2 8's/2 middle of the road 10's/1 stout 10

Okay so I'm in the planning stages of my audio build and trying to decide on subs. I'll be getting a box from soundoffaudio so it'll either be a one or two sub setup. The dual sub box has an amp rack in the middle and has .75^3 ft per chamber and the single setup has .65^3. They both have a mounting depth of 5 3/8, but the single box can be ordered to have 6" for an option. I can fit one jl 10w3 or one alpine type r 10 as they are both less than 6" deep. If I get the dual box I can go dual jl 10w1 or 2 eights of some type, but the air space is too much for every 8" I've found except for a Kicker L7. If anyone has any experience in a similar setup I'd love to hear some opinions. I'm coming from a single Sundown SD-3 10 in a F-250 crew cab which could get loud, but it seemed to miss some of the punch on the kick drums as I listen to a lot of rock and texas country. Maybe it was the box being below air space I'm not too sure. I'm trying to keep the sub budget around $300 or as close as possible.

 

If you liked the SD-3 10 then I'd say stick with it. 0.65^3 is a little larger than sundown's recommendations, but you can easily reduce volume by gluing in MDF blocks. I had to do the very same thing when I changed from an IDQ10 to a BM mkIV. Sundown is definitely more beefy than the JL and Alpine and makes a very good all-around sub. If you want to try something different, then I'd choose the Type R over the w3. That Type R will hit harder and get louder.

 

Yeah every time I look around at subs I end up at sundowns. I'm leaning towards 8's as I've read a ton of good reviews about the SD-2 8's.

 

And I'm thinking about a custom box from a shop around here or a Mr Marv instead of a pre fab now. I want the best box possible for the subs

 

If your going to stay sealed the sd-2 8 will be your best bet. Two of them will net you more cone area than one 10. The jl 8w7 is a beefy sub but at that price tag two sd-2 8 are more feasible and still more cone area than the one jl 8w7. If you want ported the sd-2 8 (two of them even) can be done in the tacoma with the maximum airspace that can be acquired. I sound biased and I may be but I have put these subs (sd-2 8) through some paces and can honestly say these things are underrated in every way.

 

I may wait for the sd-3 8's to come out as I don't want to rush this. So I might just get my head unit in and then do speakers/subs in a few months. Is there enough space behind the seats to down fire the 8's in a glassed box? I know I've seen someone on here with the 8w7's facing sideways so I figured there might be room to downfire them. Or will that sound bad?

 

Downfire in trucks has the same effect as trunk loaded subs. It will sound louder/fuller in the same space. The sd3 model is all but the same as the sd2 except for the inverted surround. The power rating is practically the same and experience from the sd2 has shown that they can benefit from more airspace. With the inverted surround of the sd3 downfire can be possible without fear of clearance during excursion. Since you're going to take your time I would start with measuring the space you will be using and be willing to sacrifice. Sundown's measurements on their subs exteriors are accurate enough to do so mock ups before you get the subs.

 

That was exactly a reason to wait for the SD-3 8 since it has the inverted surround. I believe I'll be feeding them 500 watts (usually more since Alpine underrates their amps) with an Alpine PDX-V9. It won't be the full 600 watts they are rated for, but it'll be close and should sound good.