biscuitfarmer's Full Review: Kicker Solo-Baric L5 S10L5 (2002)
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.
Sound Quality
The Kicker S10L52 is a 450 watt RMS, 900 Watt peak power subwoofer. The sub itself is meant for general everyday purposes, rather than hard pounding bass. If you are looking to use this speaker for competition or to rattle the nerves of your neighbors, you'll have only minimal results. You will still keep up your neighborhood at peak, but it definitely isn't going to be enough to shake their house at the same time.
The basic premise of this particular type of speaker is purely sound quality and clarity. This is a great speaker if you are just looking to enhance your overall sound quality while at the same time giving you the big bass lift to crank up the volume from time to time. I personally love this speaker as it gives great crystal clear clarity without purely pounding hard for the sake of pounding hard.
Durability
If you use these speakers the way that they were meant to be used they will last you for years. The major reason why many people even have issues with these speakers blowing is purely because they are trying to do far more with them than they were intended. Like I said before if you are looking to blast your speakers all of the time, try upgrading to a more powerful subwoofer, otherwise you are going to find yourself blowing through money as you blow through one after another. However, as a regular everyday speaker, they seem to last forever.
Appearance
One of the best things about the speaker is the appearance of it. Kicker has always created some of the most appealing speakers on the market. The square shape of the speaker is already unique enough that it still to this day draws second looks. The black surround of the speaker with the aluminum center really makes the speaker stand out and look aggressive. Most importantly everyone can see the Kicker stamp and name on the subwoofer so everyone knows that you aren't messing with anything but the absolute best in the industry.
Setup
The S10L52 is relatively versatile, however, I would personally recommend an Alpine PDX-1.600 amplifier. While you could easily go with another Kicker, such as the 400.1, I personally have had the best luck utilizing the power and reliability of Alpine amplifiers. With the PDX-1.600 amp you will have a solid Class D mono amplifier.
As for the box, you are going to need a kicker style box. Typically I would use some type of a vented box. Use the specifications for airflow that I have included below, create a box with a square opening. When you finish the design, make sure that you place a strip of rubber between the box and the subwoofer. This will serve a few major purposes. First, it will help to deaden box rattle, while at the same time it will make it easier to get the sub in and out of the box without smashing your fingers. As for the inside of the box, paint the interior with sound deadening paint. This will help to seal the box giving it more strength and will prevent much of the rattle that you hear in other boxes.
Specifications
Sensitivity: 86.5 dB
RMS Power Range : 450 Watts
Peak Power Handling: 900 Watts
Impedance: Dual 2 Ohm
Low Frequency response: 24 Hz
High Frequency Response: 100000 Hz
Diameter: 10 Inch
Features
Solo-Baric L5 Subwoofer
Nominal Impedance: Dual 2 ohm
Power Handling Watts Peak (RMS): 900 (450)
Frequency Response: 24-100kHz
Sensitivity: 86.5db
Resonance Frequency: 33.3 Hz
Total Q-Factor [Qts]: 0.403
Equivalent Volume [Vas], ft3 (L): 1.53 (43.34)
Outer Frame Dimension, in (cm): 10-11/16" (27.1)
Mounting Depth, in (cm): 6" (15.2)
Patented square woofer technology
Ultra-rigid SoloKon with constant back bracing
T-cut top plate for wider magnetic field, increased thermal efficiency
Progressive-roll, poly-cotton spider
Spring loaded terminals
Voice-coil wire to 428 degrees F
Rear foam gasket on stamped-steel basket with perimeter venting
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