alpine subs vs eclpise subs vs adire subs

What size of sub?

eclipse is the best....with adire behind it. BUT..and its a great big but, Adire IS WAY CHEAPER!!

If i had a choice ( and the money)..i'd get a brahma 12. put it in the snail shell box. and power it up to the max.

Course with all this...your gonna need a high output alt.

Scottie Johnson uses the Brahma's and holds 4 world records.  I haven't heard of any Eclipse subs with that kind of record.  But of course I could be wrong.  What's nice is the Brahma doesn't suffer from BL compression as much as most other subs. 

I will try to explain as best I can.  If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.  The Brahma uses a new motor topology called XBL2.  You can find information on it here:  http://www.adireaudio.com/tech_papers/xbl2_motors.htm

As you can see on most motor's, like the ones in the Alpine and Eclipse subs, the BL drops off as the cone starts moving in or out.  On the link on the above page labled "In-depth comparison of T/S stability of the Brahma 12 and the Audiomobile MASS 2012S4" you will see how nonlinearities in the motor and suspension will effect the theile small parameters throughout the cone's motion.  On the one about SPL, you will see that the sensitivity of the driver goes down as the BL drops.  This means that as you put in more power, you don't get an equal amount of output back.  That is what's called BL compression.  It is similar to power compression, except that it is much more of a problem and is always there.

No problem, and I totally agree.  If you want performance, Scottie Johnson is doing VERY well in the SPL lanes with them, which isn't bad for an SQL designed sub.  But SQ is where it shines. 

If it helps, the W7 uses a different approach to get the same results.  So it isn't just limited to this company.  It is based on Dr. Kippel's research in this area, and in fact, he stopped by the Adire booth at CES last year to check it out.  Many other well respected individuals in the audio industry have commented on how good the design is.  This included Mark Seaton, Vance Dickason, and Richard Clark.  In fact, you can see Vance Dickason's review of the Brahma 10 in the August/September issue of Mobile Entertainment.  You can also read the thread linked to below to see Richard Clark's thoughts on the sub as comared to the JL W7.  http://www.carsound.com/UBB/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=019193;p=1

I also do want to mention that this company isn't that small or that new.  They have been around for over 10 years IIRC, and mainly do home audio, and consulting for many other companies.  In fact, chances are you have heard an Adire designed speaker since they do a LOT of consulting for many companies, including the big ones.