Kenwood Excelon KFC-XW1241HP Car Subwoofer Review

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 1/8^th 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.