Subwoofer...10" or 12", 1 or 2...?

Frankensteineken

NAXJA Forum User
Location
MN
Ok, turns out I'm not as smart as I thought I was and now am really debating what to do as far as installing a sub. I was looking at XJ speficic enclosures, but they look pretty cheesy, so now I am thinking about just getting a box and pulling it out when I need the space.

So here's what I am looking for. I listen to all kinds of music, but mostly rock, so I want something with good response. I have only ever ran 10's in sealed boxes, so that is what I am used to hearing. Is one good 10 with plenty of power going to do the trick? I don't want to rumble windows down the street, but I would like it to pound decent. I am open to running 2 10's or even a 12, but I would like some feedback. I am by no means an audiophile, but I want decent sound.
 
Frankensteineken said:
Ok, turns out I'm not as smart as I thought I was and now am really debating what to do as far as installing a sub. I was looking at XJ speficic enclosures, but they look pretty cheesy, so now I am thinking about just getting a box and pulling it out when I need the space.

So here's what I am looking for. I listen to all kinds of music, but mostly rock, so I want something with good response. I have only ever ran 10's in sealed boxes, so that is what I am used to hearing. Is one good 10 with plenty of power going to do the trick? I don't want to rumble windows down the street, but I would like it to pound decent. I am open to running 2 10's or even a 12, but I would like some feedback. I am by no means an audiophile, but I want decent sound.



Just get one 12''. get one that is ported so u can get a ported box and trust me u will love it
 
Im running one 10" with 800w to it and i wish i'd built my box for a 12". Id like to have a little more lower frequenc response that my 10" doesnt give me. just my $.02
 
I running one 12" but not as responsive as I would want for rock. Have a friend that has 2 10 in dakota sounds better.

I would go with a 1 10" if I redo mine.
 
5.2poweredxj said:
I running one 12" but not as responsive as I would want for rock. Have a friend that has 2 10 in dakota sounds better.

I would go with a 1 10" if I redo mine.

That's what I'm worried about. Most of the 12's I have heard have been more boomy than punchy, if you know what I am saying. I want the response, but I don't know if a 12 in a sealed box will do it.
 
go for a heavy 10" that requires some power, put it in a small sealed box and feed it well.

if you want the best sounding 10" you've ever heard in your life, run a JL 10W7 in a 1.12 ft^3 sealed box w/ a 500/1

best bang for the buck is an alpine type-r 10" in a sealed box w/ a good monoblock w/ at least 500w RMS into 4ohms.
 
i have 2 10s in a sealed box and i put quick disconects on the wires and chock it with my tools and stuff so the box dont ,move..2 mins and im sub free
 
I'm running a 10" JL w3 with less than 400 true watts running into it in a ported box. Like the others, people think I have 2 12's or something. Good thing for courtesy and legality purposes is that it's loud as hell inside but standing outside isn't that loud.

I'd recomend a good 10" or 12" like JL or Rockford Fosgate. Put one of those subs in a slot-ported box and it'll jam. Difference is with the slot-port over a sealed enclosure is you get a harder hit rather than cleaner bass. Make sure you don't buy a premade box either, have an audioshop build you one for your specific sub and it will make things a lot better. My .02 as well.
 
I learned a long time ago the virtue of buying good audio equipment and how 100 "real" watts will blow away 500 "China" watts. So whatever I do I will use decent stuff.

Are you guys running 1 10" rattling your windows? Like I said before, I'm not trying to win any competions but I want to be able to feel it.
 
Frankensteineken said:
I learned a long time ago the virtue of buying good audio equipment and how 100 "real" watts will blow away 500 "China" watts. So whatever I do I will use decent stuff.

Are you guys running 1 10" rattling your windows? Like I said before, I'm not trying to win any competions but I want to be able to feel it.

a JL 10" w7 will make you feel it lol
 
I run 1 12" Alpine Type-S with a Mono Amp running around 500 watts. It really completes the sound. I'm a big rock music listener but it will pump when I do listen to anything with some bass. I went from to 12" Audiobahn Flame Q's to this and have no regrets and actually have a trunk again
 
Depends on what you want to spend. Get a nice 10 and a high power amp to push it and you'll like it. I do like mine to rattle windows, thinking about going to 2 12" l7's...hopefully
 
I run a single JL 10w1 in a JL sealed power wedge box with a Eclipse amp (200+ watts RMS) and it sounds great. I went with the sealed box because i was more interested in sound quality than just volume. You can pick the sub/box up for under $200 and Crutchfield has a decent Alpine mono amp (MRP-M450) that should push it for under $150.
 
I use a Diamond Audio 10" (wish I could remember the model number) that's only getting fed 200W RMS in a small box, and I'm perfectly happy. For listening to rock, I've been more impressed with smaller subwoofers because they tend to respond faster (less mass to move around and all that), leading to "punchier" bass. Now, of course, it all depends on the sub and enclosure and power and and and...
 
x2 on The Diabetic's sentiments (what a name, but that's another thread) regarding the custom box. Not only is it preferable, its darn near essential for a good sound.

Frankensteineken:
Ported boxes by their nature are always going to be bigger than their sealed counterparts for a given speaker. Boxes must be built to match the Thiele-Small parameters of the speaker(s). These are available from the manufacturer and are essential for calculating the volume and dimensions of the box as well as the shape, volume and length of the port or ports. A good freeware program that allows you to calculate your enclosure from the T/S parameters of your speaker is available here: WinISD beta Running your specs through here will allow you to tune your enclosure to exactly match your speaker's optimum operating capacity.

In my own case, I used a 10" 400wRMS 4ohm Infiniti subwoofer so that I could custom build a ported box that fits into the rear interior side panel on the passenger side in the cargo area. I power it with a 350w RMS 4 ohm Pioneer amp. Its elementary gear, but it sounds very nice in the enclosure.

For plenty more information on this kind of stuff, search this forum for subs and subwoofers, there's a ton of information and some good ideas from others.

Keep us posted...
 
lol, ive got 2 15" jbl's in a huge sealed box and a power acoustic 1800 watt amp powering it all, its stupid loud, but ive got it tuned just right with the rest of the system so its all stupid loud, well, capable of ebing so, at normal volumes it sounds just fine and balanced, crank it up and itll make you deaf
 
well if you want a sub and dont want to take up your cargo space you can do what i did
2623824_4_full.jpg

Its a 10" Rockford Fosgate Punch Stage 2 powered by a RF 400w amp, If you do it this way you can only fit a 10" sub though. funny thing is that someone on here did the exact same thing with the exact same sub and amp
 
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