I am a huge car audio enthusiast. Ever since my first car back in 1997, I have been trying to push the envelope on what my vehicles can do. My very first car, a 1995 Mustang started out with the most simplistic of sound systems, featuring a floating box for ease of removal, with a couple of 12" subwoofers and just a basic amp. I upgraded the deck, the wires, and all of that, but at the end of the day, it was still your basic sound system.

Since then I have done much more work, including a full car audio system on my competition 2003 Toyota Celica GT-S. I went all out on that car, with custom fiberglass enclosures, custom highlights, and lots of performance to go along with it, including nine 10" subwoofers, and more door speakers than anyone could ever imagine. There were amps all over the place, extra batteries, capacitors, everything. It was definitely the sport compact car audio enthusiast's dream setup.

Ever since then I have been involved in the industry, attending shows, working on comptetition cars, while trying to avoid sinking too much money into my own vehicles, as I have a son to feed now. Regardless, I have managed to create quite the impressive sound system in all three of my vehicles, and plan on doing substantially more into the future.

But the one that comes from all of this, is that I truly do know my car audio. I have tried so many different subwoofers, played around with numerous decks, and seen a large variety of application combinations that have worked and haven't worked. I have touched hundreds of systems in my years, and with that experience, I know what will work and what won't work.

Alpine Type S SWS=1242D Subwoofer
If you are looking for a great performing subwoofer, that is going to give you the power you want if you want to crank up your music a bit, while at the same time giving you excellent clarity, then the Alpine Type S is the way to go. This subwoofer is probably the perfect amount of bass for the average person. There are very few applications that I would suggest going over the 900 watts of peak power that these subs produce. If you throw two of these in your vehicle, you aren't going to come anywhere near using all 900 watts 99% of the time, and for the large majority of people, you will never once come anywhere near using 50% of the power, so anything more than this is just overkill and a complete waste of bass.

My personal recommendation would be to take two of these subwoofers, mounted in individual boxes in opposite corners of your trunk, so that they take up minimal space, giving you lots of trunk space options still. Have the subs facing inwards for the best quality sound for the occupants, and run a single amplifier, which I would mount to the back of the rear seat, and you will be good to go. This will produce a lot of extra added bass, while taking up minimal room, making it perfect for any family, or for a high school student looking for a little extra bump in the trunk.

Sound Quality
By getting a somewhat smaller high quality speaker, you are giving yourself a much better quality sound, which is why I don't normally recommend going much larger than this subwoofer if you go larger at all. This size is pretty perfect in terms of cone response. You are going to get a much crisper punch when you aren't exerting a cone to extreme levels of bass. This means that you will be able to hear far more bass hits, you'll hear each hit with much greater perfection than you would with a substantially larger subwoofer such as the Alpine Type X, which can't respond fast enough to react to multiple rapid succession bass hits, meaning that the sound will be somewhat blurred in those circumstances. Because of a better cone response, it means that you are going to have a much more quality sound and you are going to hear parts of your music that you never knew were there with your factory sound system. You are also going to have substantially less distortion as less power provides much less vibration, which is a huge factor in bass distortion and reduced sound quality.

The great thing is that 900 watts of peak power is still pretty substantial and will give your vehicle more than enough bump to hear it coming from quite a distance away. You aren't going to be competing with these subs, but no one is going to make fun of your system with this sort of power sitting behind you. In fact the large majority of the population is going to be extremely impressed and think that you might have gone well overboard.

Durability
If you are looking for a speaker that is going to last a long time through even the hardest pounding through long periods of time, then the Type S is going to be a great speaker all around for you. The Kevlar reinforced woofer is essentially a subwoofer that is made out of the same material that is used in bullet proof vests. What this means to you is that you are going to have a strong, long lasting woofer that isn't going to blow out as fast as some of the cheaper made subs.

Product Details
* 12" subwoofer with dual 4-ohm voice coils
* KevlarŪ-reinforced pulp cone with aluminum finish
* 3/4" Santoprene rubber surround
* stamped steel basket
* frequency response: 26-1,000 Hz
* power range: 50-300 watts RMS (150 watts per coil)
* peak power handling: 900 watts
* sensitivity: 87 dB
* top-mount depth: 6-1/4"
* sealed box volume: 0.85-1.5 cubic feet
* ported box volume: 1.25-2.0 cubic feet
* Recommended Q-Logic Box Type: 1, 2, 3
* warranty: 1 year

Final Thoughts
This is an excellent subwoofer for the standard everyday consumer. Far too often I see people spending money on subwoofers that they just aren't going to use. It doesn't make any sense for a couple with four kids to come in and purchase a 2500 watt subwoofer just because they want to add some quality bass to their minivan. Unfortunately, overpowering of needs seems to be the trend that I see. This of course is mostly the fault of sales people that are always trying to upsell people things that they don't truly need.

For the average consumer, the Alpine Type S is all the subwoofer that they need. Just a single sub, possibly two of these, linked with just a single amplifier, and a custom deck if desired, and it will produce more than enough bass. Of course I would suggest upgrading the door speakers so that the bass doesn't drown out your high end sound, but this is definitely a great starting point for all around sound quality.

For those high schoolers that are looking to 'pimp their ride', this is going to be more than enough power to impress your friends, while giving you the sound quality that your music craves. Anything more than this, and you are talking competition style power. Realistically, more power than this, and you are losing hearing everytime you turn your music up.

Car Audio/Video Reviews by Richard Ramsey
Kicker Solo Baric L7 Subwoofer
Kicker Solo Baric L5 12" Subwoofer
Kicker Solo Baric L5 15" Subwoofer
Kicker CVR12 Subwoofer
Kicker Comp VR 05CVR84 Subwoofer
Kicker Solo Baric L5 with enclosure
Alpine Type R SWR-1042D Subwoofer
Alpine Type R SWR-1242D Subwoofer
Alpine Type X SWX-1242D Subwoofer
Alpine Type E SWE-1242 Subwoofer
Infinity BASSLINK Subwoofer
Infinity KAPPA PERFECT 10.1 Subwoofer
Infinity KAPPA PERFECT 12.1 Subwoofer
Rockford Fosgate Punch Stage 3 Subwoofer
Rockford Fosgate Punch Stage 2 Subwoofer
Rockford Fosgate Power Stage 1 Subwoofer
Sony Xplod XS-L123P5 Subwoofer
Audiobahn AW1200 Subwoofer

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 150