I had two Pioneer Championship PRO (TS-W3003D4) 12" subs (600watt RMS each) on a Hifonics Zeus 1200 watt amp wired at 1 Ohm in my 02 Tahoe.  It was pretty powerful, but I still would like a little more punch in the chest, so I'm now thinking about maybe going with 3 Kicker Comp-VRs and a better amp, OR maybe if there are more powerful 12"s with the right amp combination. I'm at a point where I'm ready to take this seriously now. What brands or whatnot would I need?

Don't get hung up on "Brand" instead look for quality and right price point for your budget.  There are lots of great companies with great quality products.

It's very hard to give suggestions without knowing your specific limitations.

What's your budget? What all needs to be purchased? Are you only looking at new or will you buy used?  What space do you have available?  How strong is your electrical?

All of these come into play.  Some more info is needed from you to make a reasonable suggestion.

Edited March 22, 20196 yr by nigel

Before looking at new equipment, lets make sure your current enclosure is good enough. Is it custom or a pre-fab enclosure?

Edited March 23, 20196 yr by jcarter1885

I will be building an enclosure, a sealed one. I have an 02 Tahoe so plenty of room.  I think I have decided to go with just 2 12s but I want something hard hitting for a lot of rock/metal. I'm budgeting  $200 or less per speaker. I figured I would have to upgrade my electrical system somewhat. I have spent a lot of money on junk in the past and want to put together something good, at the same time not go overboard having to have overpriced name brands unless they are worth it. People keep fighting over the P3s and the Type Rs and L7s, and I just don't know who to listen to anymore! 

By the way welcome to the forum. Check out what the SSA store here has to offer you as well, before choosing new subs.

Earlier I was stating that your current enclosure may not be giving you optimal performance. A proper enclosure goes along way, just a thought before upgrading subwoofers.

Yeah man,  I'm learning there is a lot of science behind a good system, not just the components. I have always built boxes according to the manufacturer's specs. Took me a while to learn how important that is rather than just slapping them in some box.  Do you know if with a sealed enclosure, they give you a minimum and a maximum size, does that effect the sound like it does with a vented enclosure?

If you could open up your budget a touch the new SSA gcon 12's are on sale for $219 and a pair would do awesome on 2000 watts.  They're rated at 950 ea.

 

Otherwise, checkout the SSA store. Lot's of quality products on it.  Just jumping out at me price wise I'd look at the american bass xfl to see if they would work sealed or the soundcubed hds3 series.  Both under your $200/sub budget and would go well on 2000 watts.