2 10"s vs 1 12" - Sound Difference?
 

A friend of mine just picked up a JBL GTO7001 amp (700w @ 2ohm) from Best Buy.

We were looking at subs to put in the back of his 87 Camaro and debating the sound difference between two 10's (IDQ's) or a singe 12" (SSA XCON) in the proper sealed box (rear hatch area is pretty small). :)

My belief is that while the 12" XCON has less cone space, you won't be able to hear the difference between two 10's and one 12". Also, the extra xmax generated by the XCON would compensate for the loss of cone space and the sound would be pretty much the same.

What do you guys think?

Is there an audible difference between the IDQ and XCON?

Would there be a different "feel" between the two?

Thoughts.....

you won't notice a big difference..I had 2 12's in a sealed box (separate chambers) and removed 1 with very little difference in output or SQ. Part of the reason was that the single sub ended up with almost double the power. The only time I did notice a difference was at or near max output, where the single sub sounded stressed compared to the 2 of them, output was almost the same but not as clean and tight, but up to about 80% there was very little difference.

Dual idqs will do the job. IMHO the xcon will probably have the Two on output.

SSA XCON 12
.9 cf^3 (minimum sealed) FC @ 49.91hz
1.5 cf^3 (maximum sealed) FC @ 43.76hz

"The IDMAX12 has 90.5% more linear displacement than an IDQ12 V.2 with no increase in moving mass."

Image Dynamics IDQ 12
1.3725 cf^3 (sealed) FC @ 46.75hz (Q .707)

Any other comments?

Bill if you want subs to SLAM occasionally you will be better off with the SSA/Sundown Sa-12/Fi Q

... ported. With a sealed box, the difference of output between a sub with an FC at 40hz vs. a sub with its FC at 30hz (both with similiar Q's) could be approximately a 10dB loss or gain, I mean if they have the same output potential. If you're going sealed, look for a sub(s) with an FC around 30hz, high sensitivity, and a Q of around .707, if you want something like -12dB @ about 20hz and flat from about 30-100hz. That's why I prefer sealed boxes.