Subwoofers, Speakers & Amps

So I just got this Soundstream TA1 3000d

3000 watt RMS at 0.5 ohms and I have two Alpine Type R subs wired at 4 ohms each both wired into the amp at 2 ohms with about 1400 watts RMS from the amp. Why would I lose 600 watts RMS when the subs can handle 1000 watts RMS each just fine? Even a little more in the sealed box they are in?

The answer I guess is because a: it's less stress on the subs and amp (but you need an insanely powerful amp to push high power at higher impedance) and and I think some member on here told me it's more efficient do to having a higher BL (motor force)

Now I made this entire sound system for sound quality more than spl so I could care less about the extra few hundred watts.

And it doesn't seem much louder than my old ported box set up with two alpine type e and a 400 watt alpine monoblock amp, but the type e have like 91 db efficiency vs my 87db now, and ported boxes are louder.

But after hearing this setup.. I could never go back to a ported box lol. These subs are the lowest hitting subs I've ever heard in a vehicle.

My mirror fell off, and then my window and sunroof relay started unplugging itself lol

I don't know where the -3db cutoff is, or how many decibels it is but it definitely has decent response lower than human hearing. I'm not saying it's going to have a -3db of under 20hz that would he retarded. Not only that but a 20hz wavelength is 56.6 some feet and the vehicle isn't big enough to take advantage of it really. But I've felt bass I couldn't hear for sure.



My question is: does our 25hz chassis frequency have anything to do with why these seem to pound so deep? The only other sub I've ever heard that hit this deep was my Velodyne ULD18 which had a -3db cutoff of just 13hz.  But I can't really discern because my car subs pound a lot harder.

I really don't get it. I mean logic dictates that there's no way a car sub in a car this small should ever hit that low?

but yeah if you want sound quality and hitting deep? It's all about build materials of the subwoofer, a good sealed box and the best darn quality amp you can find in my opinion. Soundstream claims a frequency response of 10-220 hz well under 1% total harmonic distortion 3000 watts RMS at 0.5 ohms.

Even though my mid bass is lacking in the doors, and my component speaker amp is garbage, and the DAC quality in my pioneer head unit is garbage, and the timing is all screwed up by a miniscule amount in the front because the speakers aren't coax and there's something like a 4ms lag between the swivel mount silk dome tweeters and the front woofers... and I still consider it a crap sound system until all of that is rectified... I have yet to hear a better sounding car sound system.

probably because most people that put money in their system are idiots.

oh! I need a lot of dynamat meow!

And I might take out the rear deck again it's rattling like hell lol and I need silicone on the rear license plate, and my trunk rattle sounds like a 90's beater Honda!

I don't know if it's even possible to make it rattle free

Edit:


lawl

Wiiiiiiiiiii....

Lol what does wiiiii mean?

I'm still a newbie but I've seen enough of Stan's "Wiiii's" to know that

it's a good thing.
Seems like Stan approves/is maybe excited/& is saying, "Go Corey".

Or, something..

Jbird

Sweet! Haha I gotta clean up the car bad before I take a shot of the sound system in the trunk.

I've had pneumonia for 3 months I just found out moved back a thousand miles and my interior is a mess!

stan wrote:

Wiiiiiiiiiii....

just like the video game Wii ,only my version is Wiiiiiiiiiii hahaha....

My mirror is a nunchuck wiimote!

YES...wiiiiiiiiiiiiii

Lol are you sober :o

But it was still funny

ofcourse NOT Corey....drinking here Budweiser $8 a bottle 40oz hahaha at A'Dam Good Sports Bar haha lots of hot girls

Lol BRB gonna show up and bring music to the party and make a parking lot rave :p

I've always wanted to do that lol

Corey bro......you coming? haha

Lolol if it was close maybe,

But I've had all this codeine cough syrup lol, not just cause I wanted purple drank but I actually need lol Lolol

The sizzurp! !

Man I wish I was at a bar instead of home.

ohhhh Hooters and all the bars likw that haha

Hooters has good wings man!

Anybody have a suggestion on how to power a second amp? I'd really like to just splice into the existing power wire, but the question is where do I do it?

Use a distribution block like this one:

http://ebay.com/itm/391049804805

Feed your amps power wires into the smaller inputs. Run the larger output wire to the battery +. Use a connector like this one to tap in to the + terminal:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001F6P98Q/ref=pd_aw_sim_e_1?refRID=0ZKE91F3SD9JKJSCZJYN

You'll need some big guage wire and ring terminal for the battery connection.

AA wrote:

Use a distribution block like this one:

http://ebay.com/itm/391049804805

Feed your amps power wires into the smaller inputs. Run the larger output wire to the battery +. Use a connector like this one to tap in to the + terminal:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001F6P98Q/ref=pd_aw_sim_e_1?refRID=0ZKE91F3SD9JKJSCZJYN

You'll need some big guage wire and ring terminal for the battery connection.

I've already got the battery connection, remember

Thanks for the distribution block idea though. I like it. I was also toying around with the idea of getting some of the big power plugs off of an industrial UPS and using them as quick disconnects for power/ground, and then pulling off some molex connectors or something for the remote and speaker wires.

Oh yeah! I knew that went somewhere.

I've read this topic through a year or two ago, but I can't remember if my question was answered in any way.
And the question is: can a subwoofer shatter the rear window? And if yes - how much power/dB/ooomph does it take? I mean, of course there are some extreme subwoofers that can shatter almost anything, but should I worry if I use just some "normal" subs?
Recently I went up from a 12" Kicker CompVR (400 Watts) to an S12L5 Kicker Solo-baric (600 Watts). Both subs are in their original vented boxes, although sometimes I seal the port with a plug to get kinda sealed enclosure sound. I never push my Solo-baric to its limit fearing it may shatter my rear window, and I just can't afford that. I see, that Corey had 1400 Watts fed to his subs, but still...
I've got a great deal on S12L7 (750 Watts RMS) Solo-baric. Should I stop worrying about my rear window and go for an L7 and crank it up?

Can a subwoofer shatter the rear window.  My guess is possibly.  I will explain.

Auto windows in the USA are tempered glass.  The glass is tempered by annealing it, which involves making it to it's final shape then heat treating it such that stresses are locked into the surfaces.  This is why when you look at auto windows with polarized sunglasses, at just the right angle, you can see a sort of checkerboard or lattice.

Tempered glass is tough but relatively easy to break if you know how.  There are two easy ways to do this.  One is to scratch the glass then impact it.  Scratching puts a big enough flaw in the stressed skin layer of the glass that an impact will cause it to shatter.   Not so easy, a third way, is to have an imperfectly tempered piece of glass put into the sun.  Thermal expansion will bust the glass.  Thing is it's not easy to tell upon cursory visual inspection with the unaided eyes if a piece of tempered glass is so flawed as to be susceptible to breaking merely by being set in the sun.  But it happens.

So, to bust a car window with a subwoofer should not be that tough, you just need very low frequency program material, a loud enough amplifier, the glass mounted such that low frequency energy is reflected not absorbed, and scratches or other flaws in the glass (very fine scratches will do, thank you).

How much power does it take?  It depends on the size (including thickness) and mounting of the glass, the content and  accuracy of the sound program material -- If you do a Google search on "subwoofer broke my rear window" you will see examples.  I have not (nor do I care to) verified those examples.

For more technical information about this consider reading articles you find with a web search "tesla destructive sound wave experiments."

As for such equipment in a car, in my limited experience I have not come across any case in which someone with a car so equipped has been found not-at-fault for a collision.  The opposing insurance company, or the other driver's lawyer(s),  will argue that installation and use of such equipment isn't standard or optional, and interferes with the operation of the vehicle by occupying the drivers' attention and making so much sound such that auditory information needed for safe operation of the vehicle is masked if not obliterated.  It is similar reasoning as to why DVD players in cars aren't (well, are not supposed to be) visible to the driver when playing program material.

Albertj

Oookay... So, the shorter version of the answer is "yes, it can, but..."
In fact, I feel more confident now, but I'll inspect my rear window anyway, just in case.

Thank you, Albert!

WOW, This thread made a jump from 2015 to NOW 2019. Good to see that happening.

Even more impressive is the 2 Links Aaron posted for amplifier hook ups are still alive and well.

Don't normally see the same vendors that posted 4 or 5 years ago still selling the same components today.

When I calculated what I needed for the first installation of Amps, Speakers, Cabin size in Cu.Ft. and the head unit I didn't have the luxury of the internet to help. So it took a lot longer to find the correct components and in some cases use products that were made for something else but worked.
And what I did find at a few High End auto sound shops was good advice and some expensive bits and pieces.
But what I did find that even though I hadn't purchased amps, speakers or custom subwoofer enclosure, that these guys would stop what they were doing to answer the technical questions that ultimately caused me to buy some needed components from each of them along with Crutchfield for the head unit even though I wasn't going to use the radios amplifier. Everything coming out of the back of the head unit was in the form of RCA wiring.
Was able to get 10ft long cables up to 20ft long cables that were no name products from an electronics shop that I bought stuff from all the time, so I didn't have to pay the Car Audio shops a boatload of money for the same thing. Just cause they some brand name stenciled on them didn't make them any better than what I could get for a fraction of the cost.
Anyway, I'm thinking of upgrading the sound system in my latest GM vehicle that has a Bose system with a small sub woofer and amp mounted somewhere in the center console.
For a stock OEM system it sounds very good. But I know some upgrades will make it sound even better. Still have 2 Amps, one is a four channel and the other is a one channel for the sub woofer that I also have. It's a 12" woofer in a custom made box for the correct volume based on the MFG requirements.
All I need to do now is look into replacing the Bose Speakers with something better. It should be fun dipping my toes in the water again.