I am going to be putting 2 12" kenwood w3012 subwoofers that use 400 watts continuous and 1200 peak each. My original plan was to hook them up to the kenwood 9104d mono 1800 watt amp. My question is that is there another amp out there that will work just as well if not better for a cheaper price? I'm trying to save money but still get great quality. Thanks!
if you want great quality, I'd avoid kenwood all together. that said, get your subs in single 4 ohm coil, or dual 2 ohm coil configuration, and wire them together for a 2 ohm combined load. find an amp that drives 800 watts RMS x 1 @ 2 ohms. that'll be what you need. you don't want to exceed the continuous rating for power handling of the speakers.
If you want alternatives, look at anything made by DEI (directed, viper, orion, a/d/s, and so forth)
So is kenwood not a good brand cause ive researched the subs and amp and they have gotten near perfec reviews all across the boards on all of the big name sites ie crutchfield, bestbuy, etc. but system wise are there any better subs and amp combo thatll hit just as hard as the ones ive picked out cause i know with these ill be heard from a significant distance away. and i want to be heard and to have great vibration ie back massage. can you suggest any better systems for around $400 to $450 thatll hit hard and vibrate like i wish? currently i am planning on using ebay because itll save me lots of money like the system i picked out is roughly $700 or so retail but i can get it for around $390 new with warranty from ebay.
eh, keep in mind that BB, CC, Crutchfield, etc post what sells their products. That, and the "user reviews" are often written by people who either don't even own the product, or are 17 years old, got the product in the mail 30 minutes ago, and are still all excited about it and want to rant about how awesome it is. They aren't professionals, or engineers. Kenwood amplifiers tend to have a high failure rate *in my experience* and their subs are middle of the road on the best of days.
as for being "heard" ugh.. don't get me started. In short, the louder your car is outside the cabin, the less you'll hear inside. Remember sound is energy, and the more energy you let escape the car, or use up vibrating sheet metal, the less is actually heard as music. This is why people sound deaden their cars for stereo systems. Also, nobody else really wants to hear you 5 cars away at a stop light. Please try to be a responsible user. OK, enough on that.
Alternatives: Kicker, DD, Fi, MMATS for subs, to name a few. Orion, PPI, a/d/s, Viper, Directed, Phoenix Gold to name a few amps.
be VERY wary of using eBay. a LOT of scammers out there claiming the items are new and with full warranty when in reality they are grey market items and B-stock that have no warranty at all. At worst, the person sends you a box of bricks and makes off with your cash. Don't laugh. I know at least 4 or 5 people who've had this happen to them.
In the end, you get what you pay for. You may want to save up a bit more, and also look at upgrading your cabin speakers and not just using the OE speakers and throwing in two subs. Also, one good sub will outperform two cheap subs. something to consider.
ok thanks for the info. ive heard that kicker makes really good subs and amps. I feel confident about using ebay solely on the fact that my mom is an ebay wiz and buys and sells constantly and has been doing so for god knows how long. and yeah i plan on being a responsible user i 1 dont wanna blow my hearing and eardrums and 2 will not always be listening to hard bass songs and will not always have the subs to the max. in your experience do you have any reccomendations on like specific subs and amp that will be good? like anything that you can give to me specifically and know to be good? i already have put in an alpine cda-105 aftermarket stereo and might be upgrading the factory speakers to aftermarket depending on how i like my setup after the system. and yeah i understand about saving up more money so. but yeah if you have any specific products that you would reccomend to me thatd be great. if not youve already helped me out so much so thank you!
well, bass is great and all, but do remember that 70% of your audio comes from that front stage, so don't be afraid to upgrade those door speakers, and put a decent little amp on those, too.. say, 40-70 watts per channel for the front/rear speakers. It'll make a night and day difference over ANY head unit's internal amp.
As for brands, Fi makes fantastic subs (www.ficaraudio.com) and Orion and PPI (both owned by DEI now) make very competent amplifiers both in class AB (multichannel) and class D (sub amps) Affordable, well designed and built, and not bad looking.
Also I checked out fi and they have so many diff subs and I have no clue what's going on. Like idk what most of the stuff means. If it's not too much to ask could younpost me a link to a good sub choice from there? And the customize on the side before checkout I'm lost like Im absolutely lost. I've heard great things about kicker could you also post me a link for a good kicker sub/subs? I'm more than willing to buy one good one over 2 not so goodnones too so.
If you're looking for an all around sub from Fi check out the ssd. If you want more SQ check into the Fi Q and the BL will be more of a daily driver that will hold a little more power than the SSDs will. Two 12s are going to be overall louder and move more air than a single 15 but keep in mind that it is going to depend on the enclosure and how much power you are feeding them. I'd say Fi is a better choice than kicker subs. Kicker is going to get loud, but thats about it. Fi is going to give you a more musical sub than just SPL. Kicker amps are alright though.
yup SSD is a good all purpose sub. I personally use a single Q 18 in a sealed box in my own car.
Fi is on par with RE, which is to say an outstanding product. Kicker is more mass production chinese made sort of fare, and their round subs are pretty solid stuff. I really do not like the square subs though. the L5 L7 and Solo X etc
but the fi subs are still going to vibrate like hell if i want them too right? lol im a teenager and im considered about big bass cause i like rap and i like bass and yeah lol. but ill deff check those out...thx!
also on the fi site im checking out the ssd's and like on the side theres stuff you can change and then the checkout button...what does all of that mean and should i mess with it? and what should i get will 1 12" be enough for what i want?
2 12" speakers wont hit the low notes like a 15" speaker would...Its all personal preference. I have a Kicker L7 15" and I will not get away from the 15" bass...nothing really compares to it in my opinion. But others like the bass from 12 and even 10" subwoofers.
I also have a Kicker10" L7 in my other vehicle in a ported box that sounds phenominal. Keep in mind the Box makes a world of difference on sound from your subs.