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Comparison Alpine SWD-355 vs Alpine SWE-815

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Alpine SWD-355
Alpine SWE-815
Alpine SWD-355Alpine SWE-815
from $272.00 up to $329.40
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from $163.70 
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Application areacarcar
Designenclosedenclosed
Enclosure typevented boxvented box
Body shapeBoxBox
Typeactiveactive
Size12" (30 cm)8" (20 cm)
Tech specs
Rated power325 W100 W
Max. power650 W
150 W /300 Peak/
Frequency range30 – 200 Hz34 – 1500 Hz
Sensitivity90 dB91 dB
Dual voice coil
Impedance4 ohm2 ohm
Bass level control?
Phase control
High voltage input
General
Remote control
Protective grille
Enclosures illumination
Diffuser materialcompositecomposite
MaterialMDFMDF
Woofer Diameter300 mm200 mm
Enclosures dimensions450x392x422 mm288х291х363 mm
Added to E-Catalognovember 2015july 2012

Size

The size (diameter) of the main subwoofer speaker. In all types of subwoofers, this parameter primarily affects the power and depth of sound: the larger the speaker, the louder it is and the deeper the bass it can provide (ceteris paribus). However with an increase in the size and dimensions, they increase accordingly, which determines the installation possibilities. The latter is especially true in Free Air subwoofers (see "Execution"): some cars are initially equipped with "seats" for a certain size, and it is difficult to install models with other dimensions there.

Now on the market there are subwoofers with such popular sizes: 5" (13 cm), 6" (15.25 cm), 6.3" (16 cm), 6.5" (16.5 cm), 6.75" (17 cm), 8" (20 cm ), 8.25"(21cm) , 9" (23cm ), 10" (25cm ), 11" (27cm), 12"(30cm) , 13" (33cm), 15"(38cm) , 16 " (40 cm), 18" (46 cm).

Rated power

The average (root mean square — RMS) power of the input signal, at which the subwoofer is able to work continuously without negative consequences (damage, failure) for at least an hour. The rated power of the subwoofer must be greater than the power of the amplifier connected to it — in order to avoid overloads.

Max. power

The maximum signal power that the subwoofer is able to withstand for a short time (up to several seconds) without any negative consequences. When selecting an amplifier-subwoofer pair, it is recommended to take a subwoofer with a maximum power of at least twice the maximum power of the amplifier. In general, the higher the maximum power, the more resistant the subwoofer is to overloads.

Frequency range

The range of audio frequencies reproduced by the subwoofer. It is believed that the human ear is capable of perceiving a frequency range of the order of 16 – 20,000 Hz, but in this case note that the subwoofer is designed to reproduce the lower frequency band (up to 200 Hz). Accordingly, in the case of the lower limit of the range, everything is simple: “the lower, the better”; the upper one should not be lower than the lower limit of the main car audio — otherwise there will be "gaps" in the frequencies, which will affect the sound quality.

Sensitivity

Sensitivity determines the loudness of the subwoofer when a signal of a certain power is connected to it: with equal signal power and impedance (see below), the subwoofer with the higher sensitivity will sound louder.

Dual voice coil

A dual voice coil is actually two separate voice coils on the same speaker. This allows you to connect two amplifiers to the subwoofer at once, thus providing high sound power.

Impedance

The electrical resistance of a subwoofer when a signal is applied to it. This parameter is important primarily for selecting a subwoofer-amplifier pair: at a lower impedance than that of the amplifier, the subwoofer will distort the sound, at a higher impedance the sound will be too quiet.

For dual voice coil models (see above), the impedance is specified for one of the voice coils.

Bass level control

Since the subwoofer was originally designed to reproduce bass, in fact, in this case, it implies the presence of its own volume control, which allows you to change it without affecting the signal source. This allows you to easily set the desired bass level relative to the rest of the sound of the audio system (for different cases, this ratio may be different).

Enclosures illumination

The presence of its own backlight on the subwoofer case. The role of this function is purely decorative: it does not affect the sound characteristics, but it provides a stylish design.
Alpine SWD-355 often compared
Alpine SWE-815 often compared