I just bought 2 10w3's. I have the Kenwood Excelon 829 amp which sucks for subs. I'm going to be trading it in this friday. Which amp should I get for the subs in the $350 price range? I believe they sell Alpine, JL Audio, Kenwood. I was thinking of either the Kenwood 929 which has a built in adjustable crossover or the JL Audio 250/1.

 

With 2 10w3's you'll need at least 500 watts. I say fork up an extra 100 bucks and get the JL 500/1. Or go to www.purecaraudio.com to get the JL 500/1 for cheap.

 

Which voice coil configuration 10W3's do you have? That will allow us to better point you toward an amp.

 

Don't go with the 250/1. You'll be a lot happier if you give those subs more power. How many watts is the Kenwood amp? Also, what kind of w3s do you have? If you have d4s make sure the amp you get is stable at 1 ohm (unless you go with a JL amp) or you probably won't be giving the subs full power. You should get an amp that AT LEAST puts out the max rated RMS as the JLs can take double or even triple what they are rated for. For $350 you should be able to afford more power than the 250/1.

 

The Kenwood Amp's literature states that it's 460 watts RMS bridged. Considering it's size, I find that hard to believe. I'm also not 100% sure that I want the 2 10's as the box just takes up precious trunk space. Enough that a stroller will hardly fit. I was considering 1 12w3 instead of the 2 10's. Opinions on this would be appreciated as well.

 

To decide which will work better consider the surface area of the cones, and Xmax. The two of these account for determining how much output a driver or drivers will have. For the most part a pair of tens do not have much more surface area than a single twelve. For this reason a single twelve is easier to power to a particular SPL. The Kenwood amp you have now might be plenty powerful for a single twelve. A larger cone area also generally correlates with slightly better low frequency response. The other consideration is box volume for the desired sound.

 

To be honest with you I haven't used Kenwood amps at all so I can't really help you there. Try searching online for some reviews. If you want to keep more trunk space you can go with one twelve like you said. The two tens would be louder though. Well, even with two 10s I doubt you'll have any trouble fitting a stroller unless you go with a huge box. If you get one twelve make sure you tie down your box well or it will slide all over the place. If you're concerned about space I'd go for the two 10s in a small sealed box, it'll take up less than half you trunk. If you want one sub you might want to consider a single 15 or at least a more powerful amp to compensate from the reduction in cone area. If you go with a 15w3 with a ported box and a 500/1 I think you'll be more than happy.

 

I probably should've gotten the JL 500/1, but I opted for the 250/1 and went with a single 12. Kenwood amps can kiss my ***! The 250/1 is sooo much cleaner sounding and accurate. I think I'm gonna make my own box so that I can more wisely use my trunk space, but a single 12 has the sound I was looking for. I like the punchiness of the 2 tens, but the 12's ability to go deeper sounds smoother to me.

 

The 12 should be just as 'punchy' as a 10, or pair of.

 

It's pretty damn close, but it definately sounds deeper

 

Glad to hear you made the correct decision!