Yes, it is Perfect.

Author's Rating:

Pros: Excellent response, amazing punch, built like a tank, very good looking, good warranty

Cons: None that I can see

The Bottom Line: 
Simply the finest sub for the average listener all the way to the competitor.

Author's Review
Please Note:


This is the second part in my overall car stereo review. Yes, I mean my car. This was one of the many parts that work together to make this stereo one of the best I have ever listened to, competition or no. This system is set up for fidelity, not raw sound pressure levels, though it will do that too if need be. Considering that this is one of three Infinity components in this new set up and considering that you may not have found it through a search, this review is on the Infinity Kappa Perfect 12.1 component subwoofer.

As mentioned in the previous "Please Note", it is important to understand that this isn't a hack job, the whole car including the trunk was lined with premium sound damping material. The trunk specifically is lined with not just Brown Bread, but also about 7 or so square feet of Dynamat extreme. This will make a big difference in the overall performance of the sub. I will soon write a short article detailing that in great detail, I need to find a place to put it first though. Well, enjoy the review.


How About Some Background


Ok. Infinity is one part of Harman Industries, the parent company that brings us fine brands like Infinity, JBL, AKG, Mark Levinson, and Harman Kardon. AKG are some of the finest headphones available, JBL can easily be considered the studio standard in speakers, and Harman Kardon are some of the most desirable low priced high current amps and receivers out there. I have had experience with several of their brands and can say with confidence that they are some of the finest products in their respective categories, whether speakers or CD burners.

Infinity has had entries in the car audio field for quite some time now, but I feel their quality has become better in the past few years. As with this change is the steadily emerging market for fine home stereo speaker makers to turn to mobile audio. The decision to buy this sub was really only against one other brand, Boston Acoustics, which I can also heartily recommend but whose product I felt was one-upped by the Perfect (12.1) component sub.


Why The Perfect 12.1?


There are several reasons why I chose this component sub from all of the other offerings out there. Brand, quality, size, excursion, power handling, and overall response were just a few. First off, the other brands and models I was considering in addition to the Perfect. The Kenwood eXcelon was one choice, but after a few luke warm reviews, I decided to look elsewhere. The Solo Baric was another thought and the DVC units were attractively priced, I just hadn't heard good things about their longevity. The newish Polk dX subs were another consideration and I have been very happy with my past Polk purchases and know many folks who feel the same way.

I am speaking of all 12" woofers here. I was only briefly considering the 10" simply because I didn't feel it would give me the punch I was looking for. Also I simply didn't want to have some 30" wide double woofer enclosure (ultimately 50-70 pounds also!) taking up my trunk. I have to have room for my clubs and at least one other set as well! A 12" in a small sealed enclosure seemed to be the way to go. I went sealed rather than ported simply because I was looking, as I said, for fidelity rather than huge SPLs. The ported box requires more power to play as loud as a ported unit (all things being equal), but power is no longer an issue. This unit has 300 watts RMS of pure Class D power coming to it, thanks to my Sony ES 6001GXD amp (see my review). This unit was previously powered by a Sony 405EQX 5-way amp (100 or so low current, dirty, non-ES watts).

Looks had a big part to play in my decision in a sub as well. From what I had picked out, the Infinity was by far the best looking and I had no plans to put a nasty grill over my baby. The dX and BA were rather bland. I also could get, at the time, a much better price on the Infinity, so it made sense. I actually bought the enclosure from Crutchfield, at a premium, but it works and its well built. For those that need to know it a small sealed Q-Logic box for a 12", but this box as well as other are available much more cheaply on ebay, sometimes less than half average retail prices. I stuffed my box with poly-fill simply because it was slightly larger than the recommended volume (for my Perfect) by about .18 cubic feet.

The Perfect features a rolled aluminum cone with a concave dust cap, lending a "cast" look to the cone as a whole even though the cap is a separate piece. The surround doesn't have any odd imprints or designs on it either. The whole look is quite clean and certainly could look great in any trunk. Mine has large strips of velcro on the bottom of the box that hold it down in the left corner (looking into the trunk). I don't see the need to face it toward or away from the pass through to try to take advantage of some mythical reflection property with my current (Sony ES 6001GXD) amp. Previously it was facing my back seats. It looks great, period.


Build? Value?


This sub is ridiculously heavy. I said it was built like a tank, I'm not kidding. The basket is cast and very beefy with a good looking finish, grayish in color. The double stacked magnet structure accounts for a good bit of the weight, they are quite large. I know a lot of companies advertise things like an 80oz, 100oz, 110oz, etc. magnet for impact I spose. I could care less about weight. A magnet can have high mass and still be very ineffective; it’s all about construction. But considering the manufacturer, it’s nice to feel the weight. I am not sure about the actual poundage, but its quite heavy.

The surround is very thick and seems to be very well bonded to the cone. Its more than a year for me now and it looks as strong as they day I got it. No separation issues at all. Although there are kits available to replace the surround, I am not sure if I will ever need them. All I had ever done was to dust the cone about once a week. Please understand, Texas is WAY dusty and all the construction and road building doesn't help! About 4 months ago I started treating the surround very carefully and lightly with Formula 2001 about once every 4-6 weeks. It seems to have made the rubber more supple and pliable. Granted this clearly voids the warranty, but will I ever need it? Time will tell.

The value this investment has presented to me is quite great. The reality here is that I spent $200 on a woofer that even then (and NOW) most online sellers get almost $300 for. It is now even more cheaply available these days. Online at ebay you can pick one up for between $154 and $180 (usually plus s/h) on a regular basis. Ebay folks, ebay. I have had nothing but good use out of this sub. There have been times when I started a track with the volume WAY to loud and not only hurt my ears but started to panic because I thought I had ripped the surround or melted something. No, this sub is strong enough to put up with even my repeated abuse.

This unit also features a 3 year warranty that may come in handy. Although I have had nothing but a good experience with this sub, it is possible for such a unit to have defects. For this reason it is very important to register your product, save the receipt, and know where it is in case you actually have to use said warranty.


What Do I Really Think?


I thought you'd never ask! My experience with this woofer was very, very good with my little low end Sony 5-way. The sub gave me a level of base I had never before experienced. This doesn't always last. As anyone who has modified his or her car knows, you get used to the speed. The same can be true for a component sub, one can get used to it. You get used to what it can do, nice as that might be.

This is not to say I'm one of those people that has bass you can hear 4 blocks away, although now I have that ability, I rarely use it. With my 405EQX amp, it had a point that I could not push it past, but it was a lowish point at that, so there was only ever a specific level of clean THUMP you could get. I got used to it. The reality is that with my new power source, I have not pushed it that far because when I tested the whole system with a belmeter, I only had one set of earplugs and since, haven't bought anymore. This system has given me headaches. Needless to say, I have quickly found my limits.

The clarity of this amp is nothing short of astounding, even with my trunk and doors are open. Although I rarely do that, there are enough huge parking lots to get this job done easily during the day, i.e. really testing the system. Fortunately, the wireless remote (one of two!) I got with my head unit, has amazing range. I found this useful because I wanted to know what rattles on the outside I had as well. Also, I wanted to see what kind of nuisance I might pose at my normal, or sometimes enthusiastic, listening levels with my windows closed from a distance. I was surprised how far the bass was audible. Thank god for radar detectors!

The way this unit works with the rest of my system is a huge compliment to Infinity. Obviously extensive R&D has produced speaker sets that are seamless when used in combination. FYI, my front and rears are now also Infinity. The upper range of this sub is only 150hz, as such I set the rest of the systems high pass at roughly 120hz, because due to the drop off of this sub on the high end I felt that 120hz would be a good place for my other speakers to take over.

Overall I have been very happy with this sub. It has done what it does very well for a while and, I'm sure, for much longer. This sub looks great, sounds great, and at the prices you can now get it, a steal! I can honestly say that your standards would have to differ significantly from the vast majority of people to dislike this product and having said that I recommend this component sub to absolutely everyone.