First off I guess I better explain what I have. I'm running a 10" Kicker Solobaric sub.. its old.. still vinyl cone. I've had it for 4 years at least. and it could be a couple years older then that as im sure the guy who gave it to me had it sitting around for a bit too. It was free to me and did what I wanted it to. Its by no means a crazy sub that pounds, I don't want that. My amp is as well a old Kicker amp(352xi) which im pretty sure is more of a 2channel component amp but it was given to me as well and did what I wanted. Hell the bass and gain knobs are only turned to 1/2. So now maybe that gives you a little idea of how much bass I actually have/want. I don't want a lot, just wanted deeper bass since the factory speakers present a real flat bass.

Okay now that you know that, for the past few months I've noticed a lot more often now then it used to be, sometimes with the radio all the way turned down, or right when I get in my car and start it before music even comes on, the sub will hit and sometimes multiple times. As well it will randomly hit during songs too. For a while I thought maybe because I had the subwoofer level on my headunit(Alpine CDA-9886) maxed at 15. So I turned it down to 10 and it would still do it. Tried messing with my gain and bass knobs with no luck. Thought maybe it was a bad connection and I was hitting bumps but it didnt explain why it would do it when i was just sitting there but I checked all my connections anyway. Then noticed my RCA cables at the amp looked like something may have slid into them and tore the insulation on them right where it went from the grip to wire on the cables. So i was thinking maybe it was causing interference connection issue. So i bought some nicer radioshack cables with 90degree adapters to prevent the same from happening again. Seemed to work but quickly found out was still doing it.
So my question is.. what would one think this would be? I'm thinking its the amp or headunit? I really don't have much clue when it comes to audio esp these kind of problems

Also I have been planning on "upgrading'' my sub and amp to something newer in nicer shape and thinking if its the amp this would also solve my problem. So i've been looking and I like the idea of just getting a Alpine sub and amp. Yes more expensive and probably not needed but being my Headunit is Alpine i like the idea of sticking with Alpine.
I was looking around and found Alpine's E-type.. To me seems like it would be the only thing I'd need in terms of a sub and its probably more then needed but at least I'd have room to turn it up if i wanted to.
For amps i found their v-power series and figured their smallest m500 is way more then I would need but would still allow for improvement later if see fit.

So what do you guys think? I'm open to suggestions, opinions, whatever. That is why I posted. I know there is a good amount of you that know your @!#$ so i felt this would help out
Thanks in advanced

As far as recommendations on replacing your stuff, that amp isn't a bad idea, but that sub IS. Those Type-E subs are junk. If you want to throw a total budget out and all of what you want to replace, you can get more help from people here.

As for that issue you're having, you say the sub will thump randomly, not just when the vehicle is turned on??


On the other hand....you have other fingers.

"You really need to staple your face shut"-THE Joey Baggs.

randomly when the car is on. If the car is off it doesn't do it. sorry bout that

type e suck , step up to type r they are nice and u can get them on sonic electronics for about $100 each.
I have the 12 inch type r and love it!

As stated above, for around 100 bucks you could get the 12" Type-R, and that M-500 will be great with it, I ran that setup for about 2 years until I put it in my g/fs car.


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Can you guys explain why the E-type is junk? just kind of curious. If its just not a hard hitting sub I don't think it will be a issue for me, but if there is a more of issue with them I'm wanting to here it.

Don't think I'll go with a 12 either.. my nice little box in my trunk fits well and just less hassle having to get another box but we'll see.

Anyone have suggestions as to my issue though? I don't want to buy new sub and amp(amp especially) if that is not even the problem ya know?

Coming from an Alpine dealer, and probably the biggest Alpine fanboy on this website, type E is garbage.

They have stupidly low power handling and even if you match a good amp and a good box to it, it still has a weird output curve that just sounds bad.
Your 6x9s will produce better bass.

Brad explained it well with "weird output curve". They're just a terribly built sub. As for your issue, it really sounds like either a wiring issue or an amp issue.


On the other hand....you have other fingers.

"You really need to staple your face shut"-THE Joey Baggs.

Thanks for the explanation. That is what i wanted to know. Its looking like for roughly $300 the amp and type r can be had so that is not too bad. I will be going through all my connections again to be sure though before buying anything

Thanks guys i appreciate the quick responses and helpful suggestions.

One thing you can try, as far as your problem, is to unplug the RCAs at the amp, but leave the amp still connected to the sub and power, etc. Drive it around for a while like this and if the bumping still happens (even though no bass is playing) then it's something with either the amp or your sub. On the other hand, if it gets rid of the problem then you know it's either the RCAs again or the deck itself.

Will do that and see what happens. Thanks

you can get kicker comp 10's for about $50-75 each... nice bass and a tight sound good for metal and clasic rock... but can handle heavy bass too