Kicker RMB8 fills a wonderful niche in Car Audio

About a year ago, I had a friend of mine listen to my system. Felt the sound was pretty good, but was missing what I have always felt was missing, but never knew the word for it: midbass. (which is a problem in quite a few car audio systems as well!)

He looked at my door and recommended 6.5" or 8" driver for the door. I've heard of 6.5" for doors, but 8" was crazy...given that he felt it was realistic, I had to have it!!

By the time I got around to it, he already found the Kicker RMB8. For an 8" speaker, it is very shallow (less than 3" I believe), while still capable of handling a high load (175 watts RMS/375 Max). "Shallower and stronger than my MB Quart 6.5". I was sold.

Installed the RMB8 in a small pocket in the door. Wanted to cut into the door panel behind it but the window was right behind it, so didn't do it. With any kind of bass reproduction, air volume is very important, and will be the limiting factor in your bass output. The amplifier which is powering this speaker is a 2 channel Alpine MRV-T420 V12, which I am running in conjunction with a Kicker KX2 electronic crossover. I have the amplifier low passed at around 250 Hz, and the crossover high passed at 50 Hz. The amplifier is rated at 115 watts x 2 RMS, which is fine for this application.

Because I don't have the optimal mounting location for the Kicker RMB8, I can't say I've truly seen everything it can do, but with the very limited space, it performs VERY well. Right now it fills in the midbass gap very well (50-250 Hz in my setup), and makes the bass sound up front and really improves the imaging and staging. It also adds texture to voices and instruments, giving it a more "holographic" sound. It really does a lot more than just providing more bass, which is what makes it so special.

I have Rockford Fosgate Fanatic Q components (1" tweeter, 5.25" midrange) running with this, and it seems like a good match. The matching of brand for tweeter & midrange I feel is very vital, whereas the brand for midbass not as vital, IMHO. My friend ran his 8" with MB Quart components as well and is satisfied.

If I had the luxury of a custom panel (or maybe a kick panel installation) where the right air volume can be had, I am pretty sure I would still be in awe of this speaker....it really is that powerful. It probably is realistic to run this speaker full range below 250 Hz, and go without a subwoofer if one is short on space, money, or simply does not demand pounding sub bass, hehe.

If there is any weakness to the RMB8, it probably would be that it's not a high end speaker engineered for audiophile midbass accuracy (although the importance of this is negligible, IMHO). One would have to assess his/her preference for accurate sound vs. their penchant for power handling. Do bear in mind that the RMB8 is a great deal at $120-180, whereas one might pay double or triple that for a flagship 6.5" or 8" pair with marginal improvements in sound.

What's interesting to note about all of this is that there is no real direct competitor to the RMB8 (and perhaps maybe it's little brother the RMB6). There are no other free air midbass drivers with this much power that can actually fit in doors, with an exception perhaps with the discontinued JL Audio IB4 8", but that might not be as powerful sounding as this speaker (lower power rating).

Hope this review has been of help.