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Need Help Choosing

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Derek Richards:
I guess what I should have really asked is how good was the carvin sub I had? And what subs would compare to it? We were happy with just that but since i want to replace it I would like to maybe upgrade a little bit. I absolutely can not go over $1000. I was gonna buy those two JBL JRX118sp's for 900 but they just sold. I definitely want to buy powered subs just for convenience. Also, I dont care about weight at all cause its never going to move once I hook it up.

Derek Richards:
Quick question...

What would be better, the JBL PRX 618s which is a powered sub with I believe 600 watts RMS from the amp, or a Cerwin Vega AB 36C Afterburner with about 600 watts RMS at 8 ohms running from a separate amp?? Obviously the Cerwin Vega is going to be a little more expensive since I have to buy a separate amp, but is the folded horn sub worth the extra money?

Nathan DePaulo:
Derek Richards wrote on Mon, 14 February 2011 19:20
Quick question...

What would be better, the JBL PRX 618s which is a powered sub with I believe 600 watts RMS from the amp, or a Cerwin Vega AB 36C Afterburner with about 600 watts RMS at 8 ohms running from a separate amp?? Obviously the Cerwin Vega is going to be a little more expensive since I have to buy a separate amp, but is the folded horn sub worth the extra money?


The short answer is that the Cerwin Vega is trading increased efficiency in the "high bass" range at the cost of the low bass.  It's a typical trade off of folded horns, which I am a fan of, however the CV stuff is not on my good list.  

The JBL would sound more "musical" having a more even response from the bottom to top of it's range.  The CV will have certain notes that are significantly louder, and then some that will disappear completely compared to the PRX.

I think the afterburner would be a terrible decision for you.  Not only would it need an external amp, but it will need a low pass (crossover).  That could be built in the amp, or a separate piece of equipment, but either way it'll cost ya.  It will likely get blown, and then you have to go to the trouble of fishing the driver out of that folded horn.  Anyway, for that sort of money you could buy a real sub and be much happier.

My genuine recommendation for you is the LS801P.  It is very loud, powered, bulletproof (has a "even if you break it" 2 year warranty) and more portable than the CV option you were looking at.  The previous model the LS800P could be found used as well.

I did a gig recently with 2 of the JRX118 subs that were provided.  The amps were 1000W into each driver.  While they produced bass, my single LS800P was certainly a more capable option.

I don't have personal experience with the UCS1P, but by all accounts I hear it's a great option as well. So if that size/shape appeals to you more I think it would be just as good.

Don't worry too much about power handling/rating.  It's usually inflated or misrepresents what's actually going on.  I realize what's been said might contradict general intuition, so if you have any questions we could go into further detail.

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