What's a component sub and why would I want one?

A component sub is simply a speaker that's designed to reproduce bass once it's installed in a compatible enclosure. Think about the impact of a movie soundtrack in a big theater or even in your own home HDTV setup. A component sub can add the same kind of power to the music in your car. And a car sub is not all about the boom that you hear on a street corner (although that's cool too) - you can pair a component sub with your choice of enclosure to get bass just the way you like it, from tight and punchy to fat and loose. And once you experience music in your car with a well-tuned subwoofer, you'll never go back.

Our take on the Sony XS-GS120LD

by John Pollard

Unique woofer shape
Sony created their GS series subwoofers with performance in mind. The Sony XS-GS120LD 12" subwoofer features a unique five-sided cone that reduces standing waves that can diminish bass output. Sony use a mica-reinforced cellular glass fiber material to create an extremely light and rigid cone that's able to move faster and more accurately — you'll feel every low note. The dual 4-ohm voice coils give you a little extra flexibility in setting up your system now or adding another Sony sub down the road.

Built to last (and rock)
This sub will handle up to 400 watts RMS, and a rugged rubber surround helps this Sony handle big power for a long, long time. Despite its unique design, this sub fits into a standard round cutout, plus it's equally at home in a ported or sealed enclosure. And best of all, Sony backs up these workhorse subs with a cool 3-year warranty.

See more info on this item

Highlights:

12" subwoofer with dual 4-ohm voice coils
mica reinforced cellular glass fiber cone with five-sided design
rubber surround
grille not included
power range: 50-400 watts RMS (1500 watts peak power)
frequency response: 30-1000 Hz
sensitivity: 84 dB
mounting depth: 5-1/2"
sealed box volume: 0.77 cubic feet
ported box volume: 1.13 cubic feet
warranty: 3 years
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Hands-on research from the Crutchfield Labs (what are the Labs?)

Features and specs chart | What’s in the box? | In-depth notes

Features and Specs


Size Loading...	12 -inch
Impedance Loading...	4 ohms
Cone Material Loading...	MRC
Surround Material Loading...	Rubber
Ideal Sealed Box Volume (cubic feet) Loading...	0.77
Ideal Ported Box Volume (cubic feet) Loading...	1.13
Port diameter (inches) Loading...	3
Port length (inches) Loading...	11.75
Free-Air Loading...	No
Dual Voice Coil Loading...	Yes
Sensitivity Loading...	84 dB at 1 watt
Frequency Response Loading...	30 - 1000 Hz
RMS Power Range (Watts) Loading...	50-400
Peak Power Handling (Watts) Loading...	1500
Top Mount Depth (inches) Loading...	5 3/8
Bottom Mount Depth (inches) Loading...	6 1/4
Cutout Diameter or Length (inches) Loading...	10 15/16
Vas (liters) Loading...	48
Fs (Hz) Loading...	33
Qts Loading...	0.4
Xmax (millimeters) Loading...	6
Parts Warranty Loading...	3 Years
Labor Warranty Loading...	3 Years

Product Research

What's in the box?

Download owner's manual

One 12" Dual 4-ohm voice coil woofer
1 Strip of self-adhesive foam gasket
Ten 1-3/8" Self-tapping screws
Installation/Connections sheet with Thiele-Small parameters/ Enclosure recommendations/ Template (English/ French/ Spanish)
Warranty information

Our Product Research Team

At Crutchfield, you'll get detailed, accurate information that's hard to find elsewhere. That's because we have our own in-house Product Research team — they open the box, verify contents, check the owner's manual, and record dimensions, features and specs. We stay on top of new products and technologies to help people make informed choices.

Features

P5 Cone Design: The five-sided XS-GS120LD uses an MRC cone (Mica Reinforced Cellular glass fiber composite) to reduce weight and increase rigidity, delivering deep bass response.

Rubber Surround: The Hash Marks on the rubber Stroke Stabilizer surround provide added stability.

Dual Voice Coils: For increased system flexibility, the woofer has two 4 ohm voice coils. When the voice coils are wired in parallel, the woofer presents a 2 ohm load. When the voice coils are wired in series, the woofer presents an 8 ohm load.

Binding Posts: The binding post wire terminals will accept pin connectors, spade lugs, single banana plugs, and bare wire up to 10 gauge. The binding posts are spaced too close together to accept dual banana plugs.

Enclosure Compatibility: This woofer can provide extended bass in sealed and ported enclosures:

Sealed Enclosure Volume: 0.77 cubic feet
Ported Enclosure Volume: 1.13 cubic feet using one 3" diameter x 11-3/4" long port

Specification Note: Sony's rated power spec for the XS-GS120LD is 400 watts (derived using IEC 60268-5 standards). They also list the CEA 2031 compliant RMS power as 520 watts. We've adopted the 380 watt rating simply because it's the more conservative figure.