biscuitfarmer's Full Review: Kenwood KFC-W3011 Car Subwoofer
I have been a HUGE car audio fanatic for the last ten years. Ever since I was capable of driving, I have had a desire to blast my speakers at levels that weren't fit for anyone's ears. This has led to thousands of dollars in purchases, countless maxed out credit cards, and eventually led to a huge interest in the car customization business in general.
Over the last ten years, I have done countless installs on my own vehicles, my friends' vehicles, and customer vehicles after I started up my own customization business in 2000, which eventually would be put out of business, by the economy crushing September 11th. Porous
Since the time September 11th, I have still maintained a great deal of side business, including work done for a local shop on a need basis. I now perform the majority of my installations as more of a hobbyist than for income. This affords me the opportunity to try out the latest equipment and improve the car customization scene within the state of Alaska.
Kenwood KFC-W3011 Subwoofer While I typically don't like Kenwood subwoofers, the W3011 is a relatively stable one that I have used in numerous installs. I typically use this subwoofer when cost is a major concern as it provides reliable performance at an incredibly pricetag.
With 350 Watts of RMS power, this speaker is made to have a solid sound without being too overpowering. This makes a great overall subwoofer for someone that is simply looking to enhance their current factory system while giving a little bit of additional bump. However, don't underestimate the power, because it can reach 1200 watts of peak power for when you want to kick it up a notch.
My biggest concern with this speaker, which is the same concern I have with every Kenwood subwoofer is the quality and clarity of sound. While it can hit hard and performs relatively well, there is a tiny bit of distortion that is noticed more as the speakers are pushed to their limits. While this can be expected with lower end subwoofers, it is enough that in my opinion it makes it worthwhile to save up and upgrade to a higher quality Rockford Fosgate product instead.
But if you want something quick and easy and you really just want to upgrade your current system at a quality price and don't plan to push them to their extremes, these are solid subs.
Durability While these speakers typically hold up pretty well, in my experience there seem to be some that will blow quickly and others that seem to last forever. I have seen these speakers run steady for hours with no problems, then all of a sudden blow after running low for 45 minutes. I don't see any real consistency out of Kenwood and that is the main reason that I avoid their subwoofers typically.
I would say that they do have a relatively high success rate of around 90%, but again, long term performance and usage is pretty important, especially for someone that doesn't have the money to spend on something better. So, I would say that a Lanzar subwoofer, which is less expensive could probably outlast these and be more reliable as a whole.
Appearance If you are looking for appearance, these aren't the subwoofers for you. They are jet black and really don't have anything about them that makes them stand out. You aren't going to impress your friends bumping Kenwood anyway, so it is probably best if you simply don't draw any attention to it. I wouldn't mention you have Kenwood, I wouldn't show anyone that you have Kenwood, I would simply have it and shutup.
Setup If you are going to get these speakers, I would suggest getting them along with a Brutus 1200D amp. This is a relatively inexpensive amplifier, but it provides solid performance that allows you the ability to max out the speakers and upgrade in the future. You can easily run these subwoofers without a capacitor, but if you want to give a little bit of flash to your setup this is probably your only hope with how basic these subwoofers are.
You can either port or seal the box, but I personally prefer a ported box. Just make sure that you coat the box for vibration dampening. These speakers have enough distortion on their own without a bad box getting in the way. I personally like using a rubber lip around the inside of the box to keep the rattle to a minimum without a lot of additional cost. I create angled ports to give a tornado-like windflow. This seems to enhance the sound without having to max out the speakers.
Technical Specification Diameter: 12 Inch Features Stainless steel-coated polypropylene cone High excursion rubber surround Super linear spider Double stacked magnet Long stroke design Sealed box volume: 1.25 cu. ft. Ported box volume: 1.5 cu. ft. Mounting depth: 6-11/16"
Super-sturdy, super powerful, the KFC-W3011 is a 12-inch sub that handles an impressive 1200W of power. A truly high-performance sub, the KFC-W3011 ha...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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