# Sundown SD-2 8's - Downfiring



## metanium (Feb 2, 2007)

I received my package of test subjects yesterday. I'm so impressed with the build on these! They're absolute stunners!

I plan on putting a pair of these down-firing behind the rear seat of my Tundra Crewmax in 0.6 ft^3 net shared. The down-firing arrangement has been a personal favorite in past truck builds I've done, though those were in the center console location. I'll post build pics as I progress through the box build. Then on to listening and measuring these little monsters.

Here are some profile shots of the box design:










Stay tuned!


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

make sure you add room for the speaker gasket. i always get tripped up when i find out that the speaker specifications for basket diameter do not include the thickness of the gasket!

i look forward to hearing your thoughts too!


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## metanium (Feb 2, 2007)

req said:


> make sure you add room for the speaker gasket. i always get tripped up when i find out that the speaker specifications for basket diameter do not include the thickness of the gasket!
> 
> i look forward to hearing your thoughts too!


Good point! I think I've given enough room, but I'll take my own measurements before cutting. If I like the results down-firing, I may build another with the same internal volume, but utilize fiberglass instead of MDF for my front and rear walls to save an inch or so.


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## metanium (Feb 2, 2007)

Okay, the down-firing box build has been postponed due to lack of time and fitment issues. However I felt I owe Jacob some feedback on these for his generosity, so I decided on a simple box build.

The design is a simple 0.66 gross sealed box resulting in a net 0.52 shared (0.26 each).

3/4-inch MDF, wood glue, and a nail gun.....oh my!




























Then I yanked out my shallow Alpine Type R 12" (SWR-T12) to make room for these bad boys. That's a Bit Ten D and HD900/5 in the background. Sorry, my wiring is kind of a mess right now.



















This picture makes me really wanna down-fire, so when I slide the rear seat back there won't be any potential contact with cone/surround.


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## metanium (Feb 2, 2007)

I had my first seat time with the SD-2 8's last night. I know subs usually benefit from some break-in time, so I'll postpone critical listening until they've settled in and I've put these through their paces.

In the meantime, I just wanted to crank these a bit and see what they got. Well, they got A LOT!! The output capability is beyond impressive. I was also impressed with the depths the SD-2 8's dig down to. These are very different than any 8's I've run in the past.

The most comparable setup I've run recently in the Tundra was a pair of 8W3V3's. I tried the JL's in half a dozen enclosures compact sealed, large sealed, Jl's own microsub enclosures, Win ISD modeled ported enclosures. The best results I achieved with the 8W3V3 was in 1.1 net ported tuned to 35Hz, PER DRIVER! That box sounded great, but was (relatively) huge!

The SD-2 8's in 0.26 net sealed each already get lower and have more output than the JL's. Needless to say I am already impressed with the Sundowns!

Stay tuned for more review & opinions, as I get some more play time on these.

Mega-Props to Jacob Fuller for this opportunity!


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## Oliver (Jun 25, 2007)

metanium said:


> In the meantime, I just wanted to crank these a bit and see what they got. Well, they got A LOT!! The output capability is beyond impressive. I was also impressed with the depths the SD-2 8's dig down to.
> 
> The SD-2 8's in 0.26 net sealed each already *get lower and have more output *than the JL's. Needless to say I am already impressed with the Sundowns!
> 
> Mega-Props to Jacob Fuller for this opportunity!


There it is !



epper:


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## sundownz (Apr 13, 2007)

Great, glad to hear you are so pleased with them !


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## Boostedrex (Apr 4, 2007)

Very promising review so far. Looking forward to more info as you get some critical listening time in with these. Looks like Jacob may very well have a gem on his hands with the SD-2 8.


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## bmiller1 (Mar 7, 2010)

I figured you would get some serious output from these in a truck. Nice job!!

And, I noticed that they seem to wake up after about 2-3 hours of playing. I've got probably 10 hours on mine now and they seem to keep getting stronger.


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## Buckyibf (May 23, 2012)

Metanium,

Nice post I'm local would love to demo them let me know if there is anyway I could meet up with you!!!


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## rjtapp (Mar 22, 2012)

I think I need to try these in my ranger. I have 2 e-12's @2ohms on a saz1500v2 and can't get satisfied with the bass. I bought some polyfill and lined the boxes but still not satisfied.
Tuned in to you and bmiller1 to see how this ends up.


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## metanium (Feb 2, 2007)

Slight update:

I'm not even sure that mine have had enough time to "wake up" yet, but I took the opportunity during my lunch hour to get creative. I picked up 2 pieces of packing foam that I found in my office's mail room. I placed a piece under each end of the box to elevate it off of the cab floor behind the rear seat then down-fired these beasts.

As I expected, instant gratification!!! I'm not sure why, but down-firing has always worked wonders for me in trucks.

I will continue to work on breaking these in, but a permanent down-firing installation will be forthcoming.


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## Termo JAM (Apr 5, 2013)

Hi! Why did you build the sealed box for these subs? What kind of music do you prefer daily? Do you have ported enclosure in future plans? Will be very interesting to compare...


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## thomasluke (Jun 10, 2011)

Termo JAM said:


> Hi! Why did you build the sealed box for these subs? What kind of music do you prefer daily? Do you have ported enclosure in future plans? Will be very interesting to compare...


These subs are specifically designed for small sealed enclosures.


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## Termo JAM (Apr 5, 2013)

thomasluke said:


> These subs are specifically designed for small sealed enclosures.


SD-2 Series

Enclosure Recommendations:
SD-2 8
Sealed 0.25ft^3
Ported 0.5ft^3


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## bmiller1 (Mar 7, 2010)

Termo JAM said:


> SD-2 Series
> 
> Enclosure Recommendations:
> SD-2 8
> ...


Just because one has the option of ported enclosures doesn't mean that they were designed for that.

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/sundown-audio/145391-sundown-sd-2-8s-testers.html


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## metanium (Feb 2, 2007)

thomasluke said:


> These subs are specifically designed for small sealed enclosures.





Termo JAM said:


> SD-2 Series
> 
> Enclosure Recommendations:
> SD-2 8
> ...



These subs will work in either sealed or ported, but Jacob at Sundown has said that he actually prefers sealed. So, my first enclosure for them is a small sealed. I'm hoping that the small sealed setup fully meets (or exceeds) my needs & expectations. Because while the ported volume requirement is still relatively small, once you add in the volume displaced by the port, you're looking at an enclosure that's roughly 3-TIMES the size required for sealed. For some, that doesn't pose a problem, but space is at a premium for me in the truck.

P.S. Loving rocking these on my morning commute!


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## Termo JAM (Apr 5, 2013)

bmiller1 said:


> Just because one has the option of ported enclosures doesn't mean that they were designed for that.
> 
> http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/sundown-audio/145391-sundown-sd-2-8s-testers.html


Hmm... Ported box for 2 sd2 12's...


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## Termo JAM (Apr 5, 2013)

metanium said:


> These subs will work in either sealed or ported, but Jacob at Sundown has said that he actually prefers sealed. So, my first enclosure for them is a small sealed. I'm hoping that the small sealed setup fully meets (or exceeds) my needs & expectations. Because while the ported volume requirement is still relatively small, once you add in the volume displaced by the port, you're looking at an enclosure that's roughly 3-TIMES the size required for sealed. For some, that doesn't pose a problem, but space is at a premium for me in the truck.
> 
> P.S. Loving rocking these on my morning commute!


Thanx for your reply!


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## metanium (Feb 2, 2007)

See what they made me go and do.

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/car-audio-classifieds/147051-fs-alpine-type-r-thin-12-inch-swr-t12-si-bm-mkiii-beater.html

Signature to be updated soon.


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## Oliver (Jun 25, 2007)

Ha ha !! LOL



> *FS*: Alpine Type R Thin 12-Inch SWR-T12




*Yeah, Sundown products make me happy, too !*


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## Boostedrex (Apr 4, 2007)

Now that's saying something! The Type R shallow 12" is a great driver capable of some pretty impressive output. I can't say I'm surprised as all my dealings with Sundown have been excellent. But I'm happy to hear it.

(And nothing beats the SI BM MKIII in the shallow sub world.  )


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## metanium (Feb 2, 2007)

I'm not sure why, but my dropbox pics have been "disappearing" from public view. Anyhow, on to more SD-2 8 review...

I've had these in for a full week now and have had the opportunity to throw just about anything I could at them, musically speaking. The SD-2 8's are the finest performing 8-inch subs I've ever played with. They have the ability to dig deeper than the other 8-inch subs that I've experimented with in the past year. *Specifically, the SD-2 8's will play lower and with more output than the JL Audio 8W3V3-4 and Alpine Type R SWR-843D, and do so in a smaller sealed box.*

From the looks of the beasts, I expected that they'd really shine with electronic bass-heavy genres like dubstep, and perhaps not fair so well on jazz, rock, and classical music. Well, my expectations were wrong. The SD-2 8's do exceptional with non-electronically enhanced bass. They blended seamlessly with my front stage, making it seem as though all of the lower octaves originated from my L8's in the doors. I haven't had that type of front-stage blending of a sub since I had a down-firing center console setup.

Another expectation that I had that was quickly dispelled was that the SD-2 8's would sound more like the SPL-oriented subs I've heard. By that, I mean full of bloated output and not keeping their composure on transients. WRONG! The output on the SD-2 8"s is in no way lacking, but these are not SPL monsters (they just look like it). Quite to the contrary, *the SD-2 8's are my new favorite SQ 8-inch subwoofers!*

If you can't tell I love these things. I have experimented more with finding the right subwoofer for my Tundra than anything else. I thought that I had found the best compromise between SQ, output, & small footprint in the Alpine Type R Flat 12 (SWR-T12). The SD-2 8's have given me a better option. The SD-2 8's output is right on par with the SWR-T12, but they simply sound better. Best of all, the SD-2's do it in a smaller enclosure , (0.5 net SD-2's vs. 0.7 net SWR-T12).

*Sundown hit it out of the park on developing an SQ-oriented 8 that can fit just about anywhere.*


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## bmiller1 (Mar 7, 2010)

metanium said:


> The SD-2 8's do exceptional with non-electronically enhanced bass.[/B]


No doubt. I too was shocked but, it's the truth. Natural bass is the SD-2s wheelhouse. I'm glad you enjoy them as much as I do.


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## sundownz (Apr 13, 2007)

metanium said:


> I'm not sure why, but my dropbox pics have been "disappearing" from public view. Anyhow, on to more SD-2 8 review...
> 
> I've had these in for a full week now and have had the opportunity to throw just about anything I could at them, musically speaking. The SD-2 8's are the finest performing 8-inch subs I've ever played with. They have the ability to dig deeper than the other 8-inch subs that I've experimented with in the past year. *Specifically, the SD-2 8's will play lower and with more output than the JL Audio 8W3V3-4 and Alpine Type R SWR-843D, and do so in a smaller sealed box.*
> 
> ...


Thanks for the excellent feedback !


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## SynRG (Jul 30, 2007)

Metanium: Thanks for the excellent and specific review. Great information and contribution.


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## normalicy (Jun 30, 2009)

Excellent timing on this review. I was just shopping some subs for my upcoming build. I've always heard good things about Sundown, but rarely does anyone comment on their SQ. It's good to hear some feedback outside of "I can do a hair-trick!"


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## metanium (Feb 2, 2007)

Small update - The SD-2 8's seem to breaking in a bit and seem to only getting better. I've noticed they seem to be able to dig a little bit deeper than they did at first....or at least seem to require less effort to get down low. I love these! I plan on trying a single one in both a small sealed (.25 net) and small ported (.5-ish net). I'm running low on both time and MDF, so it may take me a couple of weeks to get this done.


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Subscribed for more testing. Love your review so far, and look forward to hearing further about them. 

Just picked up a pair of SA-8 subwoofers, and want to try these SD-2 also.


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## takeabao (Jul 18, 2005)

I want one of these. Where do I go?


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## phxdemon (Jan 13, 2013)

takeabao said:


> I want one of these. Where do I go?


agreed. Pre order specials?


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## thomasluke (Jun 10, 2011)

They have been available for a while now. SSA, SUNDOWN ONLY and woofers eft all have them for 140 a piece.


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## metanium (Feb 2, 2007)

Update - I received a couple of questions by PM that forced me to think about why I actually have become so fond of the SD-2 8's.

After thinking on it, it's pretty simple. I listen to a very wide variety of music spanning about a dozen genres. One of the main reasons I've enjoyed the SD-2 8's so much is that they do really well with so many different genres of music. I haven't found anything that they don't sound good playing. At least not yet. With practically every other sub I used, I've noticed that they'll tend to sound better playing one genre or another, but I've always been able to find something that they didn't do well. 

Easy enough?


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## ChrisB (Jul 3, 2008)

Now that I am about to have some more money rolling in, I may have to give a pair of these a try myself.


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## normalicy (Jun 30, 2009)

metanium said:


> After thinking on it, it's pretty simple. I listen to a very wide variety of music spanning about a dozen genres. One of the main reasons I've enjoyed the SD-2 8's so much is that they do really well with so many different genres of music. I haven't found anything that they don't sound good playing. At least not yet. With practically every other sub I used, I've noticed that they'll tend to sound better playing one genre or another, but I've always been able to find something that they didn't do well.
> 
> Easy enough?


This is exactly what I wanted to hear. I have the same issue with so many subs.


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## metanium (Feb 2, 2007)

Just peeking my head in to give an update....

I just went through a pretty massive equipment change in my truck, over the weekend. I've been running factory HU w/Bit Ten D for over a year now, but landed a nice deal on a double-din, so I swapped out some gear. I'm now running a Pioneer X4500BT and MiniDSP. The sub signal goes directly from HU to amp, the MiniDSP splits the high signal for my active separates.

I haven't done anything with re-tuning, just set some starting crossover points. I'll DD-1 the gains this weekend, and possibly play with T/A & EQ on the MiniDSP.

The SD-2 8's just keep on rocking! I am starting to give some serious thought to building a box for a single to test out how just one sounds in my big cab.


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## Chaos (Oct 27, 2005)

I have to agree with just about everything metanium has to say about these.

Although I am using a slightly larger enclosure, everybody that has heard them so far agrees that no other 8" sub in this price range sounds as good or plays so low. The only other 8" subs which I have owned that can match the SD-2 8 in output were the JL 8W7 and the Kicker S8L7 - and those needed at twice the volume in ported boxes and cost at least twice as much too.


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## meantaco (Apr 10, 2011)

update bump do this subs blend better than the type r 8?


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## dannieboiz (Jul 30, 2013)

Chaos said:


> I have to agree with just about everything metanium has to say about these.
> 
> Although I am using a slightly larger enclosure, everybody that has heard them so far agrees that no other 8" sub in this price range sounds as good or plays so low. The only other 8" subs which I have owned that can match the SD-2 8 in output were the JL 8W7 and the Kicker S8L7 - and those needed at twice the volume in ported boxes and cost at least twice as much too.


Would you say a pair of these will compete with a single 10w7 or a 13tw5 (shallow mount)? 

I'm currently running a single 10w7 and plan on getting a single 13tw5. I can get a new 13tw5 for not much more than a pair of 8 SD-2 and would require similar real estate in the trunk. I'm more than happy with the SQ and output of the 10w7 but with baby #2 on the way, space become valuable. 

FWIW: It's going to be installed in the trunk of a sedan and not a truck


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## Dbridgewater03 (Aug 22, 2013)

I have a 2010 nissan frontier crew cab with a dual 8 down fire box. How much baffle clearance do these need? I'm limited on space an really don't want to have to raise my back seat?


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## casey (Dec 4, 2006)

has anyone compared this to an id8 as far as output and accuracy? i want 1 or 2 8's under my glovebox in the floorboard with little room


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## Pseudonym (Apr 17, 2006)

whats the consensus with these and an ib configuration? looking for a stock sub replacement.


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## casey (Dec 4, 2006)

after reading a couple reviews these look like the way i need to go. two of these in the foot well below the glove box seem like a good solution for upfront bass without taking up much space. now to find a good deal on them lol


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## optimaprime (Aug 16, 2007)

i might looking in to this for my 2013 chevy equinox ltz. i want to drop it in factory sub box so i keep cargo space. allready having trouble trying to hide 3 zapco dc amps.


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## djPerfectTrip (Aug 15, 2013)

Hrmm...keep reading good things about these. Thinking about the 10" tho...If I'm looking at specs right, the 10 should fit in a box about the same size as the JL 10TW3, correct? Just looks like the mounting depth is a bit more, so the box would be a bit deeper, but not as wide. Would the SD-2 10 be recommended for SQ as well?


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## the_dealer (Apr 18, 2013)

I curious as to how the pair of these compare to a single 10(e10,sd-2 10), something a little higher end then the mainstream best buy crap. I'm thinking of ditching my e10 for 2 or 3 of these to get some storage room back


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