Hi there guys, i have searched, couldnt find anything in regards to what im after

I need a bit of help from the pros in getting some ideas for a decent sounding sub for my car

Been looking at the likes of the ID Max range, however im a bit lost in terms of what would be the best bang for buck choice for my existing sytem. I love the look of these subs and have heard plenty of good things about them, however ive noticed that their power handling is far greater than i need/want, and therefore potentially would lead into an expensive mistake

The amps which fall into my price range only put out about 300-350wrms (ie.audison SRX1, SRX3 and the like). Dont really want to go any more as my fronts are only 75wrms, and would easily get drained out with anything louder. Would it be a waste runing something like an ID Max of such little power?

Basically after any suggestions for some decent sounding 12" subs which will work with the power i have available - i listen to various music genre, but mostly commercial dance, electronic and rock if that makes a difference

My budget is around the 500 mark, new or second hand....

cheers dan

2 Alpine type S 12'' sealed, often overlooked, lovely sounding low power subs. Really a lot of the name brand entry level subs can sound pretty good in well damped sealed enclosures.

350wrms will be enough to power an idmax but will be nowhere near enough to drive it to capacity. it would be a shame to buy a sub that is capable of a lot more only to underpower it so it will not reach its peak performance.

there are many sub options around the $500 mark (incl alpine, focal, treo etc) but if you feel the idmax might be overkill but are still keen on an image dynamics product the idq series may be more suitable and a brand new one will fit in your budget. personally though i would be saving a bit more to get an amp that will have enough power in reserve to make the sub perform as well as possible coz if you buy a good sub/s then cheap out on powering it then you wont get the best out of it.

Case in point: i was running an idq12 (yeh im biased ) off 300wrms but recently upgraded my amps to feed it ample power and the difference is remarkable.

It really dose depend on your setup, but i've found that for most sq setups, you don't need huge amounts of power. I've run my boston with 800w rms, 500wrms and now its down to 200 wrms and could find no discernable difference at the levels that i tune my system to

Have a look at the peerless stuff as they are inexpensive and htere's nothing but good things about them coming from the sq crowd.

With 300WRMS why not go with the lower ID series or IDQ, they will be much more happy with 300WRMS.
Sure the IDMAX will play fine with it[300WRMS], but give it the power it needs and it will really shine.

And seriously as Volenti said, Alpine Type-S subs don't sound that bad at all, and do work well with that power.

idq version 3 when they come out might be a good choice.

Infinity perfect 12?

thanks for the replys guys

well to be honest some of my interest in the IDMax was based upon its looks as im planning a nice intall in the back of the golf

main question here is whether the ID Max would sound bad with 350 odd rms compared to a sub which has a recomended/max rms closer to this?

also, i am currently running 2 x JL audio 12WO series (old school), was thinking that stuff like the lower end alpines which people have been recomending would be pretty much on par with what i have? have these products improved from a year or so ago? i heard some type s subs and they sounded rather muddy compared to my JL's...

keep the sugestions flowing...

second hand boston g5

Focal, Hertz, and DLS all have good SQ subs in your budget.

I think most of the subs mentioned will sound great in a well suited box

An IDMAX is an extremely sensitive sub (93.2dB 1w/1m, according to ID). This would have to make it one of the most sensitive 'traditional' 12" subs on the planet

You really do NOT need big power to run one of these, and run it well. Unless you want to compete in SPL comps or slaugher yourself (they are $hit loud off 1,000w), 350w is more then enough.

At the end of the day, don't worry about power handling at all. Quality of power and proper setu are IMOmuch more important then how much power you give it (within reason, of coruse).

Given a quality amp, there is absolutely no reason at all as to why an IDMAX can't sound $hit-hot off 300w or even 100w of good, clean power.

I honestly dont know how ID came to that figure of 93dB, but if you run the T/S specs, the SPL is more like 88dB, which IMO is more accurate. I've seen testing parameters somewhere for these as well, and they're definitely less then 90dB. The only subs that are truly greater then 90dB are the DD, and pro-audio designs that I'm aware of.

I agree though it isnt about how much power you feed it. The more power you run in, the more power you waste. Efficiency should be the key with such small amounts of power. Build a ported box, and you'll never have a problem with 350W RMS. Just know that the #1 reason it doesnt sound as ballsy as another guys IDMax is because of your power.

well im looking at either a Audison SRX3 or SRX1 mono both have an output of 350wrms at 2ohms

would this be considered a 'decent' enough amp to give the sub some clean decent power?

also, how hard would it be to build a ported enclosure for one of these? ive always built/had sealed as ive heard of people putting hours of work into ported enclosures and still sounding like crap...

idqv3 is a small version of the idmax but is a little more efficient so can work better with your 200-350watts rms. Image dynamics even recommends the idqv3 over the idmax with sub amps that size.

if you want looks then the idq v3 is the way to go it looks like a minature idmax...without the need for as much power and it requires a smaller box and its half the price of an idmax.

pics :

http://imagedynamicsusa.com/forum/iDPhotos...ry_16_52154.jpg

http://www.imagedynamicsusa.com/forum/inde...amp;showentry=6

Possible.

The main website actually does list it at 88.dB (just checked now), but the tech sheet lists it as 93 (both labelled as 1w/1m).

*shrugs*

Either way, I've run one of these off a 600w amp, a 900w amp, and off about 250w worth of amp (900w amp in stereo). 250w was plenty for EQ purposes and any more then this would be 'just for the sake of it' unless you want to give it the occasional burp.

All that said, remember that the IDMAX isn't really what I'd call a 'pure SQ' sub. It's a nvery good sounding sub that can wallop your head in effortlessly when asked to, but for pure SQ there are better units out there.

As Matt suggested, given your power level I'd look for something with reasonably high sensitivity - no lower then about 87dB-88dB. Some subs that have impressed me so far in terms of SQ are:

* Morel Ultimo
* Peerless XXLS
* Eclipse 8200
* Rainbow Vanadium

Sensitivity may be of concern for the Ultimo and Eclipse. The Eclipse needs a hell of a lot of power to get it's butt moving, but the Ultimo didn't seem so bad. As far as sensitivity, the Rainbow and Peerless will give you no problems at all.

I don't think sensitivity is going to be the only thing you need to look for.

look for something that is rated at the RMS range you want to use,

For example Muzzy suggested the Eclipse 8200.. I had one of these things
and happen to know they required gobsmacking amounts of power to get anything like
a reasonable amount of output out of them.. for a quick example my 10" SQ style 8mm xmax Focal Sub at the time
would provide the same amount of SPL for 3-4 times less power than the Eclipse needed to get moving. (the Eclipse has 30mm xmax btw)

the eclipse would indeed blow the focal into the weeds given the right amount of power.. but 1000W + is a little silly.
and not a easy load for your alternator to deal with on a daily basis. With the same amount of power (like 200W) the Focal
was so much louder is was rediculous. It wasn't down to sensitivity because there ratings where similar.

Probably one sub I tried that was very nice, had alot of output, and didn't need tooo much power was the JL Audio 12W6V2.

I agree these things are around $1k mark, but I picked myn up for a shade under $700, if you look carefully you might find even better.

and they are 400W RMS, can be ported or sealed.. Choose the 10" version if you have a little hatchback or a generally small car. (i've seen the 10" pull 137db in a SQ enclosure before thats more than anyone needs for daily driving) unfortunatly the JL's are often overlooked because they are mostly sold by idiots (chainstores) across Australia. good way to ruin a brand I guess.

FYI I don't run the JL 12W6V2 now.. but it was one of the better subs I've owned.

There is heaps of subs, but it's so easy to get a doozy.. sometimes they don't work in your particular car too. good luck.

Juls

Are the JL's still in good condition? if they are and you like the way they sound why not stick with them? or update to new JL entry levels.

Because my Focal 33KX suits me better.. more SQ and less Doofness. (don't confuse that, the JL I had still outshines or equals many other offerings IMO IE: G5, IDMAX V3, Type X, DD ect within the SQL type under $1000 range.)

The JL W3V3's are also excellent, the biggest issue with JL is it's overpriced here, badly.
so you need to shop hard to find one.. it's always been the problem with the JL product is
it's price keeps putting it's competing products out of there competing range.. if you get my understanding.

Juls