subs and amp

slickemhoundd

slickemhoundd

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im a ride die pioneer guy (head units)(partial to subs) buuut lookin for somethin different. i want crisp, clean, organ rattling, ear popping bass. with 17" of height and 38" of width to use i want to broaden my horizons. im not lookin to spend a couple thou on subs and amps but am gonna fork more than i ever have onem. all opinions appriciated and would like "personal experience" based advise
 
That's exactly the size my box is with the 3 10's in a vented box made to JL specs. With the right music, my moon roof jumps up and down from the pressure. If you want deep, go vented with the box and when it comes to subs, I'm strictly with JL's or some L5's or L7's by Kicker. I bought most of my stuff from people that were broke and needed money except for the box and I had a friend of mine that owns a stereo shop to build my box straight off the JL spec disc. The black cardboard is removed from inside the trunk behind the back seat to allow more of the pressure to enter the car. All I have are 10-W0's so if you wanted to stay fairly cheap, I would just go with 3 10-W3's and a nice JL 1000/1 amp. I'm more than sure you'll be happy with the pounding you would get with that setup. I would say you should be able to accomplish this for under a grand easy.

http://cgi.ebay.com/3-JL-AUDIO-10W3...Car_Subwoofers_Enclosures?hash=item45ee0efb18


http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3984.m38.l1313&_nkw=JL+Audio+1000&_sacat=See-All-Categories
 
i was looking into the w7 in the H.O box, very tempting but have only heard jl twice, 1st time veryy dissapointed and second time very impressed with 2 w3s but in an suv... i just stumbled upon a bunch of reviews on the boston acoustic SPG555, got me a lil curious... and the 3 sub idea would be awesome. ive always wanted 3 just for the pure joy in watchin them pound... looks tooo cool. id like to see if i can hook up 1 major sub and be satisfied, also leavin room for a bigger box. i loooove ported boxes but theyve gotta be able to properly breath. ive never heard a box built to dealers specs actually sound good.
 
As long as the box is made right, especially for the subs you're going to use, it should sound just like you want it to. I could have went JL spec on a sealed box but then I wouldn't have the deepness that I have. I had to remove my amp rack for this box to fit and I mean IT JUST FITS!! I might have an inch on top of clear space and very little on the sides but it does touch fender well to fender well and it is slid all the way up against the top of the back seat metal. Bass works in weird ways. A lot of factors are involved for the right sound. Space, direction, box build and obviously what you have in the box.

I was just giving you personal experience, although I don't have the W3's, I'm seriously thinking about getting the set of 3 while they're that cheap. I don't need them really but the amp I have is too powerful for the W0's I have. Yes, it is cool as hell seeing all 3 of them setting back there beating but with all honesty, I rarely ever play my system. I'm still liking the muffler delete sound right now and plus, I'm 41 and just not into all the thump anymore. If I ever want the sound, I know it's back there. You just have to go with what you like and not what someone else says sounds good. What's pounding hard to me, might not be pounding to you. I do know that if you smoke in my car, I can knock the ashes off your cigarette and I can also make your eyeballs rattle while looking at a red light. That's just how much pressure I have in the car with the 3 10's. Where I live, it's hard to get by with riding around like that without getting a ticket so I save it for the HWY and still don't crank it up like that like I used to. It does get old with time and you start growing out of it, I promise.
 
Cant go wrong with rockford fosgate, I only got 1 10" T1 Power series in my car pushing 600 watts and it rattles the moonroof and all that good stuff. its 2 OHM and I am plenty happy with it. I couldnt imagine what 3 would sound like. Id sell mine if you want. I don't really use it anymore took it out of the car. Just sitting in my room. weighs a bit so idk how much it would cost for shipping. But I can assure you it is amazing, 2 of them would be perfect for you I think. Will get some pics if you want.
 
In my old camaro i had a JL power wedge box with 3-JL WO 10's.I was impressed until i upgraded to W3 10's then i went all out and went with 2 W7 10's.Jl audio have been the best subs i have owned.I looked on JL's website and couldnt find what i had.
 
the w7 is a very nice sub, but make sure you have an amp that can give it the power it needs. Thats where you'll spend you money is on the amp.

I have 2 12" audiobahn Flame Q's, and concept 900 watt amp. I also have a massive cap. I have probably 1200 in the complete setup, and it freakin POUNDS. I never anticipated it being this loud. I cant even stand it. lol.

I bought the fame q's off ebay, they were new in box and paid like 200 for both. Best subs for the money IMO. Alot of people talk :q:q:q:q about Audiobahn, but i cant complain, mine sound real good.
 
slick, I still can't get into my pics. Don't know what's going on with the host. Never had this problem before but anyway, I would keep an eye on this amp. It may show some flaws but once it's mounted, the only thing that will show are those few scratches. I'm expecting it to go for $450 or less and if you went with the 3 new 10-W3's, you would be around $750 and then all you would need is the box. I'll be happy to get all the dimensions of mine for you, along with pics of the inside to see how it's vented and those measurements also. The width, height and how far up the back side of the box that port goes does play a big part. That amp and those 3 10's would beat the hell out of your trunk.

And yes, the other subs mentioned would pound harder but you're also looking at getting into some dollars getting them and what's needed to push them. I'm just trying to keep you in a decent money range and at the same time, suggest what I'm pretty sure you would be happy with.

http://cgi.ebay.com/JL-Audio-1000-1...ewItemQQptZCar_Amplifiers?hash=item27ac2dbe0f
 
The W7 is a nice sub but does not sound the great IMHO. They are very loud though. The W6 sounds much better. A sealed box will play deeper then a ported box but a ported box will havemore kick around 40-60hz.
If you wantsomething that will really pound hard and sound good AND be small then get three 10" Boston G5 subs and put them in a 1.5 cubic foot total air space box. Drive them with at least 1000 watts of class D mono block power and be prepared to loose your hearing. :D

Really though the trunk on our cars is not shaped well for subs fireing under the rear deck. Yeah it will work but a different mounting location would be better. If you got two G5 10" subs and put each in a sealed .5 cubic foot box then they will fit in the corners behind the tail lights and have them fire at each other. Remove the cardboard trim from behind the seat/under the deck and also cut the sound deadning material away in the holes under the deck.
Drive the subs with eaither a JL Audio 1000/1 or if funds are tight use a Rockfor POWER series mono block.
The two G5 10s will be louder then a single 13W7 and sound way way better and hit a deeper freequency.


Two of these:
http://cgi.ebay.com/NU-BOSTON-G510-...Car_Subwoofers_Enclosures?hash=item2a017fc54a

One of these:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ROCKFORD-FOSGAT...ewItemQQptZCar_Amplifiers?hash=item4148ec0edf

And a couple .5 boxes and you will be disturbing neighbors and setting off alarms in no time. :D
 
I understand that and a triple box sitting under the deck looks killer for sure but because of the trunks slope and the slope of the rear window there is allot of frequency cancellation firing the subs back wards. Now granted I have never done a triple setup in one before so maybe the box and cone displacement is large enough to change the characteristics enough that it wont have the cancellation at 30hz and 70hz that it naturally has.
I used an Audio Control RTA 31 to find the center points to figure out this problem a few years ago. It was on a first gen Mark and I installed two JL 12W6s with a 1000/1 amp. The system just didn't slam like it should with the trunk closed. I used two .9 cubic foot temp boxes in the corners and it was unreal how much more the system slammed in the car and overall sound quality went up allot. I had my fiberglass guy build two boxes for the corners after I showed the customer the sound difference.

In my car I have a single 10" G5 firing at the passenger side from where the factory CD changer was. Every person that heard the system just is blown away when I pop the trunk and show them that one small sub in a tiny box. It also only sees 300 watts. A second box in the other corner with triple the power would be insane! I have 100 watts per side for my Boston Pros and the sub can still out power them.

If you can move your box just temporarily then move it to one side of the trunk and fire it sideways. I bet your bass and impact goes up noticeably.
 
I have 3 10" mtx's in a sealed box powered by a Harrison labs 1200watt mono amp. Mine hits nice, hard, and tight. Won't set off car alarms though. I listen to mosly rock though and didn't want the boom. The subs were just something i had laying around, but you should check out the HL amps. They are aw some for the money and generally unheard of, but they are built here in the us-CO actually. He builds amps and equipment for the US military and got into car audio on the side. They are nice pieces and seriously rated when you check the specs. He measure's all amp wattage at 12 volts and only a RMS rating not a peak.

http://www.hlabs.com/
 
First hand experience:
JL audio: 0,1,3 all sound great but are not very loud. W6 is clean and fairly loud, W7 is loud but lacks definition. All JLs have surrounds that dont last long in humid/tropical enviroments.
MB Quart: Clean deep base but not very loud.
Pioneer: Wouldnt ever use them except the SPL Premiers and they are expensive.
Kenwwod: Suck
Clarion: Suck
Rockford: Series 1 suck, series 2 suck, series three are nice but boomy. T-1s are very loud and pretty clean butneed a big box and are expensive.
Eclipse: Regular suck, Aluminum was nice and the Titaniums were excellent but no longer made well. :(
Sony: STAY AWAY FROM THEM!
Focal: Best sounding sub if you get the Utopia or better but they are very expensive.
JBL: Good sound for the price but you have to get their top one for real output.
Boston: G2 are ok G5s are EXCELLENT and their oval sub is prolly the best sounding and highest output non-SPL sub i ever installed.
Infinity: Refrence are ok, Kappas are ok but the Kappa Perfects are very very nice and deep. If you can find some old Betas though they are spectacular! Their 8" pounds like a 12" but they havent made them in years.
MTX: They all suck now
Soundstream: Used to be a leader and now everything sucks.
Audiobahn: They made two good subs but I cant remember the series. Same price as a Rockford P3 and the Rockford is better.
Alpine: I always got their levels mixed up but its Type R, S and X. One sucked, one was ok and one sounded really nice but I only installed them in band pass boxes.

Those are the main players. If you are set on a tripple setup under the deck then I would do a ported box that ports into the cars cabin. To fit a tripple ported under the shelf you will need to run eaither a (all 10") JL W3, Boston G5, Infinity Kappa Perfect, Rockford P3 or maybe some W6s
 
To start off u can get loud firing back i hit a 143 on a termlab better than a ac meter with 2 12's. My shop is a jl signature dealer and a boston dealer imho i think boston kills jl in all aspectes from sq to loudness. I use to have a spg555 and that is one hell of a nice sub. If i where u i would not waist my money on w7's when u can get alot louder for alot cheaper. Try dd, dc, fi, re all these are proven to b loud and at a decent price.
 
LaserSVT said:
If you can move your box just temporarily then move it to one side of the trunk and fire it sideways. I bet your bass and impact goes up noticeably.
Click to expand...


Laser, mine is slid in and seriously touching each side of the fender well. I just measured the outside dimensions of my box and it is right at 36"W X 18"D X 16"H and weighs well over 100 lbs. If I can move it, it will have to be set in long ways but seeing how I have removed the black board from behind the seat inside the trunk and some insulation from the top deck holes and from behind the seat, it's letting more than enough bass to get in the car with me. I could have went sealed but the friend of mine that owned the shop said if I wanted it to be deep, he would have to vent it to spec. The vent is around 14 to 14 1/2" wide and right at a 1 1/2 " opening which goes all the way to the back and then turns up and goes mid ways up the back side. He put a sealed box in the trunk and it sounded ok but it was a solid hit and wouldn't go very deep until the vent box was made. I have sat in cars that pounded much harder than mine but they also had thousands of dollars invested or should I say worth of payments lol. I have right at $800 inside the trunk and that's with the 2 caps. Really, I wouldn't want it to hit any harder than it already does but I would like to get the 3 W3's for $350 and put them in because I have had the W0's in for a long time and they have took a lot of pounding. I did have a Kicker 1252xi connected to them and then I run across the 2252xi on ebay fairly cheap and had to get it. Both amps are very underrated IMO. It's too much for the W0's but would be just right for the W3's and then I would be done with it for life. Like I said, I don't really even turn it on anymore. I did today on my way to Decatur, AL. to pick up my prescription and I was doing 75 mph and every time a bass hit would come through, the speedo would beat down to 70 every time it hit a lick. I have the deck set on 80Hz and volume for the subs on 5 and sometimes 7 but anything higher than that is too much. I would move it but it's not just the box I would have to move. Amps are screwed down, along with both caps. I need to have a DB test done to see what's actually coming inside the car with me. I also can't keep a damn mirror on my windshield to save my life. I have tried all different types of glue and some were said to be the best but I don't have the mirror on right now because it was beat off. If anyone has an idea for a good glue, please let me know. I'll be happy to try it.
 
Dont get me wrong, rear firing subs in a Mark do sound fine and get loud and play deep but I have done 9 of them now and after that first one I have tried it many times and the same sub in the same box will play a few db louder and about 20hz deeper and have more punch around 60hz if it is fired sideways in that car. Its just due to the shape of the trunk. Jaguares and the larger Benzes are the same way and the Caprice was one of the worst for it.

The thing is most people will slap it in under the deck and hear it and it sounds great so they leave it there cause its so much better then the previous system. When you have done several thousand mini systems like I have and use the same speaker over and over again you know how its supposed to sound versus how it does sound in that particular car.

Front stage and proper bass has always been something I nit pick and strive to have right. Thats why I had so many customers, even the cheap systems I would spend time setting them up properly and even make spacers to angle the front speakers in the doors to put the stage where it should be.
You should be able to close your eyes and hear where each instrument is sitting and not have the bass muddle it up and have a very quick attack and decay to get the best impact from the music.
Of course this all does not matter if all you listen to is rap or hippity hoppity stuff. There is no "stage" and no real drums so the impact is taken away too and it wont matter how the sub faces.
 
kylecm85 said:
To start off u can get loud firing back i hit a 143 on a termlab better than a ac meter with 2 12's. My shop is a jl signature dealer and a boston dealer imho i think boston kills jl in all aspectes from sq to loudness. I use to have a spg555 and that is one hell of a nice sub. If i where u i would not waist my money on w7's when u can get alot louder for alot cheaper. Try dd, dc, fi, re all these are proven to b loud and at a decent price.
Click to expand...

x eleventybillion

The Bostons kick the JLs ass! The SPG555 is the best sub you can get IMHO for the money and the G5 is a close second. The SPG555 will absolutly pound and make stuff break on the car. The G5 will pound but not as much.

And 143 is pretty damn decient. I have only hit 137 with my single ten but that was with the mic near the windshield.
 
my friend has a kenwood 600 watt amp he is selling for 50 bucks and a 12" bazooka sub in a box for 50 bucks

and I have 2 polks 12's in a sealed box would take 100 for them
 
The Rs are ok but only $220 ish a pair new. The type X is a much better sub.

For the price the G5 is the best. Should be able to get them for $150 ish each and they are completly rebuildable. Rip a cone, swap it out. Burn a coil (damn near impossiable) and swap it out. They have fuses to protect them and switch between 8ohm or 2 ohm mode (on the DVC model) and are just kick ass!

115950061423665.jpg

2792366071_7cbd46d1c5.jpg
 
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