Is this a good 15in subwoofer?

Question

I am looking at a Kicker Comp Series C154 15" 250W RMS 4 Ohm Car Subwoofer. I was wondering if this would be a good sub to get. I am currently running a polk audio Db124 12" sub in a ported box(360w RMS), running off a Profile California 600watt amp(300w RMS). I was thinking of getting this sub and running it with the 12in polk but wasnt sure if they would get along or not or if I did get the 15 if I would be better to take out the 12 and just run the 15. Any suggestions on this would be great. I also thought about just getting another 12 polk to add to the bass but Everyone keeps telling me I need to get a 15 so thanks for any advice.

Answer 1

As you can tell from your current setup, a slot ported box does wonders for SPL.  In that regard, you're pretty good for a single 12".  If I were you, I'd skip the 15" and get a second db124 with a new amp and a new dual 12" slot ported enclosure.  A good monoblock amp that produces around 750W RMS at 2 ohm would run those 2-12"'s just fine.  A Kicker ZX750.1 is an example of a good amp for those subs, but there are quite a few others out there that will also work just as well.

Answer 2

Listen man, whoever is telling you this stuff has some bad info.

First off, you need more power going to that single 12 you have. The amp puts out 300 watts RMS, max rating is all marketing c**p. Your sub runs at 360 watts rms.  I would at least Match, if not out power the sub. Obviously dont go crazy, but maybe 10% or so oversize is good because the amp is never getting over worked so to speak.

If you want serious bass, 2 12s are my favorite. The problem with 15's is that they dont sound clean at all, its just mushy bass that cant handle songs with real tight bass all too well.

Kicker is decent stuff. Not the cleanest but a good value ya kno? A pair of Kicker CVR 12's in a ported box and enough power usually have plenty of bass to go around.

As far as amps, Profile is junk in my book. If you want a good value amp, Look at Rockford fostgate or MTX. Both offer decent power for not too much money. Kicker also has a line up of amps which I have not really seen or heard of anybody having problems with.

Skip the 15 and go with 2 12's. More cone area to move more air and they wont be all lazy like a 15 will.

Jim

Answer 3

I don't know why you would "need" to get a 15" sub.  That's just foolish.  First of all, are you happy with your current set up?  If so, why change it?  If not, what is it about the current set up you're not happy with?  Must of your issues may be in the install, enclosure and/or amplifier ... not necessarily the sub.  

Anyway, definitely DO NOT run both subs at the same time.  Differences in efficiencies, resonant frequencies, etc., they could do a lot more damage combined then good.

Depending on what you're shooing for in your system, or what you're trying to fix, that might be easily determined by looking at the properties of the drivers.  If both drivers are 4 ohm and both the previous driver and the potential new driver are going to be in ported enclosures, the only potentially noticeable difference will be in their efficiencies.  Which, unless it's a difference of more then 3db in the favor of of the 15, you're probably not going to notice a difference at all.  If anything, you may want to look into a new amplifier first so you've got more power to work with.  Maybe 1,000 watts or so.   RMS of course.