The car=1990 honda civic lx sedan
The setup=1 15" Kicker Solo-Baric L7 DVC (2008 model) and 1 kicker zx1000.1 amp

Now my question to you all is how what box/setup will give my the loudest and most heart-pounding bass.

My options are as follows:

1. Put the sub in a sealed box
2. Put the sub in a ported box
3. put the sub in a sealed box with the magnet facing outward
4. put the sub in a ported box with the magnet facing outward

Also! Is it true that the sub sounds better if it is facing toards the back of the car rather than the cab?
I've been messing with car stereos ever since I could drive but I never really knew the answeres to these questions, so please don't flame me or call me a noob Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank-you in advance...

 

ported box tuned real low will be the most musical

lower tuned boxes aren't louder than higher tuned but sound better, and it's an l7 so it's gonna get loud regardless.

i would tune around 30-33

 

Cool man, thank-you. anyone else?

 

NUmber 2

 

Ported its the only way to go..
on which way its pointed im not sure,
ive had it both ways, really couldn't tell a difference.

 

Looks like ported is the way to go! Any other opinions?

 

4th order bandpass would be AWESOME but they are very very hard to get right

go ported tuned low

 

Not true...

 

proof?

 

The main reasons people have the magnet facing out are:

1) looks

2) it allows you to have a smaller box because the sub isn't taking up room inside of it.

 

Ahh I see, so in other words if I go with a sealed box with the magnet facing outward it'll sounds like ****?

 

Slot port vented box, sub inside box, facing the rear....

3.0 ft3 (85L) + port displacement
2.5 x 16.25” (6.4x41cm) port, 19.5” (50cm) long
Power Handling = 750W RMS... 94

 

Having your sub magnet facing upward's not health because dust goes into it and can damage it.. Mr. Dust can hurts electronics. I did suggest you get ported box, but don't know what kind of music you actually listen to..

 

Looks like I'll be going with a ported box, and I listen to mainly rap and hip hop...

 

If I may but in here real quick, I have a similar setup. I have an L7 15 but with a v12 1000 watt Alpine. I have been trying different setups since 2 years ago with that amp and I personaly had it in a sealed box since I had it in an open trunk.

I listen to pretty much everything but what I did is got me an Epicenter so I could get a lower hitting base because it sounds pretty crappy sealed with the higher notes. If you have a trunk, they suggest having the sub pointing backwards because what actually makes the thump is the waves bouncing off the back of the trunk an traveling forward. In fact, that is why SUV's get a lower hitting base because the sound travels longer before it hits your ear.

Regarding the backward sub, its not recommended on an L7 because the coil seems a little weaker while traveling backwards but the main reason for it is to have more air inside the box to move which creates a deeper sounding bass. It's kind of like having a bigger box since there is more air displacement.

I would definitely say keep the sub facing the right way, just get a bigger sealed box (which can help the tuning of lower bass) and face it to the back of the car so the waves could travel longer. And if you want some cleaner sounding base, get an epicenter for lower notes and a hard pounding base, just make sure you turn your amp about 1/4 way max because it might fry your sub. Just my 2 cents.

 

epicenter? something to boost lower notes sounds like complete fail

just tune low...simple

 

If you think room's isn't issuses then get ported and those are good for rap and hiphop..

 

Thanks for all the great info bro! It's greatly appreciated...

 

There's no great info in anything he said lol

 

You are entitled to your own opinion and so is he. Whoever says an epicenter is useless for touching lower notes is a buffopn. It is the most sold and appreciated Bass Restoration control in the market. Maybe my words were taken out of context.

What the Epicenter helps you do is revive notes that were lost when the music was mastered to play in a regular home system or a regular car system. The epicenter allows you to restore notes that are so low that will cause you to bust your weak stock system therefore allowing your upgraded system to hit some notes that the sub will not hit by just tuning your box or tweaking your amp. Also, no matter how low you tune your box, you will still hit the high notes and the epicenter works like a filter were you can tune it to filter some high notes to prevent distortion. Also, it increases the gain on selected note depending on which ones you want to "make a statement" on. Obviously you have never tried one if not I wouldnt think that you'd be baggin on it. Also, my best buddy's dad owns a audio/video Wholesaler in Los Angeles and I grew up installing systems at his shop so I kinda been around.

Not to continue this ordeal or hijack:

L7 with monoblock amp w/ 1000rms ported if enough space available facing the rear of the trunk will give you the most thump and the epicenter is optional to tweak it your style (BTW, the remote **** on the epicenter allows you to "tune" your bass to low or higher hertz which will allow you to remotely control how your bass sounds since the box helps you tune your bass a certain way but remember that this way you can "tune" your hertz according to the music or songs you are listening to.) at the end, it all depends on your box, how you tune it and your setup and what you are aiming for. For SPL (sound pressure level) it is recommended to keep the box the furthest from the rear of the trunk pointing back which will cause more rattle but will be louder or you can point it towards the cabin which will have less rattle and better SQ (sound quality)

I am a member of many Sound Forums and did my research before answering. Hopefully you can find what fits your needs. GL!!!

 

Why does he need to "boost" lower frequencies? he just needs to tune low...

 

Granted, tuning low helps. We are kind of loosing sight of the subject though. All I can say is it took engineers years to design an Epicenter and it is not going to take me over night to explain how it exactly functions. All I got to say is I tried it, it works and like everything else, people like to hear suggestions on setups tried and recommended. I recommend the setup mentioned above. Thanks!