these types of questions usually belong in the beginners section but i need help choosing but first:

* i cannot go and listen to ANY of these, so i want feedback if you have heard any of these

* needs to run at 1.5-3 ohm were it will be getting 500 RMS from my DLS A5

* I already have a Boston Competitor is it worth the upgrade

* I listen a lot of different music from the gayest pop to the hardest rap

* would like it to 'hit hard' where you can feel it in your chest

and the nominees are:

* JBL GTI 10" -$550
* Rainbow Profi Vanadi 12" or something -$580
* Boston Pro 12" -$500
* Xtant 12" (the hexagonal one) -$500

Thanks.

hrmm tough choice, imo i wouldnt go the JBL, purely as a) its only a 10" and B) its not in the same leauge as boston, rainbow or xtant

thats about all i could help with, ive heard the xtant and the boston, and both sounded brilliant. id personally go the boston, but im a boston guy, the xtant is one of the favorite subs ive ever heard.

ive heard many, many good things about rainbow and im sure their subs are excellent. perhaps not as loud as the boston or xtant.

thats about all i could say though

realistically, any of those 3 will make u more than happy and provide ample quality for any sq system

Nice fence sitting, NUMB(nuts)
I'll be running the Rainbow 12 when it arrives and I'm sure it will be beautiful. The 10 version of it has won some major awards in Europe...keep in mind if you want it, the sub will need to be pre-ordered. Its not a case of popping down your local dealer and picking one up, not yet anyway.

the boston pro and xtant hex are tried and proven SQ subs IMO. excellent SQ is available with the right application (subbox, amp , etc). both available as 2ohm versions (eg: DVC 4/4ohm) to suit your amp.

i know little about JBL subs, so not sure on their SQ ability. again, it would depend on their box requirements. likewise the rainbow.

if you can get the relevant thiele-small specs (ie: Fs, Qts, Vas) for them, we can plug them into subbox design programmes to see what boxes would suit (and what may or may not suit your space availability in your car). also ported vs sealed, etc.

Go the jbl all the time, I mean these guys are the true profesionals, They deal mainly in concert gear but when it comes to car audio they have definatly got money in research and development. They have few products out and thats becuase they dont mass market with new gimmicks and products. How many differnt colours have the sony, pionner and kenwoods come out in. Great product at great price and without the need to add fancy trimmings.

umm dude, out of those 4 subs JBL would have to be the most commercial out of them

and i hate to tell you but they do alot of mass market gear, but they do have some pretty nice hi end stuff!

how about the JL Audio subs? :?