Congratulations! You have just purchased the most advanced subwoofer to carry the famous KICKER Comp
name. Your KICKER CompVR is the latest in a proud KICKER Competition subwoofer tradition, designed and
built to give you years of powerful bass performance when installed in a properly designed system.
This installation manual contains valuable information on how to get the most out of your new CompVR.
Thanks for buying KICKER. Enjoy!
CompVR Features
Hemispherical Mica-Filled Polypropylene Cone with ISD (Inverted Structural Dome™) - High rigidity under pressure
for accurate linear control; stops enclosure pressure loss to reduce "pump-down"; excellent sunlight, pollution and moisture
resistance
Double Stitched Surround - Prevents cone/surround separation at high excursions
Blackened Pole Piece and Front Plate - Effective heat transfer for longer voice coil life; Uniplate™ Construction
combines a number of performance/durability features in a one-piece forged part - Excellent thermal and magnetic transfer
between pole and backplate; Extended Pole Piece means cool operation for superior power handling and improved magnetic
field linearity around voice coil gap; Vented Pole Piece provides pressure relief under the center dome for added low bass
response and lower temperature; Extended Backplate prevents damaging voice coil "bottoming"
Perimeter Venting - Measurably lower operating temperature and freer cone motion
Hi-Temp Kapton® Voice Coil Former - Protects against warped, rubbing voice coils
Dual Ultra-Length Voice Coils - Enormous cone excursion capabilities and flexible wiring options
High Power Lead Wires - Stop lead breakage and reduce power-robbing resistance losses
Spring-Loaded Nickel-Plated Terminals - Solid connections with large gauge speaker wire
C12vr, C10vr, C8vr
Specifications
Model Max amp Sensitivity Frequency Voice Fs Vas Qts Xmax Mounting Mounting
power Response coil cutout Depth
(watts) (dB 1w/1m) (Hz) (in., mm) (Hz) (cu.ft., l) (in., mm) (in., mm) (in., mm)
C12vr 400 86.7 25-500 2,50.8 26.7 3.0, 84.6 .551 .45, 11.5 10-15/16, 277.9 6, 152.4
C10vr 300 85.2 25-500 2,50.8 31.6 1.3, 38.1 .589 .45, 11.5 9-5/32, 232.7 5-3/16, 131.8
C8vr 200 83 30-500 1.5, 38.1 38.9 .59, 16.7 .698 .33, 8.5 7, 177.8 3-15/16, 100.1
Based on measurements of Dual 2 Ohm models
Break-In Information
Like many precision machines, the CompVR requires a break-in period before it will reach optimum performance.
After approximately two weeks of daily usage, the suspension will loosen, or break-in, to a point of equilibrium. This time
period may vary depending on the amount of play time, volume level, and type of music you listen to. More play time, with
medium volume levels and more bass content, will break in the subwoofer most quickly.
Wiring
The Kicker CompVR woofers are available with dual 2 Ohm and dual 4 Ohm voice coils. Both coils should always be hooked up.
The dual 2 Ohm woofer will give you a 1 Ohm or a 4 Ohm load depending on if the coils are wired in parallel or in series. The
dual 4 Ohm woofers will give a 2 Ohm or 8 Ohm load depending on how they are wired. See the illustrations below for wiring
options and the resulting impedance loads.
The terminals with the solid red and black markings are for one voice coil. The terminals with the white dots are for the second voice coil.
Parallel Wiring Series Wiring
Dual 2 Ohm = 1 Ohm load Dual 2 Ohm = 4 Ohm load
Dual 4 Ohm = 2 Ohm load Dual 4 Ohm = 8 Ohm load
Box-Building Notes
The material of choice for building a strong box is 3/4" or thicker MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard). HDF (High Density
Fiberboard) is also good, as is a really good grade of plywood (such as marine grade 7 or 13 ply). Regular particle board is not
very good for speaker enclosures. It is flexible and will crumble when you try to screw the woofer in.
All drawings and measurements in this manual assume 3/4" material.
The peak pressure in a ported box can exceed that of a sealed enclosure. All of these designs need
some internal bracing. Be sure to add 2"x2" to 3"x3" triangle braces between each of the larger
unsupported panels. Cross bracing is also a good idea to help reduce panel vibration. Strips of 3/4"
by 2" wood work well for tying the panels together.
A good grade of wood glue is recommended for joining two pieces of wood together along with
1 1/4” to 1 1/2" drywall screws or 1 1/2" staples. A fastener placed about every 3" will hold the box
together good enough until the glue dries.
After assembling the box and allowing the glue to set up, use silicone sealer to make absolutely
sure the corners are perfectly sealed. Hint: When assembling the enclosure, build the whole enclosure except for the rear baffle opposite the woofer cutout. This way you can easily reach inside to apply the silicone sealer. Once
this is done, put the rear panel on and seal it by reaching through the woofer cutout.
If you prefer an ultra-smooth bass response, you should loosely fill your ported Kicker Comp enclosure with polyfil. If you do
so, the entrance to the port (inside the box) must be covered with hardware cloth, chicken wire, or expanded metal to prevent
the polyfil from being blown out through the port. Use of polyfil will slightly decrease efficiency, but will deepen and extend low
bass response.
All sealed boxes should be 50% filled with loose polyfil.
Do not install a ported box with the port against a solid surface. The port opening must remain unobstructed. Use the smallest dimension of the rectangular port as the minimum amount of space required between the port and any surface to insure
unrestricted airflow.
A common source of air leaks is the connecting wire for the woofers. Terminal cups are commonly available and are
recommended. They provide an airtight means for bringing the wire into the enclosure and allow for easy wiring changes. An
alternative is to drill a hole slightly larger than the wire and seal carefully with silicone sealer. Do not disturb the silicone until it
has set up. Moving the wire before the silicone has set up will usually cause an air leak.
If you carpet the enclosure it is important to cut the carpet around the woofer opening. It is hard to get a good seal if you
have both the gasket and carpet between the woofer and the wood.
On a sealed enclosure it is easy to test the seal of the box. Push the cone in all the way and let it go. If the seal is good, the
cone should take at least five seconds to return to the center position. If the cone springs back faster than that you have a leak
somewhere in the enclosure. Sometimes you can hear air escaping around the woofer or at one of the joints in the enclosure. If
the box itself leaks take the woofer out and check the silicone seal all around the inside. If the air is leaking out around the
woofer try adding a flexible sealer like plumber's putty or rope caulk. Don't use silicone sealers around the woofer.
For more advice on box building, see the Choosing and Building Enclosures page in the Tech Tips & FAQ section of the
Support area on the Kicker website, www.kicker.com.
All the cubic feet numbers given in this manual include the displacement of the woofer.
For the ported boxes the displacement of the port must be added to the final design. It will be impractical to use round ports
for these designs. The rectangular port information given will yield the best results. Also it is very important to round over the
edges of the port opening and both sides of the end of the port that sticks inside the box.
x=2”
x
x
x
x
xx
Recommended Enclosures
KICKER CompVR Sealed Enclosure Applications
A very smooth bass response with good low bass extension is achieved when the Kicker CompVR woofers are mounted in a
correctly built sealed box with the correct airspace. Sealed (acoustic suspension) designs have been a favorite here at Kicker
since the original Competition Series was introduced. We build just about all of our show vehicles with sealed boxes for the
smooth response, good power handling and great sound quality they offer.
Of all the enclosures possible the sealed box is the easiest to build. The two most important
rules are to make it very solid and to seal all the joints perfectly. If the panels of an enclosure
can flex or vibrate you will experience a loss of bass output. You don't want to throw away any
of the output capability of your Kicker CompVR woofers. Sealing all the joints in the enclosure
is necessary to avoid loss of output and driver failure.
The Kicker CompVR woofers will work in a wide range of sealed boxes. The examples below
are given for good all-around Street Bass boxes that will work well for most types of music
without taking up a lot of space. The given volumes include driver displacement. Other shapes
can be used as long as the proper airspace is maintained.
Model Street Bass sealed enclosure volume Woofer Cutout A panel B panel C panel
C12vr 1.25 cu.ft., Power Handling = 400W 10-15/16" 14-1/2 X 14-1/2" 14-1/2 X 13" 13 X 13"
C10vr 1.0 cu.ft., Power Handling = 300W 9-5/32" 13-1/2 X 13-1/2" 13-1/2 X 12" 12 X 12"
C8vr 0.5 cu.ft., Power Handling = 200W 7" 11 X 11" 11 X 9-1/2" 9-1/2 X 9-1/2"
For a more Compact enclosure you can go down to -20% of these examples. The flattest response is achieved by putting
your CompVR in a much larger SPL/Deep Bass enclosure. If your goal is the flattest, most accurate bass, then these are for
you. This is not the best design for most people, however, as power handling is reduced. If you want lots of ground pounding
street bass, stay with the recommended all- around Street Bass or Compact enclosures or try one of the vented designs covered later in this manual. The airspace for the Compact and SQ boxes is as follows:
Model Compact (minimum) sealed enclosure volume SPL/Deep Bass (maximum) sealed enclosure volume
C12vr 1.0 cu.ft., Power Handling = 400W 4.6 cu.ft., Power Handling = 300W
C10vr 0.8 cu.ft., Power Handling = 300W 3.0 cu.ft., Power Handling = 300W
C18vr 0.4 cu.ft., Power Handling = 200W 1.8 cu.ft., Power Handling = 100W
KICKER CompVR Ported/Vented Enclosure Applications
Almost as easy to build as the sealed box, the vented or ported enclosure can give you more output at certain bass frequencies. Although this design has an output advantage at some frequencies it also has a sharper rolloff characteristic which will
only affect the lowest of bass frequencies. Overall a correctly designed vented enclosure will have some "free" output provided
by the port itself.
One major disadvantage to the vented design is the "unloading" of the woofer at very low frequencies. At a frequency 1/2
octave below the tuning frequency of the enclosure the woofer acts like it has no box to work in and can go to full excursion.
This will be harmful to the woofer's mechanical integrity. It is therefore very important to stay with the recommended designs.
NOTE: The use of a subsonic filter (such as a Kicker SWX - without chips & set to highpass) will significantly increase the power
handling.
The vented box examples detailed in the following drawings are good all-around Street Bassboxes that will work well for
most types of music and deliver considerably more output compared to the sealed boxes.
Information on building a smaller Compact or larger SPL/Deep Bass vented box for your woofer is available from your
Kicker dealer.
Model Compact (minimum) vented enclosure volume SPL/Deep Bass (maximum) vented enclosure volume
C12vr 1.75 cu.ft + port 2.25 cu.ft + port
Port 2-1/2 x 12-1/2 x 20-3/4" Port 3 x 12-1/2 x 20-1/2"
Power Handling = 125W Power Handling = 140W
C10vr 1.25 cu.ft + port 1.75 cu.ft + port
Port 2 x 10-1/2 x 20" Port 2-1/2 x 10-1/2 x 20",
Power Handling = 150W Power Handling = 170W
C8vr .80 cu.ft + port 1.20 cu.ft + port
Port 1-1/2 x 8 x 20" Port 2 x 8 x 18-3/8",
Power Handling = 75W Power Handling = 120W
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