spykedawg

this past weekend some of my car audio homies met up and let each other try out each others subs

test quipment:
jvc digifine sh55
crossfire cfa402 (lp xover fixed at 70 hz)
[all tests done in the trunk of a 93 ls400 with the stock sub out, but not matted due to me competing with a semi wall and not in the trunk]
a) illusion audio nd12
b) adire shiva
c) soundstream exact
d) crystal cmp (version 1) 12

first up to bat is the nd12. i gotta admit i was a little disappointed with this sub. it was in a 1 cube sealed with a pound of polyfill. first i noticed was the output level, or lack there of. this couldve been because 400 watts was close to pushing its max linear xmax so i lowered my gains a little because i did not want to damage someone else's sub, or my fixed xover point was too high for the sub. i know it wasnt meant for spl, but i would expect more from a 300 dollar woofer. kick drums were phenominal, but again, lacked output. low extension wasnt that great, upper bass was darn good though.

next up is the shiva in a 3 cube ported to 23 hz. output was great, probably the loudest of the 4 subs i tested. nice and linear all the way past 75 hz or so (till my xover kicked in, playing sine waves from 20-80). midbass wasnt as defined as the nd12, but it wasnt far off (maybe throwing the shiva in a sealed enclosure aligned to about .7 qtc couldve probably helped). i'm gonna have to say the shiva is the all around winner, with the given test boxes.

third in line was the soundstream exact in a 1.25 no fill. nothing exciting here, just an sq sub doing its job. good kick drums, decent low end response, output was ok (but with a lot of headroom, the sub was just asking for more power). an all around decent sub, price tags a little high though.

speaking of high price tags, the cmp comes in costing the most, but well worth the chunk of change. tested in a 1.15 sealed, it barely moved with my amps 400 watts. low end was commanding, giving the ported shiva a run for its money. kick drums werent bad, output level was also almost as good as the shivas. (given: this might be a little biased because the cmp is mine and i was looking for a sub more defined, just didnt really find it in my trunk)

maybe it was the test car, maybe it was my fixed 70hz xover, maybe it was my non matted trunk, but i wasnt all that impressed with these sq subs in a lexus trunk, which is why im going back to spl. im going to tell you now that i would give the nd12 more credit if it was in another car (heard it in a 93 integ and it was so defined it just disappeared in the music, but i still wont recommend it for the basshead stepping into the sq world), not too sure about the ss exact. but for our trunks, im gonna have to say for daily use the cmp would be my first choice, tempest/shiva next, oz 300l, idq, exact...with the nd12 bringing up the rear. i need to get my hands on a focal/dyn/idmax (hey retro, you gonna let me hear that max of yours?)

retrodrive

Cool review man! I also had a chance to listen to nd12 but it was in a Civic CRX. I loved how it worked with the speakers (Dynaudios btw). I am not sure what the box was in terms of its size, but it was relatively small sealed one. I loved the quality, but I would not use nd12 to crank it up!

I also had pleasure to audition Eclipse Alums 2 10" vs Titaniums 2 10". Surprisingly alums were better in quality and sounded just as loud as titaniums. The components were Rainbow Refs in Kicks and Dynaudios in doors. Those subs blended real nice with the mysic, but I was concentrating more on how Rainbows were sounding . Now there are 2 12" IDMAX subs in that truck and it sounds increadible. Although it has about 9 layers of Dynamat Extreeme (RAAMmat actually...the same thing) on its roof, it still moved good 1.5 inch when we played some bass tracks.

I am pretty sure that Adire will come out with even more impressive woofers knowing that Dan Wiggins (Personally I consider him one of top 3 loudspeaker designers) is behind that company.

Audiomobile MASS vs Crystal CMPX2. Ive had a chance to listen to both of them in similar setups and they sound so close that I couldn't differentiate between them. After all they are produce at the same factory. NEVER buy anything Audiomobile though. The company tends to screw people over.


Sure, I can give you that IDMAX for a while. I need to get my car where the woofer is currently is (not installed yet). I will have it back in a month time.


P.S. ou know Rick? The RAAMaudio guy? He took 5th at finals. Dam I bet he is pissed. I dunno what the reason was to get him below 3rd place since the battarey on his cell went out when we talked.

spykedawg

hehe, i didnt really want to borrow your max, just wanted to hear it in your car. honestly, if i get my hands on it, i dont think i can let go of that bad boy, so its much safer if i just hear it in your car

retrodrive

Well, I am planning to cut out the rear deck (one that is below the back window) and install the sub box there so that the sub would actually be insode the car. That will take a lot of woodwork and fiberglassinng...dunnio how long would hat take

spykedawg

let me know how it turns out. what are you gonna use to cut the deck, rotary tool? tin snips? jig saw? air chisel? i've debated on doing the same to my car (i've made numerous post on termpro asking for help) but never saw it wise (with the tools i have available) to do so. thats also another reason why im still in the spl world. i've heard too many lexi, benzos, and bimmers claim that the have the best sub in town, and that they spent $$$$ on it, and it ended up sounding like the next woofer twenty times cheaper just because it couldnt get past our trunks. thats why if you can do that rear deck cut, i'll bow down, you're a real car audiophile. (im already bowing down just imagining rainbows in kicks). then, maybe you can give me some pointers on how i can cut my rear deck (a kW on my cmp 12 on the rear deck....hmm, interesting).

zxlr8

I Have already taken out the rear deck with tin snips and then laid the carpet back over it. I have hit 141 db with my SQ setup( 3 Boston 12s in the trunk). I am going to take the carpet out and flush mount them on the rear deck with some kind of box/fiberglass. I have pics too.

retrodrive

OK. Here is the idea that I am using. After reading this piece I am debating if I should go with 2 IDMAX or just one.

Read how he used the fiberglass in this install. Me and Rick (RAAMaudio) will probably do the same thing with my car since we are helping each other out all the time. Should be a killer

http://www.sounddomain.com/member_pa...page_id=141628

TX GS

What are your goals?

retrodrive

My goal is SQ, but i did the wiring in 1/0 so I can upgrade to some serious power if I need to. I guess if I wanna crank it up sometimes, I would have the ability to do so as well.

TX GS

I'd go with one ID max in a 1.3 cu ft box after displacement.

Power it properly and you'll be a happy camper.

retrodrive

MTX RFL sounds like ***. Also MTX subs have ****ty reputation in car audio community. DD is pure SPL but it is much better in quality. Still, who would use a DD in a SQ competition.

I have heard what 1 IDMAX sounds like and I also had a chance to compare it with 2 of hem with double power. I like 2 better...thay are like v8 vs v4. Basically a lot of clean bass withought any strain on a sub. We'll see.