Just after some advice and wanted to know if anyone had bought subwoofers from overseas (USA) like off ebay for example. And wanted to know upon receiving them did you have to pay any extra chagers for things like custom tax/import duties? Because I am looking into buying a KICKER S18X D2 SOLO thanks

free trade between aus and the usa for under 1000, might have changed

I am not aware of any of those policies. Its gonna end up costing me around $1400 US. If I was to buy the same thing from here (custom order only) its around $2400. That's why I am keen to buy from the states still be heaps in front if there are not hidden costs involved.

thats alot of money for a sub man. What are you trying to achieve with it? and what car?

Just abit of extra bass haha. Nah I am just after something different for a change I have had many different combs in the past just want to try out a 18inch. Its going into a BA. They are a very powerful subs, 5000watts RMS.

What amp do you have? and electrical system to back it up? what size box does the sub recommend? you may loose your whole boot to get the correct enclosure for a big sub like this.

I am gonna be running 2 ZX2500 kicker amps. I am also going to be running a second battery to power the whole set up. Its probably not gonna look pretty to the eyes but will sure sound damn good. For the enclosure I am looking at making a ported box and yes I will be giving up all my boot space. 10 ft3 (283L) + port displacement, Fb=56Hz Port: 300 in2 (1935cm2) area x 9” (22.9cm) long

Sounds impressive, goodluck with the install. id like to see some pics of this beasty sub.

yeah npz mate. I am heading over to the states at the end of the month. If I cant find out the information now that I require I will just go over there and buy everything and ship it back home. Should all be fitted by around June once I am back. I will chuck some pics up then

Hey buddy have you looked into a few other brands? Such as RE, DD, FI etc.. There are australian distributers for these brands are make products alot better for the price. Also i know someone with one of them kicker amps and they take alot of juice so you may need 2-3 big batterys to power them. If ya need more info PM me

Is that 1400 just for the Sub? What about Freight costs? As ANK said, anything under 1000 is fine. But once you go over that you're looking at customs and import duties etc. I did a rough check with an old spreadsheet I got ages ago, so fee's may have changed. But given it was 1400 USD for the Sub alone, you're looking at 1571 with todays exchange rate. Then you have to pay GST, and that's calculated on total price, including freight and insurance. I don't have that so I' only know the 1400USD for the Sub, which ends up being 157 dollars of course. I understand there is a processing fee to go with that which is around 50 dollars. If you pay with credit card, some transactions also sting you with a percentage charge. But assuming that's 0 because paypal and other methods avoid that fee. You're looking at about 1850, and of course that will change depending on what freight cost is - which for a heavy sub.... ??? Probably safe to say 2000, which is still a saving. Or.. http://www.ryda.com.au/Ryda-Car-Audi...fers-s/698.htm (http://www.ryda.com.au/Ryda-Car-Audio-Kicker-Car-Subwoofers-s/698.htm)

Thanks for the info Bax. From my research so far I beleive you are spot on the money. I am actually heading over to the states next week does anyone know if I was to purchase the subwoofer over there and parcel it down myself would I still incur all those fees and chagers? Because I am just thinking I can say that the product is under $1000 and get away without paying for all the import duties and taxes? Does that sound right or am I off track?

You may be able to buy it and class it as a gift valued cheaper. I'd put it in another box if you could. Did you look at the link I posted up. That was 1800 Australian.

Yeah I did thanks for that. But I still think it may work out cheaper to buy everything from the states and just parcel it all down myself rather from a business and that way I can just mark it down as a gift etc. Because in the states I have found a few shops selling the same sub for $679 (US) which would still cost me a few hundred cheaper than aus

No worries, let us know how you go.

I bought 2 15's from the states few years back, and yeh only if its over 1000 do you pay customs which from memory was like 130 or sumthin. still very well worth it, lookin to do the same again soon with kicker l7's

Just an update fellas, on my trip to the states I ended up spending a fair abit on car audio. I bought 2 soundstream (REF 4760 4 channel amps 760rms) and 1 xxx6500 soundstream (6500rms) to power an 18inch solo x 1 soundstream scell 1000 cap 8inch JL mid range woofers ZR series and 2 sets of ZR570CSI I am now just waiting on my sub to arrive before I can get stuck into the build. I also need to hunt down a decent amount of sound proof gear.

Wow, nice list of gear you have there. The JL midbass and ZR's are amazing combo. I actually have the same 8 inch midbass here, but looking to sell my set. What head unit are you running with?

I havent really decided on a headunit yet. I am undecided what I am going do. I was wanting to retain the factory premium headunit however its not going to be upto the job I think So I am in the process of working around that. I might just go with a single din fold out dvd unit of some kind. Any suggestions? Also MrSquigle where have you placed your 8inch JL mid range woofers? I was thinking of putting them in the kick panels but I am unsure how they would sound and if they would fit?

hey boosted, just wondering how you went with the shipping costs, taxes etc, was it worth while??