LISTENING
After the normal break-in procedure, I read through the owner’s manual and visited the Rockford Fosgate website for direction regarding the enclosure. I quickly learned that the T1 woofers can be used in either sealed or vented enclosures, but are not recommended for infinite baffle applications. A quick call to the RF tech support line revealed that while the T1 woofer really leans slightly towards a preference for a sealed enclosure, most of the customers buying them are after loud bass, and for that, the vented enclosure rules. So, because most people use them in the vented application, I decided to try that approach first. I just happened to have the recommended 1.75 cubic foot enclosure in my inventory of sub boxes, so I loaded the T1D412 into it, and connected the woofer to my reference system. Man, the Rockford customer service rep wasn’t kidding, this thing hauls the mail! In the vented enclosure with an 800 watt amplifier I had more output than the rest of my system could keep up with. Dialing back the power to the sub a bit allowed me to concentrate more on how it sounded. This woofer loves to play low and loud. Songs with very low frequency information, such as Avril Lavigne’s “Sk8ter Boi” or Yello’s “Unbelievable” really showed the woofers capability in a vented application, and I immediately understood why so many people choose it. Even with the faster roll-off of a vented box, the deep bass had tremendous authority and realism. Kick drum notes were clean and well defined, and the bass in general was natural and warm sounding.
As usual, curiosity got the better of me, and I changed to a 1.5 cubic foot sealed enclosure. Now, the deep bass was even deeper than before, and easily audible down to 20Hz. But what I really appreciated was how good this big power happy subwoofer could actually sound. In the sealed enclosure the woofers realism and definition improved notably, and if I were to use this woofer in my vehicle, I’d choose the sealed enclosure.
But the cool part is, you can have it both ways with a single woofer, simply by changing the enclosure. If loud and proud is your thing, the vented box is the way to go, but if articulate, deep bass approaching audiophile quality appeals to you more than rattling windows 2 blocks away, the sealed method is for you. Either way, the T1D412 will not disappoint.
CONCLUSION
If you think a subwoofer is a subwoofer and there’s nothing new in the zoo, give your head a shake and check out the T1 woofers from Rockford Fosgate. While they certainly incorporate high tech features and great looks, the thing I liked most about the T1D412 was that it’s clear the company has not forgotten what made them famous in the first place, and is still turning out the kinds of products that their customers expect. And in the case of the T1D412, that’s authoritative bass that will make you the envy of the neighborhood, with a torture tested design that ensures reliability and long lasting performance.
