FlewByU352

If you could pick just ONE subwoofer to be powered by 250 watts RMS, what would it be? I currently have a Rockford P2 Punch 10" in a sealed box, got the sub for free so I hooked it up as a temporary bass filler. Problem being it just doesn't hit all the notes. I used to have 2 Kicker CVR 12" in a sealed box and I loved it, but doing a lot of reading people say for sound quality they are garbage.

Price range? Not worried unless it is over $400 for just one subwoofer. So for sound quality what subwoofer would you recommend?

joeshmo

If people say the sound quality is garbage and you like it, that is fine. It is all in the ear of the listener. Maybe find an audio shop where you can demo?

FlewByU352

I like it compared to this 10" Rockford P2 and I'm not sure if it's just that the 10" can't produce the same notes or that it's not as powerful or responsive comparing it to the 12" CVR's I once had that were stolen from me. It seems a lot like the JL W3v3 but I have not heard one that I can remember.

HeadlightBulbs

You should talk to some of your friends ask to hear there setups and go to different local stereo shops and ask them to demo different enclosures and speakers for you..

You might be happier with a ported box or a slightly larger sub like a 12" instead of the 10" .. If you are looking to for a more responsive setup.. I would suggest saving a little money up and upgrading the sub out to a larger one and also possibly upgrade your amp out..

If you where to do that. I would suggest selling them while they are installed in your car so the potential buyers can demo the items before purchasing them.

I would recommend a kicker 12" L5 with a larger amp:

just_bn_me83

All depends on the Brand and Model of the amp that is pushing 250 watts rms (and at what ohm load? 2ch or mono block?)...

FlewByU352

Not changing the amp. Rockford 5 channel that put out 661 watts at 2 ohms, at 4 ohms on the sub channel it should be about 250 watts RMS. Also I don't have any friends with single sub setups or quality subs for that matter, unless you say Sony Xplodes are good lol. I plan on using a single 12".

just_bn_me83

If it pushes 661 watts at 2 ohms then you should plan on buying (1) Dual 4ohm subwoofer. Wire it in parallel and ta-da...2ohms. There are a lot of good options out there that would match up to the amp...next question what type of music do you listen to, or do you listen to one genre more than others? If so what genre...


also, is the amp a newer Rockford or older? pre year 2000 or after? model number?

FlewByU352

Can I run my door speakers on 4 ohms and the subwoofer on 2 ohms though? If I'm not mistaken the 4 channel is an A/B and the 1 channel is a class D but all under the same case and using the same power and ground. I wasn't sure if you could mix and match. Running 2 ohms I believe the subwoofer would see around 375 watts RMS.

just_bn_me83

Yes, that's the usual application for a 5ch amp, run the door speakers on 4ch and sub on the mono ch. Aftermarket speakers are usually 4ohm out the box but you can buy them in 2ohm coils with some brands (Infinity). Stock speakers are usually 4ohms as well except for premium sound systems like Bose for example, stock Bose speakers are usually 2ohms. Which most 4ch amps run stable at 2ohms/channel

FlewByU352

I'm already set with the rest of the speakers, I have all Polk Audio 4 ohm. Had I known that I would amp them later down the road like I did I probably would have gotten the 2 ohm to put a little more power to them. For the subwoofer though... say the JL 12W3v3 do I get the 4 ohm and wire to 2 ohms or get the 2 ohm model?

just_bn_me83

First thing, jl12w3v3 is a fantastic sub! had one in my ek hatch in a sealed box...it dropped low lows for a 12" sub. you want the 4ohm DVC model so you can parallel the coils and the amp will see 2ohm load. I had mine in a sealed box with about 1.25cu ft air space. Great response.

FlewByU352

Sold! Unless someone has a better choice?

just_bn_me83

The thing about car audio is here isn't a better choice just different choices, it's a game of trying to find something that is quality sounding, quality made, and budget minded. There are a ton of options you could go with, that's why I asked what kind of music you listen to more of. The W3 will give you good all around sound, great quality, and not too expensive.

FlewByU352

I listen to just about everything. I'd say mostly rock and electronic with some hip hop and even country at times. If you knew who Pretty Lights (Derek Smith) is then you would understand how all of those can be incorporated into a single similar music. Seriously though from classic rock, acoustic, heavy metal, punk... a lot of guitar and drum based work. But every now and then it's back to the 90s rap with Tupac, Biggie, Dr Dre, Eminem...

just_bn_me83

You may want to think about getting a set of 10's, or one really good 10". I listen to everything but I love rock, southern blues, plus hip hop and funk...a decent 10" will give you great low bass and give you some of the tighter bass response in the 100hz range. The right 10" sub in the right box and you would be surprised how good it sounds. I had 3 10's in my old Jimmy, I still kick myself for selling that setup. best sounding subs I ever owned. Orion XTR's but pre year 2000.

FlewByU352

Why a 10" over a 12"?

speedjunkie_g35

My 2 Eclipse Titanium DVC 10's will put my 2 JL 12w6's to shame!!! Ported box is the way to go IMO if you want deeper lows

Sound quality of a ten is better than a 12 but a 12 can hit lower and deeper bass.

just_bn_me83

gets tighter bass response and hits higher frequencies and sounds better doing it compared to a 12", if tuned the right way. 12" subs can play higher frequencies but there responsiveness isn't as quick as a 10". Think of a really good kick drum track, double pedal action hitting really quick notes...a 10 will respond to these quicker and still hit the nice lows while the 12 will get lost trying to keep up hitting those real tight bass notes while say the bass guitar riff drops... 10's used to not hit as low as 12's but some are doing a good job coming pretty darn close. If you said you listen to nothing but house, techno, rap, hip hop, etc i would say go with 12". but because you tend to listen to more music with higher bass notes a 10" sub would be right up your ally.

just_bn_me83

Eclipse subs are nice. I have always liked Eclipse. Not totally true on ported box if you want deeper lows. To an extent yes but not all the time. Ported boxes are the answer to getting lower bass out of a compact space/box at the sacrifice of having to ease back on the power...build the right sealed box and you can get just as good of lows and also give the speaker more power. There are tons of different "orders" of speaker enclosures. The trend now a days is small compact boxes so you hardly see sub boxes taking up the entire trunk for just 2 subs anymore, but some of the best sounding boxes I've heard weren't compact sealed or ported ones. who wants a 200+ lb box in your car now a days though!

just_bn_me83

Flew....does your amp have a subsonic filter on it in addition to the low pass filter by chance? On the sub channel output...

FlewByU352

No I don't believe so but I see something Infrasonic filter?
Sub Channel: Low-Pass variable 40Hz - 130Hz
Sub Channel: Variable 0dB to +12dB @ 45Hz
Sub Channel: 0°/180° Phase Control

I think the reason I am so turned off with a 10" is because of the mindset I won't be satisfied with just one 10" subwoofer due to how the Rockford P2 Punch performs... which is shitty and I can notice notes it should be hitting but the music is flat at that part of the song. I am on a space constraint but I have considered fiberglassing a mold to the trunk of my car where the spare tire sits and have the sub firing up.

just_bn_me83

"because of the mindset I won't be satisfied with just one 10" subwoofer due to how the Rockford P2 Punch performs... which is shitty..."
That's like saying..."I hooked up with this chick last night and she didn't perform that great, so now I don't know if I like chicks anymore." lol. Can't base your choice off one bad experience. The Rockford line has changed a lot, none of the new sh*t sounds that good, IMO, the old stuff...serious, but not the newer stuff. I definitely wouldn't use a P2 10" as a basis for what a good sub should sound like. Now an Old Rockford XLC 10" sub or DVC POWER series...you wouldn't think you're listening to a 10" sub lemme tell ya.

fcm

Touched on but not really mentioned, although a good quality sub is needed for good sub bass, it has less to do with the quality of the sub then it has to do with the quality of the sub box and in a large part to the power driving the sub and load.

I would be willing to bet, I can take your single 10" sub, [that you did not like the sound of] build a "proper" box for it, drive it with the correct amount of power on the best load, and you would change your mind.

The single most important part of a sub system is the cabinet, [sub box], not only does the internal gross volume have to be correct, the construction of the box must be done properly, eg: a sealed box must be just that, airtight, that means, all seams must be siliconed, the MDF itself must be sealed, if you think MDF is airtight, stick vacuum on one side of a 1" thick MDF panel and toss a little sawdust on the other side.

The box needs to be rigid, so bracing is needed, [every few inches along every inside seam].

The speaker must be sealed around the edge, and no, sub box carpet/covering does not make a good gasket

A sub box can not be a cube, EG; a 1cuft box better not be 12"x12"x12", can you say "standing waves", the more surfaces that are not parallel the better.

Dampening is a good thing, stuffing a sub box with spun Dacron, [commonly used] is not a good idea, using pink fiberglass insulation is even worse, covering some of inside panels with something like a jute underlay, is a very good way to get the dampening you need.

As for power, there is a saying, "it's better to be overpowered then it is to be underpowered", that does not mean that under-powering a speaker will damage the speaker, you could run a 200W speaker on 100W for damn near ever, the problem is when you overdrive that 100W amp into constant clipping, [distortion] that is when you damage a speaker.

Now the load, a 200W DVC speaker, [or two 100W SVC speakers] can be wired 2 ways, in parallel or in series, either way it/they will handel 200W, how you wire them effects the amp, not the speaker and the higher the impedance the better, much better linearity and all around SQ, EG, take that DVC 4ohm 10" 200W continuous, [RMS] sub and wire the VCs in parallel for a 2 ohm load, and the only thing you gain is the ability to us a 100W RMS into 4ohms amp to drive it, on the other hand, wire the VCs in series for an 8ohm load and find a 400W RMS into 4 ohms amp and gain , a cooler running amp, with far better signal to noise ratio, that result in a more accurate sub bass, a lower F3 point, linearity, better accuracy and all around better SQ

I can go on and on. 94

FlewByU352

I swear you are like the magic man of Honda-Tech and always seem to answer my questions or give me useful information lol. Thank you! On the 10" Rockford P2 Punch 4 ohm SVC I have a sealed 1.105 cubic foot box using 3/4" MDF. Now every seam is siliconed air tight and I had though about sealing the wood completely because while dense it is not solid where air cannot pass.

omgitzchris

I have all free stuff from my buddies; a thousand watts ken wood amp, a crappy pioneer mp3 head unit, and jl 10w6's . I love rap n it hits real nice and loud inside the car. Outside doesn't really hear it but people "feel it" and just don't know where it's coming from!! I love bass too. If I could have 2 15" w7's I'll bump them all day if I could but the one single 10w6 - I am definitely satisfied with. Just perfect in my daily pathfinder.