Audison APBX 8 AS2 8" ACT.SUB Box Dynamic Bass Tracking Active Subwoofer

CONTEXT: I had this sub added to the factory system of a Honda Civic Type R FK8 2019. The installers let me compare the 8 inch Audison with the 10inch Audison for an hour. I wanted to get the smallest subwoofer that upgrades my sound to a complete, tuneful, musical sound that goes all the way down to 20something hz (the smooth deep bass of electronica and rap).SOUND: The Sound of the 8 inch subwoofer is as tuneful, delicate and integrated with the rest of the sound, as I would have ever hoped from any subwoofer. The sub has a flat response all the way down to 25hz. Which I was shocked by as the unit is small. The tone of the sub is BETTER than my 10 inch Morel Primo custom fit in the rear wheel well, driven by a Kenwood Excellon amp in my previous car. That's a $1000 combo I'm comparing it to. Well, it sounds better than that. Not louder, but better. Double-bass acoustic jazz, low frequency ganster rap, electronica, rock, grunge, heavy metal - it plays it all cleanly, smoothly and with plenty of power. Goes loud enough that I don't care to see how much louder it can go.INTEGRATION: I tried a few positions and played with crossovers, test tones, music and all the settings a few times. Down-firing takes away from the transparency and tone of this woofer - but adds car vibrations if that's your jam. Up-firing was a bit boomy. I actually ended up strapping it rear-firing (standing on the side). In that position, the sound integration with the rest of the system, resembles the $6000 big home speakers I use at home that go down to 24hz. You don't hear any boominess coming from the trunk or any odd - overlapping frequencies. All you hear is tight sound, with tight low bass that surprises you with both how musical it plays upper bass as well as how low and smooth it goes way down in the 20's to help make rap and electronica worth shaking your head to.COMPARED to the Audison 10inch.: I compared the two units over about an hour. Switching them back and forth with similar settings a few times (they share the same cables). The 10 sounds slightly more effortless below 30hz. But the 8 inch integrates better with the music and disappears. I think you can pull the same trick with the 10 too, but it seemed a little harder in the little time I had. The 10 has a lot more headroom for power, so if you have a bigger car (Range Rover? American SUV?) I would definitely consider it. But for a Honda Civic, I actually thought the 8 inch sounds BETTER and takes significantly less space, so I chose the 8inch and won't look back.Compared to Morel 10inch primo installed in custom rear wheel arch enclosure paired with a Kenwood eXcelon XR900-5 from it's 400W RMS subwoofer channel. The bass from the Morel in that box never quite integrated in my system as well as this Audison did. I blame the box and position for it. Speaker box and placement play a huge role in subwoofer performance. I share this experience so that you think about that when you're tempted to buy a custom hidden enclosure.. You could do MUCH worst than this Audison and spend top dollar.What do I compare this with? For reference, I am an audiophile and music maker hobbyist. On a daily basis I listen to music in 3 rigs. A $5000 headphone/DAC/Headphone amp rig. A $20,000 big space system and a desktop studio setup worth $7,000. I have previously had a $6,000 Car Audio system in 2 different cars, consisting of Morel Speakers and subwoofer, Kenwood amps and a top tier aftermarket headunit. I have also used an AudioControl DQ-61 for one of the cars where I kept the OEM HU.