Review of an SSA DCON 12"

[altoncustomtech 773]

It's taken WAY too long to get this done. Bought the sub for her Christmas of '09, bought the box from Argent Audio this Christmas and was just finally able to get it painted and installed this weekend. Don't worry, for all you speaker porn addicts, she took pictures and a couple of vidoes, I'll post them up as soon as she's got them sent to me.

The box is 2.25cuft NET tuned to 31Hz, the topic for the box quote and the posted design is HERE. I have the build log for her Durango posted HERE. It's a fairly straightforward build with no real bells or whistles. The original sub that was installed was a very crappy Pyle Red Label 12" Square sub that she had in her previous vehicle from an ex-boyfriend. When the build was done in her truck the sub simply sounded like ass, so I decided she needed an upgrade and that led us to this road with the DCON. The amp she's running is a Hifonics ZXi8010. Which is a 5 channel amp that delivers 4x55wrms and 200x1 into 4ohms and 300x1 into 2 ohms. The sub is a D4 wired in parallel for a 2ohm load.

So, on to the review.

The first song we played was Passengers by Tool. The bass guitar and drums were tight and accurate and were easily discernible, not muddled together at all. The other thing that caught our attention was the impact and energy. Quite impressive for a single 12 on ~300wrms of power. This is a song she knows very well and like alot and she was shocked at the difference between the DCON and her old sub.

The next song we played was Money for Nothing by Dire Straights. The drum fundamentals in the beginning were fast and tight as they're intended to be, the sub had no problem keeping up with the midbasses. Every beat was tight, on time and effortless. The entire song was a blast to listen to. At this point we were already really enjoying the performance of the DCON.

The next song was Angel by Sarah Mclaughlan (spelling?). I like using this song in listening for two reasons. First off her voice in the song can really show problems in response on a set of components, amp settings and the like. The other reason is the piano can reveal response problems on the low end as well. To our ears the lower octaves were spot on with the DCON, the shift and decay of each note was great and the entire song was seriously good to listen to.

The next song was One by Metallica. Another song to test the bass guitar and drums on the sub. Again the DCON didn't disappoint with it's performance. The bass drum at the beginning of the track was tight and strong. You could feel your hair move a little with every beat and felt it in your chest. At the crescendo of the song the drums are super fast and the DCON was on top of them the entire time. The only problem I noticed here was a tad bit of distortion which between the recording itself and the amp being pushed to it's limits I couldn't fault the sub for it. Especially since two clicks of the volume down had it gone with no real difference in output. I found throughout the listening we did that I either ran up against the limits of the amp with the sub, or in most cases with the highs.

Satisfied the sub was performing well in it's enclosure and that the settings on the amp were as good as they were gonna get we moved on to having a little fun with it. I was recently given a link to download a list of MP3's by Decaf or someone/something like that and been having a good time playing with it. Gucci Mane, Lil Wayne and a host of other rap artists and their songs that I believe have a little boost in the lower octaves, maybe not but it's GREAT for showing off either way. The DCON moved right on from a tight, accurate and detailed sub to a panel vibrating, rear view mirror skewing, sub bass monster. I was absolutely floored by the shear output it could generate on the modest power it was being fed. Anyone who's worried about what they can get out of single sub rated at 300wrms has absolutely NOTHING to be worried about.

No matter your musical preference I believe the DCON can and will perform to expectations and possibly beyond. We spent a couple of hours listening to just about everything and weren't disappointed with a single thing we played beyond the limitations we found in the output of the amp. It seemed that on occasion, a few songs just couldn't get going as good as they should have either in the bass region or on the highs, however that could easily just have been me considering I'm used to having much more power on tap in the van than she has available. At $125 the 12" DCON is an absolute steal IMO. It is extremely versatile and can make most people VERY happy in both how good it sounds as well as how loud it can get. It will definitely be at the top of my list for recommendations on smaller, lower powered systems.

[Sir-Lancelot 216]

Really great review Buddy!

Well done!

When I finally get a daily driver, my Dynaudio 360 and some dcons will find their way in it.

I have yet to find anyone unhappy with their dcons. In fact just the opposite, people are shocked at what they have for that price.

Hella good bang for the buck!

Thanks for taking time to review this sub Bro.

[SteveBeBumpin 0]

awesome review 5/5

[ssh 924]

Great review.

I've always had the thought in the back of my mind, clamshell type enclosure with six 12" dcons.

[Ohjay 116]

Great review, thanks!

[Mark LaFountain 1,054]

We are still surprised that more people aren't aware of what a versatile driver this really is. it's got great output while retaining excellent sound quality! thanks for taking the time for this review!

I'll get it up on the blog shortly...

[ssh 924]

We are still surprised that more people aren't aware of what a versatile driver this really is. it's got great output while retaining excellent sound quality! thanks for taking the time for this review!

I'll get it up on the blog shortly...

Haven't a few people used them for HT too?

[Shogen 325]

nice write up bro....

[wannabang 13]

Great review!

My buddy just received his 12" dcon, and he was psyched and so happy with how it looks compared to the CVR that I talked him out of. It's the first time I've seen one in person these things are sexy, no doubt. I'll try talking him into gettin' an account on here so he can learn more, it being his first system and all.

[altoncustomtech 773]

Thanks guys.

This is definitely a product that needs more attention. I can see where 90% of people who are into the hobby for general listening could easily be satisfied with one or two. I've heard setups with much more money, power and cone area thrown in that wouldn't compare on how good it sounded, and most of them couldn't compare on the output either.

I'm looking forward to hearing what my sister's boyfriend has to say about it. He has the same truck with the same HU, a JL 500/1 and a pair of RE SRx subs in a supposedly optimal enclosure. IMO his gets just a tad louder, but doesn't sound anywhere nearly as good. Considering the price difference between the two setups, my money would be on the DCON every time.

The word REALLY needs to be spread on the wonderful goodness of the DCON.

[TRP 42]

Very nice review, and these DCON's are certainly little monsters in disguise.

[altoncustomtech 773]

Yes they are.

I also need to mention that the box Argent Audio built for it is top notch as well. I know I'll recommend him in the future for sure!

[ssh 924]

Yes they are.

I also need to mention that the box Argent Audio built for it is top notch as well. I know I'll recommend him in the future for sure!

Completely agree, Andrew makes sick enclosures.

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

[Mark LaFountain 1,054]

Great review. Added it to our blog page.

http://www.soundsolutionsaudio.com/index.php/blog/item/review-of-an-ssa-dcon-12.html

[altoncustomtech 773]

Thanks Mark.

I was hoping it would be a decent review. I'm not real familiar with writing them, but I'm pretty familiar with the music that was played and hoped that my explanations would follow what I heard and felt.

No matter what, the DCON deserves more attention. As I said before, it's gone right to the top of my budget sub recommendation list. I was so impressed with it but it's hard to explain it in detail. I "understood" from what I read from other people's reviews and testimony that it was a great sub and had expectations I thought befit what I "understood". Once I was able to install and listen to it, IMO it exceeded the expectations I had for it and I think that's where people's surprise (as well as my own) comes from. I think that it's a good thing you guys are constantly surprised by people's reactions as I think it means their expectations are being exceeded as well and doing that consistently shows just how successful the design and execution of the DCON is.

[Dan208 23]

I've always had the thought in the back of my mind, clamshell type enclosure with six 12" dcons.

Dooo eeet!

Very nice review. I absolutely love my 10" Dcon. I wish I had the room for a second one. If I had the funds I'd buy a separate vehicle and fill it with them.

[Impious 1,476]

The first song we played was Passengers by Tool.

That song is actually by the Deftones, but Maynard wrote most of the lyrics, helped with some of the arrangement and performs most of the vocals.

That is all

[altoncustomtech 773]

The first song we played was Passengers by Tool.

That song is actually by the Deftones, but Maynard wrote most of the lyrics, helped with some of the arrangement and performs most of the vocals.

That is all

YUP.... You know, you're right. LOL Listened to so damn much music I got that completely mixed up, good catch. She listens to A LOT of Deftones music actually. Between my sorry memory and the excitement of how everything turned out I guess I got that mixed up, we demoed a lot of Tool too.

[xxaderxx 0]

Very detailed. I agree to. My friend has a dcon.

[altoncustomtech 773]

Finally got some pictures of the DCON in her truck....

Here's a shot of the amp hiding back there. The wiring was cleaner than that after the initial installation, apparently her dog has decided to rearrange them on a couple of occasions.

Talk about the phrase "fit like a glove". That enclosure fits so well it's hard to believe the door shuts at all, let alone without hitting it. Have to excuse my sister on the paint job, she literally meant it when she said she didn't care what it looked like, LOL.

Here's a nice shot of the front. Still amazing how good it sounds and how much output it can provide.

Have to give my thanks and recommendations to Andrew at Argent Audio on the enclosure. It turned out fantastic and exactly as I had it measured and designed.

[Randal Johnson 544]

Awesome Review !!! Very nice Setup ...

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

[Ohjay 116]

Boy, that is a tight fit , good job getting some good bass behind the 3rd row.

[altoncustomtech 773]

Thanks guys, and Ohjay you have no idea. It doesn't touch the door when it's closed, but you can't fit your fingers between the back door and the box.