So I'm looking at replacing my 2 12" Alpine SWR-1222D's running on an MRD-M605 with a single SWX-1243D but need a little help with selecting the new amp and box. Im looking for the loudest & clearest package.

1. amp: Im between the PDX-1.1000 and the MRP-M1000 amps.
2. box: Should I purchase a ported or non ported box? Should it face forward or backwards?
3. Cap: Do I need a capacitor and if so how many farads? and any suggestions on brand/model? (prefer red digital display if its needed)
4. Will I need to upgrade my altinator to handle the additoinal power needed to run the system?

Thanks for the help.

 

Build your own box.
No Caps.
You should be fine with the stock alternator but do the "big 3" wiring upgrade.

 

ok spider Im going to take your suggestion and go with the "big 3" My friend was saying alpine cancelled the pdx-1.1000 so my options are the pdx-m12 or the mrp-m1000. Like I said before Im trying to achieve the loudest possible cleanest sounds bass. Any suggestions? And also should I go with a ported or sealed box?

Thanks

 

I'd personally go with the PDX-M12. As far as box, if you want clean, generally speaking, you'd want a sealed box, but since you are dropping the coin on that sub, I'm sure you could find a professional to build you a nice ported box to get Clean and Loud. I've always had my subs pointed towards the back. Seems counterintuitive to fire it into solid metal. Unless you are going to open your passthrough, I guess. I can't see a need for upgrading any wires, or a cap, or altenator. The whole point of a Class-D amp is efficiency. I had a PDX-1.1000 and and PDX-2.150 running in my 1995 prelude. I could crank it and never had any dimming issues. No upgrades to electrical at all.

 

If you want clean and clear, are you willing to consider brands outside of alpine?

 

Hmm, he wants it loud too though. Depending on integration, I would say JL W7 in a JL built enclosure, only because I have experience with it. There are sooooo many sub brands out there, so I'm sure you could list at least 10 alternatives.

 

How much space are you looking to take up?

 

whats your budget?

 

According to crutchfield, the type x 12 is 449

So, i guess around that ball park.

If space is a concern, my choice would be 2 or 3 dayton ho 10's

They work in tiny vented (.7 each)

If space isn't a concern, 3 or 4 8's would be nice. The new type r's are cool, along with the tc sounds epic, dayton hf,sundown sa, and jbl gto

 

Ahh yeah, multiple 8s are very nice. And with all the new shallow mount speakers, which I assume sound as good as normal ones, it would take next to zero space. And yeah for $449 I would expect it to do it all.

 

Im partial to Alpine stuff becuase a local shop my friend works at specializes in their stuff and I get everything Alpine at cost plus Ive always used their equipment problem free. I went with the PDX-M12 amp and I decided I will build my own box. Im just up in the air about porting the box or facing it forward or back. My friend recommended facing it away from the front of the car and porting the box but my Type-R's I had prior to that were ruined from things hitting them in the trunk which is why I was thinking of facing this one forward. Just figured I'd check with my azine people before building the box. Ive never built a ported box before which was the main reason I was going to go with the sealed box. I purchased my last box for my Type R's off ebay so will use that as a template so the back side of the box will be flush across the trunk for a professional looking finish.

 

Build a ported box where the sub points through the ski pass hole and the port vents up through the stock sub hole. ...or build a sealed box and mount it to the rear seat supports so that it fires through the ski pass. I don't think that alpine does anything that would work in IB.

The sealed box would be easier to get right. There are probably not too many ported designs that are made to fire up through the top.

 

Since you get everything at cost, go with a couple type r 8's sealed up

 

If it were me I would go with a ported box. I honestly think SQ is just as good as a sealed box and you get the extra output. Ported just like bandpasses got a bad rep for SQ because they're easier to screw up if not built and tuned right. I can tell you that my two 12W6s sounded better in the ported box and it sounded like the output nearly doubled. Same car, same amp, same subs.

There's always IB if you like it loud at very low frequencies but you need lots of cone area. Very efficient watt for watt, not so efficient for all out SPL except on the low notes, extraordinary SQ if done right. I have two 15s with a fair amount of excursion IB and I would consider this the minimum for an SQL setup in IB form. IB drivers are generally cheap but I have no idea what IB specific drivers are out there anymore besides AE which we all know have slight customer service problems. The only ones I can suggest that would give great SQ along with good output are the Image Dynamics IDQ15. They can be found very cheap and I've heard first hand they sound great. Very little power required, you could go with a smaller amp if needed.

 

What is your woodworking skill level? As IHC said a properly tuned ported enclosure would be great for output, maybe not as much for extension. If you are not completely comfortable with box parameters, port length, etc just buy a sub with a small sealed enclosure. Also I don't think sending the subs into the back seat is a good idea, unless you open up the passthrough. You will just be firing into sheetmetal.

 

Have you taken the back seat out of your TL? There are 2 strips of metal cross-bracing and the rest is fabric, foam and seat material which the output would need to go through anyway. There is considerably more sheet metal on the rear deck.

 

My woodworking skill level is pretty good (I have a friend whos a carpenter who will be helping me) and the plan is to direct the sub through the ski pass in the center of the back seat. Im planning on using alpine's spec for the box size and amp settings. I guess a ported box it will be. Does it make a different what direction I have the vent point for the ported box though? Ive always used sealed boxes so its a little new to me on how ported boxes work. Alpine is saying use a box with the dimesions of 13.5"x15.5"x20" for the ported box with a 1" vent area. With these specs I can pretty much send the vent any direction I want.

 

I'm no expert on ported boxes but I had the ports facing the same way as the subs and it sounded great. Never used Alpine but be careful as some manufacturers give specs more SPL oriented than SQ oriented. I'm sure the guys on here that have used them before would know.