Lots of questions about box placement, sub size, and more! (warning long post)
08-15-2014, 07:50 AM
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Lots of questions about box placement, sub size, and more! (warning long post)
Gonna go ahead and apologize for the length of this post as I didn't intend on it being this big but there was a lot of info to take into account and lots of questions to ask!
Ok so maybe it's a bit more complicated than the title suggests.....
So I and my dad disagree on what should be done to the stereo system in my car. Currently, there is a new kenwood head unit, all new wiring, 2 new 125w rms and 650w max kenwood 6x9s, which are amplified by a new 300 watt alpine amp and stock ( non amplified) front deck speakers. ( when I get the chance I'll update with the specific models of all of that stuff as I can't at the moment.).
The 6x9s and amp are mounted in a large box that we built that essentially covers the entire trunk well and sits on the ledge on the sides of the well and the box does NOT have a bottom on it and is not exactly "ported" so to speak but I think the relatively large amount of air leakage from around the edge of the bottom of the box gives that effect(more on the whole air leakage/volume later) so it is essentially using the entirety of the trunk well.(btw the speakers are mounted firing up towards the glass hatch at a slightly forward angle since the 6x9s have tweets built in). I may end up posting pictures of it because I'm pretty proud of how it looks.
It sounds great to be honest and everyone I know who mentions or hears it assumes that I have a sub(or two) because it really does sound like I'm rocking a 10 or maybe 12 in sub back there.
Now to the main topic... I want to get two 12in subs(12in is because it is the biggest I can fit in the box and I'm not sure what type or what amp yet) and mount them where the 6x9s are now and move the 6x9s to a smaller shallow, wedge shaped box that will sit on the area right above the gas tank, with the speakers angled forward and hopefully still amplified. (Because, after seeing how much of an improvement simply moving the 6x9s from the sail panels to a box I don't want to go back to the stock side enclosures).
Before I go on to what my dad thinks I should do I've got some questions and I'll number them for ease of answering.
1.) do you see any flaws in my plan?
2.) On the air volume thing, we didn't really take into account how much air my speakers should have in the box and we pretty much went with "the more air the more better" but I have read that certain speakers work best with certain amounts of air volume, is there a certain amount of air my speakers should have?
3.) Is not having a bottom on the box a good idea for the subs?( because right now, it is working great and I assume that a larger speaker would need more airspace than a smaller one.)
4.) If I do go with two 12s on top of the amped 6x9s will I need to get anther battery/ HO alternator or will I be alright with my current setup?( I put a newly rebuilt alternator on the car a little less than a year ago so it should still be in good shape and I'm assuming the subs will have a normal power draw)
5.) my dad is insistent that the subs would sound better facing down into the well and while I'm not arguing that it wouldn't sound good, I would think that they would sound just as good( if not better facing up because he says that the bass sounds better when it is "bouncing" off of something and the glass hatch happens to be angled perfectly to "bounce" the sound right to the front seats. Who is right?
Alright now onto what my dad wants to do... From what I remember him describing, he wants to build a rectangular box that sits on the same ledges that the box I have sits on, but he wants to have the 6x9s facing up like they are now(again, since they have the built in tweets), and he also wants to put two 8in subs (or possibly one 10in sub he mentioned) facing downward on the bottom of the same box. From what I understand each speaker will have its own sealed section of the box(the subs may share a section I don't quite remember and I don't know wether or not the sections will be ported).
He also suggested me to get one of those "all in one" 10 or 12 inch subs that come in a prebiotic box/enclosure and have an amp built in for like $250 or $300 but from what I've read, those plug n play sets are often fairly overpriced. He is also constantly telling me I should get a like an 8 or 10 in bazooka tube mounted sub and telling me about how awesome his old setup was back when he had a camaro like mine, and that brings me to my next point....
My dad tells me about how awesome his stereo was back when he had a third gen ( he's had a camaro of each generation minus the 5th gens) and he says that a bazooka sub will be good for me, but everything I've read online has said otherwise and seems to disagree with a lot of what my dad says... Could this be because most of his audio experience and knowledge came from the late 80's and early 90's when the most common brands and types of systems were different than today's good brands?
I'd like to believe that my dad's idea would sound good(and I do believe that) but I can't help but think that it is possible to do better.
There is also one more hurdle here, every time I bring up something I read or saw online to him, I get the "you can't believe everything you see on the internet" spiel, and although I get the sentiment, I've been on the internet FAR more than him or anybody I know and I think I can distinguish a credible/ trustworthy source (like some of the guys over at the v6 board that have provided a TON of consistent info and advice) from the less credible sources fairly well now. Even knowing that, he insists that you can't believe anyone on the internet, except for big name websites and companies(he seems to trust crutchfield and a couple of other specific sources but that's it). So if you could try to change his opinion (as I may have him read this thread if it gets enough responses) I would really appreciate it.
Thank you for reading and I would appreciate if you could answer as many questions as you can!
Ok so maybe it's a bit more complicated than the title suggests.....
So I and my dad disagree on what should be done to the stereo system in my car. Currently, there is a new kenwood head unit, all new wiring, 2 new 125w rms and 650w max kenwood 6x9s, which are amplified by a new 300 watt alpine amp and stock ( non amplified) front deck speakers. ( when I get the chance I'll update with the specific models of all of that stuff as I can't at the moment.).
The 6x9s and amp are mounted in a large box that we built that essentially covers the entire trunk well and sits on the ledge on the sides of the well and the box does NOT have a bottom on it and is not exactly "ported" so to speak but I think the relatively large amount of air leakage from around the edge of the bottom of the box gives that effect(more on the whole air leakage/volume later) so it is essentially using the entirety of the trunk well.(btw the speakers are mounted firing up towards the glass hatch at a slightly forward angle since the 6x9s have tweets built in). I may end up posting pictures of it because I'm pretty proud of how it looks.
It sounds great to be honest and everyone I know who mentions or hears it assumes that I have a sub(or two) because it really does sound like I'm rocking a 10 or maybe 12 in sub back there.
Now to the main topic... I want to get two 12in subs(12in is because it is the biggest I can fit in the box and I'm not sure what type or what amp yet) and mount them where the 6x9s are now and move the 6x9s to a smaller shallow, wedge shaped box that will sit on the area right above the gas tank, with the speakers angled forward and hopefully still amplified. (Because, after seeing how much of an improvement simply moving the 6x9s from the sail panels to a box I don't want to go back to the stock side enclosures).
Before I go on to what my dad thinks I should do I've got some questions and I'll number them for ease of answering.
1.) do you see any flaws in my plan?
2.) On the air volume thing, we didn't really take into account how much air my speakers should have in the box and we pretty much went with "the more air the more better" but I have read that certain speakers work best with certain amounts of air volume, is there a certain amount of air my speakers should have?
3.) Is not having a bottom on the box a good idea for the subs?( because right now, it is working great and I assume that a larger speaker would need more airspace than a smaller one.)
4.) If I do go with two 12s on top of the amped 6x9s will I need to get anther battery/ HO alternator or will I be alright with my current setup?( I put a newly rebuilt alternator on the car a little less than a year ago so it should still be in good shape and I'm assuming the subs will have a normal power draw)
5.) my dad is insistent that the subs would sound better facing down into the well and while I'm not arguing that it wouldn't sound good, I would think that they would sound just as good( if not better facing up because he says that the bass sounds better when it is "bouncing" off of something and the glass hatch happens to be angled perfectly to "bounce" the sound right to the front seats. Who is right?
Alright now onto what my dad wants to do... From what I remember him describing, he wants to build a rectangular box that sits on the same ledges that the box I have sits on, but he wants to have the 6x9s facing up like they are now(again, since they have the built in tweets), and he also wants to put two 8in subs (or possibly one 10in sub he mentioned) facing downward on the bottom of the same box. From what I understand each speaker will have its own sealed section of the box(the subs may share a section I don't quite remember and I don't know wether or not the sections will be ported).
He also suggested me to get one of those "all in one" 10 or 12 inch subs that come in a prebiotic box/enclosure and have an amp built in for like $250 or $300 but from what I've read, those plug n play sets are often fairly overpriced. He is also constantly telling me I should get a like an 8 or 10 in bazooka tube mounted sub and telling me about how awesome his old setup was back when he had a camaro like mine, and that brings me to my next point....
My dad tells me about how awesome his stereo was back when he had a third gen ( he's had a camaro of each generation minus the 5th gens) and he says that a bazooka sub will be good for me, but everything I've read online has said otherwise and seems to disagree with a lot of what my dad says... Could this be because most of his audio experience and knowledge came from the late 80's and early 90's when the most common brands and types of systems were different than today's good brands?
I'd like to believe that my dad's idea would sound good(and I do believe that) but I can't help but think that it is possible to do better.
There is also one more hurdle here, every time I bring up something I read or saw online to him, I get the "you can't believe everything you see on the internet" spiel, and although I get the sentiment, I've been on the internet FAR more than him or anybody I know and I think I can distinguish a credible/ trustworthy source (like some of the guys over at the v6 board that have provided a TON of consistent info and advice) from the less credible sources fairly well now. Even knowing that, he insists that you can't believe anyone on the internet, except for big name websites and companies(he seems to trust crutchfield and a couple of other specific sources but that's it). So if you could try to change his opinion (as I may have him read this thread if it gets enough responses) I would really appreciate it.
Thank you for reading and I would appreciate if you could answer as many questions as you can!
08-18-2014, 09:17 AM
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Re: Lots of questions about box placement, sub size, and more! (warning long post)
Well, you have a nice informative post, but left out one important thing... what type of music do you listen to the most? Hard rock and metal? I'd go with 8" or 10" subs. Rap, bass, techno? Go with 12" or 15".
Your dad is right when he says that bass sounds better when it is reflecting, however, he isnt taking into account the rear hatch well isnt under the glass, its mostly under the flat portion of the hatch.
Look up an ebay seller Brightstarcaraudio. I bought one of their double 12" sub boxes thats ported. It sits up higher than most sub boxes, putting the subs very close to the rear hatch panel. The acoustics of it work awesome with the shape of the glass.
As far as running 6x9s in their own separate boxes, I wouldnt bother. To each his own, but I have my mids in the sail panels. You wont be looking for bass from them either, thats the subs job. Use your head units crossovers to limit the amount of bass that is fed to the 6x9s and let the subs fill in that missing part. Trust me, it will sound nice and clean that way.
If you need an example, Im running 2 12" subs in the rear well, crossover is feeding them 100hz and down. My 6.5" mids in the sail panels are being fed 100hz and up. That limits the bass and distortion they produce. My front 4x6 speakers are being cut off at 250hz, again, no low frequencies to distort things.
Lastly, I dont know what your budget is, but for under $600, you can slam the crap out of that car if you wanted. Ported box from Ebay for $140, 2 Sundown E12v2 subs for $110 each and a Rockford Fosgate Prime 1200.1D amp for $230. Run some 4ga wire for power and you will be shaking every nut and bolt loose.
Your dad is right when he says that bass sounds better when it is reflecting, however, he isnt taking into account the rear hatch well isnt under the glass, its mostly under the flat portion of the hatch.
Look up an ebay seller Brightstarcaraudio. I bought one of their double 12" sub boxes thats ported. It sits up higher than most sub boxes, putting the subs very close to the rear hatch panel. The acoustics of it work awesome with the shape of the glass.
As far as running 6x9s in their own separate boxes, I wouldnt bother. To each his own, but I have my mids in the sail panels. You wont be looking for bass from them either, thats the subs job. Use your head units crossovers to limit the amount of bass that is fed to the 6x9s and let the subs fill in that missing part. Trust me, it will sound nice and clean that way.
If you need an example, Im running 2 12" subs in the rear well, crossover is feeding them 100hz and down. My 6.5" mids in the sail panels are being fed 100hz and up. That limits the bass and distortion they produce. My front 4x6 speakers are being cut off at 250hz, again, no low frequencies to distort things.
Lastly, I dont know what your budget is, but for under $600, you can slam the crap out of that car if you wanted. Ported box from Ebay for $140, 2 Sundown E12v2 subs for $110 each and a Rockford Fosgate Prime 1200.1D amp for $230. Run some 4ga wire for power and you will be shaking every nut and bolt loose.
08-25-2014, 07:47 AM
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Re: Lots of questions about box placement, sub size, and more! (warning long post)
Well, you have a nice informative post, but left out one important thing... what type of music do you listen to the most? Hard rock and metal? I'd go with 8" or 10" subs. Rap, bass, techno? Go with 12" or 15".
Your dad is right when he says that bass sounds better when it is reflecting, however, he isnt taking into account the rear hatch well isnt under the glass, its mostly under the flat portion of the hatch.
Look up an ebay seller Brightstarcaraudio. I bought one of their double 12" sub boxes thats ported. It sits up higher than most sub boxes, putting the subs very close to the rear hatch panel. The acoustics of it work awesome with the shape of the glass.
As far as running 6x9s in their own separate boxes, I wouldnt bother. To each his own, but I have my mids in the sail panels. You wont be looking for bass from them either, thats the subs job. Use your head units crossovers to limit the amount of bass that is fed to the 6x9s and let the subs fill in that missing part. Trust me, it will sound nice and clean that way.
If you need an example, Im running 2 12" subs in the rear well, crossover is feeding them 100hz and down. My 6.5" mids in the sail panels are being fed 100hz and up. That limits the bass and distortion they produce. My front 4x6 speakers are being cut off at 250hz, again, no low frequencies to distort things.
Lastly, I dont know what your budget is, but for under $600, you can slam the crap out of that car if you wanted. Ported box from Ebay for $140, 2 Sundown E12v2 subs for $110 each and a Rockford Fosgate Prime 1200.1D amp for $230. Run some 4ga wire for power and you will be shaking every nut and bolt loose.
Your dad is right when he says that bass sounds better when it is reflecting, however, he isnt taking into account the rear hatch well isnt under the glass, its mostly under the flat portion of the hatch.
Look up an ebay seller Brightstarcaraudio. I bought one of their double 12" sub boxes thats ported. It sits up higher than most sub boxes, putting the subs very close to the rear hatch panel. The acoustics of it work awesome with the shape of the glass.
As far as running 6x9s in their own separate boxes, I wouldnt bother. To each his own, but I have my mids in the sail panels. You wont be looking for bass from them either, thats the subs job. Use your head units crossovers to limit the amount of bass that is fed to the 6x9s and let the subs fill in that missing part. Trust me, it will sound nice and clean that way.
If you need an example, Im running 2 12" subs in the rear well, crossover is feeding them 100hz and down. My 6.5" mids in the sail panels are being fed 100hz and up. That limits the bass and distortion they produce. My front 4x6 speakers are being cut off at 250hz, again, no low frequencies to distort things.
Lastly, I dont know what your budget is, but for under $600, you can slam the crap out of that car if you wanted. Ported box from Ebay for $140, 2 Sundown E12v2 subs for $110 each and a Rockford Fosgate Prime 1200.1D amp for $230. Run some 4ga wire for power and you will be shaking every nut and bolt loose.
I mostly listen to bass music and EDM. So from what I gather from your post you think the 2 twelves in a box firing upwards is the better choice?
When it comes to the 6x9s, I think you misunderstood me. I was thinking of putting both of them in the same box, but rather than have them in the well like they are now, have thin in a shallow box that is sitting directly above the fuel pump/tank angled forward and just tall enought to barely fit under the tarp thingy that rolls up that you attach to the hatch that keeps people from peeking into the trunk.
One important question that you didn't address that I think is important is the power draw... Will I be able to run my 6x9s on 300 watts AND 2 12's on a normal wattage (not really sure what a good, middle of the road, wattage would be) without having battery issues? I ask because I noticed that some of my interior lights (dome and rear view mirror lights) dimmed ever so slightly whenever I had the music up loud at certain points. I've not really done a lot to the power in this car yet( except for the rebuilt alternator, which if I remember correctly was 85 amps or something like that) and to be honest I could probably use a new battery because mine is getting a little old.
Now my budget is a fair bit lower than 600 unfortunately, and I would hope to stay near 300 for the subs and amp. But fortunately, my dad and I are fairly good with plywood/ particle board and can build the box ourselves , and already have all materials needed to do so .
08-25-2014, 10:17 AM
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Re: Lots of questions about box placement, sub size, and more! (warning long post)
For the 6x9s, I did understand you, however, even if they are one box, you will want each speaker in a separate chamber (trust me, they will sound 100x better that way) so even though the boxes are connected, they are still separate boxes. I still think the sail panels are better, but thats just my opinion.
Yes for Rap, EDM, Techno, anything bass heavy, 2 12" subs will work wonders for you. When you say 300 watts to the 6x9s, you must be referring to max watts. DONT. Max wattage doesnt mean squat. ALWAYS look at RMS wattage. For mid range speakers, you wont need more than 60 or 75 watts RMS per side, so finding a small 2 channel amp will be fine there. For subs and a mono amp, in reality, even something small like 250watts will be enough to shake your car a bit. Just make sure its good quality stuff. Dont bother with crap like Boss Audio. If you dont have enough budget, save up until you do.
To help with your dimming lights, try a $50 Big 3 kit for under the hood. I had that same problem and this helped solve it. It's huge 1/0 gauge wire that allows far more current to flow from the alternator than the stock wiring. I have a digital volt meter connected to my 250 watt amp right now. A low volume I see 14.4v at the amp. At max volume I see 13.8 and 13.6 if I put the headlights and aftermarket fog lights on. My AC compressor pulls more voltage than my amp does.
Yes for Rap, EDM, Techno, anything bass heavy, 2 12" subs will work wonders for you. When you say 300 watts to the 6x9s, you must be referring to max watts. DONT. Max wattage doesnt mean squat. ALWAYS look at RMS wattage. For mid range speakers, you wont need more than 60 or 75 watts RMS per side, so finding a small 2 channel amp will be fine there. For subs and a mono amp, in reality, even something small like 250watts will be enough to shake your car a bit. Just make sure its good quality stuff. Dont bother with crap like Boss Audio. If you dont have enough budget, save up until you do.
To help with your dimming lights, try a $50 Big 3 kit for under the hood. I had that same problem and this helped solve it. It's huge 1/0 gauge wire that allows far more current to flow from the alternator than the stock wiring. I have a digital volt meter connected to my 250 watt amp right now. A low volume I see 14.4v at the amp. At max volume I see 13.8 and 13.6 if I put the headlights and aftermarket fog lights on. My AC compressor pulls more voltage than my amp does.
08-26-2014, 08:14 AM
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Re: Lots of questions about box placement, sub size, and more! (warning long post)
For the 6x9s, I did understand you, however, even if they are one box, you will want each speaker in a separate chamber (trust me, they will sound 100x better that way) so even though the boxes are connected, they are still separate boxes. I still think the sail panels are better, but thats just my opinion.
Yes for Rap, EDM, Techno, anything bass heavy, 2 12" subs will work wonders for you. When you say 300 watts to the 6x9s, you must be referring to max watts. DONT. Max wattage doesnt mean squat. ALWAYS look at RMS wattage. For mid range speakers, you wont need more than 60 or 75 watts RMS per side, so finding a small 2 channel amp will be fine there. For subs and a mono amp, in reality, even something small like 250watts will be enough to shake your car a bit. Just make sure its good quality stuff. Dont bother with crap like Boss Audio. If you dont have enough budget, save up until you do.
To help with your dimming lights, try a $50 Big 3 kit for under the hood. I had that same problem and this helped solve it. It's huge 1/0 gauge wire that allows far more current to flow from the alternator than the stock wiring. I have a digital volt meter connected to my 250 watt amp right now. A low volume I see 14.4v at the amp. At max volume I see 13.8 and 13.6 if I put the headlights and aftermarket fog lights on. My AC compressor pulls more voltage than my amp does.
Yes for Rap, EDM, Techno, anything bass heavy, 2 12" subs will work wonders for you. When you say 300 watts to the 6x9s, you must be referring to max watts. DONT. Max wattage doesnt mean squat. ALWAYS look at RMS wattage. For mid range speakers, you wont need more than 60 or 75 watts RMS per side, so finding a small 2 channel amp will be fine there. For subs and a mono amp, in reality, even something small like 250watts will be enough to shake your car a bit. Just make sure its good quality stuff. Dont bother with crap like Boss Audio. If you dont have enough budget, save up until you do.
To help with your dimming lights, try a $50 Big 3 kit for under the hood. I had that same problem and this helped solve it. It's huge 1/0 gauge wire that allows far more current to flow from the alternator than the stock wiring. I have a digital volt meter connected to my 250 watt amp right now. A low volume I see 14.4v at the amp. At max volume I see 13.8 and 13.6 if I put the headlights and aftermarket fog lights on. My AC compressor pulls more voltage than my amp does.
The 300 watts is the rating of the amp. The speakers are rated at 125 watts RMS apiece so I guess that mould mean that they are really using 250 watts total out of the amps 300. . The max wattage of each speaker is rated at 650 watts apiece(sounds rediculious I know for a 6x9).
Where did you measure the voltage at on your amp? On the audio output?
I am kind of with you on moving the 6x9s to the sail panels once I get the subs, as I believe what you said( I won't need the bass from the 6x9s because the subs will more than fill that role, but It seems like it would almost be easier to just build a box to sit on the deck behind the back seats and put them there(I believe that they may still sound better than in the sail panels even if the box is smaller and I may try what you said with the seperate enclosures)
So if I do the big three, the 125 watt rms 6x9s and say... Two 300 watt rms(each) subs (with maybe a 600 or 650 watt 2 channel amp)my battery/ alternator should hold up? (I probably will get a new battery beforehand any since mine is aging.)
08-26-2014, 08:45 AM
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Re: Lots of questions about box placement, sub size, and more! (warning long post)
Your electrical should hold up after a big 3 upgrade.
I measure the voltage at the positive wire from the battery into the amp. This tells me exactly what voltage the amp is seeing at the end of that wire since voltage does drop over distance through wire.
Your 6x9 speakers arent "using" only 250 watts... they are using whatever wattage your amp is giving them. How do you know what your amp is putting out? Some quick math along with a digital multimeter and a test tone will tell you.
Disconnect your speakers from the amp. Download a 0db test tone at 1khz or 1000hz and burn it to a cd or usb drive. Play this tone on repeat at 3/4 volume for your stereo (fade to the rear if your front speakers are still connected) Now you want 125 watts per channel on your amp, so connect your multimeter to the audio output of your amp and set it to measure AC voltage. Yes AC not DC. Audio is output as alternating current. So 125 watts is our target. Turn your gain all the way down. target watts times impedance of speakers, then take the square root of that gives you AC voltage output... so 125 x 4 = 500 Sqrt of 500 = 22.3v So turn your gain up slowly until you see 22.3 on the DMM and leave it. This will give you the peak power for your speakers without blowing them up.
I measure the voltage at the positive wire from the battery into the amp. This tells me exactly what voltage the amp is seeing at the end of that wire since voltage does drop over distance through wire.
Your 6x9 speakers arent "using" only 250 watts... they are using whatever wattage your amp is giving them. How do you know what your amp is putting out? Some quick math along with a digital multimeter and a test tone will tell you.
Disconnect your speakers from the amp. Download a 0db test tone at 1khz or 1000hz and burn it to a cd or usb drive. Play this tone on repeat at 3/4 volume for your stereo (fade to the rear if your front speakers are still connected) Now you want 125 watts per channel on your amp, so connect your multimeter to the audio output of your amp and set it to measure AC voltage. Yes AC not DC. Audio is output as alternating current. So 125 watts is our target. Turn your gain all the way down. target watts times impedance of speakers, then take the square root of that gives you AC voltage output... so 125 x 4 = 500 Sqrt of 500 = 22.3v So turn your gain up slowly until you see 22.3 on the DMM and leave it. This will give you the peak power for your speakers without blowing them up.
08-27-2014, 11:29 AM
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Re: Lots of questions about box placement, sub size, and more! (warning long post)
Could you recommend a test tone to download? I don't really know what to look for when it comes to that.
I assume that whatever the volume on the head unit that I tune the amp at should be the highest I should have the volume at afterwards when listening, correct?
Thank you very much, I didn't know that tuning the amp could be done this simply! I will do this after work today and( if I remember) I'll post an update.
I assume that whatever the volume on the head unit that I tune the amp at should be the highest I should have the volume at afterwards when listening, correct?
Thank you very much, I didn't know that tuning the amp could be done this simply! I will do this after work today and( if I remember) I'll post an update.
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08-27-2014, 11:39 AM
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Re: Lots of questions about box placement, sub size, and more! (warning long post)
Get the test tone at this link...
http://www.realmofexcursion.com/audio/1khz.mp3
You can go beyond the 3/4 mark, but it may sound distorted. Generally speaking 3/4 is the safe volume to set it at and if you go a little beyond, it probably wont hurt anything. I set my sub amp at 28 out of 35 on my volume scale, but listen to it at 30 or 33 quite often and nothing has fried. Results may vary however. There are much better and more accurate ways to set up an amp for maximum output with 0 distortion and no clipping of signals, but require either an oscilloscope or special distortion detector, neither of which are cheap. This method with the DMM is the down and dirty, good enough for a small time system type method. I wouldnt go doing a 5,000 watt or higher system like this.
http://www.realmofexcursion.com/audio/1khz.mp3
You can go beyond the 3/4 mark, but it may sound distorted. Generally speaking 3/4 is the safe volume to set it at and if you go a little beyond, it probably wont hurt anything. I set my sub amp at 28 out of 35 on my volume scale, but listen to it at 30 or 33 quite often and nothing has fried. Results may vary however. There are much better and more accurate ways to set up an amp for maximum output with 0 distortion and no clipping of signals, but require either an oscilloscope or special distortion detector, neither of which are cheap. This method with the DMM is the down and dirty, good enough for a small time system type method. I wouldnt go doing a 5,000 watt or higher system like this.
09-10-2014, 10:28 PM
#9
Re: Lots of questions about box placement, sub size, and more! (warning long post)
Well, you have a nice informative post, but left out one important thing... what type of music do you listen to the most? Hard rock and metal? I'd go with 8" or 10" subs. Rap, bass, techno? Go with 12" or 15".
Your dad is right when he says that bass sounds better when it is reflecting, however, he isnt taking into account the rear hatch well isnt under the glass, its mostly under the flat portion of the hatch.
Look up an ebay seller Brightstarcaraudio. I bought one of their double 12" sub boxes thats ported. It sits up higher than most sub boxes, putting the subs very close to the rear hatch panel. The acoustics of it work awesome with the shape of the glass.
As far as running 6x9s in their own separate boxes, I wouldnt bother. To each his own, but I have my mids in the sail panels. You wont be looking for bass from them either, thats the subs job. Use your head units crossovers to limit the amount of bass that is fed to the 6x9s and let the subs fill in that missing part. Trust me, it will sound nice and clean that way.
If you need an example, Im running 2 12" subs in the rear well, crossover is feeding them 100hz and down. My 6.5" mids in the sail panels are being fed 100hz and up. That limits the bass and distortion they produce. My front 4x6 speakers are being cut off at 250hz, again, no low frequencies to distort things.
Lastly, I dont know what your budget is, but for under $600, you can slam the crap out of that car if you wanted. Ported box from Ebay for $140, 2 Sundown E12v2 subs for $110 each and a Rockford Fosgate Prime 1200.1D amp for $230. Run some 4ga wire for power and you will be shaking every nut and bolt loose.
Your dad is right when he says that bass sounds better when it is reflecting, however, he isnt taking into account the rear hatch well isnt under the glass, its mostly under the flat portion of the hatch.
Look up an ebay seller Brightstarcaraudio. I bought one of their double 12" sub boxes thats ported. It sits up higher than most sub boxes, putting the subs very close to the rear hatch panel. The acoustics of it work awesome with the shape of the glass.
As far as running 6x9s in their own separate boxes, I wouldnt bother. To each his own, but I have my mids in the sail panels. You wont be looking for bass from them either, thats the subs job. Use your head units crossovers to limit the amount of bass that is fed to the 6x9s and let the subs fill in that missing part. Trust me, it will sound nice and clean that way.
If you need an example, Im running 2 12" subs in the rear well, crossover is feeding them 100hz and down. My 6.5" mids in the sail panels are being fed 100hz and up. That limits the bass and distortion they produce. My front 4x6 speakers are being cut off at 250hz, again, no low frequencies to distort things.
Lastly, I dont know what your budget is, but for under $600, you can slam the crap out of that car if you wanted. Ported box from Ebay for $140, 2 Sundown E12v2 subs for $110 each and a Rockford Fosgate Prime 1200.1D amp for $230. Run some 4ga wire for power and you will be shaking every nut and bolt loose.
09-12-2014, 10:42 AM
#10
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Re: Lots of questions about box placement, sub size, and more! (warning long post)
09-25-2014, 02:49 PM
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Re: Lots of questions about box placement, sub size, and more! (warning long post)
Check this seller out... I bought this box, really beefy and sounds great...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CHEVROLET-CH...-/271159932980
Just throwing it out as an alternative. I can snap some pics of it in the car if needed. It sits up higher than that sealed box, but oh man, do the ports sound great with the hatch closed!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CHEVROLET-CH...-/271159932980
Just throwing it out as an alternative. I can snap some pics of it in the car if needed. It sits up higher than that sealed box, but oh man, do the ports sound great with the hatch closed!
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