THX_Elite

I like my Fi BL, it is nice and plays high to low, it's a 12" but if I had room I'd get a 15 because it hits lows and highs very nicely...the highs become more prominent after some break in time, the lows seem to come in stronger at first. I have not heard the SP4, but I love Fi Audio soooo.... A lot of people criticize the BL's 18mm xmax but that coupled with a REALLY powerful motor seems to be a very well rounded driver. Don't know much about the Zcon other than you can't really go wrong with those either! That is a tough choice to make between those two subs for sure...both the Zcon and the SP4 have the same xmax at 33mm, the ZCON being 2250w and the SP4 being 3000w....the SP4 is 2lbs heavier also.

Lol ya, thats when everyone was bumping with sealed boxed 6x9's

Properly installed and dialed in Focals are hard to beat...I never owned a pair...I just know this.

If there is money to be spent especially on a RAD boat then there is nothing wrong with choosing Focal as the sound production is Very Good, I would hope that you do install them the best way you can to take advantage of this fact. Remember you will only get as good as sound as your personal installation will allow!!!! But.. I mean not to debate which is a better OVERALL product, as that is shown by the speaker itself to the buyer/owner/listener, not the forums to the listener.

Welcome for sure!

you did not describe the problem enough but I will try: When you plug in or unplug things from your H/U make sure the volume is down...I assume this hasn't happened again since you did not mention so. In that respect I would say no that you did not do damage to your sub as long as it still plays music cleanly, and I'm almost positive it does. Make sure that the fuse coming from the battery is in good condition and not faulty. If it happens again make note of what you were doing when it happened.

pics would be sweet, and we are glad you like your Sub!!

HaPpY BiRtHdAy MaRk LaFoUnTaIn! Today is my birthday too!!!

Glad you went with components

When it comes to crossover slopes it truly and really is up to the listeners preference. If you have and are using a 3rd order crossover and are happy with it...I would not change a thing as for how steep the slope is (if your happy with it)...again it's all in how much roll off you want at your desired frequency, it is purely (per-listener preference) IMO The water can get pretty murky in a discussion of 2nd and 3rd or even 4th order active and passive crossovers! Just decide if you are getting the acceptable frequency cutoff rates, which in just a sub application should be really easy. The steeper the slope the less power is being applied to the neighboring frequencies which has a chance of sounding a bit unnatural.

gotta try some a that Flosstradamus in my car, good stuff here

Your box is pretty much tuned really nice especially to get the 40-55hz nicely, it does take some time for the sub to break in and then the higher notes will become more and more promenent I assure you : ) Make sure your crossover on the amp is at or around 100hz ENJOY!

awesome That's great! You will love it, and it only gets better after a few weeks of play!!!

Components are better because they seperate the sound stage MUCH better by seperating through their crossovers, high frequencies and mid frequencies thus making the front stage feel and sound a great deal more accurate and robust, larger/wider etc. The crossovers that come with the focals are very nice also. I don't know what your plan is, I just got the "gist" of it. But you could do a set of real nice focal components for the front of your boat and the rest any other Focal 6.5 of your choosing, (they sound EXCELLENT by the way) especially the top end components. (prepare for a 1,000+ price tag on the top end of focals line up!!!) They are AMAZING speakers. Try checking them out at a local stereo shop if you can!! As for amp I am not sure, we would need to first decide on what speakers and how many, to determine the final ohm load that we would have to work with. The amp is important here but not as important as the quality of all your speakers your wanting to install. Im thinking it would be more wise to use two seperate 4 channel amps for your eight 6.5's. P.S. I am clear over hear on the west in southeast Idaho other wise I would surely be down for some speed runs!!!!

DAAMN nice!

Next level is some top of the line Focal's haha, waaaay xpensive and excelent sound here is just one of the examples: http://www.ebay.com/itm/FOCAL-6KP-POLYKEVLAR-6-5-K2-POWER-MIDRANGE-165KR-165KF-165KP-165KPS-SINGLE-/400602262937?pt=Car_Speakers&vxp=mtr&hash=item5d45c16d99 and their home page: http://www.focal.com/en/ not sure if they have marine speakers so care should be taken in install obviously if you go with these amazing speakers. Also in a boat I think it might be really nice to have components, although I have never heard components in open air....I think it might be pretty amazing. None the less this is just one of the "next level" brands you may not have tried and they do have standard 6.5's

damn nice boat! BIG, LOUD, and FAST....PERFECT : )

Same here only mine is a BRX1600.1D and I also run a ZRX1000.4 for my cabin mids and tweets that I love. Both are flawless amps. The bad name that hifonics has gotten is unfair to say the least...although I will mention that since Maxxsonics took over...some things changed for the worse. That being said these amps are perfectly capable of performing at rates of higher priced amps...they run cool, they are rated pretty truely, and they are tanks, that last for years and years(my brother has an old Titan from early 2000 that just wont stop, lol). I will always stand behind Hifonics amps, but the rest of their line up, ie. speakers, be it subs or mids are no good after Maxxsonics took over. Honestly their AMPS IMHO are a Tremendous Value!!! Just like the woofers you can find in this forum- They are cheaply priced but at the same time they really put out when it comes to quality, performance and endurance. A lot of people will hate on them just because of the price factor alone, but they don't realize that they just bought a BAD ASS, SSA or Fi, etc...Woofer, that was priced cheaply but will hold their own against nearly ANY other mainstream brand of woofer. Not too mention that the customer service from Hifonics themselves is very good and they are almost always vigilant when it comes to their customers satisfaction ...I currently am looking into the Brutus Elite series as a possible upgrade. The main stream woofers and amps have totally lost my attention since my current build listed in my sig.

I might consider taking a guess that two 1,000 watt speakers in a sealed box will draw more power(less efficient and more draw on the electrical system) than one 1250 watt speaker in a more efficient ported speaker box. Are your ssd equipped with the High QTS? Even if they are I am thinking that the same stands to be true, however I have been wrong before

I've owned A LOT of subs and the Fi BL 12" fully loaded is by far my Favorite out of them all! I wouldn't trade it for any other sub. If this one ever dies, i'll just get another!

W7's are good but after getting my Fi BL I will never look back away from Fi or SSA...It is one bad ass driver to say the least! ESPECIALLY considering price point!

The box I had custom built for ONE twelve inch Fi BL that I currently use has a port area of 32.5 square inches (included in displacemet).

nice ride and sub bro!

That is very true, but I personally LOOVE the 12" BL's abilities in the low end (28hz and above)anyway, in a 32hz 2.5^3 enclosure. Saying this, however, I would be a happy camper with a second one! Wish I had the room! Just trying to show the OP in my confidence that you do get some satisfying rumble low end out of the 12" BL, all be it, not as loud as a larger driver or two drivers with more cone area.