10" sub for <$200, details in post

[senaudio 10+ year member]

I am in the market for a new 10" sub to put into my custom smallish sealed box. I have about $300 to spend, but thought that I would find a great sub first(~$200), then match it to a cheaper (~$100) CEA 06 amp amp that would slightly underpower the sub at 2 or 1 ohm (i don't want to have to worry about blowing it).

I listen to mainly rock and alt rock, but like to let the bass hit on some rap occasionally. I guess i want mostly SQ but with some spl capability there too. This will be a daily driver, and with no worries about anything by my listening pleasure.

I was looking at the "hardest hitting 12 for under $200 thread", and people seemed to recommend level 3's, sa 10, ss t5, sdc 2.5, and hype r's. Are these types on the same tier as the mid-level alpine, infinity, mtx, jl, kicker, or cerwin-vega subs in here?? (i.e. W3, CVX, etc.) Are the well-known (at least to me) brands missing because they charge more for similar product?

Thanks a lot for the help!

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[ctmaudi 10+ year member]

I really enjoy my SA-10s. Only had an old style RE SE to compair them to, and I like them more.

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

I have a nice Critical Mass 10 that would be within your $300 budget its a single 2 ohm VC rated at 500RMS

 

[mclerico83 5,000+ posts]

i would put a lot of those subs sealed, as there mainly ported subs

RE Audio SE10

would be a great sub sealed

dc level 3

fi ssd with high qts option

mach 5 ixl

 

[trumpet 5,000+ posts]

Sealed and underpowering should not be in the same sentence. Generally you want more power with a sealed enclosure than any other type of enclosure due to the lower efficiency.

1) How big is the volume of the box?

2) $100 is not going to get you a good amp that is low on distortion at 1 or 2 Ohms. If you do find a 1 or 2 Ohm stable amp for $100 you're sacrificing quality and/or warranty coverage. Combining that with your plan of underpowering a "nice" sub is a recipe for product failure.

3) You might be more happy with a low RMS sub and a mono amp running at 4 Ohms. That way the sub is happy with the power it's getting and the amp isn't pushed into levels of audible distortion, or worse, clipping.

 

[senaudio 10+ year member]

yeah, i understand, but i never want to worry about blowing the sub. I am only talking about slightly underpowering it, like a PA400.1 at 1 ohm putting 400W RMS to a 500W RMS sub like the jl w3. How much higher can i go without having to worry about blowing it?

1. about 0.7 cu ft. air volume

2. yeah, i know, but i've found a lot of D class mono CEA rated amps at about 100-125 that push 400-500 W RMS @ 2 ohms. I don't care about warranty at that price point, or i could buy a squaretrade one for $20. do amps like the pa400.1 (400 W RMS @ 1 ohm) or the alpine MRP-M500 (500 W RMS @ 2 ohm) present problems with distortion?

3. i thought you said to overpower a sub

 

[thevic24 5,000+ posts]

Your actually better off having a little more power on tap than what the sub is rated for.

More people kill subs from under powering and then clipping the hell out the amp when the do want

to play it loud.

 

[mclerico83 5,000+ posts]

Cadence ZRS-6500D 2400 Watt Class D Monoblock Amplifier - eBay (item 320646213426 end time Feb-20-11 09:13:38 PST)

get this amazing deal and be happy

Cadence ZRS-6500D Class D Amplifiers - Car Amplifiers at Onlinecarstereo.com

this is how much they usually are.

then match up a sub at either 4 ohm or 2 ohm

http://www.caraudioclassifieds.org/forum/showthread.php?t=69544

like this

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Soundstream-T4-10-10-SPL-Subwoofer-Dual-1-ohm-/310271671826?pt=Car_Subwoofers_Enclosures&hash=item483da1fe12#ht_2707wt_1139

or like this and run it at 2 ohm 1200 watts