A good subwoofer doesn’t have to make every bone in your body tremble as you pump up the volume of the sound. Rather, a good subwoofer’s job is to reproduce every low-frequency sound as accurately as possible at both low as well as high volumes.
Speaking of good subwoofers, Rockford Fosgate manufactures some of the best subwoofers for cars and trucks so you might definitely find what you are looking for with options for light, medium, and heavy bass.
Rockford Fosgate releases three different lines of subwoofers for the consumer market – the Rockford Fosgate Prime, Punch, and Power series.
Each of these three series is targeted towards different types of customers, the Prime series is the cheapest series and provides affordable, good quality sound to anyone looking to upgrade their car’s built-in audio system and add some extra bass, for a good music experience on those occasional road trips.
The Punch series is for the more enthusiastic customer who wants premium quality sound at reasonable prices, it contains woofers whose power rating is higher than the Prime series, but lower than the Power series.
The Power series features the absolute best and costliest that Rockford has to offer, each of the Power series subwoofers has a power rating of at least 700W to pump out super loud music for super big vehicles such as SUV’s and trucks.
We have also reviewed Rockford Fosgate P3 Series and P2 Series.
Rockford Fosgate P1 10-Inch Subwoofer Punch Series
This is the 10″ model in the Rochford P1 subs lineup and features a step up in terms of RMS power rating- the 10″ version has an RMS rating of 250W compared to the 200W RMS of the 8″ model and has a peak power rating of 500W compared to the 400W peak of the P1S2 8″.
This increase in power rating means an increase in the amount of bass as well as volume, even though the sensitivity levels are the same at 84dB.
Resistance is also the same at 2 ohms, and the larger 10″ driver occupies a diameter of 9.13″, meaning that you will need a slightly larger enclosure box for it, and the mounting depth is also bigger, at 5.33″.
This subwoofer is probably not going to fit under your seats if you’re driving a subcompact or hatchback, so you will almost always want to install it in the trunk of your vehicle.
The quality of bass produced is pretty good, with deeper lows and flatter mid-tones. The woofer performs equally well in both sealed as well as ported, or bandpass enclosures.
However, we recommend putting this one in a ported enclosure if you plan on enjoying the crisp sound of the 10″ driver without sacrificing on the volume output that a 12″ driver gives you. Or, you can just hook up two of these instead of a single 12” subwoofer, but remember that the dual 10” setup will lack the deep bass and sound response despite having more raw output.
If you want quantity over quality, go for a dual 10” setup.
Rockford Fosgate P1 12-Inch Subwoofer Punch Series
Rockford Fosgate P1 12-inch model is for enthusiasts who can afford to dish out the extra space demanded by the larger woofer size.
It has a more powerful magnet as well, to generate the force needed to move those big drivers. The extra weight of the magnet makes it heavier, although a few extra grams won’t really matter during actual usage since your car is going to carry it.
What does matter is the fact that it has a mounting depth of 6″ and a cutout diameter of 11.22″, meaning you need a larger trunk space to accommodate your thump station. Even more, if you plan on wielding a dual 12″ setup which does pump out a LOT of basses.
Perfect bass with deep lows and powerful thump, even at maximum volume the sound does not crack because of the larger, heavier drivers. Resistance and sensitivity are the exact same as the previous models at 2 ohms, and 84dB respectively. Power rating is 250W RMS, and 500W peak so gets a suitable amplifier for your speakers.
The P1 12″ option is the most popular one among car music enthusiasts as it easily fits into the trunk of midsized sedan or coupe and its drivers produce more than enough sound output if you hook them up to a good amplifier.
Also, if you hook up two of these subwoofers side-by-side you will be blasted away by the chest-pounding bass.
Rockford Fosgate P1 15-Inch Subwoofer Punch Series
Although Rockford kept the power rating steady at 250W RMS and 500W peak, where they really added the extra punch in this baby is the sensitivity level.
Instead of the standard 84dB, this Rockford Fosgate P1 15-inch model packs a sensitivity of 87dB which translates to a huge amount of volume increase in real-life usage.
Also, the magnets are even larger and heavier than before and produce more than enough force to generate a super sharp response despite the heavyweight of the drivers and the larger voice coils. Mounting this beast in a small car will be a huge waste of trunk space, so you better have a big trunk or an SUV if you plan on getting one of these.
If you rig up two of these to a good amplifier and max out the volume, you might actually end up shaking your windows. They are loud yet extremely clear, the sound is deep and low frequencies are reproduced immaculately at any volume. It has a cutout diameter of 13.85″, and a mounting depth of 6.98″, so be careful while selecting an enclosure.
If you are making your own enclosure, you should know that this subwoofer performs equally well in both sealed and ported enclosures.
Now, which Rockford Fosgate Series is right for you?
In this article, we shall be focusing on the Punch P1 series of Rockford Fosgate subwoofers. The Punch series is great for beginners as well as audiophiles due to the vast number of options that it offers.
If you own a small to a medium-sized car this is the perfect choice for you, although many factors come into play such as the enclosure type and size, the boot space, and the car interior size. If you have a bigger interior, your woofer needs to displace more air so a woofer with a higher power rating is preferable.
Larger drivers mean that the sound is deeper and produces more oomph than a smaller driver, although a smaller driver can still produce great sound if powered properly and fitted in the correct enclosure.
All the subwoofers in the Punch P1 series are rated at 250W RMS power and 500W peak power, the main difference is in the driver sizes that range from 8″ to 15″.
Similar power ratings mean that they will have an equal amount of thump and the sound output at maximum volumes will be quite similar. However, the varying driver sizes can generate quite a bit of variety in the quality and the type of bass and the driver size also means that different enclosures are required for each one.
Your choice will be based on the size of your trunk and the type of music you prefer. We have listed out the 4 Punch P1 models along with all their specifications, pros, and cons. Choose a lower driver size if you have limited space and wish cleaner, crisper sound.
For those of you with more room to spare and a need for a bigger and deeper thump, go for a larger driver. And, all of the P1 models in this review are the 2-ohm models, i.e. the P1S2 models.
There are 4-ohm P1S4 models out there that require an amplifier with an appropriate impedance rating.
Last update on 2024-12-21 / Affiliate links / *Image Disclaimer: We use images/data from Amazon Product Advertising API solely on products that link to Amazon. On products with the "Price at Crutchfield" button, we use images/data from Crutchfield.com as per the partnership deal.
