It's was about 92' and I was 10 years old. Kid in neighborhood pulled up slammin his system. He popped the trunk and there were 2 12in Kickers jumping out at me. Had I no idea what was going on but that bass and the way those Kicker logos moved, I was mesmerized and hooked instantly!! That moment had a huge impact on my life!!!
Same exact thing with me! Except the guy I first experienced with Kicker’s had 15’s. I had I pair of the old style with gold lettering and the second set was the first series of comp’s with inverted cones. Both sets I had were 15’s. Best damn subs at the time. This was around 1992 or so.
Takes me back to 1993. I had two gold letter C-8’s in a truck box, behind the seat of a standard cab Mitsubishi Mighty Max. Sony tape deck and a Jensen 150 watt amp. My first car audio system. I thought I was hot stuff. Lol! Thanks for showing these to us Big D!
I hear you bud...lmao I had a 1990 Ford Festiva with cold AC, a Sony Xplod tape deck with a Sony 10-disc CD changer, a Blaupunkt 12 in a truck box, and an old school Orion Cobalt 125 watt amp. It had some thumps to it, but that truck box really killed the output of that sub.
@Williston Audio Labs I've been trying to contact you I have a product I wanna send you so you can test it on the Dyno Where can I send you the information So I can speak with you
@@hardbody_Santiago96 hello sir, go to my channel, click About, then click on email address for business inquiries. If you can't find that you can also email me willistonaudio (at) gmail dot com
My first subwoofer was an 8" thump with a purple surround. Got it cuz it came from Compton. My brother liked nwa. My brother and I built a bandpass tube design that suct. Got two 10" Blau in truck wedge bandpass boxes. Whooped up the thump pretty good.
My friends and I were lucky enough to experience one of the KICKER vans back in the 90's at one of our local shops in ST. Louis, MO. It had lot's of big PPI amps and was epic. Thank you for bringing back that memory..
Absolutely “Hands Down” Best subs back then compared to the Punch, Alpine, MTX! Weren’t alot to pick from in those days I was a teen still boomin’ at 50 years old like Kicker!#🔊@FATHER’S OF BASS
Kicker had Side Kicks which were 2 separate boxes with 6.5 woofer and 8 inch passive radiator. Then they had Super Kicks that had 8ninch woofers and I think a 12 inch passive radiator. They even had some that had a 5 inch woofer and a 6 inch passive radiator if I remember correctly. I worked at a shop in the 80s and 90s called Audio Dreams. We sold them.
Guy back in 1990 had a new Dakota with a camper top, no girls, with home speakers in the bed. Came into some inheritance and a month later he come though town shaking everything. He had 6-18" gold letter Kickers in a sealed box(entire bed) full stereo build. Amps were behind his seat, I can't remember the brand. All done by "the Sound Shop" in Huntsville Alabama. The 2nd hardest hitting vehicle i every heard. I was a car audio nut. I knew everyone's system in Maury County Tennessee. He had girls, Rolex and easily 160 db. The only guy to beat him was a Monte Carlo SS with 2-18" RF pro series 4-10" RF pro series on a variety of RF power series amps. Power 1000, and 2- 650's. All professionally installed in Nashville. It was Kicker vs Fosgate for a solid 10yrs where I lived. I miss those days.
My uncle was the one responsible for turning me into a bass head. He did sound comps and car shows and I would always go with him. He was a mechanical engineer so he was well off. Especially for a young man in the early 90's. He had a 1990 Mitsubishi Mighty Max single cab pick up with a sealed camper on the back. He had four 15" Rockford Punch Series Ones. He built a box in the shape of an X and put mirrors in the voids of the X along with the amplifiers. Each sub was powered by a Punch 500. He bought me my first sound system for my 15th birthday. Two 12" Power Punch DVC's, a Power Series 1200 watt Amp, and a custom box he built himself for my 1996 Chevy Single Cad Step Side with the 350. I miss that truck and that system. Shoulda never sold them.
The ribs help prevent the surround from physically distorting during use. For those that haven't seen in, watch a high-power subwoofer in super slo-mo and/or with a strobe light.
Digital Designs was also using ribbed surrounds on their ESP model range, with the same description of "reducing distortion, and providing a cleaner sound"
Home audio brands Energy and Mirage along with the Canadian NRC came up with the rubbed surrounds around 2003 ish for reduced distortion in subs and bass drivers. Paradigm has used it in their subs for quite a while also. These are the first car audio subs I've seen to use it. Check out the surrounds on a Purifi PTT6 midbass driver... Those are crazy
Back in 92' I had two Kicker 12"s in a birch plywood 1/1 6th order bandpass for a 85 Oldsmobile delta 88 trunk blowthrough. I had foam pipe insulation lining the trunk opening so it was sealed tight and didn't rattle, that car was well known in my neighborhood.
The 3rd picture of the Kicker equipped vehicles, those Kickers had to be made by Eminence in Eminence, Kentucky. That frame and magnet are the exact same as my Eminence 18's I have now that I got in 1991.
my friends Chevy 454 SS had 6 12's ported into the back of the cab in the early 90s! The windshield wipers would not even stay on the windshield. Thanks for taking me back to those good times and less responsibility
I kept a pair of 1991 Kicker C-128 gold dustcap subs NIB until 1995 when I sold them to a cool dude with a new S-10 extended cab pickup. I put MB Quart 4x6 plates in the dash and 6.5in Quarts in the door (3 way set), two Rockford Fosgate i series amps and a custom, huge, heavy, custom passive crossover with 600V polypropylene caps and Litz wound 14ga inductors.
My first sub was a kicker comp vr back in 97 or 98. Powered by kenwood kac 629s to me that was pretty awesome. Then I heard a couple shop built systems and I've been hooked since. My second subs were mtx thunder 2000 10s ported on the same amp.
*Shop for KICKER Gold Subs* amzn.to/3DuC15D (affiliate) 15" - howl.me/cjeBWV9XHZn 12" - howl.me/cjeBZJwe06B 10" - howl.me/cjeB0mES8hn kicker.com/compgold-series *See related KICKER videos* KICKER Unmasked Live Discussion of Gold Letter Subs - bit.ly/3DuE9dD KICKER 50th Anniversary Video: ruclips.net/video/4qrNsWeDhug/видео.html KICKER Quad Box - ruclips.net/video/mZceqPLn1lY/видео.html Review of the OG Gold Letter Freeair 12 - ruclips.net/video/wAMB_b4x0dU/видео.html KICKER World HQ Tour - ruclips.net/video/2s3h402jVTI/видео.html KICKER Video Playlist - bit.ly/3jktiMo *VIDEO INDEX* 0:00 Intro 0:21 History 0:58 Original Gold Letters 2:14 Unboxing 3:58 Comparison 4:29 Surround Differences 5:33 Dust Caps 5:49 Magnet and Voice Coil 7:49 Forced Air Cooling? 8:16 Installing Sub 8:59 Sound Test 10:20 Pros and Cons 11:16 Final Thoughts 11:48 Limited Edition? *CAMERAS AND AUDIO GEAR* (Video Gear I Use) Camera - iPhone 13pro 1TB - amzn.to/3nCjGvc RODE Wireless Go II Microphones: amzn.to/3Q6NVHl Shure MV7 Microphone: amzn.to/3A4OICK Zoom H4n Audio Recorder: amzn.to/3BXjVsS 960 LED Panel: amzn.to/2Sxoq3S *TEST BENCH EQUIPMENT* SMD / D'Amore Engineering Amp Dyno: goo.gl/sJTcf7 XS Power D1400 Batteries - amzn.to/2BPFCKW XS Power PSC60 Charger - amzn.to/2CHGcfs Fluke 1000A AC/DC Clamp Meter: amzn.to/2Rw5WDA Handheld Dyno: amzn.to/2u2EgKV My Favorite Screwdriver Kit: amzn.to/2x0VzcE _DISCLAIMER: This video and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase from one of the product links, I may receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases_
Love the throw back woofer... stuff back in the day was great 👍 never had a problem with spade terminals once in gave them a lil squish with pliers 👍 never soldered. Good Video...
In 1983 when Kenwood and Alpine ruled the car stereo market I had a Kenwood system that consisted of 2 coaxial 6.5's and 2 6x9's 3 ways in the doors with 4 6x9's 3 ways behind the seat of my 1978 Chevy 1/2 ton truck. All powered by 2 4 channel Kenwood amps. You couldn't hear your self scream in that truck and it was crystal clear!! 2 things that made that system so proficient, one being the Kenwood head unit was a tuner so it wouldn't play without an amp. 2 the distortion ratio on the amps was 0.007% THD.
It's a good thing that kicker has a lot of die hard repeat customers,, Because for that kind of money I'm gonna pick up ,,PSI,,DC,,SunD,Crs fire,,DD,,,, I'm not trying to be a jerk,,, But the only reason to buy that thing is for nostalgia
Love it! Was in high school at the height of the OG Kickers (along with the unmistakeable red surround Cerwin Vegas). Never owned an original Comp or Freeair, though in the 90s I did have a original gold letter Solo-Baric.
You're taking me back now, with CV, and their red surround. 8 Ohm (home speakers) CV AT100's from Germany back in 1989. They were literally the size of a small bar refrigerator. 🤣 But they had some depth. Have to confess, I have been happy with my CV 6 x 9's so far on my truck. Not sure if I'd ever go with their subs these days though.
Thank you so much for making this video!!! Just love watching it. Kicker was the first automotive subwoofers I had every seen in the car audio world! So many great memories!!!!
Forever Love the Gold Beast Mode of the 90’s goodness. I love the Kicker Impulse line of subs back in the 90’s too! Those were definitely the days. In my honest opinion for sure! Thank you again Big D Wiz! Absolutely everyone of your videos is spot on Sir!👊🏽💪🏽
Some of the best times in my life...98 blue on blue 4dr Chevy Tahoe with 6 Kicker 18s on 6 Kicker zr1000s...155.4 on the clock and drove that thing all over the country...I WILL ALWAYS BE A BASSHEAD!!!!
One of my classmates in high school had a 1984 Chevy Citation hatchback, with two of those 12’s firing into the back glass. Talk about some bump! I think he had a Pyramid PB-290 on each one.
1992. Riding everywhere around Detroit with 15" gold letter kickers taking up the entire back bench seat. Boom boom. Every mall. Every club. That's how I knock on the door at my friend's house. Boom boom. Johnny's mom is yelling I can't hear her I'm inside the car with my loud system. I yell, tell Johnny to hurry up!
Man, I feel old now!!! I remember seeing that Kicker van with all of the Linear Power amps in the back. It would be cool if you found one of those amps and tested it!!
I got a personal tour of the headquarters in Stillwater back in 01’ with an employee The Gates Bronco was there, very cool. I was amazed at the industrial dumpster full of tested/destroyed subwoofers. They really put their stuff through hell!
I think you're wrong about the ribbed surround, I think it looks really nice. I love kicker products, I have a dual 10" sub Box, and a dual 12" sub box. They're both kickers.
Great Review Dereck!! Enjoyable and accurate content with Big D. as per the norm. Can't wait to see the fun you experience in-vehicle with this subwoofer.
I rocked kicker in the 90's, for some reason in 2010 i had 3 jl 10's ran those for 10 years Last year switched to prefabbed kicker box with 2 kicker comp r 12's glad I did the result was well feels like double the output than the jl's for about the same price the smiles i get now! cant believe I wasted 10 years of bass on jl audio oh well happier now.
Back in the day it was pretty much Kicker Vs Rockford Fosgate. On occasion you would see some MTX or Cerwin Vega. I had 2 Kicker 15's with dual voice coils. We did not have the internet back then so I did not know how to hook them up. I remember I only hooked up to one voice coil. LOL.
Guys in my town had a couple different set ups. First was 4 10's in a S10 standard cab.The wind flexed my jeans pant legs when he opened his door with the spl pressure. Another guy had a 1990 Astro van with wndows. 4 15's. He was at a car show and was flexing the Burger King window he was parked in front of. He was playing a Eagles song. It was amazing! If you had money to buy these you we're pushing the best!
Brings back memories. Late 80’s I owned a bright red 1985 Pontiac T-1000 slammed to the ground. It had a wall with two tweeters two C8’s two C15’s and one C18. That car shook its self apart. Back then also I got to sit in that van. It was at the Gresham Oregon Stereo King. That van was so loud it would make your chest hurt. The antenna on the roof had worn off all the paint around it to bare metal.
If you're not using a large wide surround, you're not getting efficient use out of the available excursion in the woofer cone. You can make subwoofers cheaper and smaller, that have higher dB output than similar designs without high excursion. Plain and simple.
I remember in 93, I was 15 years old. I would see a few of my older buddies who were old enough to have a car and a system in it , in the shopping center where i had my first job. It be outside getting shopping carts horsing around . One day a guy i knew showed up with a primed down, buick regal. He had 2 kicker comp 15s in a sealed box in the back seat. Of course the box took up the whole back seat. hahah... I said, "what you got, 2 12s?" I am looking right at the speakers, and i knew what they were. Down to this day, i am not sure why i was a little asshole and said 2 12s instead of 2 15s after i knew what they were... He said, "hop in" . He put on Eightball and MJG "Lay it Down". (And yes, I still listen to Eightball and MJG} ..When the bass kicked in, I swear it hit so hard, it was like someone hit me with a bat in the back of the head and i hit my forehead on the dash board.. lmaoooo... I remember it like it was yesterday.. hahah... such fun times.. Especially when I was old enough to start building my own systems. LOL .. We had no worries back then. The only worries we had was making sure we had enough money to put gas in the car , and to make sure our cars were clean.. hahahah
First system that ever bumped in my 87 mustang hatchback was 2 15" competition kickers powered by a linear power 5002. To me subs back then just had better sound quality. Accurate tight bass. Didn't hit the lows like today but not many songs had low bass. Did own a Phantom by KLW/ Carver think that was the name to make bass lower. It was too low, so I bought a epicenter which I loved and have one today but liked the old one better. Also still have a Phoenix gold bass cube from back then. You could pick your frequency and turn the gain up at the knob. The best combo back then was kicker subs, precision power amps and mb quart mids and highs. Very clean and accurate sound
Yeah not bad seems fine reasonable priced absolutely not...it's a sub on par with majority of the big brands entry level subs except $100+ more. Skar SDR, NVX vsw, AB XD(except 170oz with 3" coil $99) sundown LCS. for $219 you can grab a xfl or a XR( SQL sub 200oz 3" coil, santoprene rubber surround, true 1500wrms $220) skar EVL and so on. I would say it likely comes from the same build house as a lot of other big brand subs but If your a kicker fanboy or really nostalgic and want to pay double for entry level 500W sub guess sure go for it there's nothing wrong with it but it's just another run of the mill Chinese sub but with kicker logos, nothing bad nothing special. I'm sure there will be no kicker quality comments but it's just standard affair inside a regular old coil (prob made over there not American made PE others use) , soft conventional spiders and a cone with AB and DD ribbed style surround like the rest. I'm not a hater I just hate seeing regular stuff overpriced and talked up because of the brand.
HECKKKK YEAH!!! I actually have a mint pair of the late 90's C15's 750wrms single coil 2ohm and back then these babies were the king of the hill for sure and if you had 500w you could shake entire buildings with them as you drove by ohh and get this- in a sealed enclosure too!!!
My buddy has two "separates" magnets stuck to the back of his bead blaster and I remember in the 90s when they were still around. Old school stereo for the win ❤️
I turned 16 in 92. Kicker was what you had to have at that time. Very cool to see a retro repro of the old skool stuff. It’s sad we can import from china cheaper than manufacture here. Hence the reason so many companies outsource.
I've beem bitching about the China part, but in reality this sub looks like a quality piece and I need to put one in a sealed enclosure in my car. Crutchfield here I come after so many years.
Had some old school black gold 10s man I loved those things I was 16 and bought them off crutchfield with a money order 😂 and ran them off a old Jensen amp. I didn't have a lot of money but I did have a little bump!
My 1st real set of subs. I had 2 15s on a punch 150 in my 1981 Toyota corolla 1.8 it was around 1993. I wish I could afford a set of the new ones, I'd put them in truck.
i remember so many systems having Kick solobaric subs and mb quart mids/highs with orion amps plus a pioneer head unit. that was pretty much the pinnacle of what a system was in the late 90s.
I'm very tempted to get a pair of these. Although, there are other subs out there in the $200 range that will probably walk all over these. My 2nd system back in the early 90s was a pair of these gold kickers! Loved these things and they played loud without a ton of power. I eventually went crazy putting 4 ported kicker 12's in the back of my hatchback mustang which took up the entire trunk and then some powered by a PPI 800 watt amp. I eventually got tired of that large box and took those same 4 subs and put them into a tiny cone-to-cone isobaric box. I still had all these subs in perfect working condition until about 4 yrs ago I was forced to move. Well, unfortunately the subs didn't make it into the moving van. I was so pissed off, these were a piece of my audio history. I had the original boxes and everything.
It still blows my mind I only live an hour away from the kicker hq in stillwater Oklahoma an I still haven't been up there to see their wall and bass rides
My first setup consisted of a pair of 12" kicker gold subs (used), a 500 watt Jensen amp (used) a pioneer DEH-345 head unit in a 91 chevy Beretta. That setup was solid. Never gave me any issues and went through several vehicles. I still have the Beretta, (don't laugh, that car was my first nice thing and got me through alot) and that pioneer head unit, in perfect working condition. Was thinking about having Bluetooth added to it and putting it back into that Beretta
@@jamesl9686 mine is a 91, first year for the airbag and abs system. I bought it in May of 97 with 34k on it. Still on the original 3.1 but it's getting tired. Considering I've had it 26 years, overall that engine has been a trooper. Sure, I've done gaskets, sensors etc, but you own anything that long you're bound to. I have 3 parts cars bc gm lol. The interiors may as well have been built by playskool.
@@jamesl9686 that jeep 4.0, I can't nor will I ever turn my nose up at. Had a few and they run. Same with Hondas. I have 3 in my collection, and same. They just run. My 91 Integra is getting ripped apart this spring so I can paint it. It deserves it. Good running fun little car.
HI BIG D. ALL CAPS JOE HERE. SEE WE ALL WANTED THE EXACT SAME WOOFER. THE OLD ONE SINCE WENT DOWN TO 16HZ WOULD RISE UP TO 35 HZ IN A SEALED BOX. BUT NOW. THE NEW ONE AT 35HZ. WILL RISE UP TO 70HZ IN A SEALED BOX. NOOOOOOO GOOOOOOD
Kicker has always made quality components ever since I can remember. Their subs are very well built, and the ribs don't look bad in my opinion, plus they help with SQ in the long run.
I agree on the surround. It would have been nice if they would have used something like the w3 surround for the cosmetics. It could still be a modern rubber it would just have that old school look
Kudos to them for the tribute. They didn't have to do it. It would have been great to leave the ribs off, I agree it kills the look. The QTS is much better suited for sealed enclosures,
My brothers 12” pioneer champion series blew on him and he got this as a replacement and let me just say this one BY FAR destroys pioneer champion series respectfully.
Loved the shot of the Kicker ASTRO van at the beginning. That van had a wall of (9) 18" Kicker subs and was powered by Linear Power amps. I have tried to find info on that van for years! I heard everything was stolen.
They were precision power amps and were under the supervision of 'Richard' , who also happened to have rep'd phoenix gold at another time, which also happened to have everything stolen out of that van as well. I'm not sure of what happened to Richard, but I do know that I haven't seen him at CES since 1997.
It's was about 92' and I was 10 years old. Kid in neighborhood pulled up slammin his system. He popped the trunk and there were 2 12in Kickers jumping out at me. Had I no idea what was going on but that bass and the way those Kicker logos moved, I was mesmerized and hooked instantly!! That moment had a huge impact on my life!!!
@Kevin Wittwer 🤙
Same exact thing with me! Except the guy I first experienced with Kicker’s had 15’s. I had I pair of the old style with gold lettering and the second set was the first series of comp’s with inverted cones. Both sets I had were 15’s. Best damn subs at the time. This was around 1992 or so.
Similar situation here. My cuz pulled up on me in a Suzuki sidekick with two old beat up ass Rockford Fosgate 18's. Been a bass head ever since 🤣
Ha! Awesome! 👍
Me too 2 10inch kickers In an s 10 changed me,then on to three crunch 18,s and a Zeus vol8
Takes me back to 1993. I had two gold letter C-8’s in a truck box, behind the seat of a standard cab Mitsubishi Mighty Max. Sony tape deck and a Jensen 150 watt amp. My first car audio system. I thought I was hot stuff. Lol! Thanks for showing these to us Big D!
Sounds killer!
I hear you bud...lmao I had a 1990 Ford Festiva with cold AC, a Sony Xplod tape deck with a Sony 10-disc CD changer, a Blaupunkt 12 in a truck box, and an old school Orion Cobalt 125 watt amp. It had some thumps to it, but that truck box really killed the output of that sub.
I had a Jensen amp as well.
@Williston Audio Labs I've been trying to contact you I have a product I wanna send you so you can test it on the Dyno Where can I send you the information So I can speak with you
@@hardbody_Santiago96 hello sir, go to my channel, click About, then click on email address for business inquiries. If you can't find that you can also email me willistonaudio (at) gmail dot com
Kicker was my first subwoofer in the mid 80's. It was a 12" driver...
Awesome 👏
My first subwoofer was an 8" thump with a purple surround. Got it cuz it came from Compton. My brother liked nwa. My brother and I built a bandpass tube design that suct. Got two 10" Blau in truck wedge bandpass boxes. Whooped up the thump pretty good.
Same here. Had a pair of the gold letter 12's.
Mid 80's!? Daaaamn! You really had the vintage Kickers!
My friends and I were lucky enough to experience one of the KICKER vans back in the 90's at one of our local shops in ST. Louis, MO. It had lot's of big PPI amps and was epic. Thank you for bringing back that memory..
Best woofers ever made back then… just looking at them brings back so many memories of my teen years
Absolutely “Hands Down” Best subs back then compared to the Punch, Alpine, MTX! Weren’t alot to pick from in those days I was a teen still boomin’ at 50 years old like Kicker!#🔊@FATHER’S OF BASS
MTX for me.
@@alphaomega8373 ooooh mtx was the hit too my older brother had mtx n his 1989 Nissan Sentra
@@bondalero0074 absolutely brother
@@bondalero0074 I’m 48
looking at this i was expecting a price of $99.99 or maybe $119 tops but $200+ is insane for this sub!
For what it is, it is worth a LOT more than $119.
I'll take the old school C-12's. I've heard the new ones.
Thanks for posting ✌️🤟
Kicker had Side Kicks which were 2 separate boxes with 6.5 woofer and 8 inch passive radiator. Then they had Super Kicks that had 8ninch woofers and I think a 12 inch passive radiator. They even had some that had a 5 inch woofer and a 6 inch passive radiator if I remember correctly. I worked at a shop in the 80s and 90s called Audio Dreams. We sold them.
Guy back in 1990 had a new Dakota with a camper top, no girls, with home speakers in the bed. Came into some inheritance and a month later he come though town shaking everything. He had 6-18" gold letter Kickers in a sealed box(entire bed) full stereo build. Amps were behind his seat, I can't remember the brand. All done by "the Sound Shop" in Huntsville Alabama. The 2nd hardest hitting vehicle i every heard. I was a car audio nut. I knew everyone's system in Maury County Tennessee. He had girls, Rolex and easily 160 db. The only guy to beat him was a Monte Carlo SS with 2-18" RF pro series 4-10" RF pro series on a variety of RF power series amps. Power 1000, and 2- 650's. All professionally installed in Nashville. It was Kicker vs Fosgate for a solid 10yrs where I lived. I miss those days.
Awesome 👏
My uncle was the one responsible for turning me into a bass head. He did sound comps and car shows and I would always go with him. He was a mechanical engineer so he was well off. Especially for a young man in the early 90's. He had a 1990 Mitsubishi Mighty Max single cab pick up with a sealed camper on the back. He had four 15" Rockford Punch Series Ones. He built a box in the shape of an X and put mirrors in the voids of the X along with the amplifiers. Each sub was powered by a Punch 500. He bought me my first sound system for my 15th birthday. Two 12" Power Punch DVC's, a Power Series 1200 watt Amp, and a custom box he built himself for my 1996 Chevy Single Cad Step Side with the 350. I miss that truck and that system. Shoulda never sold them.
The ribs help prevent the surround from physically distorting during use. For those that haven't seen in, watch a high-power subwoofer in super slo-mo and/or with a strobe light.
Digital Designs was also using ribbed surrounds on their ESP model range, with the same description of "reducing distortion, and providing a cleaner sound"
Home audio brands Energy and Mirage along with the Canadian NRC came up with the rubbed surrounds around 2003 ish for reduced distortion in subs and bass drivers. Paradigm has used it in their subs for quite a while also. These are the first car audio subs I've seen to use it. Check out the surrounds on a Purifi PTT6 midbass driver... Those are crazy
@@kujoomd2863 I remember KEF was also an early adopter of the ribbed surrounds.
@@kujoomd2863 the american bass xfl has the ribbed surround starting a few years ago
@@kujoomd2863 American Bass, Toro, DD, Kicker to name a few and others use the ribbed surrounds for quite some time. 👍
Back in 92' I had two Kicker 12"s in a birch plywood 1/1 6th order bandpass for a 85 Oldsmobile delta 88 trunk blowthrough. I had foam pipe insulation lining the trunk opening so it was sealed tight and didn't rattle, that car was well known in my neighborhood.
The 3rd picture of the Kicker equipped vehicles, those Kickers had to be made by Eminence in Eminence, Kentucky. That frame and magnet are the exact same as my Eminence 18's I have now that I got in 1991.
my friends Chevy 454 SS had 6 12's ported into the back of the cab in the early 90s! The windshield wipers would not even stay on the windshield. Thanks for taking me back to those good times and less responsibility
Awesome 👏
I kept a pair of 1991 Kicker C-128 gold dustcap subs NIB until 1995 when I sold them to a cool dude with a new S-10 extended cab pickup. I put MB Quart 4x6 plates in the dash and 6.5in Quarts in the door (3 way set), two Rockford Fosgate i series amps and a custom, huge, heavy, custom passive crossover with 600V polypropylene caps and Litz wound 14ga inductors.
Awesome 👏
My first sub was a kicker comp vr back in 97 or 98. Powered by kenwood kac 629s to me that was pretty awesome. Then I heard a couple shop built systems and I've been hooked since.
My second subs were mtx thunder 2000 10s ported on the same amp.
In the 90's had two kickers comp 10's, had those before I had a car lol.
*Shop for KICKER Gold Subs*
amzn.to/3DuC15D (affiliate)
15" - howl.me/cjeBWV9XHZn
12" - howl.me/cjeBZJwe06B
10" - howl.me/cjeB0mES8hn
kicker.com/compgold-series
*See related KICKER videos*
KICKER Unmasked Live Discussion of Gold Letter Subs - bit.ly/3DuE9dD
KICKER 50th Anniversary Video: ruclips.net/video/4qrNsWeDhug/видео.html
KICKER Quad Box - ruclips.net/video/mZceqPLn1lY/видео.html
Review of the OG Gold Letter Freeair 12 - ruclips.net/video/wAMB_b4x0dU/видео.html
KICKER World HQ Tour - ruclips.net/video/2s3h402jVTI/видео.html
KICKER Video Playlist - bit.ly/3jktiMo
*VIDEO INDEX*
0:00 Intro
0:21 History
0:58 Original Gold Letters
2:14 Unboxing
3:58 Comparison
4:29 Surround Differences
5:33 Dust Caps
5:49 Magnet and Voice Coil
7:49 Forced Air Cooling?
8:16 Installing Sub
8:59 Sound Test
10:20 Pros and Cons
11:16 Final Thoughts
11:48 Limited Edition?
*CAMERAS AND AUDIO GEAR*
(Video Gear I Use)
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I would love to see a full song at the 800 watts she's rated for and see if the thing doesn't go Kapuuuut
I have 2 10s and 2 12s from 1993 still sound great!
Love the throw back woofer... stuff back in the day was great 👍 never had a problem with spade terminals once in gave them a lil squish with pliers 👍 never soldered. Good Video...
Squish FTW 🙌
In 1983 when Kenwood and Alpine ruled the car stereo market I had a Kenwood system that consisted of 2 coaxial 6.5's and 2 6x9's 3 ways in the doors with 4 6x9's 3 ways behind the seat of my 1978 Chevy 1/2 ton truck. All powered by 2 4 channel Kenwood amps. You couldn't hear your self scream in that truck and it was crystal clear!! 2 things that made that system so proficient, one being the Kenwood head unit was a tuner so it wouldn't play without an amp. 2 the distortion ratio on the amps was 0.007% THD.
Just thrilled that homage is being paid to the golden age of car audio… so many awesome memories of these and other og gear from the 90’s
Amen 🙏
I’m loving the acrylic box. Definitely hitting up Gately for that
I grew up on Kicker Subs, Rockford Fosgate Punch amps and Alpine decks
It's a good thing that kicker has a lot of die hard repeat customers,, Because for that kind of money I'm gonna pick up ,,PSI,,DC,,SunD,Crs fire,,DD,,,, I'm not trying to be a jerk,,, But the only reason to buy that thing is for nostalgia
Love it! Was in high school at the height of the OG Kickers (along with the unmistakeable red surround Cerwin Vegas). Never owned an original Comp or Freeair, though in the 90s I did have a original gold letter Solo-Baric.
Awesome 👏
UUUUFFFF! The gold cap S-12 in a 4th order bandpass with a HiFonics amp! That was tha shit that no one could believe!
You're taking me back now, with CV, and their red surround. 8 Ohm (home speakers) CV AT100's from Germany back in 1989. They were literally the size of a small bar refrigerator. 🤣 But they had some depth.
Have to confess, I have been happy with my CV 6 x 9's so far on my truck. Not sure if I'd ever go with their subs these days though.
Kicker should bring back the red and white label kicker
Thank you so much for making this video!!! Just love watching it. Kicker was the first automotive subwoofers I had every seen in the car audio world! So many great memories!!!!
Thanks for watching and commenting!
Forever Love the Gold Beast Mode of the 90’s goodness. I love the Kicker Impulse line of subs back in the 90’s too! Those were definitely the days.
In my honest opinion for sure!
Thank you again Big D Wiz! Absolutely everyone of your videos is spot on Sir!👊🏽💪🏽
Remember the Kicker XPL subs? I think they came out in 1995.
Those Kicker Impulse subs got down!
@@LowLevelNC yes I do! Amazing line up!
@@personaljesus269 yes they did I agree!
This impulse amps were awesome
This kicker was my 1st big speaker I put in my truck about 1984. Behind the seat of a 1983 f150. Reg cab of course.
Feel in love with those the first day I saw them back in the day! I'm just as excited to see them now as I was back then!
Great video Big D These subs are really nice 4 of these are going into my 2015 Tahoe.
Awesome review here about kicker Comp Gold edition sub love it sir thank you.
Thanks for watching and commenting!
Have seen the originals as a kid. Great video here, brings back memories and it's good to see Kicker doing this. Thumbs up all around!
Yes agreed🤝
Some of the best times in my life...98 blue on blue 4dr Chevy Tahoe with 6 Kicker 18s on 6 Kicker zr1000s...155.4 on the clock and drove that thing all over the country...I WILL ALWAYS BE A BASSHEAD!!!!
I sat in that demo van for a minute in the early 90s. It felt amazing! I had a 1985 Cavalier with 2x 12 "Golds" and an Orion 2150sx.
One of my classmates in high school had a 1984 Chevy Citation hatchback, with two of those 12’s firing into the back glass. Talk about some bump! I think he had a Pyramid PB-290 on each one.
Still running a solobaric 12. Still works great. I did have to replace the tinsel wire a while back.
Awesome 👏
I lusted after the gold cap S12. Beast in a 4th order bandpass. Screw the small enclosure mantra. Compact bandpass enclosure so much better!
1992. Riding everywhere around Detroit with 15" gold letter kickers taking up the entire back bench seat. Boom boom. Every mall. Every club. That's how I knock on the door at my friend's house. Boom boom. Johnny's mom is yelling I can't hear her I'm inside the car with my loud system. I yell, tell Johnny to hurry up!
🤣👍
Man, I feel old now!!! I remember seeing that Kicker van with all of the Linear Power amps in the back. It would be cool if you found one of those amps and tested it!!
I got a personal tour of the headquarters in Stillwater back in 01’ with an employee The Gates Bronco was there, very cool. I was amazed at the industrial dumpster full of tested/destroyed subwoofers. They really put their stuff through hell!
Oh wow I bet that was insane!
I love the old Kicker logo. I still use two 12s running off a Phoenix gold amp.
I think you're wrong about the ribbed surround, I think it looks really nice. I love kicker products, I have a dual 10" sub Box, and a dual 12" sub box. They're both kickers.
It’s a personal preference thing
Great Review Dereck!! Enjoyable and accurate content with Big D. as per the norm. Can't wait to see the fun you experience in-vehicle with this subwoofer.
I rocked kicker in the 90's, for some reason in 2010 i had 3 jl 10's ran those for 10 years
Last year switched to prefabbed kicker box with 2 kicker comp r 12's glad I did the result was well feels like double the output than the jl's for about the same price the smiles i get now! cant believe I wasted 10 years of bass on jl audio oh well happier now.
Back in the day it was pretty much Kicker Vs Rockford Fosgate. On occasion you would see some MTX or Cerwin Vega. I had 2 Kicker 15's with dual voice coils. We did not have the internet back then so I did not know how to hook them up. I remember I only hooked up to one voice coil. LOL.
I worked at Credence Speakers from 1985-1988. We made all the Kickers back then. I was a teen in the 80s working there….best job ever!
Awesome 👏
My Kicker Competition Freeair 12's from 1994 are still in perfect condition and installed in my '74 Duster.
Guys in my town had a couple different set ups. First was 4 10's in a S10 standard cab.The wind flexed my jeans pant legs when he opened his door with the spl pressure. Another guy had a 1990 Astro van with wndows. 4 15's. He was at a car show and was flexing the Burger King window he was parked in front of. He was playing a Eagles song. It was amazing! If you had money to buy these you we're pushing the best!
Brings back memories. Late 80’s I owned a bright red 1985 Pontiac T-1000 slammed to the ground. It had a wall with two tweeters two C8’s two C15’s and one C18. That car shook its self apart. Back then also I got to sit in that van. It was at the Gresham Oregon Stereo King. That van was so loud it would make your chest hurt. The antenna on the roof had worn off all the paint around it to bare metal.
If you're not using a large wide surround, you're not getting efficient use out of the available excursion in the woofer cone. You can make subwoofers cheaper and smaller, that have higher dB output than similar designs without high excursion. Plain and simple.
Amen
I remember in 93, I was 15 years old. I would see a few of my older buddies who were old enough to have a car and a system in it , in the shopping center where i had my first job. It be outside getting shopping carts horsing around . One day a guy i knew showed up with a primed down, buick regal. He had 2 kicker comp 15s in a sealed box in the back seat. Of course the box took up the whole back seat. hahah... I said, "what you got, 2 12s?" I am looking right at the speakers, and i knew what they were. Down to this day, i am not sure why i was a little asshole and said 2 12s instead of 2 15s after i knew what they were... He said, "hop in" . He put on Eightball and MJG "Lay it Down". (And yes, I still listen to Eightball and MJG} ..When the bass kicked in, I swear it hit so hard, it was like someone hit me with a bat in the back of the head and i hit my forehead on the dash board.. lmaoooo... I remember it like it was yesterday.. hahah... such fun times.. Especially when I was old enough to start building my own systems. LOL .. We had no worries back then. The only worries we had was making sure we had enough money to put gas in the car , and to make sure our cars were clean.. hahahah
First system that ever bumped in my 87 mustang hatchback was 2 15" competition kickers powered by a linear power 5002. To me subs back then just had better sound quality. Accurate tight bass. Didn't hit the lows like today but not many songs had low bass. Did own a Phantom by KLW/ Carver think that was the name to make bass lower. It was too low, so I bought a epicenter which I loved and have one today but liked the old one better. Also still have a Phoenix gold bass cube from back then. You could pick your frequency and turn the gain up at the knob.
The best combo back then was kicker subs, precision power amps and mb quart mids and highs. Very clean and accurate sound
Yeah not bad seems fine reasonable priced absolutely not...it's a sub on par with majority of the big brands entry level subs except $100+ more. Skar SDR, NVX vsw, AB XD(except 170oz with 3" coil $99) sundown LCS. for $219 you can grab a xfl or a XR( SQL sub 200oz 3" coil, santoprene rubber surround, true 1500wrms $220) skar EVL and so on. I would say it likely comes from the same build house as a lot of other big brand subs but If your a kicker fanboy or really nostalgic and want to pay double for entry level 500W sub guess sure go for it there's nothing wrong with it but it's just another run of the mill Chinese sub but with kicker logos, nothing bad nothing special. I'm sure there will be no kicker quality comments but it's just standard affair inside a regular old coil (prob made over there not American made PE others use) , soft conventional spiders and a cone with AB and DD ribbed style surround like the rest. I'm not a hater I just hate seeing regular stuff overpriced and talked up because of the brand.
After all this time it still requires a massive box to play lows with authority. Will they ever play below 40 hz? 🤣
That's great news! I'm glad they're gonna keep them going!!
Thank you Sir!!
Installed car audio for 15 years. 2 C10s in a .7 Q band pass was the best sound quality bass I ever heard still today.
HECKKKK YEAH!!! I actually have a mint pair of the late 90's C15's 750wrms single coil 2ohm and back then these babies were the king of the hill for sure and if you had 500w you could shake entire buildings with them as you drove by ohh and get this- in a sealed enclosure too!!!
My buddy has two "separates" magnets stuck to the back of his bead blaster and I remember in the 90s when they were still around. Old school stereo for the win ❤️
HIGH Fs (resonant frequency) for ALL of these. A C18, if they reissued it, may as well be a tweeter.
🤦♂️
@@wal Ok, ok. In a sealed enclosure with hopefully a Qts of 0.40 it will go deep.
@@wal Gold letter Kicker Competitions were my first subs! I used to fantasize about a SS12 slant faced hatchback box before I got my hatchback!
I turned 16 in 92. Kicker was what you had to have at that time. Very cool to see a retro repro of the old skool stuff. It’s sad we can import from china cheaper than manufacture here. Hence the reason so many companies outsource.
I think it’s difficult to blame car audio companies for moving production when most other industries did the same years before
@@wal I wasn’t blaming car audio at all. Just in general. Why build it here when you can do it elsewhere cheaper?
I've beem bitching about the China part, but in reality this sub looks like a quality piece and I need to put one in a sealed enclosure in my car. Crutchfield here I come after so many years.
@@pgmurray76 I want a pair of the 15’s for an old skool build. Just because 😝
Had some old school black gold 10s man I loved those things I was 16 and bought them off crutchfield with a money order 😂 and ran them off a old Jensen amp. I didn't have a lot of money but I did have a little bump!
Kicker was da shit back in my day 👍
😬👍
Glad I went to HS in the 90s! So much power and bass.
My 1st real set of subs. I had 2 15s on a punch 150 in my 1981 Toyota corolla 1.8 it was around 1993. I wish I could afford a set of the new ones, I'd put them in truck.
Definitely gonna get two of these for my new set up
I'm not going to lie, I was a little worried that thing was going to come apart when you put the juice to it. Looks good though, and GREAT video!!
👌😬👍
I had kicker comps around 96-97 - so good 😁
i remember so many systems having Kick solobaric subs and mb quart mids/highs with orion amps plus a pioneer head unit. that was pretty much the pinnacle of what a system was in the late 90s.
Swap the MB for Boston acoustics and you have one of my systems.
@@steventhomas5865 there were so many legit brands back in the day.
Excellent one of the best I ever heard.thax bro Mr. Willy 😎😎
Thanks for watching and commenting!
I want the kicker comps from mid to late 90s...
I would pay the $400 for a US made Gold Letter Kicker **IF** it didn't have that ribbed surround.
Homie had a 12 in the back of his prelude we thought we were so cool in the 90s.
Since they are a permanent edition to the subwoofer line hopefully the v2 gets a regular surround like everyone else uses.
🙏
Had 2 of those 15's. Back in the day
Finally!! Indepth review of the Kicker Gold Letter! Great I'd as usual Big-D!!!
I'm very tempted to get a pair of these. Although, there are other subs out there in the $200 range that will probably walk all over these. My 2nd system back in the early 90s was a pair of these gold kickers! Loved these things and they played loud without a ton of power. I eventually went crazy putting 4 ported kicker 12's in the back of my hatchback mustang which took up the entire trunk and then some powered by a PPI 800 watt amp. I eventually got tired of that large box and took those same 4 subs and put them into a tiny cone-to-cone isobaric box. I still had all these subs in perfect working condition until about 4 yrs ago I was forced to move. Well, unfortunately the subs didn't make it into the moving van. I was so pissed off, these were a piece of my audio history. I had the original boxes and everything.
It still blows my mind I only live an hour away from the kicker hq in stillwater Oklahoma an I still haven't been up there to see their wall and bass rides
Man you’ve gotta go!
That box looks great, I could sit and watch it like a fireplace 😆👍 Thank you for the videos 👍
Brings back memories for shure had two 15 in the back of a big Cadillac nice
Oh sweet!
Love that retro look! My first subs were 2 C12 and I LOVED them!
Wish they kept the fs low, but other then that seems to be a great woofer and the surround doesn't bother me 1 bit.
😎👍👍
My first setup consisted of a pair of 12" kicker gold subs (used), a 500 watt Jensen amp (used) a pioneer DEH-345 head unit in a 91 chevy Beretta. That setup was solid. Never gave me any issues and went through several vehicles. I still have the Beretta, (don't laugh, that car was my first nice thing and got me through alot) and that pioneer head unit, in perfect working condition. Was thinking about having Bluetooth added to it and putting it back into that Beretta
@@jamesl9686 mine is a 91, first year for the airbag and abs system. I bought it in May of 97 with 34k on it. Still on the original 3.1 but it's getting tired. Considering I've had it 26 years, overall that engine has been a trooper. Sure, I've done gaskets, sensors etc, but you own anything that long you're bound to. I have 3 parts cars bc gm lol. The interiors may as well have been built by playskool.
@@jamesl9686 that jeep 4.0, I can't nor will I ever turn my nose up at. Had a few and they run. Same with Hondas. I have 3 in my collection, and same. They just run. My 91 Integra is getting ripped apart this spring so I can paint it. It deserves it. Good running fun little car.
HI BIG D. ALL CAPS JOE HERE. SEE WE ALL WANTED THE EXACT SAME WOOFER. THE OLD ONE SINCE WENT DOWN TO 16HZ WOULD RISE UP TO 35 HZ IN A SEALED BOX. BUT NOW. THE NEW ONE AT 35HZ. WILL RISE UP TO 70HZ IN A SEALED BOX.
NOOOOOOO GOOOOOOD
Kicker has always made quality components ever since I can remember. Their subs are very well built, and the ribs don't look bad in my opinion, plus they help with SQ in the long run.
kicker is quality stuff. only time i blew a kicker was when it was refurbished
I had one of the gold letter kicker 15s found ot in back of a Monte Carlo in a junkyard when I was 7 first big sub
Can't wait to get my 12in kicker enclosure installed this Monday. Had to get a new vehicle and it's been rough listening to music with no low end lol.
Need to bring back the red k logo woofers
Man love that retro gold! Sounded great think I’m going to grab a 12 or 8 soon . Or all 3 lol! Keep them subs slapping big d !
Thanks for watching and commenting!
I agree on the surround. It would have been nice if they would have used something like the w3 surround for the cosmetics. It could still be a modern rubber it would just have that old school look
👌😬👍
Kudos to them for the tribute. They didn't have to do it. It would have been great to leave the ribs off, I agree it kills the look. The QTS is much better suited for sealed enclosures,
16hz on the old sub...damn! Just another reason they sounded so good.
Williston you the man I love you for all the videos you do I usually watch your videos before any buy thanks man!!
Good Memories 👍
I like the ribs always did back when the comp vr's had them.
I wish They would redo the Inverted cone comps , those were my favorite looking kickers .
I'd pay for the US build. I have a 12 OG "Lanzar" (Sabre) 12', 8 10" OG Lanzars and 3 JL18W6. All US built. I should probably unload some of it.
My brothers 12” pioneer champion series blew on him and he got this as a replacement and let me just say this one BY FAR destroys pioneer champion series respectfully.
Loved the shot of the Kicker ASTRO van at the beginning. That van had a wall of (9) 18" Kicker subs and was powered by Linear Power amps. I have tried to find info on that van for years! I heard everything was stolen.
They were precision power amps and were under the supervision of 'Richard' , who also happened to have rep'd phoenix gold at another time, which also happened to have everything stolen out of that van as well. I'm not sure of what happened to Richard, but I do know that I haven't seen him at CES since 1997.
So, basically the only similarities are the text on the dust cap and the magnet?
Pretty much. Kinda like comparing 67 Vette to 2023 one
Back in the 90s I had way more spending cash on hand, compared to today 😢