First off thanks for taking time out of your day to read this and hopefully steer me in the right direction.
Im currently shopping out a complete system for my 2016 F150. I am a musician as well as spend much time mixing in high end recording studios. Sound quality is my top priority for clarity for my sound stage, however when driving, I do enjoy listening to EDM and Rap as wish to have a strong deep low end, but then will bounce to rock, and no surprise if Norah Jones or Adele plays on that same playlist. hahaha All in all, strong deep bass but crystal clear clarity to not ever run risk of losing vocals or highs in any track played.
I decided and have already purchase Hertz 6.5 mille legend mid bass for for front 2 doors (2016 F150 supercrew). They come stock with 6x9s in the front and 6.5 in rear, but I wanted to stay uniform with 6.5 in all 4 doors. I've purchase 2-6.5 mille pro mid bass for the rear fill. Also have 2- 3" Hertz 700.3 for mid range (plan to mount in aluminum speaker pods that mount to A pillar), as well as 2 Hertz legend 280.3 1-3/8" tweeters. To power them i've got 2- DD Audio 4.800 (125x4 @4ohm). I'll be running everything active on 8 channels.
As for my subs/box, here is where I am torn and could really use your opinions, thoughts, suggestions, or any advice...
I came across Fox Acoustics prefabbed boxes for 2016F150 and the quality looks superior to any other prefab box i've stumbled upon, also offering slightly more airspace than most truck boxes. Impulsively, I purchase the FOX Acoustic single 12" vented box. States it has 2.2 net cubes of airspace and tuned to 35Hz. I was pretty set on the Sundown Audio SA12 but kinda last minute came across info and people raving about the Sound Solution Audio Gcon and Icon subs. I ordered the SSA ICON 12". Well my dumb**s overlooked that the mounting depth of the sub (6.75" ) and the FOX Acoustic box has max downfire mounting depth of 6.25"... other than that, the specs seem to line up decent. The ICON calls for 1.75-2.1cuft ported, the box is 2.2 prior to displacement. However the sub recs 29-33
Here are my options:
1. Keep the box and sub, purchase an LMI f150 rear bench seat riser (options to lift either 2.5 or 3.5"). I can raise the rear bench seat slightly, install a half in spacer at sub mount and install little rubber stands on the bottom 4 corners to lift the entire box upward. The space at sub mount area should make up the .5" difference in mounting depth capability, and the rubber supports in the corner would raise the entire box slightly off the floor to ensure the sub wont be hitting the floor due to downfire configuration.
2. I've heard many people say the sound quality of 2-10s will be better than a single 12". Yes its all subjective, yes depends on the subs, and yes i am aware that 2-10s have more cone area than a single 12. FOX Acoustic said they would place my box order on hold in case i do end up wanting to switch the single vented 12 box out for the 2-10" vented option. For reference, they both appear to be nearly identical... Single 12 box has 2.2 net cubes, 6.25 mounting depth, and is tuned to 35. The dual 10's box has 2.15 net cubes (.05 less that the 12 box), and same 6.25 mounting depth, as well as also tuned to 35hz.
If I go with the dual 10's, im torn between Sundown Audio SA classic 10s, and Sound Solutions Audio GCON 10s. The specs of the sundown 10s seem to match rather closely to the FOX Acoustic dual 10 box. The Sundowns are 750w RMS and the SSA GCON are 950w RMS. From reading other peoples posts, my consensus is that the sundowns are great speakers but would lean more towards the SPL side, while the SSA GCONs have beefy low end yet likely to have better sound quality or been slightly cleaner. That was the reason I went SSA 12 in the first place over sundowns.
Manufacturer RECS INFO:
SSA GCON 10s- 1-1.5 cuft/ea ported, tuned between 29-33hz, mounting depth 5.8"
Sundown SA 10s- 1cuft/ea ported, tuned to 35hz, mounting depth 6", 750RMS
FOX Acoustic Dual 10 vented box- 2.15 cuft, tuned to 35hz, mounting depth 6.25 in
Likely leaning towards DD Audio M2500 monoblock running 1250watts to each at 1ohm. ( cound even switch to 2 ohm for the sundowns to give it exact RMS 750each, but heard they do like extra power, so prob keep both options at 1 ohm and gain down to increase SQ... Open to suggestions)
Now that I've got that all laid out, my questions are:
stay with the single 12" setup or switch to the dual 10's?
if switching to dual 10's, which subs would you recommend based on the box?
I guess my dilenma/concern is that, overall from what I've read, it sounds like the SSA GCONs may be the better overall sub for my sound preference and handle more RMS (which the amp would still be rated above), but concerned that i run the risk of putting quality subs into a box thats a little too small and not tuned per its manufacturer recommendations. The SA10s seem to match better when it comes to sheer numbers, but ive not personally heard either, nor owned either. So any advice, tips, opinions, thoughts would be genuinely appreciated. Been reading these forums for quite some time to learn over the past year, but this is my first shot at posting seeking for personal guidance based on my specific needs.
Thanks in advance all, and best regards!
https://www.foxacoustics.com/collections/ford-supercrew-crew-cab/products/f-150-supercrew-2-10-vented-2009-2020 **** Dual 10s vented FOX BOX***
https://www.foxacoustics.com/collections/ford-supercrew-crew-cab/products/f-150-supercrew-2-10-vented-2009-2022 ****Single 12 vented FOX BOX***
https://sundownaudio.com/index.php/products/subwoofers-2/sa-classic-series-750w ****SA 10s***
https://store.soundsolutionsaudio.com/gcon-10-950w-subwoofer-by-ssa/ ****SSA GCON 10s****
https://store.soundsolutionsaudio.com/icon-12-1250w-subwoofer-by-ssa/ ****SSA ICON 12****
open to outside recommendations of any other subs that you may feel would be a better fit/pairing for either box as well!
