# SUBWOOFER HELP!!! Recommendations for small sealed box subs in 10 and 12 inch range



## RYNOMOTO (Oct 3, 2008)

Here's the deal....


Looking for the best SQ and SPL combo sub with great response and efficiency range....


Most of the music I enjoy is Alternative, metal, very little hip-hop(but I still like it to hit hard), and classical.....



for the 10's:

at the top of my list is:

Phoenix Gold RSDC10d2 

but, my worry is that the RF 800a2 will be too much for it at 800rms vs the 600vrms it is rated for.... what do others think? I guess I could use the 500a2 if that is what it takes to keep from hurting the sub.....

I am thinking about the Dual 2ohm because of the output sensitivity of 
93db/1w/1m !!!!!! versus 89 for the dual 4ohm....

I have several amp choices, 

1. with a Hifonics IA1005D (1000w at 1ohm and Time alignment built into the amp..... yes, it's rare and kinda ugly...for now)

2. or, pretty much any Rockford Fosgate amp you could pick from the mid-late-90's....250a2, 500a2, or 800a2

800a2 is 800wrms x's 1 bridged at 4ohms at 13.8v


I have also heard that these PG RSDC10d2 subs could be used in a small sealed box, like .5 cuft small..... and do very well.....

Are there any other subs that would need to look at or listen to before going with the PG?



What about 12 inch subs?


Any good ones that will work in the very small sealed enclosure and sound really good doing it?


PG RSDC12d2 or d4 again?



Thanks!
RYNO


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## bcramer (Mar 17, 2008)

DIYMA 12"


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## Pseudonym (Apr 17, 2006)

*SI BM Subwoofers*​ *Stereo Integrity goes shallow! *

Big output, tiny mounting depth, tiny enclosures; that's what the BM series is all about. Using the same technology we use in our Mag series, we put the motor of the BM's inside the basket to shrink the mounting depth to a miniscule 3.5 inches on a 12" subwoofer!

Utilizing an XBL^2™ motor to give you long, linear travel, along with soft parts that include a composite flat diaphragm and inverted foam surround, the new BM series will give you unprecedented performance from a shallow mount package. Not only can you can mount them behind or underneath almost anything, but you can also use virtually any speaker grille you want to thanks in part to the inverted surround. 

Why use an 8" or 10" subwoofer when you can now get more output and keep a tiny enclosure by using a 12 BM? 

*Key features:*
» FEA optimized XBL^2™ motor
» Dual 4 Ohm voice coil configuration 
» 500 watt power handling 
» 2.5” copper voice coil wound on an aluminum former 
» Inverted foam surround 
» Honeycomb composite cone 
» Shallow mount design (3.5”) 
» Tiny enclosure requirements 
» Lightweight design 

*Recommended enclosures:* 
» 0.5 cubic feet sealed 
» Recommended power range: 200-500 watts RMS.

Click HERE for more technical information on the new BM’s.

Warranty Info


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## Electrodynamic (Nov 27, 2007)

^ Those won't be out for at least another few months. 

The 12" Mag v4's are in production though. 1 ft^3 sealed requirement and only 5.5" deep. It'll also handle the 800'ish watts you're going to throw at it. If you read the description and reviews (here's Zach's review) on the v4's you'll probably see that it was designed for exactly what you're looking for: Small footprint, great SQ, and lots of output if you want it.


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## tspence73 (Oct 14, 2008)

Take it from someone who had a small sealed 10" and upgraded to two small sealed 12's. If you can fit a 12", do it. It makes a difference. I no longer have to clip the amp at all and get more output. I could have probably gone with a single 12". I bet a single 15" would have been perfect with a strong enough amp.


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## AWC (Mar 31, 2008)

RYNOMOTO said:


> Here's the deal....
> 
> 
> Looking for the best SQ and SPL combo sub with great response and efficiency range....
> ...


Peerless SLS driver's seem to be mentioned for these purposes alot. 



bcramer said:


> DIYMA 12"


The guy is asking for half SPL and the DIYMA usually doesn't get mentioned in that category. It looks to be great, though it's purpose is to dissappear. How I long for 2 of those bitches


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## Boostedrex (Apr 4, 2007)

Since you didn't mention a needed box size other than the RSD being able to work in .5 ft^3 then I'm going to agree with Nick and recommend the SI Mag v4. I did a review of it if you want to look it over. It's in the reviews section here. Great sub!!

If you want to go with a 10", then have you put any thought into the TC Sounds OEM 10"? It was designed to work in .3-.4 ft^3 sealed and will take every bit of what that Rockford amp will put out. It does have a 7" mounting depth though.


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## bcramer (Mar 17, 2008)

AWC said:


> The guy is asking for half SPL and the DIYMA usually doesn't get mentioned in that category. It looks to be great, though it's purpose is to dissappear. How I long for 2 of those bitches


I chose to ignore the first part of his post because he said nothing about SPL in the 12" part of it. Just a 12" that sounds real good in a small enclosure


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## AWC (Mar 31, 2008)

bcramer said:


> I chose to ignore the first part of his post because he said nothing about SPL in the 12" part of it. Just a 12" that sounds real good in a small enclosure


you had me at ignore....


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## smgreen20 (Oct 13, 2006)

You're on the right track w/that PG RSDc. You'll love that thing.


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## RYNOMOTO (Oct 3, 2008)

lots of awesome suggestions here!!!!

thanks guys for putting thought and consideration into this....


I may try the PG RSDC 10 first and see if it will satisfy me.... at only $120, it is not too much of a risk....

Those SI speaks look great, but they seem to be very hard to get... they are sold out of everything!!!!


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## 8675309 (Jan 8, 2007)

Dont hit me but the RE Audio RE series seem to work in multiple enclosures and sound nice. I put a pair of RE8's in a friends truck using .18 enclosures and they sound nice.


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## RYNOMOTO (Oct 3, 2008)

true, I had almost forgotten about the RE/RE series subs......

I will look at these also....

too many choices!!!!!


AGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Paul73 (Nov 21, 2007)

SI Mag


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## qwertydude (Dec 22, 2008)

Can't go wrong with the JBL Gti series, definitely cheaper than a lot of the high end sq stuff RE XXX's are insame money. And since you're not going super high end exclusivo on your other equipment I think it'll suit you fine.


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## RYNOMOTO (Oct 3, 2008)

I have looked at the JBL GTI's, but, both 10 and 12 require too much mounting depth to work with my current mounting location and box parameters......

I do like them very much though, and I agree that they would probably do an awesome job for my app....


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## RYNOMOTO (Oct 3, 2008)

First time I have ever seen this direct comparison.....


on stereo integrity website....

it say's a less efficient subwoofer will have a higher DB output in the normal operating frequency (20hz-70hz) in a small sealed enclosure as compared to a more efficient subwoofer..... say a 1 cuft sealed enclosure


If you put the more efficient sub in a larger sealed box, say 3 cuft, it will start to shine above the lower efficiency sub in DB output in the normal operating frequency range.....


http://stereointegrity.com/docs/Efficiency.pdf

VERY INTERESTING!!!!

so, I guess I have to rethink my ideas on the PG RSDC10d2 sub..... might have to look again at the RSDC10D4 or the 12 incher... and the other Myriad choices.....


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## Electrodynamic (Nov 27, 2007)

RYNOMOTO said:


> Those SI speaks look great, but they seem to be very hard to get... they are sold out of everything!!!!


The Mag's will be in next week hopefully. The BM's have never been in stock though because we're still making improvements on the design. We're working on them though.


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## RYNOMOTO (Oct 3, 2008)

Electrodynamic said:


> The Mag's will be in next week hopefully. The BM's have never been in stock though because we're still making improvements on the design. We're working on them though.




hmmmm....

so, the SI man himself, or at least a rep huh?


I really like the look of that SI mag.... but, the 1 cuft sealed enclosure might take some work to get in my application....

The BM really would fit my application much better.....


PM me if you might could let me in on something special... for testing purposes of course!!!


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## dyno (Jan 15, 2008)

I've overdriven my RSDC10.2 and it handled it fine. It's getting over 800 watts from a DD M80. Mounting depth is on the shallow side so the gross box volume is pretty small.

It does seem to have a nice combination of SQ and SPL. With hard rock/metal, impact is tight and controlled provided the source material is well recorded. SPL is pretty decent but a single 10" can only do so much.


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## RYNOMOTO (Oct 3, 2008)

This is what I went with...... after testing all of these below....

I was just in this same predicament....

looking for a sub that would work really well in an 8, 10, or even 12 inch range with a .5 Cuft of sealed box.....


I went to a car audio dealer (GOOD LOCAL DEALER FOR THE WIN!!!!) and he said, "tell ya what, why don't we try all of the subs that are known to work well in a small sealed enclosure with the amp you already have, and see which one sounds the best"....

PERFECT!!!

I didn't have to fork out a bunch more money for mistakes.....


I tried an RE RE-series 10 inch sub, a PG RSDC10D2, and an Alpine SWS-1023D Dual-2ohm.....


I had an Elemental Designs 11kv2 D2 sub in there at the time, and it was "ok", but the bass got muddy on the lower end or when hammered hard by a good Lars Ulrich kick drum session on several of the Metallica tracts that I love.....

I have been told several times now that the ED sub works great in a vented or ported box, but not so much in a sealed box.... they are right!!! I tried it in a generic ported box and it is awesome, but, the ported box is three times the size of my tiny sealed box....



So, low and behold, guess which sub pounded like hell, sounded clean and tight, and hammered out the kick drums like an MG42 machine gun??????

This one:

Alpine Electronics of America, Inc. - SWS-1023D

http://www.alpine-usa.com/US-en/products/product.php?model=SWS-1023D&lang=en&tab=D


only rated to 300wrms, but my installer said it is safe to over 550wrms/1200 wmax if the signal is very clean and not clipping.....

The tech there at the dealer final installed it for me and I paid $119....

I was very happy and I still am....

It sounds even better after only about 8 hours of break-in so far.....


Obviously, it is always better to match an enclosure to a sub, but sometimes, when space is the limiting factor, match the sub to the enclosure and setup by trial and error....


Also, for those concerned with mounting depth but you don't want to go to a crappy sounding shallow mount sub, YOU NEED TO LOOK AT THIS ALPINE.....


The installer there that I spoke with said he had to build a .3 cuft box to downfire it under a seat, and that it worked better than he would have ever believed.....

This shop is no joke, they are trophy winners at every event and they carry F1 status Alpine, all the US Amps/ RE equipment, etc.


GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR CHOICE!!!!!


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