Fi Q 12" review.

[LinxuS 0]

Ok, so I'll start from the beginning. I bought this sub a few months ago, near the beginning of January. I bought a 12" Q, Dual 2.

The people of Fi: Being local, I got to meet Scott, and one of his workers. Scotts a great guy, down to Earth, and just extremely outgoing and friendly. He answered all my e-mails, even though the poor guy must get like 200 of them a day. He showed me around the warehouse, how they assembled the subwoofers, and even put part of mine together right in front of me. I left the warehouse extremely satisfied with Fi as a whole, but how good are they at making subwoofers? I'll explain in this review

First Impressions: The sub is pretty beefy for what it is, and fairly heavy. It has a great build quality, and is impressive and eye catching on the first sight.

The Build: I had David from RE build my box, and do all the wiring. I went with a 2.3 cubic foot ported enclosure tuned to about 31 hz. It has 2x 4" Aeroports coming out the side. The box is going into a Ford Ranger, with the subwoofer upfiring, and the ports coming out the side, towards the Driver's side. Pictures will be at the end of this.

The Hook-Up: The Sub is going to be connected to an RE 12.1. It is receiving about 1200 RMS @ 1 ohm, set using a DMM, and a -3 db attenuated tone at 60 hz. It's ideally receiving about 1400 ish RMS on a full on sine wave. My electrical consists of a Yellow Top under the hood, Big 3, and a 240 amp Iraggi Alternator, with 1/0 going back to the amps.

Now on to the actual Sub: Upon first impressions, I was not very impressed to be honest. It was loud, especially considering it's one of the few REAL subs I have heard, but it was not as loud as I expected. However, over time, about the next month truthfully, I began to fall in love. As the sub started to break in, it got significantly louder. A month later, I could not have been any happier. The sound quality is superb, the output is more than I could ever want, and it really hits the lows with authority. A few songs my Q has come to love have been: Betcha Can't Do It Like Me, Soul Survivor, Hypnotize, and for you Bass-drum-heads: The Light that Blinds.

The sub has never missed a single bass drum, no matter what I throw at it. It not only hits it with authority, it also does it while retaining clarity.

The lows make my ears ring, shake my car apart, and just utterly engulf you in the bass. It is unbelievably loud for a single 12" on the lows. With people sitting in my car, they usually throw their hands over their ears as soon as the bass hits, and beg to get out.

It has no problem hitting any note under 60 hz, and when it does hit them, it hits with authority.

Pros: What isn't there to love about this sub? The lows hit with authority, the mids make your ears bleed, and the Sound Quality makes baby jesus cry. It does not miss a single bass drum beat, a single note in any rap sound, or any other song for that matter. There's never a time where I wanted it any louder. It's loud enough to be heard from blocks away if that is what you desire. It also sounds nice enough to put in SQ cars.

Cons: The only problem I seem to have with my Q, is that it does not really like anything above 60 hz. Other than that, this sub has been perfect to me in EVERY WAY. I would never hesitate to buy it again, and I constantly recommend it to my friends.

Now on to the Pictures:

Videos in next post.

Edited March 10, 2007 by LinxuS

[LinxuS 0]

Videos:

Hypnotize

Grippin the Grain

Soul Survivor. This videos fairly old, as there is significantly more flex now. I will have to update it soon.

Bass, I love you.

ROE video of it [basically the above videos]

http://www.realmofexcursion.com/videos/FiCarAudio/q12.5.wmv

Edited March 10, 2007 by LinxuS

[juddspaintballs 0]

cool

[LittleMatt 0]

oh yea and i definitley agree with you on the 60 hz + notes. Mine doesnt really like to pick up high notes but i'd rather low deep earth shattering bass. i still love it

[bdawson72 0]

good review......you should also do the review of the SSD that your friend has

[baseballer1100 0]

Awesome review.

[bigjae1976 0]

good review......you should also do the review of the SSD that your friend has

Especially a comparison between the Q and SSD. That seems to be one of the burning questions on the board.

[gone_blow_it_up 0]

Great review my friend. I'm also thinking of installing some blue neons under the tire wells. Looks clean matching with your headunit. By theres a Chopped and Screwed version of Grippin Grain which has more bass...You might want to check it out.

Keep it Bangin' bro!

[LinxuS 0]

good review......you should also do the review of the SSD that your friend has

Especially a comparison between the Q and SSD. That seems to be one of the burning questions on the board.

Well I could do this, but I don't think it'd be a fair comparison.

A 12" Q, in a ported enclosure, with 300 more RMS than recommended.

A 12" SSD, in a 1 cube sealed enclosure (after displacement etc..), with about 800-900 RMS.

If he wasn't so lazy, and actually wanted to put effort into his system to port it and what not, I'd be able to do a nice comparison.

From what I've heard from both the situations, the Q blows it away in every aspect. The SSD just didn't seem to hit the lows with as much, or even close to as much authority. However, the SSD does get fairly loud at about 45-60 hz for a sealed enclosure. It's supposedly louder than the Q in recommended enclosures of the same style, but I can't comment on this from personal experience. If I had to do it again, and was on a budget, I'd probably go with the Q without a doubt. I just love those lows on it.

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

Very good review, repost a copy of it in the product review section here.

[LinxuS 0]

Finally got around to copying it to the Product Review section

[Sickness 0]

Wow thats a nice setup dude, nice RE amp too by the way, it looks soooo clean! LOL Good videos too, i hope to get some videos of my ride soon.

[bigjae1976 0]

good review......you should also do the review of the SSD that your friend has

Especially a comparison between the Q and SSD. That seems to be one of the burning questions on the board.

Well I could do this, but I don't think it'd be a fair comparison.

A 12" Q, in a ported enclosure, with 300 more RMS than recommended.

A 12" SSD, in a 1 cube sealed enclosure (after displacement etc..), with about 800-900 RMS.

If he wasn't so lazy, and actually wanted to put effort into his system to port it and what not, I'd be able to do a nice comparison.

From what I've heard from both the situations, the Q blows it away in every aspect. The SSD just didn't seem to hit the lows with as much, or even close to as much authority. However, the SSD does get fairly loud at about 45-60 hz for a sealed enclosure. It's supposedly louder than the Q in recommended enclosures of the same style, but I can't comment on this from personal experience. If I had to do it again, and was on a budget, I'd probably go with the Q without a doubt. I just love those lows on it.

While it may not be on an equal playing field, I think the review will be informative as long as you state the differences in power. It would be more ideal if both were in sealed or porter boxes.

A Q vrs SSD seems to be a common question. I am also curious. I got the Q because it wasn't that much more than the SSD and seemed to have a lot more capability.

[Silverbane 0]

Nice review!

[LinxuS 0]

While it may not be on an equal playing field, I think the review will be informative as long as you state the differences in power. It would be more ideal if both were in sealed or porter boxes.

A Q vrs SSD seems to be a common question. I am also curious. I got the Q because it wasn't that much more than the SSD and seemed to have a lot more capability.

In this case, It's day a night difference.

SSD on 800 RMS, 1.0 cube after displacement, 12"

Q on 1300 RMS, 2.3 cubes after disp, 12"

I think the SSD is nice for the price. My buddy paid $400 for his complete substage, and it's pretty nice for that price, but other than that, I probably wouldn't get it after hearing it. Now if it were in a ported enclosure, that'd be a whole different story. It just isn't loud enough for me.

[LittleMatt 0]

i hit 139.6 on my first run with my 12" Q its a beast

[LinxuS 0]

i hit 139.6 on my first run with my 12" Q its a beast

Wow that's pretty good, I'd definitely like to get mine metered, but I have no idea who has one in Vegas.

Specs on Box / Amount of Power / What tone?