Ok so after going over everything and talking about ideas with ppl I will be working with I've come up with a criteria that should make my decision about a system fairly limited it looks.
1 - Must be dual 18 reflex cabinets
2 - Runs off of one 20A preferably and if not then two 20A. No 30A.
3 - Still in production.
4 - $14,000 budget for speakers and amps.
Some top picks I've seen so far:
DB Tech S20
RCF TTS36a - If they can be found at that price point.
EAW SB1000z - Still sticking this one in here cause it's low power requirement. I could keep and use a Powersoft Digam5000 to power them well.
JBL STX828s
Bold 218 - Is the wild card - It's wild card status is due to it not being a widely recognised name and a new company
Thought's on these and any others I could look at would be greatly appreciated. The system will get alot of bass heavy EDM as well as live rock and jam bands. Probably more so the DJ stuff, tho I'm trying to break out of that more.
Thanks -Mark
You are looking at this the wrong way. It sounds like you are saying-I need a car that has 300 HP. Without looking at your real needs. How much carrying capacity do you need? Are you carrying around 6 kids? Are you racing on the weekends and so forth. A single spec (300HP or 2x18")) doesn't give any useful information.
What you SHOULD be asking is "What subs do you recommend that I can get amps and speakers for that will produce a certain SPL at a certain freq." And does sound quality count? Just because it is loud-does it produce the "sound" that you are looking for?
You have a budget (at least it is a decent size for the amount of current you plan on using)-but do not state how loud or how low it needs to go.
You say EDM, therefore I would recommend something that gets to 30 or 35Hz at a minimum- SOLID. NOT just a simple number on a spec sheet. Look at the ACTUAL response curves and you will find that many cabinets that state -3dB @35Hz are actually a lot lower than that (often as much as -10dB at that freq).
Why does it have to be a 2x18" sub? What if something else could give you better performance with a different size driver? Is there something "magical" about a 2x18" that you must have?
You also mention being able to run off of a particular power circuit. How many you can run GREATLY depends on the type of music-amount of compression used and so forth.
You can run more cabinets off of a single outlet doing rock than you can EDM.
It is also not so much "how many can you run" but what SPL can you achieve off of a single circuit.
In order to get something that will "fill your needs", you need to look a bit harder at your "real" needs and don't limit yourself to just the driver size and quantity.