confused :( Fi SSD10 or Sundown SA-10

[JohnHinerman 10]

New truck, new system waiting...

Bought a 2011 Ram Quad Cab truck and have everything together sitting in my living room and I am stuck on woofers.

Currently sitting next to my couch is

Image Dynamic XS-65 front's

Image Dynmaic CTX-69 rears

Alpine PDX-F6 150x4 @Fronts & Rears

Alpine PDX-M12 1200x1 for woofers

Atrend Dual 10" under the rear seat enclosure

wire and cables...

And now I am stuck... I was wanting to run two fi SSD10, copper coil, High QTS dual 2ohm coils in series and both woofers parallel for a total of 1200w RMS @ 2ohms. Or basically 600w per speaker.

After contacting Fi, Nick replied saying that the 600w is a little under powered for these woofers. I don't have room for another PDX-M12 nor do I really want to have to purchase another one.

Where I stand now is do I buy the two SSD's and give them the 600w or purchase two Sundown SA-10's which are actually rated at 600w RMS ? If this makes sense, I'm lost as to what is going to have better SQ and SPL of the two setups.

I've read very good things about both woofers, but I've for some reason really been wanting a set of Fi woofers. What do I do? Again, this is my DD and not a SPL machine, however I do like to listen to my music loud, and want the best overall sound and output given the amplifier I've already purchased.

Any opinions or help would be great. Everything is on hold due to the subwoofer decisions....

Thanks!

[bassahaulic 155]

There is no such thing as under powering. So get what you want.

Also, I would HIGHLY recommend getting a custom box made. The Atrend Dodge Pre-fabs aren't the best. I know from personal experience.

[ricksi30 923]

I agree ^^^ I've owned both and really liked them both.

[jokers10 19]

I also have experianced the same PreFab box under the rear seat in my Dodge Quad Cab. It sucked, because you couldn't listen to the system with the rear seat down, and even though it says there is 6.25" of clearance, the basket and magnet had to be small to fit inside the box.

What I ended up doing was building a center console box for two 12s. One good 12 in the center console would have sufficed. I was using cheap Infinity Refs, and it was good enough to get loud and clean.

And bassahaulic is right, you can't underpower a speaker and blow it, unless you don't set gains right and run distortion through them, and try to compensate for the lack of power with more volume. But on the same token, it would probably be louder with a speaker that was more efficient.

I recommend a custom box, and to actually be able to use that space under your seat for an enclosure, to first take it to a metal fabricator and have them deepen the under seat compartment. You could get quite a bit of room under there without sacrificing clearance at all. There are crossmembers that are way lower.

[pmureika 31]

I agree ^^^ I've owned both and really liked them both.

I have run SSD's and like them very much.

[JohnHinerman 10]

Lol.. .Not making this easier guys.. . so indecisive.... To make it plan and simple.. I really like the looks of the FI, plus the custom dust cap etc... ( I know, worst reason ever to buy something that is meant to be heard and not seen) However, that being said, the Sundown does look pretty beastly also. I am just unsure as to wether or not I am better off using the woofer rated for less power, and supplying the recommended power, OR using the the higher power rated woofer and not giving it the 1000w it claims it wants...

[JohnHinerman 10]

pmureika,

what kind of power are you sending to your SSD's?

[emh9009 199]

I would go with the one made in USA with USA parts.... and a custom box

[snyderd758 0]

I woud get the higher power handling you will probably want to to upgrade later. 1200 watts should be pretty loud though so i dont think your severely underpowering the fi's i would get those then start working on my electrical then start saving for a higher power amp if your not happy with the output.

[Freshh 11]

SSD, I've loved both set-ups I've had with the SSD.

Good luck with whichever your choice is though!

P.S. USA!!

[Wackzirth88 4]

I know my answer is subjective, what's loud to me might not be to you but anyway. I'm running a 12" ssd at 2 ohms on a sundown sae 1200 which is rated at 600 watts rms at that ohm load and i'm very happy with it. It gets surprisingly loud for a single 12 at the power I'm running, it gets nice and low. Plus its US made

[snyderd758 0]

what is the mounting depth in your box?

[JohnHinerman 10]

Wow, for some reason I thought they were both made in the USA? That is one of the reasons I am looking at them. Please don't tell me this stuff about the Atrend box. I called them and actually asked them if there was any clearance problems with the speaker and the seats or anything else and they said no. I was trying to make this an easy install. I've already spent time cutting 1/8" allum plate to allow the 6.5"s to mount into the factory 6x9 front locations, and I thought I could get off easy with the pre-made box. We will see.

Oh, and mounting depth in the catalog says 6.75, yet on the website it says 6.25 I will have to measure it when I get home.

I guess I will order up a pair of SSD10's tomorrow. I don't think I really need the additional cooling or internal leads do I?

Edited November 15, 2011 by jdblya

[Impious 1,476]

It depends less (i.e. not at all) on the rated RMS power handling of the speaker and more about how the drivers will respond with the power levels you are running in the enclosures you are planning to use.

[emh9009 199]

How much is that box you plan to buy? You can probably save a stack of cash if you get a design and build your own box. This would remove the guess work if it will fit or not, and give you EXACTLY what you want. But if you have the money to get that, you don't have the time to do custom work (assuming you didn't want to do the work to your doors), and it's what you want then go for it.

The SA series are made in China.

You should be fine without the added options.

[coobies5 43]

i loved my single 12" ssd - sounded great and was very loud

i've heard a few sa12 setups and they are just downright loud, but have a "flat" sound to them

that being said, ssd = better sq sa = ridiculously loud (IMO)

[B_I_B 1]

I loved my sa-12, it got real loud and sounded good.

[JohnHinerman 10]

How much is that box you plan to buy? You can probably save a stack of cash if you get a design and build your own box. This would remove the guess work if it will fit or not, and give you EXACTLY what you want. But if you have the money to get that, you don't have the time to do custom work (assuming you didn't want to do the work to your doors), and it's what you want then go for it.

The SA series are made in China.

You should be fine without the added options.

The enclosure was $64 total, so it isn't like I spent a ton of money. back out of high school I worked for an audio engineering and consulting firm and had to (well actually enjoyed it also) build all sorts of ensloures and customer one off stuff for projects. I've built plenty of them in the past for myself also, but in all honesty, as I've grown older it is harder to find the time to do things like that. I'd love to spend all weekend building a customer enclosure, but if I can save a ton of time by dropping ins omsething that is already to go, then hey sounds good to me. In a perfect world I would build customer door panels, and kick panels and everything else. But for this build, I'm trying to get it in and done quick and painless lol Building the 6x9 adapters for the door is no big deal, but it was also an hour in the garage sawing and drilling grinding whiile the better half sat in the house pissed off that I wasn't in there eating dinner lol

Anyway, I am going to order two SSD10's. It says they come standard with the copper coils now, which I think is better option for me than the flat wound coil. Also, given the power supply, added cooling seems like a cool option (no pun intende) but not needed. I'm assuming the internal leads are possibly a spider woven tinsel leads (correct me if I'm wrong) which I like, but then again it is another $50.....

While I have everyones attention, can I add another question? Door sound damping. The window regulator/door module/speaker mounting area is all one plastic module. Would you guys say add damping material to both inside of the door and to the plastic door module?

Thanks for everyones help. I used to be big into this stuff, but it has been about 10 years since I've done anything for myself as far as car audio goes.

[JohnHinerman 10]

Order has been placed... I'll update once they arrive...

[pmureika 31]

Order has been placed... I'll update once they arrive...

You won't be sorry.

[emh9009 199]

Ahh, I was thinking this was like a 300$ custom fit pre-fab type thing. That's not bad then, and makes total sense for your application, thanks for the clarification!

Shouldn't be anything but happy with those drivers. Did you end up getting any options added?

I'm sure adding mass to the door will help with resonance, not sure what you're looking to get with adding mass as you didn't state your goal with such an act. If you really want to deaden check this site out and don't be afraid to ask what would be best for your budget/goals/time. Great guy and great CS

http://sounddeadenershowdown.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi

[JohnHinerman 10]

Ahh, I was thinking this was like a 300$ custom fit pre-fab type thing. That's not bad then, and makes total sense for your application, thanks for the clarification!

Shouldn't be anything but happy with those drivers. Did you end up getting any options added?

I'm sure adding mass to the door will help with resonance, not sure what you're looking to get with adding mass as you didn't state your goal with such an act. If you really want to deaden check this site out and don't be afraid to ask what would be best for your budget/goals/time. Great guy and great CS

http://sounddeadenershowdown.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi

No options, just Dual 2ohm copper coils. I was going to get the spider leads, but Nick at Fi said I don't need them, won't have any cone lead contact problems, and the added cooling just adds to the power rating which I don't think I need to worry about either.

[snyderd758 0]

Let us know how they sound. This thread has seriously perked my interest in the fi ssd's. I am probably going to order a pair late next week(payday)they will go in a chevy crew cab so kinda similar to you application.

[JohnHinerman 10]

Let us know how they sound. This thread has seriously perked my interest in the fi ssd's. I am probably going to order a pair late next week(payday)they will go in a chevy crew cab so kinda similar to you application.

For sure, I'm pretty excited. I have high hopes for them so we will see.

[coobies5 43]