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Well, I finally got my enclosure today. It still needs to be carpeted (on order), but otherwise it's complete. It houses 3 12" AW1200's, sealed, each getting .91 cubic feet each (plus polyfill)...all in the same chamber as well. The subs are 4 ohm DVC's, and all coils are paralleled and all subs are paralleled for a .66 ohm load which is handled by my Xtant 1001dx. I did a lot of listening to them today with many different CD's. However, it was all at low - medium volume (in the garage), so I haven't done an all-out SPL check on them yet. As far as sound quality goes, I'm *absolutely* impressed! These subs are *very* tight, clean, and controlled. They handle sharp kick drums perfectly, and sound great on any kind of music. They honestly remind me a lot of my old PPI Pro 12's...that's saying a lot, considering I still believe those are the best SQ subs I've ever heard (and I've heard A LOT!). CD after CD, I couldn't help but to be pleased and impressed by the sound quality of these subs. This is a great relief, as I was worried that they might not sound too great, considering they are a newer brand, look like an all-out SPL sub, and are priced *really* low for how nice and stocky they look. I have a feeling that those 3 12's will get plenty loud. While testing today, I got the volume up to a moderate level on a particular track w/ a lot of bass (was hitting pretty good), opened up the hatch and found that the 3 of them were barely even moving! The only downside is that they lack extreme bottom octave output (below 20 Hz). However, I guess that is a relative statement, seeing as my previous subs were Earthquake Magma 12's, which specialize in high sub-sonic output (maybe I'm just spoiled now!). But, this is impossible to notice in about 98% of the material that you'd listen to. The only tracks I noticed it on were bass tracks that extended to 20 Hz and below (IASCA disc track 5, Jurassic Lunch, Bass Mekanik). I may need to tweek my regular eq, as well as the parametric eq on the Xtant...that may yield a little more output in that bottom octave. Like I said though, you would never really notice it. Even on rap and rock tracks that I would consider having pretty low bass notes, the subs sound very deep, tight, and dynamic (as with pretty much anything). The biggest improvements over the Earthquakes would be the overall tighter, quicker response, as well as a higher frequency extension (Magma's don't play very high at all...pretty much only down in the basement!). This filled in a lot of the bass that I was missing out on since I don't have particularly strong midbass (5 1/4's in kicks up front). Sorry for the long post, but I'm really excited about these subs. I never would have thought that I would have spent this little on subs and have them sound SO GOOD! After all, I've spent more on one 12" sub in the past than I did for all 3 of these : ) Pending my SPL tests on them, I think it's safe to say that I believe nothing else near them in their price class can even begin to touch them.
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Holy $*^&! I just checked the price on those subs, 189$ MSRP!!!! and from what you are saying, holy cow man! thats like, the ultimate subwoofer at the ultimate best price! F*%K MTX! hehe maybe i will just forget my idea about getting a pair of RFL's! I will just fricking go with these!
------------------ 2 MTX Thunder 3000 12" Power Acoustik 500x2 130watts x 2 Can you say DISTORTION!?
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Thanks Redbird, I should be getting my 3 Alum12's in a couple of weeks and from what you tell me about the AW1200's they should sound awesome. How much power are you pushing each sub I don't know much about Xtant amps?
Thanks again
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Posts: 45 | From: Omaha,Nebraska | Registered: Jun 1999
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Tutall, I'm glad to hear that you decided to go with some Audiobahn's too. I don't think you'll be disappointed at all, especially since the ALUM's are supposed to sound even better (is that possible?) ; ) I really don't know *exactly* how much power each sub is getting, but to give you an idea: The Xtant 1001dx was tested by Car Audio magazine and did 1160 watts at 1 ohm. This amp comes very near to doubling it's power output each time you cut the ohm load in half, and I'm running it at 0.66 right now. So, I think it's safe to say it's at least in the 1400-1500 ballpark (if not more). I say that because it is only rated down to 1 ohm, and it may not double power below that...or maybe it does? However, this is one *tough* amp when it comes to driving low impedance loads!! I ran my pair of Magma's on it (0.75 ohms) for a year and it never once shut off or got too hot at all, even after long high-volume listening sessions. That is why I decided to push it down a little further to 0.66, and so far I have the same results...a LOT of power, no shutdowns or any excessive heat. I love this amp! : ) PLEASE let me know how it goes with those ALUM 12's...those are what I really wanted, but I didn't want to play the waiting game and not know when they would ship. But, the AW's have really impressed the hell out of me, so I'm glad I got them. If you don't mind, can I ask where you got them and how much you paid for them?
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Also, another update... I got to do a little cranking on them today on my way home from work. I put in a rap CD that had a lot of bass and kept cranking and cranking. Uhhh...let me tell you, these things are *definitely* not shy on SPL! This is by far the loudest, tightest sounding setup I've ever had in my car, and I'm on my 4th sub setup (not to mention I've changed amps 3 times, heads twice, fronts 3 times, etc...). I could not get these subs to distort, with each click of the volume knob on my Alpine they just got louder and louder and stayed really tight and clean the whole way! I finally backed off for fear of my front components (not to mention that it sounded like my car was about to shake itself apart). : ) : ) : ) I think I'm in heaven. Subs that get the job done (and done WELL!!!) on both sound quality and SPL that cost very, very little. Plus they are really attractive cosmetically as well...they would be a great sub to do an inverted install on to show off the chrome-plated cast chassis with that mirror-polished backplate. I just can't get over how obscenely huge the bang-for-the-buck factor is with these subs.
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Ryan, Good question. When I got them a year ago, I was really floored by their performance. They sound really good for an SPL sub, and they do have a lot of output (especially in the bottome octave). However, I was growing tired of their limited frequency response (they don't play very high at all), and their overall lack of speed and tightness. Like I said, the SQ is great for an SPL sub, but I lean more towards SQ for my system and there was just too much of a gap between my 5 1/4" components up front and those subs. When I saw the Audiobahn AW's and how cheap I could get them for, I figured why not? For a few hundred bucks I could try something new, and if I didn't like them I'm sure I could find somebody around here interested in them. Well, like I've posted above, I'm just extremely impressed with them and I'm glad that I made the switch. Granted I have 3 of the AW 12's instead of 2 of the Magma's, the car is a lot louder now. Just the difference between the tightness of the bass is enough to really make you notice, since it just hits you in the chest like a sledgehammer, instead of a thud. I must say that the Magma's really beat up on them on the subsonic output though...I do miss that, but with all the added output and tightness, I still am glad that I made the switch. Plus, the AW's cost about 1/3 of what each of the Magma's cost me. I'm looking to sell my Magma's if you're interested. They're a year old and were used predominantly for SQ. Let me know...
-=Redbird=-
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[This message has been edited by Redbird (edited 08-03-99).]
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I'm getting them from Apex-Audio for $129 a piece. Had to pay $20 do become member but it is well worth it I think. So far got a pioneer dehp8000r, 6.5", 6x9", 4" (audiobahn) for about $700 which has already saved me a ton of cash since the MSRP on the deck alone is $680. Getting a 200dhc from carmedia for subs but other than that everything from Apex. Shipping is a bit high but everything works out in the end.
http://www.apex-audio.com/subs/
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Posts: 45 | From: Omaha,Nebraska | Registered: Jun 1999
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