It's been two months since I have been looking around for a new Subwoofer to purchase, and I have narrowed it down to the 15" Fi Q & the 15 " AA Havoc.
I have already done some research on this subject, and it appears that there have been several threads about compairing these two Subwoofers before in the past. I already know how well the Fi Q performs, however there does seem to be some... conflicting information regarding the AA Havoc in my searches.
I am seeing that people are saying the the AA Havoc is louder than the Fi Q, and still retains the same, if not better, sound quality. Although on the other hand, some people are saying the AA Havoc is louder than the Fi Q, but has "muddy" quality. And lets not forget, that there are also some people say the Fi Q owns the AA Havoc in every aspect possible.
The amplifier I will be using is an Audioque 1200D, which I already have. I am willing to go up to 5.0 Cu Ft for a ported enclosure. The gap in the prices of these Subwoofers is not a consern for me. Im simply looking for a quality subwoofer that can be used daily, but also get loud when needed.
So I guess a better way to tackle my question is, would a slightly overpower Fi Q perform better than a slightly underpowered AA Havoc? Along with your answer, if you guys could post suggestions on an enclosure size and Tuning Freq., that would be great.
Crescendo Audio FTMFW!!!,
AA Havoc 15 ...
Your Mom FTW!!!
Post Number: 3519 Registered: May-04
Posted on
The Havoc is rated at 1250wrms so 1200wrms wouldnt be underpowering it at all. You will not notice a difference in 50w. I do not have personal experience with a Q but from what Ive read it is more of a SQ driver. Not saying it wont get loud but its geared more towards SQ. I can however speak for the Havoc,since I am runnig a 15" Havoc myself. The Havoc is an awesome sub! It is very clean and gets loud. The Havoc is more of a SQL driver. I would compare the SQ to a w6 but it gets way louder than a w6. I am running 1000wrms,maybe a little more since Ive heard my Diamond D61000.1 amp is underrated,and it absolutly kills the lows and the SQ is great! The AA Havoc is by far my favorite subwoofer I have ever heard personally. It has a perfect mix of SQ and SPL. So my vote goes to the AA Havoc hands down!
Crescendo Audio FTMFW!!!,
AA Havoc 15 ...
Your Mom FTW!!!
Post Number: 3520 Registered: May-04
Posted on
As for an enclosure for the Havoc,I have mine in roughly 4cft with 2 4" aero ports and its tuned right around 35hz. It sounds great in that enclosure but you could play around with different designs and airspace,etc. IMO I think 4cft is perfect for the 15" but I would actually like to tune mine a little lower,like around 32hz and see what it sounds like then.
Keep in mind that a speaker is a reactive load, you have box impedance rise and cabin gain to contend with, music is a dynamic medium, and then you have a volume knob. All of this combined means your sub will likely never see the amp's rated output power for any sustained period, which is why you can typically go up to 50% over the speaker's thermal power handling spec with the amplifier's rated RMS power numbers without need of worrying about damage to the sub. Also, a vented enclosure increases the mechanical power handling capability of a sub, as would cooling options for the Q.
i would stick with the Q. probably a biased opinion seeing as I owned one and not a havoc but I do think it would suit you better. they get surprisingly loud for how clean that can play and have great low end output. plus they do have options for more power if need be, but in your case I think base model would be fine.
overall I wouldn't worry too much about what you get, either way will get you a great driver. just don't forget about break in period
Im going to be installing this in a Nissan 300zx. Im going to use the whole hatch for a system since I don't really need the trunk space for anything.
Thanks for your inputs once again everyone. To be honest, I was always on the side of the Fi Q, but I just can get over the looks of the AA Havoc. Regardless though, no one in my area knows what Fi or AA is, so it's a win/win either way.
usual guide for selecting a amp is that the amp has about 20% more power than the sub's rms rating so ur amp is never "running its max" & has headroom to comfortably power the sub , therefore a 1200wrms amp for a 1000wrms sub is like a perfect recommendation ...
I would also do a Q. I had my running off a aq1200d(ed nine.1 now) and it sounded great. Had it in in two diferent boxes both 4cuft but one was 35hz and the other was 32hz. I liked the lower tuning better,but thats just my preference. Kills the lows and gets quite loud! But like said above...i dont think you could go wrong with either choice.
Id also look at the ssa icon and maybe even an lms-r....
i am a fan of my loaded 15" Q on ~1600 watts, tuned to 32hz in a 2.8^3box with two 3" or 4" aero's. haven't heard a sub i like quite as much. small video fallows. give it a bit to render up.
Crescendo Audio FTMFW!!!,
AA Havoc 15 ...
Your Mom FTW!!!
Post Number: 3524 Registered: May-04
Posted on
Honostly Ive always wanted to try a Q but my vote still goes to the Havoc. The Havoc is just a beast!!! I would almost bet it has the same SQ as a Q but more ouput. But I dunno since Ive never had experience with a Q. Bottom line though,you really cant go wrong with either sub.
watching youtube videos of a subwoofer to show it's abilities, is like watching videos of a 1080p plasma HDTV... on a black and white 13" set with rabbit ears.
well the q does have one thing over the aa it uses a much smaller box. Also the dc sound labs level 3 12 has amazing sq and gets loud but give it more power than rated. about 1000 watts.
All the dc subs are built like tanks and can take much more than rated but the lvl 3 is the only true sq sub...ive heard them all
@GlassWolf I REALLY like that analogy... If you don't mind I may use that from time to time elsewhere when people rip on setups because "it sounds bad on youtube".
@deathoob That looks/sounds pretty nice for a phone.
@sean hmm... ive always thought of DC as more SPL oriented, good to know they have an SQ sub, I have heard of them doing custom versions of their subs to be more SQ tho.
go for it. It's just depressing because you're hindered in so many ways. youtube video/audio compression, quality of the recording mic (lol cellphone) as well as the limitations of the playback speakers.. computer speakers will never compare to someone with a wall of fifteens for example. There really is no way to experience any good system without physically being there. Same for home audio and home cinema. That was one reason I was annoyed that Magnolia doesn't have a store closer than about an hour or two from me by car. I have to go for a long drive to audition decent home stuff like flagship Onkyo or Integra receivers, Samsung's flagship plasma TVs (8000 series) or martinLogan speakers. *sigh* Even being in a state capital didn't help on that one.
I still laugh every time I see an advertisement for an HDTV, and they try to show how sharp the picture is... and I'm watching it on a standard def TV. I'm looking at you, Sony and Sharp.