larger enclosure will help you get a little bit deeper with the bass and also won't starve the woofer for power. It won't be "earth-shattering bass", but will be a considerable imporovement for listening to your jazz cd's.

 

[Tyler Cookson]

a 10 or 12 0 series will eat up any kicker in SQ and give a JL a run for their money

 

[ken nomimashita]

to the old guy; the tang bands are good. mine were ok but they didnt like the 1000rms and made odd noises once they were at xsus. anyhow they should do fine for you. if you want something "better" get a 10kx in a sealed box. all the jl subs sound good and are quality so that route is fine too albeit unneccecary. as for the A vs w7, the A is a Db or two down from the w7 in similar alignments and the w7 will take significantly more power. for something that can "beat" the w7 look forward to the aV2 from ED or resonants new sub they arent releasing yet that has 45mm one way xmax.

 

[Greg_R]

I'm using an Adire Shiva in a 1.8cu.ft. sealed enclosure and have been very happy with the results. I'm driving it with 300W of quality power. Total cost = $300 (with enclosure & amp).

 

[Mark gas]

I guess Gary Biggs and the rest of KCG team missed that memo.

 

[Aaron Howell]

I'll assume you don't want to build your own enclosure. Keep the mtx 120watt amp and look into a w0 series preloaded enclosure.

Goto you local JL dealer. If you have the amp and everything else already installed, they will let you try out the preloaded enclosures they have in stock. That way you will get to hear what is available, and know what you are after.

I would imagine one of these would do you just fine, and not have to buy another amp:

http://www.jlaudio.com/enclosures/CS110RGW0.html

http://www.jlaudio.com/enclosures/CS112RGW0.html

 

[David.G]

God bless both John E and John Mo for knowing your stuff. ADire or ED will both do well. ED takes up less room and is probabaly same SQ as Adire. If you're looking for SQ ED is the way to go. ED does the best in a sealed box and needs less cubic area. And yes an ED sub will do better than a JL sub on SQ anyday and will be close to it on the SPL meter with proper amps. PSAMAG reviewed the ED A series to make 127db in a 1.0 cubic foot sealed box. 129 when driven with 600RMS.JL has better SPL qualities and sounds real good in a ported box but cost twice as much and its an improvement over ED. If you want to outdo both of them go ID MAX V.2. If i were you i'd go one 12" O series sub and a good amp that will give it 300-500RMS. Will give great SQ and good extension. It plays well into the 30hz range. I don't recommend any that you can find in a store except Boston, MB Quart Premium,Eclipse, or JL W6 or W7. With any store product you pay more for it. ED is factory direct, like i said before and is like SVS. The MTX amp would not properly suppoort any of them 12" subs and maybe only the 10" ED sub. Good SQ bass comes from ported boxes which ED subs do best in, ported boxes give you more extension and louder bass, but if you put cotton or some filler into a box it'll slow down the frequencies a little and draw it out little bit more. To drive a sub propoerly most subs require 200RMS, don't know too many under 200RMS subs, ED being the only one i've heard of. If you have car audio questions ask me cause thats all i do, if you have home audio ones ask for Jason.

 

[David.G]

o a couple more notes. JL W7 is overrated now, ED A series will match it and weights less and cost less. Add a W7 and add 80 lbs to your car. For classical music and jazz you need a sub that plays lows well and can hit down low. I tested my ED on a home THX frequency test and it hits superbly around th 30-40 hz range. Car audio doesn't really go lower than that. Most subs lose ouput around 40hz but the ED can go about 25hz before its output fades. Also ED uses the smallest enclosure size i've seen. An A-series was tested in 1.0 cubic foot box w/ 600RMS and hit 127db and 129 when run with 700RMS. Thats a small box for the level. I'd suggest a 1.65 cubic foot box so that with the sub in the box you have 1.5 cu. ft of area. I'd get the A-series which is superior SQ and beats a JL in SQ. It will waver a but in SPL but that doesn't matter for SQ. Expect tight clean undistorted bass from it, especially if you are able to cross it over right. Happy tuning. Also If you can ED, they'll say you can run alot less to the sub than their suggested RMS. I'm running 300RMS to my O series 12" and they say thats fine. If you run their suggested RMS it does give the overhead but also may bottom out too if run to that point. I'd suggest 600RMS to an A-series and 300-400 RMS for the O series.

 

[Aaron Howell]

Just so people realize, the ED A series are NOT available. They are coming out with a new version in the future, but have not released a final date yet.

If the original poster is even still keeping an eye on this thread, you may want to consider the entry level subs of different manuf. if you are really wanting to keep the cost down.

If I were you, I would try my hardest to utilize your current amp. A prefab(ported is all they sell) 12w0 will be at least twice as loud as your sealed mtx 8 and have better extension.

 

[David.G]

actually the B stock series is the same as the normal drivers, little bit more power but pretty much the same. And all drivers are still available if you call and put yourself on back order( well worth the wait i might add). All their subs are being redone anyways. Last i checked A series is available on the clearance section. Its the A series AE version. They are redoing their subs to be white instead of black with "Elemental Design"(cursive logo) to be printed in white also on the cone. When i talked to Ben ( i think like the pres of marketing), he said the new subs can work in smaller enclosures and also be infinite baffle. I think even if he's on a budget, ED is the best sub to get. The K series will eat most subs up for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I would rate the K series as an Infinity Perfect sub but it only cost 75$.