Just your amp costs more than two generic twelves and a decent amp. A single high quality sub setup that matches or beats a duel setup is expensive. A good duel setup of 2 ohm or 4 ohm speakers in a ported box will sound great without a huge investment.
What ever you do, look at the RMS watts, not peak or bullshit watts. You probably want to look at 2ohm RMS numbers, or spend more money and get a 1ohm stable amp, or spend even more money and get an amp that puts out what it advertises at 1-4ohms. I'd say at minimum if you wanna bump then aim for 500ish RMS...500 peak watts is like 12rms watts(not really, but I'm just saying... peak watts are listed as way higher than actual watts, which is what an RMS watt is) 1 12 at 500rms will pound harder than you think. 1 12 at 500rms would probably sound better than 2 12's at 250rms each. A cheaper amp that puts out 500rms at 1ohm is only going to put out 250rms at 2ohm, or an amp that puts out 500rms at 2ohm will put out 1000rms at 1ohm(though the amp may not be stable at 1ohm) and so on. The high end amps are usually rated 1ohm or will put out whatever number it says on the label at 1, 2, 3 or 4ohms.... all that being said, make sure you buy the correct sub/amp for the application you're wanting. My headphones pound harder than 1 12 at 500"peak watts", lol Sony makes a good camcorder, but stay away from their audio. Also, look into getting door speaker and amp them if you're wanting to keep up with some bitchin' bass. Perhaps look into a good quality 5ch amp so you can amp a sub and speakers off 1 amp. PS, I recommend buying your shit off eBay unless you know someone at the audio shop giving you 5% above cost or you're going to be paying an arm and a leg for something that doesn't sound impressive. eBay's prices are about 5% above cost, even after shipping.
And the op asked about high quaility products and i gave an example of some that i have experience with. A couple P1's or any other entry level sub isnt going to compete with a high end sub, which the op was asking about. Sure a pair of P1's arent bad but they arent what the op seem's to be looking for.
I had a single 12' JL Audio that would nearly cause heart palpitations haha. Trust you'll bee fine. Just be aware of how hot your amp gets if you're gonna blast it constantly.
Idk is he wanting to spend $600+? I didn't get that impression, he's looking for a beginners setup and bang for buck two twelves sounds great with a stock system.
If you want the best quality for your buck put in mids and highs. Systems sound shitty with just bass. Stock mids and then 2 12's all you will hear is bass When I put in my 10 with the stocks the sub sounded great but you can't turn it up cause the bass drowns out the mids. If you want quality you have to pay for it. It's stupid to buy badass speakers and hook up to the stock head. You're not going to get the results you're looking for. You buy cheap you get cheap. Unless you know someone selling a system it's going to cost you. I don't really recommend buying used speakers in the first place.
You could try an alpine type-r, or checkout crutchfield's home brand Sound Ordnance. I had the 2 12's in my honda and they bump just as loud as anything else. Think I paid 200$ or so.
In my car I have 2 12" kenwoods powered by a 600rms alpine v-power mono. My friend said it was rattling the shit out of his car when he was in front of me in the drive through. I'm happy with what I have, it's pretty loud. I definitely wouldn't mind having better quality subs though. You say you don't want obnoxiously loud subs right now, but after a month of bumping one 12 with a 1000 watt peak sony amp you're going to want more. That's what I did and spent too much money for like three different setups. For everything I have right now, I traded four grams of weed for the subs and box and I paid $120 for the amp and wiring and $100 for the aftermarket head unit. It's not expensive to have a decent setup.
12' JL W7. Prepare to annoy every car you stop next to lol. Probably a bit out of your price range though but I just love anything JL. Oh and I hope you don't have a trunk with dampers. Say bye bye to those after hours of bass abuse.
Before i blew my amp my 12'' kicker comp slammed so hard it would knock my rear view off sometimes. It sounded clean compared to some of my friends and most of them have 2 12's. i did have it in the backseat if my truck facing the front and it did have a badass box that might have scooted it along some.
go with one sub and a power house of an amp - pick ether re, fi or sundown. these subs will all handle nearly double the rms the maker rates them at and they all have thick cones to take the abuse of 1000k plus rms. i have an fi q 18 that is powered by a 1200 auidioque amp, i could be running this sub at nearly 3500/4k rms range and it would be fine, the q is more of the sound quality style sub that fi offers but they have the btl which can take more. these subs are going to cost a little more than a kicker or alpine from best buy would run you but you will never fuck one of these up unless you are going into competetion or you wired them wrong. daily use will have little effect on these beasts they are meant to be burped at 145+ db. keep in mind the 10s and 12s of the fi q can handle the same wattage the 18 can handle, just uses a much smaller box.
well if you are looking for actual quality I would just buy aftermarket speakers to replace those in your car, then add that 12 on for bass and to take stress off the speakers when it comes to producing bass.
Maybe you shouldn't diss on people's setup's before you hear them. Sure kicker isn't the best car audio brand but they are still good quality. I have 2 12 kicker L7s with a 1500 hifonics amp pushing them. These things slam hard and want more power.
Kicker is garbage.....you should listen to some actual good setups and you will realize his point of view
I know this thread is a few months old, but I'll throw in some advice on companies to look into: Subwoofers: - TC Sounds - DC Sound Lab - Sundown Audio - Sound Solutions Audio - Digital Designs - Fi Car Audio - Image Dynamics - Resonant Engineering aka RE Audio - Ascendant Audio - PSI - Tantric Sounds *The above brands are mostly lesser known unless you're into competing in SPL or SQ competions..or spend a lot of time browsing on car audio forums* Amplifiers: - Sundown Audio - DC Sound Lab - Digital Designs - American Bass - Incriminator Audio - Crescendo Audio - Zapco - Arc Audio - B2 Audio The list can go on and on. If anyone here feels like they need some advice, just shoot me a message. I'd be happy to help gameplan a system for you. It keeps my mind busy when I'm blazing and have nothing else to do. I have experience with quite a few of those companies as well and the ones I haven't used, I've read nothing but good things or have heard them first hand.
I have had one of these Infinity Basslink 200-Watt subs in my car for years and it sounds great. Read the reviews on amazon about it. Plus you will still have a lot of trunk space. http://www.amazon.com/Infinity-Basslink-200-Watt-10-Inch-Subwoofer/dp/B000063TJY