Subwoofer comparison day results....
Because most people couldn't be stuffed crawling through the 'subwoofer comparison day' thread to find the results; they are:
Well what a day!
Not a bad turn out at all. I was hoping for a few more (considering how many people constantly argue about which subwoofer is best; strangely most of those people were absent as only the real audio enthusiasts turned up). But even with the turn out, most people had a good listen too many subwoofers and my word, were there some surprises! The final list of subwoofers that made it down that day for testing (in alphabetical order) include:
Alpine Type-S12 (white Magna)
Alpine Type-R12 (silver Commodore)
Boston G212 (black Commodore)
Boston G512 (blue WRX)
Crossfire XT212 (brought down by myself)
Diamond Audio D612 (white 180SX)
Diamond Audio TDX10 (brought down by myself)
Digital Designs 9112 (brought down by myself)
Hertz HX300 (silver 323 SP20)
Hertz EBX165 (red Alfasud)
Image Dynamics IDMAX12D4 (red 200SX)
Image Dynamics IDMAX12D2 (white Laser)
JL Audio 12W7 (black Golf)
Kicker L510 (purple Civic)
RE Audio XXX10 (blue Mirage)
Soundstream Exact10 (brought down by myself)
Treo TSX10 (silver WRX)
Vibe BlackAir12 (red commodore)
Vibe Exact8 (silver Satria)
Vibe Space12 (silver Excel)
Below are the pick of the bunch (although the competition was so close that it really is irrelevant).
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Sound quality - These were the three best performers.
1st Place: Diamond Audio TDX10
The Diamond TDX10 is one of the best subwoofers I have heard in a long time. Smooth controlled extension (especially down through the lower frequencies – remember it’s a 10”). On the downside, whilst it will blur vision if you ask it too (it has the better part of 9” depth), don't go pushing it too hard because an SPL subwoofer it isn't. Modelled on a sealed enclosure the size of the enclosure size can remain quite small (our test enclosure was only 0.8cf).
2nd Place: Image Dynamics IDMAX12
The IDMAX possesses quite a heavy motor structure so running it with too little power (like 400-600 watts) will usually cause the amplifiers damping factor to enter the stratosphere. However if you have the power to control it, it's high excursion length allows it to extend deep into the subsonic regions and give that gut rumbling bass the IDMAX range is famous for. The other great facet of the IDMAX is that when it's pushed it will deliver!
3rd Place: Boston G512
Quite a few people we know use these now and they're fast gaining a reputation for being a serious SQ subwoofer. Thanks to its design it can extend very deep and remain controlled, even when the pressure is on (no pun intended). And with its three inch excursion, getting your vision blurred is only a matter of power… :D
Others worthy of a mention:
Vibe Space12
JL Audio 12W7
Soundstream Exact 10
These are the ones that still sounded fantastic but sadly didn’t quite make the top three.
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Sound pressure level - These were the three loudest performers.
1st Place: Crossfire XT212
The Crossfire we kind of knew would push some serious air but no one really realised just how much until we feed it 1200 watts! Boy oh boy this sub really will blow your head off given half a chance. When you consider the magnat is nearly the size of the cone that is not unexpected. Now I dare say the Digital Designs 9500 and 9900 series would hammer it but the XT212 price is under $1000.
2nd Place: Vibe Space12
It should be mentioned that the Vibe Space12 was in it’s pre-built enclosure which comes with foamed slot port which is tuned perfectly to suit the woofer. It should also be remember that Vibe actually specialise in bass enclosures – hence their name.
3rd Place: Digital Designs DD9112
While the DD sounded fantastic it did peak a little around the port tuning frequency and dropped off quite sharply beyond that. It will still cause you some serious health issues though if listened too at high volumes for long enough. Not bad for SPL either when you consider the 9500 and 9900 series are the dedicated SPL subwoofers.
Others worthy – These are the ones that still pounded but sadly didn’t quite make the top three.
IDMAX12
JL Audio 12W7
Boston G512
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And from the cutting room floor - These are the oddball sizes in a world of their own.
Vibe Exact8
We brought down a Vibe Exact8 to show people what SQ is really all about. The Exact8 subwoofer is only 8” in diameter and while it won’t set any world SPL records, it does sound fantastic with quite low extension in the correct enclosure. Matter of fact it is one of the best 8” SQ subwoofers in the world. Big claim but like I have said, we have one here for anyone to listen too.
Hertz EBX165
We brought this down just to prove a point! Many people listened to this car and came to the conclusion that its bass was loud and extended considerably low; nothing unusual there. It’s only when they go to the back of the car and find a 6.5” subwoofer they freak out!
Here are a couple of photos from the day:
http://www.fastfoursforumscarclub.co..._bbq_day_1.jpg
http://www.fastfoursforumscarclub.co..._bbq_day_2.jpg
http://www.fastfoursforumscarclub.co..._bbq_day_3.jpg
