# Boston Acoustics G215-44



## carter1010 (Sep 20, 2009)

Here is a review I posted at sonic. Thought you guys might like to read it because right now these subs are some of the best subs for the money out there IMHO.

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I decided to purchase a pair of these subs due to the fact that while on clearance, they were one of the most inexpensive 15" subwoofers I recall coming across from a reputable company. I had read a review on a forum that was very negative that almost detoured me from purchasing. Having used several Boston subs, I found this surprising. The claim was that the woofer did not perform well in a 1.5 cu ft box. 

Upon receiving the woofers, I did in fact install them in a 1.5 cu ft / sealed sub enclosure. The review was accurate. The subs lacked low end and needed a ton of power to get loud. The subs also do require a break in period. They got better after about 4 hours of play, but still pretty lackluster all in all. I was not sure that half a cubic foot per chamber would make much of a difference. Even looking at my enclosure design software, it showed little difference. Regardless I decided to build a new sealed box anyways. 

The subs are running off a Rockford Power series 1000.1bdcp. In a 2 cu ft enclosure, these subs get impressively loud and sound exceptional. Sound quality (my own subjective definition) at the $300 price point is well above average. At the clearance prices these are selling at, they might be the best for the money. The competition gets pretty elite at 300 bucks per sub. When you factor in the output available with very moderate power levels, the sub sets itself apart from almost any other driver at that price point.. They are also very efficient in the 2 cu ft / chamber sealed box and I would say a 600 watt amp is more than adequate. I dropped the low end output on my Pioneer DEX-P99 to -9db per sub from where they were at in the 1.5 cu ft sealed box.

Some Products I have used in the past:
JL 13w7
JL 12w7
JL 10w7
JBL W10gti
JBL GTO1514d
JBL GTO804
DD1508
Boston Acoustics G510
Boston Acoustics G112
Boston Acoustics G212



The boston G215 is tied for 1st with the JBL w10GTI in my opinion. The JBL is the best sound quality sub I have heard. The JBL is not very efficient and requires a ton of power to get the volume I desire. The Bostons fulfill that thirst for output while the sacrifice in sound quality is there, its well worth the trade for my setup. 

The only negatives are that the speaker terminals seem like they are upside down and can be tight to fit your fingers in to press depending on the length of speaker wire your dealing with. The other is that these subs want 2 cu. ft or more sealed. Many 15's on the market can work in less space, these lose a lot of performance from even a slightly smaller enclosure. The included screws have a very small head and strip easily. For these reasons 3 stars on ease of use. 

If you have the room for a 4 cu ft enclosure and want a pair of great sound quality subs that can bounce large items off your roof at will, these should put a smile on your face.


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## ecobass (Oct 15, 2012)

Nice review i read somewhere they sound better in a ported enclosure but don't quote me on that one, I am interested on a Boston acoustics G2 12 ps what do you have to say about this sub? i read nothing but good reviews as to how load it gets and the sq it delivers , i haven't purchased one yet but looking out for a good deal.


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## carter1010 (Sep 20, 2009)

I am sure they will sound great ported but the ported box I modeled was ridiculous in size and minimum would require a 3.5 - 4 cu ft enclosure. I would say the G2 12 in the factory ported box would be an exceptional product. I loved the G2 12's, but honestly preferred the G1 12's a bit more. The G2 12'' also seemed pretty enclosure sensitive. 1 cu ft sounded great, 1.45, while still sounding good, was not as impressive as the 1 cu ft enclosure. You combine that great sub with a enclosure built by the manufacturer and I think you will be very pleased.


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## ecobass (Oct 15, 2012)

I hear ya about not having the extra space for a bigger size box but what is it about the g1 sub that the g2's lacks of or fail at?

Reading the specs tells me the G1 is a 200 wrms sub while the G2 handles 300w and the g2 goes lower on the frequency from 20-350 hz vs 24-350 for the g1. 

But in a real situation do you think the g1 out performs it's big brother the g2 in sq and spl? i ask because my next sub purchase will mostlikely be a boston acoustic g1 or g2 since they don't require a ton of power and still deliver good spl and mainly sq from the reviews i have read. 

This is the sub/box combo i think about almost daily lol


BOSTON ACOUSTICS G212PS 12" DUAL VOICE COILS G2 SERIES PORTED ENCLOSURE SUB BOX | eBay


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## carter1010 (Sep 20, 2009)

Saying the G2 lacks or fails at anything is not accurate. To me, in the same 1 cu ft enclosure, I found the G1 blended with my front stage better than the G2. I could localize the G2 a bit easier I thought. As for the subwoofer frequency range, most of the content you listen to does not extend past 30 hz. A 4 hz difference in low end extension is fairly insignificant. For me the G1 was more efficient, and less localized within the system. I also was using it sealed. The ported combo will be completely different than anything I was using. With the ported enclosure you will probably need to set a subsonic filter at somewhere close to 30hz.


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## cleansoundz (May 14, 2008)

Good information


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## ecobass (Oct 15, 2012)

I definitely agree with you ^^ ......Im gonna give BA subs a try but i better hurry and buy because they are getting harder & harder to find even online lol...

G2's and G3's have "nothing but" good reviews , and like it's been said they are sensitive to box size so if Boston acoustics suggests to build a 1.0cu ft enclosure for optimum performance it's a good idea to do so.


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## BowDown (Sep 24, 2009)

I absolutely love my G215-4 that I got from sonic on clearance. I have it in a stuffed 2ft^3 sealed with 300watts RMS on it. I use it from 30hz and down.. works awesome for the superman track.


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## ecobass (Oct 15, 2012)

^^ Glad to hear that from a member, i plan on getting a g3 but if not a g2 should perform just as good in sq and and loudness from the info i've gathered on this forum, i would go ported too with about 500rms to feed .


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## xtremevette (Apr 14, 2011)

Well I will add this. I originally bought a G1 sub and it crackled and pop whenever I tried to push it. Sounded like the excursion would cause the voice coil to become separated from the spider. I returned that sub thinking it was either defective or that perhaps I needed an upgrade cause I was pushing it just too hard. I went for the best that Boston makes. The G3. I bought a single, dual voice coil 10" G3 and mounted it into a very small stealth box encloser. The volume is only around .80 cf but the sub plays awesomely with only about 400-500wrms being fed to it at 2 ohms.

For anybody thinking Boston subs need a lot of space...The G3 10" doesn't need it. In fact Boston says it only needs .50 cf of space!!! That is awesome considering this is a full fledged big azz heavy duty subwoofer. I think it weighs close to 30 lbs. It is not no wimpy shallow mount thing! Almost 3" of excursion for this bad boy!

Specs:
Specifications
Nominal Impedance
Dual 4-ohm/ Single 4-ohm
Mounting Depth
6-3/8" (166mm)
Speaker Size
10"
Rated RMS Power Handling
375 watts
Mounting Cutout Diameter
9-1/4" (235mm)
Linear Excursion
2-3/4 inches
Recommended Enclosure
0.5ft ³ (14.2 L) volume sealed

PS: for those wondering I put this sub into a stealth box. The sub is actually bottom mounted inside the box so that it fits under the cubby hole compartment in a C5 corvette. I don't believe anybody has ever gotten this big a sub into a stealth box. It wouldn't fit being top mounted. 

BOTTOM LINE: The Boston Acoustics 10" G3 DVC Sub kicks azz!


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