What is the best budget car subwoofer in 2024? Cheap 12 inch subwoofer shootout!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ต.ค. 2024
- Check out the $35 subwoofer challenge here: • The best cheap car sub...
What is the best budget car subwoofer? Which 12" subwoofer is the king of cheap bass?
These were all $50 or under when purchased, check the links for updated prices:
Pyle: amzn.to/4cwL3ix
Boss: amzn.to/4cEdr21
Skar: amzn.to/43DI0kq
Pyramid: amzn.to/43HSsaQ
Blaupunkt: amzn.to/43DDORO
Infinity: amzn.to/43VKYkF
JP23: lddy.no/1iou8
JP8: lddy.no/1iol7
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0:00 Introduction
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Check out the $35 subwoofer challenge here: th-cam.com/video/9xTCAtZOD9Q/w-d-xo.htmlsi=KbiZOCO4fOnC8r20
Hi can you tell me the displacement of a ds18 gen x 12inch subwoofer
Putting the Infinity in third place rating makes no sense. Its a speaker and does what its suppose to do and looks really good. Its the only speaker that survived the test too.
I agree....
Agreed and any real installer will solder the connections and would prefer the “cheap” terminals
That infinity is actualy Jbl cs1214 sub only with different soft parts coils, motors and baskets are the same just wanted to share this out since people might want to know, but its best of the lot for sure decend 4layer vc on it as well
Probably not relevant at this price point, but a company who backs up their warranty is as important as how their product performs.
That's one reason why I like Kicker and Savard. You can actually call them up and get somebody on the telephone or email them and get a response.
@@DIYAudioGuy I use Savard HI-Q12''s .“Laissez les bons temps rouler”
@@DIYAudioGuyinfinity has the best customer support in the world, love them
I had to warranty my 12" skar and had excellent customer service with them via email.
My BOSS met me at the Pyramid. He had to take a huge Blaupunkt that left a big Pyle and wound up leaving a Skar . He said it felt like it was going to keep going for Infinity.
😂
Correct. All shit.
😂😂😂😂👍
I have those gold infinity 12s. They hit hard. Highly recommend especially for small enclosures.
Cool!
What a joke putting the "Skarbage" in first over the Infinity. . How much did they pay you for that? 😅
Just purchased a pair of Infinity Primus based on this video
Thanks for the in-depth review - As I'm not "feature" oriented, the Infinity won hands down for me
I couldn't find Thiele Small for the Infinity Primus 1200 anywhere on the internet. Here's the data from the spec sheet included:
Qts: 0.45 Qms: 3.65
Vas: 76.6 (Liters) Qes: 0.51
Fs: 28.7 SPL: 90 (2.83v @ 1M)
Re: 3.6 ohm Pe: 300 WRMS
Le: 2.26 mH BL: 14.2
Xmax: 12.3 mm Dia: 300 mm
Z: 4 ohm Sd: 531 cm2
Mms: 158.1 Mmd: 150.3g
Hag: 6mm Hvc: 30.7mm
When i got back into car audio i picked up 4 of those infinitys and a ctSounds 2k and a big ported box and they handled every bit that amp would put out and sounded amazing, sense then i now have a couple giant 8s and bigger amp, but out of the subs you showcased those infinitys are far more superior than the others
Awesome!
I would have been interested to see the Recoil Audio Echo series RW12D4 included in this list. Its only $54.
If people like this video enough, I might do another cheap subwoofer shoot out. There are several good subs that missed that $50 cut off, maybe it's time for a $75 subwoofer shootout.
@@DIYAudioGuy I mean, I think the $75-$100 range is going to catch the most of what people are willing to spend for an entry level sub.
Cheep is good!!!
@@DIYAudioGuy On Amazon, I found the Pioneer TS-A30S4 for 70€ with 400W RMS. I'd like to see that one tested sometime because my car audio setup isn't optimal, I wanna see how much power it handles :) . Thank you for your videos Justin
Agreed
Do you mess with NVX. They're on the same level as SKAR. IMHO.... But I would love it if you could include NVX in your testing. It seems like er'one is ignoring a quality brand. I'm working on my 2nd NVX build. The 1st, a Nissan Rogue w/2-12's. Now I'm going ALL NVX including the epicenter, w/ 4-8's in an F-150. '04. I just want to see how they fare next to their peers.
Thanks for your time. ✌🏾
What's funny is most of these look like top of the line woofers from the early 1990s and those were perfectly fine!
Pyle has turned into an unfortunately accurate name for that brand’s products.
It's been that way for decades.
They always were a Pyle.
@@Bradimus1 not at the very beginning in the 80’s. I owned a set then that performed very well but they began their decline soon after.
@@2011joser I have never in my life saw any product from Pyle I'd call good. Always - Budget or bad. But that's true of all the brands in this test other than Infinity.
@@Bradimus1 I’m old enough and have been in the hobby long enough to have seen most of these brands at their peaks . Pyramid was always cheap even though they tried briefly to step up.
Do the best SQL subs in its recommended box size ported and sealed.
For something like that, I wouldn't do a shootout video, I would do a video on each individual subwoofer. Especially when you consider the time and cost needed to build the enclosure.
Something like that will probably take six or seven videos. Definitely something I'd like to do one day.
recommended boxes? awful, ive only seen a few which are decently tuned. And they wont be anything more than a simple ported box
So the buyer of subs like these can enjoy. A master builder isn't buying $50 or less subs 😂
Junk
Junk
Junk
Junk
Blaupunkt
Infinity
Choice looks straightforward to me
Yep.
ur gonna have to go back to the jp23 cuz u killed the subs by clipping 💀🙏🏿😭
I have this exact SKAR and have had no real issue with it that wasnt my fault. I have ~300=350w going through the skar and the original one i think some of the epoxy came off one of the coils, sent it into SKAR for warranty and they replaced it without issue. The replacement has been in my car using the exact same setup at 4ohms in a sealed ~1 cu ft box for about 2 months now and no issue. for the $45 i paid for it onsale on amazon, im not bitchin too bad.
It's cheap and it gets the job done. What else do you really need?
Out of all of these i actually like the sound of the infinity the best. Skar ix if i need to get rid of an empty sub box 😂. But the ix is a fine sub for dirt cheap. Most people would be surpised by either in 3.5 cu ft tuned to 35hz.
I've been wondering why the NVX N-series wasn't included in this test. It has been on sale for a while. I even bought a set based on your recommendations.
I hope that you're enjoying the sub.
Justin quipped somewhere a little while ago that he no longer supports/endorses NVX. There were no further details and he is not obligated to provide any but it left me quite curious why.
I caught part of that, and I'm sure in time we may know why so.
I haven't installed mine yet due to some personal matters that came up. I hope to have them bumpin by summer. If they are a bust, at least I have the two budget Pioneers that came on sale earlier this year.
Happy Easter yall!
@@BaddDukk wasn't SB Acoustics making drivers for NVX at some point? Maybe they aren't anymore.
Pyle used to make better woffers dont know what happen to them
Back when it started Pyle was the parent company and they made top level stuff. When it sold the first time it become a secondary brand to a parent company and quality went downhill, nobody is going to undercut their main brand. After being sold again, to a DJ company, the car audio stuff just got put on the back burner and so it's all junk now.
My friend has four of those 12" Infinity Primus ported and they shake his whole room. He has them not even on a lot of power 600w RMS total / 150w RMS per sub.
Would be cool to get Klippel data for these drivers, because that says more they frequency response by itself. But I know the test gear isn't cheap.
The first subs i bought were pyramid super pros. I dropped one and the motor shifted lol. Magnet is just glued on no screws
My best guess on the Pyramid would be that theyre trying to advertise the sub as having a "high temp" voice coil. Technically able to handle sustained use at high power when used as say a guitar or PA monitor. Plastic baskets believe it or not are ALOT less resonant than a stamped steel basket.
Never buy cheap subs.......lessons were learned in this video. A good rule of thumb is to also never buy the most expensive. Buy the one just below the most expensive that normally has all the important features without the unneeded extras.
I agree.
Soundstream BXW-124 @ $59 imo is the current budget king, Deaf Bonce machete lite s also close in performance and cost.
Looks like I need to do a $60 or $75 shootout next.
!! But How can you Forget to get an Audiopipe sub for Testing??
I did not see it for sale online when I bought these.
That Infinity looks exactly like the Jbl cs1214!! A nice classic if you ask me👍
Have you ever tried Dayton Audio dsp-lf before? It has a neat room correction feature👍
I'm using mine in the car😁 Thanks for another nice video
I've been running that Dayton DSP for quite a while! I'm very happy with it.
@@DIYAudioGuy It's a hidden gem👍 Do a review on it?
Infiniti and JBL are owned by Harman International which is the parent company of them plus Mark Levinson and Harman Kardon
I had a CS1214 around 9 years ago and it was a solid budget sub
i think it's unrealistic to expect ANY sub to perform it's best in a random enclosure. i know it'd be a lot of work, but putting each sub in it's recommended enclosure is the only fair comparison.
I'm going to disagree with you, the realistic thing to do is to put it in the type of enclosure that the end user is most likely to put it in. Most people are not going to build a custom enclosure for a $50 subwoofer. They're looking for a $50 box and a $50 amp to go with it.
that is an odd response from someone who calls himself the DIYAudio guy. i suspect people who watch this channel are also DIYers (as i am), and would want to build the box that would get them the most bang for the buck.😃@@DIYAudioGuy
Most 12's all support very similar enclosures, it's close enough not to matter whatsoever. People who believe .25cf makes or breaks a subs performance are totally delusional.
@@MotoAtheist or world champions🤔
@@davidtimmerman3121 Don't think so! Takes a lot more then that little bit of adjustment to make or break a subs performance in a real world application. Pretty sure people don't go around looking to be world champions with 1 12" subwoofer in a prefab box, they just want some thump. But whatever you say.
Hey. Ever thought about PA systems? Specifically, folded horn enclosures?
Emmm for testing subs like this.. I think a sealed 1 cube net box would be more appropriate..
what subwoofer do you think has the best performance, build quality/value/bang for buck and sound quality for around $200? I was looking at the new ultimax ii series by dayton, but my friend swears by skar for that price range. I had a dayton HO12 in one of my old cars and thought it sounded good too, but was wondering if there were better options in the price range.
Justin, that looks like the BassWave ported box by Recoil Audio. Is that the case?
Hey Patrick! It's an old Skar box that I tested out several years ago. Hope you are doing well.
Brands I will never buy b/c they're not even worth the box they ship in. Pyle/Lanzar/etc., Boss, Pyramid, and several more I can't think of.
I had a Lanzar 12" 4 ohm sub I was going to use for light duty with a 200W amp (old kicker 400W@2ohm) and it blew within minutes. Rated at 1600W max, had a beefy surround, 160oz magnet. Using that same amp to power a cheap rockville sub and kenwood sub (I think they're rated @250W), they handle the power no problem. Even if the sub *looks* like it can handle power, that doesn't mean much if it's using the cheapest chinese VC they could find. Not even happy with Infinity right now. I have a pair of 10s acting strange. Not blown but they have this "selective impedance" thing that seems to be acting abnormal. I had to use an analog meter just to get a proper impedance measurement. Now trying to figure out how to take off their stupid plastic magnet cover. Oh... those cheap brands can make good passive radiators though! I have 2 12" blue pyles as passives together with an alpine type R and that box is amazing! I even thru the cheap kenwood in there and it still rocks!
Had to give that 1st woofer an early 2000's "DAAAAAAAAAMMMMNNNN"
Makes me feel young again... "damn man you got that golden subwoofer?"
Now I'm like "Damn son prob cost 20 bucks at the wally world and will smoke with 50 watts"
Since all subs do not have the same T/S p[arameters, this test is UNFAIR and INACCURATE...
Each sub should be tested in it's optimal enclosure size/volume/ vent size/ vent length to be fair.
Fellas', AVOID taking advice from someone who does videos and testing like this , because they are either ignorant of these facts, or are purposely misleading you, either of which would disqualify the video maker from being a reliable knowledgeable source of information.
This is not judgement or opinion, simply factual observation
Im about to run a 3 12" system. 2 RF P3s and a P2 in the middle. Gonna run the P3s off an MTX RT500D and the P2 off a monoblock P300X1. Im hoping this shit hits
I had a skar SVR 10inch and it was better than the EVL in all honesty because the EVL tore itself apart. The SVR got real low and was strong asf for one single 10 (I beat the hell out of it and still looked brand new…after breaking it in ofc) it was in a band pass by itself and ppl thought I had 2 10s. was on a 1200w amp
You ever test mcm electronics subs? 15 inch 4 ohm model pro 55- 3234. They are 200watt rms 92db
I love my Skar 12. Running about 400 watts to it
The next level up from this one is about 80 or 90 bucks and they can easily handle 500 watts.
Wow, dropping the best subwoofer to 3 over the terminal connections is flatout insane.
Pyramid is the originator of the fake power ratings. The old pyramid pro amps were decent though.
50 bucks for a tank of fuel i had paid 80€ for a Fiesta, some cars would set you bak 200€ XD
The Infinity is the best by far in this group. Infinity put the cost of Push Terminals into making a better sub. At this price point, Push Terminals are a gimmick.
I've needed push terminals as I only connect my subwoofers ONCE when they go into the box.
Fair point.
@@CarsandCats LOL
“Who the hell builds an all plastic subwoofer”
*Hexibase has entered the chat*
Me personally would rather have performance over features any day. Good video, nothing like watching cheap ass subs blow up. I haven’t had the balls or finances to do it on my show yet. It’s coming though ;)
Good point.
Well Mission makes plastic chassis....no magnetic interference!
My favorite part of boss audio is when they lie about all specs, like my boss 15” advertised as 2000 watts and 2.5” voicecoil. After it smoked on 500 clean watts, I cut jt open… 2” voicecoil. liars, thieves, scammers.
I’ve moved on to Resilient Sounds and Rockford but still salty about that.
Boss is a good example of how it was 25 years ago, every brand was full of it about their specs. The idea was, you would buy the same brand sub and amp and the specs would sync up. If so and so said their sub rms was 500 watt, but only handled 200, well that was fine because their 500 watt amp only put out 200 watts and so it worked out.
I don't like to run ANY audio below 4-Ohms.. When you get down to 2 or 1-Ohm. I believe the sound quality dissipates rather quickly even in bass ranges.. Plus the AMPERAGE draw gets MORONISH @ 2-Ohms or lower.. FOR THE PRICE, I love my Rockville PBG-18 subs @ 8-Ohms.. Rated @ 2000-watts.. F.R is 35Hz.-4Khz.. 98db sensitivity.. 130-oz. mags.. I tested them @ 20Hz. and they responded by shaking my windows all over the house.. I run my 4 PBG's with 2 RPA-16 class H amps.
I would bet that in a double blind test that nobody could tell the difference between 8,4,2 ohms, especially after you level match the amplifiers.
The best $50 12s i have tryed is the belva 2 ohm 12. And the recoil audio echo 12 . The recoil is i think $54 now but most the time goes uunder $50
I tested a Belva in the $35 shootout video, I must have missed the Recoil when I was buying these.
@@DIYAudioGuyI like these budget shoot outs. Thanks for the video I have bought and played with every one of these over the last few years just messing around.
Power acoustic gothic
Id be more for actual power handling. Sound. Than push terminals.. because push terminals don't make the sub sound better or handle tons more power. Just convenience.
Nothing wrong with that.
I just want to know which gas station he's using get a full tank of gas for $35? lol!
Ordering from US to EE the shipping fee is 550eur😂
Putting the infinity in 3rd for terminls is nonsense. It was likley the best sounding sub there. The cone looks like the older Infinity Kappa subs from around 2012.
People shopping in this price range are going to focus more on features.
Wilson audio labs youtube channel tested the blaupunkt GBW120 it blew at 950 watts being hooked up to a 2000 watt amp. It was a few years ago so quality definitely could have gone down.
In this particular case since I was using a smaller amplifier I ended up with less power.
You can never go wrong with Infinity.
I noticed that there's another version of this subwoofer that does not have the crazy cone. That one's retailing for double the price of this one. Looks to be the exact same driver other than the color.
Did any of the subs have a higher recommended tuning range than the box is tuned to?
Not that I'm aware of.
Would not have been enough of a difference to really matter for these tests.
Is these rating per coil, or do they mean in total between both coils?
I was looking at the deaf bonce ml12
I was pretty bummed with the Pyle 15" dvc 2000wP 1000wR. I put it on my 3200.1D Cobalt Orion. After break-in, it started popping at about the 4 hour mark. The Orion I purchased in 2015 with 2x 12" Kicker comp which lasted about 6 months and they locked up.
So what are the sounds quality and DB rankings? I rarely mess with the terminals and don't care too much about what type they are.
Sound quality is subjective and you can see the SPL # in the video.
A Kicker CompC would have easily passed these tests with flying colors and kept on bumpin.
At 3x the price they should. You aren't too bright are you? I don't know why anyone would buy this junk either, just save a bit more and get a proper sub from any of the major brands.
For a budget sub option I went with the JBL basspro 12(was 200$ shipped on sale)
Is that an all-in-one set that includes the amplifier?
@@DIYAudioGuy yep
This test really shows how dominant the box is, and why it’s so important to tailor the box to the individual speaker.
I’ve been hoping someone would make a video about response curves, and what they actually sound like. People need to learn what sounds best to them individually, so they have a target to aim for when building a box. That way people know what a Q .707 sealed, or sbb4, or ebs sound like. Play the same songs for each alignment.
JL has capitalized on this. They found the sound most people like. Model any of their car subs, they have extremely similar response curves. Their ported enclosure responses are very similar to their sealed, just louder. They definitely have a target curve/sound.
I thought infinity was a subdivision of Harmon karmen . I do miss my infinity perfect 10 that thumped and bumped all day no issues
It is.
of course you know that you're wrong on the first woofer, it's NOT cast but stamped metal basket..😊
You are correct, I misspoke. I went back and looked at my script. I typed out the word stamp but for some reason I said cast.
A tank of gas will cost me about 180 euro’s so you could get something nice for that.
Ouch
My first sub in 1992 were the super pro plus and they actually sounded good. Back then Pyle, MTX were actually respectable subs. The big dogs were RF, KICKER, JL. You had money if you them.
LMAO ... Just watched this video two weeks AFTER I bought two pyle 15s 😂. I broke them in and pushed them quite a bit hooked on a Yorkville power amp rated at around 5-600w rms to each. They did hold up fine for now but they might be on borrowed time. No worries its just for fun and testing since I usually run pro p.a. subwoofers 😋
Owned a pair of Super Pros back around 1990ish. Except for the the push terminals, they haven't changed a bit in over 30 years! My buddy had a pair of Super pro "free air" red cone 10s in a box and they were surprisingly loud. Loud enough that the RCMP confiscated his amp 😂.
Rockford fosgates are 160 and up for a 12
I have a super pro I've been running a rf punch 500 on it for 20 yrs. And I've ran twice the rated power with a Ppi Pc amp on a Pyramid Super Blue subs. IT'S ALL ABOUT CLEAN POWER AND BOX DESIGNED FOR EACH SUB
Blaupunkt (in my experience) had some nice amps back in the 90's....
I remember those days. Completely different company now.
Shit iv e got 2 ivx series running an old alpine mrd 1,000 on 2 12 s sounds awesome each vc. Gets about 250 rms a piece
They will do fine on that kind of power.
I don't know why Skar gets such a bad rep. They handle their RMS power all day every day and they are priced for that as well. Some other brands may push beyond their RMS, but your paying for that extra power ability in the price. This new trend of the upper level brands bragging about their subs handling more them RMS makes no sense. RMS is supposed to be the go to power handling so just label it and price it correctly from the start.
$49.99 is still more than a tank of gas for my 2008 Subaru Forester. But still a very low price.
I would like to point out that the NVX NSW-1xx-V3's release is imminent. The V2 of this series was quite impressive for a 45.00 subwoofer. The V3 is sure to impress.
Don't drop the infinity from the test, retest the Infiniti to confirm the results.
I've got some other stuff planned for the infinity.
@@DIYAudioGuy I cannot wait. I would like to know if the Infiniti really did outperform the others. I understand it's probably a data error due to the fact that the curve is exactly the same as the curve on the others, but it would be super cool to know for sure
@@nighttow8780 the most logical explanation for the massive difference is an error on my part.
I would rather buy a shallow mount Brutus than any Skar product. Garbage.
The Brutus from this video is a better deal: th-cam.com/video/9xTCAtZOD9Q/w-d-xo.htmlsi=eNxZY52woWk4JoME
very glad I found your channel here, you are very informative. Appreciate you, and I am now subbed. Thanks
I have a boss audio cxx10 chaos subwoofer after break in warm up ive had it 5 years and it is in a pyle pqblw10 square bandpass box and still sounds good so i really can't complain about that it is used as home audio subwoofer, Kenwood excelon kc av505 home theater surround sound receiver 500 watt
FIRST 🤩
Awesome!
LOL
I had a earthquake back in the day it was a beast
Plastic might resonate less?🤔
that super pro by pyramid is the same since i bought one in 1994
You my friend are old school.
The infinity looks a lot these 35 buck pioneers from Walmart and the bluapunkt looks a lot like the gothics I have my spark
Pioneer, Kenwood, JVC, ect...
Total Power = Flames shoot out the hole of the magnet, the cone shoot 3 ft in the air and the speaker manages one last BRRZZZRRT!! 🤣
I'm running one kfc-xw1241hp for the moment
the two 12's @ 2ohm I wanted are on backorder
Please stop this trend of subtitles. We have EARS!
It's something that I've been experimenting with. You'd be surprised how many people will watch videos with the sound off.
So, people 'love to Hate Skar' , but Boss is a 'fan favorite'.. 🤔
Both of those phrases were intended to be jokes.
The Black Friday deal of the JBL CX 1200 is hard to top at $40.
What a pity that Infinity became a substandard brand. Those Kappa Perfect 12.1 subwoofers were, like the name says, perfect.
Same with JBL (also Harman). Those days with the GTI's and the P1220's. All they make nowadays are junk.
I think this Infinity is a great subwoofer, it is just ugly AF, and for the people that are looking at this price point a SKAR with push terminals is a better fit for the consumer.
@DIYAudioGuy Except the bling bling around the dust cap, I don't think it's that ugly. But that stamped steel basket is really el cheapo, just like the terminals. I would rather buy a used Kappa or a JBL P1220; Oh, wait, don't need to. I have two 12.1 Kappa's of my old install and two new JBL p1220 II (old new stock which i bought very cheap) and one used one also from a former install 😉.
@@DIYAudioGuy By the way, we don't have Skar in the Netherlands.
A tank of gas in my truck will get me a Sundown SA-12 😢
Ouch!
too bad the blaupunkt prices recently went up too high
In that case get the Infinity.
what is the best 12 inch subwoofer under 120 dolar
amzn.to/3vFhkDs
I haven't seen any thing pyramid sense the mid to late 90s didn't even know that they were still around as long as you don't put a hole bunch of power to them they were to bad better than stock lol😊
I have a curious question for you Sir. Can component inline crossovers be wired together for a lower ohm load?
That's a great question, try to tune into the live show on Monday night at 7:30 central time and we will try to answer it.
@@DIYAudioGuy will do!
Instead of dropping infinity I would have tested it again to confirm
Its ply like 2 ply so plye not pile
American bass xd!