w7, re xxx, stroker ?

[DetroitSteel88]

Well, I have been out of the car audio game for about 7 years, and am looking for some advice.

This what I used to have:
(2) 12" Old Schoo Cerwin Vega Strokers (orange dual spider)
(2) HiFonics Brutus 2400 amps
Each getting 2.35ft in a slot ported box tuned to 33hz.
hit 147.6db with no sound deadening.

I do NOT want that again haha. It was too much.

I recently stumbled on a 10" custom professional built box at a thrift store for $20, so I felt compelled to buy it!

I only want one sub, but money is not an issue.

I CAN make the 10" box into a 12", there is enough room.
so what is out there? Is RE still making good product?

Sound quality is extremely important, but I would like to rattle my brain once in awhile.

The old school strokers were a true SQL sub- they could soud very tight with minimal distortiom and get extremely loud


Help!

Thanks

 

[blazinlow89]

RE got bought by US amps they still make a nice product and have cheaper lines to get more mainstream sales. The downside, most production shifted overseas. Have you seen the new XXX btw, it is no longer the 12 spoke XBL^2 power house they used to be. They are monsters naw, can consume large amounts of power and require enclosures that can handle the extreme weight and pressure that can be created. W7 is to me overpriced along with all of JL's other junk.

I have been eye balling either something from Fi audio, Sundown or trying to find another Ascendant Atlas, or Avalanche for the truck.

 

[DetroitSteel88]

RE got bought by US amps they still make a nice product and have cheaper lines to get more mainstream sales. The downside, most production shifted overseas. Have you seen the new XXX btw, it is no longer the 12 spoke XBL^2 power house they used to be. They are monsters naw, can consume large amounts of power and require enclosures that can handle the extreme weight and pressure that can be created. W7 is to me overpriced along with all of JL's other junk.

I have been eye balling either something from Fi audio, Sundown or trying to find another Ascendant Atlas, or Avalanche for the truck.

Oh man, that is really bad to hear about RE.

And I do not like that they are not XBL^2 anymore.

I would love to get my hands on an Adire Brahma, but very hard to find.

What Fi sub would you recommend? I know very little of them.

I am anti JL as well, but now that RE is overseas, Adire went out, I was going to make it my last choice.

The box I have is around 2.3-2.5ft, so something that likes space.

If i have to buy a new box I will. I obviously wont spend $650 on a sub and skimp on the box haha


Also, what head units are good these days? I feel like a lot is garbage.
Is Eclipse making glod producyts still? Clarion's top of the line looks garbage.

 

[blazinlow89]

The sky is the limit for a HU these days. If I had to redo mine I would go the tablet route as that seems to be the most functional. Also as before you would buy your HU to give you the most optimum performance for your amplifier IE higher voltage per amp outputs, amount of outputs, adjustable EQ, etc. now you can buy the stuff as add on equipment, and most tablets now have a DD EQ built in. With the ease of digital media and the fact that it will never skip on a hard bass hit, this may be a future system. However my little Sony I am running now does the job just fine.

You would have to look at each driver to determine what would best suit your needs. I have always been and SQL, or SQ guy. While it would be nice to buy everything made in USA, most places have shifter over seas. Most have suffered a major reduction in quality, others have either stayed the same or slightly lost quality.

I have been out of it for a while to man, been getting back in to the newer brands and changes to other brands. I am just looking for a little bit of bump though so nothing crazy, either an 8" or 10" for some low end reinforcement. Big change from the old days .

 

[Hypnotoad]

I haven't been in the car audio game in a while, but I haven't been impressed by much of anything I've seen lately.

I think when it's time for me to get a new HU, I'm going with an old school Eclipse with the 8 volt preouts.

That's pretty sad about RE. In my opinion, it was one of the best products in the car audio scene. Maybe I can finally afford it now!

 

[blazinlow89]

You can tell quality went down, as well as price (I would hope so). Gone are the nice 12 spoke baskets, large motor structures and the beautiful products of their Resonant Engineering days (they may still use that basket design on the higher class subs, everything I have seen is stamped steel). They may still make the more expensive subs XXX, SX and the newer MX line in the US, but I would need to do some research.

The new XXX is one of the few subs that has impressed me. With almost 5" of point to point excursion, a large voice coil and a massive motor structure it may not be the old RE, but it is very nice, with a large price tag to follow.

Most decks I see now have 2 volts pre amps. Main reason I used to buy Panasonic, 5 volts on most decks and I like the ability to customize the background video.

 

[Boricua SS]

sometimes you dont have to always go high end or name brand to accomplish the same results... I've heard both JL and RE in person.. i've been inpressed with both (when they were hooked up and powered correctly).. my friend put RE's in his TB, but they were very under powered and quite frankly, sounded like garbage, but then another friend had to W0 JL's in his Cavy, and it was one of the best systems i've heard to date... but he had it done correctly...

for the audio overhaul in my SS, i have the Pioneer AVH4300 7" touchscreen HU (cost me $399.99), my door replacements are AutoTek 6.2C 6.5" components ($39.99 per set), 2 $50 12" American Bass DX subs, 2 Kenwood 800W amps that are over 10 years old and cost me $99.99 at the time of purchase and are no longer in production, and an aero ported box tuned to 38Hz.. i hit a 145.7db on the mic... most of those components that make up my setup, people wouldnt even look at or consider buying them... as for me.. i couldnt be happier with it... tons of Bass and screaming highs when i want it, zero distortion, and tons of clarity... is there room for opportunity and improvement? absolutely... but for what i spent on it and judging from the compliments i get... i can't complain...

 

[Lima Tango]

I went with RE myself a couple years ago, and haven't been that impressed with the sub. I'm even LESS impressed with their customer service! Took me weeks to even get a reply email for an issue and it was clearly an 'English as a second language' author... I would never get another RE myself.

 

[blazinlow89]

Thats a shame, they used to have top notch customer service and very nice products. Doing some research I seems the XXX and the MX are the only subs still made in the USA, of course they have high price tags as well. I have not dealt with their stamped steel sub basket lines yet as they are obviously made in China.