Performance Optimized · Datasheet

Performance Optimized Wedge Ported 12" Enclosure | Kicker Comp GOLD12 Single 12" Ported enclosure

Net volume
1.86 Cubic Feet
Tuning
34.0 Hz
Max mounting depth
5.750 Inches (Kicker Spec)
Cutout
11.000 Inches (Kicker Spec)
External dimensions
30.00 Inches W × 15.50 Inches H × 10.25 Inches / 15.89 Inches D
Front baffle
Vertical Baffle - Driver Fires Rearward Into The Trunk
Buy at Audio Intensity
  • Alignment: 1.86 cu ft net vented at 34.0 Hz. F3 33.7 Hz anechoic, 2.25 dB passband ripple
  • Driver: Kicker Comp GOLD12 D4, 500 W RMS, 17.5 mm Xmax, 37.05 Hz Fs
  • Build: Rear-firing wedge, 20 degree rear rake, V-groove and dado joinery, triangular side-exit slot port with a 1/2" rounded mouth, double 1.5" baffle, side-mounted terminal cup
  • Cabinet: 30.00" W x 15.50" H x 15.89" D at base tapering to 10.25" D at top, 21.4 sq in port, ships dry

Technical specifications

SeriesProline X Performance Optimized Wedge
Driver-Specific FitmentKicker Comp GOLD12 D4 (Dual 4 Ohm)
Enclosure TypePorted | Rear-Firing Trunk Wedge
Baffle ConfigurationVertical Baffle - Driver Fires Rearward Into The Trunk
Wedge Angle20 Degrees On The Rear (Seat-Side) Panel
External Width30.00 Inches
External Height15.50 Inches
Top Depth10.25 Inches
Base Depth15.89 Inches
Internal Volume (Gross)2.24 Cubic Feet
Internal Volume (Net After Displacement)1.86 Cubic Feet
Port TypeTriangular Slot | Bottom-Rear Corner | Straight, No Bend | Side Exit
Port GeometryIsosceles, 6.75 Inch Legs, 21.4 Square Inches, 19.92 Inches Long, Side Mouth
Port Tuning (Fb)34.0 Hz
Port MouthTriangle Through Side A, 1/2 In Roundover On All Three Edges, 33.3 Square Inches At The Face
Port ThroatOpen Far End, 8.33 In Gap To Side B, 3/8 In Roundover On The Panel End
Port Air Velocity19.9 m/s In The Channel, 12.8 m/s At The Flared Mouth (17.0 m/s Chuff Threshold)
Predicted F333.7 Hz (Anechoic)
Passband Ripple2.25 dB (Anechoic)
Subsonic Filter27 Hz High-Pass, 24 dB/Octave - REQUIRED On A Vented Enclosure
Driver Fs37.05 Hz
Driver Qts0.704
Driver Qes / Qms0.756 / 10.050
Driver Vas42.240 Liters / 1.492 Cubic Feet
Driver Sd506.7 Square Centimeters
Driver Mms159.10 g
Driver BL18.51
Driver Re7.0 Ohm
Driver Xmax18mm (One-Way at 70% BL)
Excursion Design BasisDerated To 14.9mm For Alignment - Kicker Publishes At 70% BL
Driver Displacement0.05 Cubic Feet (Published by Kicker)
Driver Sensitivity86.6 dB
Driver Power Handling500 Watts RMS
Driver Overall Diameter12.500 Inches (Kicker Spec)
Mounting Depth Required5.750 Inches (Kicker Spec)
Cutout Diameter11.000 Inches (Kicker Spec)
MaterialLangboard Elite 3/4" MDF
ConstructionShopSabre CNC / Two Windowed C Braces At The Third Points, Seated On The Port Panel
JoineryV-Groove and Dado (CNC-Cut)
Front Baffle ConstructionDouble-Layer 1.5" MDF | Cosmetic Front Layer Routed For The Acrylic Insert
Mounting HardwareThreaded Inserts At Every Mounting Location | Stainless Steel Machine Screws Included
Voice Coil ConfigurationDual 4 Ohm
Terminal CupProline X ABS/Carbon Fiber Composite | Side Mounted, Opposite The Port | 12g OFC Pre-Wired
DampingNone - Ships Dry. Polyfill Detunes A Ported Enclosure
Recommended Power350-500 Watts RMS (Kicker Rated: 500W RMS)
Carpet FinishPlush Black
Weight52 lb
Bundle OptionsEnclosure Only (Bring Your Own Kicker Comp GOLD12)
Warranty1-Year Limited (Enclosure)
ManufacturedTullahoma, Tennessee, USA

Performance in this enclosure

Net airspace
1.86
cu ft
Tuning
34.0
Hz · Fb
Half power
33.7
Hz · F3, anechoic
Xmax at
1903
W RMS · 27 Hz subsonic
With NO filter
345
W RMS · unfiltered
Port
12.8
m/s at the mouth

01Is this driver right for a ported box?

Efficiency bandwidth product places the motor before anything else is decided.

EBP = Fs ÷ Qes = 49.0
SEALED 0–50 TRANSITION 50–100 PORTED 100–150 0 50 100 150 EBP 49.0
Kicker Competition GOLD12 (GOLD124) · EBP 49.0
Under 50 the raw number leans sealed. The Kicker Competition GOLD12 (GOLD124) reads 49.0, so this is a ported build against the grain of its own EBP: it works because the alignment is tuned for in-car response rather than for an anechoic curve, and because the cabinet holds port area and volume the driver can actually use.

02What the box does to it

1.86 cu ft net against a 42.2 L Vas, vented at 34.0 Hz.

Fb = 34.0 Hz  ·  F3 = 33.7 Hz  ·  passband ripple 2.25 dB
20 30 50 70 100 150 200 +6 +0 −6 −12 −18 −24 FREQUENCY · Hz LEVEL · dB −3 dB Fb 34.0
Kicker Competition GOLD12 (GOLD124) · Fb 34.0 Hz, F3 33.7 Hz
Anechoic, before any cabin gain, with the 27 Hz subsonic filter already applied. The vent takes over below 34 Hz and the cone stops doing the work there, which is what holds travel down at the bottom of the passband.

03Perceived Ported vs Sealed

This cabinet, 1.86 cu ft net vented at 34.0 Hz, against Kicker's minimum sealed box, 1.00 cu ft (1.00 printed, 0.95 net after the woofer).

Ported Fb 34.0 Hz  ·  the 0.95 cu ft sealed box runs Qtc 1.13, Fc 59 Hz
20 30 50 70 100 150 200 +6 +0 −6 −12 −18 −24 FREQUENCY · Hz LEVEL · dB +7.2 dB at 28 Hz
Ported · this cabinet, 1.86 cu ft, Fb 34.0 HzKicker's minimum sealed, 0.95 cu ft net, Qtc 1.13
Shaded blue is where the ported alignment is louder for the same power, orange where the sealed one is. The sealed curve is Kicker's minimum sealed box, 1.00 cu ft (1.00 printed, 0.95 net after the woofer), not this cabinet with the port blocked: two different boxes, because that is the choice a buyer actually has. Across 25 to 60 Hz the vent is worth 7.2 dB at its widest and 5.6 dB on average. This is the anechoic picture, which is not what you hear in a car.

04Real World Ported vs Sealed

The same two boxes with cabin gain applied, 45 Hz corner, 18 dB ceiling.

Flatness across 25–60 Hz: ported 1.3 dB spread, the 0.95 cu ft sealed box 5.1 dB
20 30 50 70 100 150 200 +6 +0 −6 −12 −18 −24 FREQUENCY · Hz LEVEL · dB +7.2 dB at 28 Hz
Ported, in-car · 1.3 dB spreadKicker's minimum sealed, 0.95 cu ft net, in-car · 5.1 dB spread
Cabin gain lifts both boxes by the same amount, so the gap between them does not change: what changes is the shape each one ends up with. A car pressurises below roughly 45 Hz, which fills in the sealed box's shallower rolloff and over-drives it where the ported box is already flat. Across 25 to 60 Hz, the band kick and bass fundamentals occupy, this alignment holds 1.3 dB of spread against 5.1 dB for Kicker's minimum sealed box, 1.00 cu ft (1.00 printed, 0.95 net after the woofer). Flatter is the whole point of tuning this high. The two alignments converge at the bottom of the band rather than crossing cleanly, so there is no meaningful subsonic advantage either way here. Cabin gain here is a house assumption, not a measurement of your vehicle.

05The watts that reach Xmax (in this enclosure)

Travel scales with the square root of power, so there is one wattage that puts the cone exactly on Kicker's published 17.5 mm. The two traces are the same cabinet with the subsonic filter switched on and switched off.

PXmax = 1903 W with a 27 Hz subsonic  ·  345 W with none  →  the filter is worth 5.5×
20 30 50 70 100 150 200 0 4 8 12 16 20 FREQUENCY · Hz CONE TRAVEL · mm PAST LINEAR TRAVEL · Xmax 17.5 mm design limit 14.9 mm · 70% BL derated 1903 W reaches Xmax here
1903 W · subsonic at 27 Hz, 24 dB/oct345 W · no subsonic filterXmax 17.5 mm one-way, published
Each trace touches the limit and no further, because each is drawn at the exact power that puts the cone on 17.5 mm. With a 27 Hz subsonic that takes 1903 W, reached first at 24 Hz. Take the filter away and the same cabinet reaches 17.5 mm on 345 W — the filter is worth 5.5× the safe power. A vent unloads the cone below tuning, so there is nothing holding it once the box stops loading: on a sealed build a subsonic filter is an improvement, here it is required equipment. The unfiltered trace is still rising where this chart stops at 20 Hz, so treat 345 W as a bound rather than a floor. Every wattage on this page is a MECHANICAL limit, not an electrical one. It is the power at which the cone runs out of linear travel in this cabinet, and nothing more. What the voice coil can dissipate as heat is a separate ceiling set by the driver, not by the box — Kicker rate this one at 500 W RMS, and that is the number that binds first here: heat stops you before travel does, so treat 500 W as the ceiling and the travel figures above as headroom. Final wired impedance, amplifier output and how long you hold the level are all electrical questions this graph does not answer. The dashed line at 14.9 mm is the figure the cabinet was actually designed against: Kicker publish this Xmax on a 70% BL basis, and we derate it before sizing the port so the alignment carries margin against an optimistic spec rather than sitting right on it.

Installer's take

The one Kicker twelve whose wedge beats Kicker's own vented minimum: 1.86 cubic feet net against their 1.75, tuned at 34 Hz, 1.31 dB in the car with a 33.7 Hz F3. The Down Fire version reads 2.30 in the car and 37.2 Hz anechoic. A high Qts wants volume and here it gets it.

Deeper than tall by four tenths, 15.89 at the base, and that depth is airspace. The channel runs 0.3 metres per second under its limit at 19.9; inside the rule, not spare. Xmax derated from 17.5 to 14.9 mm, 9.0 of it used at 500 watts with the 27 Hz filter set.

Questions

Why is this enclosure tuned to 34.0 Hz?

A high Qts on 42 litres wants volume, and 1.86 cubic feet at 34 Hz gives 1.31 dB of in-car spread across 25 to 60 Hz on 2.25 dB of anechoic ripple, with an F3 of 33.7 Hz; the Down Fire version of the same driver reads 2.30 in the car and 37.2 Hz anechoic. The port needs only 19.92 of the 25.21 inches available and runs at 19.9 metres per second in the channel against a 20.2 limit, 12.8 at the mouth. Tuning is chosen for in-car response rather than an anechoic curve: a vehicle adds roughly 12 dB per octave below about 45 Hz. In this cabinet that lands at 1.3 dB of in-car spread across 25 to 60 Hz.

Why the 20 degree wedge, and why rear-firing?

The raked face is the seat side. A factory rear seat back leans about 20 degrees off vertical, so the cabinet sits flat against it and uses floor a square box wastes. The baffle stays vertical and fires rearward into the trunk, which acts as the acoustic extension into the cabin. This one is 15.89 inches deep at the base and 10.25 at the top, 30.00 wide and 16 tall.

Do I need a subsonic filter?

Yes, at 27 Hz, 24 dB per octave. Below tuning a vented box stops loading the cone and excursion runs away toward DC. With the filter in place this cabinet puts the Kicker Comp GOLD12 at 60 percent of its usable travel at full rated power; without it there is no meaningful number to quote.

How much power can I run, and at what impedance?

Kicker rate the Comp GOLD12 at 500 W RMS and that is the thermal ceiling. The Performance Graphs tab shows the mechanical limit, the power at which the cone reaches the end of its travel in this cabinet: here the cone sits at 60 percent of usable travel at the rating, so heat is what stops you, not travel. A D2 coil is 4 ohms in series or 1 ohm in parallel; run series unless the amplifier is rated for 1 ohm. A D4 is 8 series or 2 parallel.

Would a sealed box be better for me?

The two alignments converge at the bottom of the band on this driver rather than crossing cleanly, so there is no meaningful subsonic advantage either way. Above 25 Hz the vent is the louder of the two. The Performance Graphs tab plots this cabinet against Kicker's minimum sealed box, 1.00 cu ft (1.00 printed, 0.95 net after the woofer).

How does the side port work?

It is a triangular slot in the bottom-rear corner: the floor and the raked back wall are two sides, one bevelled panel is the third. It runs across the cabinet, opens into the box through a 8.33 inch gap at the far end and exits through the side panel as the same triangle. Straight, no bend: 19.92 inches of path and 21.4 square inches of channel running at 19.9 metres per second, 54 percent of its turbulence limit. The three mouth edges are rounded over at 1/2 inch, so the opening at the face is 33.3 square inches and the air leaves it at 12.8 metres per second against the 17.0 threshold where a slot port starts to chuff; the panel's throat end is rounded at 3/8 inch for the same reason. The terminal cup is on the other side.

Does this enclosure ship with polyfill?

No, and do not add any. Every sealed Proline X enclosure ships with polyfill; a ported one must not, because damping changes the effective volume the port is tuned against. The port here is cut to 19.92 inches for 34.0 Hz. Stuff it and you move the tuning without shortening the port.

Is the Comp GOLD12 included?

No. This is an enclosure only, cut for the Kicker Comp GOLD12 specifically: the 11.000 inch cutout, the 5.750 inch mounting depth allowance and the 1.86 cubic foot alignment all come from Kicker's published parameters. It fits both coil versions; the alignment published here is the D4. Bring your own driver.

Other Performance Optimized models