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I’ve looked at many threads but I still do not see what I am looking for. I’ll try to give as much info as possible.

I have a 2010 VW Tiguan. The car is my daily commuter for work. I’d like to make the drive a little more enjoyable with a new system. I have had systems in the past (almost 15 years ago) the last being a JL 10w7 on a 500/1 and a JL 300/2 on the stock bose front stage (sold the car before I could replace them). The sub was great at most of the lows but seemed to be lacking in other spots. I had the sub in both the sealed and ported recommended spec box from JL and preferred the ported due to output but again, lacked the output in other areas.

Current State:

I picked up an Alpine 9886 to eliminate the stock radio and to get basic cross over, eq, and time alignment controls. Little did I know that Alpine removed these from head units and moved it to an add on module (my 7894 did this internally). I had planned on an American Bass XLF1244 on a Taramps md3000 due to other recommendations as this was a good choice due to the lower budget that I had set. After talking with a friend he offered to sell me his 8w7 for cheap. I thought it would be a good temp solution since I’m not really setup for box building (temp apt living due to house sale). The 8w7, like the 10w7, lacks in some areas. I miss these areas as my music ranges from Rock, to Rap, to EDM, to Sade,a little bit of everything. It was at this point that I realized I needed something completely different. The surround on the 8w7 is shot and I’m replacing it this week and probably sell it when the new sub system is built or chuck it in my wife’s Durango. The Taramps is going back to Amazon since Im not to thrilled with it to be honest, should have known.

Needs:

I’m looking to eventually do a complete system in the Tiguan. I’ve always wanted to do a complete 3 way active system in a vehicle. The front stage will be Phase 2 of the install. The stock speakers do a pretty good job of keeping up with the sub. They sound terrible, but are effective. Due to the lack of eq and x-over abilities of the deck, I’m leaning towards the Dayton DSP-408 for handling all of that as well as the active 3-way portion (eventually). The Alpine will essentially be a Volume knob and input receiver for USB or my iPhone. The main focus of this post is for subwoofer.

I really want to use the term SQ but I feel that’s not correct. I believe SQL is close to what I’m looking for. I want something that will get loud and be flat to accomidate all the types of music. Since I did not get this with past and current systems, I believe what I am missing is definitely “advanced eq’ing”, and cone area. In order to make the 8w7 flat, I need to “cut” (eq) the parts that it exceeds at. In order to increase that parts that it lacks, I need to “boost” (which only goes so far) or add drivers.

Budget:

I’d like to stay around $800 for both the subs and the amp. I am flexible in this number, but the $800 will only account for the large purchases i.e. drivers and amp. The cost for the enclosure, etc will not be included in this number. Yes, I will be building the enclosure myself and I know about internal bracing, etc. I will need to stay under 10 cu/ft for the enclosure.

Ideas:

I have thought about a few setups so far. I keep coming back to a Multi driver setup with Daytons, either HO’s or Ultimaxes i.e. 3-10’s, 3-12’s, 2-12s, 2-15’s. I have also thought about the FiCar Q series as well. I could go on but I think you get the idea.

EDIT:

I forgot to talk about the amp. If I’m looking at new, for a high powered variant, I’m leaning towards a Wolfram. Although, again, Im pretty much open.