Car SubWoofers

grooki · Post by **grooki** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 4:08 am

I'm thinking about buying a sub woofer for my car, for the simple fact that I think the car is one of the best places to listen to music properly, and if I can get some bass without having to go out and spend shit loads of money (at a venue, although this is fun too), all the better. Sitting in a chair is a great way to experience bass

I have a really, really small car (toyota echo http://www.productreview.com.au/showite ... em_id=2914). The boot is tiny, so I thought all I'll need is one 12" cone (it seems like that is pretty much the standard size for car woofers), and the amp. I figure since the car is small, and I don't want to destroy my hearing, just have full sound, one will be plenty.

I have heard some subs which pretty much just "fart", they just make distored rumble, only good for music where the sub bass is in the kicks, not for dubstep where you want to hear the bass movement.
I read in a review that if you want "tight accurate bass" you should get a sub box that is sealed, and if you want "boom", get a ported box - so I'm guessing a sealed box is what I'm after...

I'm also looking for a cheap option, and I was thinking that that might be ok because a lot of car subs aim to be as loud as possible because people buying them want be noticed, so it's possible cheaper ones might be quieter but still good?

anyone have any thoughts on this?

q_steppa · Post by **q_steppa** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 4:10 am

go to the shop, tell them u want a sealed box sub, let them sus u out

s & m · Post by **s & m** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 4:20 am

I would get a 10" they have tighter response, and more accuracy. Of course they have some sweet 12" but honestly man I have heard them all and I am sold on the 10". 10" are punchier, tighter, all around better for dubstep listening I must say.
I really recommend anything from Alpine. I like the Alpine type Rs I have two in a sealed box in my truck, which is a single cab and they RATTLE the thing. can't beat the price on them.

pets bud · Post by **pets bud** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 4:38 am

I used to do installs on cars back in the days and you can even go with an 8 inch sub. What matters is that you have the correct amplifier for the sub. If the amplifiers does not have enough juice the sub will sound like sh!t.

When it comes to the box I would go with something that is already made if you want to go cheap. The reason for this is that you need to know the response frequencies for for the box and sub combo. You want something that can pick up frequencies as low as 28 Hertz for bottom. Your ear can't hear anything below that.

Unless you have the money to have someone build you a custom box with the low end specs. And sealed enclosures are better at keeping your speaker from tearing.

Dual seal/ported enclosures are the best but are not cheap. I would go with this cause the box is made for the specifications of the sub in mind.

The box has to be built with the specs of the speaker in mind. The crossover on your Amp should be set to hear everything under 60 Hertz IMO.

But yeah go to your local shop and ask for help too.

The car is one of the best places to test your toons. Roll up the windows and let it rip.

scooterjack · Post by **scooterjack** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 4:41 am

i'd go with a single 10" also, a 12" would be a bit excessive for your car

might wanna check something like this out, if space is a real issue (probably fit under your seat if you don't have electric seats

)
http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_176 ... S1200.html#

mountainmaxsteez · Post by **mountainmaxsteez** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 4:41 am

Go here and start looking through the subs. Sometimes they have really good deals like money off or buy one get one free etc
http://www.crutchfield.com/g_520/Compon ... tml?tp=111

I have two Polk 10"'s(the model i have is not for sale on crutchfield any more, but they have others) and put them in a downfiring box that was made especially for my truck that goes under my back seat. I will have to say, they bump nice and hard for me. I think they have great response. I bump dub pretty often and its fun to turn it up loud and just rumble.
Look online for boxes made especially for your vehicle somewhere, they aren't really that expensive or you could possibly make one yourself too with the right tools and supplies.
I also have a 700 w Amp running my subs. You do not need one that powerful. Call the guys at crutchfield and tell them what you want and they will give you some ideas and tell them how much you want to spend.
You will also want a decent deck. I dunno, if you want to find really good deals you might have to shop around for awhile. I like crutchfield because they send you all the things you need to install your system yourself for free like adapters and whatnot to fit your specific vehicle and instructions on how to take your old deck out. .

I have also heard JL Audio 10's and they bump really hard too.

borrowed · Post by **borrowed** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 7:09 am

s & m wrote:I would get a 10" they have tighter response, and more accuracy. Of course they have some sweet 12" but honestly man I have heard them all and I am sold on the 10". 10" are punchier, tighter, all around better for dubstep listening I must say.
I really recommend anything from Alpine. I like the Alpine type Rs I have two in a sealed box in my truck, which is a single cab and they RATTLE the thing. can't beat the price on them.

Wrong, 12's and 15's are punchier than 10's. Coming from the owner of two 10's rated at 2400W/1200RMS, they're sharper than big boomy speakers, but for real deep basslines (like in 50,000 Watts) some big boomers would be nice.

ninjadog · Post by **ninjadog** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 7:58 am

If you want cheap hit up some pawn shops, I got a 10" JL sub in a box and a Visonik amp for $150. But I think I want to add a 12 or a 15 for deeper bass.

lojik · Post by **lojik** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 12:18 pm

Just make sure you balance it with good mids and tweeters pllleeaaaseeee......I keep hearing all these people going "wow I got a 4 million watt sub in my car!!!" and all you can hear is waaay too much bass making the whole thing sound muddy. People don't seem to get that unless you have decent mid and high range speakers aswell, a sub will sound terrible.

grooki · Post by **grooki** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 1:09 pm

Borrowed wrote:s & m wrote:
I would get a 10" they have tighter response, and more accuracy. Of course they have some sweet 12" but honestly man I have heard them all and I am sold on the 10". 10" are punchier, tighter, all around better for dubstep listening I must say.
I really recommend anything from Alpine. I like the Alpine type Rs I have two in a sealed box in my truck, which is a single cab and they RATTLE the thing. can't beat the price on them.

Wrong, 12's and 15's are punchier than 10's. Coming from the owner of two 10's rated at 2400W/1200RMS, they're sharper than big boomy speakers, but for real deep basslines (like in 50,000 Watts) some big boomers would be nice

I'm not sure if you both mean the same thing by "punchier" here - punchier as crisper and tighter, or punchier and as in more blast?

I think I like the sound of what S & M said really, I don't want to have stupidly loud sub, I just want a nice full sound, that vibrates, and that respondes to all the bass movement. I guess I'll have to try some out in the shop though...

hmmm which track shall I take?

caeraphym · Post by **caeraphym** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 1:25 pm

Borrowed wrote:
s & m wrote:I would get a 10" they have tighter response, and more accuracy. Of course they have some sweet 12" but honestly man I have heard them all and I am sold on the 10". 10" are punchier, tighter, all around better for dubstep listening I must say.
I really recommend anything from Alpine. I like the Alpine type Rs I have two in a sealed box in my truck, which is a single cab and they RATTLE the thing. can't beat the price on them.
Wrong, 12's and 15's are punchier than 10's. Coming from the owner of two 10's rated at 2400W/1200RMS, they're sharper than big boomy speakers, but for real deep basslines (like in 50,000 Watts) some big boomers would be nice.

Absolute bollocks tbh, it all comes down to the individual speakers T&S parameters and the type of enclosure it's being used with. Also having a cabinet specifically designed for the particular driver with correct tuning, volume, bracing and dimensions, as well as the specific character of the enclosure ie: bandpass, reflex, horn loaded, etc makes all the world of difference.

Try the Wicked One or the WO32 from this guys, if you're up for building a box: http://www.decware.com/newsite/caraudio.html

And imho cars are awful places to listen to music with any degree of accuracy.

notch · Post by **notch** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 1:41 pm

Nice post really helpful. Thank you..

Car SubWoofers

Car SubWoofers

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