Subwoofer Dilemma

jaskin

jaskin

Well-Known Member
Legendary 10 Years
Hi Guys,

Sold my IDMAX 12" Subs awhile back. I'm in the market for a set of subs. I have a couple of criteria that needs to be met.

- Trunk Space (Need to fit a golf bag)
- Finishing (must at least looks stock)

My current setup is like this

Audison VR404 2X 130W powering the front Dynaudios 240GT
Phoenix Gold 475Ti bridged to 3 CH powering the Rear Spkers and Sub
1X250W (Subs)
2X75W (Speakers)
No capacitors etc etc.

Currently I have 2 options in my mind.
Option 1

Buy a JL Audio Stealth Box and lose the rear speakers. the PG amp should be sufficient enough to power the 8" subs. This way I lose the rear fill but keep the whole trunk very 'clean'. The JL Stealthboxes that I'm eyeing have been retrofitted with a Rockford 8" sub.

Option 2
As suggested by GR's friend.
The alternative would be to lose the spare tire and convert the spare tire well into a enclosed box. I heard it would cost about $180 for the board. A 12" sub would be mounted there and would be shield from any items lying around in the trunk.
This probably is a major overhaul. I plan on bridging the PG amp at 2X250W to drive the Front 240GT. I'll sell the audison for a cheaper amp for the rear speakers and get a powerful (600W) amp for bass.

Concerns

Should I go for option 2, how sorely would I miss my spare tire? Currently I have 18s and my spare is 16". Would the PGs sound as good or better than my audison driving my 240GTs?
Forum ICE gurus please advise.
:)

Sincerely
Jason
 
With the stealthbox...u dont have to do much of a major operation and with free hangs...u get better sub sounds....IMHO
 
Seriously I have no idea how the stealth box looks like....so no comment.

1) If its free air, just remember to pump in enough juice...at least 300w RMS. If not....your sub will sounds like....eh....s h i t ?

2) As for Bernard (my friend) option...its good if you want a stealth look....its not new that people use the enclouser as a sub box. How badly you will miss your spare...well...it depends on how suay you can be lor....I mean how often or in the past 5 yrs...have you tyre ponchek before ? Hard to tell rite....I kenna recently only....so I am for spare tyre. But if you are a member of AA and have friends in BMW.SG....I am sure you can call for help anytime. :p

If you are not into hard hitting bass....I can suggest this. Get 2 8' and do enclousure and build them into the corners of your boot....you can actually save some space. How stock looking will depend on the installer's skill.

If you want hardcore action from your subs...you will have to forgo the space from your boot or do freeair and feed the buggers with a shit load of power. But my thoughts on free air...you dun really gain that much space as you think you would....once I show you you willl understand...hard to explain to you now.
 
Hi,

Just to throw in 2 cents worth...

The spare tyre is required by law to be present and accountable.. If you get a flat along the expressways and EMAS comes over, a jolly good hong bao will be going.

For my ICE, i am using a Naka amp powering MB Quarts (F) and Helix (R). 2x 8" subs rest on the rear parcel shelf and the magnets do not intrude at all!!!

The amp is below the boot carpet cover with my own ventilation system. Total effect is a super clean system w/o any visible signs.

Just an idea to share...

Cheers
 
Just got off the phone with Hong Guan... Wah to do the tyre well is $500 w/o the sub. Damn ex. I'll probably forgo that route. Ghostrider, are you recommending that I hang the 8" woofers in the rear parcel shelf. How do I do the enclosures for that?
Any idea how the JL Stealthboxes work? Would the stealthbox enclosure work better than just the free hanging sub?
Here's the link to the JL Stealthboxes
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=122901&highlight=modified+stealthbox

BTW I listen to quite a wide range of music rock, jazz, pop. Normally shy away from Hip Hop. But recently find myself listening to Lush 99.5 and WKRZ 99.1.

Thanks
Jason
 
Hey, yeah will check it out. Just realised that the JL Stealthboxes are actually just like free air subs. It's not really an enclosure, just something to make the car look nicer.
m3stereonew02s.jpg
 
yendor said:
Hi,

Just to throw in 2 cents worth...

The spare tyre is required by law to be present and accountable.. If you get a flat along the expressways and EMAS comes over, a jolly good hong bao will be going.

For my ICE, i am using a Naka amp powering MB Quarts (F) and Helix (R). 2x 8" subs rest on the rear parcel shelf and the magnets do not intrude at all!!!

The amp is below the boot carpet cover with my own ventilation system. Total effect is a super clean system w/o any visible signs.

Just an idea to share...

Cheers
Click to expand...

Hi ! yendor.

May I know how much did you spend on your Car ICE ?

In fact, my main concern is the 10" Sub-woofer magnet occupied the boot space. I think using both 8" is another way around :)

But how the Bass compare betwen 1x10" to 2x8" Sub-woofer ?

Not sure what do you means by the amp is below the boot carpet :(

It is possible to see and listen to your car ICE :)
 
Total cost is a little difficult to state cos most of the stuff is from old car. Stuff cost me a little bomb last time.

IMO 2x 8" get the same volume but but the really low down rumbling bass. I think it is a good compromise.

There is a 5" space above your spare tire and below you boot carpet. I used that space to fit me amps...

PM me if you keen.

Cheers
 
Guys,

Do you have any recommendations for 8" subs? I think Image Dynamics, Kicker and Rockford has some. Any other brands?
 
Jaskin,

Looking at the "stealthbox" it looks like a enclosure and ported....JL 1000w amp running the 2 X 10' or 12'....

If you are not concern about space...go ahead and go this route...your bass will be much controlled than a free air setup. But if you have a powerful amp like the example you shown...then free air also no issue for you as your boot space is not that hugh...for your kinda space....anything at least with 300RMS and you should be ok for freeair.

If you want to have good bass, I can tell you forget about 8'....these ain't much diff from a 6'....go for 10' or 12'. If you want to play freeair in your car, a good pair of 10 would do nicely...and get 500rms into those bugger and you will be rocking in no time !!

You can consider getting Kickers, JL or the ones that I am using Crystal Pro for your sub applications....these bugger are lasting and good value for money.
 
Hi ! Ghostrider.

When you mentioned if its free air, just remember to pump in enough juice...at least 300w RMS. If not....your sub will sounds like....eh....s h i t ?

My question:
What happen if I use a 4 Channel 1000Watts (4 x 125 RMS) Amplifier to power 2 Channel for back speakers and 2 Channel for 1x10" Sub ?

Am I right to say that 250 RMS is not enough power to pump the 10" Sub (Free Air) or can they bridge to 2 Ohms then become 400 RMS to pump the 10" Sub ?

Howeverm if the 10" Sub is 4 Ohms, we cannot bridge the Amp to 2 Ohms to drive the Sub right ? I am confused :(

Sorry, don't really know how to read the product line catalog.
 
Half the resistance double the power. 4 x 125rms @ 4 ohms...you will get 4 x 250rms @ 2ohms

Your 250rms reduce to 2ohm will be getting around 500rms.

This is ok for subs only...dun try to play it on mids etc....it will sound horrible.

The reason why freeair (FA) needs power is because FA is using your boot space as a enclousure...so as you know your boot compared to a constructed enclousure is much bigger...that is why you need power to control the flexing of the speaker.
 
Somebody rang? :)

I'm confused about the steathbox. It really seems like a freeair enclosure, the grey portion surrounding the sub is just to cover it up from sight?

Anyway, 8" woofers... can't produce decent bass. Again it depends on what kind of music. Light classical, and vocals... may just be ok. Anything else... forget it.

You won't get any punch from 8" woofers... so don't expect much.

Crazy ideas? With all that investment in 8" woofers and a amp to drive it... I would rather:

1. Install a really bassy component speaker in front door (6.5")

2. Super soundproof that door. I'm talking 2 layers of heavy dynamat extreme, or min 5 layers or more of sound deadening spray to completely seal up the door. Make it into a subwoofer enclosure inside - SEALED.

3. Run ACTIVE setup - two channels of amplification for tweets, and two channels for mid range. Play and control the matching via active crossover.

4. Pump AT LEAST 150W x 2 into the front mids, and see the magic work.

Upfront bass is really nice. That's where you want your bass anyway. Besides... 6.5" is only smaller than 8" by 1.5".

Best yet.. go for three way. In my last Silvia coupe, I ran a three way active system up front. In the doors, I had 8" woofers, 4" mid range, and 1" tweeters, run by a 6 channel amp. That gave me real upfront bass indeed, and for added OOOOOooomph... two 12" woofers in the rear. :whattheh:

Let the games begin!
 
Wah cannot lah Icecoupe. Too radical already.

Ok, let's talk about 10" Subs then. Where would I install the 10 inchers? Can they hang from the rear speaker vents? I think a 10" free air sub might get in the way if hung right in the middle of the boot.
 
I have to see the back of the car again. Right now I remember the two ready cutouts that are standing by for the HK system. You can just plug out that two stoppers, and mount your pair of 10s there.

If not... engineer a pair of 1cu ft sealed boxes and tuck them at each side, against the backrest of the seat? When golfing, just leave the boxes at home?
 
Icecoupe, that sounds like a plan. But really hate the idea of 1 box let alone 2. The last box I had was a 1.6 Cu Ft w/ a 12". Why would 1 10" be sufficient or do good things always comes in pairs?
 
icecoupe said:
I have to see the back of the car again. Right now I remember the two ready cutouts that are standing by for the HK system. You can just plug out that two stoppers, and mount your pair of 10s there.

If not... engineer a pair of 1cu ft sealed boxes and tuck them at each side, against the backrest of the seat? When golfing, just leave the boxes at home?
Click to expand...

Hi bitch.... :thumbsup:

Now please go to the newbies section and introduce yourself...before I do it for you...now you dun want that to happen right...you know what a lousy writer I am.... :p
 
Let's hold a mini ICE meet-up lah. I also wanna learn more manz. I hear all the acronyms also catch no ball.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

No members online now.
Total: 92 (members: 1, guests: 91)

Forum statistics

Threads
82,751
Messages
1,019,335
Members
78,289
Latest member
vin55org

Latest posts

Back
Top