Thinking of getting one Alpine Type X 10" subwoofer instead of 2 x 10" Alpine Type R's. Opinions are welcomed and also I would like peoples opinions on what amp to run the Type X or Type R woofers with. I'd like to stick with an Alpine amp but I guess if there's something better I would consider it.

Cheers.

well, im not much of a fan of alpine but if you are dead set on them i would recommend the single type X over the twin type Rs.

Reason, seems to be a much better unit over the type R with the same power handling in a single speaker and the better frequency responce.

as for the amp the MRD-M1005 Mono Power Amplifier seems to be the best and most logical choice if staying with alpine

or if you have more money than god the A6000GTI from JBL is something to cream over

linkage : http://www.jbl.com/car/products/product_detail.aspx?prod=A6000GTI&cat=AMP&ser=GTI

What other brands of subwoofer would be a good choice for around the $500-$600 mark for a single 10" sub?

Something like the JBL P1020D US$350 would be nice coupled with the JBL GTO601.1 amp for about the same would be a good combination

you dont by any chance have a hard-on for jbl do you?

alpine r awesome. btu then again im a bit biased.
pioneer make good subs and MTX

Type X sounds very good.

Diamond TDX 10" is the best around. If you're set on a 10".

Other options,
Image Dynamics
RE xxx
Adire Brahma
DD 3510

As long as you give them lots of clean power, the X-Types should give you what you want.
Yes, that means an MRD-1005 EACH SUB. Get the 4+4 ohm DVC versions and wire parallel and present 2 ohms to the amp.

I think there is better value out there for $600 each sub....

As long as you give them lots of clean power, the X-Types should give you what you want.
Yes, that means an MRD-1005 EACH SUB. Get the 4+4 ohm DVC versions and wire parallel and present 2 ohms to the amp.

I think there is better value out there for $600 each sub....

Like... ? :D

Boston G510.... rrp $699.

Crossfire BMF's in 12" are like $799 rrp so they might be a bit exxy.

Diamond TDX 10" are $990 but are possibly the best 10" you can buy as Tim has said. 2 of these with loads of power would kill most 2 x 15" setups in SQ and SPL.

Focal SB27V2's are $699 each. These are 11" subs...

Hertz ME2500 are $513 and a bit of a bargain, although I'd pick the focals or bostons over these if I had the $$$ to spend. Would still go for these over the X-Types.

Image Dynamics IDMAX10.V3s are $749.... and worth every cent. Heard 2 of these in 12" version over the weekend and was just blown away by the power and clarity of these. Huge grin on my face ever since.

Vibe Blackair.... Not huge power handling, but you could get 2 x 15s and have change out of $800. 12s will set you back about $640 for a pair.

Treo SSi's in 10" have a $829 RRP. Tim could tell you more but I am hearing great things about them. Yet to hear a system with any Treo gear but champing at the bit to find one!

Nothing against the Alpines, I have alpine gear in my car. The speakers are overpriced and/or underperform compared to similarly priced brands. That said, I'm not calling their stuff crap. The X-types and DDDrives are excellent speakers. Just if I had the money to spend on DDDrives, I might look elsewhere.... Beryliums, Rainbow....

Well I can get a 10" Alpine Type X off ebay for $369, so I think that's a bit of a bargain seeing as they retail for $599.

I think those would be the famous reconditioned units.....

I think those would be the famous reconditioned units.....

Reconditioned units? English?

Reconditioned units = sent back to the factory for some sort of warranty issues. Factory fixes them, then sells them out 'ex-factory' to eBay suppliers cheaply on 'volume deals' (sorry mate, you gotta buy at least 30 pairs of those subs for that special price) with no further warranty. The eBay supplier takes a punt there will be no other warranty issues with a product. If the product fails, then the supplier wears it.

Most likely damage repaired for speakers: Tinsel leads replaced, voice coil replacement, crossover components (capacitors mainly) replaced or dry joints within them fixed.

Amps: Dry joints, capacitors blown, broken connectors.

I was looking to buy an amp once, had it opened in front of me from factory sealing. It was obviously used, little scratches all over it. When I pushed the salesman, he let me take off the cover, the inside of the cover had the remains of electronic burn!! I'd say that they just salvaged the chassis, and dumped a new board inside it and soldered her up!

I'm not going to mention the brand, and no Magnat, it was not Kenwood either. This was an authorised retailer buying from the australian distributor. I will NEVER touch that brand again either.

Mind you, selling it at $369+freight, they probably bought it for LESS THAN HALF THAT!
They have to assume that 1 in 2 products would be returned to them within 12 months for them to stay in business.

You will notice that certain audio brands are warning against buying from eBay.... saying the products are counterfeit or fake. Most likely explanation is that they are warranty units that have been fixed by them (or warranty agents, or just by an unaffiliated company), and sold on just to help cover losses. They make money from selling you retail boxes.... so they get some poor schmuk trying to start a business to buy 50 units, then once they get the money, try closing them down.

Dell is clearing warranty computers via one particular auction site, although they are upfront about it. At least you might be able to get some components or spares from it (if it's something like a cracked mobo or something).

Alpine WILL NOT sell brand new stuff from the factory. It would kill their profits, and errode their dealer network. Most other decent car audio companies (although some do....) won't either... leaves them open to distributors and retailers suing them for selling to non-authorised distributors at less than the real wholesale rate.

Then they go on the whole 'Don't buy from eBay' or 'Only buy from an authorised distributor or retailler' rant as everyone buys the cheapies from eBay.

Car audio is a fiercely competitive business, and every dollar the manufacturers can get, they will try to get.

or if you have more money than god the A6000GTI from JBL is something to cream over
linkage : http://www.jbl.com/car/products/product_detail.aspx?prod=A6000GTI&cat=AMP&ser=GTI

That amplifier is spastic! What i would do for one of those monsters..... lol

That amplifier is spastic! What i would do for one of those monsters..... lolPower Output:
2600 Watts RMS x 2 channels at 4 ohms and ≤ 1%THD+N :D
8110 Watts RMS x 1 channel at 4 ohms, 14.4V supply and ≤ 1%THD+N
7400 Watts RMS x 1 channel at 1 ohm, 14.4V supply and ≤ 1%THD+N

Signal-to-Noise Ratio: 65 dBA (reference 1 Watt into 4 ohms)
Dynamic Power: 6854 Watts at 4 ohms
Effective Damping Factor: 6.39 at 4 ohms
Frequency Response: 10Hz to 270Hz (-3dB)
Maximum Input Signal: 8.5V!!! :shock:
Maximum Sensitivity: 250mV
Output Regulation: .2 db at 4 ohms
Dimensions (H x W x D): 6-1/2" x 29-3/8" x 23




2600 Watts RMS x 2 channels at 4 ohms and ≤ 1%THD+N

Wonder if the GT4-12's will handle that??? :confused:

You don't know for sure anything you've said about the reconditioned units. Alpine is designed, engineered, and manufactured in America so it would be safe to assume that the Alpine units are cheap over there and so the saving is passed onto us through the magic of ebay. Much like the Monaro which is sent over to Britian. They have to pay more for the car than we do because it's locally engineered and manufactured.

My gf just did a hunt around online for a bunch of Alpine gear from Authorised Alpine dealers, and found that on a single 10" Type R subwoofer, there was a saving of approximately $100 per sub. These are brand new items, with warranties.

We also did a check to compare Rockford Fosgate products which we have a quote for from a local dealer where we live, who quoted a P2 Punch 10" subwoofer for $359. The same subwoofer can be found online @ cardomain.com (an Authorised Rockford Fosgate dealer) a 2-pack of P2 Punch 10" subwoofers for $199.95 USD ($271.43 AUD). That's $135.71 EACH! More than half the price! Again, this is from an Authorised dealer with a 1 year warranty.

The units for sale on ebay also come with a 1 year warranty and also deliver approximately the same amount of savings per unit.

Shipping is the only killer on that arument. Subs especially, they are heavy and cost a fortune to frieght.

The only way you would save is to buy things in massive bulk from a US distributor (with currency exchange), ship a load over in a container (possibly $4K to get a container from USA to Oz), pay import duty, GST, and then get it from the eBay person (if located here) and then pay for the extra freight from them to you. The numbers when you work them out don't make sense.

The only thing you would be saving on if they are real, new retail products is the fact the eBay people have no shops to maintain, nor wages to pay most of the time (husband & wife, or just one guy operations most of the time), and only making $10 profit on each item they sell.

Normal retail margins are usually between 30% and 40%. So your $599 retail sub is looking like around $390 wholesale assuming RRP based on 35% markup of wholesale price. This would be from an Aussie Distributor. As you can see, this is already HIGHER than your eBay quoted price.

Even with 40% markup, the wholesale price is $359.... so they are making 10 bucks if they buy from an Aussie Distributor (ie - they can't as they aren't Alpine dealers)

A big killer is that these 'cheap" online authorised dealers cannot ship outside their country anyway...and basically refuse to point blank.

First of all, the shipping is irellivent, the point is that the people in the US are selling to customers for the same price, so they're still making money. I happen to work in an electronics store that sells car audio, and I know for a fact that the markup on electronics is a lot more than 40%, try closer to 60%. Like you said, there's no "shop" to maintain, no rent to pay, no wages to pay. Your whole markup argument is invalid.

Okay, not wanting to get into an argument with you, but as far as I am concerned, the following applies:

1) It's your money Ralph.

2) If you can find somewhere online that is a authorised dealer with prices like you mention, AND willing to ship to Australia, you've done very well and I salute you.

3) Warranty will NOT apply in Australia. Any warranty that you are offered is borne by the online vendor. The warranty is handled by the local distributor, if it was not purchased through the Australian distributor, they can (and usually will) refuse to deal with it. If you do buy from eBay and they ship from overseas, you will need to ship it back to them for warranty and it will cost YOU. Sending a 12" sub to the States via Parcel Post makes my wallet very worried. That 10" Rockford sub might cost almost $100 to send back to the states via air...... almost as much as it cost you!

4) Factory seconds, refurbs and even fakes (yes there are some) abound on eBay. One eBay shop I know sells Pioneer stuff shipped from OS that has been refurbed. One guy I know bought an amp from them and it was okay, but the 2x 15" subs died within a month. Would have cost him nearly $300 to send back to Singapore or wherever they were shipped from. I could see tinsel lead repairs on the spider, nasty nasty stuff.

5) All eBay vendors are not authorised distributors unless they have an actual shop in most cases (there are a couple around on eBay), but also sell a few items via auction. They will not be allowed to sell their products outside their distributor's zone anyway (could be Australia, or Australia & New Zealand).

Yes, I have bought audio stuff on eBay, but I did so with a written notice from the vendor that I could send it back for a full refund if I thought the goods to be second hand in any way such as warranty repaired items. Also, they are Australian based, so freight cost is lower if I have to send back the item for warranty issues.

And they were so cheap that if they die, I will just buy new ones. A set of splits for $110 delivered? Just throw them away if they die.

First of all, the shipping is irellivent, the point is that the people in the US are selling to customers for the same price, so they're still making money.
Shipping is relevant as you have to get them here from wherever they are shipped from. No good owning a set of subs in the states and you and your car here in aussie. Shipping is still going to contribute to the total price you pay.

If you quote AUD$271.43 for that pair of rockford 10s, is that shipping included? Most of those sites may say that includes shipping, but read the fine print and they mention that the so-called free shipping is only to the 48 continental states in the US.....

Please tell me what they would cost landed here.... i'm interested to know just for personal knowledge.


I happen to work in an electronics store that sells car audio, and I know for a fact that the markup on electronics is a lot more than 40%, try closer to 60%. Like you said, there's no "shop" to maintain, no rent to pay, no wages to pay. Your whole markup argument is invalid.
Which shop would that be? JB Hifi? Jaycar? Only interested to know.

There are still costs to running an eBay store. They charge for listings and when an item is sold. You also have your internet bill to consider, phone calls, running to the post office (fuel, time) etc. Granted the costs are lower, but they still exist. They person doing it obviously needs to make some profit or they lose money.

As I said in my previous post, at the end of the day it is your money. You may get brand new equipment, it may be repaired, it might run without ever having a problem, it might stuff up and need to be shipped back overseas at your cost - therefore costing you what it would have set you back to buy through an authorised dealer anyway?

If they refuse to reapir of refund you, how do you chase up an overseas supplier/business with a Department of Fair Trading or other consumer advocate?

Remember that by supporting a local authorised dealer, you could be helping to employ someone. Are you worried that when you see people selling the gear that you sell in your shop on eBay that it may have an impact on your job security at some stage?

I'm not saying you shouldn't buy online or from non-aussie shops, people or online stores. I am saying there are consequences to your purchasing actions, and you need to weigh up the pros and cons of it first and some of the pitfalls that can trap people by unscrupulous online traders. The refurbished gear is something I have had experience with and was only tring to warn you. To be forwarned is to be forearmed. Cavat Emptor, Buyer beware and all that. That's all. I'm not trying to prove you wrong, just have an open and honest, frank discussion on all the issues.

you dont by any chance have a hard-on for jbl do you?

:bowrofl: :bowrofl:

Yes, I do love my JBL gear... and I am open an honest about it.

I think they make some of the best 'budget' gear about, Their low end subs are particularly good for the money you pay for them. Their amps are also quite good, and they have the backing of being a very large audio company with many product lines including large concert and nightclub PA equipment. All that R&D has to filter down to the other parts of the business.

But look at those power figures.... I donlt care if you love JBL or hate JBL.... you gotta admit that it's a beast of an amp that....

JBL suck :P Nah a few mates got JBL speakers in their car, they get up pretty loud but do begin to distort. Still good for the price though.