During this holiday I have had some free time to just mess around and since its 28 degrees outside I have been messing around modeling different subwoofers and reading into their specifications. Some I have had and some I have done a lot of research into. I think I recognize that there seem to be only a few select brands and specific subwoofers that get all the love and others just get forgotten or cast aside as not worthy. So I came up with a small list of what I call under appreciated subwoofers that I think should get more press for what they are. I went through a decent amount of them mulling over Parts Express and Madisound and a few other select underground sites where the mainstream stuff doesn't exist. For reference I'm going to use the AudioFrog GB12 as the benchmark by which all these are measured since many here have had experience with this forum boner and for good reason. Here is the list that I came up with models attached. All are modeled as 12" subwoofers U.O.N and in ported boxes because I think ported boxes give the best SQ and SPL in car audio if they are tuned low, have DSP intervention, and built right. Some of these subwoofers are only available in 10" versions or just work better as 10" so I have noted as such.
#1 Eminence Lab 12C, with a cast aluminum basket, paper cone, modest box requirements it works well for car audio and models very closely to the GB12 for less than half the price. Its one of those subwoofers that I think should be mentioned more often. I would say its only drawback is its surround may not stand up to UV rays over time in a car environment. This subwoofer only needs 500 watts (same as GB12) to get down. Lab 12c green Vb= 1.96 cu ft net fb= 31 Hz AF GB orange Vb= 1.633 Fb= 30.73 Hz . You can see in this graph that the two on 500 watts model closely and the Lab 12C has a little better sensitivity but requires a slightly larger box.
#2 Scan Speak Discovery 26W/4558T00. This subwoofer is a lower powered 10" subwoofer but models well in both sealed and ported configurations. It has one of the lowest F3 points when modeling sealed. In the attached graph it is in a ported box with an Vb of 1.184 and a fb of 25.28 Hz. It has a black anodized aluminum cone, cast basket, and very low distortion. If you're looking for a very low distortion subwoofer on modest power than this subwoofer should be at the top of your list. In the attached graph below both are modeled at 425 watts RMS because the Scan runs out of excursion in this box above that power level.
#3 CSS SDX12 XBL2 12" Subwoofer. This subwoofer is somewhat well known but still doesn't get the love it deserves. Unlike a lot of XBL subwoofers I have modeled this one does well in a ported box. It requires, like many XBL subwoofers a lot of power but it also has very low distortion too. It really wants a big box but will do fine in a smaller box for car audio. Model specifications are Vb= 2, fb= 31 hz compared to the GB12, same box specifications as above but on 600 watts. Again, CSS SDX12 (red) vs AF GB12 (orange).
#4 Sundown SD3 10 and Sundown SD3 12. Yeah I know it is probably one of the most popular subwoofers on forums like this but seriously this subwoofer is fantastic for the price. It has an underhung voice coil design, is relatively shallow depth, and doesn’t give up Xmax or make lots of distortion either. It also hits really low in a ported box even though Sundown does not recommend it be used in a ported box. I own the SD3 10 version and it actually hits lower than my GB12 below 37 Hz with a 10" driver against a 12" driver. Sundown SD3 10 (yellow) vb= 1.577 fb= 31.49 vs AF GB12 vb= 1.633 fb= 30.73 (orange) on 500 watts.
Here is the Sundown SD3 12 (black) vs AF GB12 (orange) on 500 watts.
#5 SSA ICON 12. This subwoofer I think is really underappreciated for the specifications it has and if you really want some ass kicking lows and have the 1250 watts it demands (probably could take more) than this beast is it. It’s also a beautiful looking subwoofer in my opinion with a very attractive price for what you get. EDIT: changed the T/S parameters because I had them input wrong before which changed the model slightly.
Here it is modeled all by itself because an AF GB12 wont hang with this thing due to different power levels. SSA ICON 12 vb= 1.75 fb= 31 Hz.
SSA ICON 12 (red) vs AF GB12 (orange) on 600 watts for comparison sake.
Well that's it for now. I'm sure I missed a bunch of them and if you want you can post them up here. If I get the time I may model them for you against the benchmark GB12 and post it here.