sub choice opinions

OK, so as the title goes, I could use some input from you helpful folks on sub choice. Sure there's probably 100+ threads out there, but I'm trying to narrow things down by output and SQ.

I recently fried a VC on one of my type R 12's (500watt RMS version) so I'm up to replace them. It's safe to say I'm addicted to enclosure building because I've got 3 to choose from. There's an all wood (3/4 MDF) 4th order BP built to spec on the type R, there's a sealed wood (3/4 MDF) and fiberglass box that has seperate chambers at about 1.25 Cu Ft. per chamber and a partially finished spare tire well made of Fiberglass that has a diameter of 30 inches and a depth of 6 inches (about 2.30 Cu.Ft. with some obstructions in the well).  The amps I plan to be using are two PDX 1.600 Alpines. being driven by a mono chanel Memphis Line driver, an AVIC-710 H/U. Don't worry about power supply, it's covered. if anyone is unfamiliar with the PDX 1.600, theyre a mono channel amp that gives 600 watts RMS at 2 or 4 ohms, naturally, I'd rather hit 4 ohms on wiring if I could, but i'll settle for 2.

So here's the dilema... Should I go with 4X10's, 2x12's, or 1x15/18?

so far, I've looked at 4 shallow (iB flat) pio subs, and their champion alternative for a reverse mount on the spare tire well (10 inch option). the 12 inch option is Alpine's new 12 inch type R is looking like the best choice with Xmax and combination of cone surface area. The last choice would be a single 15, which looks like one of the better choices is RF's T2 sub. the 15 would be reverse mounted in the spare tire well.

I'd like some opinion on what choice I should go with for best SQ in combination with SPL. So with that being said, if I see folks saying "Buy Boss/ Soundstream/ X unheard of company because it pounds SOOO hard!" - I'm not listening.  But I know there's friendly knowledgable people here who know their audio who can give some good input. -Thanks for the advice guys!

ice6 wrote: I'd like some opinion on what choice I should go with for best SQ in combination with SPL. So with that being said, if I see folks saying "Buy Boss/ Soundstream/ X unheard of company because it pounds SOOO hard!" - I'm not listening.  But I know there's friendly knowledgable people here who know their audio who can give some good input. -Thanks for the advice guys!

What is your budget? Have you looked at Exodus Audio? I just got a pair of EX-Anarchy's and I'm really happy with the quality and the sound even though they are temporarily thrown in my rear deck free air. I highly recommend building a new box or modifying one of your existing boxes to MATCH the NEEDS of whatever sub you buy. YOU: "There's an all wood (3/4 MDF) 4th order BP built to spec on the type R" This was from a post concerning some Kenwood subs:

haemphyst wrote: First, I am looking at the install sheet for that driver, and there is no bandpass recommendation. I wouldn't try it. Poor response at best (but realy... is even decent response for that woofer even POSSIBLE?), total destruction of your driver at worst. If you are bent on a bandpass I HIGHLY recommend having someone build it for you... Hardly an enclosure for a beginner. (And please don't take that as an insult - it's NOT what I mean.) Even a small deviation in either volume or port dimenions can cause HUGE variations in tuning, and as I said above, if far enough off, can completely tear your woofer apart. I recommend against the effort, as 1: it's not recommended by the manufacturer, and 2: it's a terribly difficult enclosure to build correctly.

forbidden wrote: Stevdart has provided a great sticky about WinISD for anyone building their own enclosure. Good bass response is all about the box. You can take the best sub on the market, put it into a poorly built box and get crappy results from it. Conversly, you can take the bling bling sub of the month and put it into a proper box and be amazed by the results. (entire post) If you want anything SQ at all then you should read both of those posts. They helped me a lot. Or if you really prefer to just use one of your existing boxes then you can more accurately measure them and start modeling subs in WinISD to find one that will preform well in one of them.Dodge Magnum in progress:

Pioneer DEH-80PRS - PPI Amps - Dayton Subwoofer(s) - Exodus Anarchy's - Vifa Tweeters - Kinetik Battery

Thanks for the speedy response! Exodus audio looks really good on paper, especially that 18! wow. Budget is about 450$ w/o shipping. Yes, I'll be buying from a discount audio website. As far as the 4th O BP goes, it was built to spec using Google Sketch, cuz it's free!. I found a few calculators online (can't remember what site) that all pointed to the same Cu. Ft. volumes, so I built it. It's definitely a one-noter. I'm thinking what did it in was the cold to hot temp flash that caused a VC to break. it was about -10 here in AK and I have the H/U playing through a thumb drive. So when I'm using the auto start. it takes a few minutes to load music up. Heat created from higher volumes of music signal rapidly increasing heat is my guess what caused this. The subs were in the BP when this happened. z03, I'm having issues finding the nominal power handling on those exodus subs. Any clue on what it is/ where to find it?

The Exodus woofers all have .pdf "application notes" but for all three of their subs (12,15,18) they say 500W - 1000W RMS so your Alpine should drive them nicely. You should really look at the app notes because they have many thorough box designs that they compare. That 18" requires LOADS of room hence me asking.... what type of vehicle is all of this in? I would suggest taking a close look at the 15" as well. Dodge Magnum in progress:

Pioneer DEH-80PRS - PPI Amps - Dayton Subwoofer(s) - Exodus Anarchy's - Vifa Tweeters - Kinetik Battery

It's an 09 Mazda 6i. Sure, it sounds like an oxymoron to say that I'd like some space in the car after a sub install, but I manage to keep about 2/3 of the space open. it's a tiered style trunk with 7/15/ and X distance from top to bottom. Width being about 30/45/ and X. Height is about 10/15/15. So to make sense of that, once you open the trunk, the closest tier you see is the last, which carries the most space and is the last number. Obviously I can't do much with 7 inches depth and 10 inches height, so my only choice is the second tier at 45W/15H/15D. My only real option for mounting the 18 or 15 would be a poly filled reverse mounted spare tire well enclosure. Working the math on that came to 2.4 Cu Ft. at best, but those aren't perfect numbers as there are some obstructions in there. The spare tire enclosure would give quite a bit of room on either side, but not much for snowboard(s)/ longboards and other gear. the 15 does look nice as well. but I think I'm going to end up going with the Alpine 1223D. E-bay was nice and I'll be able to get a pair shipped to AK for 300$ Even Amazon wanted 400$ shipped. That, and working out the math, I'd get more cone surface area:excursion ratio than I would with a 15- for cheaper! Plus, I've already got sealed box built for it that I was happy with. I wish I knew about line drivers before I went and built the BP because i wanted higher output so I could use the remote to set a happy sub level and never be wanting more bass. My H/U only puts out 2 volts :( . Thanks for the help!

Did You already Order the alpines?Dodge Magnum in progress:

Pioneer DEH-80PRS - PPI Amps - Dayton Subwoofer(s) - Exodus Anarchy's - Vifa Tweeters - Kinetik Battery

Indeed I have.

Cool so what box are you putting them in? If you have any more ?'s feel free to postDodge Magnum in progress:

Pioneer DEH-80PRS - PPI Amps - Dayton Subwoofer(s) - Exodus Anarchy's - Vifa Tweeters - Kinetik Battery

This one, except with the 1223D. Also, another PDX 1.600 stacked on top. I just wish it was easier to set my gains without having to rip everything out. This was my first box. Never again will I do miter cuts on all joints "just for fun".

Why not mount one amp on either side with the controls facing out? It looks good BTW. Dodge Magnum in progress:

Pioneer DEH-80PRS - PPI Amps - Dayton Subwoofer(s) - Exodus Anarchy's - Vifa Tweeters - Kinetik Battery