# RE Audio SE/X 15 D4 review and comparo with DD 1515 D4



## Danometal (Nov 16, 2009)

Several of you good DIYMA people helped to ease my pain when I blew my Digital Designs 1515 D4 around 3 weeks ago. Instead of immediately having it reconed, I opted to go a different direction. So, I pulled the trigger on an RE SE/X 15 D4 to replace the smoked DD.

I built a sealed box to 2.6 cubes net after displacements, with 2.5 lbs. of polyfill, and got it hooked up last night. I have no clue as to whether these subs make any difference after breaking in, or if they even need to.

I know going from ported to sealed is going to have some positive and negative implications, so this may not be the most reasonable and fair comparo, but...

*First impressions:*

It was noticeably less loud than the DD. The DD had more impact and punch. However, the RE actually sounded better. The RE puts out much more mellow, smooth bass. Very creamy smooth and pleasant. And, to my surprise, the RE blended quite well with the front stage, and was transparent for the most part.

I tried a few different genres to be able to form an all around opinion:

_1). Metal_
This sub loves fast drums, but so did the DD, and the DD beat the drums somewhat harder. However, I truly believe the RE reproduced the drums more naturally, and I believe I can hear the subtle nuances a bit better now.

_2). Rock_
Definitely a full sound here. I especially noticed the quality of bass guitar reproduction. It seriously sounded like a bass guitar cabinet playing in my car. I love it.

_3). Reggae_
Similar to rock, reggae sounded full and robust, and the bass guitar is in the forefront in reggae, so all is well. This genre was reproduced noticeably better with the RE over the DD, IMHO. So far I'm the most stoked about hearing my reggae collection with this setup.

_4). Rap_
Unfortunately, this is where the lessened impact is the most noticeable. Still sounds good, but I can see where the DD sub might be considered a better performer here. I don't listen to much rap, so this qualm won't be a deal breaker on the whole.

_5). Bass music_
This is where I noticed the greatest improvement. The DD was in a 4.2 cubes box tuned to 36 hz, and the RE is in a sealed box half that size, so what's up?

Now, the higher bass frequencies are no longer significantly louder than the low lows. I despised the DD for having a midbass hump. Its low bass performance sucked. I realize it takes a long time for a DD to break in, but it should have done better than it did after 3 weeks of daily play. However, I'll give it the benefit of the doubt that DD's designers are focused on loudness, thus their nazi like insistence on a 40 hz tuning. I went for 36 to compromise. Looking back, I should have dropped it to 28-30.

Anyway, the RE loves the lows. It plays them without effort. It has a nice excursion with the lows that really plays with the eyes. Zero mechanical noise that I can tell so far. I'm so pleased to finally have some smooth lows floating around my head at my convenience. I truly believe I blew the DD trying to force it to hit low.

*Conclusion:*

I'll probably get the DD reconed to a 12 to not have to sacrifice my entire trunk ever again, but for now I'm going to soak up the rich sound of the RE. 

The RE's strong points outweigh its weakness, so it wins. I give the SE/x 15 D4 a:

*9/10.*

Peace.

_Edit: This setup was played with 500 underrated watts RMS from a Rockford p1000-1bd @ 2ohms._


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## jbowers (May 3, 2009)

Nice write-up!


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## 60ndown (Feb 8, 2007)

great review, 

you obviously know enough to hear some important differences and describe them accurately.

guessing that you are younger and wild (you blew a DD)  us older wiser and more mellow folk dont generally do that (anymore)

my advice would be either,

1.get another sexd4 and more power and run 2, you obviously love bass and volume, my fear is you may blow your sex and soon if your not very careful, but very unlikely you will blow 2 as they will be a lot louder and you wont be pushing 1 sub hard to get the bass you desire. 

2. put the sex in the old DD box and lengthen the port by about 8 inches so its tuned about 28.= same smooth bass you have now but more of it.

be careful bro, 

dont blow your new sub being careless with the dials.

edit: you can also get your sex to 'hit' a bit harder by xing it over higher, try 100 and 120 even (just on some material) and dont be afraid to use your eq

thats why its there.


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## Danometal (Nov 16, 2009)

60ndown said:


> great review,
> 
> you obviously know enough to hear some important differences and describe them accurately.
> 
> ...


Great advice 60ndown!! Makes perfect sense. I am indeed a 30 year old basshead, but with SQ leanings. I have the gain at 4 out of 11( I think it goes to 11?) It seems fairly safe as I can't audibly tell it's clipping. No bass boosted whatsoever. I do have a PAC (forgot the model #) RCA level knob turned up. 

Also, I opted for a single sealed sub setup because the DD box took my whole trunk... ALL of it. I gotta be able to grab groceries for the family. lol

Oh, and speaking of bassheadedness, I hit up the local shop today looking for side post adapters for the wife's Pontiac install I'm working on. There was a dude there who had 2 SE/X 15s ported in an Accord on a Sundown 1500-D. He was kind enoough to demo for me. Oh my... I admittedly haven't heard many loud systems, but this was my first listen @ 142 + dbs. I was in LOVE.

But... I won't be doing all that. Maybe a low ported box in the future if I decide I need 3 more dbs. 

BTW, thanks for the nice review comment.


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## Danometal (Nov 16, 2009)

jbowers said:


> Nice write-up!


Thanks JB! This is my first ever review of absolutely anything.


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## fish (Jun 30, 2007)

Good job describing the differences between the 2 subs. Glad you're liking what you're hearing. Do you think you might port the RE later down the road?


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## 60ndown (Feb 8, 2007)

groceries are overrated, eat out and port that bish!


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## Danometal (Nov 16, 2009)

LOL @ 60ndown!!

And, fish, I imagine I will try it ported eventually. That's the beauty of having a sub that works both ways.

As for the wife's sub stage, I'm sealing a CVR 15 for her. She's NOT going to want a bigger box, ever. She's no basshead like me though...


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## jbowers (May 3, 2009)

Danometal said:


> Thanks JB! This is my first ever review of absolutely anything.


No problem mang, be sure to give us a follow-up in a few weeks when the suspension breaks in.


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## colt45 (Apr 21, 2007)

Nice review, I like the way you commented on the performance with different styles of music.


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## finfinder (Apr 15, 2006)

Very nice review, I'd be especially interested in your opinion of the SE in a ported box, to see if it retained the qualities you like and got louder or sounded even better.


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## Danometal (Nov 16, 2009)

Hey, thanks everyone for the comments on my first review. 

And, because I have a short attention span with car audio, I'll have to build a ported box just to know...

I played around on RE's box calculator, and I can build a box tuned to 27 hz and maintain 15 square inches/cubic foot port area!! That should beat with confidence.

Let me finish the wife's setup so I can get away with resuming work on my car (a husband can play with his system as long as the wife has one to). She just HATES hearing stuff like "ohms, voltage drop, big 3, stupid RCA is too short, gonna change _____ on your amp rack because ___________, gotta remove your back seat one more time, etc." She just wants to get in and hit play and sing along. lol


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## stilzz (May 19, 2009)

I just bought 2 sex d4 12s I plan to run them in a 4th order bandpass box on a mmats dhc 2200.1 Thats 1100 watts of underatted power to each sub. I was curious to know if that was too much power. Also so you think your subs needed to be broken in?


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## stilzz (May 19, 2009)

I put the banpass 12 sex in my girls car on a memphis a/b 350 watts in a camry sounds ridiculous. I decided to stick with the RE SEX and I am about to wall in 6 15s sex on 3 Image Dynamics Q1200.1 I cant wait for that puppy. I'll post once done


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## madmaxz (Feb 11, 2009)

RE gets a bad rap for selling out but those subs still sound very nice! and you can not beat the prices! good review


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## cleansoundz (May 14, 2008)

The new pro line from RE Audio is just like the old. My SE pro's sound exactly like my SEs.


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## AudioBob (May 21, 2007)

I think a lot of the differences that you notice are sealed versus ported. It will be interesting to see your thoughts once you try it in a ported enclosure.


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## Danometal (Nov 16, 2009)

I see this review has been resurrected, so I'll post an update for anyone who may be interested. I ended up selling the SE/x 15 to my nephew, but it left my possession in the DD box, which was modified to become 4 cubes @ 31 hz. I wanted to go lower, but I would've lost more airspace. It was the best I could do with an existing box.

Bad news first. It really wants to be in a 5 cubes box and tuned lower. The Vas is pretty high on it, so that may be an issue with some applications. Fortunately, the 12 inch version has a much more feasible Vas spec. The smaller than ideal box with the higher than ideal tuning definitely affected the first octave performance, but it was still acceptable.

The good news. It actually sounded better than when it was sealed, and it had every bit as much impact as the DD ever did. I was beside myself hearing the intense punch of this thing while sounding so very clean. To make matters even better, it actually gained audible transient performance over sealed. Notes sounded even tighter and cleaner. The sealed configuration, although better than the DD per my original review, sounds kinda muffled compared to its ported configuration. This sub is very happy when ported. However, I will contend that it is one of the better sounding subs I've ever heard, sealed or ported.

I now run a JBL P1224 in 2.5 cubes @ 25 hz, and it's by far my favorite sub ever, but the RE SE/x sub is the runner up for sure, IMO. Were it not for the JBL getting the job done in less space, I would call them equals, even if they have a slightly difference "voice" to them.


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## stilzz (May 19, 2009)

I am still waiting on my wall Every sealed enclosure i have had subs were always punchy and did not play all the notes at the same volume. Car rattles a lot too. Ported IMO should be mandatory in cars. My installers wants me to upgrade to the NEW IDMAX 15 he said 3 of those will crush my 6 re sex. yes he said crush! I have 1 idmax 12 ported in my 500 sl behind the seat. I must say the best sounding I have ever heard. But I am going to stick with the sex it is a sq sub that gets loud with a great xmax at a decent price. When I get 1000s of dollars I will upgrade to the idmax 15

system: (vw passat 1997 vr6)
Image Dynamic wave horns
Soundstream pro series tweeters
Diamond Audio HEX 6s
Soundtream pro series 6s
Silver Flute 6s
Cadence 6x9 mid bass drivers
Zed Audio RA
6 15s RE SEX walled (very ported)
3 Image Dynamics q1200.1
1 Image Dynamic Q450.4
1 Jl Audio 300/4 (tweeter amp)
320 amp Dc Power alternator
5 Moreland deep cycle batteries

still waiting Tim!


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## jbowers (May 3, 2009)

stilzz said:


> I am still waiting on my : Every sealed enclosure i have had subs were always punchy and did not play all the notes at the same volume. Car rattles a lot too. Ported IMO should be mandatory in cars. My installers wants me to upgrade to the NEW IDMAX 15 he said 3 of those will crush my 6 re sex. yes he said crush! I have 1 idmax 12 ported in my 500 sl behind the seat. I must say the best sounding I have ever heard. But I am going to stick with the sex it is a sq sub that gets loud with a great xmax at a decent price. When I get 1000s of dollars I will upgrade to the idmax 15
> 
> system: (vw passat 1997 vr6)
> Image Dynamic wave horns
> ...


The punchy/inconsistent volume issue arises from too small of an enclosure. A properly designed sealed enclosure should give you very smooth and balanced response across the range of sub bass frequencies. 

That being said, a sub with the appropriate suspension in a properly tuned ported enclosure will give you the same balanced response but with much higher output.


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## Danometal (Nov 16, 2009)

jbowers said:


> The punchy/inconsistent volume issue arises from too small of an enclosure. A properly designed sealed enclosure should give you very smooth and balanced response across the range of sub bass frequencies.
> 
> That being said, a sub with the appropriate suspension in a properly tuned ported enclosure will give you the same balanced response but with much higher output.


Yes, this ^. I stopped comparing sealed and ported and just stick with properly tuned ported for most applications now.

Also, since my last post on this thread, I helped install a RE SE/X 12 in a family member's car after he blew his Polk MM 1240 DVC. It sounds amazingly clean and loud in 2 cubes @ 30 hz, even though I would prefer it tuned lower, but I designed that box a few months ago around the Polk's T/S parameters. 

The Polk sounded really good while it lasted, but it had nowhere the capabilities of the SE/X 12. We set it to take the full 900 watts @ 2 ohms from his PPI Black Ice mono, and it loves every minute of it. That's probably why it had more output than the Polk.

Besides, I think Polk isn't being honest about their claimed 25 mm 1 way Xmax on the MM series. The RE only claims 18 mm Xmax, but visually and audibly without distortion the RE has more useable throw. I'm not bashing Polk or anything. I love my Polk DB components ran active, and that MM sub did sound good. It just doesn't stack up against the RE SE/X 12, and the Polk actually costs more!

If my JBL ever gives up the fight, I'll grab a 12 inch SE/X right away to replace it (but this JBL is a tank, and it mostly serves SQ duties anyway).


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## jbowers (May 3, 2009)

Danometal said:


> Yes, this ^. I stopped comparing sealed and ported and just stick with properly tuned ported for most applications now.
> 
> Also, since my last post on this thread, I helped install a RE SE/X 12 in a family member's car after he blew his Polk MM 1240 DVC. It sounds amazingly clean and loud in 2 cubes @ 30 hz, even though I would prefer it tuned lower, but I designed that box a few months ago around the Polk's T/S parameters.
> 
> ...


Don't forget that the guys who started RE formed Fi and Ascendent Audio after the buyout and are producing even better gear now, especially the AA Havok and the Fi Q, which I'm willing to bet sound better than anything in the current RE lineup.


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## thomasluke (Jun 10, 2011)

jbowers said:


> Don't forget that the guys who started RE formed Fi and Ascendent Audio after the buyout and are producing even better gear now, especially the AA Havok and the Fi Q, which I'm willing to bet sound better than anything in the current RE lineup.


At twice the cost as well.


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## Danometal (Nov 16, 2009)

thomasluke said:


> At twice the cost as well.


Yea, you would be hard pressed to find a better all around $129 sub than the SE/X. My JBL P1224 came close @ $150 when it was readily available. The JBL is the better sub, but not by much IMO. I just like what I like and I follow no rules making up my mind.


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## thomasluke (Jun 10, 2011)

Danometal said:


> Yea, you would be hard pressed to find a better all around $129 sub than the SE/X. My JBL P1224 came close @ $150 when it was readily available. The JBL is the better sub, but not by much IMO. I just like what I like and I follow no rules making up my mind.


It is a great sub for the price. If I could fit one I'd be all over it.


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