I have 2 Alpine 1042D subs and i was wondering if anybody knows what kind of box i should use. I was thinking a ported box but i don't know what to look for in a ported box. So if somebody could point out a good one for my subs or could tell me what to look for. Oh yeah my amp is a Rockford Fosgate T10001bd and i am going to wire it down to 1 Ohm. Thanks

 

depends on what tyep of music you like. If you want tight accurate bass, ten you will want to go with a sealed box. if you like loud boomy bass then you would go with the ported box. also, pay attention how you wire the subs, it will determine how your amp will perform wit those subs

 

I like to have loud boomy bass. I listen to rap about 80% of the time and the rest is rock. Alot of people are saying that ported would sound the best so im thinking that i might just go with a ported box. This is how i am going to wire my subs to my amp:

 

???-1242D SWR, SWS, SWX which ones? 94

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fcm &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> ???-1242D SWR, SWS, SWX which ones? 94</TD></TR></TABLE>

Oh sorry SWR 1042D

 

Bump need to know what box so i can get my system going

 

With a 1000W and a mix of rap and rock I would go with a sealed box, I would custom build it to optimum sealed size, I would use 1" MDF and brace the "snot out of the box" I would seal the box, [paint inside with fiberglass resin, including the cut edge of the speaker holes] I would silicone all the seams inside to be sure the box is airtight, I would use a gasket when mounting the subs, [I would also make sure the mounting hole is exactly the right size].

If done right you should get all the boom you want and still stay tight and accurate 94

 

I have never built my own box so could you explain some of it to me such as: brace the "snot out of the box". What do you mean by that? Im guessing 1" MDF is the type of wood correct? Were could i get a gasket for mountingthe subs? And last but not least do you know what the optimum sealed size is? Could you give me some dimension or something?

Thanks

 

Yes MDF is the wood you would use, bracing is nothing more then small blocks of wood, [maybe 1"x1"x1.5", I cut down scrap pc. of MDF] and glued into place every few inches at every seam inside the box, [12 of them] and if you are using 2 speakers and not dividing the box into 2 chambers, then at least install a brace, 1"x2"x? between the speaker mounting holes on the baffle and the back of the box, maybe even one between the top and bottom of box, the trick is to make the box as solid and stiff as possible, "bracing the snot out of the box" there are more then a few DIY sites for building sub boxes, I get 18,700,00 sites when I googled "build your own sub box" http://www.google.com/search?s...b+box

DIY is not the way to go unless you have the tools, and have some experience working with wood, you could however "beef up" a prebuilt box by bracing and sealing it properly, just get a prebuilt that is a little bigger then it needs to be, and use up the excess volume with bracing, I have yet to see a mass produced box that I would trust to work properly with 1000W powering a pr. of subs, I have however "beefed up" a lot of them, everything from just siliconing the seams to "bracing the snot out of them" and "painting" the inside with fiberglass resin to seal them.

You will have to contact Alpine tech support for box volumes as they do not have the SWR-1042D in their "Tech Center" yet, Customer Service Department is 1 800 421 2284.
You should also have some info with the subs. 94

 

ok first off you don't need 1" MDF for 2 10" subs. That is overkill and a half. Most pre-fabs are made of .25 or .50 MDF. I reccomend .75 for anyone who is making a box.

Oh and about your prefabs not being strong enough......that is funny. I had 2 12" Audiojunk 1206Ts in a prefab giving each one 1800 watts and the box held up long before the subs or the amp did. Hell my buddy still has that box and it houses to DD 9512s each receiving 2000 watts.

 

Pre-fab boxes are okay some are crap. If you get a pre-fab box. get one by a rep company. Ground shaker and q-logic makes some pertty good ones. I would use fcm advice on prepping them. I have blown apart a cheap prefab box with only 1200 watts. I used 2 mtx 8500 tens. It only took about 15 min to do it. lol. 1 inch mdf would be fine. but you can also use 3/4 too. I would not recommend anything thinner the 3/4.

 

what does painting the inside with fiberglass resin do? i also heard of people putting dynamat on the inside of their box also? what does that do?

 

The fiberglass makes it stronger

 

the fiberglass resin makes the wood stronger? well im making an enclosure out of fiberglass right now. I just got the backing part done and i thin kits going to turn out really well.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by silentblackhat &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">what does painting the inside with fiberglass resin do? i also heard of people putting dynamat on the inside of their box also? what does that do?</TD></TR></TABLE> "Painting" the inside of the box with fiberglass seals the MDF, [MDF is surprisingly porous] it is not going to make the box any stronger.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EGRacersInc &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ok first off you don't need 1" MDF for 2 10" subs. That is overkill and a half. Most pre-fabs are made of .25 or .50 MDF. I reccomend .75 for anyone who is making a box.

Oh and about your prefabs not being strong enough......that is funny. I had 2 12" Audiojunk 1206Ts in a prefab giving each one 1800 watts and the box held up long before the subs or the amp did. Hell my buddy still has that box and it houses to DD 9512s each receiving 2000 watts. </TD></TR></TABLE>Brahahahahahahahah Yea you know what your talking about, so why don't you tell us the brand names of the prefab boxes that are made out of 1/4" MDF, come to think of it give us the ones made with 1/2" MDF, I want to make sure we don't end up with any in our shop

I have been making custom sub boxes for about 25 years, more then a few times to replace prefab boxes that have "popped" a seam, and although I do make a lot of boxes out of 3/4" MDF, or combinations of 3/4" and 1", if I build a box for a system that is going to put 1000W RMS or more to the subs I will use 1"

As for your prefab box that is still out there working, with 4000W driving the 12s that are in it now, I bet it sound just great, 4000W is not going to flex that 3/4" MDF even a little, and gee, I wonder why the box outlasted your 12s and amp, couldn't possibly have anything to do with the fact that the box is not airtight, and there would be very little control on the subs, now that couldn't be it because when you pay less then $100 for a box for 2 12" 1100W subs and drive them with 3600W, you are getting exactly what you paid for, could it. LOL.

Do not listen to this guy, anybody that would put 2 12" 1100W subs into a prefab box and then drive them with 3600W is "lost in space" nothing like cheaping out and putting a very weak link it you sub bass system. 94

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fcm &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Do not listen to this guy, anybody that would put 2 12" 1100W subs into a prefab box and then drive them with 3600W is "lost in space" nothing like cheaping out and putting a very weak link it you sub bass system. 94 </TD></TR></TABLE>

I agree with you on that. He is 18 and you are56(from what i see in both profiles). someome building boxes for that long might know a little more than someone that is 18. Im not an expert on building boxes but i know that what you said is true about cheaping out.

 

trust me i will listen to "fcm" he has helped me out alot with not just audio but alarms and a bunch of other stuff

 

no the prefab box was strengthened. I may be 18 but I know what I'm doing. It was my first system and I didn't have alot of money. I bought a prefab ported box and then coated the inside with resin. The box was just fine. Yes it may have been a weak link but it worked so I didn't care. I know the mistakes of my young age but I have fixed them in my current system.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EGRacersInc &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">no the prefab box was strengthened. </TD></TR></TABLE> Well I guess you should have said that....
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EGRacersInc &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Oh and about your prefabs not being strong enough......that is funny. I had 2 12" Audiojunk 1206Ts in a prefab giving each one 1800 watts and the box held up long before the subs or the amp did. Hell my buddy still has that box and it houses to DD 9512s each receiving 2000 watts. </TD></TR></TABLE> but you did not mention it, thats why I chuckled, I would still have disagreed with you on using a prefabed box, but agreed that if you have to use one, "beefing it up" would be the right thing to do.

As for the rest of what you said.....
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EGRacersInc &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ok first off you don't need 1" MDF for 2 10" subs. That is overkill and a half. Most pre-fabs are made of .25 or .50 MDF. I reccomend .75 for anyone who is making a box. </TD></TR></TABLE> The size of the sub has nothing to do with how thick the MDF, [or whatever material you use] should be, it has to do with how much power, [watts] the subs can handle and how much power you have.

As for the 1/4" prefab box's, well thats still a Brahahahahahaha. 94