Opinions on 15" subs

[kandyflip445]

I need some opinions on different brands of 15" subwoofers. Like low end extention, clairity, value, etc. If you could, include stuff like how many watts you were running and other specs(box size is a plus) so I can get a better idea of the performance. Thanks.

[negular]

I used to have a 15inch 1000W Sony Explode in my old s13... I was using a 700w (iirc) Boss amp... and a homemade box that used to take up almost the whole trunk (friend made it a little too big)
that thing was fukcing loud... it made drive thru windows shake like crazy, lol. I also couldnt really look back with any of my rear view mirrors because they would vibrate too much when I turned it up... that much bass makes ur nose tickle, makes ur eyes unfocus (or at least it did to mine) and makes u a little deaf... :D

When my car died, I took all that out and threw it in my friends 80s toyota minivan and he blew the speaker one time he went to the beach.

[xS1LV1Ax]

I am also interested in getting 1 15" sub. My friend is selling it to be for cheap so i want to know how they will sound. WIll i need to buy mass quantities of dynamat to keep the rattling down??? My friend is selling me 1 15" Alpine Type R sub for $150 in the box with a 600 watt amp. I know its a good deal, but would it be cool for a S14?

[240 2NR]

Seems like overkill. Unless you're going to go crazy upgrading your mid and high end, you're going to have a very unbalanced system, not to mention how much space and weight it's going to cost you. A good 10 or 12" sub is plenty in a car as small as a 240. I don't even know anyone with a 15" sub in their house. I have heard some and while nice, are almost always huge. Give me a nice tight 10 over a sloppy overpowered 15 anyday.

[Nerfdude]

bah, 15's... the only reason people buy 15's is because then they can say "yeah, i've got 15's".... they sound like crap. they don't produce nearly as tight bass as 10's or 12's do... i've got a piar of Diamond CM3 12's running on a kenwood 1000w amp (460 bridged @ 4 ohms), and it's killer... it's too much bass. i'm thinking about toning it down to a pair of tens ion my next car, or maybe one 12... i like the music to sound good, i'm not too concerned about being able to be heard a half mile away. i mean, you CAN hear my car from a good distance, but that's because i wanted it that way when i bought the stuff. right now i'm putting a switch in so i can turn my subs off... sometimes i just don't want the bass at all.

don't get 15's. get 12's. a pair of 12's in a sealed box will fit perfectly in an s13 hatch... i suggest the R/T technology 2.5 cu. ft. box. fits right under the trunk cover.

[negular]

I agree, go with something smaller... theres is no need for such big speakers... take it from me, I've had one. Plus, my car being so damn loud even when the bass was on zero, caused for my sh1t to be broken into... good thing I only got the amp stolen.

bah, 15's... the only reason people buy 15's is because then they can say "yeah, i've got 15's".... they sound like crap.
I dont think they sound like crap... but to each its own.

[kandyflip445]

I have had a 15" Memphis and I liked the sound. The amount of bass you hear and feel also depends on if you have a hatch or a coupe. I've listend to a couple of other systems with 5", 10", 12", and 15" and I like a single 15" setup better because it seems to hit lower notes easier. I want a sealed box though so I can get as clean a sound as possible with a 15".

Nerfdude- I've read things that say to produce tight bass with ANY subwoofer you have to get the internal volume of air to the right amount. And you can do this using the data sheets manufacturers include with the sub.

S1IV1A- I would DEFINATELY go for that deal. If you have to worry about that one rattleing then chances are if you got any other subs they would too with the volume high enough. You should be able to adjust the gain on the amp and if you have a nicer reciever then you could adjust the bass on the pre-out for the sub. If you don't wanna buy it from him I'm interested in that deal. Just pm me or talk to me on AIM. I'm ecsman620 on there.

Negular-That sounds like a bit much for me...:D Did it sound clean at lower levels though? Like no distortion?

[the head]

I have had 15's they are not great if you enjoy music i have seen forty year old hookers tighter than 15" subs stick with 10" or 12" that is all you need unless you are going for SPL competition

[silnv]

Originally posted by Nerfdude
i've got a piar of Diamond CM3 12's running on a kenwood 1000w amp (460 bridged @ 4 ohms)

I have one Diamond M6 10 with a Rockford Fosgate 500s, and it puts out crazy sound, it even has a sweet aluminum cone. but anyway here are the specs on the M6's and the CM3's.

M6 10
power range: 800w
imped: dual 4 or 2 ohm
sensitivity: 90
Freq. Resp: 22-250


CM3 12
power range: 500w
imped: dual 4 or 2 ohm
sensitivity: 91
Freq. Resp: 25-250

Or here is there Highest series 15 in sub.

TDX15
Power range: 2000w
imped: dual 2 or 4
sensitivity: 91
Freq. Resp: 18-200

[negular]

Originally posted by kandyflip445
Negular-That sounds like a bit much for me...:D Did it sound clean at lower levels though? Like no distortion?

We used to play those bass test cds on mine and my friends cars, and mine would always go lower and was pretty clean. When the frequencies dropped low enough, you would stop hearing bass but you could still feel it a little and the mirrors would still vibrate.

It was fun having such a big ass speaker becuase ppl would always be amazed, and yeah, you could hear my car a mile away... but I still think that big a speaker is overkill, its just a little too much, I rather have 2 bad ass 12s.

edit: its also fun to set off ricers bass lights over their own bass.

[Nismos14]

Originally posted by the head
I have had 15's they are not great if you enjoy music i have seen forty year old hookers tighter than 15" subs stick with 10" or 12" that is all you need unless you are going for SPL competition u have to be kidding? the best systems that i have ever heard include small subs for midbass and a larger for subsonic bass i have 2 eights mounted free air in the pass through of my s-14, good clean hard mid bass, and a 15 in the trunk for solid lows, it does the job perfectly the music quality rivals that of systems much more expensive than mine, and i have other people telling me the same thing. u can create awesome sound from a 15, but u wont get all the full spectrum of bass from it, expect mostly deep lows, near frequencies of like < 80hz, u need something to fill in the range between about 80 and 250 hzs, a pair of 8's or a ten or a 12 could accomplish that but different subs produce different types of bass, a 12 or a ten could in fact deliver the bass below 80 hz and do it well but dont expect the full spectrum of bass from any speaker, u need to have some crossovers to set up how u want everything playing, and to get the cleanest sound, just dont slack off on the install do a good job. my setup is with the 8's not crossed over at all, and the 15 crossed over below 125 hz, but this is going to depend highly on the bass notes and frequencies that ur speakers will be able to reproduce. I have a Solo-baric 15 in the trunk and the two pioneer free air eights in the pass through, it works perfectly the speakers and custom fab and box for the 15 cost me $500 so its not exacly cheap and not exactly expensive, but well worth it

[the head]

I run Phoenix xmax 12s in my trunk and they are crossed to 125 and below. inside are 6x9 kicker freeairs two 8" subs and a set of eclipse refrence series 6.5 in components in my 67 mustang in all of the installs I have planned or helped to install I have never used a 15 as they are not necessary

[240 2NR]

I hope you guys have some killer setups at home too where you can appreciate them.

Ironically the guy I bought my 240 from had about $50k invested in his home STEREO (2 speakers, an amp, wires and transport though I don't know what format[s] he was running). The 240 was bone stock.

[zxtasy]

First off go to carsound.com discussion boards and read, read, read if you really want to get a grasp on car audio. Secondly, why spent all this time and money increasing the performance/handling of your almost 50/50 weight distributed 240 then drop 2-300 lbs. of stereo equipment in the back? You have to decide what you want SPL or sound quality. I personally built a Death Box from decware.com wich is an incredible sounding 4th order bandpass enclosure that houses a single or double 10" sub wich is tunable in vehicle and pretty much ANY sub will work, and not necessarily a high quality sub. Further more the outside dimesions are 13x13x19". Sounds excellent, light weight and loud.

[kandyflip445]

Ok...I'm pretty sure I stated that I wanted opinions on BRANDS of 15" subs. Not on why not to put one in. It's my preference to have a 15" sub...I just wanted opinions on different ones to help me decide.:(

[silnv]

Ive never had a 15 but I did have an 18 once I would assume that they had similar atributes. It was an Earthquake LS18 I only had 600w going to it and that thing would rock. So in my opinion Earthquake would be a good brand to go with, as well as Diamond which is what I have now and it hits hard too.