Need help Picking a new Sub!

I have a Del Sol with a sealled 12" enclosure in the trunk. It has a (near) perfect 1.25cubic foot internal volume (after sub displacement). I had a 12' Kicker Comp VR & blew it up. I have  a Kenwood Excelon mono channel amp. I need a 12" sub, fitting a 1.25cubic ft sealled box, and I have 800w RMS avail in 2 ohm load.

I listen mostly to heavy metal & very little rap. I am leaning toward the new Comp VRs which have been revamped with many Solo Baric parts, but I have had many friends tell me to go with their favorites. I am wanting to hear what others would choose, or recommend. Hopefully this can help my deciding. My budget is $200 to $250, and it has to be a round sub (box already built).

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Unless it raises the hair on the back of your neck, its only noise!

Alpine type r SWR-1242D, Infinity kappa, Image Dynamics, Eclipse Aluminum.  Thats just a few off the top of my head.

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2003 Chevy Avalanche,Eclipse CD7000,Morel Elate 5,Adire Extremis,Alpine PDX-4.150, 15" TC-3000, 2 Alpine PDX-1.1000, 470Amp HO Alt.

You blew it up? How did you manage that? I'm not trying to be a smart ass, but answering this question might help us suggest an appropriate subwoofer for you.

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New Project: 2003 Pathfinder

kfr01] wrote:

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ou blew it up? How did you manage that? I'm not trying to be a smart ass, but answering this question might help us suggest an appropriate subwoofer for you.

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Believe it or not, I was listening to "Perry Mason" by Ozzy. It does not have that much bass, and I had it a little under full volume (full volume defined as edge just before distortion). It was playing just fine, when it just quit. Actually, it blew all 3 25 amp fuses in my amp. Suprised, I pulled the main fuse, replaced the 3 25 amp fuses, reinstalled the main fuse, & all 3 25 amp fuses blew again right away. Disconected the sub, put in 3 MORE 25 amp fuses, & now they are fine.

I like the new features of the 05 Comp VR subs, but I thought I would see what else is out there. I prefer punchy bass, but I like the ability to hit the lows like the 12" does (over a 10").

I see I had another reply above. I am aware of the other brands listed. I am more interested in what people have experienced first hand in simillar sized enclosures, with similar amounts of power. I could rattle off many brands of subs, but I want opinions of equipment & details on performance.

Not bitching, or talking trash. I must not have been clear enough in my original post.

I appreciate all feedback.

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Unless it raises the hair on the back of your neck, its only noise!

I agree with Alpine Guy. I think for at least two of those subs he was answering your question - for the same amount of power - for the same enclosure size. Both the Image Dynamics IDMAX 12" and the Eclipse Aluminum will take a beating while sounding excellent in that size enclosure. You'd be happy with either one, I think. The sound quality should be significantly better than it was with your Comp VR.

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New Project: 2003 Pathfinder

Maybe this will help further;

$200 to $250 budget

1- 12" sub

800 watts RMS (1600 peak)

Must be 2 ohm load

1.25 cubic foot enclosure (after sub displacement)

Must be LOUD, but retain clean sound(crisp as possible with a 12")

Reputable brand prefered.

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Unless it raises the hair on the back of your neck, its only noise!

What is average price on Eclipse Aluminum, or the Image Dymanics (not available in my area)?

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Unless it raises the hair on the back of your neck, its only noise!

Hmm.. yeah, guess we did overshoot your budget, eh? Sorry about that.

You honestly might have trouble finding a quality subwoofer that meets those requirements on that budget.

800w is quite a bit for subs in that price range AND staying with a quality brand.

Here's my advice... either:
1) Increase your budget OR
2) Run at 4ohms (400w) the decrease in power will only lose you a MAX 3db in spl. This is small. It won't matter if you don't compete. The finaly SPL difference between a 800w sub and a 400w sub will probably be small than even 3db because MOST 800w subwoofer are less efficient than 400w subs of the same size. Hang ups on wattage are silly, in my opinion.

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New Project: 2003 Pathfinder

If this is so, then what about Kenwood Excelon new 05 Sub? It is not on kenwood's site, yet, but the DVC is a 3.6 ohm load with a 94db sensitivity. You think this would be good? I did find new (not refurb) Eclipse Aluminum 12's on ebay around 160 including s&h. How high should I be looking for a budget?

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Unless it raises the hair on the back of your neck, its only noise!

I can't tell you what I'd budget - but I do know that to achieve quality AND high excursion / high power handling you have to shell out some dough. 

I have never heard a Kenwood subwoofer, so I can't comment on that - BUT you are on the right track with high efficiency / lower power as a budget alternative to high power subwoofers that generally cost much more.

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New Project: 2003 Pathfinder

What are the pro's & con's of the two;

High power, large excursion, lower efficiency

Lower power, less excursion, higher efficiency

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Unless it raises the hair on the back of your neck, its only noise!

I'll tell you what I think, but I'd really like for some of the board regulars (Haemphsyt and Steven K. come to mind) to weigh in on this.

What I think is this:  we've already highlighted the major tradeoffs.  It takes more of everything to produce a quality high excursion woofer.  (better design, better materials, better motor, etc.)  This costs money.  To control the extra movement also costs efficiency.  On the pro side of high excursion you usually buy higher power handling (which may lead to higher potential spl), usually smaller box size (not a concern in your situation), and possibly the ability to force the driver deeper in certain applications without running into mechanical limits. 

Lower excursion subwoofers are almost always more efficient, always seem to fit in larger boxes, run into mechanical limits earlier (obviously) which limit their flexibility in some applications, and are generally cheaper. 

It is very very important to note that within their thermal and mechanical limits high excursion and low excursion drivers can sound _EQUALLY_ good. 

I would buy high excursion if:
1) I was obsessed with power for the sake of power  OR
2) I wanted to run either a ported or eq'd box to bump the bottom end up   OR
3) I wanted some extra low frequency extension out of a very small sealed box

AND I both had the money and power for the setup to make sense.

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New Project: 2003 Pathfinder