Notec,

the critical mass subs looks great but its damn expensive lol seen it for $2000 for 1 12. is there something thats not as expensive that you can recommend? the new si mag subs weigh around 25lbs i think and are supposed to be very loud. im looking to spend $600-1000 at most for subs. i will definitely be removing the rear deck speakers and the amps etc would be mounted in the spare tire well. im defintely looking for a quality based install so i dont need to spend more than i need to.

bigric09,
what do you mean by increasing the impedence? i dont have alot of car audio knowledge so i would appreciate some help.

finally, a question for everyone is, how would a rear firing ported or sealed enclosure compare to those made by companies like audio integrations?

 

A ported, rear-firing box will be louder than the Audio Integrations enclosure. Won't be as clean and tight, but will be louder.

The place to really spend your money is on the development and build of the enclosure. You can make any subwoofer loud with the right enclosure.

If you really want "loud" you should consider a bandpass enclosure. Will sound like poo, but will be louder.

Since you want to keep weight down, you should consider a fiberglass enclosure. You'll be looking at probably $300-$400 for a custom fiberglass enclosure from a local car audio shop.

That will leave you with $300-$700 for your subwoofer to keep you within your budget.

One sub not mentioned would be the Kicker SoloX subs. They handle a TON of power and have an amazing amount of excursion capability and play EXTREMELY loud. You can get it in a 1ohm voicecoil to match your amplifier. Although, they will be slightly out of your price range. But, this would probably be the perfect sub for you.

 

Here's another alternative. This Boston sub POUNDS. I heard one in-person and it will blow away any JL sub in a ported enclosure. This Boston sub also sounds pretty damn good.

You can get it in a pre-made ported enclosure from Boston. Or, just the sub.

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Produ...SPG555P&tp=112

I would suggest buying it from Crutchfield and trying it out in your car. If you like it, keep it and you're all set. If you don't like it, you can return it for free.

At least you would know if it's loud enough for you.

 

Im not a big fan of ported enclosures to be honest. The only subs that I had that I liked in a ported enclosure were the Kicker L7's.

Other than that I prefer sealed.

 

I think my subs facing each other sounds fine, so does all my passengers. There's a foot between them, plus one is reverse polarity so both aren't pushing air at each other at the same exact moment in time. One pushes out, while the other sucks in...my dad told me to do this.

 

sealed box FTW

 

TwStDeVo, I stick by my first post for your application and needs. Get an IDMax and have a properly built enclosure. Then post up some pics!

 

they are really nice, but currently i have my subs in a sealed enclosure in the spare tire well, im thinking about changing my set up to have the subs fire to the rear of the car, which would require a new box and seems like it would be best for me to go ported.

 

You seriously owe it to yourself to call TC Sounds before dropping any money on the sub. At the least, do Google search. I've heard JL's, Velodyne, etc. None has touched TC yet.

 

I had a single Jl 12w3v2 in a custom ported fiberglass box molded down into the spare tire well in the trunk of my Evo, powered by an e1400d JL amp, it was the best thing ever, and weighed 15lbs over the sparetire and tool kit that I removed. If you want I can try to track down some pictures and post them sometime, or pm them to you or whatever. Regardless it also took up barely 2" of depth (height, whatever it should be called) in the trunk, and we made a panel of wood to go on top that we carpeted and then the factory carpet pad could go on top of that, you couldn't even tell there was a sub and 2 amps Till the bass started boomin.

 

i will give them a call and see what they recommend.

 

i currently have a spare tire enclosure, but i think this type of enclosure lacks the sound and output compared to a rear firing enclosure, to which im really thinking about changing my current set up. here is what my trunk looks like now:

http://public.fotki.com/twstdevo/evo/dscn0442.html

http://public.fotki.com/twstdevo/evo/dscn0444.html

 

Stick with a single sub if you want to go light weight. No matter what sub you do pick in the end, one sub will be ligter then 2 subs because of the bigger boxes.

As far as loudness, loudness comes down to the box. If you got the right box for the right sub you have a loud sub. the box is every thing to the sub. I had 2 Jl w0 in a custom box running only 400 watts posting 140db. there was many people with systems running +1000 watts only posting 140db. i have built many fiberglass boxes. IMO a MDF box sounds louder than a fiberglass boxes because it is more dense but that all depends on how thick you build your box. fiberglass boxes looks better and takes up less space of course. there is not much of a weight saving by going with a fiberglass box. If you want the system to be loud you will be building the walls of the fiberglass box at least 1/4 of an inch thick. You will also be adding even more weight on the fiberglass box with bodyfiller to make the box smooth. so in the end a fiberglass box weights similar to a MDF box. another thing that can increase the loudness of the subs is providing a full sealed box and provide bracing for the box. More bracing there is for the box the less flex there is, providing more bass. Bracing is a key to building a strong box.

As far as the type of box to use, i prefer a sealed inclosure because they are easy to build for the right amount of air space required. Ported will sound louder than a sealed inclosure if you build it right. Ported required some extensive calculations. I would not recommend band pass boxes or any other fancy box designs because they require alot of hard calculations in creating the best box for the system.

I would also conside not running an amp on 1ohm. even if the amp states that it can run 1 ohm. running at 1ohm is very harsh and then amp will not survive for very long.


Also how loud do you want to go? A pionner spl 5102 is the loudest 12" sub I have ever heard (problay the loudest sub out there) but it will require 1.5 cf. In my opinion i would run a JL 12" or 13" W7 in a fiberglass sealed enclosure. Fiberglass box will save you trunk space. JL is the best sub in my opinion. You cant go wrong with JL audio. if you are woried more about lightness go with a W3 or something like that.

 

Band pass box.... I forgot about those.

I just had a flashback to 1999.

 

Well when I read that I thought you'd have some weak sauce 10" with a crappy install... Yeah, my votes on this thread officially no longer count, you obviously want something way louder than I have ever needed Other than the box being perfect to JL specs for a 12w3v2 mine was no where near that crazy, and mine sounded plenty loud and beautiful for my tastes.