15 RE SX? Sub Opinions

I'm wondering what I could expect to pay for a 15" RE SX sub.  I'm getting kind of tired of waiting for the adire equipment and would like some other opinions.  Also what are some opinions on the Sound Splinter Premium line.  Seems like a pretty good sub for $270.

My goal is a clean system which I can pound on occasion.  I would like to run one or two 15"s in a sealed enclosure.  I listen to stuff along the lines of Incubus, Nine Inch Nails, Tool, so their is a good variety of bass(quick bass drums with tool, big bass notes with NIN, and quirky bass lines with Incubus) so it needs to be flexible.

I am looking to spend from $1000-1500 combined on the amp/sub section of my system.  I'm not too set on anything so I was just hoping for some opinions.  Would a top-end 15" running of 1000 Wrms do better than 2 mid 15"s of 500 Wrms a piece? Would it be a big difference?  It's in a jeep cherokee and space is not a huge deal so that's not much of an issue.  Given the situation what's some setup suggestions?

Hey thanks for clearing that up arrow12.  I don't want to just throw more subs in to get the db's as I understand that actually doesn't make much difference.  Doubling the subs =3  db gain if I understand correctly so I don't think that's the option to go and I also want to keep the install reasonably simple so 2 subs maximum.  I also am not going to go JL because I think they are ridiculously overpriced and there are subs out there that can equal or outperform for cheaper.  Which leads me back to my original question.

Anybody know what a 15" RE SX goes for?  I guess I can just give them a call.  I would really like some opinions on the matter though.  I know this question gets beat to death but I am investing a good amount of money so I want to make sure it is what I want.  And as for going out and hearing them myself it's just not really possible.  I live in NE Iowa so the closest shop is 45 minutes and they carry alpine and kicker and then it's at least 3 hours to the next decent shops.  The local systems consist of kids with junk like audiobahn or else solobarics which I don't want.

If you guys had $1000-1500 for a sub/amp combo and wanted the results I described earlier what would you get?  I will do the install myself(actually with the help of my cousin who just got back from audio school at "The snake pit" in San Diego) so that money is just for the equipment.  The box can be whatever I need it to be so let's hear some suggestions.  Thanks and sorry for the long post ,just trying to make the situation clear.

Take a step back from the 15's. You do not need to have 15's in order for a system to sound good and pound hard enough that it would wiz me off from here. Keep this in mind. What is the next size down in your speakers, a 6.5" perhaps? And how much power going to them? This leaves you a huge hole in your tonal response that a 6.5" just can't fill all on it's own. So good tonal response means that a pair of 15" drivers might not be in your best interest.

Read the what is a proper sub box sticky to learn more about how important the box is to the results that you seek. Post more info on the system and the vehicle and we can go from there. Now to be fair as well, I personally have done a SQ based system with a pair of old Soundstream SPL15's. As a side note it also pounded. As far as the balance of his system went, it of course was up to par.

I didn't want to get into the rest of the system because that is a whole different issue I'm working on right now but no problem.  I am upgrading everything so the front is also going to be purchased soon.  Right now I'm in Minneapolis and tomorrow I will be checking out some components to buy.  I was looking for a good two way component set for around $300.  They will go in a fiberglassed kickpod in the floor up front.  I was then going to run a midbass woofer in each door.  I was going to get into what would be a good choice for that later but since i'm writing what do you think?  By the way my vehicle again is a 2001 Jeep Cherokee Sport 4dr 4wd.  The first things I plan to do is give it a good dose of damping all around.  Peel and seal on the floor and rear doors and RaaMaat BXT on the roof, front doors,  and rear gate.  Also I will be upgrading the alternator to an Iraggi soon(after I figure what amps I will be using).  The big three and power wires will be upgraded to 1/0 gauge.

sub up to 80hz; midbass bandpassed from 80 hz to maybe 200hz; components taking it from there.  I was going to run the components and midbass off a four-channel amp and was thinking around 75-100 Wrms per channel.  I was also going to buy some co-axials and throw them in the rear tower for some back-fill for rear passengers running of the alpine 9833 head-unit's rear channels.

Now with that said what would be a wise sub/amp combo?  I know the box is key and like I said I can build that to spec. properly reinforced and everything(I have a lot of time on my hands right now).  What do ya think?  15"s not a good idea still?

Here is what I would do. Actually I am right now. We are working on a vehicle with a pair of the new Focal quad coil 18's powered up by 2000w rms. Our next largest driver was a 6.5". So what we did was use a double set of the Focal 165 KBE midbass drivers and a 165K2p 6.5" component set. Each door speaker is powered by 150w rms of Zapco competition power. So each front door has 450 rms of power in it for 900w rms on the front stage. Add another 150w rms on the center channel with a half pair of 165K2P's and 300w rms in the rear doors with the 165KP, we have enough power and cone area to keep up with the 18's.

My suggestion to you if you want to keep to the 18's is to do this smart. Ignore the rear speakers for now as you can add them later. Channel those dollars into a really good set of front components like the Focal 165K3P. This is the same set of speakers that I have used less one midbass driver. So you would have a 6.5" midbass, a 6.5" midrange and tweeter. I would probably shoot for getting all of the speakers into the door myself as the cavity of the door is much better and aiding in producing midbass and midrange than the limited amount of airspace in a kickpanel type of enclosure. It is also going to allow you to keep all of the speakers on axis. Now the nice thing about the components I am mentioning is that they can be powered all from a big 2 channel amp or you can biwire them and run a 4 channel as you were going to originally.

For the rear speakers, if you are worried about the rear speakers and the passengers back there......well a set of coax's are fine but they are going to need much more than deck power to keep up.

Ok. So you are suggesting going with a three-way component set and dropping the midbass?  I could do that.  I think getting them in the door is going to be tough but I will have to check it out.  Do you think I would have to fiberglass a whole new bottom section of the door to fit a in a three-way set?  I was considering focal but like I said I was going to listen to some tomorrow.  Focal, dynaudio, mbQuart, , and Boston are the brands i can find around here and was considering.  I think going with the three-way running off a 2-channel amp might be best so I don't have to worry about trying to high-pass/low-pass everything so much anyways.  Yeah the rear speakers were just so the rear passengers could at least here a little music back there and not just bass.  I don't really want them to keep up to tell you the truth because I really want the front soundstage to come from...well the front.

As for the subs I actually never said anything about any 18"s but hey like I said I'm flexible.  I was thinking more along the lines of 12's or 15's and i think the 18's would be a HUGE box but i would consider maybe a single 18.  I just always liked the sound of a 15".  I know RE also makes a 18" SX.  My goal is to keep it in the $2500 price range altogether but we'll see how it goes.  I read that the Brahma's should have a new batch in mid-may so if I have to wait for those it's no biggie too.  Thanks for the help forbidden.  I'll let ya know what I thought of the components tomorrow eve.