# Sundown SD-2 8 Review



## bmiller1 (Mar 7, 2010)

I received my SD-2 8s today for review. I want to thank Jacob for his generosity. I've never reviewed anything before and consider it an honor that he would allow me to do so.

The subs were well packed and are gorgeous. I won't burden this thread with a bunch of pics because a lot are already available but here's a couple.


















My first impression is analogous with the others who have received their subs. These things are stout and extremely well put together, which is nothing new for Sundown. However, the construction of the SD-2s appears to be above and beyond the Sundown products I've owned before. These are around 15 lbs. apiece. The basket is dense as well as the magnet. I notice that they vent out the sides rather than the rear, giving you more mounting/depth options. But this magnet is not just slapped on to be impressive (which it is) If you have held an SA series or E series, you'll recognize a conscious effort in the SD to apply design efforts away from general SPL. Though, knowing Sundown, SPL will always be there. 

Though these are very reasonably priced, they have all the amenities of high quality subs: push terminals, DVC, and rubber lip covers with stamped logos. What intrigues me most is the cone and surround. Reminds me of the SA series which is built for punishment. I love when I see stitching on the surround. I believe that cone is similar (or identical) to the thick paper cone on the SA series. Which brings up my only concern. 

Currently I am running 2 DIYMA R12s ported on a Arc 1500xxk so, that is my comparison. Though it might seem strange, I've dealt with Sundown enough to know better than to doubt the output. Sure, these are 8s but Sundown subs typically perform to the next size up as for as output is concerned. Also, I expect their response to be top notch. My concern is the blending aspect. The R12s are as good at blending as any sub in existence IMO. One of the main reasons is the thin aluminum cone. The thick paper cone of the SD-2 (at first glance) seems to be the antithesis of that. I may be showing my inexperience here but I believe that the cone will be the crux of the blending ability of this sub. 

That being said, I am super stoked about hearing these. I actually have tomorrow off and I was going to cover the box I built but now, I'm chomping at the bit to hear these. So, I may just toss them in the raw wood box and let them rip tomorrow. If that is what is in the pics, don't give me any ****.  My plan is to put them on the 1500xxk. They're in a box with .4 cu ft. each. According to Jacob, these will be fine with 450wrms each in that enclosure. I want to give these 1-2 weeks before finalizing the review. I will spend a day or two playing a certain type of music that I'm familiar with then switch to a different type of music. I will probably do updates after going through a specific genre. Finally, my last test will be my friends that are familiar with my system. I'm not telling anybody that I'm swapping subs. I will ask them questions crafted to figure out if they can tell a difference and see if they notice. Sorry if this was too wordy. Wouldn't be the first time I heard it. Hope it's at least interesting because there will be more to say.


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## Oliver (Jun 25, 2007)

> That being said, I am super stoked about hearing these. I actually have tomorrow off and I was going to cover the box I built but now, I'm chomping at the bit to hear these. So, I may just toss them in the raw wood box and let them rip tomorrow.


*Do eet !*


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## bmiller1 (Mar 7, 2010)

Oliver said:


> *Do eet !*


Well, you can't really argue with that. It's on.


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## bmiller1 (Mar 7, 2010)

Well, my little girl was under the weather last night so neither got the subs in nor covered the box, which meant covered today was not going to happen. These were going in. It's cool though, I had help. 




























Auditioning starts in the morning on the way to work.


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## miniSQ (Aug 4, 2009)

Best sub box finish EVER!!


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## bmiller1 (Mar 7, 2010)

Yeah, just may let her finish it out and rock it like that.


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## Kevin K (Feb 11, 2013)

cool


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## JCJetta (Mar 28, 2013)

miniSQ said:


> Best sub box finish EVER!!


This.

How sweet of you to include her, and for her to provide her own unique touch to your project. Hope she recovers quickly.

Looking forward to your review!


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## bmiller1 (Mar 7, 2010)

She is fine. Just a little bug. Thank you though!! As a single dad, they're always involved. There's not such thing as "quality time," just time.


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## Boostedrex (Apr 4, 2007)

bmiller1 said:


> Yeah, just may let her finish it out and rock it like that.


Parenting done right. Good stuff man! Looking forward to your listening impressions. Love the pair of R12's running IB in the car currently. I'm still holding on to a couple of my old R12's that will be used in my home listening room.


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## bmiller1 (Mar 7, 2010)

Boostedrex said:


> Parenting done right. Good stuff man! Looking forward to your listening impressions. Love the pair of R12's running IB in the car currently. I'm still holding on to a couple of my old R12's that will be used in my home listening room.


2 R12s in one room? Is it a gymnasium?  Yeah, I've got to do some adjusting. The MS8 really goes overboard with my subs and the other way to fix it is to lower the gains. Which means the SD-2s aren't getting enough power right now so, gonna pull the DMM out tonight and set them. May need to do a new tune too.


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## edouble101 (Dec 9, 2010)

Nice intro write-up!

My daughter would have done the same thing


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## Oliver (Jun 25, 2007)

bmiller1 said:


> She is fine. Just a little bug. Thank you though!! As a single dad, they're always involved. There's not such thing as "quality time," just time.




Way to Go !


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## boom_squid_2 (Jan 29, 2008)

bmiller1 said:


> Yeah, just may let her finish it out and rock it like that.




This then apply some clear, memories yo


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## bmiller1 (Mar 7, 2010)

boom_squid_2 said:


> This then apply some clear, memories yo


Not a bad idea actually.


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## Boostedrex (Apr 4, 2007)

bmiller1 said:


> 2 R12s in one room? Is it a gymnasium?  Yeah, I've got to do some adjusting. The MS8 really goes overboard with my subs and the other way to fix it is to lower the gains. Which means the SD-2s aren't getting enough power right now so, gonna pull the DMM out tonight and set them. May need to do a new tune too.


Nah, it's an 18 x 20' room.  The less the cone moves to reach desired output the more linear it will be. That and I'm a fan of overkill. LOL!

I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the SD-2 8's after you get the amp dialed in and get a new tune on the car. I'm very hopeful for these little guys and am thinking hard on using them in an upcoming install I'm doing for a friend in his 350Z.


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## bmiller1 (Mar 7, 2010)

DISCLAIMER: I have been running (2) DIYMA R12s, ported on no less than 1K watts for almost 2 years. I consider these to be the best SQ sub ever. So, please understand that this is the basis for my comparison. If I mention lesser output, it may be due to going from 12s ported to 8s sealed. If I say the SD-2s had an issue blending, that's probably because that is what the R12s do best. My goal is to give Jacob an accurate and honest review and not just kiss his ass. I think that's what he wants. All that being said, I've always loved Sundown and the SD-2s have not disappointed. 

Well, I finally got my levels right. I don't have a ton of power going to my front stage and, if these 8s are at a higher level, they will drown everything out. I've listened to them for about 2 days now with everything set properly and I am very impressed. They are extremely accurate and are stout. I should say that I have them in about .4 cu ft each net with 450 wrms on each and crossed at 70hz/24db. I have only been listening to rock/metal so far on them. 

These things are made for reproducing the bottom/punch of a kick drum. Very responsive even on the fast stuff like Avenged Sevenfold and Killswitch Engage. If you have some real fast double bass work, they can get a bit muddy but overall, pretty precise. The cone material that seems to cause a slight blending issue with non-percussion sub work is exactly what gives it that "punch" on the kick drum and reproduces it almost flawlessly.

As stated above, the non-percussion bass music has, ON OCCASION, seemed slightly disconnected when the frequencies transition from the mids to the subs. I stress ON OCCASION. 95% of the time, they are phenomenal. They actually blend a lot better than I expected. Once I played quite a few different drum intensive tracks, I switched to some heavy bass guitar from bands that play really, really low. IMO, the 2 best CDs to test that element is Korn's first album and Deftones' Diamond Eyes. The SD-2s just straight smoked those two CDs. Perfectly! If you sat in my car during those CDs, you would assume there were no less than 2 10s in the back, maybe even 12s. So, the really low, drop-tuning stuff, these subs really shine. The other, more conventional rock bass, certainly better than average but not perfect. 

Also, I had these in the trunk. My car is fairly big (04 Impala SS) and I have my giant sub box and beauty panel still installed. (No subs are worth trying to remove 2 R12s enclosed in a full sheet of MDF) So, to be fair, yesterday, I moved the box into my back seat to try and get a feel for how these would sound in a smaller vehicle or a truck. In my opinion, unless you are just after straight SPL, you would not need any more than 2 of these in a truck or small car. So Zach, 350Z would be perfect. There is substantial output from the trunk but, there is definitely a difference when moving them to the cabin.

I'm switching to rap/hip hop mode now and going to see how much output they'll create. This is the section I'm most pessimistic about for 3 reasons:

1. These are made for SQ.
2. If you are trying to go for SPL, 2 8s is not what you would pick. 
3. I think you're going to have to have some convenient method of attenuating the subs. If the levels are set for rock, they probably won't be slamming for rap. If they are set for rap, they probably will overpower the front stage in rock. I'm going to see how much manipulation capability I have via the MS-8. 

I know it can hit all the freqs because Korn and Maylene and the Sons of Disaster have some really, really low and wide-ranged bass information. The question with rap/hip hop is the SPL output. I shall return.


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## Oliver (Jun 25, 2007)

bmiller1 said:


> DISCLAIMER: My goal is to give Jacob an accurate and honest review and not just kiss his ass.
> 
> I think that's what he wants.
> 
> ...


bmiller1,

Excellent review


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## Boostedrex (Apr 4, 2007)

Good stuff! Thank you for the initial impressions. Curious to see how they do on the Rap/R&B as well. Throw in some dubstep to test high output with low frequency reproduction too. 

Last but not least, could you demo some classical and/or jazz? Truly instrumental stuff with stand up bass, huge drums, and perfect recording engineers at the helm. That is always difficult to recreate properly. The R12's do it flawlessly, but I'm in the same boat with you in saying they are some of the best SQ subs I've ever had the pleasure of hearing.


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## bmiller1 (Mar 7, 2010)

I had a couple hours of driving time and I will say, I made a mistake in questioning Sundown putting out something that can handle rap. I'm not ready to review this part yet but, I'll say, it handles it fine by bumping up the sub a little on the MS8. If I jacked up the gain a little, they would slam. I mean, it's not going to have my rear view mirror facing the floorboards like the 12s but, they can dig deep and they play the entire range. 

Yes, the third part will be classical, acoustic and live stuff. Then I'm going to raise the xo point to probably 100hz or so just to see what they handle. I don't like subs that high because of the localization issue but, I need to give them a shot at playing up that high. After hearing just a couple of rap CDs, I truly believe 2 of these would give that 350Z all it could handle.


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## Oliver (Jun 25, 2007)

bmiller1 said:


> *Then I'm going to raise the xo point* to probably 100hz or so just to see what they handle.
> I truly believe 2 of these would give that 350Z all it could handle.


*Full body massage = Reggae time *

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GZlJGERbvE


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## bmiller1 (Mar 7, 2010)

Oliver said:


> *Full body massage = Reggae time *



Man, if you haven't heard Nas and Damien Marley....you must.


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## boom_squid_2 (Jan 29, 2008)

bmiller1 said:


> Man, if you haven't heard Nas and Damien Marley....you must.




Carribean represent


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## sundownz (Apr 13, 2007)

Excellent; thanks for the review  Will keep watching for any more thoughts.


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## Boostedrex (Apr 4, 2007)

Good stuff. Thanks as always bmiller!


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## bmiller1 (Mar 7, 2010)

Okay, got to run some hip-hop, rap, and dubstep through these. This portion of the review will be fairly short as the variety of sub information in these generes is fairly limited and similar. As stated above, they certainly have more output than I expected. If I had twice the power on my front stage than I do, I would crank these things and have no doubt that they would keep up. I put in some stuff that I typically use to show off SPL (AZ, Beastie Boys) and they rattled my car. They will dig as low as you like. I specifically tried to get them to bail on the lower frequencies and they wouldn’t do it. 2 negatives: 1) If you are wanting straight SPL speakers, these aren’t it. Sundown has plenty of those. However, if you mainly listen to other types of music and just throw in some rap from time to time, these are more than sufficient. Most of the time, you would not be able to tell that these are just 8s. 2) If you have really low notes going from one frequency to another very quickly, they can get a bit sloppy. Not common but, I’m trying to find some criticism.

Obviously the amount of SPL is not going to be as consistently great as some good 12s but, it could certainly hang in there with a lot of bigger subs. Whenever the sub notes get low, low in the spectrum, these play everything effortlessly though, the SPL levels fade off. Again, this is rare but, it does happen. The really low info is there and strong but there will be no hair moving. Now, higher up the sub range, these things will slam. I bumped the xo point to 100hz to play some of the hip-hop bass that doesn’t use real low information (Wu-Tang, Aseop Rock, Sage Francis) with great success. You could probably get some real good lower mid-bass out of these if they were up front or you weren’t worried about localization.

So, overall they perform very well with this type of music for 10s or 12s but phenomenal for 8s. As requested, I threw in some dubstep, which I normally don’t listen to. They will handle dubstep with no problems whatsoever. I couldn’t really get a grip on the tonality of these while listening to dubstep because the gun barrel scraping against my teeth was thankfully drowning out the music.

Classical/Jazz review coming soon.


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## Oliver (Jun 25, 2007)

*Nice review !!*


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## JCJetta (Mar 28, 2013)

Dumb question. Is it safe to assume the SD-2 10" would have similar results? SQ over SPL, and small enclosure characteristics?

I really want to get lower than my Treo SSI 10" is going in a sealed ~1 ft2 enclosure.


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## Oliver (Jun 25, 2007)

JCJetta,

2 SD-2 10s and SAX 1200d - YouTube



> Yes they each get about .8 cubic ft. I would definitely recommend these subs I could not be happier. They hit hard!! And also the sound quality is really good and sound great with any kind of music you listen to. They can take lots of power to!﻿


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## bmiller1 (Mar 7, 2010)

JCJetta said:


> Dumb question. Is it safe to assume the SD-2 10" would have similar results? SQ over SPL, and small enclosure characteristics?
> 
> I really want to get lower than my Treo SSI 10" is going in a sealed ~1 ft2 enclosure.


As quoted, I would imagine similar, but beefier results. I bet those lows in hip-hop would wiggle your shirt tag for you. I believe Jacob said that the underhung motor was present only in the 8s though, which is nice.


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## bmiller1 (Mar 7, 2010)

Oliver said:


> *Nice review !!*


Thanks man! I appreciate it. I would hate to find out that you're just really excited about reviews in general. Then it wouldn't be as special.:thumbsup:


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## SynRG (Jul 30, 2007)

How much do these drivers weigh?


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## bmiller1 (Mar 7, 2010)

SynRG said:


> How much do these drivers weigh?


14-15 each. I think.


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## bmiller1 (Mar 7, 2010)

Well, I’m creeping up on the end of this review. I hope it was at least informative and maybe enjoyable. I don’t do this for a living and am only moderately experienced but, car audio is a part of my everyday life. Jacob is the man and I truly cannot emphasize my gratitude for allowing me to be involved in getting to examine these subs.

I went into this section of the listening time a little nervous as I felt this is where the SD-2s might reveal the downside to such weighty and durable drivers. As it turns out, I have been embarrassed by my assumptions with these subs. I started with Portishead: Live at Roseland (DVD); moved to some Air; an Audionutz Eval CDs that concentrated on orchestral and big band stuff; then set my Pandora to Contemporary Jazz and Classical for a couple of days. As the result, I say WOW. (tell the kids to leave the room) ****ing wow!!! I am extremely impressed with the blending and soft but substantial presence of these subs playing this type of music. I do not understand how this type of blending can happen with such a sturdy and rigid cone material. There are 2 potential reasons for this: 1) I don’t know as much as I think I do and would be better off as a tester for Dual. 2) Jacob is a warlock. I’m going with the latter. 

When I started with Portishead, it was IN. VIS. IBLE. Trans-MF’n-parent (Welcome back, children!) Played all of the low notes. The low ends of the keyboards, kick drum, cello, and bass flawlessly. Smooth, with all of the sound coming from my midbasses in the doors. I, at first, attributed this to the fact that this was a DVD (rather than iPod) and that, since this was an orchestra playing with a band, the album was probably mixed with an emphasis on the primary band and the orchestra being a little ambient. Well, that was dispelled when firing up the Audionutz CD. I was getting to the point of believing that the subs might not even be playing then, there was a tympani blast in one of the orchestral tracks where the subs let me know that they’re still there. At that point, I decided to stop being so observational and just enjoy what I was hearing. Jazz, no problem. In fact, the SD-2s shined. Digging into every low of the stand-up bass like it was tying its preverbal shoe. Effortless, clean and completely transparent. The remaining two (2) days were just enjoying these beautiful subs. It might be attributed to getting used to its enclosure and power, getting “broken in”, my ears getting used to the sound, or it just found a home in the more timid music genres. Doesn’t matter. They are SQ Monsters!! 

I’ve taken some extra time listening to these because I WANT to find something wrong. That’s my goal. I can’t with this style of music. The SD-2s not only handle this work, they do it with little effort. I commend Jacob for being able to craft some serious SPL subs and then drop some SQ gold like this. Sundown is about to break some ground. The best thing Jacob can do is put an under hung 10”. Don’t do a 12”. That’s too much, we can’t deal with it!! I don’t typically listen to orchestral, big band, and jazz with my R12s but, I cannot imagine them sounding any better than the SD-2s. You can put these 8s (EIGHTS!!) against any 10 or 12 within the same price range for an SQ examination and I’ll take these every time. Not saying I’ll win every time but I’ll win more than I lose. 

Okay, so, final ratings out of 10:

Rock: 9.0
Rap/Hip Hop: 8.5
Classical/Jazz: 10 (This is not an easy rating, just can’t find an issue)

Total Average: 9.17 –I’m leaning toward 9.5 if you remove Rap/Hip-hop out of the equation. I’m keeping these in my car for a while and will let you guys know if I have some different views. Great price, great sub, great company.


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## boom_squid_2 (Jan 29, 2008)

Are these available to the public?


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## undone1 (Sep 30, 2008)

boom_squid_2 said:


> Are these available to the public?


Just about everywhere...


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## ohmgrown (Feb 18, 2013)

Great review! I'm excited, but not terribly surprised, to hear just how well these subs perform. I say I'm not surprised, but, truth be told, I'm blown away at the perfect score in the classical/jazz category. Just another stellar achievement for Sundown Audio. We salute you, Jacob!


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## bmiller1 (Mar 7, 2010)

^^yeah that blew my mind as well but, it is what it is. That's the way they performed.


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## sundownz (Apr 13, 2007)

Glad to hear such a high level review for them; I am very happy with these guys


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## SynRG (Jul 30, 2007)

boom_squid_2 said:


> Are these available to the public?


Brick and mortar dealers as well as authorized Internet sellers are listed on the Sundown website.


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## SynRG (Jul 30, 2007)

Bmiller1: Thanks for the excellent review and information, especially the analysis of performance with various genres of music. Very helpful and relevant.


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## normalicy (Jun 30, 2009)

So am I to understand that you believe their sound quality is based at least in part on being underhung?


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## subwoofery (Nov 9, 2008)

normalicy said:


> So am I to understand that you believe their sound quality is based at least in part on being underhung?


I'd say "good implementation of technology" and a hint of experience 

Kelvin


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## normalicy (Jun 30, 2009)

I ask mainly because I'm looking at the 10" & 12" versions which aren't underhung, but my main desire is SQ.


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## therock482 (Aug 24, 2006)

normalicy said:


> I ask mainly because I'm looking at the 10" & 12" versions which aren't underhung, but my main desire is SQ.


Based on many of these reviews I'm also curious about the performance of the 12" version. Would it be safe to assume the performance would mirror that of these 8's that are being reviewed?


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## sundownz (Apr 13, 2007)

therock482 said:


> Based on many of these reviews I'm also curious about the performance of the 12" version. Would it be safe to assume the performance would mirror that of these 8's that are being reviewed?


The 10" and 12" are an over-hung ; they are significantly different.

Down the line I will re-do them as under-hung drivers ; but there are some parts I need to tool first to make it work the way I want.


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## therock482 (Aug 24, 2006)

sundownz said:


> The 10" and 12" are an over-hung ; they are significantly different.
> 
> Down the line I will re-do them as under-hung drivers ; but there are some parts I need to tool first to make it work the way I want.


Thanks for the reply Jacob,

In a nutshell can you say what the primary difference in sound and performance would be between the overhung larger models and these underhung 8's? I understand it changes the coil position in the gap but I have no idea if the two design types have a difference in sound, potential output, or the ability to play low that has been mentioned in the above review. 

Thank you,


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## bmiller1 (Mar 7, 2010)

^^Wouldn't mind hearing the answer to that.


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## AAAAAAA (Oct 5, 2007)

therock482 said:


> Thanks for the reply Jacob,
> 
> In a nutshell can you say what the primary difference in sound and performance would be between the overhung larger models and these underhung 8's? I understand it changes the coil position in the gap but I have no idea if the two design types have a difference in sound, potential output, or the ability to play low that has been mentioned in the above review.
> 
> Thank you,


My thoughts are that within its linear travel (Xmax) the differences would be pretty small. Underhung would benefit from being pushed past it's limits (Basically underhung, at least this particular sub, cannot reach its physical excursion limits (xmec)). This translates to... outside of its comfort zone, the underhung sub should sound better.... for instance you won't be able to hear the woofer bottoming out. Of course it would still be prone to overheating.


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## Oliver (Jun 25, 2007)

IDMAX was overhung as are many others = SPL

Underhung means it is more expensive to build and SQ is the goal


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## therock482 (Aug 24, 2006)

Thanks for the underhung explanations above. I decided to buy a SD-2 12 D2 about 15 minutes ago on amazon. My plan is to use a .90 cu ft sealed and polyfilled box and with about 600 watts rms at 4ohms. I think I should have my install done in about a month. I will keep everyone posted. Thanks for the helpful reviews above.


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## Jroo (May 24, 2006)

Geez, I havent read a bad review of these subs yet. I saw on youtube a guy running 2 and still cant get over the size of the box. For the first time I am very excited about a sub. I believe 4 of these sealed is in my future? I think the 18w6 will be for sale very soon.


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## Bnixon (Mar 7, 2011)

Well I have 4 of these on a FedEx truck destined for the rear deck of my Chrysler 300SRT8 I will let you know how they sound!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


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## bmiller1 (Mar 7, 2010)

Wow, 4 of these would be no joke. Hope you got the power for them and the front stage to keep up.


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## mc01ta (Dec 21, 2011)

How loud do these get running sealed? I've never heard 8s and I'm still using late 90s old school orion xtr 12s. Will be buying a f150 suoercrew and looking for something with shallow depth. Really worried the SD series whether 8s or 10s won't be loud enough. Is new aged subs and small subs like 8s able to get loud or ollouder then old school subs like I'm using? My12s sealed are are running on an hcca 225


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## Bnixon (Mar 7, 2011)

bmiller1 said:


> Wow, 4 of these would be no joke. Hope you got the power for them and the front stage to keep up.


Should be ok

Have 1200w for the subs and dynaudio 362 active for front stage 150w each to the tweets and mids with 450w each on the 8" mid bass drivers. Should sound really nice with lots of extra sub available when needed? I will be running a jl audio master volume knob on the sub channel after the DSP so I can tweak the sub volume with genre of music. 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


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## bmiller1 (Mar 7, 2010)

mc01ta said:


> How loud do these get running sealed? I've never heard 8s and I'm still using late 90s old school orion xtr 12s. Will be buying a f150 suoercrew and looking for something with shallow depth. Really worried the SD series whether 8s or 10s won't be loud enough. Is new aged subs and small subs like 8s able to get loud or ollouder then old school subs like I'm using? My12s sealed are are running on an hcca 225


I guess it just depends on the set up. I mean, I run two 12s as well and the 8s get just as "loud" in relation to the front stage. The 8s do not have the SPL output that the 12s do but , for SQ purposes, they have all you want and more. In a truck, I can't imagine that "loudness" of the SD-2s would ever be an issue. I put 2 E8v2s in a buddy of mine's F150 and they rock. I think the SD-2 8s are more powerful. 



Bnixon said:


> Should be ok
> 
> Have 1200w for the subs and dynaudio 362 active for front stage 150w each to the tweets and mids with 450w each on the 8" mid bass drivers. Should sound really nice with lots of extra sub available when needed? I will be running a jl audio master volume knob on the sub channel after the DSP so I can tweak the sub volume with genre of music.
> 
> ...


Yeah, I'd say that should keep up. :thumbsup:


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## mrstix (Oct 6, 2009)

Been looking at the reviews for these bad boys and almost certain I'm gonna grab a pair. Only prob is that I cant seem to find the dual 2 ohm versions for sale anywhere even though that is the only one mentioned on the sundown site. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

If not, have you, bmiller1, or anyone been able to compare a couple of these sealed vs an SA-8 v2 ported? That would be my other option as I really want a sundown 8, lol. I know the e8 is there too but really looking at the increased power handling of the SA or the great sq compliments going to the sd's.


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## bmiller1 (Mar 7, 2010)

I would contact Jacob (sundownz) through PM or email. I'm sure that they can rustle up a couple of D2s. I have not heard the SA-8s but I have heard the SA-10s and, while they are certainly more than just an SPL sub, they are designed for that. I guess it all depends what you are looking for. I did compare these to 2 E8v2s sealed, which sounded great...until I heard the SD-2s. If you are wanting SPL, the SA series is the way to go. If you are wanting SQ, SD-2 are, in my opinion, the best 8s on the market currently. Don't take the "SQ" moniker as meaning lack of output. They definitely have impressive output. Just, not as much as the SAs but I seriously doubt the SAs are going to be as accurate and transparent in most music like the SD-2s.


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## mrstix (Oct 6, 2009)

Thanks for the quick response. I was thinking about contacting Jacob as well as it looks like he is active here on the forums and hopefully wouldn't mind an email from a future customer. Sq and blending is definitely what I'm after and from everything I've read in the reviews, these sd's are great for that.

I have limited space in the back of a Honda Fit and the enclosure size is limited. I have about 600 rms at 2 ohms to play with and I think they 2 of these would be awesome. Some reviewers have said they are happy with just one so I might consider that if i can't find the d2's. 

Anyway thanks again for the response and the review.


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## bmiller1 (Mar 7, 2010)

No problem. Believe me, Jacob doesn't mind communicating I contacted him before all this review stuff for a discontinued model and he was happy to help.

"Blending...limited space." SD-2 for sure. Never heard just 1 so my suggestion is two.


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## Brubakr (Feb 20, 2013)

I know this is an older thread, but I just installed two SD-2 8s in the passenger floor area of my Miata and am running them with an old school HiFonics Series viii Odin (75 x 2) briged mono into 2-ohms. These things are awesome. I have never been a fan of 8" subs, buth these have changed my outlook entirely. They are snappy and reach as low as any 12" sub that I have owned. If you are limited in space and want a quality SQ sub, then I suggest you give these a good look. I'm glad that my friend suggested them to me. I need to add that these are installed in a net .5 cu/ft box.


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## optimaprime (Aug 16, 2007)

Love the review man these sound like fun!


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## eddieg (Dec 20, 2009)

Bmiller, Hi 

My name is Eddie (well thank you captain obvious  ) 

I have a very similar comparrison to that of yours with single sub setup but I believe my range of subs to compare would be by far more surprising. 

The subwoofers I compared the SA series (10 inch) to were: 

SEAS Lotus SW300i - Yes, one of the most valuated SQ sub woofers ever made I believe. 

No less then AuraSound NRT subs 5 series 10 inch (N10-513) - which is by far the best ever blending subwoofer I've ever heard up to this day! 


I wanted to go down the diameter from 12 and 10 towards the 8 inch as I really not much of a fan of any frequency belowish of the 40Hz, don't like the way it makes a car cabin vibrate, don't like that fact that other than "big drum" recreation or electronic music there's really nothing much bellow 40hz so why play it from the first place if it does not make me smile? 

But... there was no available stock of SA-8 so I just went for the SA-10

I've tried it in a sealed enclosure of 0.75cf and in a ported enclosure of nearly 1cf 

In the sealed enclosure it revealed some of the weaknesses, back wave issues etc - so I went straight to the vented box and that sub was simply a suprise!


I can tell you that both the SEAS (180watts declared) and the Aura(same power specs) were OUTSTANDING subwoofers in the tearms of tonality and woofers extension (blending as you call it) but they were both lacking a "punch" 

The SEAS would go LOWWWWWW and the Aura was just TRANSPARENT, it was simply and invisible subwoofer - amazing! 

But they had very little punch in them and I was missing that so that was why I decided that I want to try a more SPL dedicated subwoofer.

And it was but I never expected it to be so good for SQ pruposes either - and just like you were so surprised, so was I!!!

The SA 10 was blending just as you mentioned - phenomenal 95% of the times, I would even dare to go as far as 98% of the time 

And at the same time it was simply BRUTAL with the punch, in fact, for me it was too dammn strong and that is why I finally moved on to a DD audio 8 inch in my sign below but today it feels a bit too delicate and I am again looking forward to the SA-8 at least if not a JL 8W7 

To sum it up - trulley powerful sub woofers that do not fall much behind, in fact, hardly fall from much more SQ valuted subwoofers 

They are (Sundown Audio) in my view the experts of the Bang for the Buck equipment and if you don't have the funds or do not wish to spend much - SundownAudio would be my first in line, especially subwoofers.


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## crea_78 (Jan 6, 2014)

I am strongly considering getting 2 SD-8 v2 to go in the back of my Honda Accord. My front stage will be comprised of HAT Clarus 6.5" (not sure if I will run then active or passive) off of a Mosconi 120.4 with a DSP. Will these subs blend in well with my front stage and not be overpowering and still retain the SQ I am looking for.

Not sure if I will go with a Mosconi 240.2 for them or a Sundown SAZ-1200d. Good thing is, I live within an hour or so from the HQ of Sundown to hear the subs and hopefully get some advice from Jacob on which direction to go for my system.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk


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## casey (Dec 4, 2006)

they will blend great. I had one in the front passenger foot area of my 99 civic on 400 watts. You will not need any more than 400-500 on each sub. Tons of impact, a great choice for sure


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## eddieg (Dec 20, 2009)

They should blend just perfect as for overpower - two subs maybe, one 8 inch only you should be able to control it without compromising system dynamics or desired force.


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## crea_78 (Jan 6, 2014)

Thanks for the replies. If I go with one sub, not sure where to place it but have always liked the looks of two together. If I go with the Mosconi amp, each 8 will be seeing 350 watts which shouldn't be too bad... I don't think. If I don't go with the SD-2 8, may look at getting one 12" instead. Decisions...

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk


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## bmiller1 (Mar 7, 2010)

crea_78 said:


> Thanks for the replies. If I go with one sub, not sure where to place it but have always liked the looks of two together. If I go with the Mosconi amp, each 8 will be seeing 350 watts which shouldn't be too bad... I don't think. If I don't go with the SD-2 8, may look at getting one 12" instead. Decisions...
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk


In my opinion, the 2 8's, no contest. That amount of power on them, you'll be backing them off. Their output will surprise you. I run 2 12's on 1500w and, when I had the two 8s in, I didn't tell any passengers and they all thought it was still my 12s.


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## crea_78 (Jan 6, 2014)

Depending on the quality of sound coming from subwoofers such as the SD-2 8, should I go with a sq amp like the Mosconi or will the Sundown SAZ-1200d suffice but I will turn the gains down. 

Also, what dimensions should a sealed box be for two of these -- I am going with the recommended 0.25ft^3 per subwoofer.


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## mrstix (Oct 6, 2009)

First, sorry to bring up an almost six month old thread. However, I had some more questions as I finally bought two sd-2 8's from ssaudio, built two seperate boxes, about .35 cubes each, and put them in the back of my hatch.

I am surprised at the * lack* of deep bass response. I am not sure if these guys want more power, are breaking in, or need a better box design? I will admit that they do seem to blend really well with my speakers. Great, actually. But I just thought they would dig a little deeper. I have been listening to top 40 and hip hop and songs like Black Widow by Iggy Azalea, with the low toned bass note after the intro, or the low bass that hits about 1:18 on Over by Drake, they just don't seem to play that stuff at reasonable levels.

I purchased these due to the incredible reviews on this site, not just bmiller's, and maybe i hyped myself up too much? But rereading some of them, I really think I am doing something wrong on my part.

Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated. Also any more info I need to give, lmk.

Thanks as always,


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## mrstix (Oct 6, 2009)

The only other thing I can think is the length of the box is about 10", putting the magnet of the woofer about 1/2 way into the box. I read on the 12 volt that in a sealed enclosure this isn't recommended because of standing waves or something, but shouldn't affect the performance really because the size of the size of small sealed enclosures. I'm just throwing things out there at this point as I can't for the life of me figure this out.

I also just set my amp today to 34.64 volts using a DIMM to try and make sure the amp was set correctly for 600 watts at 2 ohms. The gain control ended up a bit higher than it was previously but not much.


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## casey (Dec 4, 2006)

mine sounded better with some break in for sure. Its not going to be a low end monster. Mine was lacking very low end in a .25 cu ft box with 400rms. Its still an awesome sub for the money and having it up front was awesome


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## mrstix (Oct 6, 2009)

casey said:


> mine sounded better with some break in for sure. Its not going to be a low end monster. Mine was lacking very low end in a .25 cu ft box with 400rms. Its still an awesome sub for the money and having it up front was awesome


Thanks for responding. That's what I thought. They do seem to be getting better after some play time, but definitely not the low end that I wanted. Put some polyfil in each .35 box and gave them some more power and they responded well. I will probably be looking to switch them out for 1 12 or something, though.


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## sundownz (Apr 13, 2007)

Glad to keep reading the largely positive reviews -- makes me feel like we are moving in the right direction converting the 10 and 12" models to under-hung for the SD-3 revision


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## TexZen (Jul 4, 2010)

Just purchased a SuperCrew F150 and I bet 4 of these great SD-2 8" beauties will work very well under my back seat.  Looking forward to getting them purchased and installed ASAP!


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## optimaprime (Aug 16, 2007)

Did you get them installed ?


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## TexZen (Jul 4, 2010)

Nope... Sold the truck and trying to figure out what I want to do w/the audio upgrade on my ATS-V. 

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk


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## optimaprime (Aug 16, 2007)

TexZen said:


> Nope... Sold the truck and trying to figure out what I want to do w/the audio upgrade on my ATS-V.
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk


Still have the subs ?


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## TexZen (Jul 4, 2010)

optimaprime said:


> Still have the subs ?


Yup, in a box and awaiting a plan for greatness... (so, might be a while). 

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk


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