subs.. any opinions?

A) 1 15" RE SE
B) 2 12" adire shivas
C) 2 12" kicker comp vrs
D) 1 15" adire tempest
E) other suggestions?

lookin for somethin thats about 200-250 after shipping and will give me the best spl (without totally compromising sq hopefully) for the money. feel free to make other suggestions im not at all stuck on any of these subs

how much space do you have available?

dont know exactly how many cubic feet... i have a 96 explorer.. i think the cargo area is about 40" by maybe 30"? but i didnt want to have to take the whole area up if possible

go with 2 shivas. they best setup for sound quality and SPL compared to the others.

now you have to decide if you want to use a ported or sealed box.

according to adire, the shivas have a tested xmax of 16.6mm.. i dont knwo much about ts parameters but if a sub has a big excursion does that mean the spl will be bigger? for example kicker L7s have an xmax of somethin like 12.2? or something like that.. but does this mean that shiva will put up a bigger spl number because its moving more air?

well there are alot of things that influence a woofers SPL capabilities. but in the end all that matters is:

a.) how much real world cone area you have
b.) how much linear air you are displacing
c.) and how fast you are displacing that linear air

2 shivas will clearly give best SPL and as far as SQ

2 shivas and 1 tempest will be about the same. but remember you will need more power to make thoes 2 shivas move to full excursion.

VR's will give satisfactory SPL but unsatisfactory SQ and they SPL wont be that of even one RE SE.

if your not a big SQ fan but still want a reserved ammount of SQ look at DD's lower lines as well. they will give great SPL and better SQ than the kickers. around equal to the RE SE.

well i looked at some of the lower DD subs and the only problem i saw was money.. i couldnt find really anything from them that seemed like it would compete with the subs i had listed unless i paid at least 300 or so.. if you know of a place where they are cheaper then let me know.. and just to make sure... youre pick out of those would be the shivas right fryman? also, if thats the case.. what kind of rms power do you think i need for 2 shiva 12s because i know with those subs you can get them to bottom out before they get the power suggested from adire

there is the 2515 or 2 1012. if you put a shiva up agiasnt a 1012 the 1012 will need a bit more power but will be a bit louder with that extra power.

however. 400w total to a single shiva will be more than enough.

Some amps i would reccomend:

NINe.1 (http://www.edesignaudio.com/edamps.htm)
Pheonix Gold R15.0:1 (http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=12983)
Hifonics BX 1500D (http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=13121)
Tru Tech Hammer Series H1 (http://www.trutechnology.com/hammer_series.htm)
Tru Tech Copper series c-7.2 (http://www.trutechnology.com/copper_series.htm)

(if you do invest in any trutech amp BE VERY CAREFUL. these amps are underrated even more so than the NINe.1. where it says 1000wx1 @2ohm it means more like 1800wx1 @2ohm. these amps have the ability to tie up, rape, and systematicaly excecute your vehicles electrical system. though you will only need the gains barely turned up and they will run ice cold and wont draw much current when you are playing the shivas. if you ver upgrade to Brahmas or XXX's and need more power, a altinator, battery, and fuse block upgrade will most liekly be required. Tru Tech is, IMO, one of the best amp companies out there. they will provide you with years of high quality, low distorion, high power output. you have been warned)

there is also USA amps but their prices may scare you... lol

i'd say the 2 shivas is your best bet. use a rockford 1000bd, sounds like a winning combinamtion, but that nine.1 would also work well. what is your price range for the amp?

probably about 300 if possible.. however if nothing good can really be had for that kinda money then id be willing to spend a little more (like 50?) if i knew the amp would be well worth it

also i was just thinking.. do you guys have much experience with the shivas? it might be because im such a newbie but the shivas are kinda makin me think twice.. i mean it seems like they were kinda developed as home audio subs and will "work" as car subs if you want them to.. and also i live in ohio and im not sure ive even heard of adire audio before(not to mention the website isnt all that updated or elaborate like some are). i have heard good things about the subs but its tough goin off of what people are tellin me when ive never seen/heard the sub personally. i guess the biggest reason im so skeptical is because i was more in the 200 range and the shivas are 250.. i just want to make sure that these things are really worth the money. I had 2 kicker L5 solo barics and sold them before they got used but if the shivas are better in SQ and equal (or at least close) in SPL then i would be glad to give my $250 to adire. any responses would help me out.. thanks guys

also i was just thinking.. do you guys have much experience with the shivas? it might be because im such a newbie but the shivas are kinda makin me think twice.. i mean it seems like they were kinda developed as home audio subs and will "work" as car subs if you want them to.. and also i live in ohio and im not sure ive even heard of adire audio before(not to mention the website isnt all that updated or elaborate like some are). i have heard good things about the subs but its tough goin off of what people are tellin me when ive never seen/heard the sub personally. i guess the biggest reason im so skeptical is because i was more in the 200 range and the shivas are 250.. i just want to make sure that these things are really worth the money. I had 2 kicker L5 solo barics and sold them before they got used but if the shivas are better in SQ and equal (or at least close) in SPL then i would be glad to give my $250 to adire. any responses would help me out.. thanks guys

the shiva's are great, and for 250$ you'd be hard pressed to find a better sub. they have great sq, and get very loud, the l5's have more cone area, and have the potienial to get louder, but the shiva is very well made, and i assure you, they pound. i heard one off 400 watts, in a sealed box, wow. if you don't wanna spend that much, what is wrong with a single tempest?

ok thanks for the advice.. i think im gonna ens up with the shivas.. the only reason i kinda had an issue with the money is because i started lookin at the comp vrs and they were 2 for 180.. and my price range was more in the 200 range.. but then i started thinking about how nice i heard the shivas were and thought well if its really worth the 50 bucks for much better subs then i might as well pay it. so its worth it to me to pay the extra 100 for 2 shivas vs. the tempest to make sure i get the extra spl out of it. im glad im getting great sq too though. thanks.

now my question is.. should i go ported? i know the shivas like huge enclosures when ported (2.5/ 3 cu. ft per sub?) but like i said.. if its worth the spl to go ported ill do it. dont get me wrong im nto competing.. but id like to be able to be heard. give me an opinion on whether it would be worth the space. also, should i tune to about 32-33 hz? i listen to rap mostly but id like good sq for rock/ska etc.

and is it much harder to build a ported box? ive built a couple sealed boxes before but never ported.

i have a 93 dodge shadow hatchback and with the amp low as it can go the hatch back rattles any solutions?

ok thanks for the advice.. i think im gonna ens up with the shivas.. the only reason i kinda had an issue with the money is because i started lookin at the comp vrs and they were 2 for 180.. and my price range was more in the 200 range.. but then i started thinking about how nice i heard the shivas were and thought well if its really worth the 50 bucks for much better subs then i might as well pay it. so its worth it to me to pay the extra 100 for 2 shivas vs. the tempest to make sure i get the extra spl out of it. im glad im getting great sq too though. thanks.

now my question is.. should i go ported? i know the shivas like huge enclosures when ported (2.5/ 3 cu. ft per sub?) but like i said.. if its worth the spl to go ported ill do it. dont get me wrong im nto competing.. but id like to be able to be heard. give me an opinion on whether it would be worth the space. also, should i tune to about 32-33 hz? i listen to rap mostly but id like good sq for rock/ska etc.

and is it much harder to build a ported box? ive built a couple sealed boxes before but never ported.

ported is a little more complicated, but not much. imo its worth the space, and maybe tune a little lower, like 27ish

ok. if i tune to 27 though, dont i need pretty strong midbass woofers since the subs wont be playing higher tones? i dont know how it works but im assuming the lower you tune, the lower the cutoff is for higher frequencies. if this is the case, my 6x8s are sony and put out pretty shitty midbass. id like to make sure my subs will still hit some of the higher notes (maybe 90hz and below?) i dont know much about frequencies.. help me out

I'm gunna go against the crowd and say go with an se 15. Where in ohio are you? If your near columbus i can let you hear an se 15 and some shivas.

well bumpinstang i live in toledo... i wish i could come down just to hear em anyways but i think im gonna end up goin with the kickers..

now before everybody kills me for goin with the 'worst' subs on the list.. consider that this is the first sub setup ive put in my car so sq isnt a huge deal to me right now since i havent gotten used to it... also the moneys gettin tighter as the days go by and the vrs were the cheapest (2 for about $150).

also, the biggest reason that i dont really care so much about what i have for the time being is that when i have the money im gonna sell the kickers and buy an actual system.. meaning components and probably 3 ways aimed at sq (with an amp for all speakers) and probably a brahma or xxx. (not to mention prolly a couple hundred worth of sound deadening)

so i guess for now the cheapest subs will do. as it is i have a sony HU and cheap sony speakers without an amp. cant wait til i actually have an income and can buy real speakers hah thanks for the input anyways guys.

well tuneing all depends on how much SPL yo uwant and how flat you want your responce curb to be. low 30's gives good balence for most woofers. tuneing in the mid-high 20's will give you responce almost as flat as sealed.... and still have a 3dB gain and louder in the lower Hz's.

also thanks but i think ill go sealed for these kickers to try and save some sq without confusing the hell otu of myself with port lenghts and all that.. plus for now id like to save some space.. plus i heard that subs arent under quite as much stress in sealed boxes because of the suspension pressure from the air... even though this really doesnt matter to me cause im gettin rid of em after a while .. but still thanks for the info