Hi, im new here was wondering if you could help me with some ideas for subs.

My current setup is 2 12inch Sony 1300w at 200 watts rms a piece. I'm looking to upgrade to a better system i want SPL while not sacrificing sound quality. The only thing is i don't want to have to upgrade my alternator I have been looking around at subs such as the FI SSD ,FI X(with BP power option)x2, DD1512,SSA DCON, and Audioque SDC2.512. I think i am also leaning towards getting 2 subs instead of one because i don't know what rms vs surface area does for SQ/SPL. I listen to Rap/rock if anyone can help me out that be great. If you have other subs you wanna throw in the mix that's cool to i am looking at buying either HIFONICS BRUTUS BXi1210D 1200W Mono Amplifier or HIFONICS BRUTUS BXi1610D 1600W Mono Amplifier depending on the sub setup.

I'm not sure if I exactly understand your question regarding "RMS vs surface area", since you mention choosing between multiple subs compared to a single driver but not many specifics to that question.

But, more cone area means more SPL for a given excursion level, and less excursion for a given output level keeping the driver further within it's linear range thus decreasing distortion. There are some benefits to distributing the power between more than one motor as far as power compression is concerned (all things equal), but unless you are into SPL competitions and trying to squeeze every last decibel out you are probably better off focusing on cone area than power handling.

Alternator upgrades are more related to how much power your amplifier is using than the power handling of the subwoofers. If you have a 1600w amplifier and you plan on using all 1600 watts, then electrical upgrades depend on how well your current electrical system handles that load and not the power handling of the subwoofers or how that power handling is distributed among multiple amplifiers.

Sorry what i mean is that lets take the fi's for example is it better to get 2 fi X 12s with bp power bringing the rms to 450each or 1 fi ssd at 800rms? Will it be louder or is there really no way to tell?

Edited July 27, 201015 yr by Iceroyal

Sorry what i mean is that lets take the fi's for example is it better to get 2 fi X 12s with bp power bringing the rms to 450each or 1 fi ssd at 800rms? Will it be louder or is there really no way to tell?

what size fi ssd? If it's going to be a 12" then a pair of 12" X's will have more cone area, if install is done correctly then I would put my money on the X's being louder.

Using more power to gain output is the least efficient way.

How much space do you have to work with? dimensions or volume

stefanhinote askes good questions and I would agree with his premise. All things equal, and assuming you had adequate volume for each option, I would chose to go the route of the X's out of those two options. Nearly double the displacement capabilities gives that option an advantage in potential output capabilities.