What size sub would you get?

[Ying]

I've been moving a 15" Kicker Solo-Baric from car to car for a few years. I got it when I was younger...when losing my hearing was more important than sound quality. I'm gonna get rid of it in favor of a smaller single sub. I've got an old Kenwood Excelon amp that's rated at something like 400 watts for power. Would you go to a 12" or 10"?

I have aftermarket interior speakers (factory sized) and they're amped, but the problem with the 15" sub was always losing the frequency range between the low end of the interior speakers and the sub.

I assume I'll shorten the gap the most by getting a 10" but what are your opinions? I obviously would lose more of the really low end, but I'm just lookin for some advice if you were in the same position.

And for a cheap advertisement, I've got a 15" kicker solo-baric and box for sale if anyone's inerested

[EJ257]

What kind of music do you listen to? I don't really benefit much from my genre (country) of having a larger sub (I think a 10" would be more than enough). Rap/pop/dance would want a 12", while I think rock you could get away with a 10", but a 12" wouldn't hurt.

Just my opinion

[SilasJordan.USF]

I have a 12" alpine type x in my car running 600-800rms and 1800 peak.
Its more than enough to fill the entire car with bone shaking bass. Since you don't seem to be looking for something of this magnitude, I would look for something with less magnet, not surface area.

With more surface area you'll be getting clean low bass, even if you have a smaller magnet size. If you drop to a 10 inch you are losing surface area, so it will have to use more wattage to move the cone further out which in turn means it will have to be a nicer sub which increases how much you're looking at spending.

Since that concept is out of the way, I would suggest either getting a 12" Alpine type R and run those 400 watt's to it. My buddy has that setup in his Redline and it sounds great (he's using 450wrms but whatever). If you wan't to save room, I would highly recommend using several very small subs, say, 4 JL Audio 6w3v3. I haven't seen them online yet but local retailers should have them. 4 6 inch subs will have a combined surface area of (rounded) 113sq/in. A single 12 inch sub will have 113sq/in. You would receive comparable bass from smaller subs you could easily enclose into the corners of your trunk (one in each corner). One by the jack, one on the other side, and two in the corners behind your seat. You'd need to sell your current amp and buy a 4 channel but it would be worth it.

Each of the 6" subs are 75wrms, so buy a 300watt 4 channel, like the alpine MRV-F 345. It has a setting for low pass, so you can set the to only hit 40hz and down, or adjust down even lower (40 seems to be about good though).

I personally use a twelve with tons of power but that's just my preference, and it equalizes the 8 component alpine r's I have in my car.

I used the 4 6's in my car for a test for a local audio shop and it sounded great.


If neither of those sound good then just keep asking, this is one thing about cars that I'm actually not a novice in; it's quite refreshing to talk about something I know on this site lol.

Best of luck

And pardon any spelling errors

[wrxtreme06]

i have 2 10"s and enjoy them.

[06wrx4me]

Ex audiofile hear, used to build comp systems......Its not worth your hearing. Trust me I know, I have a bad frequency drop off and as such my ears will never be insured through my work.

Sell it and make the car faster.

[EJ257]

Ex audiofile hear, used to build comp systems......Its not worth your hearing. Trust me I know, I have a bad frequency drop off and as such my ears will never be insured through my work.

+1

I have Tinnitus - it's not fun. Unfortunately, it only gets worse as I get older

[spnkdrm]

Ex audiofile hear, used to build comp systems......Its not worth your hearing. Trust me I know, I have a bad frequency drop off and as such my ears will never be insured through my work.

Sell it and make the car faster.

Used to only work on stereo stuff in my first car.

Now the only system I listen to is a nice 3 inch stanless one.

[jeffmm06]

id just get some nice door speakers, upgraded tweeters, cross overs, and amp them. Subs weigh too much and take up trunk space. Otherwise im happy with my 2 apline type e 10" in my DD

[Ying]

Ex audiofile hear, used to build comp systems......Its not worth your hearing. Trust me I know, I have a bad frequency drop off and as such my ears will never be insured through my work.

Sell it and make the car faster.

Sorry, this is going to be a long post, but I am fortunate to be dealing with some knowledgeable people here so I gotta get it all out...

I'm not into the Db drag stuff anymore, I'm with the audiophile crowd now. I'm just lookin' for quality all-around sound.

Sorry about the following info. without actual model #'s. I'm at the mercy of the audio community when I have to buy equipment, but here's what I have...
I've got Fusion 5 1/4" coax in the front doors and Audiobahn 4" in the back. I think it was recommended to go that route because the Fusion had a shallow-mount speaker (this was before I knew anything about adding door shims to fit the magnet). Pretty sure those are the stock speaker sizes right? They're powered by a Memphis amp at something like 75wx4. I don't really know the specifics, sorry. A reputable audio place recommended it and it was on sale cos it was last years model. Different shop than the idiots that sold me the Fusions, and Audiobahns, but that's a whole other story and I'll keep 'em till they blow out. The sub amp is an old mono Kenwood PSX and it puts out somethin like 400w.

Now that that's out of the way, I'm still going to put a sub in the car to get some better range. I listen to everything except country. I've got anything from Phish to Mos Def to Steely Dan. Steely Dan's what got me into the sound quality instead of the Db crap. I'm not lookin' to blow out my ears, just keep the audio sounding good through as much of the frequency range as possible. Still stuck on whether I need one 10 or one 12.

[06wrx4me]

1. All depends on how much $$$ you have to spend. I just sold a Focal 11" sub that was awesome for SQ. K2 27kx.

http://www.focal-america.com/

2. And of course, you can never go wrong with a JL. Bang for buck best subwoofer made.

http://mobile.jlaudio.com/products_s....php?page_id=2

But on to my absolute favorite subs of all time. The most amazing I have ever owned. They aren't much to look at but I guess thats the point.

3. Image Dynamics IDQ series. Phenomenal sound.

http://www.imagedynamicsusa.com/prod...d=idq&type=sub

[06wrx4me]

Heres an old install I did with IDQ's. They are great for small sealed enclosures. This was a customers 03 Duramax done in 02 who wanted unbelivable SQ and the ability to deafen himself with DB. Pics were of a test fit before covering the wood. System sounded unreal.

[RDB81]

I have played bass for years, and i have noticed most bass players including myself use high quality 10" speakers. They tend to have the cleanest sound for any rock type application, where as 12's are more muddy and require allot of power to sound good. I would stick with a good 10" sub with adequate power... I am also not an audiophile, so take that as you will.

[Bosnian]

Just get the JL audio w7 in 10" or 12" and call it a day.

[Not-EWRX]

I had a similar question on nasioc awile ago and they said that the gap was in my door speakers. I would invest in some top of the line door speakers and keep the 15.

[Ying]

I had a similar question on nasioc awile ago and they said that the gap was in my door speakers. I would invest in some top of the line door speakers and keep the 15.

It's definitely in the door speakers, I agree with that. It's just that the speaker's have to be larger than stock to make up the difference between that gap and a 15"

To all of you, thanks. JL was definitely the brand I was gunning for, it was really a matter of size at this point. Think I'm goin with a 10.