Whether it’s car audio, or home audio, bass is an important
part of audio. In car audio, many people, including myself, like a lot of bass.
This can be a real challenge in some environments like in cars. There are some
car audio companies that specialize in providing various subwoofers, to
maximize quality bass in different scenarios. One of the best is Sundown Audio.
Up for review today is their Classic 10. SRP is $320.
Features and specs:
1000 Watt RMS/ 2000 Watt Peak
Dual 2 or 4 ohm voice coils
Optimized for small ported, sealed, & band-pass
enclosures
Large aluminum Faraday ring for smooth acoustic response
High strength cast aluminum frame
Low distortion motor construction
High-temperature voice coil wire
Spring-loaded terminals
Stitched-on “XL” tinsel lead wires
RMS Power (D2): 1000
Peak Power (D2): 2000
Re-Ohms (D2): 4.29
FS-Hz (D2): 35.4
Vas-L (D2): 10.13
Qes (D2): 0.52
Qms (D2): 5.3
Qts (D2): 0.49
Le-mH (D2): 3.41
BL-NA (D2): 20.4
Mms-Grams (D2): 230
Cms-uM/N (D2): 87.8
Sensitivity-dB @ 1w/1m (D2):
81
Xmax (D2): 19mm
RMS Power (D4): 1000
Peak Power (D4): 2000
Re-Ohms (D4): 7.08
FS-Hz (D4): 36.6
VAS-L (D4): 10.66
Qes (D4): 0.54
Qms (D4): 5.41
Qts (D4): 0.49
Le-mH (D4): 4.71
BL-NA (D4): 24.82
Mms-Grams (D4): 205
Cms-uM/N (D4): 92.4
Sensitivity-dB @ 1w/1m (D4):
81.6
Xmax (D4): 19mm
Physical Dimensions
Displacement (Inches):
.07cu ft
Depth (Inches): 6"
Cutout (Inches): 9.25"
Motor Diameter (Inches): 7.4
Ported Enclosure Specs
Ported Enclosure Size:
1.0 cu ft
Recommended Port Area: 15 sq in
Recommended Port Tuning:
35hz
Sealed Enclosure Specs
Sealed Enclosure Size:
0.5 cu ft
4th Order Enclosure Specs
4th Order Sealed Side:
.4cu ft
4th Order Ported Side:
1.2cu ft
4th Order Port Area: 24sq
in
4th Order Port Length:
6"
The Sundown Classic 10 came in a nice color printed box with
photos and specs of the woofer printed on the box. Opening the box revealed a well-protected
subwoofer, held in place by custom molded Styrofoam. Materials used in the
construction is mostly metal with some paper, and high-roll treated foam. Quality
of materials used, as well as fit and finish, was excellent. Also included was
a Sundown Audio sticker.
If you’re a basshead like me, you may want to get as much
bass in your vehicle as possible. If your vehicle has a trunk, there’s a lot of
options. If you have a truck with an extended cab, you also have a lot of
options if you don’t need the back seat. But if you do need the back seat, your
only option is what you can get under the seat.
There’s still a lot of options for under the back seat. And
technology has improved over the last decade or two for subwoofers. You used to
need at least a 12-inch sub for really deep bass. Now you can get that in as
small as a 6.5” woofer. The last few car audio conventions I have been to, I
have seen multiple demo vehicles showing off what’s possible with several 8
inch and even 6.5 inch woofers sealed. Impressive. And for some trucks there
are kits to raise the back seat, so you have more space for a larger enclosure.
If you want to stay stock, you have fewer options. But there
are still options. And you’re still limited by physics. To get the most bass,
you need to consider cone surface area, power, and excursion. Smaller subs
require less airspace for an enclosure, but you need more of them for the same
amount of output. As previously stated, cone surface area is part of the
equation. And to provide a lot of deep bass, you also need to move a lot of
air. This means you need a lot of excursion. You’ll also want a ported
enclosure for the most bass. And you’ll be looking at about 2 cubic feet of
airspace under the back seat for a ported enclosure.
This is where the Sundown Audio Classic 10 comes in. It’s
the best to maximize the output for the amount of airspace under a truck’s back
seat. Sure you can fit six ported 6.5 inch woofers. But they will cost more
than two of the Classic 10’s, and they won’t handle as much power as the
classic 10’s. The excursion of the Classic 10’s is also almost double the 6.5
inch, with 19 mm vs 10 mm.
This is why I really like the design of the Sundown Audio
Classic 10’s. They don’t require a lot of mounting depth at 6 inches. Yet they
manage to handle 1000 watts RMS, and have a massive high-roll foam surround for
lot of excursion to over a ton of air. They also use a SPL competition grade
paper cone and a solid cast aluminum basket. Then there’s the robust
double-layered Nomex spider, and the large XL tinsel lead wires that are stitched
on. Most subs will handle between 150-300 watts RMS. The more serious subs will handle up to 500 watts,
maybe 800 watts. At 1000 watts RMS now you’re getting into the big boys, real
serious subs.
That’s where the Sundown Audio Classic 10 fits in. It is one
serious sub, one of the big boys. It’s built like a tank too! It has to be to
handle that much power. It’s a beast, but unlike other subs that can handle at
least 1000 watts which need at least 6.5 inches to 8 inches of mounting depth,
the Sundown Audio Classic 10 only needs 6 inches.
This is what is so exciting for Sundown Audio Classic 10,
for truck owners. While shallow mount subs aren’t needed, there still isn’t a
lot of mounting depth, which usually limits you to subs with a power handling
capacity of around 500 watts. But with only 6 inches of mounting depth for the
Sundown Audio Classic 10’s and 1.0 cubic feet of air space needed pers subs, it
will work. Some careful engineering will also be needed for our enclosure to
fit, but you can get a ported enclosure designed to fit a 10 inch sub the size
and footprint of the Sundown Audio Classic 10. And you would be hard pressed to
find a better option that provides more cone area, more excursion capacity, and
power handling, for more bass output, that would fit under a stock back seat of
an extended cab truck, than a pair of Sundown Audio Classic 10’s in a vented
enclosure.
Fox Acoustics seems to have figured it out, and makes sealed
and vented enclosures for under the back seats of extended cab trucks. And one
of those enclosures is vented for dual 10’s. Our reference vehicle is a 2017
Nisson Titan King Cab. Fox Acoustics provides a vented enclosure that will fit,
has 2.2 cubic feet of airspace, and has enough depth for the Sundown Audio
Classic 10’s. We wanted to show what’s possible and how to get the most bass
out of a pure stock truck that’s an extended cab, when using under the back
seat. The Sundown Classic 10’s max out what can be done with the amount of
space available. For an enclosure, as well as maxing out cone surface area,
cone travel for max excursion, as well as power handling. A larger sub for more
cone surface area like a 12, would require more airspace for a ported enclosure
than is available under the back seat. And for subs that can handle more power
like 1500 watts or more RMS, would also require more mounting depth than would
fit under a back seat. The Sundown Audio Classic 10 in a pair, are the peak.
Now let’s see how much bass we can get.
Queen – Another One Bites the Dust: Bass beats are really
deep, and really dynamic. They play with a huge output and authority, hitting
really hard! It was like a sledgehammer to the chest and took my breath away.
Yet it also did so cleanly!
R. Strauss – Also Sprach Zarathustra: for you audiophiles,
the Sundown Audio Classic 10 performs. The very beginning of the song starts
off with a bass clinic from the Double Bass, Contrabassoon, and pipe organ,
playing the low C or C1, which has a 33hz frequency. It is a very deep low
rumble. Yet it is very smooth providing very good resolution of the bow across
the strings. The same note on the contrabassoon and pipe organ is also very
smooth with good air. It is very deep, yet has very good output with authority,
shaking my whole truck, with the same great level of resolution. Next the tympani
also had very good resolution of the impact of the mallet on the pad, with very
good dynamics.
Techmaster PB – Activate: this is my trusted old school subwoofer
torture track. To test the limits of how
violent a subwoofer can get….this is it.
It plays not just ultra deep to test a subwoofers limits, it hits ultra
hard doing it, moving a crap load of air.
And the Sundown Audio Classic 10’s didn’t disappoint! And I kept smiling
ear to ear throughout it all. With each
beat, it went deeper and deeper. They
hit so hard, moving a ton of air, shaking my whole truck. And as we continued into the track the beats
got deeper and deeper, shaking my truck even more violently as the track went
on. It was like being in the epicenter
of an earthquake. And the Sundown Audio
Classic 10’s loved playing loud, being pushed to the limits, up to 139.4db! And
I was loving it as well! Like when you
give your girl a ride and she screams yes! Yes! YES!
The Sundown Audio Classic 10 did not disappoint. They have a
reputation of providing excellent products. Having experience reviewing their
products we knew of quality. Yet I was still impressed. Two 10’s, ported, 2000
total watts RMS did not disappoint. It was really, really loud! And it did so
playing really deep, really clean, and without noticeable muddiness. It’s very
difficult to make a sub that will play this loud, and do it so cleanly. But
it’s even much more difficult for it to be a musical sound quality sub. Yet
this is what Sundown Audio has managed to do with their Classic 10. It proved
to be very musical. Whether it’s the resolution to reveal the impact of a mallet
on a tympani or the sting across the double bass with classical music, or the
mallet on the kick drum pad and its decay after the impact in rock music, the
Sundown Audio Classic 10’s really shined. So no matter if you want to enjoy
some classical, jazz, rock, or if you’re in the mood to rattle your teeth with
some bass tracks, the Classic 10 has you covered.
If you are like me and like a ton of bass, the Sundown Audio
Classic 10 will definitely get the job done. It hits so hard, so deep, with a
ton of output. And the motor provides
excellent control of the cone for excellent punch and dynamics. And it’s nice to know that audiophiles will
also enjoy it’s musicality. It’s also built like a tank to provide years of
use, and deserves to be on your shortlist. Based on its design, features,
quality and performance, the Sundown Audio Classic 10 has earned our Editor’s
Choice Award. For more info and complete
specs, check out their website at www.sundownaudio.com.
