Thank you for making the video. I enjoyed it. Some people love SKAR, some people hate them. There's no doubt they are very popular for various reasons. I ended buying their products because I've loved car stereo for 30 years now and was able to get back into after years out of it, and not break the bank but be personally satisfied also. I support SKAR. They make a product that I can afford and very much enjoy.
@DIYAudioGuy well look at how you just slid it in on the seat if you had a car put with woofer facing outward it probably would have sounded way better, I've had 600w Kenwood in my trunk that got the reaction I was trying to get from people so I don't by for a minute it couldn't sound good cause it probably can but that's just my opinion
It is usually better to go with a larger amp than needed. it only comes up to $309 if you go with the enclosure loaded and the skar rp800.1. That includes the skar 4 gauge wiring kit. The combo sounds great to me.
You have to wait till the sub breaks in I thought the same exact thing about skar subs until about a month later and they really start to sound right even with that prefab the box which is actually is excellent box for being pre-fab box they're one of the best!!!!
I have a problem with both videos sir. You used a different box and a different amplifier between both subs. So in my opinion, everything falls on the Hi Yanka sub side. Just saying brother.
In my car for skar I've tested Skar prefab SDR dual 12s 140.3 2 10" DDX in the skar prefab 141.8 Skar EVL 12 in prefab 139.1 Also the audio legion armada (sdr copy) dual 10" in the skar prefab 140.1 All on around 1300 rms. The meter has been so much fun I test anything I can get my hands on. In my experience the skar dual sdr 12 package can not be beat under $500. Unless like you were saying you can build your own enclosure.
Yeah it's really difficult because some people may possess the tools and knowledge to build a cabinet but may not have the technical knowledge how to build it acoustically correct
@@theejoeylee but that's how you learn! and also sometimes it works out very well as you can never know what the interior of said car or truck cabin will do to the sound of the box when installed
Recently got the sdr 10 package. Aside from the crappy wiring it comes with I've been very happy. I've noticed it sounds a lot better around 75% vs full tilt and that's loud enough for me. I'm sure I'll upgrade it eventually but for $300 it's really hard to beat
Looking at the tech specs, I think that subwoofer might be pretty good for a home hi-fi build, in a bass reflex enclosure. Would be great if you can give it a try!
Your SPL meter will hold the peak SPL, it will also tell you at what frequency, so you can do a sweep find out what your truck's resonate frequency is and then try for SPL at that tone.
It's crazy a single sub even with the enclosure was $300 because now you can get dual SDR 12's, enclosure, and amp wiring kit for $400 ish. Love it or hate it, Skar has the budget scene locked down at this point.
thankfully someone showed me how to build box's many years ago for very cheap with just a jig saw and glue have never bought a prefab box. But have learned so much from building my own over the years I think its worth it to at least try and build it on your own and you will have a much better understanding of what's going on
I have about $1,800 in my daily driver using a Kicker L7S 12 in a custom sealed enclosure, Infinity components, ofc wiring and Alpine amplifiers. In my other truck I have around $800 using a 10" Skar SDR in a custom transmission line enclosure, Skar components, cca wiring and MTX amps. The skar system is louder, very clean sounding but doesn't have quite the sq of the other system. All in all, I'm a fan of Skar - and I'm a fan of having more money in my pocket! Highly recommended! Thanks for the video Justin 🍻
I bought a solar system for about $600 dollars the box, sun, amp, and deck+ power wires, it’s honestly impressive for 250w only and it’s super loud and if pounds like crazy I got the ix-12d2 and it’s quite impressive
The SDR sure does get loud in my experience. But not very good for SQ. My old Rockford Fosgate P2 wouldn't get as loud but it sounded a lot better all around. My Skar VXF I'd say is a great combination of SQ and SPL. But that thing is power hungry, More so than I can provide for it. Great video, cannot wait to see more! By the way, Belva has their prefab entry level dual 10s and dual 12s on sale right now, which is the subwoofers and box you have tested in the past, plus wiring kit and amplifier, for $200. Would be an interesting comparison to this imo
Re-watching this video, car audio nerd (since 90's). A tip for haters of such baskets... add a small piece of sound deadening to the outside of the basket... or Amazon Basics, we want a video for that ;)
whether you like Skar Audio or not, It is a guarantee at just about any car audio SPL event/competition, Skar Audio components will be in a good number of vehicles there. While they may not use the latest and greatest technology, Skar is very hard to beat for the money.
Not been a fan of Skar since I started getting them. Ordered a 900.5, had terrible problems with it to 2 6.5 evl subs. Am running a Down for Sound 5 channel to 4 of the subs and it sounds ok. Going to go with 4 DCs next.
well 6.5 evl are really small and therefor you need a lot of them to make any real output unless you had some crazy box made for your cabin. Just using one 8" will out do 2 of them. 4 would be like running one 10" you really need at least 4 evl 6.5 to really do anything if its your only woofer I would say also I built a box running 6 of these under the back seat of my roommates truck and sounds good and tight but one 12" could do the same work and get lower
I got 140Db with $250 set up... 2 12" MTX Thunder 5500 in a MTX Thunder box with MTX Thunder 600.1D mono block amp... Got first place in basic category and was pushing 340watts at 140db in 2011 Ford Escape
I got the 10 inch package with 1200 watt amp for 288 bucks i couldnt go wrong.. im excited to have this delivered in a couple weeks, im new to the woofers so this ight be my best beginner setup, i almost went 8 than i almost went 12 but figured i would meet myself in the middle..
Wal-Mart package deal, Power Acoustik Gothic and Razor 2500.1d amp combo is a great starter package with a prefab amazon box would be interested that same price range or purchase a Qpower ported box if you want a little more output from this package.
I’ve owned a set of 12” Skar sdr then a single 12 sdr and was impressed with them the single held 1400 rms from a massive audio nanoblock amp and rocked out just fine for months
I've been jammin my SDR 15s in the very first box I made for over 3 yrs now on just a RP1500.1 and have done a 145.0 even db on the windshield sealed, and 143.3 on music. Im not all about SQ.. Im "budget", and I also like "hated" stuff. Makes me happy when I tell AND SHOW people I can get 144+ on LESS than $400 (SDR was 109 x2, amp was 159 when purchased), AND i, in a Suburban, not some small area lol. After the first of the year Im switching to EVL or VXF, havent decided yet (adding another amp also
Can you elaborate why you feel it doesn't sound great? Im thinking to buy a 12" skar sub with their 1500w amp. It would be great to hear your opinion before i jump into it.
Getting stuff free through friends with old audio equipment or for cheap I got a buddy set up with 1/0cca am rp 1500.1 and 4 skar IX 8’s and a box for arounf 300 bucks and that thing does a 142db I’m thrilled with the output and performance of his setup I built him for around 300bucks (granted it’s used equipment from more experienced Basshead’s though)
I actually think the SDR 600 watt rms Skar subs sound good but then again my Crown Vic is padded like a mofo with stock sound dampening material. Many times have i 2+ hours full tilt beat on these things. You're in the cab with the box so you are hearing more for sure. Especially for $500 bucks man x2 12s in a ported box with a RP 1200.1d amp is a great buy and they're always having sales.
When you look at the power handling, and the price point, it looks like a good deal. But in order to get that kind of power handling at that price point, some corner had to be cut. It's fine if you are trying to build something on a budget and you're not planning on loading up the vehicle with sound deadening.
@@DIYAudioGuy just small motor and thin magent structure. That's the corner they cut. If they would of made the cone and surround smaller, they could of used a beefy motor with a thicker magnet slug. My 15 inch was so light weight for a 15
@@DIYAudioGuy fair enough. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with. Don’t get me wrong, I have a pair of Skar shallow 12” in a sealed box, but I’m kinda tired of the coverage Skar’s getting and the push they’re getting from Amazon. It’ll be nice to see something else budget friendly.
my build is pretty budget. more of a sq with bass i believe 400-600$ atrend 12rpd box 130$, 2 deafbonce ml-12d2's 105$ each, d4s jp8 200$, jbl 2channel 60w rms amp from amazon 70$
You didn’t say how many watts you pumped thru it, to get the 128/129 dB. Also, what I’d want to know is how low it went (20Hz?) and how flat (consistent) the response is from the lowest to the highest point. For example, 35 to 250 at +/- 3dB. I totally don’t trust the SKAR claims about that. That would be very useful information and would back up / explain why it doesn’t sound that good, and would sort of give an idea of just how bad or how good it sounds. Thanks. Excellent video, other than missing those 3 main points.
@1:25... "spider, kinda red"... lol 😂, why yes, yes it is lol. I have a pair of SDR18D4's setup for pro audio. I messaged you a while back on Facebook about it. SDR series are impressive for the money.
Good for beginners. But not for someone that wants serious punch. I got two fi audio mt 12’s that can handle 4500 rms but only have 3500 rms on them for now. Running them on skar RP 3500.1d amps one for each sub
I always expect budget subs with oversize surrounds to underperform. At their price point they won’t have the cone travel that necessitates such a large surround and that compensates for reduced cone area. Such budget subs are giving up effective cone area strictly for looks so a budget sub with a more adequate surround and similar specs will provide better bass in quality and loudness.
Well just like you said it seemed like the enclosure with me for some of the bigger woofers which is not going to give the perfect sound representation for the sub and you probably don't like it because you're in the truck it has a huge cabin and this box baby tunes a little bit different from the music you like to listen to because if it's too low I highly doubt you listen to hip hop music in the low 30hz range or it could be tuned to high
@@DIYAudioGuy I used the "under carpet" fabric Boom Mat matting..not the stick on liner. Cut the fabric with scissors and staple gun (or spray adhesive). The poly fill that comes with the Skar Audio sub box is useless. Once done, the subwoofer sounded smoother and deeper.
I don't think you have done a video on this idea of mine so I will explain it and maybe it could be done in the near future. I always wondered what kind of spl/decibel difference there would be between a 12 inch and a 10 inch subwoofer of the same Manufacture and the same rms power. I noticed Skar Audio also makes a 10 inch woofer with that same 600 watts rms and Amazon is selling it for about $10 cheaper than the 12 inch version. I thought it would be interesting to see the difference because some people might not have the room for 12 inch subs but are afraid they wont be as loud. For the most part most 10 inch subs are marketed to either play just as low or within a few hz of there bigger 12 inch brother.
@@DIYAudioGuy I think you misunderstood what I was saying, I should have been more specific on the box sizes. I'm just saying to put the 10 in a box that is best suited for that speaker, and the 12 in a box best suited for it. I figured since you had the skar 12 and a box you were half way there, only thing is whether that box is at the recommended air space for that 12. Obviously to be fair on the test the box for the 12 would have to be at its ideal manufactures recommended air space and the same would go for the 10. The 10 for the most part will struggle to play as low as the 12 but to do a spl/db test using a frequency that both can play good at would be ideal, I guess around 35 hz or so. You know a hell of a lot more than me so you would know best on how to run the test as fair as they can be. I was just curious how much louder a 12 would be than a 10 from the same manufacture with the same power as I explained in my first comment. I would think a lot of people have came up against the decision to go from a 12 down to a 10 because of limited space.
Rn I’m running 2ab elite 1244 wires down to 1ohm inverted 30hz 4cf box with a ppi black ice 7000.1d pushing around 2750 watts with stock battery and a stock 190amp alt I only spent 1100$ from subs to box to amp all wire from amp kit to big 3 1900$ all together adding my ppi ion 1000.4 4 kickDS 2way 7” touch screen head unit and amp rack for both amps all under 2gs man let me tell you it gets loud
So you were not impressed. Which leads me to ask by what? SPL or SQ? I'm looking for decent sound on a beer budget and could care less about blasting at super high volumes.
I'd be interested in a SoundQubed woofer build if youre up to it. I have an HDC3 15" that has served me well. Also hifonics amps maybe? Ive had good experience with their mono amps, but the 4CH I have is definitely over rated. Another (mostly) reputable budget brand imo
Hifonics use to be a great amp company but many years ago got bought out like early 2000's I think and are nothing like they use to be There rating area a joke and will maybe putout half of what they say also very poor sound quality
Hello I run 2 12” dual 4 ohm subs wired to 1 ohm in a prefab skar box running of a hi phonics Gemini amp at 2000 watts in my gmc Sonoma and it pounds hard if set up right skar audio is legit
I bought that mini spl meter to do testing at home, I started with 4-18's it would show like 149.9 the term lab same not was 156.6, I tried again and again and never got truly accurate readings out of mine, I have had it read the highest ever 156.2 when I went to 6-18's the loudest on a term lab I have gotten is a 161 the highest I have ever seen this meter get is 156.6 I have seen parkers work very well for him but mine has never worked really well
@@DIYAudioGuy yes I have contacted the manufacturer and went thru the steps, I personally think anything above about 148 it does a terrible job, I wish I knew u needed one I would have donated this one and bought the ssa one, my dreidns system ssa and mini spl meter side by side 6db difference at 156 mini spl showed 149.9 ssa shows 156.8 and verified ssa with term lab
Does it make sense to have a test that determines at what reasonable SPL the Sub sounds good at ? I am curious if a cheap solution performs well at say .. 80db ??
@@DIYAudioGuy It's kind of a subjective test. You stated that it didn't sound very good. My hunch that if it were kept under some SPL threshold, the driver should perform to a decent level of satisfaction. I am lucky enough that I am happy under 70 db in the home so that vastly reduces the budget I need to be happy :)
Yeah, I need to put a budget cap on my build for this older commuter car. I was thinking $300 for my first car audio sub and want just a prefab box with either duel 10's or 12's. Right now I'm debating between NVX vsw series and Kicker series. My amp (Pioneer d9705) has 350/600w and 75/100w x4 and installing jbl gto 3way components in front doors. My research tells me to get sealed 4ohm, but not sure. *I mainly listen to 70s/80s classic/hard rock ***any recommendations or opinions about what to get?? ***4ohm vs 2ohm?? 👍
I don't recommend those capacitors, the ones that look like giant beer cans. I don't think they actually work. If you're worried about your electrical system then wire it to 4 ohms so that you're not drawing is much power.
@@DIYAudioGuy hmmm? I'm guessing that you are talking about the NVX? I'm just trying to research a good sub that matches my amp at 350w 4ohm or 600 2 ohm.
I ordered 2x Skar ZVX-12v2 subs and a harmony audio ha a 1500.1 amp, 1 ohm certified amp dyno pull it does 2030 watts at .65 ohm dynamic it does 4311 watts. I plan on putting them in a 1997 grand marquis trunk, what enclosure would you recommend?
Listening to the wrong type of music.. mines extremely loud ran with my 1200 watt amp!! Keeps up with my audio pipe bvc 4 ur amp isnt feeding it enough power
Remember good isn't cheap and cheap isn't good lol . To be honest I am not a skar fan at all , but their best budget sub is the ddx. It's decent and doesn't sound terrible and is a beefy sub.
@@DIYAudioGuy yes sir lol I am a big on budget for car audio but I also like it loud and clear which is a hard thing to balance. Check out the sundown audio sa classic for a budget sub that sounds great.
@@boominc0420 my daily setup, when I'm not swapping in and out subwoofers for testing, is a sundown. For a while it was a kicker. Both sounded excellent in my opinion.
You significantly underpowered it. The RP800 amp they come with as a kit actually pushes past the ratings. I've seen it do over 1,300 watts on a dynamic burst dyno test. You wired it to a 500x1 amp. Also comparing the SDR series which is now skars lowest model to the H Yanka is not a fair comparison. The HYanka more compares to the SVR or EVL series Skars. I appreciate the info and did order an H Yanka 15" for a home theater custom sub build.
I picked up two of the dual 2 ohm 12" SDR's and put them in a sealed enclosure. Running them around 850W with a 1500W amp turned down. They do not like being in a sealed box, but they sound decent for the price. I am up to $700 for subs/amp/wiring (amp kit & Big 3)/ plus an AGM Battery. I think if I would of went a different route, I would be over $1000+
I am going through the same situation. Started with a down firing kicker 10, then 12, then Skar sdr 10, then evl 12. At that point I was running a 3k amp and power became an issue. I am now back to 2 skar sdr 10s and a 1200 watt amp with the big 3 and an AGM. I want the most bass possible for the cheapest amount without having to add a battery or high output alternator. So I found the best route was the skar sdr 10s with skar 1200.1D amp and big 3. Thanks for the video!
@@DIYAudioGuy the amplifier and enclosure are the limiting factors here. These are decent "budget" amplifiers...but just aren't built well, and have lower quality filtering and so forth. If you can, and have the time..build an enclosure to the subwoofers tsp's and tune around 28-33hz, and that subwoofer will wake right on up, lol. I don't bash any brand or build, no matter what..I never have. Everyone has a budget, favorite brand and so forth. In the end, it's what makes you happy, and fits your budget. Good video.
No breakin, cheap amp, wearing a kicker shirt, so bias should of said just buy of over priced and overrated subs L review. that like comparing a ferrari to a honda civic. really surprised he doesn't kknow about breaking in a sub.
Check out more budget builds here: ua-cam.com/video/d4LpPrPMWE4/v-deo.html
Thank you for making the video. I enjoyed it. Some people love SKAR, some people hate them. There's no doubt they are very popular for various reasons. I ended buying their products because I've loved car stereo for 30 years now and was able to get back into after years out of it, and not break the bank but be personally satisfied also. I support SKAR. They make a product that I can afford and very much enjoy.
They really are the best budget brand out there.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, cause I just purchased two Skar DDX 10” 1000 rms, and can’t wait to hear them bumping.
@DIYAudioGuy well look at how you just slid it in on the seat if you had a car put with woofer facing outward it probably would have sounded way better, I've had 600w Kenwood in my trunk that got the reaction I was trying to get from people so I don't by for a minute it couldn't sound good cause it probably can but that's just my opinion
It is usually better to go with a larger amp than needed. it only comes up to $309 if you go with the enclosure loaded and the skar rp800.1. That includes the skar 4 gauge wiring kit. The combo sounds great to me.
You have to wait till the sub breaks in I thought the same exact thing about skar subs until about a month later and they really start to sound right even with that prefab the box which is actually is excellent box for being pre-fab box they're one of the best!!!!
I have a problem with both videos sir. You used a different box and a different amplifier between both subs. So in my opinion, everything falls on the Hi Yanka sub side. Just saying brother.
I'm liking the design of that sub. I heard some Skars and they do get down on the bass. Very awesome my friend.
In my car for skar I've tested
Skar prefab SDR dual 12s 140.3
2 10" DDX in the skar prefab 141.8
Skar EVL 12 in prefab 139.1
Also the audio legion armada (sdr copy) dual 10" in the skar prefab 140.1
All on around 1300 rms. The meter has been so much fun I test anything I can get my hands on. In my experience the skar dual sdr 12 package can not be beat under $500. Unless like you were saying you can build your own enclosure.
Yeah, if you can build your own enclosure. It's a different game.
Yeah it's really difficult because some people may possess the tools and knowledge to build a cabinet but may not have the technical knowledge how to build it acoustically correct
@@theejoeylee but that's how you learn! and also sometimes it works out very well as you can never know what the interior of said car or truck cabin will do to the sound of the box when installed
Omg we threw 2 little 8" svr in there loaded ,vented enclosure in the car off 800 watts total and man those skar blew me away,great products!
Definitely the best cheap brand out there.
Recently got the sdr 10 package. Aside from the crappy wiring it comes with I've been very happy. I've noticed it sounds a lot better around 75% vs full tilt and that's loud enough for me. I'm sure I'll upgrade it eventually but for $300 it's really hard to beat
It's actually quite a lot for $300.
Thank you for the sound quality input. That's mostly what I'm interested but I know 99% of others want SPL
It's easier to measure SPL. Sound quality doesn't exactly shine through on UA-cam.
@@DIYAudioGuy I trust your professional opinion :)
Lets help this man Blow this channel up!!! very good stuff sir
I appreciate that!
Looking at the tech specs, I think that subwoofer might be pretty good for a home hi-fi build, in a bass reflex enclosure. Would be great if you can give it a try!
Not a bad idea
Agree
im using there VXF-12’s in my home theater powering them with a crown xli-1500 in a sealed box and man they pound hard
The SDR series does great in a pair for an Infinite baffles not the best but plays 29 - 80 without an issues definitely impressive for the price.
Your SPL meter will hold the peak SPL, it will also tell you at what frequency, so you can do a sweep find out what your truck's resonate frequency is and then try for SPL at that tone.
I figured out the peak/hold since I recorded the video.
It's crazy a single sub even with the enclosure was $300 because now you can get dual SDR 12's, enclosure, and amp wiring kit for $400 ish. Love it or hate it, Skar has the budget scene locked down at this point.
thankfully someone showed me how to build box's many years ago for very cheap with just a jig saw and glue
have never bought a prefab box.
But have learned so much from building my own over the years I think its worth it to at least try and build it on your own
and you will have a much better understanding of what's going on
If nothing else, building your own box makes for a fun adventure, kind of thing you can do with your buddies or your kids.
Great vid Justin. Got a kick out of us 3 B's in a row: "Bo, Baba, Bam Bam" in one go. lol
That is what I was going for!
I have about $1,800 in my daily driver using a Kicker L7S 12 in a custom sealed enclosure, Infinity components, ofc wiring and Alpine amplifiers. In my other truck I have around $800 using a 10" Skar SDR in a custom transmission line enclosure, Skar components, cca wiring and MTX amps.
The skar system is louder, very clean sounding but doesn't have quite the sq of the other system. All in all, I'm a fan of Skar - and I'm a fan of having more money in my pocket!
Highly recommended!
Thanks for the video Justin 🍻
That is the trade-off right there.
I bought a solar system for about $600 dollars the box, sun, amp, and deck+ power wires, it’s honestly impressive for 250w only and it’s super loud and if pounds like crazy I got the ix-12d2 and it’s quite impressive
The SDR sure does get loud in my experience. But not very good for SQ. My old Rockford Fosgate P2 wouldn't get as loud but it sounded a lot better all around. My Skar VXF I'd say is a great combination of SQ and SPL. But that thing is power hungry, More so than I can provide for it.
Great video, cannot wait to see more!
By the way, Belva has their prefab entry level dual 10s and dual 12s on sale right now, which is the subwoofers and box you have tested in the past, plus wiring kit and amplifier, for $200. Would be an interesting comparison to this imo
I still have that box sitting in the garage, I may need to drag it out and give it a test!
Re-watching this video, car audio nerd (since 90's). A tip for haters of such baskets... add a small piece of sound deadening to the outside of the basket... or Amazon Basics, we want a video for that ;)
Got the 1200 watt amp and 10 inch 1000 watt speaker a few years ago. Had my own box, its very loud in my small hatchback.
whether you like Skar Audio or not, It is a guarantee at just about any car audio SPL event/competition, Skar Audio components will be in a good number of vehicles there. While they may not use the latest and greatest technology, Skar is very hard to beat for the money.
It is a good cheap brand.
Not been a fan of Skar since I started getting them. Ordered a 900.5, had terrible problems with it to 2 6.5 evl subs. Am running a Down for Sound 5 channel to 4 of the subs and it sounds ok. Going to go with 4 DCs next.
It is cheap for a reason.
well 6.5 evl are really small and therefor you need a lot of them to make any real output unless you had some crazy box made for your cabin.
Just using one 8" will out do 2 of them. 4 would be like running one 10"
you really need at least 4 evl 6.5 to really do anything if its your only woofer I would say
also I built a box running 6 of these under the back seat of my roommates truck and sounds good and tight but one 12" could do the same work and get lower
@@NightshiftCustom I’m going to run 2 DC level 1s. I think that will be the sweet spot.
i paired it to a 1000w rms monoblock amp and a custom box tuned to 34hz, doesnt sound too bad with that setup
Skar amps were pretty attractive when I was browsing online, and a competitive dollar/watt ratio
I got 140Db with $250 set up... 2 12" MTX Thunder 5500 in a MTX Thunder box with MTX Thunder 600.1D mono block amp... Got first place in basic category and was pushing 340watts at 140db in 2011 Ford Escape
Cone area is king
you need to hook up a rp1200 skar audio instead of no cheap 500wpawn amp
If you can, put the jp8 power to it.
🤔
Thank you for all of your videos. I have learned soooooo much from you.
Glad to help!
I got the 10 inch package with 1200 watt amp for 288 bucks i couldnt go wrong.. im excited to have this delivered in a couple weeks, im new to the woofers so this ight be my best beginner setup, i almost went 8 than i almost went 12 but figured i would meet myself in the middle..
How does it sound is it quiet?
Wal-Mart package deal, Power Acoustik Gothic and Razor 2500.1d amp combo is a great starter package with a prefab amazon box would be interested that same price range or purchase a Qpower ported box if you want a little more output from this package.
I’ve owned a set of 12” Skar sdr then a single 12 sdr and was impressed with them the single held 1400 rms from a massive audio nanoblock amp and rocked out just fine for months
I don't doubt that.
Great video , completely agree with your assessment get decent loud but sounds horrible.
Definitely louder than I thought it would get, and for 300 bucks it's just fine.
I have a couple of 15" SDRs with custom box. Sound fantastic for the price
I've been jammin my SDR 15s in the very first box I made for over 3 yrs now on just a RP1500.1 and have done a 145.0 even db on the windshield sealed, and 143.3 on music. Im not all about SQ.. Im "budget", and I also like "hated" stuff. Makes me happy when I tell AND SHOW people I can get 144+ on LESS than $400 (SDR was 109 x2, amp was 159 when purchased), AND i, in a Suburban, not some small area lol. After the first of the year Im switching to EVL or VXF, havent decided yet (adding another amp also
Just purchased Two DDX 10” inch 1000 rms. Hope they bump pretty good.
Can you elaborate why you feel it doesn't sound great? Im thinking to buy a 12" skar sub with their 1500w amp. It would be great to hear your opinion before i jump into it.
Sound quality is subjective, and this is just a sample of one. So that doesn't mean that all skar sounds bad.
If your willing to spend more u can definitely find better but this is meh kinda a setup
Get their EVL or Higher Subs.
Justin..how good does any sub and box sound sitting on the back seat of your pickup?
Fair enough.
Getting stuff free through friends with old audio equipment or for cheap I got a buddy set up with 1/0cca am rp 1500.1 and 4 skar IX 8’s and a box for arounf 300 bucks and that thing does a 142db I’m thrilled with the output and performance of his setup I built him for around 300bucks (granted it’s used equipment from more experienced Basshead’s though)
That is a great way to save some cash!
I actually think the SDR 600 watt rms Skar subs sound good but then again my Crown Vic is padded like a mofo with stock sound dampening material. Many times have i 2+ hours full tilt beat on these things. You're in the cab with the box so you are hearing more for sure. Especially for $500 bucks man x2 12s in a ported box with a RP 1200.1d amp is a great buy and they're always having sales.
Having it in that cabin seemed to help a lot!! I dont think you would be able to do that in a trunk. 🤣
Probably not.
I had the sdr 15 and did not like the sound. Had in a custom box tuned to 32. Would rather save and spend more on another subwoofer. Just my opinion
When you look at the power handling, and the price point, it looks like a good deal. But in order to get that kind of power handling at that price point, some corner had to be cut.
It's fine if you are trying to build something on a budget and you're not planning on loading up the vehicle with sound deadening.
@@DIYAudioGuy just small motor and thin magent structure. That's the corner they cut. If they would of made the cone and surround smaller, they could of used a beefy motor with a thicker magnet slug. My 15 inch was so light weight for a 15
For $500 you can get the dual 12 SDR kit with an amp and wiring kit.
I'm probably going to go a different route if I do a $500 build.
@@DIYAudioGuy fair enough. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with. Don’t get me wrong, I have a pair of Skar shallow 12” in a sealed box, but I’m kinda tired of the coverage Skar’s getting and the push they’re getting from Amazon. It’ll be nice to see something else budget friendly.
my build is pretty budget. more of a sq with bass i believe 400-600$ atrend 12rpd box 130$, 2 deafbonce ml-12d2's 105$ each, d4s jp8 200$, jbl 2channel 60w rms amp from amazon 70$
I like that JP8. Great amp.
Awesome Vid again!
Thanks again!
You didn’t say how many watts you pumped thru it, to get the 128/129 dB. Also, what I’d want to know is how low it went (20Hz?) and how flat (consistent) the response is from the lowest to the highest point. For example, 35 to 250 at +/- 3dB. I totally don’t trust the SKAR claims about that. That would be very useful information and would back up / explain why it doesn’t sound that good, and would sort of give an idea of just how bad or how good it sounds. Thanks. Excellent video, other than missing those 3 main points.
Pretty sure I was hooked up to a JP8 at the time, so no more than 1,200 on a good day. It is funny how subs can take a TON of power for a short burst.
A lot of people worry too much about budget subs and the truth is... ANY sub is better than NO sub
True.
I love skar audio and you get the sound you pay for I love skar audio so much I sell their products!!!!
@1:25... "spider, kinda red"... lol 😂, why yes, yes it is lol. I have a pair of SDR18D4's setup for pro audio. I messaged you a while back on Facebook about it. SDR series are impressive for the money.
I was trying to see what happens when I don't write a script, the result is that I say a lot of stupid stuff and sound like an idiot.
I have two of these and they do well for what they cost.
Yes, probably nothing better at that price point.
So replace the 800 skar amp and replace those crappy wiring kits for better powerful performance ?? So a 4 gauge kit and 1200+ amp will do the trick?
And Skar boxes are not that great in prefab boxes, although I will say that the Armor box I had with both SDR subs, impressed me.
Ty for the hard work. 1 Question does this sound better than the All in 1 Belva setup you did not too long ago?
Yes! The amp on that setup was dirty.
Good for beginners. But not for someone that wants serious punch. I got two fi audio mt 12’s that can handle 4500 rms but only have 3500 rms on them for now. Running them on skar RP 3500.1d amps one for each sub
Fi is in a completely different league. Pure fire. 🔥
I always expect budget subs with oversize surrounds to underperform. At their price point they won’t have the cone travel that necessitates such a large surround and that compensates for reduced cone area. Such budget subs are giving up effective cone area strictly for looks so a budget sub with a more adequate surround and similar specs will provide better bass in quality and loudness.
I agree.
Well just like you said it seemed like the enclosure with me for some of the bigger woofers which is not going to give the perfect sound representation for the sub and you probably don't like it because you're in the truck it has a huge cabin and this box baby tunes a little bit different from the music you like to listen to because if it's too low I highly doubt you listen to hip hop music in the low 30hz range or it could be tuned to high
The boxes were originally built for the EVL series
That is what I figured.
You should hear mine this sound good I got to 12800r Ms but I've been locked my speakers to get them sound good
What do you think doesnt sound that great? The sub, the box, both, or just your preference on overall sound?
I think it is the amp and the sub -- those are the weak link in this package. But for $300 total it works fine.
Oooo. How are you liking that amp? I have a nvx vsw12 that it looks well suited for
I prefer NVX -- if you need anything from them use my coupon code on the nvx website diyaudio10
I have the same cabinet and Skar Audio sub. To improve the sound, line the inside of the box with "BoomMat". You'll thank me later.
Thanks for the tip.
@@DIYAudioGuy I used the "under carpet" fabric Boom Mat matting..not the stick on liner. Cut the fabric with scissors and staple gun (or spray adhesive). The poly fill that comes with the Skar Audio sub box is useless. Once done, the subwoofer sounded smoother and deeper.
I don't think you have done a video on this idea of mine so I will explain it and maybe it could be done in the near future. I always wondered what kind of spl/decibel difference there would be between a 12 inch and a 10 inch subwoofer of the same Manufacture and the same rms power. I noticed Skar Audio also makes a 10 inch woofer with that same 600 watts rms and Amazon is selling it for about $10 cheaper than the 12 inch version. I thought it would be interesting to see the difference because some people might not have the room for 12 inch subs but are afraid they wont be as loud. For the most part most 10 inch subs are marketed to either play just as low or within a few hz of there bigger 12 inch brother.
It'll be difficult to make an apples to apples comparison because the subwoofers would need to be in different sizes enclosures.
@@DIYAudioGuy I think you misunderstood what I was saying, I should have been more specific on the box sizes. I'm just saying to put the 10 in a box that is best suited for that speaker, and the 12 in a box best suited for it. I figured since you had the skar 12 and a box you were half way there, only thing is whether that box is at the recommended air space for that 12. Obviously to be fair on the test the box for the 12 would have to be at its ideal manufactures recommended air space and the same would go for the 10. The 10 for the most part will struggle to play as low as the 12 but to do a spl/db test using a frequency that both can play good at would be ideal, I guess around 35 hz or so. You know a hell of a lot more than me so you would know best on how to run the test as fair as they can be. I was just curious how much louder a 12 would be than a 10 from the same manufacture with the same power as I explained in my first comment. I would think a lot of people have came up against the decision to go from a 12 down to a 10 because of limited space.
So since it don't sound TOO GOOD
Can I Have it? 😆
Rn I’m running 2ab elite 1244 wires down to 1ohm inverted 30hz 4cf box with a ppi black ice 7000.1d pushing around 2750 watts with stock battery and a stock 190amp alt I only spent 1100$ from subs to box to amp all wire from amp kit to big 3 1900$ all together adding my ppi ion 1000.4 4 kickDS 2way 7” touch screen head unit and amp rack for both amps all under 2gs man let me tell you it gets loud
That sounds awesome!
Thanks!
Thank you!
I have 800 watt RMS running through them right now I don't like the paper cone so I hook them up
So you were not impressed. Which leads me to ask by what? SPL or SQ? I'm looking for decent sound on a beer budget and could care less about blasting at super high volumes.
Sound quality.
Do you prefer ported or non ported? I’ve got 2 of these coming today with a closed box.
I prefer ported.
I just put a 10 in e.v.l sub and the thing way better than I expected
I'd be interested in a SoundQubed woofer build if youre up to it. I have an HDC3 15" that has served me well. Also hifonics amps maybe? Ive had good experience with their mono amps, but the 4CH I have is definitely over rated. Another (mostly) reputable budget brand imo
Maybe SoundQubed will send me one.
Hifonics use to be a great amp company but many years ago got bought out like early 2000's I think and are nothing like they use to be
There rating area a joke and will maybe putout half of what they say also very poor sound quality
What is the best sounding sub you've tried in this box (that match the box specs)?
This: howl.me/cgZanpbU12f has never let me down. May be one of my favorite subs.
@5:20... I'd be curious to hear a bit more on what doesn't sound great to you. Raw spl, frequency range, control...?
I would call it muddy.
Hello I run 2 12” dual 4 ohm subs wired to 1 ohm in a prefab skar box running of a hi phonics Gemini amp at 2000 watts in my gmc Sonoma and it pounds hard if set up right skar audio is legit
Get the 2 twelve evl package
How much is that one?
@@DIYAudioGuy skar has a new svr loaded inclouser
Much more then the sdr package. It's like $450
Me and Skar have a love hate relationship....I love to hate them. One of the few audio brands where I'm just like "meh".
Popular because they are cheap.
@@DIYAudioGuy Agreed, I just feel like Skar is the brand you buy when you don't fully want to commit to a serious system.
They are today's Pyramid :D
I bought that mini spl meter to do testing at home, I started with 4-18's it would show like 149.9 the term lab same not was 156.6, I tried again and again and never got truly accurate readings out of mine, I have had it read the highest ever 156.2 when I went to 6-18's the loudest on a term lab I have gotten is a 161 the highest I have ever seen this meter get is 156.6 I have seen parkers work very well for him but mine has never worked really well
From what I understand you can calibrate them. Have you tried that?
@@DIYAudioGuy yes I have contacted the manufacturer and went thru the steps, I personally think anything above about 148 it does a terrible job, I wish I knew u needed one I would have donated this one and bought the ssa one, my dreidns system ssa and mini spl meter side by side 6db difference at 156 mini spl showed 149.9 ssa shows 156.8 and verified ssa with term lab
Does it make sense to have a test that determines at what reasonable SPL the Sub sounds good at ? I am curious if a cheap solution performs well at say .. 80db ??
I'm not set up to run that kind of test, but if I was I would run it.
@@DIYAudioGuy It's kind of a subjective test. You stated that it didn't sound very good. My hunch that if it were kept under some SPL threshold, the driver should perform to a decent level of satisfaction. I am lucky enough that I am happy under 70 db in the home so that vastly reduces the budget I need to be happy :)
What would be the best budget ish amp for a dual SDR 10 at 1ohm
Stereo systems are like TVs. Loud is not better the same as bigger doesn't mean better. Most of the time you get what you pay for.
Yeah, I need to put a budget cap on my build for this older commuter car. I was thinking $300 for my first car audio sub and want just a prefab box with either duel 10's or 12's. Right now I'm debating between NVX vsw series and Kicker series. My amp (Pioneer d9705) has 350/600w and 75/100w x4 and installing jbl gto 3way components in front doors. My research tells me to get sealed 4ohm, but not sure.
*I mainly listen to 70s/80s classic/hard rock
***any recommendations or opinions about what to get??
***4ohm vs 2ohm??
👍
I don't recommend those capacitors, the ones that look like giant beer cans. I don't think they actually work. If you're worried about your electrical system then wire it to 4 ohms so that you're not drawing is much power.
@@DIYAudioGuy hmmm? I'm guessing that you are talking about the NVX? I'm just trying to research a good sub that matches my amp at 350w 4ohm or 600 2 ohm.
Ohhh...I get it now, I should have said budget limit...not "budget cap" 🤣
That's a very sexy looking woofer!
So if we go 500$ how is their dual 12s with the bigger amp?
This one? amzn.to/4br7oNz
It should be a few DB louder. Skar does a great job with your prefab boxes. Should provide quite a bit of bang for the buck.
I ordered 2x Skar ZVX-12v2 subs and a harmony audio ha a 1500.1 amp, 1 ohm certified amp dyno pull it does 2030 watts at .65 ohm dynamic it does 4311 watts. I plan on putting them in a 1997 grand marquis trunk, what enclosure would you recommend?
Just a big ported enclosure.
Listening to the wrong type of music.. mines extremely loud ran with my 1200 watt amp!! Keeps up with my audio pipe bvc 4 ur amp isnt feeding it enough power
Remember good isn't cheap and cheap isn't good lol . To be honest I am not a skar fan at all , but their best budget sub is the ddx. It's decent and doesn't sound terrible and is a beefy sub.
The most expensive is not always the best, but the cheapest is never the best.
@@DIYAudioGuy yes sir lol I am a big on budget for car audio but I also like it loud and clear which is a hard thing to balance. Check out the sundown audio sa classic for a budget sub that sounds great.
@@boominc0420 my daily setup, when I'm not swapping in and out subwoofers for testing, is a sundown. For a while it was a kicker. Both sounded excellent in my opinion.
@@DIYAudioGuy what model sub do you normally run .
@@DIYAudioGuy I currently have 2 sa v2 15s on a sfb8000d
If you want a loud sub, it seems like a solid upgrade over the usual ~$200, dual 12" prefabs.
You significantly underpowered it. The RP800 amp they come with as a kit actually pushes past the ratings. I've seen it do over 1,300 watts on a dynamic burst dyno test. You wired it to a 500x1 amp. Also comparing the SDR series which is now skars lowest model to the H Yanka is not a fair comparison. The HYanka more compares to the SVR or EVL series Skars. I appreciate the info and did order an H Yanka 15" for a home theater custom sub build.
How does it perform against the kicker
I will always choose kicker over Skar.
Im looking for a box for my JL audio 12 inch w6 got any suggestions. I am leaning towards on off of eBay but im looking into other ideas before hand ?
If you can afford a 12 w6 then you can afford to have a shop build a custom box.
@@DIYAudioGuy well I’m leaning towards this custom box for the speaker on eBay for $330 just was asking for suggestions.
How well the SKAR did with the lows?
That will depend on the enclosure. It did well enough for a sub at this price point.
I picked up two of the dual 2 ohm 12" SDR's and put them in a sealed enclosure. Running them around 850W with a 1500W amp turned down. They do not like being in a sealed box, but they sound decent for the price. I am up to $700 for subs/amp/wiring (amp kit & Big 3)/ plus an AGM Battery. I think if I would of went a different route, I would be over $1000+
I am going through the same situation. Started with a down firing kicker 10, then 12, then Skar sdr 10, then evl 12. At that point I was running a 3k amp and power became an issue. I am now back to 2 skar sdr 10s and a 1200 watt amp with the big 3 and an AGM.
I want the most bass possible for the cheapest amount without having to add a battery or high output alternator. So I found the best route was the skar sdr 10s with skar 1200.1D amp and big 3.
Thanks for the video!
The box is good. The sub...
I agree.
👍
👍
I know the two I have sound very good to me but you heard better the I have mostly
Maybe the subs are fine, but the cheap amp is the problem.
@@DIYAudioGuy the amplifier and enclosure are the limiting factors here. These are decent "budget" amplifiers...but just aren't built well, and have lower quality filtering and so forth. If you can, and have the time..build an enclosure to the subwoofers tsp's and tune around 28-33hz, and that subwoofer will wake right on up, lol. I don't bash any brand or build, no matter what..I never have. Everyone has a budget, favorite brand and so forth. In the end, it's what makes you happy, and fits your budget. Good video.
@@Chuck_Sanders I think you are probably right.
I think you need more amp lol. You’re not powering a skar anything with a $60 amp..
The goal is to stay under $300, and I was able to squeeze a LOT of power out of this amp. ua-cam.com/video/Y2oZcmF9xs4/v-deo.html
Who the hell cares about how much spl?! Sound quality is key, you're just measuring a peak pressure, doesn't mean ANYTHING.
You are not wrong. It is just hard to measure subjective sound quality.
hi
👍
That is the crappiest speaker wire for sub I’ve ever seen
That amp is your weak link! Period!
It's a weak link for sure!
Coulda got a better sub from auidolegion for less
Stop it! Your amp is Weak!! Of coarse you're not IMPRESSED!😅😅
No breakin, cheap amp, wearing a kicker shirt, so bias should of said just buy of over priced and overrated subs L review. that like comparing a ferrari to a honda civic. really surprised he doesn't kknow about breaking in a sub.