Alpine 12’s vs Eclipse Alum 12’s

Getting a 12" sub for my new '04 Cavailer coupe.  I'm pretty much decided on putting about 500watts to the sub in a sealed enclosure.  From reading alot of posts around here, word is Alpine hits hard and sounds great.  I also hear eclipse sounds like a dream at any volume.  Never read any threrad yet that compared the two.  My simple and quick question is...

Should I get a single Eclipse Alum series (4omh+4ohm), or Get the Alpine Type R (4omh+4ohm).  I understand the Alum IS more expensive and probably will sound better, but is it worth the extra dough?  I'm going to listen to my music loud....probably almost as loud as I can before I hear distortion in my midrange speakers up front.  500watts rms running at 2ohms to these, which would be the best deal for the dollar?

Thanks in advance to any replys! :)

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R.Troy

Concidered shiva or brahma?

Out of those two, id get the eclipse-if i had the money.

What sound are you looking for btw?

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I need quality equipment, feel free to donate.

I'm all about sound quality.  I don't want any distortion, but I do need the OPTION to turn it up loud enough to show off.  I'm a highschooler, first year driver, and would love to show my stuff off, but need something practicle to listen to everyday, 

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R.Troy

Definitely go with the eclipse! I'm sure you've read most of the post about them. I wasn't much of a believer at first but now that i own at pair of eclipse 10's i can't imagine anything else!

1 Eclipse 12 will put out twice as much as 1 Alpine. And SQ they are a lot cleaner than the alpines! So if you want your SQ and want to impress i'm sure this will more than impress a lot of people. Have you got any ideas on what sort of amp you want to run this off?

I agree with Nedgeworth once you go Eclipse you can never go back. The Eclipse is an awesome sub, and if you’re familiar with the Eclipse name you know it’s synonymous for top quality and SQ. The Alpine in my opinion is not that much better then your average sub, it just has a good name and reputation. If you’re ready to step it up, the Aluminum is defiantly the way to go. It puts out some excellent SQ but it can also make your chest hurt. The Eclipse is more money, but once you hear your new set it up you will defiantly know that you made the right decision. What amp do you plan on using?

I also would have to say to go with the Eclipse.  You will get better sound quality with them compared to the Alpine but this is only if you have the money for the Eclipse

I figured any ole 500watt amp at 2ohms would be alright.  I was looking into the JBL 600.1, but word is they wear out quickly...which isn't good.  So lately I've been looking into basically anything.  I was looking at some audiobahns but can't seem to find one that puts of an even 500watts rms....closest I got without going under was 800watts rms at 2ohms. 

Any suggestions on amp?

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R.Troy

Who ever told you the JBL's aren’t reliable is full of it. I would highly suggest the 600.1, in fact that was the amp I was going to recommend to you. I have used that same set up before and have never heard anything other then WOW. You will not find  better bang for your dollar, then you will with the JBL. But what ever your choice is just be sure  to get a good quality amp that will put out a clean 500 + RMS @ 2 ohms

ive got a jbl 600.1 pushin to compvr 12s at 2ohms and damn do the hit hard if u need more than 500 and wanna spend a lil more u can get a 1200.1 jbl amp for under 300 which is what i would go with these are really good amps i would say

troysnx wrote:

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I'm all about sound quality.  I don't want any distortion, but I do need the OPTION to turn it up loud enough to show off.  I'm a highschooler, first year driver, and would love to show my stuff off, but need something practicle to listen to everyday, 

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Whell, looks like im going to be the only one for alpine here, haha.

Alpine designes there products based on a SQ perspective, so the Type-R sub is by far a sweet SQ sub, but they were lucky to discover that the sub also can compete SPL wise and still sound great.  I have heard the eclipse, they are sweet too.  Now it basically just comes down to price range, and displacement.

and as for an amp, go for a Alpine MRD-M500, or the JBL 600.1

I'll second bberman with the JBL 600.1. heheh.... you know the Eclipse must be good if Alpine guy is willing to give in

If you choose to go this way definitely go for the aluminmum series. I run the very base series and they knock the wind outta me when i want them too. I was looking between either the 2 10's or i was going to step upto the 12" aluminmum but decided against it because of the power reason and also i prefer 10's. Thinking my next upgraded might be to one of those 12's!!!

if u end up gettin 2 of em i know those things can handle alot go for the 1200.1 jbl under 300 and kix ass

Dude, aluminum all the way. You say you want to play this thing long and loud! The Eclipse is available in either single 4 ohm or dual 4ohm so you have a huge choice of amps available to you. What $ do you want to spend on the amp? Why aluminum?

Because heat is what kills subwoofers, not distortion. A speaker reproduces distrotion when we feed it distortion. A by product of all power usage is heat. Hold onto a light bulb and tell me how hot that 100w bulb gets after 1 minute, actually don't you'll burn yourself, I think you get the point. Anyways the Eclipse has an aluminum voicecoil former thermally bonded to the aluminum cone and two really fat magnets. Expect the magnets to get really warm (they are supposed to) and expect the cone to get warmer. This means that this excellent sub is doing it's job which is why it won an Autosound Grand Prix award for Design And Excellence in Engineering. You can't go wrong with this thing. Put it into a 1.12 cu ft. sealed enclosure made out of 3/4 or 1" mdf. Screw the damn box together or use a truckload of really good wood glue and brad nails. If you can double up the baffle boeard do it as I have seem many an Aluminum sub rip right out of 3/4" mdf. Silicone all inside edges of your box and paint (yes paint) the inside of the box. MDF is extremely porous and bleeds air big time, the paint will help to seal it. Finally add a product like bassline to all walls of the box except the baffle board. If you can make yuor box with at least 1 angle on it this angle coupoed with bassline wil help cancel standing waves. It LBS. dude. Add 1 Audio Contol Epicenter and you should get bass that will shake you like a bowl of jello in an earthquake. If you can tell me if your going with the single or dual dvc sub then I'll point you in the right direction for an amp.

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Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.

ever think about infiniti kappa perfects? They sound pretty close to the aluminums...better than the type r's, But they dont suck as much juice!

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everything stolen :(
Workin on a new system :)

Peace in the middle east

perfects slam like a mother my friend has 1 kappa reg and its almost as loud as my 2 compvr 12s

(1) Hart Professional Square 12" in a SuperBass Box from Probox driven by a Kove 500 will make you look for earplugs and the mute button. The sub sound great at low or high volumes and Kove amps sound great. Another ave is an Audison amp on the Alpine 12. Almost ANY high end subwoofer will take as much CLEAN power as you can give it. (without getting ridiculous). I have a friend with Audison in his VW Beetle on 4 Focal Eutopia 12s and it is PERFECT. Of course as a 1st year driver, you probably don't want to pay for the Focal Eutopias. Email me with any questions. premieravp@usa.com