RickR

Hey I don't know much about choosing subwoofers or what to look for. I have a rockford fosgate p3001 (http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/produ...9&locale=en_US) and I do not know what subwoofer to choose or what spec's to look at. Do i match the RMS of the sub to the continuous power of the amp, in this case 300w? Any suggestions on specific subs would be very helpful too.


Thanks,
Rick

jwm1986

Both amps and subs will normally have a power rating in RMS wattage. You would normally want to match that as close as possible. Or according to how much power you want. In my case my single 12" sub is rated for up to 900 watts RMS. But I don't want anywhere near that much power in my little Civic so I have a 500 watt RMS alpine amp on it. Just don't go too small on the power or you'll end up with a lot of distortion which is very hard to speakers.

RickR

ok thanks for the information. Any suggestions? what do you think about these subs

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...ch+P2D412.html
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...S-L121P5W.html
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...BL+GT5-12.html

jwm1986

Step it up just a hair and you'll be fine. Those are all bottom of the barrel and will work... But not that well.

Take a look at some of these, from the same site. Also - Avoid Sony car audio like the plague unless your looking at very high end products from them.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...-W3012DVC.html
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...+07CVR124.html
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_...ch+P2D412.html

RickR

awesome thanks so much for the help. I think I'm going to go with the kicker, unless you feel one is much better. Also keep in mind I'm only buying one sub

jwm1986

Those are all pretty similar in quality, sound, and power handling. That one will work great! Now when you order make sure you have the dual 4 ohm one selected. That way when you wire it to the amp you will get the most power out of it. The paper work coming with the sub should explain wiring. You'll end up with 2 ohm's at the amp.

RickR

and if i need anymore help i know who to ask

chawski

Those Kenwood kfc's are pretty solid. I have an older model that I absolutely love. I beat the sh*t outa them and theyr still goin strong after 4 years. Sound quality is great, and can rattle my brain when i get the need for a little kick

edzy

http://www.soundsolutionsaudio.com/s...7B47%7DS4.html

RickR

it's so hard to decide which one. Thanks for all the input. Do you just have one kenmore sub or a couple? That SSA Dcon's review is awesome, that is exactly what i want "I can hear bass notes when they are meant to be heard, and feel the ones meant to be felt. Hearing different bass notes separately from each other (as compared to blending together and sounding boomy) is true bliss."

chawski

I have 2 of the kfc 10s on a 2 channel kenwood amp. I would recommend them to anyone. They really sound great. I recently had an acoustic engineer complement how well they blended with everything. They are by no means a competition grade sub, but for everyday use, they are perfect for me

jwm1986

If you want clean bass, get any of those mentioned here so far and put it in a small, sealed box, and make sure you don't have the gain turned up all the way and bass boosts' etc... And you'll be fine. Avoid band-pass boxes completely. They are worthless.

mreed

this thread helps mostly the last post jwm. my friend has subs and all you can hear is nasty sounding bass and i dont want that if i get a audio system

nsxxtreme

Even for sound quality I prefer ported enclosures. Unless your running a 15" or larger sub. Sealed enclosures just dont do it for me.

wrx-killer-Sti-eater

iTrader: (1)

Also what are you doing for your front stage. Just don't throw bass without taking of that care of that too. I like to do a 40-60 ratio and tune the bass down.

edzy

they sound even better ported

jwm1986

I am not trying to start an argument here or anything but if you think that then you must be using subs designed for it. The are different parameters that determine how well it will perform in either a sealed or ported enclosure.

And at least a 15" ??? What are we, 16 and listen to rap all the time? Anyway, sealed boxes are just easier. You have to get ported boxes set just right for them to really be considered a sound quality enclosure.

edzy

You sound stupid....

El Civ

No. That makes no sense

Yes, yes, YES. Some subs are NOT meant for ported enclosures, and others aren't meant for sealed boxes. Take my sub for example. It's terrible in a sealed box but great in a ported box.

And it's true, Sealed is easier to make and get right.....BUT if you want loud bass, ported is the way to go.

Like jwm said above, you CAN use ported boxes for SQ (and many people have won SQ competitions with them), but it's harder to get right and you might end up making a couple boxes.

Then you don't know what stupid sounds like.



edit: And that DCON edzy recommended is MUCH better than anything else in this thread. Go with that, or get an ICON

2000gsr-dragon

PORTED BOX FTW ! ! !

also as for my .02 cents id say keep your speakers on the main veiw as THE investment
then (buy) an amp thats underdriven by say 20 to 30% even.

remember too that the new style amps out today are not like the ones built back in the day.

forget what the box says as far as rated watts on the amp and do the math add up all the fuses then, amps x voltage = watts and there is no way around it.
what ever that math says is what it has the guts to deliver and nothing more.

now at days with as cheap as the amps are getting compared to years ago ive gone with the thought (if its gonna burn let it be my amp and not my speakers.)

i run 2 HX2 12" speakers they are 1000w Rms and 2000w Peak Each
i push them with the old school POWER BD1500.1 driveing them and have had them in my last 3cars and owned since new 4 to 5 years now and ive yett to burn my speakers or the amp. that being said the old BD series amps from fosgate where the ones to have anyways. still $200-$400 used pending cond...

so buy the speakers that will handle 30% more then you amp can handel and tune it...

edzy

why underpower?

El Civ

They don't make them like they used to, true, BUT that doesn't mean they all aren't made well. A lot are even made better than the old school.

Back in the day, they underrated like a BISH for comps so you could sneak in to a lower rated comp, among other things

Take a look at Sundown, Cadence. They are amazing amps!

And really you want an amp that that has a higher RMS that your speakers, that way you don't overdrive the amp and send a clipped signal to the speakers. Clipped signals generate heat and blow speakers.....and amps. So get an amp that has a higher RMS ratings than your subs/speakers

IMPORTANT: No matter what you get, you'll kill it if you don't set up the amp settings right. You shouldn't ever need the "bass boost" setting and the GAIN should not be up very high.

2000gsr-dragon

The speakers if there good to start with are more expensive then the amps, that being said i add it also depends on your application, are you in to comp or are you driveing around jammin? if your jammin protect your speaker and figure the amp to be (expendable) and say that on a if need be basis.

the whole thing with rateing is still choked under the amp fuse/voltage rule and from there it is what it is, the amp can not / will not put out more watts then the amp is fused for period !

fcm

"buy the speakers that will handle 30% more then you amp can handel"

Wait what???? Under-power your speakers, that is so wrong, if anything you should be running an amp that has a bit more RMS wattage then the speakers continuous power handling.

Far more speakers are damaged by underpowered amps then overpowered amps, and no it is not wattage that damages speakers, it is driving underpowered amps into constant clipping/distortion, [DC] that damages speakers.

Although I seldom agree with edzy, in this case the sub he linked is the best for the amp, the amp is 1x300W RMS into 2 ohms and the sub is 300W continuous.

This does not mean the 400W subs linked can not be used, it will just mean you will have to be careful not to drive the amp into constant clipping.

I also agree that a sealed box is the way to go because it is much easier to build and get right.
Most speakers will work in either sealed or vented enclosures, even bandpass, the "trick" is in the construction of the box, where a small discrepancy in internal volume in a sealed box will make no or little diff. volume discrepancies in a vented box, either in the box or the vent/port will make a noticeable diff., any discrepancy in box or vent(s) in a bandpass box will pretty much make it useless.

So it comes down to skill level and the tools you have to build the box, if box building is not something you are good at or you do not have the proper tools to do the job properly, buy a sealed box.

Find a sealed box a little bigger, [internal volume] then you need, use up the extra volume in the box by adding bracing inside the box, seal the MDF with a wood sealer, I use fiberglass resin, 2-3 coats. 94

2000gsr-dragon

(YES) and again lets not forget what our goal is when putting the system together. if you running your amp wide open to get every last drop out of it then you may be in to comp ? dunno im saying that an every day car stereo would last and my systems living proof.

if you want to go to comp then differant ball park........

my statement rest in a car that is a dd car and looking for longevity plan it out simple and yes i underpower the speakers to a point , my speakers will handle what i put to them, lets not forget tuning is just as important to these stereos as tuning is to your motor after upgrades and in my experiance the speakers are whats gotta last in todays world in a everyday loud car stereo make your speakers be the anchor in your system

in a comp car over load the speakers and go for broke after that trophy. and recone as nessasary !