Subwoofers, Speakers & Amps

i was lookin at those sound stream, why such low rms? which one would you recommend, for these

o yeah an underpowered vs overpowerd, which is worse? i think its underpowered but somone i know thinks that its better to overpower, which just doesnt seem logical

nothing wrong with underpowering. just don't overdrive your amps. ever (whether they're over OR underpowered).

it's a good rule of thumb not to push more wattage than your subs can handle, BUT you can put any size amp on your subs as you want as long as you push clean power and don't push the subs past their thermal and excursion abilities.. (use your ears. if they're distorting, turn it down).

Anyone done this here? I know there are some 4080 boxes for other vehicles, but I have a near new 10W1V2 JL sub in storage that I am thinking about trying to make a custom enclosure for. Thing being, I want it to fit in one of the nooks/crevices of the Riv's trunk to look semi-stock.

If you have done this or know someone who has, I'd love to see pics!

I have, and somewhere I may still have the plans. Check my weblink to see my 8" sub set-up.

I see that solobaric. I acutally think I came across that a few days ago.

I would love to see the plans if you still have them

Check this out. For an Alpine 10" S series it is just under 1 cubic foot. It is cut to fit the sloped rear seat. It is not as wide as it looks. The extra length is so the Amp would fit and also so cables could run unseen from the bottom of the amy to the rear seat.

Okay, after coming to a realization I don't want to disassemble the dash to replace the head unit. Instead, I would like a nice subwoofer and amp. Looking at the most boom for the lowest cash. I want it to be boomy enough that people can hear it within a 30 foot or so radius of my car.

I know AA had recommended a single thick JL Audio subwoofer (10" I think?) and that would be nice, however I think it was on the pricey side. We have I believe a 10" woofer in a box but it's weak. I had it cranked up when it was hooked up in the GTP and it liked to cutout all the time. Not to mention, it wasn't even that loud.

To project as much bass as I want, would I be better suited to a single or dual subwoofer setup? I'd like to spend under $250 but I know that's not realistic for new stuff. I see tons of car audio stuff for sale in my area all the time and could pick up good deals. Of course I'm not just going to buy some worn out crap subwoofer but I see deals like two Audiobahn 12" subs in a box for $100 fairly frequently.

Just give me some general advice on what I should look for in a used setup. How important is size as opposed ot the size of the magnet as opposed to the number of subwoofers as opposed to the wattage and the relation to the amp. I know car audio amps are all overrated on their power so it's hard to find one that's true to it's listed wattage. Between the amp and the sub, which is more important to prevent it from clipping and cutting out?

you can get some pretty good Preamped subs like bazooka for like the 200-300$ range, that way you dont even need an amp, fo you are keeping your stock HU you might want to look in to a channel clearing tool, something like the JL clean sweep, what this does is cuts out the ability for your stock HU to conrtrol the levels of your sound, IE; when you hook your ipod ipod up to your head unit via cassette,and turn it all the way up, the auto EQ automaticly cuts down the sound

I dunno, those all-in-one tubes seem like cheap crap. I saw some on YouTube and from what I can tell they aren't very bassy.

yeah my friend had a bazooka tube with the built in amp i think he had the 8" but they also make a 10" so im not sure. But it didn't really sound like much and that was in a old school hatchback rx7.

Yeah, I mean if it didn't sound like much then I doubt people within a 30 foot radius of my car will be able to hear it.

There is this deal locally (Link) but I'm unsure of it since the one subwoofer has had a repair done to it. He didn't mention it in this ad but he did in a previous one. Said it works great now and that all it had was a small tear but I'd still be unsure on that. Other than that, it seems like a good deal and even comes with an extra sub that I'd just sell and lower the cost of the setup.

Good enough for what I'm looking for or a pass?

Also, what difference does the channel number make in subwoofer amps? I understand the channels in home audio but is it saying that a four channel amp supports up to four speakers?

yeah your right a four channel amp is usually used for four speakers. there mainly used in cars to power aftermarket door, dash and rear speakers. i would use a mono amp or a two channel amp for subs. in my 87 monte i currently have twin 12" mtx 5500 series in the thunder ported box powered by a mono Rockford punch amp. and it sound great inside the car and you can here me coming up the block but because the car is like 21 years old with no padding in the trunk it rattles like a tin can on the outside! lol looking to put a single 12" mtx jackhammer in the riv with a extra box and pioneer amp i got laying around.

Anyone have any subs or anything they can recommend? I've been looking for the brands JL Audio, Alpine, MTX, Infinity, MA Audio, Audiobahn, Volfenhag or Pioneer. Any of these you all would NOT recommend? Also, would dual voice coils be worth it or are there more powerful single voice coils?

I actually saw this on Newegg (Oddest place of all to carry car subwoofers) but it looks like it has some thick ass rubber and it's the only dual voice coil they have. I really don't need it to be that narrow kind though, I'd prefer the lower cost of the same thing in a big version. What do you all think?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882682031

Well i have my powered kenwood 10" , its 200w and it gives the car a nice added bump , and really rounds out the low end. Drive around with the trunk popped slightly and it bumps like crazy ( i usually leave it popped when i clean my interior). I only paid like 75 bucks for it off of a site that corey recommended ( i think it was a refurb or display or some such) , but it sells on crutchfield.com for about 200 or so IIRC. Its help up fine since dec/january when i got it , and shows no signs of fatigue. Its not incredibly impressive , but it gives a good clean sounds with a noticeable increase in bass. 30ft radius? Yeah i'd say so for sure with the windows down.

Im running a dual sub set up, I got to older style power accustics 12's in a sealed box and a 4 or 5 hundred watt amp it sounded badass when i first got them but i putt a whole in on when i was putting something ithe trunks so i solconed the rims of the subs where i punched threw still loud but i want more basss so im gonnna get a more pwerfull amp and better 12's
but good luck man

I'm trying to locate some on Craigslist (God knows there are a TON on there when I wasn't looking) but I can't seem to find any now! I was hoping to get a used setup with the box, woofers and an amp for $200-$300 but it's looking more like I'm just going to have to buy everything new which will be costly.

So another question I have - how much is a good 12" sub supposed to cost? I've seen some for $50-80 which seems really cheap to me (Saw a thick Volfenhag 12" for $50 on eBay I think). How much am I specficially going to have to pay to get the system that will do what I want?

Engines have "intakes"
Stereos have "inputs"

You can pour a lot of money "into" both of them.

The point of diminishing returns is up to you.

Subwoofers are some of the most unpredictably priced and most widely misunderstood products you can buy. The first rule is, anymore you can't compare a woofer by size alone. There are 8" subs that can play louder and better than some 12" or even 15" subs. There are 6.5" subs costing $200, 18" subs costing $150, and everything in between.

There is an old saying in audio circles that goes "put the crappiest woofer in the right enclosure, and it will sound better than the best woofer in the wrong enclosure." There is some truth in this statement. Enclosure design is actually more crucial in some ways than the sub itself. Using this logic, one can assume the prefabbed driver/enclosure combos, like Bazooka tubes, are an appealing option. At least you know you are getting the most out of the driver you buy.



First, you have to know what kind of music you want to hear. You like big, boomy bass from the 808 drum machine? You want to feel the most punch in the seat from Micheal Jackson's Thriller? Buy 2, 3, or 4 cheap (read Volfenhaag), large diameter drivers and put them in the biggest ported box you can build. Tune the box to resonate around 45 Hz. Your car will rattle in places you didn't know of, and your rearview mirror will probably fall off.

But maybe you like a kick drum to actually sound like a kick drum. Or maybe you want to hear the pulse of a snare. You want to hear every note of the bass guitar as if you were live in the concert hall. You don't care what the volume is outside of the car, but inside you want it to be sonic bliss. For this goal, a single small or medium sized driver of good quality (JL) in a large, sealed box is the ticket. A mono 10" is probably ideal.

Both of the above scenarios can be had for not much money if you stick to a plan and shop around. Building your own box can be a fun learning experience. Keep in mind that some subs are better suited to sealed operation, while others work better in vented applications. Beware of "universal" sub boxes that may be the wrong size for your driver. Never buy or build band-pass boxes.

You want your bass to echo for a block or more? Be prepared to purchase multiple, large, high quality drivers. This = $$$$$. There is no way around it unless you are doing something illegal. To pound the ground, you must move a lot of air, and that also requires a powerful amp(s). More money you don't have.

Speaking of amps, reputable brands (Kicker, JL, Rockford, etc.) use realistic RMS ratings that can be trusted. Avoid cheaper "peak" power numbers. Or make it easy on yourself and buy a powered subwoofer all-in-one package. This takes the guesswork out of matching amp, sub, and enclosure. I've said it before: the original Infinity BassLink is probably the best deal that can be had for a modest budget. For less than $300, you have a very solid set-up. It won't rattle the neighbors windows, but it sounds damn good. Want louder? Buy two.

CAN I GET A AMEN.............

98riviera98 wrote:

CAN I GET A AMEN.............

AMEN!

Damn AA, you are like a human dictionary. Is there any subject we can post about and you not know everything about?

I know about that peak power crap, exactly why I'm real fishy about amps. In your above scenarios I would prefer the first over the latter. However, is there a way to get loud bass but when played at lower volumes an accurate response (Or is that just not really possible)?

My dad built most of the subwoofer boxes we've had in my mom's car (He doesn't like loud bass - his hearing is already damaged to the point of ringing). The only thing, I'd be nervous about building a box that isn't as good as a well designed box from a premade company (One made specifically for the brand or size woofer. Polk Momo's come to mind in those clear see-through boxes).

Btw, is Volfenhag considered a cheapo brand? The stuff I saw from them was always expensive and had very thick rubber. So far my one No-no brand is Sony. I don't want any of that Xplod crap (Or any that I can pick up at Walmart for that matter). Unfortunately, that's the stuff people keep offering me though. Did have a guy offer me two 12" JL Audios with a JL Audio 250/1 monoblock amp that is 1000 w in a nice box for $400 but I can't go that much (At least not right now).

What brands do I want to look for for that loud high volume but not poor quality bass? Something like mid-quality high-volume is what I'd like (high-quality and volume would be nice but I'm being realistic).

Shintsu wrote:

Damn AA, you are like a human dictionary. Is there any subject we can post about and you not know everything about?

UGH oh......... there's gonna be a THROW DOWN

98riviera98 wrote:

Shintsu wrote:

Damn AA, you are like a human dictionary. Is there any subject we can post about and you not know everything about?

UGH oh......... there's gonna be a THROW DOWN

On the same note, is there any subject you can't bring your haterade to?

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Damn AA, you are like a human dictionary...

I just happened to grow up in the golden age of car audio. Now I have 4 or 5 subwoofer enclosures in my basement and a closet full of old audio equipment. In the end I settled with an 8" sub with 200 watts. But at one time I had four 12"s in the trunk. It's a gen X thing.

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However, is there a way to get loud bass but when played at lower volumes an accurate response (Or is that just not really possible)?

Yes, it's called "loudness". This is electronic EQ circuitry that boosts bass and treble at low levels to compensate for our natural hearing curve. Most head units have a button to chose different levels of loudness. Our stock unit has it built in.

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My dad built most of the subwoofer boxes we've had in my mom's car (He doesn't like loud bass - his hearing is already damaged to the point of ringing).

Bass has to be REALLY loud to damage your ears. Our ears can comfortably take 130+ dB in the lower frequencies for extended time without damage. It's the mid range frequencies that can kill your ears. even 85 dB for an hour can cause temporary hearing loss.

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The only thing, I'd be nervous about building a box that isn't as good as a well designed box from a premade company (One made specifically for the brand or size woofer. Polk Momo's come to mind in those clear see-through boxes).

Most brands spec different options for enclosures, but I wouldn't tackle it unless you are prepared to design two, then build both and see which you like in your car. Until you hear the differences one woofer can exhibit in two different boxes, it's hard to understand.

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Btw, is Volfenhag considered a cheapo brand? The stuff I saw from them was always expensive and had very thick rubber.

Yes, it's crap, imo. Very thick rubber is also cheap. I think their upper tier line may be all right, but you'll pay for it. Most of their drivers appear to be focused on decorating the cone and basket to look cool, which has nothing to do with performance.

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So far my one No-no brand is Sony. I don't want any of that Xplod crap (Or any that I can pick up at Walmart for that matter). Unfortunately, that's the stuff people keep offering me though.

Your instinct is correct. Stay away... Far, far away from all Sony speakers.

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Did have a guy offer me two 12" JL Audios with a JL Audio 250/1 monoblock amp that is 1000 w in a nice box for $400 but I can't go that much (At least not right now).

So look for one JL 12" and the same 250/1 mono amp. Btw, that amp won't make 1000 watts (it makes 250), but you don't need 1000 watts for a single sub, anyway. That set-up would be very impressive, imo.

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What brands do I want to look for for that loud high volume but not poor quality bass? Something like mid-quality high-volume is what I'd like (high-quality and volume would be nice but I'm being realistic).

JL, Infinity (JBL), Kicker, Eclipse, and MTX are all safe choices. Even Rockford isn't bad if you can take their marketing image. There are some esoteric brands to look for on eBay if you have the time: Adire, RE, DD, ID, Hsu, Audiomobile, Crystal, Focal, and old PPI to name a few. Heck, back in the day Pioneer had some mean subs. They don't make them any more, but if you can find a 10" or 12" sub called Adire Shiva in good shape, I'd grab it (retailed for $100-120).