[Rick Brandt]

Nearly every weekend, Best Buy and Circuit City in our area will feature a dual
10" sub box with amp. These will usually be in the upper two hundred to mid
three hundred dollar price range and a (non-pictured) 12" package is mentioned
below that for an nominally higher price. The brands I can recall (seems to
vary every week) are Sony, Kicker, MTX, Alpine, etc..

Without concern for building a system for competition, are these units typically
any good?

I am currently running a powered 8" bazooka tube which I have been mostly
satisfied with, but have toyed with the idea of upgrading. My biggest concern
with my current system is that it sounds pretty darned good when cranked, but I
struggle to get good clean bass when the volume is lower.

I already have a line-level amp controlling the sub's level, but cranking that
too high at lower volumes tends to muddy the bass or make it boomy. This
obviously varies with the song and source. I mostly listen to my Sirius radio
connected via an input jack on the front of my JVC HU. My car (94 Dodge
Stealth) is a rather noisy vehicle which I know is a big influence.

The package in this week's flyers:

Circuit City - Bazooka Dual 10" subwoofers with custom slot-vented enclosure and
amp.
$199.00

Best Buy - Alpine two 750w 10" subs with 1800w amp and box.
$379.00 (12" upgrade for extra $20.00)

The Sony, MTX, Kicker units I have seen in the past would fall somewhere between
the prices above.

I know... no model numbers for exact comparisons. I'm mostly trying to
determine the likelihood that a unit like this would be a significant
improvement over my current setup. Although rarely needed, I do like the fact
that I can easily remove my current sub should I temporarily need the space for
hauling something. These pre-built enclosure units would seem to provide that
same advantage.

From my lurking, it would seem that the MTX and Alpine units would be the better
choices in this category. Would you agree with that?

TIA

[KU40]

they will likely be a little better than your bazooka just due to
increasing cone area and power. I'd stay away from any of the ported
boxes, though because they are likely tuned to 40-45 hz and will have
pretty bad sound quality. If you do that deal, go sealed.


--
KU40

[Rick Brandt]

KU40 wrote:
they will likely be a little better than your bazooka just due to
increasing cone area and power. I'd stay away from any of the ported
boxes, though because they are likely tuned to 40-45 hz and will have
pretty bad sound quality. If you do that deal, go sealed.

Thanks for the feedback.

While one cannot tell for sure from the picture the Alpine unit appears to be a
sealed enclosure.

[Tony F]

"From my lurking, it would seem that the MTX and Alpine units would be the
better choices in this category. Would you agree with that?"

Generally speaking, yes. I'd say you may or may not be happy with these
types of boxes (how's that for a "Mr. Obvious" answer? LOL).

The nice thing about CC and BB is that they should have some fairly decent
return policies. You should be able to plunk those boxes in your trunk for
a few days and give them a good listening to. If you don't like it...return
it. (obvoiusly check with the store first)

Tony



--
2001 Nissan Maxima SE Anniversary Edition
Clarion DRZ9255 Head Unit, Phoenix Gold ZX475ti, ZX450 and Xenon X1200.1
Amplifiers, Dynaudio System 360 Tri-Amped In Front and Focal 130HCs For Rear
Fill, Image Dynamics IDMAX10 D4 v.3 Sub

2001 Chevy S10 ZR2
Pioneer DEH-P9600MP Head Unit, Phoenix Gold Ti500.4 Amp, Focal 165HC
Speakers & Image Dynamics ID8 D4 v.3 Sub

2006 Mustang GT Coupe
Alpine IVA-D310 DVD Head Unit, Alpine MRA-550 Digital 5.1 Amp, Boston
Acoustics Z-Series Speakers, Alpine SBS-05DC Center Channel Speaker,
Amplified MTX Thunderform Sub

[MOSFET]

I'd stay away from any of the ported
boxes, though because they are likely tuned to 40-45 hz and will have
pretty bad sound quality.

Oh here we go on this old argument....

Ported boxes DO NOT all sound like crap. It TOTALLY depends on the box and
the subs being used with it. I will say that sealed boxes tend to play
lower given the fact that ported boxes are not able to produce significant
output (well, nearly any output) below the resonant frequency of the port.

But that old argument that sealed boxes are somehow "tighter" than ported
boxes is crap. Case in point, my two MTX 7500 12" in a ported box sound
tighter (to me, anyway) than my old JL 12W3's in a sealed enclosure (the
lower harmonics of the snare drum sounds "snappier"). They also play VERY
loud. But, as I said before, they do not play as low, but this is really
only noticeable on test discs and some bass discs (not regular music).

So my point is don't be afraid of ported boxes. True, it is much easier to
make a bad sounding ported box than it is a bad sounding sealed box. But if
done right, you gain about 6 dB of SPL and you CAN STILL have excellent
sound quality.

MOSFET

[MOSFET]

"From my lurking, it would seem that the MTX and Alpine units would be the
better choices in this category. Would you agree with that?"

I agree, Tony. MTX and Alpine would be the brands I would look for.
Nick

[KU40]

MOSFET Wrote:
I'd stay away from any of the ported
boxes, though because they are likely tuned to 40-45 hz and will
have
pretty bad sound quality.

Oh here we go on this old argument....

Ported boxes DO NOT all sound like crap. It TOTALLY depends on the box
and
the subs being used with it. I will say that sealed boxes tend to
play
lower given the fact that ported boxes are not able to produce
significant
output (well, nearly any output) below the resonant frequency of the
port.

But that old argument that sealed boxes are somehow "tighter" than
ported
boxes is crap. Case in point, my two MTX 7500 12" in a ported box
sound
tighter (to me, anyway) than my old JL 12W3's in a sealed enclosure
(the
lower harmonics of the snare drum sounds "snappier"). They also play
VERY
loud. But, as I said before, they do not play as low, but this is
really
only noticeable on test discs and some bass discs (not regular music).

So my point is don't be afraid of ported boxes. True, it is much
easier to
make a bad sounding ported box than it is a bad sounding sealed box.
But if
done right, you gain about 6 dB of SPL and you CAN STILL have
excellent
sound quality.

MOSFET

I said nothing about transient response. I said sound quality. I run
a ported box myself and believe it has very good transient response and
as good sound quality as I want in any fashion. The problem with those
premade boxes, as I said, is that they are tuned high. they will have
a huge peak in response at about 50 hz and have no low end. horrible
frequency response range and loudness discrepencies within that range.
my box is tuned to 30 hz and is basically flat in frequency response
from 25 hz and up. I wanted the extra 30-40 hz output, which is
normally where sealed boxes start decreasing in SPL.

so you just wasted your written breath.


--
KU40

[MOSFET]

The problem with those
premade boxes, as I said, is that they are tuned high. they will have
a huge peak in response at about 50 hz and have no low end. horrible
frequency response range and loudness discrepencies within that range.
my box is tuned to 30 hz and is basically flat in frequency response
from 25 hz and up. I wanted the extra 30-40 hz output, which is
normally where sealed boxes start decreasing in SPL.

so you just wasted your written breath.


OK, fair enough. I stand corrected. I didn't know you meant SPECIFICALLY
those premade "blue-light special" boxes.

MOSFET