With thousands of
subwoofers on the market, only a few names truly rise to the top in
competition subwoofers. JL Audio's W7, MTX's Jackhammer, Kicker's
Solo-Baric, and
the RE Audio's XXX18 are frequent participants in this field. While the
Jackhammer is a true competition sub, its
nearly 400 pounds of mass precludes it from almost any daily driver.
The W7 is a phenomenal speaker, it lacks the SPL many are looking for
these days. At 100 pounds the XXX18 is no lightweight, but does fill
the niche between true SPL competition subs and the sound quality
oriented smaller
counter parts.
At 2000watts RMS with
54mm Xmax, the XXX18 speaker is not likely to plug and play into any
daily driver. Almost any amp necessary to drive this speaker will
require 0ga wiring, dual batteries, 140amp+ alternators, or huge
stiffening caps. As if that is not enough, the speaker also requires a
four cubic foot sealed or a nine cubic foot ported enclosure for
optimal sound quality. As one final twist of the knife, this sub
is deep; almost 18" deep, and requires a 15" minimum mounting depth to
be
exact. When finally installed, you are rewarded with a speaker more
than
capable of shattering windows and sunroofs! So why would anyone
go to so much
trouble for a subwoofer? If you are into dB Drag Racing the answer is
obvious. For the other 95% of Volvospeed readers it comes down to
tight, hard hitting, clean bass. If you want a no compromise hard
hitting speaker, this is for you.
After a little
researching, we decided the XXX18 would best suit our goals for the
reasons listed above. After a call to Audio Saving and a short 3 day
wait, a monstrous package showed up at our door, much to the dismay of
the FedEx driver. RE Audio ships the
speaker in a 1/2" thick MDF box that is covered in black carpet, and
then places that into a heavy duty
two ply cardboard box. Word of warning, don't trust the handles on the
outside of the cardboard box.
So how much should you
plan on spending on something like this in your car? Well assuming you
can do your own work:
$850
For the speaker
$770
For an amp
$110
For a wiring kit
Depending on if you already have dual batteries, you may need to
include another $200 for a second battery and misc components, or at
the
least, a large stiffening capacitor. Throw in another $200 for
fiberglass and
resin, and you are close to $2000. If this "no holds barred" subwoofer
sounds like something for
you, be sure to check out our intermediate DIY guide
on fiberglass
speakerbox construction.
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