I have a 12 inch kicker powered by a fosgate punch 45 (old I know) but the punch 45 powers the sub really nicely. The kicker is older I'm not sure what material it's made out of but im pretty sure it's not paper cone. My question is if I got a new alpine type s 12" sub (or any middle quality sub) will it sound better than the 12" kicker with that amp? The kicker is nice but Its not as smooth or deep as I want. Or maybe is it the amp that is causing to not be smooth? I have heard alot of good things about that amp but I don't know, I just started to get into audio so I'm clueless right now.

 

sounds to me like your problem is in the enclosure, and not the euipment. What tpe of enclosure are you using? was it built for the specific sub you are using, or is it just a generic enclosure?

 

its not ported i dont really know how to describe it its probably just generic because i took the sub to the audio shop and they put it in the box they said was best so no its probably not specific for the sub. would ported be better? thanks for the reply

 

build your own enclosure, i had a friend who had a sony xplod sub, and a pioneer sub, but man those things hit hard!

the box was ported of course

 

there is no rule that says one box type will sound better than the other. Its all very dependent on the sub itself. My recommendation would be to go to the kicker website and look up the enclosure recommendations for your particular sub. Build the encloure to match and you should be happier.

 

changing the box does make sense. i dont know what kind of kicker i have because i bought it from a friend i just know its older. but i will post a picture of it here. also i had car toys did all the install and they told me i didnt really have a choice as to were my amps went. so they put them on the back of my seat and i have never seen that done befor. i appreciate the replies

 

that is most definitely a prefab enclosure. Take the sub out and look for the model number.

 

alright i will. oh have you ever seen amps put were mine are?

 

WOW!! That's an OLD Kicker sub from way back in the day. It's not impossible that the amp could be causing you problems, but IMHO that sub could very easily be worn out. I've replaced foam surrounds on really old woofers that the spiders were worn out on and caused them to sound very unnatural. That's due to the fact that the spider isn't offering near as much compliance (control) to the cone movement and making them sound like ***.

I would suggest seeing if you could borrow a friend's sub and hook it up for a bit and see how it sounds. If everything sounds fine then the sub is just too old. Another problem is I highly doubt Kicker still has any information available for something that old and chances are it was designed for a sealed enclosure like many were in that era. If a newer sub still sounds like the old one does then your amp could have some capacitors dried up in it or something else wrong. If that's the case you should probably stop using it right away as something like dried capacitors can cause fires.

Try connecting another sub and let us know what you find. I think you'll be farther ahead by going ahead and buying a new sub. The Alpine Type S or R isn't a bad way to go, the S a little better suited to the power you have available right now. If you wanted something American made that's a little nicer you could try an Ascendant Audio Assassin, Fi X, DC Level 2, or an SSA DCON which are all VERY nice subs rated for lower power setups. They don't cost an arm and a leg and they perform like you simply can't imagine.

 

you can mount an amp anywhere you want as long as it has proper cooling.