Not all vehicles have a lot of
space for a subwoofer, and my 2017 Nissan Titan King Cab is a perfect example.
This is why shallow mount subwoofers were invented: to get bass out of tight
spaces. But early iterations left much to be desired. Thanks to advancement in
technology, they can now provide excursion, power handling and output similar
to a standard subwoofer. Yet it’s still not common.
While it’s not common for shallow
mount subwoofers to have this massive performance, they are available from a
limited number of manufacturers. So we have decided to take subwoofers from a
few of these manufacturers and have a subwoofer showdown. The requirements:
they needed to be a heavyweight. Meaning they needed to handle at least 500
watts, play deep, and move a lot of air (Play loud). It’s The Shallow Mount Subwoofer
Showdown: The Heavyweights. The challengers are Sundown Audio: SML-12, American
Bass ES-12, and Hertz Audio Mille Pro MPS 300 S4.
For the showdown they will all be
tested in the same environment, with the same amount of power. The design of
the enclosure, size of the enclosure, and where it is located in the vehicle,
can all effect how the subwoofer performs.
The test will feature a pair of subs from each manufacturer, mounted in
a sealed enclosure with 0.9 cu feet for each subwoofer. They will be fed 1,000
watts RMS (500 to each sub). They will be sitting under the back seat of my
2017 Nissan Titan, down firing. This
setup may not be ideal for all subwoofers, but it’s the reality for a lot of
vehicle owners. All of the subwoofers
will be tested in the exact same setup, for a true apples to apples
comparison. The testing will include
measurements for response and output, and listening for sound quality. We’ll
start with the Sundown Audio SML-12, followed by the American Bass ES-12, and
finish with the Hertz Audio Mille Pro MPS 300 S4.
First up is the Sundown Audio SML-12.
Sundown Audio started just shy of 20 years ago with high quality amps, and soon
thereafter added high quality subs. Now they have multiple lines of amps and
subs, including multiple shallow mount subs. The Sundown Audio SML-12 is their
entry level shallow mount, with an MSRP of only $210. Yet when compared to the
entry level of most competitors, it is far from entry level quality!
Features and specs:
RMS 500 watts
Dual 2 or 4 ohm voice coils
Black Aluminum 2.5” voice coil
former for superior heat dissipation
High temperature 4-layer copper
voice coil wire
Stitched-on “Mini-XL” tinsel
leads to prevent fatigue and failure
Vented pole-piece and
multi-vented magnetic gap
Dual-magnet design for smooth
acoustic response
Custom tooled cone shape for
reduced mechanical noise over high excursion
Bolt-through motor design to
ensure maximum longevity and ruggedness
The Sundown Audio SML-12 came in
a standard brown box (no big deal as they are sold at online retailers).
Opening the box revealed a well secured woofer held in place by custom
Styrofoam. Materials used in the construction was mostly aluminum for the cast
basket, and copper 2.5” voice coil, thick fabric for the spider, pressed paper
cone, and rubber/foam for the surround. Quality of materials used was very
good, as was the fit and finish. It’s a very beefy driver designed to play
loud.
I love the design of the Sundown
Audio SML-12. But first, let’s talk about typical subwoofer design. On top is
the cone and surround which is mounted to the basket top. The magnet or motor
is mounted to the bottom of the basket. In-between the cone and motor you’ll
find the spider and voice coil. And the more power it can handle, the bigger
the magnet will be.
To reduce mounting depth, the
shallow mount was developed. Instead of mounting the motor at the bottom of the
basket, it was mounted inside the basket with the cone being flat so it would
not take up space in the basket. And to reduce the needed space, smaller motors
were used. But this also reduced the power handling. As designs improved, not
only did the magnets manage to get a little bigger allowing for more power handling,
the cones also managed to get more concave.
This is the design that Sundown
Audio uses with the SML-12. Not only is the Sundown Audio SML-12 really shallow
at around 4.5”, the cone has some depth to it. Motor structure is also
improved, handling 500 watts RMS. They even employ a strong cast aluminum
basket. Pole piece is vented, to help with cooling, as well as the back plate.
Surround is double stitched and of good size for excursion. Cone is a really
stiff pressed paper, and tinsel leads are sewn into the spider. The Sundown
Audio is a beefy subwoofer that is very well made. Now let’s see how it sounds.
Queen: Another One Bites The
Dust- bass beats were really tight, and
super clean. And it hit so hard, like a
punch to the chest.
Branden Beal: Drop The Booty Down
Low- bass beats were super clean,
extremely deep, and played with a lot of authority. And when the booty got dropped down low, it
was to a whole new level. It was like an earthquake.
Techmaster PB: Activate- my old school subwoofer torture track. It
played extremely deep, with a ton of authority! It really got my rear-view
mirror dancing. And my whole truck
shook! Yet it was really clean doing so,
without any muddiness.
Also Sprach Zarathustra- this is
a track I like to use to test for sound quality, resolution, and how musical a
subwoofer can be. It starts with a
constant rumble as the bows are run across the strings of the huge contra
bass. And it had very good sound quality
so you can hear the mallets beating on the big tympani. They played really deep, playing down into
the 20’s hertz range.
I was impressed with the sound
quality of the Sundown Audio SML-12.
They played deep, played loud, yet played really clean. And they also were more musical than
expected. Sundown Audio is known for
their high SPL subs, but I wasn’t expecting the amount of resolution they also
provided. For output I managed to hit 123db.
Next up is the American
Bass. The American Bass ES-12 came in a
color printed box, with photos and specs of the subwoofer. Opening the box
showed it held in place by custom cardboard. Materials used in the construction
is aluminum for the cast basket and voice coil, former, copper for the voice
coil, thick fabric for the spider, a combination of pressed paper and carbon
fiber and fiberglass for the cone and cap, and rubber for the surround. Quality
of materials used and fit and finish was very good. Also included was the
manual. MSRP is only $215.
Features and specs:
RMS POWER 800W
MAX POWER 1500W
IMPEDANCE (OHMS) D4
SENSITIVITY DB 84
MOUNTING DEPTH (IN) 4.3
CUTOUT SIZE (IN) 10.79
PORTED BOX (FT3) 0.75
MAGNET SIZE (OZ) 65
VOICE COIL SIZE 2.5
BASKET TYPE CAST
The American Bass ES-12 employs a
similar design as the Sundown Audio. The basket is strong cast aluminum. The
motor is in the middle of basket, and uses a vented pole place for cooling.
Also like the Sundown Audio, the small tip of the cone meets in the very center
and is glued to the spider. The spider is quite wide, at around 2.5” radius
with the tinsel leads sewn in. The cone is multiple layers with custom fiberglass
over pressed paper. The American Bass ES-12 also handles even more power, rated
at 800 watts RMS. It looks impressive, and feels extremely solid in hand. Now
let’s see how it sounds.
Queen: Another One Bites The
Dust- bass beats were super clean, and
really tight. It hit so hard it felt
like a punch to the chest.
Branden Beal: Drop That Booty
Down Low- bass beats were super clean,
and played extremely deep. They also
played with a ton of authority that made my rearview mirror really dance. When the booty got dropped down low, it was a
whole new level and felt like an earthquake.
Techmaster PB: Activate- it played extremely deep, and so loud with so
much authority! It really got my
rearview mirror dancing and hard to use.
More than that, my whole truck shook like an earthquake. Yet it was really clean doing so!
Also Sprach Zarathustra- the constant sustained rumble of extremely
deep bass from the bows being run across the strings of the huge contra bass,
was extremely clean. And there was
enough resolution and musicality hear the mallets beating on the huge pad of the
tympani. It was a tad muddy, but you
could still hear the mallets hitting the pad.
I was really impressed with the
performance and sound quality of the American Bass ES-12. Not only did they play extremely deep, they
were extremely loud doing so! They
played down to 20hz, and they were extremely loud being able to hit 130db. Yet they also managed to be musical and
provide good resolution as well.
Last but not least is the Hertz
Audio Mille Pro MPS 300 S4. The Hertz Audio came in a color printed box with
photos of the subwoofer and its specs. Opening the box revealed a well-protected
subwoofer held in place with custom cardboard. Materials used in the
construction was aluminum for the cast basket, copper voice coil, cloth spider,
polypropylene woofer, and rubber surround. Quality of materials used, as well
as fit and finish, was very good. Also
included was the manual, grille, grille removal tool, allen head screws and
bit, and speed clips. MSRP is $550.
Features and specs:
Size mm (in.) 300 (12)
Power Handling - Continuous W 500
Power Handling - Peak W 1000
Impedance Ohm 4
Depth mm (in.) 88 (3.46)
Voice Coil Type single
No Filter Component Subwoofers
Voice Coil Ø 38 (1.5)
Frequency Response Hz 25 - 400
Magnet size D x d x h mm (in.) 156 x 60 x 36 (6.14 x 2.36 x 1.42)
Weight of one component kg (lb.) 6.64 (14.64)
Magnet High density flux ferrite
Cone Polypropylene
Xmech mm (in.) 20 (0.79)
Technical Specs
D mm 262.59
Xmax mm 16.80
Re Ohm 3,4
Fs Hz 23
Le mH 3,75
Vas I 62,13
Mms g 320
Cms mm/N 0.15
BL T*m 18.7
Qts 0.42
Qes 0.45
Qms 6.3
Spl dB 85
The Hertz Audio uses a design
very similar to the Sundown Audio and American Bass. Only it’s squished even
thinner for an even shallower mounting depth of only 3.5 inches! It’s also just a single voice coil. The cone is concave with the center cap
sticking up and the space of the cavity behind the cap is filled by the magnet
as the cone moves back and forth with the music. So when the cone moves back
and forth with the suspension, the magnet fills the space right behind the
cap. This allows for very little space
needed between the magnet and the top of the cone. Yet thanks to its smart suspension design,
it’s polypropylene cone squeezes out 16.8mm of Xmax! With an Fs of only 23Hz,
this woofer is not only designed to move a lot of air, it’ll also play really
deep! I can’t wait to see how it performs. Let’s see how it sounds.
Queen: Another One Bites The
Dust- bass beats were super clean, and
really tight. It hit really hard, and
felt like a punch to the chest.
Branden Beal: Drop That Booty
Down Low- bass beats were so super
clean, and played extremely deep. They
played with such a massive amount of authority.
My rearview mirrors really got dancing.
And when they dropped the booty down low, it was so massive like an
earthquake in my truck!
Techmaster PB: Activate- it played so so deep, and so loud doing
so! It really got my rearview mirror
dancing. My whole truck shook, like an
earthquake it was so loud and deep. I
could even feel the SPL pressure build in the cabin.
Also Sprach Zarathustra- it starts with a constant rumble of super
deep bass, from the bows being run across the strings of the massive contra
bass. It was extremely clean. And there
was enough resolution that you could actually hear the mallets beating on the
pad of the big tympani. This was the
musicality and resolution I was looking to hear from Hertz! And they didn’t disappoint.
The Hertz Audio Mille Pro MPS 300
S4 was an excellent performer! No matter
what kind of bass was asked to be played, it was true to the source
material. As quick beats were extremely
dynamic with great punch, yet deep sustained beats were also well sustained and
shook the truck. Its response was also
very linear and had excellent output and flat response down to under 25hz! And while I was extremely impressed with its
output that I got to hit 130db, it was also very musical with great
resolution. After all, if you could get
a subwoofer that was excellent in both output and sound quality, why wouldn’t
you?
I was impressed with the
competitors. Shallow mount subwoofers
have come a long way! These three were
very well made. And with cast aluminum
baskets, they were built like tanks! At
500 watts RMS or more, they could handle a lot of power. There are a lot of standard subwoofers that
can’t handle that much power. And thanks
at least partially to their high-power handling, all three had excellent motors
that controlled the cone extremely well.
Even very fast beats played extremely well without any signs of
muddiness, which can be hard for a 12 inch subwoofer. While the Sundown Audio wasn’t the loudest, I
was surprised at its sound quality and how musical it was. And considering it
is their entry level shallow mount, its even more impressive. The American Bass
SB-12 didn’t quite have the same level of sound quality as the Sundown Audio,
but it made up for it in output. We fed
it 500 watts, so with a power handling of 800 watts the American Bass SB-12 has
the capability to be even louder! The
Hertz Audio takes things to an even higher level, giving us similar output as
the American Bass, yet with higher sound quality and impressing us with its
musicality. It has a much higher price,
but it’s worth it.
All of these subwoofers are great
products. They hit really hard, and
sound great doing so. And they are very
well made to provide years of use.
Sundown Audio with their really musical and high resolution SML-12
provides a great bang for the buck. The American
Bass SB-12, with its slightly lower resolution but huge output is an even
bigger bang for the buck. But if you
want killer sound quality with high output, the Hertz Audio Mille Pro MPS 300
S4 is worth the higher price of admission.
Based on their design, features, quality, and performance, the Sundown
Audio SML-12 has earned our Highly Recommended Award, and the American Bass
SB-12 and Hertz Audio Mille Pro MPS 300 S4 has earned our Editor’s Choice
Award. For more info and complete specs,
check out their websites at www.sundownaudio.com,
www.americanbass.com, and www.hertzaudio.com.
Reference gear used: Kenwood
Excelon Reference DNR-1007XR Receiver, Nakamichi NDST500A 12 Channel DSP 10
Channel amplifier, Wavetech Link 1000.1mini Subwoofer Amp, German Maestro
M-Line 3-Way Component System, Alpine Type-X 2-Way Component System, SoundSkins
Dual 12 inch sealed enclosure.
