More important that the driver is the box that its mounted in. You don't have to go with a sealed box and in fact you can get sereral times more bass by going with a vented box or a transmission line. My personal choice for best sounding bass would be Klipsch KornerHorns backed into proper corners. I'd suffer with LaScala's if I had to.

 

what are Klipsch Korner Horns?

 

I had a RE XXX 12" powered by 1850 watts in the Z and people 2 blocks aways would turn around looking pissed. FYI play Late Night Tip by Three 6 Mafia to test your bass.

I don't think it will take a huge upgrade, unless you consider 2 better 10s and a huge amp a huge upgrade. I have 2 Alpine Type Rs with the same 1850 watt amp in .65 cubes each and it has broken 2 of my rearview mirrors.
Maybe you can accomplish what you're looking for by making a different box for your current setup. Try getting a experienced person to build you a good ported enclosure and if it doesn't satisfy you, you haven't spent nearly as much money as a whole new setup

 

Klipschorns are $7500 a pair when you can find them. They use a folded woofer horn which uses the walls of the room for the final fold.



"Commonly called a corner-horn speaker, the remarkably uncommon Klipschorn includes a highly efficient horn loaded tweeter and midrange compression driver. Its patented folded-horn 15" woofer delivers powerful low frequencies.

Considered a watershed industry event, the introduction of the Klipschorn set the standard for high sensitivity, wide dynamic range, low distortion, and smooth frequency response. These principles, which drive the creation of every single Klipsch loudspeaker, are what make the Klipschorn as sought after today as it was decades ago.

As the only speaker in the world to be in continuous production for 60 years, the Klipschorn has remained relatively unchanged since its inception. In 2005, the company made some minor cosmetic and functional revisions to this legendary speaker, including the elimination of the inset collar, or spacer, between the upper and lower cabinets for a cleaner aesthetic appearance. A horizontal wall seal was added to improve the low frequency horn's response accuracy."

I heard some in downtown Tokyo and have wanted them ever since. The Belle's a bit cheaper at $5500 a pair and don't require mounting in a corner. Seeing as how they're over 50" tall and weigh-in at 175 pounds each they're not car worthy. If you ever have a chance to audition these do yourself a favor and see what Paul W. Klipsch invented prior to computers and plastic speakers.

 

I think a TL setup would be a bit on the large side for a mobile audio application... unless you're towing a trailer that is 6' or longer.

 

+1 for all that...

I see people who put too big of a woofer into too small of a box and it sounds like crap.

Are you looking for that kick-drum impact? Or that 25-20 Hz Synthesized bass that just carries for blocks? Decide how much space you want to give up to a sub (and how much weight you are willing to add for the box) and get whatever size/combo subs best fit that space. I have always liked 2 12" subs. But I don't want to put 100lbs of subs and box in my Z so I'm undecided.

Here's an old system I had in a CRX... Friggin deep, low, accurate bass that'll almost take your breath away!

http://www.sounddomain.com/ride/107550/1

+1 for Crystal Method! Also some of the bass mekanix stuff was fun...

 

CHECK MY SYSTEM OUT! I HAVE TWO 10in RE'S IN A PORTED BOX BUT THIS IS A CUSTOM BOX....THIS CRAP IS LOUD LIKE A *****!! IT HITS VERY HARD!!! MY REAR VIEW MIRROR DOESNT EVEN STAY ON ANYMORE LOL IVE TRIED EVERYTHING TO KEEP THE SUCKER ON BUT ITS JUST THE BASS! IM RUNNING IT WITH A HI-FONICS 1605D AMP WHICH IS 1600RMS AT 1OHM. IVE TRIED AUDIOBAHNS,ALPINE TYPE X'S BUT THESE SUCKERS ARE BY FAR THE BEST SUBS IVE EVER HEARD. I DONT THINK YOU CAN FIT 12'S BUT IF YOU CAN I DONT THINK THEY WILL SOUND ANY BETTER YOU WILL JUST BE ABLE TO RUN A LIL MORE POWER, JL W7'S ARE NOT MATCH FOR THIS! ANYONE UP FOR A LIL CHALLENGE LOL HERE ARE SOME PICS

 

Looks like a nice SPL setup.


Challenge you say .... I'll take you ... and I'm sealed

 

WHAT YOU GOT.....ILL TAKE YOUR CHALLENGE...

 

3 JBL W12Gti powered of a Crown/JBL A3000GTi

I'm messin with you .. this is in my Xterra... not really a fair comparo. I'd love to hear your setup sometime though ... maybe out as some shows/meets next spring.

 

A friend of mine has the LaScala's, has owned them since the '70's. I am always amazed at how they can be driven with just the minimal of power. I personally prefer Transmission line bass. My Fried's always amaze people as to how deep and accurate they are, but in an auto TL isn't practical :-)

John

 

AWWWW MAN! LOL! DAMN THATS SOUNDS LIKE A KICK *** SYSTEM IN YOUR XTERRA... I HAVE 4 JL8W7'S IN MY TITAN...NAH YOU'LL KICK MY *** ILL PASS CHECK IT OUT..IT HITS PRETTY GOOD

 

NICE WORK in the Titan ... I like that a lot

 

THANKS! IT WAS A PAIN IN THE *** THO

 

My step-father owned a recording studio when I was growing up and we (he) had a set of Klipschorns in our house. He got them around 1979, I can't believe they still make these! IN the 80's we used to crank them up and cause the sliding glass doors in the den to buckle. Good stuff...

 

you want 150 db

 

Who makes AE Subs and where can I check them out.

 

The servo-feedback of the Velodyne sub makes it ( IMHO ) the best sub for SQ. I was an audio moderator on ClubLexus.com for 3+ years & my fellow mod convinced me when I heard his Velodyne/Dynaudio system for the first time. They don't make Velodyne subs anymore ( I don't think? ) & Dyns are somewhat difficult to come by ( at least in my area ). Of course, we've jumped into components now!! FWIW - I'm running Focal Utopia components but a single 12" Alumipro DVC in a 1 cubic foot sealed enclosure.

I also agree that the enclosure is a key player in a thumping system. I've heard marginal subs in a solid slot-ported box absolutely hammer while some top of the line subs in a so-so box did nothing. In my experience in the 12 volt competition area, I've found that 10's provide that "snappy" bass w/fast transients & 15's provide lots of pressure ( but not necessarily a bass note that U can "feel" ). 12's, IMHO, R the best of both worlds. Just hit them w/enough power & use a good bass CD & U should be happy.