SoloX 18" kicker subwoofer questions and suggestions

[CynX]

I was wondering if anyone on Audioholics has heard the kicker 18" soloX subwoofer. I am trying to decide if i should get that with two kicker 1200.1 mono amps or if i should go with something like two 15"'s. If i should get the two 15"s does anyone know what the best 15" subs are? I did have two diamondaudio 10" subs that hit harder then anything but i sold them to my friend about a year ago when i really needed money. (if you havnt heard of diamondaudio, its a top end subwoofer company, and unfortunately very expensive) Thanks, Chris

 

[Sheep]

Is this for a Car or home? This is a home audio forum, so not alot of ppl here have experience with these products.

If car, get like 2 10inch subwoofers man. Most people use 1 10inch sub in a house! A car is MUCH smaller and its just excessive.


Secondly,

Square woofers have more distortion because of the corners, and because these are car woofers, they will be very boomy. I don't know what kind of bass you like, but boomy is not good IMO. Boomy bass for me makes music sound "rude", and the only car stuff that I have seen that isn't boomy is JL.

You would be better off with 2 10inch JLw1's and an amp to power them. You have to remember also, certain amps can't be hooked up to JUST a battery and work. If you pulling more then 1kilowat your going to need a cap, or possibly a new battery and at the extreme new alternator or ANOTHER alternator.

SheepStar

 

[annunaki]

First off, I would like to state that not all car subs are boomy. There are some designs that easily exceed what is available in the home audio arena at a lower price point. The reason many believe car subwoofers to be boomy, is that... well in the application many are used, they are. It is not due to the subwoofer itself though. It is usually enclosure volume confines of the car ect.

I am not exactly sure about the woofers have ing more distortion just because they are square, I would like some proof. However, I can see how small flaws in manufacturing or design could easily cause non-linearities and the like.

As for the Kicker sub in question, how is it going to be used? That is a specifically designed SPL competition woofer. #1, it's primary design goal is to get loud. Regardless of how it sounds. #2, it is huge, and requires a massive enclosure to get the woofer to perform well. #3, if you are going to be using it in a daily driver vehicle, you would be much better served using another woofer.

 

[Sheep]

First off, I would like to state that not all car subs are boomy. There are some designs that easily exceed what is available in the home audio arena at a lower price point. The reason many believe car subwoofers to be boomy, is that... well in the application many are used, they are. It is not due to the subwoofer itself though. It is usually enclosure volume confines of the car ect.

I am not exactly sure about the woofers have ing more distortion just because they are square, I would like some proof. However, I can see how small flaws in manufacturing or design could easily cause non-linearities and the like.

As for the Kicker sub in question, how is it going to be used? That is a specifically designed SPL competition woofer. #1, it's primary design goal is to get loud. Regardless of how it sounds. #2, it is huge, and requires a massive enclosure to get the woofer to perform well. #3, if you are going to be using it in a daily driver vehicle, you would be much better served using another woofer.

There is an article on this site comparing square woofers to round ones. For the life of me I can't find it, but its there.

More the 50% of car woofers are boomy. No if ands or buts. They are made this way intentionally because people think bass is supposed to boom. Theres so many design flaws I don't know where to start.

1.) Stupid nick-nacks and whatnot attached to the cones for a "logo" that basically adds an uneven mass.

2.) Every woofer is a long throw desgin, without taking into consideration the negatives that come with it(Average).

Those are just some. There are other brands that make good quality products such as JL, Alpine, MB Quart, etc. But most people looking for a car sub don't know what sounds good, and think boom is better.

[/rant]

SheepStar

 

[annunaki]

There is an article on this site comparing square woofers to round ones. For the life of me I can't find it, but its there.

More the 50% of car woofers are boomy. No if ands or buts. They are made this way intentionally because people think bass is supposed to boom. Theres so many design flaws I don't know where to start.

1.) Stupid nick-nacks and whatnot attached to the cones for a "logo" that basically adds an uneven mass.

2.) Every woofer is a long throw desgin, without taking into consideration the negatives that come with it(Average).

Those are just some. There are other brands that make good quality products such as JL, Alpine, MB Quart, etc. But most people looking for a car sub don't know what sounds good, and think boom is better.

[/rant]

SheepStar

Sheep,

I will agree that there are a lot of poorly designed car subs. I will admit that there is probably about 50% of designs that are inherently non-linear as well. Most designs are very basic SGLC (Short Gap Long Coil) designs with very parabolic BL and Kms curves resulting in non-linear frequency response and incresed distortion.

it just seemed that your previous comment was like a blanket statement.

 

[big deal]

Almost every reputable brand in car audio makes a model of sub that can sound good. As long as the T/S parameters are supplied and you have some box design software, you should be able to build an enclosure that will sound exactly how you want it to with almost any quality sub (granted there are plenty of poor designs, especially in the lower price brackets). Most people think that car audio components are inferior when in fact, many are much better value than a home audio component at a given price point because of the average age/income/buying power of the markets at which they are aimed. The reason most car audio subs sound "boomy" is either because thats how the owners want them to sound, or due to poor enclosure design and/or cabin gain without proper equalization. Personally, I prefer tight and precise bass with good extention, others prefer max SPL to make their eyes blur. The point is, sound is purely subjective and just because it doesnt sound right to you, doesnt mean thats not the intended sound by the owner and may or may not be the fault of the actual component but rather a matter of taste. Not everyone enjoys the sound of a perfectly flat freq response.
Just my 2cents.

 

[Hi Ho]

I would recommend looking into AscendantAudio. They are in the midst of a product line transition at the moment but I have one of their old Atlas 12" woofers in my DIY home theater sub and it is fantastic. Many people use their woofers in cars. I seriously doubt you would need an 18" in a car! My 12" fills my entire house. I can't imagine having an 18" sub in my car. Their old Avalanche 18" was a monster at 42lb. I would love to build a HT sub using two of the new Havoc 18"s.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

The point is, sound is purely subjective and just because it doesnt sound right to you, doesnt mean thats not the intended sound by the owner and may or may not be the fault of the actual component but rather a matter of taste. Not everyone enjoys the sound of a perfectly flat freq response.
Just my 2cents.

Amen.

I was wondering if anyone on Audioholics has heard the kicker 18" soloX subwoofer. I am trying to decide if i should get that with two kicker 1200.1 mono amps or if i should go with something like two 15"'s. If i should get the two 15"s does anyone know what the best 15" subs are? I did have two diamondaudio 10" subs that hit harder then anything but i sold them to my friend about a year ago when i really needed money.

You were probably better off with dual 10's. That's what I run in my truck, and it's more than enough "punchy bass" for me. Unless you have an extended work van and compete, I can't imagine the benefit of an 18" or even dual 15" subs. That's also a recipe for losing your hearing above 12kHz - possibly everything!

You ask what the best 15" subs are. Are what? Rap? Competition? Music? That's a loaded question. If you're playing Phil Collins, you probably don't want an 18" soloX pounding out his kick drum. Now if you're into competing, I'd go for Pioneer or JL Audio's high end drivers.