Sasha

iTrader: (10)

Hey guys! In the last couple of months I have been playing with three sets of subs on my Arc Audio KS1000.1, which gives around 1000 wrms at 1 or 2 ohms. I used Schorshe digital db meter. It is going to be a short review, but it would still help some people to have some idea about these subwoofers.

The following subs in order of my preference in this competition:

1. 2 x 12" Arc Audio(Arc series, 2nd from top of the line) in sealed box(2 cubes total)
2. 2 x 12" Diyma in sealed box(2 cubes total)
3. 2 x 12" Kicker L5 in factory Kicker dual ported box(around 3.5 cubes total, I guess)

Here is the review. All were fed around 1000 watts total. Music was house and trance.

Kicker took up my entire trunk, and the box was so heavy, it was backbreaking to handle it. It got plenty loud, but distortion was highest of the three. Even at low listening levels the Kickers did not sound very clean. Good enough to make some noise, and that's about it. I did not find many pros using this box. It is for users, who do not care much about sound quality, and have a lot of trunk space, but it fills the low frequencies. I had a hard time blending the sub stage with the front, even with lower bass levels. Durable subs, and can take some beating.

Diyma's were louder and cleaner than Kickers before the uncomfortably loud level around 125 dbs. I estimated the efficiency of the subs in this size enclosure was excellent. The cones are very soft, and are not happy, when pushed hard, but in this set up, x-max was fully potentialized. When pushed really hard, they do start to distort due to cone break-up. The box was pretty small, but heavy(around 90-95 lbs), as Diyma's have huge magnets. These subs moved my hair much better than Kickers. I found, that this enclosure was excellent for efficiency, but too big for this amount of power, as the cones are too fragile, and move too much when pushed hard. A smaller box would keep them stiffer suspension, but I imagine, you would sacrifice a bit of output. Overall, one of the cleanest subwoofers I have ever heard, and blends with the front stage perfectly. They sound more like a bigger speaker to me, and do not seem to have the usual sub sound characteristics, maybe thats why they blend so well. If you do not plan to beat them hard, this is an amazing sounding sub, and could not stress that enough. Kicker took more beating beyond 125 dbs, but did not sound too clean anyways, just much less cone break-up. So, if more noise is your game, than Kickers are better at over 125 dbs, but under this level, Diyma's mopped the floor with the Kickers for SQ and SPL. Diyma's would suit SQ enthusiast, with more than enough output from two subs. The biggest drawback is a soft cone.

Now, that Arcs are just phenomenal. A clear winner of the three. Took little space like the Diyma's, but weighed quite a bit less(around 60 lbs). These things blended with front stage perfectly, sounded very clean, and took a beating with ease. No cone break-up, and no distortion beyond 125 dbs. It was an amazing pleasure at any listening level. It is a much better choice, cause they sounded amazing, no distortion, were light, and did not take up much space. I did not find any flaws. They would satisfy an SQ guru, and have a lot of cojones too. A real keeper! They moved less hair than Diyma's around 125 db mark, but because you could push them further without distortion, they moved more at the louder level, and sounded waaaaay better than Kickers at this level.

I am what you may call an SQL kind of guy. I love the system to be uncomfortably loud and clean. Kickers did not fit this category at all. Diyma's were very clean, but did not like the abuse. Arcs were clean and took beatings like a champ, thus I nominate Arcs as clear winners!

I have also tried these subs as singles. Diyma's and Arcs did not satisfy my output taste buds. Both are designed for pretty small enclosures, and would not be happy with beatings on their own, and would not handle much power in a bigger box. Kicker sub can be placed in a big box, and be fed quite a bit of power(no problems with 1000 watts), and could take some good beating. Out of the three, if I had to run one sub only with 1000 or so watts, Kicker would be my choice, as it sounds more or less decent, and as a single sub stomps out the other two choices in regards to output at high listening levels.

Sound quality wise, the Kickers just sound like poo in comparison to Arcs and Diyma's. I hope this review sheds some lights on these products. I may do further reviews later on 3 x 10" SDX10's by CSS sealed in 2.4 cubes total, and soon to be released new versions of 2 x 12" SI Mag's.

Sasha

iTrader: (10)

Well, I forgot about this post entirely. I've had the CSS triple set-up for a while now. Briefly, this box is louder than the above three boxes on same power. SQ is far better than Kickers, and I would say on par with the Arcs in terms of music listening satisfaction, but they sound completely different, but excellent in their own sonic signature. CSS seems to have better linear xcursion and stay very linear all the way to max xmax, and that could be due to Dan Wiggins motor design, but then they rapidly fall off once they reach the limit, instead of slowly deteriorating as the xmax increases. I believe they start to fall off due to limited rms rating in that size box as it reaches maximum performance, and this seems to be a part of the XBL2 trademark design. I personally love XBL2 motors, as the music remains balanced throughout the entire loudness spectrum. This box moves a lot of air, and is low distortion, which makes it very easy to blend with the frontstage. The low-end frequency bass is just gruesome, much stronger than the above three contenders. So if you stay within power levels rated these subs are great, but they do not seem to like to be pushed beyond their limits. These subs are for sale. I will be very sorry to see them go, but I wont be able to run them on an Arc 2300SE which is stable down to 2 ohms bridged, and this CSS box is 1.33 ohms. Very sad...definitely a keeper otherwise.

Sasha

iTrader: (10)

I ran out of time to edit above post. 10 min rule...

I said "I personally love XBL2 motors, as the music remains balanced throughout the entire loudness spectrum", meaning the subs do not get boomier as the volume rises, cause a lot of subs get consistently more and more distorted as you push them to play louder, and at louder listening levels this makes the front stage sound as if it got covered with a vail which gets thicker as you lean harder on the volume dial. and thats why I love this patented technology.

Another great thing about these subs is that a shorting ring is incorporated as well to keep the inductance in check, which makes the sub usable in wider frequency band, and also keeps the impedance rise issue at bay. Two great technologies in one design makes this subwoofer an excellent performer. I believe this sub deserves a lot more recognition than it does, as it seems to be quite underground and pretty much only known to audiophiles who troll the sites in search for that holy grail. At this level of performance, CSS SDX series sub should really receive more exposure to this already flooded car audio market.

chillin 12345

........So you are talking about the css sdx-10, correct? I have been told that 2 sdx-10's in a ported box will give any basshead all the bass that he desires. have you had an opportunity to hear a sdx-15???

Sasha

iTrader: (10)

Yes, I have the triple 10" sealed set-up in 2.4 cubes. It gives excellent bass up to the sub's limitations of around 350 watts rms in 0.8 cubes. Most bassheads I know like to run at least double that power per sub. With this particular set-up with 1000 watts, there is more than enough clear bass for a basshead.

A 15" sub is more of a home theater sub and designed to perform well in a huge enclosure, and I am hugely against that. So I did not bother with it. But I was extremely curious to find out how shorting ring along with XBL2 in a single design would perform, and I love the idea. I am pretty sure CSS SDX series were the first to do it. I like my subs to be designed and perform at their best in small to medium enclosures. That is one of the reasons I never got onto the SSA Icon bandwagon. To me it seems it shines in a big box. I would rather get a Fi Q for smaller box and higher xmax. One user on here had a 15" SDX in his car, and he could not get good results from it, he then went to Icons and never looked back. I generally only consider subs with ultra low inductance, and SSA has nothing to brag about in that department with possible exception with their new Xcon, but since they posted their specs, they left out the inductance spec, and I would assume if it was good, it should have been advertized.

lpchouinard

Hi, I did get very good result with the SDX15 but under ~50Hz... I wanted more punch and that's what the 2 12 SSA ICON gave me (they can still dig very deep). The SDX15 (with less power) was flexing my van lot more than the 2 SSA, but the SSA feel 2-3 times louder. So it all depend what's your taste and if your front end can dig low enough to blend well with the SDX.

The SDX10 are probably digging lower than the my SSA and offer some tight punch the sdx15 is missing.