subwoofer selection and question

[turbojitsu85]

I've been looking into getting a subwoofer for the trunk for awhile. Originally I was thinkin only one 10" in a bandpass box wich would cost me $280 with amp. It's a Sony Explode with a 480 watt amp. Sony is the same as my head unit. The other selection I came across is 2 10" subs with amp that would run me about $200 in just a regular box. That choice is MTX with a 240 watt amp. They also have a couple of Sony 10" in a regular box with a small amp for $200. Does a bandpass make that much of a diffrence or would my best bang for my buck be withanother sub? Wich is the better brand for my setup?

 

[88 CuttyClassic]

use ebay, you will get much better equipment for the same price or cheaper. try ikesound.com

 

[TylerKelly]

I'm not at all sure I know what I'm talking about, as most of what I know comes from reading about things and not actually trying them, but I don't think a bandpass box will make too much of a difference. I believe (though could be wrong) that the main benefit of a bandpass is that it accentuates the crossover filter on the low end. You'd probably do just as well with two 10"s running with decent power.
On a side note, in all my experience with the X-Plode line of amps, they're crap. Better off to go with a JL Audio in my opinion.

Tyler

 

[F_dawg2002]

There are big diffrences in the diffrent enclosures. A sealed enclosure will give you tight punch bass good for light rock, jazz and even rock. They are also the easiest to make.
The next one is the ported/vented box wich has a tube which will allow your sub to play lower frequencies. They are kinda the happy medium as far as what your sub will put out. They would be goos for music that has a hard bass line, pop, some hard rock and rap. Theses boxes are not simple to make because it is very easy to scew them up and get things like extra noise coming from the port. I would suggest letting a professional build you one or get with someone that knows what they are doing.
Now if you want to keep the neighborhooh up driving down the road then you will want a bandpass box. I have been in vehicles that have very similar audio set up as mine with the only big diffrence being that they have a bandpass enclosure. The amount of air coming from the ports is enough to dry someones hair! They are good for deep, loud and kick you in the pants bass. The only set back to that is that thay are HUGE and they weigh a ton (around 25-40Lbs W/O subs). If you want the most from your sub and you want rap bass and you have the room then go with the bandpass, there is a big diffrence.

As far as the audio set up goes 10" subs will give you tight bass the bigger the cone the deeper frequencies it will be able to play and usually will have a higher output and power handling. I know you have heard it befo but you get what you pay for. Check out Ikesound.com I bought all my speakers there they have good deals, usually 40% off retail. I would suggest you go to a store and check out the systems and then you will know exactly what you are getting. Good luck with the search

 

[johnjj728]

Originally posted by F_dawg2002
There are big diffrences in the diffrent enclosures. A sealed enclosure will give you tight punch bass good for light rock, jazz and even rock. They are also the easiest to make.
The next one is the ported/vented box wich has a tube which will allow your sub to play lower frequencies. They are kinda the happy medium as far as what your sub will put out. They would be goos for music that has a hard bass line, pop, some hard rock and rap. Theses boxes are not simple to make because it is very easy to scew them up and get things like extra noise coming from the port. I would suggest letting a professional build you one or get with someone that knows what they are doing.
Now if you want to keep the neighborhooh up driving down the road then you will want a bandpass box. I have been in vehicles that have very similar audio set up as mine with the only big diffrence being that they have a bandpass enclosure. The amount of air coming from the ports is enough to dry someones hair! They are good for deep, loud and kick you in the pants bass. The only set back to that is that thay are HUGE and they weigh a ton (around 25-40Lbs W/O subs). If you want the most from your sub and you want rap bass and you have the room then go with the bandpass, there is a big diffrence.

As far as the audio set up goes 10" subs will give you tight bass the bigger the cone the deeper frequencies it will be able to play and usually will have a higher output and power handling. I know you have heard it befo but you get what you pay for. Check out Ikesound.com I bought all my speakers there they have good deals, usually 40% off retail. I would suggest you go to a store and check out the systems and then you will know exactly what you are getting. Good luck with the search

Bandpass boxes are not neccesarily louder and i highly doubt they will increase the port velocity. Bandpass boxes typically will only play a certain small range of frequency well. They are peaky and have drawbacks other than size and weight. Prefab boxes suck as they are tuned high and not built specifically for your woofer. A properly built bandpass box may sound good but the ones you speak of are prefabs from my assumption and are crap. A simple ported box built specifically to the woofer will almost always be louder and sound better than a bandpass box not built specifically for that woofer. Also, you speak of extra noise from the port or port noise. This can be easily eliminated by increasing the port area and/or sanding down the ports edges. Also, slot porting will help reduce the port noise verses the typical round ports. By the way, i would stay away from sony, ive heard nothing but horror stories about their current car audio lines. -John

 

[GNandTTA]

Bandpass boxes are not neccesarily louder and i highly doubt they will increase the port velocity. Bandpass boxes typically will only play a certain small range of frequency well. They are peaky and have drawbacks other than size and weight. Prefab boxes suck as they are tuned high and not built specifically for your woofer. A properly built bandpass box may sound good but the ones you speak of are prefabs from my assumption and are crap. A simple ported box built specifically to the woofer will almost always be louder and sound better than a bandpass box not built specifically for that woofer.

A proberly built bandpass box will be louder than a similar ported or sealed box period. An improperly box may not. They also have the inherent ability to handle much more power than a ported box. There are 2 power rating on a woofer: thermal and displacement. Thermal rating is the # stamped on the woofer magnet. That simply means how much power the voice coil can handle before failing. Displacement rating has to do with the properties of the suspension sytem and how it reacts to the power being given to it and the environment (box) around it. A ported box unloads the suspension of the woof letting it travel as far as it can. Which usually leads to woofer destruction. If you are lucky you can get the displacment power handeling to equal the thermal rating. But many don't, and that is why many ported box woofers fail. A bandbass box places a load on the suspnsion and helps to keep the woof from self destructing. That being said, it can only do so much. And because the woof is being loaded you usually cannot hear when the destruction is happening. But in all the bandpass boxes I've buuilt I have never destroyed 1 woofer. Killed many using ported boxes (thank god for warenties). So IMO and experience if you can fit it and have the capability to build it a CORRECT bandpass box is better. Actually given the ability to handle more power in my book makes them much better.

 

[johnjj728]

Originally posted by GNandTTA
A proberly built bandpass box will be louder than a similar ported or sealed box period. An improperly box may not. They also have the inherent ability to handle much more power than a ported box. There are 2 power rating on a woofer: thermal and displacement. Thermal rating is the # stamped on the woofer magnet. That simply means how much power the voice coil can handle before failing. Displacement rating has to do with the properties of the suspension sytem and how it reacts to the power being given to it and the environment (box) around it. A ported box unloads the suspension of the woof letting it travel as far as it can. Which usually leads to woofer destruction. If you are lucky you can get the displacment power handeling to equal the thermal rating. But many don't, and that is why many ported box woofers fail. A bandbass box places a load on the suspnsion and helps to keep the woof from self destructing. That being said, it can only do so much. And because the woof is being loaded you usually cannot hear when the destruction is happening. But in all the bandpass boxes I've buuilt I have never destroyed 1 woofer. Killed many using ported boxes (thank god for warenties). So IMO and experience if you can fit it and have the capability to build it a CORRECT bandpass box is better. Actually given the ability to handle more power in my book makes them much better.

The "displacement" power handling is also referred to as mechanical power handling. In a ported box, the subwoofer will only unload below the tuning frequency. A subsonic filter will help eliminate this threat. A properly built and low tuned ported box with a subsonic filter should have a similiar mechanical power handling to a 4th order bandpass or a sealed box. A box tuned to 35 hz will have very very little cone excursion at that frequency and frequencies close to that. Which will actually increase the power handling of the sub at certain frequencies. I understand where your coming from but ported boxes dont typically kill subs unless they lack a subsonic filter or are tuned too high for daily music use.

 

[GNandTTA]

A box tuned to 35 hz will have very very little cone excursion at that frequency and frequencies close to that.

I agree but unfortunetly, many people, and manufacturers, want that upper bass hit that only a box tuned to upper 40's can do. That's when the trouble starts.....

 

[F_dawg2002]

Ummm I think we have gone to far in depth here. I think only a select few here would know about the nitty gritty stuff. All the above probably sounds like german to them, so maybe keep it a little simpler. In my opinion Infinity makes great subwoofers (refrence series) that are desined to work efficently in smaller enclosures and that will not kill your wallet. I am very partial to Infinitys that is all I will buy. If you are looking for a thumpy sub then go with a Rockford or a Audiobahn. Audiobahn are not the best woofers but they will give you the best bump for the buck but they need a lot of power.
If you decide to build your own box then make sure to follow the maufacures specs. They will usually tell you how big the enclosure will need to be and how big and long the port will need to be. Of you are having troubles with figuring out how to determine the interior displacement of the box go to www.rockfordfosgate.com and they have a lot of cool stuff there. If you look under support you will find a link to RFTECH (http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/scripts/rightnow.cfg/php.exe/enduser/home.php) thats where a lot of things a explained really simply.
I hope all this helps someone.