In the Ford, I found that the subwoofer worked well in most locations, but it really kicked butt with the enclosure placed on the floor between the front and back seat, subwoofer facing the rear of the cab. To power the KFC-XW1300DVC subwoofer, I ended up running (more on that later) two Crossfire VR1000d amplifiers with a bridging module. Doing this will deliver over 2000 watts of power to the subwoofer. I used the internal crossovers from the amplifiers and bypassed the subsonic filters.
The front half of my reference speaker system consists of a pair of USD Audio B-62 WaveGuide separates. This system features a pair of USD Audio 622 6.5" midrange/woofers, a pair of BC-300 horn-loaded compression driver tweeters, called WaveGuides, and a pair of specially tuned passive two-way crossovers, the PX-BCs. I power these with a Zapco Competition C2K-6.0X amplifier at 150 watts per channel. The built-in high-pass crossover filter was used to block the bass to the component system. This amp is fed via Zapco's Symbilink balanced line driver SLB-U. There are no other signal processors in the signal path.
Listening
The first song that I listened to was the title track off Harry Connick Jr.'s album We Are in Love. I really enjoy this track. It's well recorded with great detail and fantastic dynamics. It opens softly with Connick's smooth crooning and then you are assaulted by sharp, staccato attacks of horns, percussion, and a fine recording of a closely mic'd stand-up string bass.
The Kenwood KFC-XW1300DVC reproduces the string plucks from the stand-up bass with authority and the note shifts are clear and linear as the notes go lower in frequency. The KFC-XW1300DVC has no trouble going very low, without any apparent stress. Low frequency is better than the Orion H2 (see page 64) and Infinity Perfect Q that I tested, but the "jolt" factor is not as good on the Kenwood.
Next I put in 10,000 Maniacs' "Peace Train." The opening eight bars have a deep 30Hz kick drum beat, one beat per bar. It really highlights subwoofer impact and hangover (if there is any). With the KFC-XW1300DVC, the kick drum impact is very firm; hangover is noticeable but acceptable. The really fantastic part is that this sub is very impressive in its low frequency output.
I really get after it on this track and crank it up. The KFC-XW1300DVC keeps getting louder and louder. At high volumes hangover gets more noticeable and the notes got a bit looser. Power handling also becomes an issue. There's a little barking as I got close to 2000 watts. Pretty good performance though.
I would be inclined to try a smaller enclosure and trade off a little bit of the ultra-low frequency performance to increase the KFC-XW1300DVC's power handling and tightness at high volumes.
I break out Boston Acoustics' Music for Bottom Feeders for the third, Ramsey Lewis' "People Make the World Go 'Round." This sub can really reproduce the fundamental low, low frequency stuff. Again, it's not as tight as some of the other subs I have tested lately, but its low frequency extension and presence is more like a 15-in subwoofer. Impressive.
Staying in an R&B kind of mood, I listened to "Evermore" off of Take 6's So Cool album. This is a great demonstration song for this subwoofer, as it comes through snappy, with an almost physical impact. Very musical and correct sounding.