When it comes to music, a speaker system without a subwoofer
can sound thin and lacking. Kenwood is known for great car audio products,
which includes subwoofers. And if you need a subwoofer that can handle a good
amount of power because you like a lot of bass, Kenwood has you covered there
too. The Kenwood Excelon KFC-XW1241HP can handle up to 500 watts RMS. MSRP is a
very fair $149. Up for review is a pair of them.
Feature and specs:
・Peak Power 2000W
・PP Dual Area Cone
・Closed Yoke with Advanced Airflow Control
・Stress Controlled Spider
・Robust Thermal Management System
ELECTRICAL
Impedance (Ω): 4
Peak Input Power (W): 2000
RMS Power (W): 500
Sensitivity (dB at 1m): 83
Frequency Response (Hz): 26
~ 300
MOUNTED SPEAKER
Size: 300mm 12 inch
Diaphragm: Paper
Cap: Injection PP
Surround: Rubber
Basket: Steel
Gasket: ABS
Magnet Ferrite: φ155-φ75-t32
DIMENSION
Width: 326mm, 12 - 13/16 inch
Height: 326mm, 12 - 13/16 inch
Cut-out Diameter: 279mm, 11 inch
Depth: 165.8mm, 6 - 1/2 inch
Mounting Depth: 147mm, 5 - 13/16 inch
WEIGHT
Woofer without Gasket: 6.4
kg 14.1 lb
Gross Weight: 7.4 kg, 16.3 lb
Weight of Magnet: 2340
g, 82.4 oz
ACCESSORY: Tapping
Screw, Φ4 x 35, 8pcs
Polyethylene Foam: 1000 x 13 mm
Instruction Manual
Warranty Card
SPECIAL FEATURE:
Injection PP Dual Area Cone
Closed Yoke with Advanced
Airflow Control
Aluminum Bobbin
The Kenwood Excelon KFC-XW1241HP came in a nice-looking
color printed box with photos and specs of the subwoofer. Opening the box
revealed a well-protected woofer held in place by custom cardboard. Materials
used in the construction was metal and plastic with some rubber. Quality of materials
used, as well as fit and finish, was very good. Also included was the trim
ring, foam gasket, mounting screws, and owner’s manual.
As part of the Excelon line, Kenwood puts its best into it.
The rubber surround allows good movement and excursion of the cone. The Polypropylene
cone is durable for a long life, as well as lightweight and sufficiently stiff
for good speed. The stamped steel basket is a good cost saving option that
still provides plenty of strength for its rated power handling (a cast basket would
be nice but isn’t necessary). And I also liked the sewn in tinsel leads, and spring-loaded
terminals.
What I also liked seeing was the bumped pole plate at the
back of the magnet. The Kenwood Excelon KFC-XW1241HP is rated with frequency
response down to 26hz. Bass that low moves a lot of air. With the xmas rated at
7.8 mm, the bumped pole plate may not be needed. But having the bumped pole
piece for additional headroom is really nice.
Thanks to its decently shallow mounting depth of 5 13/16
inches, the Kenwood KFC-XW1241HP will also work in more vehicles. My reference
vehicle, for example, is a Nisson Titan King cab. There’s no trunk for a large
enclosure. The space I have is under the back seat. This is true for numerous
trucks. And if you want a lot of bass, you may be looking for a shallow mount
that can also handle close to 1000 watts, which would be pricey. Thanks to
SoundSkin’s new enclosure line, truck owners have more options. What they make
for my Titan is for dual 12’s. So today we will be reviewing a pair of Kenwood’s
Excelon KFC-XW1241HP’s in a sealed enclosure. Kenwood requires at least 0.8 cu
ft, 1.25 recommended cu ft, with a max 1.8 cu ft. The SoundSkin’s enclosure
provided 0.9 cu ft for each subwoofer. They fit like a glove. And I added some
polyfil to help with the performance.
If you’re an audiophile, who also likes a lot of bass and a
truck owner, the Kenwood KFC-XW1241HP could be exactly what you’re looking for.
It plays under 30hz down to 26hz, has less than 6 inch mounting depth, will
work in less than 1 cu ft of airspace, and handles a good amount of power at
500 watts RMS. Use two, and now we’re talking 1000 watts of bass. Two of these
12’s fit great under the back of my Titan, and did so without any compromises,
really. Looking at all the specs, on paper, it appears impressive. Seeing it and
feeling it in hand, I’m impressed with how well they are made. And Kenwood
seemed to cut the right corners to keep it at an affordable $149 MSRP each.
Mounting them into the enclosure and installing them under my back seat was
simple.
Something else to consider, which I really like about the design,
is the cooling. Many subwoofers have a
vented pole piece, which moves air to cool the voice coil. But the pole vent, which is typically about
an inch wide, also means that you would want to have about an inch clearance
between the back of the magnet and the back wall of the enclosure, to allow for
air to escape the pole vet. The Kenwood
KFC-XW1241HP employs a robust thermal management system with advanced airflow
control, for cooling. There is no pole
vent at the back of the magnet. This
means that no clearance between the back of the magnet and back wall of the
enclosure is needed. It’s almost like
the depth of the subwoofer was an inch less.
This also means that this Kenwood subwoofer will also work in more
enclosures where a shallower subwoofer would normally be needed. This is
exactly the case with my Titan. There is only about 1/8th of an inch
clearance between the back of the magnet and the enclosure. But it works as there is no venting out the
back of the magnet. Now let’s see how it
performs.
New Order: Blue Monday- bass beats at the beginning were
extremely fast, tight, really clean, and hit like a sledgehammer to the chest. Bass beats further in the song were deeper,
just as clean, and played with a ton of authority.
Nat Jing Cole: L-O-V-E- the bass from the double bass was
not only deep with really good low-end extension, it also provided really good
output. The bass was also really smooth,
with really good resolution of the strings.
I also wasn’t expecting the amount of resolution provided, or how
musical they were.
Lady GaGa: Star Struck- bass beats were really clean with no
noticeable muddiness. Low-end extension
was extremely deep, played with a ton of authority, and again felt like a
sledgehammer to the chest.
Brandon Beal: Drop That Booty Down Low- bass beats were
super clean, played really deep, and hit really hard with a ton of
authority. And when he dropped it down
low, it was almost like an earthquake!
Techmaster P.E.B.: Activate- this is a bass track to test
the limits of subs, and provide tons of bass when the amount of bass in other songs
just isn’t enough. It didn’t disappoint. Bass was very deep, and played with a ton of
output. It was really clean, and like an earthquake it was so loud it shook the
whole truck.
I was impressed with the sound I got from the Kenwood
Excelon KFC-XW1241HP. They did play
really deep down to the 26hz they were rated to, and did so with a ton of
output. I managed to get 125db output,
which is really loud. Yet they also
provided really good resolution, and were more musical than I was
expecting. This level of performance at its
price point really provided a huge bang for the buck.
When it comes to car subwoofers, there are a ton of options
out there. And we’ve reviewed a lot, some of which can handle over 1500 watts
RMS. But Kenwood seems to have amazingly checked off most of the boxes with
their Kenwood Excelon KFC-XW1241HP. It plays deep under 30hz, does not require
a lot of air space, does not require deep mounting depth, handles a good amount
of power, and is even economical at only $149. It’s even very well made to
support Kenwood’s 2-year Excelon warranty. Based on its design, features,
quality and performance, the Kenwood Excelon KFC-XW1241HP has earned our Highly
Recommended Award. If you don’t have a lot of space for a subwoofer in your
vehicle, this one should be on your short list. For more info and complete specs,
check out their website at www.kenwood.com.
