The JL subs he showed me where same price as the Alpines so i dont know, there is a good audio specialty shop right across the street from my house so ill go ask them about ported and sealed for the two different subs. and for amps a good rule of thumb that i was told is its generally about $1 per watt. but thanks for all the help ill let you know how everything turns out.

 

Yes they do have those that are cheap...but i would never buy a cheap JL sub. I heard more negatives than positives and i had gone through some competitions. The cheapest i would go is a W6 ($300ish) sub from them or a W7 if you have $800.00. Again i can only go from what i hear on the street. The general rule of thumb may be right...however like i said i paid $140.00 and had my amp tested and it was 1107watts rms when rated for 1200rms @ 2ohms. I may have had a screaming deal then but i would only put that rule to work when you purchase a name brand amp (Kicker, Rockford, Alpine...) those are the ones that are roughly $1 per watt. Seriously check out that shop though. And take their advice over anyone elses they are trained to do one thing and that is why they are experts. Hell you could even get some nice Kicker subs too.

 

I can't help but have to clear up some misinformation here before making a recommendation. First of all, the size of subwoofer DOES NOT correlate to how good or bad it sounds, how "tight" or "loose" it plays, or how "fast" or "slow" it responds. The enclosure the driver is installed in, it's alignment, build, and the environment it plays inside of all contribute to the way it plays. A person can make an 18" sub play as "tight" as an 8" or 10" and could make an 8" or 10" play as boomy and loose as an 18", per say. The enclosure, its alignment, and it's environment or it's relationship to where it's going to spend it's time playing is the 98% deciding factor, not the size of the driver itself. Also, a ported enclosure can be built to outperform a sealed in SQ as well as it also can in output. Why do you think some of the most expensive, "Best" sounding, home audio speakers in the world use ported enclosures? As with everything in audio there have to be compromises and a person has to use the designs, alignments, and equipment that best serve to meet the goal.

That out of the way, I do agree a pair of 10's is a great way to go. They can get fairly loud, play plenty low in a well built enclosure and won't take up a great deal of real estate in the back of the truck. Fi was a great recommendation and with a $500 budget the "X" series would be fantastic paired with a ~1k amp the setup would sound great and also not require a multitude of electrical upgrades. The Incriminator Audio 187 series, the SSA DCON, and the soon to be released Sundown Audio "E" series are all also very nice drivers that like the Fi "X" will do very well without needing major power to run well. The JL, Alpine and other recommendations from the local shops are useful as well. However those are driven by the fact they need to sell equipment and will recommend and sell what makes them the most money and not necessarily what suits your tastes, budget, and ultimately meet your goal.

If I were you, a pair of 10" Fi X's or SSA DCON's in a well designed ported enclosure on a decent little 1k amp is the way I would go. Something in the neighborhood of 2cuft tuned to 34hz with either a 50sqin slot port or a pair of 4" aeroports would be quite efficient, dig plenty low and still sound very "tight". Complete with this Knukonceptz wiring kit will fit the bill and be within your budget, that is, if you have the tools and you're comfortable building your own enclosure. Otherwise a custom built enclosure from a reputable builder is going to be about another $150, possibly less with some looking around and price haggling.

No matter what you end up buying don't let a local dealer/builder force you to go with a pre-built ported enclosure. They're mass built and not even remotely designed, and tuned to work well with 90% of the drivers available on the market. Even if it's a sealed enclosure make sure to verify the enclosure volume meets the manufacturers recommendation. Also, don't let a local dealer talk you into buying something just because they say it's what you need, or should have. Force them to tell you why, verify that information with others or even the manufacturer themselves. Ask for the names and phone numbers of other customers that have bought the same equipment they're recommending you so you can get their opinion, ESPECIALLY if they specifically mention that person's vehicle and not their name. Shops use lots of tricky ways to sell equipment to people, that's their job and they're good at it. Your job as a consumer is to get the most out the money you spend which often times really takes patience and time. Any dealer who gets offended or aggravated at you for poking, prodding, asking a million questions and coming into the store 20 times before you buy anything is not a dealer you want to do business with.

 

Ok, first off. the BTL is never to be sealed, the site even says sealed is N/A


if you want subs that hit lows, take some good power in a ported box but will still hit quickly and stay low on the budget scale, look at other companies other than the name brand that local stores carry.

JL, Alpine and Rockford are great companies, i've used all 3 and had an all JL setup last.


Look into Sundown Audio, SSA, Incriminator and others.

I installed 2 SSA Dcon 12s yesterday in a ported box running off an MB Quart Onx 1000.1D and it sounded great. got plenty loud but still kept punch and hit all notes rather than just constant low rumble.

grand total was $420 which left $80 for a custom box.

Just throwing some ideas out there for you. Main stream companies are good but at the same time, you can get just as good, if not better, subs for less money.

 

I am not an audio guy, but IMO I would choose Jl's over alpine... I have had bad experiences on multiple occasions with their type S line... They make wicked amps and decks but IMO are over priced compared to others in their class

 

Oh wow thanks for the clarification and all the info Alton, and MT. i have been doing alot of looking around and a lot of question asking at different audio shops, and the idiots at car toys are pretty clueless, the mom and pop audio shops where much more helpful. they told me if im getting a sub with 400RMS (like the kicker Comp VR that i was looking at) then get a amp that pushes like 350 watts, so under power it and that will cut down on distortion and make it play better. Then i found out from my parents i have a cousin who swaps out his sub and amp stuff every month and has a best friend who owns a audio specialty shop and gets all his stuff whole sale and he would set me up with whatever i wanted. he also told me the same thing about slightly under powering the sub. So now my budget grew by quiet alot lol cuz i can get everything so cheep now. He said he has two 2010 kicker 12" Solo-Baric L7's that he would sell me for $50 ea. and he would just give me the amp required to push them. which will probably be 1500+ watts. so my new question is: will i have to upgrade my battery to run 1500+ watts? i have a brand new interstate battery and when i bought the truck the alternator failed so the dealer put a new one in and i believe its better than stock but ill have to find a serial number on the alternator to find that out for sure.

 

Yeah I've always had more luck talking with the smaller shops as well. Although the statement above feels as though its as far from the truth as it could get. Running full power and above has no ill effect on the driver itself (when used within reason) and does nothing to hurt the sound. In most cases it helps to reduce distortion and clipping from the amplifier itself. I can go into a ton of detail on this but I believe THIS article will explain almost everything you need to know on the subject quite well.

On the other hand, getting those subs for that cheap is a deal that no one should pass up as long as they're in working condition. I question what amp you'll get, but as you mentioned on the shift in the budget, you can always buy yourself a nicer amp if you need to. If you do a BIG 3 wiring upgrade along with a brand new alt and a good battery you'll be on the limit but should be able to run that much power okay IMO.

Let us know how the deal works out.

 

yeah its crazy how he can get all his stuff so cheap, just takes knowing the right people i guess, and the subs are pretty much brand new. the amp is a precision power black ice amp and i have always liked precision power amps. here's a link to the amp PrecisionPower - Products - Amplifiers - Black Ice - BK2100.1D but im not sure if im going to do that now, he offered me his two rockford fosgate P3D4-12's that havent even come out of the box for 90$ ea. decisions decisions.. i will definitely let you guys know what i go with, ill also take a look on the article because that sounded kinda weird that they said that.

 

That precision power you're talking about would cook the Rockfords if wired down to 1 ohm haha. looks like a good amp though but not what you'd be looking for on a low budget build

 

yeah lol i know it would, thats just the one he has and would give me dirt cheap. but he said if i went with the rockfords i would either have to wire them to 4 or 2 ohms. crap now i have even more choices, he said he just got two rockford fosgate P3D4-10's for cheap because his friends shop was over stocked with them. so now i guess its a choice of do i want it to just sound good in my car or do i want it to sound good everyone around me. which could also lead to big tickets lol.