punch stage 3 or power stage 1

I bought a punch stage 3 in a rockford ported box, hits hard but does sound as good as I want. I can trade it for a power stage 1, but will have to build a box for it. Will this power sub hit hard and clear? what would be a better box in an extended cab with sub right in the middle? Im using a kenwood excelon 811d. The sub is dual 2 ohm so I can go 4 ohm at 500 watts or 1 ohm 1000W. I wan  as much bass as possible but sound very clear. I am changing from 2 memphis power reference 12" subs to just 1 12" sub. I know there is going to be some loss db but hope the power stage 1 will make up for the loss db. am I right or wrong. I only have 10 days to make the decision. please help.

You could try putting the punch stage 3 sub in a sealed box. It would sound alot better in that then in a ported box that you have right now (it is ported right?). The power stage 1 sub will have worse SQ than the stage 3, but if you are wanting more SPL then go with the power stage 1.

well I would have to make a sealed box then, I think i will be getting a better deal with the power stage 1, but Im not sure I have heard that the stage 1sounds good but is only 85 db when the punch stage 3 is 87.5 db

As far as I know yes, 600 rms and 1200 peak. I have run fosgate alot and they are very underrated.I have been running my 1000 watts on the punch stage 3. Then excursion was about 3" but it handeled it well, and that was in a ported box. But in the ported box right behind my head just isn't working Im hearing to many things like the air coming out of the port and that sucks. I just wondering my friend back home  i talked to this morning said he had a power stage 1 in a sealed box 1.7 cubic feet. 1"mdf professional built and he blew the box apart. is there any material that will be better than mdf

he blew 1" mdf with a 1000 watts?  He had some crap wood.  I've never seen 1000 watts blow a properly built 1" enclosure.  Fiberglass can be stronger (with curves; on flat areas the mdf is stronger, given that the mdf and fg are the same thicknesses).  You could brace it with a T brace or put a 2" baffle board and mount the speaker on that.  But that 1" of wood shoud hold that single sub.

I would hate to be the professional that built that box. How much power did he have on it? To answer your question, MDF is what I build all of my box's out of, and I have never had that problem. You could go with fiberglass also. Just my opinion- 1 12 won't hit as hard as 2 12's if you have the same power, regardless of the model.          '85 Toy