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 SWR-1522D

by John Pollard

Big and bad and built for heavy-duty sound, Alpine's SWR-1522D 15" subwoofer delivers impact bass that you can hear and feel. Alpine has taken the best features from its previous SWR Series subs and added the hottest technology for ground-pounding power and superb accuracy.

The pulp cone has been reinforced with Kevlar® (the material used in bulletproof vests) for extra rigidity, so it won't buckle under hard play. A rubber surround helps to maximize cone travel for deep bass, while standing up to the decay that can destroy a speaker. Air vents help the sub shed heat quickly for efficient operation and better power handling.

The two voice coils handle lots of power while offering system wiring flexibility. The tinsel leads are virtually unbreakable — they're woven into the spiders. An aluminum diecast frame provides a secure, non-resonant housing. The SWR-1522D is designed for use in sealed or ported enclosures.

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 Santoprene rubber surround
cast aluminum frame with perimeter venting
power range: 400-750 watts RMS (2000 watts peak power)
frequency response: 18-400 Hz
sensitivity: 87 dB
mounting depth: 9-5/16"
sealed box volume: 1.3-2.5 cu. ft.
ported box volume: 1.5-3.0 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...	Kevlar Reinforced Pulp
Surround Material Loading...	Santoprene
Ideal Sealed Box Volume (cubic feet) Loading...	1.75
Ideal Ported Box Volume (cubic feet) Loading...	2.9
Port diameter (inches) Loading...	N/A
Port length (inches) Loading...	N/A
Free-Air Loading...	No
Dual Voice Coil Loading...	Yes
Sensitivity Loading...	87 dB at 1 watt
Frequency Response Loading...	18 - 400 Hz
RMS Power Range (Watts) Loading...	400-750
Peak Power Handling (Watts) Loading...	2000
Top Mount Depth (inches) Loading...	9 5/16
Bottom Mount Depth (inches) Loading...	10 3/8
Cutout Diameter or Length (inches) Loading...	13 13/16
Vas (liters) Loading...	100
Fs (Hz) Loading...	22
Qts Loading...	0.41
Xmax (millimeters) Loading...	20.7
Parts Warranty Loading...	1 Year
Labor Warranty Loading...	1 Year

Product Research

What's in the box?

Download owner's manual

15" Subwoofer
Rubber concealing ring
Two 3" jumper cables (each cable has a banana plug on each end)
Type-R Subwoofer Application Guide (English/French)
Warranty information
On-line product registration information
Notice about matching amplifier

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-R subwoofer has a two-piece structural parabolic Kevlar reinforced pulp cone. Kevlar adds strength and tear resistance to the woofer cone while maintaining the benefits of a pulp cone design. There is also an oversized inverted poly-mica dust cap, which increases rigidity and virtually eliminates cone distortion at extreme volume levels.

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

Cast Aluminum Frame: The woofer is mounted to a custom cast aluminum frame for added strength. This high mass frame also dissipates heat quickly to make it an integral part of the woofer's thermal management system.

Mirrored Progressive Nomex Spiders: This subwoofer has twin mirrored progressive Nomex spiders for added durability and mechanical stability. The custom progressive rolls give the woofer a longer, more linear stroke with maximum centering and restoring force. Special edge control design and Nomex construction provide excellent tear resistance, strength and long-term reliability. The woofer has integrated tinsel speaker leads that are woven into the spiders for the one-sided terminal layout.

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 Coils: The oversized (65mm), high-temperature, 4-layer dual voice coils offer increased power handling to 750W RMS / 2000W Peak.

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 bare wire up to 8 gauge, pin connectors, or banana plugs.

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 Volume: The recommended sealed box volume ranges from 1.3 cubic feet to 2.5 cubic feet, with 1.75 cubic feet being the ideal size.

Ported Box Volume: The recommended ported box volume ranges from 1.5 cubic feet to 3.0 cubic feet. The ideal size is 2.9 cubic feet, using a slot port measuring 15" (W) x 1.5" (H) x 27" (L).