Holy Decibel Shattering Insanity!!!

Author's Rating:

Pros: excellent clarity, super durable

Cons: difficult to find

The Bottom Line: 
If you can find these subs, they are an excellent all around sub that will blow you away. Great for any true enthusiast.

Author's Review
I have been a HUGE car audio fanatic for the last ten years. Ever since I was capable of driving, I have had a desire to blast my speakers at levels that weren’t fit for anyone’s ears. This has led to thousands of dollars in purchases, countless maxed out credit cards, and eventually led to a huge interest in the car customization business in general.

Over the last ten years, I have done countless installs on my own vehicles, my friends’ vehicles, and customer vehicles after I started up my own customization business in 2000, which eventually would be put out of business, by the economy crushing September 11th. Porous

Since the time September 11th, I have still maintained a great deal of side business, including work done for a local shop on a need basis. I now perform the majority of my installations as more of a hobbyist than for income. This affords me the opportunity to try out the latest equipment and improve the car customization scene within the state of Alaska.

Audiobahn AW1206T Subwoofer
I don't know what the hell the people at Audiobahn were thinking when they created this speaker, but they obviously lost their minds. The speaker is truly one of the most impressive on the market in its' class. It's manufactured by Audiobahn first of all, which has grown over the last few years to become one of the most dominate names in the car audio world. There are very few companies that are capable of producing as well rounded of a product as they do, and they do it consistently, compounding upon previous successes to create the next sound sensation.

This particular subwoofer is no different than previous models from Audiobahn. It features hard hitting bass, an incredible design, and the durability that you would expect from a leader in the industry.

Sound Quality
Probably one of the most significant things that you'll notice about these speakers is that they have some of the best hits of any subwoofer in their class. Regardless of how hard they hit, they are capable of producing a crisp sound that generally is quite difficult when you have the speaker components moving so quickly and fiercely. The speaker has such an amazing response as well, so it is capable of hitting multiple successive bass hits in a row, without distortion. Many speakers this size will just roll through quick bass hits and it will sound like your speakers are slurring during a song. So far, I haven't found anything that will cause this particular speaker to slur like that, but it is relatively common with other similar subs on the market. This of course is tough to prevent, and the reasoning behind having mid range speakers. They tend to take the stress off of the larger subs.

When you combine these subs with any component system you are going to find a sound that you would normally only be able to find in a theater or concert hall.

Even with the crisp sound, these speakers are able at competing with some of the best speakers on the market. They hit so hard, produce such a loud sound, and create such high decibel levels that with enough of them, they could easily win an SPL bass competition.

Appearance
Normally I don't talk too much about the actual appearance of a speaker, because for the most part, it really doesn't make that much of a difference, since most people place them in their trunk out of sight. This isn't the case with these Audiobahn's. These speakers have an awe inspiring flare design around the outside metal frame of the speaker. Plus a great looking flame stamped into the center of the subwoofer that is exposed. Many people due to the excellent look of the speaker do reverse installations of these speakers, having the core of the speaker out and the face of the speaker facing into the box. This of course changes the sound somewhat, but it shows off the awesome quality of craftmanship used in creating these speakers.

Durability
The way I look at it... if you can break an Audiobahn subwoofer, then you probably should consider not doing what you did to blow them in the first place. These speakers seem almost indestructible. I have thrown so much bass at these over such long periods of time, that you would assume that they would have to blow out, but they never do. In fact, I find myself installing four speakers in a truck, only to have them come back and want another 2-4. These speakers are just that reliable. They create such a powerful sound, but hold up better than even the best companies, bringing people back for more, over and over again.

Suggested Sound Improvements
I have a real issue with metal touching wood. Just the thought of it screams with distortion. However, everyone is doing it this way. Why? I couldn't tell you, because there is an easy solution that will make the sound quality substantially better, and it doesn't cost much money either. What I recommend for these speakers and any other one that comes already enclosed is to unscrew the sub from the box, and take rubber tubing, run it around the edge of the sub, and screw the sub back into place. What this does is create a soft barrier between the sub and the box, preventing that minimal distortion. It will give you a much more quality sound and will cost you about $2 to do. It is definitely the best improvement you can make to any box.

The next step that I take is to spray the inside of the box with silicone. Why? Well, fiberboard, is a rather porous box type. Because of this, distortion to some degree is inevitable. By creating a protective layer between the bass and the board, you are able to eliminate some of the shock distortion. You could also use foam, but this deadens your sound somewhat and makes it somewhat muffled. I always suggest the silicone spray. It's a really fine spray, throw on a few layers, and it will give you a little more crispness to your sound.

Finally, if you don't have a port to your box, then my biggest recommendation is to create a small port. A port is essentially just a hole in the box, that allows for better airflow. I generally cut two small holes, as opposed to the single large hole that many shops use. My reasoning behind this, is that if you create two holes, on opposite sides of the box, it creates a similar air flow to that of a HI-C can. With only one hole, the HI-C doesn't pour all that easy, but with a second hole on the opposite side of the can, suddenly it pours out substantially better. Why use one hole if two can force air through better? Now, keep in mind, these two holes have to be relatively small, both only about 1-2" in diameter. If you create them much larger than that, you are defeating the purpose of uses the box to boost the sound. Also, do not port directly out the back of the box, port out the sides. This will create more boom for your buck. Also, make sure that you spray silicone around the edges of the ports so that the sound quality retains its’ crispness. You could also throw rubber around the edge, which creates a higher quality sound, just ensure the rubber has no gaps in it or you could create a slight flapping sound as the rubber moves.

Product Details
Size 12 -inch
Impedance 4 ohms
Cone Material Aluminum
Surround Material Foam
Sealed Box Volume (cubic feet) 0.5 - 1.25
Ported Box Volume (cubic feet) 1.3 - 3.2
Port diameter (inches) 4
Port length (inches) 7.25
Free-Air No
Dual Voice Coil Yes
Sensitivity 96.4dB
Frequency Response 20 - 0.5k Hz
RMS Power Range (Watts) 50-1100
Peak Power Handling (Watts) 2200
Top Mount Depth (inches) 7
Bottom Mount Depth (inches) N/A
Cutout Diameter or Length (inches) 10 15/16
Vas (liters) 33
Fs (Hz) 31.5
Qts 0.35
Xmax (millimeters) 18
Parts Warranty 1 Year
Labor Warranty 1 Year