Audio question

[Borden]

Sry if this is in the wrong spot but i couldn't find the audio section..

I Just took a ride in my friends Land Rover and that thing has a nice subwoofer(ofcourse its Land rover..cost like 60x what i got my car for). My friend and i were talking and now i want to put some subs in the back of my car. He says i should put the 13"w7 and i dont think that will fit. Now i just had knee surgery and my car is in the body shop getting a bumper on and some dents out.

Now heres my question will the 13" w7 even fit? he loves JL audio and well i know nothing about audio so if you guys know a better company for subwoofers then let me know. Also what would be a good amount of power to use?..for the placement i want to put it on the sides of the trunk and mold it in. I would have measured it but well...im gimpy and i dont have my car near me

TIA
~Bo

[Stampy]

Dude W7's require a 1" MDF box atleast with lots of internal bracing. The Sub is HEAVY, the box will be HEAVIER. The A4 will have its ass planted. I can't think of anyway you could mold it into the side of the trunk and have it look decent. JL is great stuff. I have sold it for years and personally use them. The W7 is a beast that needs lots of everything. Room, weight, power, etc. You would probably be happy with some mid range JL stuff. The W7 seems like it would be overkill for you since you don't really even care about the stuff.

W7 = massive supporting audio mods

[djwimbo]

W7's are also power hungry bastards.

I'd recommend using one 12" sub from a respectable brand, but not as expensive.
If you run a 13.5" W7 at capacity you won't be able to hear your mids and highs very well either.

Is this your first venture into adding sub/s into your car?

A 12" can be "molded" into the sides of your trunk w/o effecting your storage much. It'll keep a nice tight and crisp sound b/c the enclosure will be rather small. The one I started building was ~.8ft^3 after the speaker was installed. I wasn't happy w/ how the fiberglass came out so I scrapped that project for now.
If you want a decent sound for a decent price, I've been really happy with Infinity subs. I would recommend the higher end speakers of the Kappa and Kappa Perfect variety. They run a little bit more expensive, but sound great. Check out Crutchfield.com, they usually have good pricing.
Powering a single 12" is pretty easy too. You're probably looking for an amp that'll do 300W RMS or so. Give or take some. At that power level you don't even need to run 4AWG wire, 8AWG can be used.

Got any questions about setting the stuff up just ask.

[turboSpartan]

a 13w7 may be a little overkill for you.

especially 2 of them (you said you wanted them on both sides).


JL 13w7 new will cost you over $500 EACH brand new.

You will need a JL slash series amp, 1000/1 to power EACH of the subs. Those amps cost about $500-600 EACH.


If you had 2 13w7's.... like someone posted above, you probably wouldnt even be able to hear what song was on unless you memorized the bass line. Those things would thump.


BTW - I am putting in a 10w7 + 500/1 amp (which is still going to hit very hard) and I am making a custom fiberglass enclosure into the side "pocket" in my trunk. Go to a4mods.com and you will find the write up. Or take it to a shop that will charge you a few hundred to make a custom box.

[Borden]

could you recommend me a sub then? its not that i don't care its just that its not my top priority..am i going for a competition system not really but something more than the stock bose sound system

yes this is my first venture into sound systems for my car

[A4 Effort]

If you're dead-set on JL Audio, then you should shop their site and spec out all your options: http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_s....php?page_id=2

You could go with their JL Audio line of pre-fab boxes if you're not looking to fabricate anything: http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_e...php?page_id=12

I'm running a pair of Rockford Fosgate 10s in mine, and it is more than enough bass for me

[Borden]

im not dead set on anything i just would like a bass thats not too expensive..but still delivers good bass. My friend knows more about the stuff, he works at tweeter so he likes JL audio

[1hotA4]

im not dead set on anything i just would like a bass thats not too expensive..but still delivers good bass. My friend knows more about the stuff, he works at tweeter so he likes JL audio

No one here is asking you the right questions. I have 2 12w6's in my trunk on a 1000/1 and it does wonderful.

The right question is what kinda music do you listen to?

Rap you need atleast a 12" for excursion factor.

Rock or Reggae you need a 10" because it moves faster.

Building a box for either of these subs sizes is easy to do if you are tool handy. But if not, your best leaving it up to a professional. I have worked on some peoples 'DIY' setups before and it was horrible.

As far as speakers go, You have a ton of companies out there. Jl is expensive i wont lie to you. And to do it right you need to change alot out to make it sound good. JL subs are good they can actually hold alot more then they are power rated for. If you just want some thump and not spend a whole lot. I would suggest something like JBL or Rockfosgate Power series both companies make pretty good subs. The Jl Audio 12w6 or 10w6 series isnt bad neither. But again its pricey.

[fikes]

w7 is wayyy overrated. just because it has a huge foam sounding does not mean it has more excursion it was just jl's way of hiding the screws. I have heard many subs and have been into them for many years and although I don't know everything I know depending on your listing a jl w7 sounds like crap to me. If you just like shitty loud ass bass and nothing else then that is the sub for you but if you want something clean but bumpin then I would say either a 12-10 w6 with the correct power to match it or personally a boston g5 or spg 555 if you have the money. I know someone with one spg 555 in their trunk and It could not be any more clean for how loud that bitch gets. In my personally opinion best sub I ever heard and if it ever blows from you getting carried away it comes apart along with the g5 to be rebuilt for less than buying a new sub.

[Calabria]

I have a 12W3 being supported by 375watts at 4ohms. My box is custom ported and tuned to 32hz, very low, so my sub hits the lows like no other. But, for me, since BOSE for B5s have basically no bass, all i wanted is a nice bumping system - not a system that could be heard a mile away, it defeats the purpose.
Really, all you need is a nice to OK (1) 12in sub setup in the right box and tuned well. And no more then 500watts...IMO its perfect for our cars.

[le91688]

A ten inch sub would bump our cars.... Ive heard 8's that bump ... you dont need a 13" sub thats just stupid.

[Borden]

I have a 12W3 being supported by 375watts at 4ohms. My box is custom ported and tuned to 32hz, very low, so my sub hits the lows like no other. But, for me, since BOSE for B5s have basically no bass, all i wanted is a nice bumping system - not a system that could be heard a mile away, it defeats the purpose.
Really, all you need is a nice to OK (1) 12in sub setup in the right box and tuned well. And no more then 500watts...IMO its perfect for our cars.

That is how i feel Bose just doesnt do it for me but i just want a nice system that sounds good but i dont need a system that can be heard on the other side of town.

I listen to alot of rap and hip hop

[bass_lover1]

No one here is asking you the right questions. I have 2 12w6's in my trunk on a 1000/1 and it does wonderful.

The right question is what kinda music do you listen to?

Rap you need atleast a 12" for excursion factor.

Rock or Reggae you need a 10" because it moves faster.

Building a box for either of these subs sizes is easy to do if you are tool handy. But if not, your best leaving it up to a professional. I have worked on some peoples 'DIY' setups before and it was horrible.

As far as speakers go, You have a ton of companies out there. Jl is expensive i wont lie to you. And to do it right you need to change alot out to make it sound good. JL subs are good they can actually hold alot more then they are power rated for. If you just want some thump and not spend a whole lot. I would suggest something like JBL or Rockfosgate Power series both companies make pretty good subs. The Jl Audio 12w6 or 10w6 series isnt bad neither. But again its pricey.

Your first two statements are myths, and not true at all.

Subwoofer size has nothing to do with how fast it will be or that you need larger drivers for deeper bass. Installation is the key here, when you know what you're doing, you can use any size driver and achieve the goals you are after. Low frequency response is ruled by displacement, the more air you can displace the lower the driver can play. Basically, is it easier for an 18 to play with some authority at 30hz, compared to an 8? Yes, but can you get 8s to play just as low? Without a doubt. Yes it might take 3-4 of them to reach your desired output level, but it is very much possible.

What really needs to be asked is, do you want overpowering bass, or do you want a well balanced system?

If it's the first, a single 12 in a ported enclosure will be enough for this car. If it's the latter, a pair of 10s will do you just fine.

I currently use a pair of 10" drivers in a ported enclosure, I'm not a bass head at all, I listen to heavy metal so even this setup for my music tastes it is probably over kill, but I needed a pair to work with my amp so I went that route. On the other hand, I have probably 2-3 more money put into my front stage than I do my sub setup.

[bigphil]

Your first two statements are myths, and not true at all.

Subwoofer size has nothing to do with how fast it will be or that you need larger drivers for deeper bass. Installation is the key here, when you know what you're doing, you can use any size driver and achieve the goals you are after. Low frequency response is ruled by displacement, the more air you can displace the lower the driver can play. Basically, is it easier for an 18 to play with some authority at 30hz, compared to an 8? Yes, but can you get 8s to play just as low? Without a doubt. Yes it might take 3-4 of them to reach your desired output level, but it is very much possible.

What really needs to be asked is, do you want overpowering bass, or do you want a well balanced system?

If it's the first, a single 12 in a ported enclosure will be enough for this car. If it's the latter, a pair of 10s will do you just fine.

I currently use a pair of 10" drivers in a ported enclosure, I'm not a bass head at all, I listen to heavy metal so even this setup for my music tastes it is probably over kill, but I needed a pair to work with my amp so I went that route. On the other hand, I have probably 2-3 more money put into my front stage than I do my sub setup.

Given your username, your reply wreaks of irony.

[bass_lover1]

Given your username, your reply wreaks of irony.

Lol, fair enough. However, maybe it's based on the fish?

It isn't, but regardless of that, I've used this SN on every forum for the last 8 years, and back then I listened to rap, funny how your tastes change in such a short time.

[Borden]

thanks bass_lover1 your responce was very helpful...i want a bass thats prettymuch over powering..im going to replace my back speakers(they are blown)

[djwimbo]

If you're looking for overpowering a set of 12's can rock your socks off.

Basically, 1 x 12" woofer @ 300Watts can produce X-db. 2 x 12" woofers @ 300Watts (same supplied amount of power, total) will be ~3db louder than just the one subwoofer. This is due to the fact that you're pushing twice the cone/driver with the same amount of power.

I had a pair of 12's in my Orange A4 w/ a custom built speaker box (~5ft^3) to which the box was too large for the specific speakers. It overpowered my 4ch by a lot, and I actually turned it down a considerable amount. That was @ 300W RMS x 2.
If you want to make it overpowering you can do likewise, I just wouldn't use as big of a speaker box. I had no idea what tuning frequencies were at that point, or at least how to change them.

I've used Infinity speakers for awhile, I dabbled in Hifonics(wouldn't do it again) and when I was broke messed with Sony stuff. That's my personal stuff. Customers cars, friends cars, etc. I've put together, built, tuned, a good amount of stereos. Personally I like balance, not overpowering bass.
You want a decent set of 12" woofers that'll let you hit 135+SPL pick up a set of Infinity Kappa or Kappa Perfects. They'll handle some power and sound damn good while doing it. Or at least for the price they will.

Match the amp to the subs. If you like Sub A, that is 400W RMS and want to install two of them. Make sure your amp can push 400W RMS X 2, or 800RMS Mono @ 1/2ohms.

[djwimbo]

Rap you need atleast a 12" for excursion factor.

Rock or Reggae you need a 10" because it moves faster.

The only reasons you should be using a 10" instead of a 12" are 1) that's what you already have, or 2) for the setup you want you need the extra clearance.

The quote above is not true, no offense, it's a common misconception.

The size of the speaker box and type of speaker box have more to do with response than the size of the driver.
The closer you get to a free air balance, the faster the driver will respond, however this will decrease the power output of the driver.

I've had, heard, built numerous setups with 12" drivers for people that listen to Heavy Metal, double bass, loud ass music. 90% of the time it sounds amazing.

For what you want, I would recommend 12" drivers.

[FourBlackRings]

if you really want overkill just grap some 12" power acoustik FUBR's they sound great and i have a 2000 watt amp going top them and they blast from anywhere. just be aware that with alot of power to the subs you will probably need a 4 channel amp for the speakers or you wont hear them at all.

[Borden]

well once i start work up again in about 3 weeks...i get about 250 a week(depends how i punch in at what time yada yada yada..taxes), so i figure i save up for a month and i will have 1k to play with..i need my trunk so i cant have a bulky sub box, thats why i want to mold the sub(1 seems to be what people are reccomending me) into that side pocket. I have never used fiberglass before, but it doesn't seem all that difficult.(looked at the DIY enclosure on a4mods.). The thing that confuses me the most is amps, with all the different ratings and such...can ya tell im bad with electronics?

[FourBlackRings]

if you get 2 subs and they are both 2 ohm subs then when you wire them together you get 1 ohm. 2 4 ohm subs and you get 2 ohm and so on. just make sure if your subs are wired to 1 ohm that your amp is 1 ohm stable. also with wattage you want to add the wattage of the subs and all you have to pay attention to is the rms nobody cares about max wattage. if you have 2 900 watt subs then you should get a 1600 to 1800 watt rms amp. to be safe i would undershoot about 100 watts on each sub so you dont blow the voice coils. hope that cleared some things up

[Borden]

the only thing that confuses me is ohms..isn't ohms a measure of resistance? so why if i had 2 subs that are both 2 ohm subs when i wire them together i get 1 ohm <--that just confuses me soooo much

and RMS confuses me too what is that

[bass_lover1]

the only thing that confuses me is ohms..isn't ohms a measure of resistance? so why if i had 2 subs that are both 2 ohm subs when i wire them together i get 1 ohm <--that just confuses me soooo much

and RMS confuses me too what is that

Yep, it is a measure of resistance. For parallel wiring, take the impedance of the coils, 2ohms in this case, and divide it by the number of coils, again two, which will give you 1 ohm. For series wiring, you add the impedance of each coil, which would give you 4 ohms.

This is really the simplistic version of Ohm's law, because we're dealing with coils of the same resistance, you wont have to deal with fractions, and you wont get odd numbers. If you're really interested in learning about it, google Ohm's Law...there's a bunch to read.

[djwimbo]

Crutchfield.com has some really good tech articles as well.

Ohm's law is pretty damn simple. Making it work for you can be a twist, but it's good stuff to know about.

RMS = Root Mean Square. It's the average power your speaker can handle, avg power the amp can put out, etc. It's a lot like the speed limit. The speed limit s 70mph in MI, my car can do 130+mph, but I like to keep it in the 70-75mph range. It's not stressing anything hard, and I can go like that for a really long time.

[Borden]

Ahh thanks guys for the clarification...after some research i think im going to go with 1 or 2 bosotn acustic G5 12"..prob 1 but i have yet to pick an amp

[djwimbo]

Not a bad choice. Looks like they're capable of a pretty long throw, 3" total movement.

Boston's are capable of great SQ as well as SPL. With sub/s about like that, 1 would compliment what you have now nicely, two would make everything else seem quiet. An Amp in the 800-1000W RMS range will push a pair of those subs about as hard as you can handle.

Things to keep in mind. The G5's are available in both single 4 ohm and dual 4 ohm.
If you run two subs that are single 4 ohm, I'd recommend a Mono-block amp that's stable to 2 ohms. This would be the same if you were to run a single sub that's dual 4ohm. Running a single sub w/ a single voicecoil isn't anything special, "all" amps are stable on a 4ohm load.
The part that a lot of people get confused on is the # of voicecoils. Two subs that have dual voicecoils will require an amp that's 1 ohm stable. Basically take the resistance of the voicecoil and divide it by the number of voicecoils to find your total resistance.
4 x 4 ohm voicecoils = 1 ohm load.
2 x 4 ohm voicecoils = 2 ohm
and so on...

[le91688]

I'd get one 10" alpine Type R and a decent amp to go with. Will be all the bass you would want and would sound great... PLUS you could hear the music not just the subs hitting

[bass_lover1]

I'd get one 10" alpine Type R and a decent amp to go with. Will be all the bass you would want and would sound great... PLUS you could hear the music not just the subs hitting

Your statement is kinda vague, really. The OP already said he wants overpowering bass, so a single 10 probably isn't going to accomplish that without doing a lot of custom work and testing and tuning. If he wants something simple and easy to install, a pair of 12s would do the job