I can't speak for the Alpine as I have never owned an Alpine Subwoofer. I have run two Dayton HO 10's under the backseat of my Chevy truck for the last five years with no regrets. They are loud and clean and fit in a very small box. I have them in a SubThump prebuilt box that is slightly North of $100.00. They are receiving 600 watts each.

 

Dayton HO 10's or 12's?

I really like Dayton subs (have used them in my home theater for years) but always have to keep a keen eye on the amount of power they receive or they can quickly exceed Xmax. I've generally found that in a sealed enclosure, the 10's need to be at about 300w each to stay within a reasonable range of about 15% or less above Xmax. The 12's can take 600w each for sure.

 

The type s is a pretty underrated sub imho.
For its price I am very impressed with its performance.

 

That depends on the size box used. I currently run a 10 HO and have off and on since they were first introduced on the market. Something about their sound and value keeps me glued to them.

Many run them in a large sealed (.Qtc of .707 is in a tiny box of .3 or so) or ported with a loooong vent. My experience with them has been go large of you don't have the power but you WILL give up some meat in the midband which can become a problem since they're so clean. Around .3-.4 is as large as I use. With the back end of a PDX-V9, power handling is no problem. I love the kick it provides and I can cross it as high as 100hz without ill-effects while using minimal EQ.

For home audio I would expect many to target a much lower Q. In a vehicle it really isn't necessary unless you desire dry upper bass from your sub.

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The low distortion sound of the ho10 can leave you thinking the bass is lacking even though it's indeed there. Sitting still I feel like it's the perfect sub for SQ. Mine is about to come out to put something with a little more grunt in its place. It's not the sub for everyone that's for sure but it does sound really nice. I have the same love/hate relationship with this sub as I do subs with the xbl^2 motor. "Clean to a fault".

 

I have plenty of power, well at least a good amount. I was planning on running 3 of the subs sealed. Overkill to a point, as I don't like to redo things because it's not enough. So idea is to put as many in that will fit without sacrificing. I'm leaning towards the Dayton as I have read about them on this forum for 7+ years and don't hear anything bad about them. I just have never had any xbl subs or the low distortion so don't want to be disappointed in output, but honestly might be what I'm looking for in my older age.

What would the better choice be. 2 ported off 900 watts or 3 sealed off 1500. I have never run ported either.

I had more power available but that amp won't fit in truck, even though I know I don't need more

 

two 10s/12s in a well designed ported for SQ purposes(aka buy a design from someone that knows how to get loud and sound good) on at least 1500 rms. You'll have zero issues with output. Always have more power than you ever need so you never run into dissatisfaction with the output which leads to turning it up and clipping the puny weak amp that cant feed the sub enough juice.

 

I don’t have experience with the Dayton but do own an Alpine SWS10 ported and SWS12 sealed. The SWS10 ported is a budget gem of a subwoofer and I think is better than the SWS12 for SQ. I do have an AudioFrog GB12, Sundown SD3 10, Sundown SA12, JL 8W3V3-4, and have had many others to compare it to. I get where Hillbilly is coming from when he says “clean to a fault”. I already think sometimes the GB12 is like this in comparison to say the SA12 or SD3. Don’t get me wrong though I really like the GB12 but I also still like my SA12 and love, love, my SD3 10 in its ported enclosure.

My Sundown SD3 10 and GB12 have the most similar sonic signatures with the GB12 having much more output. The SWS 10 I have, I would say, is closer to the SD3 10, almost on par with it, and can get surprisingly loud too. I’ll put it this way, I could very easily upgrade the Alpine to something that costs much more, but I like it so much that I don’t feel the need to do that.

In the end I don’t think you will go wrong either way. Also, I’ve been running this Alpine for about two years now with a JBL GTX 500. The Alpine has an underhung coil, so like my SD3, it won’t take abuse like many overhung coil designs would. I’ve also read about the Dayton have some QC issues as well but they do have a 5 year warranty too.

 

I agree that I likely can't go wrong either way, I guess was hoping somebody said something that triggered and helped me go a certain direction. I'm leaning towards the Dayton HO as I have wanted to try those for several years. I'm also intrigued by SI RM12. I would have to raise the smaller seat in back a little more to make it fit, but not that big of an issue.

I'm still waiting on reply from Nick regarding the height of the motor once mounted. Since my box would angle some, I want to make sure it would fit before spending that kind of money, but I haven't heard back from him yet.

 

I would say it's hard to compare any other sub to the HO.. at least the original single coil 10" which I have good experience with. It takes a keen taste to appreciate it. I do suggest restricting sealed to open cabin situations... trucks & hatchbacks. Ported or larger is better if you have the room or a trunk.

I ran two in a 4dr S10 Blazer for a good while. Sealed .7 cubes total with a BP1200.1 @ 2 ohm. My goodness... the extension, smooth response, kick, and lack of distortion was addictive. Output was more than good.. you definitely felt it all the way down to notes you couldn't hear, but that's where the issue starts for most. They're used to hearing a fair amount of distortion to let them know the sub is "alive". The same difference some claim with the SI shallow 12" and other subs. The HO really gets out of the way of your midwoofers... not takes over, but joins them with ease. I couldn't imagine having a trio and not being satisfied once dialed in.

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Dam you BayBoy (kiddingly), now you are making me want to try one.

 

There's not much else to say here about the HO. I've used the 10's and 12's since their introduction. For the money they are the best sub I have ever heard. They are just so clean. And as Bayboy mentioned, they really let the midwoofers do their job: and it blends. The thing I remember best about the system from my Mazda6 that had one HO12 mating to RS180's in the door was how up-front the bass was and how smooth the transition between them was. Three 10's in a truck cab? Yeah, you are not going to have an output problem.

 

If your space is tight the Alpine may not fit. They like to stick a lot of uncessary and bulky plastic and rubber on the basket and magnet. The S is not as bad as the R and X. But you if you go with the Alpine double check the mounting depth and basket clearance.

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If your not opposed to hacking your Alpine then all that extra plastic will come off. I did that to a RE audio sub that had all kinds of cosmetic plastic on it. The sub would not fit a premade box. It won't affect the performance of the sub only the resale value.

 

Thanks all for the responses and help. Bayboy & Daverulz, sort of sealed the deal for and gave me that extra I was looking for in a decision.

One last question and I might need to start a new thread. What is the preference regarding subs under back seat of truck. Down fire, Up fire or Facing the front seat. I can face them forward, but install would be little easier for up/down fire

 

Thanks all for the responses and help. Bayboy & Daverulz, sort of sealed the deal for and gave me that extra I was looking for in a decision.



One last question and I might need to start a new thread. What is the preference regarding subs under back seat of truck. Down fire, Up fire or Facing the front seat. I can face them forward, but install would be little easier for up/down fire

You have a Chevy, right? I vote for down firing.

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I'm pretty confident you'll love the HO's. They punch way above their weight class. Plus - no stupid branding on the cone. Just black aluminum and rubber beauty.

 

With ~2cuft, you can go with the 15" HO. I've used both subs and IMHO the Daytons sound cleaner. As another poster mentioned, they can be a little too clean and lack the presence you may be used to from other subs. I'd go with the Daytons sealed.

 

I wish I could run the 15, but no place to put sub that size in truck unless I remove the small seat in back and with 2 younger kids, that isn't an issue.

My original plan consisted of 2 15's instead of backseat. Even have all the equipment for it. FI subs, 3 Zuki amps, but then had a surprise of not 1, but 2 kids so that project never got started and equipment is sitting in closet

 

I cant speak for the Daytons but i have 2 alpine type s 12's in my truck. I beat the tar out of them daily. Im trying at this point to blow them without just cranking the gains. I get them to stinking almost most daily and they just take it. Now on the other end, they do not like to play nicely under 30hz range they get sloppy fast. I have them in a ported box tuned to 32hz exact to Alpine spec. Im impressed they put up with my BS as much as they do.

 

General consensus (based on Chad's original post) on porting the 10" is .7, but modeling it backs it up. It models great in that size, but dealing with the necessary vent area to keep port noise at bay can prove problematic for some. PE changed their recommendations after so many reviews. Even the original sealed suggestion was
35. Not any longer, but I still stick to it... it works well for me. YMMV

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Chad's testing of this subwoofer is what I have been basing all my numbers off. My understanding (please correct if I'm wrong) is that by adding more subs and having an overall larger box would allow for a more reasonable port. So if I did 2 of these in 1.4ft enclosure or 3 in 2.1ft the overall port size would be more accommodating.

 

I've ran both in my Ram under the rear seat and I am a HUGE fan of the Dayton. The type s is nice and really a very solid subwwofer, but the sq of the Dayton and how it blends with my 3 way front stage is pretty damn good. Its running off an old Hifonics Brutus getting 600w.