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 Alpine SWS-15D2

by John Pollard

Bring on the bass

You can tell that Alpine's bass pedigree runs deep in their latest line of Type-S subwoofers. Using technology found in their higher end subs, this sub will rock your system and add depth to your favorite tracks. You'll love the detail it brings to a bass guitar and the impact you'll feel when a kick drum hits. Throw a couple of these in your ride and prepare to be amazed by unrelenting bass.

Advanced materials

The SWS-15D2 can handle up to 500 watts of RMS power, so you can drive it hard and it'll keep up. The tough 15" Kevlar® treated cone stays rigid under pressure, while its rubber HAMRS surround allows for maximum excursion. Its dual 2-ohm voice coils allow for wiring flexibility which helps if you plan on adding another subwoofer down the line. Also, it rocks in both sealed and ported boxes, so you can choose an enclosure that suits your tastes.

Note: If you are wiring this DVC sub for lower impedance, make sure that your amp is compatible.

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Highlights:

15" subwoofer with dual 2-ohm voice coils
Kevlar reinforced pulp cone with HAMRS Santoprene rubber surround
frequency response: 24-200 Hz
power handling: 150-500 watts RMS (250 watts per coil)
peak power: 1,500 watts
sensitivity: 88.5 dB
top-mount depth: 6-15/16"
sealed box volume: 1.32-2.07 cu. ft.
ported box volume: 2.07-3.07 cu. ft.
warranty: 1 year
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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...	15 -inch
Impedance Loading...	2 ohms
Cone Material Loading...	Pulp-Kevlar
Surround Material Loading...	Santoprene
Ideal Sealed Box Volume (cubic feet) Loading...	1.34
Ideal Ported Box Volume (cubic feet) Loading...	2.67
Port diameter (inches) Loading...	N/A
Port length (inches) Loading...	N/A
Free-Air Loading...	No
Dual Voice Coil Loading...	Yes
Sensitivity Loading...	88.5 dB at 1 watt
Frequency Response Loading...	24 - 200 Hz
RMS Power Range (Watts) Loading...	150-500
Peak Power Handling (Watts) Loading...	1500
Top Mount Depth (inches) Loading...	6 15/16
Bottom Mount Depth (inches) Loading...	7 13/16
Cutout Diameter or Length (inches) Loading...	13 13/16
Vas (liters) Loading...	107
Fs (Hz) Loading...	27
Qts Loading...	0.48
Xmax (millimeters) Loading...	15
Parts Warranty Loading...	1 Year
Labor Warranty Loading...	1 Year

Product Research

What's in the box?

Download owner's manual

One 15" Dual 2-ohm voice coil subwoofer
1 Rubber concealing ring (installed)
Two 3" jumper cables (each has a single banana connector on each end)
Type-S Subwoofer Application Guide (English/ French)
On-line product registration information (English/ French/ Spanish)
Warranty information (English/ French)
Important Notice! (English/ French)

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
Enclosure Compatibility

Features

Kevlar Reinforced Pulp Cone: This Alpine Type-S subwoofer uses a parabolic cone structure, with a Kevlar reinforced pulp cone and a Poly-Mica dust cap. Kevlar adds strength and tear resistance to the woofer cone while maintaining the benefits of a pulp cone design. The oversized, inverted poly-mica dust cap increases rigidity and virtually eliminates cone distortion at extreme volume levels.

HAMRS: The woofer features a High Amplitude Multi Roll Surround (HAMRS), made of Santoprene, that allows a large linear excursion and greater SPL. The HAMRS design allows extreme excursions without sacrificing valuable cone area.

Progressive Spider: The progressive Conex spider has reinforced layer tinsel leads to ensure reliable and consistent control of the tinsel leads and eliminate any mechanical noise or interference often seen in high excursion cone designs.

Compound Radius Curve Pole Geometry: Alpine's Patented Compound Radius Curve pole geometry ensures a symmetrical magnetic field, while optimizing flux density to reduce distortion and further improve power handling and output.

Oversized Voice Coil: The oversized (65mm), high-temperature, 5-layer dual voice coils offer power handling up to 500W RMS / 1500W Peak (250 watts RMS per coil).

Dual Voice Coils: For system flexibility, the woofer has two 2-ohm voice coils. When the voice coils are wired in parallel, the woofer presents a 1-ohm load. When the voice coils are wired in series, the woofer presents a 4-ohm load.

Spring Terminals: The spring post terminals are all located on one side of the woofer. The terminals will accept pin connectors, single banana plugs, or bare wire up to 8 gauge.

Jumpers: Included with the woofer are two voice coil terminal jumpers. These jumpers allow you to easily wire the voice coils in parallel (for a 1-ohm load) or series (for a 4-ohm load).

Enclosure Compatibility

Sealed Box: Alpine recommends a sealed enclosure with an internal volume between 1.32 and 2.07 cubic feet, with an ideal volume of 1.34 cubic feet. Sealed enclosures provide the most control over a woofer, will handle a lot of power, and provide accurate sonic reproduction, making them suitable to all types of music.

Ported Box Volume: The recommended ported box volume ranges from 2.07 to 3.07 cubic feet, with the ideal size being 2.67 cubic feet, using a slot port measuring 16" (W) x 1.25" (H) x 21" (L).