XCON worth extra $100 in my case?

[Tony Nelson 8]

Hey guys. I'm still haven't decided on subwoofer upgrades. I was recommended to go with an XCON in my last thread, which it seems everyone here likes them alot. I would only have about 1000-1200 watts to play with, on a good day, So my question would be whether or not the XCON is better for me over an ICON, with that amount of power. I have room to run the SSA small ported XCON 12 enclosure, and could run the optimum ICON enclosure I think. Would I hear a differance in the xcon vs icon in terms of output with that much power? Would it be worth the extra $100 to get the xcon over the icon?

[Sir-Lancelot 216]

Both are nice and they like about the same box.

Tough call.

Just depends if you have extra money to spend. I think you would be happy either way!

[Tony Nelson 8]

Both are nice and they like about the same box.

Tough call.

Just depends if you have extra money to spend. I think you would be happy either way!

Well, I have about a 400 dollar cap to spend on woofers. I could go with 2 10's, 2 sealed 12's, or one big 12 ported. Would there be any differance between and xcon and an icon with 1000 watts available? If there is and I would notice, then I could get the xcon. But if not, other then saying I have an xcon I wouldn't be gaining anything.

[jcarter1885 995]

The difference between an Icon and Xcon will be install dependent, but there is no problem with underpowering a subwoofer so you do have enough power to push an Xcon. Could it use more power than the 1200 watts you have yes, but is it needed no.

[Sir-Lancelot 216]

xcon vs icon on 1000w i doubt you would hear a difference, but if the upgrade bug hit and you wanted more power you would be covered with the xcons.

What is your ultimate goal with the subs? Sq? Loud and clear?

[jrod1050 5]

There is a thread where a guy was running 1000 rms to his icon and took it out and put a xcon in the exact same enclosure and he said he noticed a big difference. Search through the threads and you should be able to find it.

[Duran 387]

ICON. Because it would be in an optimal enclosure and within it's power limits.

[cheese20323 13]

The XCON will be better than the ICON, 1 it handles more power so you won't really be able to blow it very quickly or never.The Icon is rated at 1000wrms and It can get blown off of 1500 clipped power from the amp if you do not set the gains correctly and the Xcon is the Icon's bigger bro.....

[Tony Nelson 8]

xcon vs icon on 1000w i doubt you would hear a difference, but if the upgrade bug hit and you wanted more power you would be covered with the xcons.

What is your ultimate goal with the subs? Sq? Loud and clear?

I have thought about that, if I ever wanted to upgrade and such. I would need to upgrade electrical big time though, as it is stock now. I will do the big 3 sometime this summer. My goal is to just get louder then my current Boston Acoustic G5 12. I think it sounds pretty clear, but I do not have anything to base that off, as I have ever really heard anything but mainstream woofers except in the Home Audio world. It is also sealed. So I guess my goal would be loud and clear, because it won't be true SQ setup and ""SQL"" doesn't exist right .

I just don't have the money to "buy something and try it out and see if you like it." So I want to try to narrow things down as best as possible before I buy something.

[Tony Nelson 8]

The XCON will be better than the ICON, 1 it handles more power so you won't really be able to blow it very quickly or never.The Icon is rated at 1000wrms and It can get blown off of 1500 clipped power from the amp if you do not set the gains correctly and the Xcon is the Icon's bigger bro.....

I'm not worried about blowing a woofer, I never have before. I really don't crank my systems that hard all the time, just once in a while . I set my gains with dmm's, and now I have access to O-scopes so I will be able to see exactly where my amp clips. It is a RF P1000-1BD, if that matters or means anything. I got it for $230 brand new so it was a good deal.

[dvalue 17]

The XCON will be better than the ICON, 1 it handles more power so you won't really be able to blow it very quickly or never.The Icon is rated at 1000wrms and It can get blown off of 1500 clipped power from the amp if you do not set the gains correctly and the Xcon is the Icon's bigger bro.....

You can cook a woofer with any amount of power if its clipping.

[Duran 387]

The XCON will be better than the ICON, 1 it handles more power so you won't really be able to blow it very quickly or never.The Icon is rated at 1000wrms and It can get blown off of 1500 clipped power from the amp if you do not set the gains correctly and the Xcon is the Icon's bigger bro.....

You can cook a woofer with any amount of power if its clipping.

Not if the clipped signal is within the power rating, both thermally and mechanically.

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

Think of it this way, the Icon has built a strong and growing following that is a very proven woofer that people really like. It is more sub then most people need. The Xcon takes every aspect to then next level, if not more. You just have to decide if the higher performance and limits of the Xcon is worth your money to fill your install goals.

[Duran 387]

^ Right.

Which is why I recommended the ICON, because based on your goals you don;t need the extra performance available form the XCON, the ICON would fit you nicely. Whenever Mark and Aaron FINALLY release the new ICON it will have a slightly increased mechanical power handling which will still be great for you

[Sir-Lancelot 216]

The XCON will be better than the ICON, 1 it handles more power so you won't really be able to blow it very quickly or never.The Icon is rated at 1000wrms and It can get blown off of 1500 clipped power from the amp if you do not set the gains correctly and the Xcon is the Icon's bigger bro.....

You can cook a woofer with any amount of power if its clipping.

Not if the clipped signal is within the power rating, both thermally and mechanically.

^

Truth!

Which is one reason I am going to vote Xcon for the OP.

A little wiggle room is a good thing.

Port a 12 around 30hz and be happy.

[Sir-Lancelot 216]

LOL,

we are not making this easy!

Hell either damn one of them would be bad ass.

It's your money OP I think you would be happy either way!

[Tony Nelson 8]

^ Right.

Which is why I recommended the ICON, because based on your goals you don;t need the extra performance available form the XCON, the ICON would fit you nicely. Whenever Mark and Aaron FINALLY release the new ICON it will have a slightly increased mechanical power handling which will still be great for you

Ok. Thanks guys for this discussion. I think the xcon is out of the picture for now. I just need to decide whether or not to run two woofers. I could get two lethal injections or sa-12's too, and still be in my budget. I just haven't ever ran a ported woofer in my car before, and I am very curious to build one. Which then I would probably go with the one Icon. too many options...

[Tony Nelson 8]

LOL,

we are not making this easy!

Hell either damn one of them would be bad ass.

It's your money OP I think you would be happy either way!

I really think I will be happy with whatever I choose, I just don't know what to expect to hear because I haven't ever heard these woofers, or any woofers that aren't mainstream other then an elemental designs e3.12 woofer. I build a ported box for a friend for that e3.12 woofer, and it surprised the hell out of me with its output for a woofer only costing $125. I also do have an Fi audio X12 that I bought on black friday for $65 dollars, that I put in the seal box my boston was in and that suprised me also. I wasn't quite as loud or as clean as my boston, but it did hit a little lower. So I am sure and Icon would blow me away, or any woofer offered at this site for that matter.

[Duran 387]

If your using an SSA woofer, they have a GREAT technical section with blueprints for enclosures so you can build your own, which is the cheapest thing to do

[cheese20323 13]

Not that long ago i change my Type R from Sealed and whoal the performance changed alot it sounded twice as loud as sealed and kep up with all note ported at 33hz but ported is the way to go and building a box aint all that hard.

[Tony Nelson 8]

If your using an SSA woofer, they have a GREAT technical section with blueprints for enclosures so you can build your own, which is the cheapest thing to do

I did find the box plans in their technical page. Really detailed designs.

Not that long ago i change my Type R from Sealed and whoal the performance changed alot it sounded twice as loud as sealed and kep up with all note ported at 33hz but ported is the way to go and building a box aint all that hard.

I have built many boxes for home audio. I am not worried about building boxes. I am worried about the way it will sound. I enjoy the sound of a sealed box, not because it is "tighter" or anything, that depends on install and woofer, but because I like the flatter response. The thing I worry about a ported box with a high power woofer is that I will definately over power the rest of my system. The f3 is much lower then a sealed box, which all of you know I am sure, and taking into acount cabin gain, that could lead to very strong bass from 30-50 hz or whatever. Which I guess isn't bad, and it is definately nice when one is trying to pound their brains out. I am just not quite sure if I want that type of sound all the time in my car. I know ported applications can sound very musical and detailed, I just am unsure right now.

[Tony Nelson 8]

Just to throw another into the mix....How are the death rows? Are they an SPL or SQ or somewhere in the middle oriented sub? I can't seem to find much info on the death rows in the forums, and there aren't any published specs on the IA woofers. How would they match up SQ wise to an Icon or xcon? What other woofers are comparible to a death row?

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

The Death Row leans more towards the SPL side, and the Icon leans more towards the SQ side. If you are worried about the enclosure effecting the sound, maybe start with a simple sealed enclosure and then go from there. If you want a little more output, try the small ported enclosure design that is in our technical section.

[Notorious on mobile 0]

I have an Icon and an Xcon, both 15". They are freat woofers.

They are loud as... And they're really musical subs.

But the xcon is really more powerful for the same watts. It is worth the $100. If you have the money, go for it.

You can run the xcon in a sealed box and be happy with it!

I have a topic about it (from ported to sealed).

And one about both subs (from Icon to Xcon).

Good luck.

[Viperoni 0]

At 1000 watts, I would definitely be leaning towards the Xcon because of it's excursion. ESRPECIALLY in a sealed box.

Or 2 Icon's