Brahma Help

[Sentra411]

I'm going to be picking up a couple of 10" brahmas to replace my old kickers that are on their last leg. I've had them for several years now and they are just worn out. Great subs though. But anyway I was reading posts on a forum I found this morning called Car Audio Forum to see what's new in car audio these days since I haven't been involved for several years now. When doing so I found many brands I have not even heard of. One of them is Adire. After looking up a bunch of posts I also found ED, RE, and ID. What's up with all the two letter names these days? Everyone seems to agree that the Brahma is the best sub for sound quality. Is that true? I recently had to replace my old RF Punch amps with the new 551S. What happened to RF? I am not pleased with the new amp at all. It gets extremely hot and does not seem built as well as well as not being overrated at all. But anyway, the birthsheet rated them (I bought 2, one for each sub) at around 570watts at around 14 volts. So I'm guessing they both do almost exactly 550 watts at my 13.8volts. But to get to the point, I want to build a box that will yield great sound quality but also get up there in SPL as well. I would like it to be under 3 feet cubed but if it is bigger I think it will be fine. I have no preference of sealed or ported but will not go bandpass. Please list anything you can come up with as far as box size, port length(if ported) even if it is above 3 feet. I just want to get optimum performance with my 550 watts. I will be getting a larger amp later because I am so displeased with these RF amps, does anyone have any suggestions for amp brands or specific amps for 2 10" Brahmas?
Thank you.

[sandt38]

Hey, nice choice in gear.

For a pair of Brahma 10s you would need less than a foot sealed. Yes, less than a foot sealed for both, not per driver. A pair of Brahma 12s would need 1.5-2 feet sealed. They are IMHO, the very best SQ woofers available today. Either way, if you want a pair, look at my store.

Amps? Cadence are my favorite cost effective amps. HiPhonics are decent too. Dolar to power and quality these are the best values. I personally am a Cadence man. Look at www.usacaraudio.com for Cadence at some amazing prices.

[Sentra411]

Wow. That's extremely small. That's great, more useable trunk space. How much space per driver? I would like to build one box but seperate chambers, or is their new technology in speakers where I do not need seperate chambers? About how many decibels will two 10" Brahmas put out with that small of a box and 550 watts? After reading more posts I see people referring to a winisd program, is it available online somewhere for relatively cheap, or is it very expensive to obtain? How much of an audible difference is there between the Brahma 10 and 12? I know the 12 will be able to grasp the lower frequencies and not be as 'punchy', but is it worth getting the 12 over the 10? Is 550 watts not enough power for a ported box? I have also read many glowing reviews of ED(Elemental Designs), are they a good alternative to Adire? I am asking because people on the Car Audio Forum have said they are cheaper money wise. I am a big advocate of you get what you pay for and I will certainly not buy them if they do not yield great results, but I am interested in them all the same. Is Polk still a contender in car audio? I was actually turned to car audio by them after I bought some of their home theater speakers years ago. They then came out with a Mobile Monitor line then later a DB line. I have all old DB speakers in my car still, they are about 10 years old and still sound great. Thank you Sandt38 for your advice and I will certainly look at www.usacaraudio.com for Cadence amps.

[Honest Bob]

If your going to run two amps I would think having two seperate chambers would be best.

Winisd is free, it can be had HERE

If you have the money stick with the Brahma.

Polk makes speakers, but I am not shure how they stack up.

I just bought two 10"s for my sentra from Seth. Just looking around for a box.

[luvdeftonz]

RE, ED, ID, PG, RF, DD...all are MUCH shorter then typing out the full name, and, they are used so frequently that typing out the whole name would be a PITA (sorry :P).

Anywho, sticking with the supersub theme you are on, the top tier subs by JL, Adire, ED, ID, RE, etc, all will get super loud and remain pretty damn linear while doing it. Honestly, you wouldn't be disappointed with any of them if properly set up and integrated within your existing stereo system. Often times money is the deciding factor for those looking to get supersub performance while saving a few bucks. A pair of any of the current supersubs will absolutely demolish your old Kickers in both overall output and linear output. ED's A series definitely are the current bang for buck supersubs while JL and Adire/RE win the "cleanest/distortion free" sub contest (at a heftier price, though). If extemely low distortion/high output is what you're after, you might want to give Adire's new Koda line a try. It's basically a Brahma with less throw (though at 18 mm xmax, it's definitely no slouch). A pair of 10" Koda's would deliver a ton of damn clean output (though less than a pair of 10" Brahma's...but you'll save mucho $$) and only run you around $450 for a pair. Another bonus of going with the Koda's is that they require much less power to reach full excursion. This means you could still use those RF's and have a ton of headroom (and the amps would probably run a bit cooler...) and save some cash on new amps.

Polk's new MOMO amps seem to be very well received, but their speakers have fallen of the face of the planet.

BTW, with ED's current preorder/package deals, it's pretty hard to overlook the deals they are offering.

[Sentra411]

I am not much into JL, they have always been overpriced. I have found Image Dynamic Max subs on www.sounddomain.com for cheaper than the Brahma. I am going to replace these RF amps because I really dislike them. I am very disappointed in RF. Even in other places I have read that they have been going downhill so I am not the only one that thinks so. I looked up Polk and found their MOMO subs, but not their amps. I will have to go back and look for them. How good are they? I do not like the looks of the subs, they are too flashy. My DB speakers are flat black which is why I am attracted to the Brahma. It saddens me that they have gone downhill. They were never really up there though, but I will swear by the old DB speakers. I have been to a local Tweeter here and in my opinion they easily keep up with the MB Quarts(do they make subs? a few years ago they used to be pretty good speakers) that are in the $5-600 range and thats because they have the advantage of being in a sound room and do not have to deal with all the problems a car has. If you can ever get your hands on a pair of the old Polk DB speakers that are in good condition, I highly recommend them for they are wonderful speakers. They are very accurate and detailed and have a smooth, unharsh tweeter. I will keep these speakers until they die. Actually, for an old guy I'm a bass head. So I think the Brahmas will be perfect for me. Eventually I'd like to put 1Kw to each sub. I will download that Winisd program to see what exactly it does. Thank you again for all the help.

[luvdeftonz]

I was just looking at the financial angle. I'm faaaar from a RF fan. Their Type RF amps rock, but look like they were designed by a kid.

The MOMO amps have been reviewed in the car audio magazines and received much praise. The objective test results confirmed what the reviewer states in their article. They don't, however, make a large enough amp if you are a true basshead ...unless you want to increase enclosure size appreciably. Cadence, Phoenix Gold (the Tantrums are on clearance everywhere...going for steeeeep discounts), Crossfire, Directed, and even the newer JBL's are darn nice for a power source.

Those DB series speakers were pretty nice. I looked at the db57's for my Tbird a few years back.

[Sentra411]

I'm glad someone else besides me remembers the old DB speakers. Is Hifonics the same thing as HiPhonics? I've taken a look at the Hifonics and they look very nice and seem to built very well and are priced well. Thanks again for your help, its very appreciated.