Subwoofer questions
09-11-2009, 12:04 PM
#1
Subwoofer questions
1. What do you think hits harder, normal 10's or shallow mount 12's?
2. Im not smart on matching subs to amps. Im looking at 2 12in shallow mount subs with rms handling of 350 - 400 rms, they are dual 2 ohm subs. What type of amp would go best with these subs, mono, 2 channe, 4 channel or what? and what watt range for the type of sub as well?
Thanks
2. Im not smart on matching subs to amps. Im looking at 2 12in shallow mount subs with rms handling of 350 - 400 rms, they are dual 2 ohm subs. What type of amp would go best with these subs, mono, 2 channe, 4 channel or what? and what watt range for the type of sub as well?
Thanks
09-11-2009, 01:01 PM
#2
Srsly... who farted
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Connecticut
Posts: 644
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Normal 10s.
Everything here is based on air displacement, and that is dictated by cone size and cone excursion. "Shallow mount" subs are designed around the idea of putting a large coned speaker into an enclosure that would better benefit a smaller size sub, so you sacrifice cone excursion. This is what alot of people, myself included, term as the throw range of the speaker. The less the speaker moves, the less air displacement, the less hit, the less boom.
I am not sold on shallow mount subs whatsoever and never advocate them to anyone.
Everything here is based on air displacement, and that is dictated by cone size and cone excursion. "Shallow mount" subs are designed around the idea of putting a large coned speaker into an enclosure that would better benefit a smaller size sub, so you sacrifice cone excursion. This is what alot of people, myself included, term as the throw range of the speaker. The less the speaker moves, the less air displacement, the less hit, the less boom.
I am not sold on shallow mount subs whatsoever and never advocate them to anyone.
09-11-2009, 01:47 PM
#4
Srsly... who farted
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Connecticut
Posts: 644
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I have the same issue in my own. Reg cab is very limited on space. Right now I have two 10s, but i'm not big on it. I'm going to start a small project this weekend to see if I can fab up a fiberglass formed enclosure to fit behind the seats over the center hump. I have a couple of ideas poking around in my head for a single 12" install, so if i can find a free moment this weekend i'll start working and snaps some pictures.
09-11-2009, 02:05 PM
#5
That sounds pretty cool, but the difference in size between 98's and the 04 and newer is night and day. My 05 has a ton of room behind the seat, i could probably get something custom made and fit 12's easily, just not looking to spend that much money. The biggest truck wedge boxes they make are 10's for reg and 12 for shallow mount.
09-11-2009, 02:52 PM
#6
Srsly... who farted
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Connecticut
Posts: 644
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Should try your hand at making a box then man. Its pretty easy if you have the time and a couple of bucks. Alot cheaper than buying a box. Just needs a few ingredients...
Couple gallons of fiberglass resin/hardener/cloth, masking tape, tinfoil, sheet of 3/4" MDF (if you plan to make some solid walls), an old t-shirt, some wood dowells, some hot glue, sheetrock screws, and sand paper.
It feels pretty good to fab up something like that, i'll tell you lol. I've been building boxes for quite a few years. I built a sherical enclosure for my other car a few years back that turned out so well I sold it for a couple hundred bucks. Easy to make too. Just take one of those big walmart bouncy ***** and glue it onto a wide, MDF ring base. Take another MDF mounting ring and glue it in place onto the bouncy ball. Then proceed to fiberglass it up. Once you get your first couple of layers on the ball and connected to the baseplate, you can pop the ball and drag it out. Since the outside should still be fairly smooth at this point from only 2 layers of fiberglass, the easiest way to increase the wall width of the bass sphere is to fill on the inside.
I usually do 7-10 layers of fiberglass with sheeting all the way around on any of my enclosures to build up thickness, then seal off with a layer of automotive sealer (bondo works wonders and is strong as hell). The ouside is then sanded down, constantly increasing grit until you've got a smooooooth surface. Then it's 2 coats of spray primer, 4 coats of high gloss enamel, and a clearcoat.
Pretty sweet stuff. Going to use the same method in the back of the truck. Just going to mask off the floor and backwall area with masking tape and then lay tinfoil over the top. The tinfoil acts as a releasing agent for the fiberglass since it wont detach from the tape. Then you put on 2 layers of fiberglass.
Once it dries you have an exact form for the back of the truck so that it will exactly fit over the center hump (at least there's a center hump in my 98).
From here, I plan to figure out how I can fit in my 12. I have the distinct impression that it wont fit centrally behind the seat, so I'm thinking of side firing it, angled toward the driver's seat leaving the passenger's side for mounting the punch cap and amp. So, you just increase to 7 layers on the form (having removed it from the vehicle). Place it back in when it has fully cured and grab your mounting ring, dowells, and hot glue gun.
This is where you have to know the mounting depth of your speaker. My JL 12W7 has a mouting depth of about 8.5", whereas my Rockford Fosgate Stage 3 has a mounting depth of about 7 and 1/8". Cut your dowels to lenth, and hot glue them to the floor form, supporting the mounting ring. I'll be doing the same on the opposite side to allow for the sake of symmetry.
Once the pieces have hardened, take out the whole unit here is where you take your old t-shirt and stretch it over the entire enclosure, stapling it to the underside. Alternately, any fabric will do, but old tshirts work well and are always on hand, and if you're fat enough its a perfect use. What this has done is created an easy outer shell on the box which fits tightly over the speaker mount and tucks beneath.
Now put some coats of fiberglass resin over it. The first coat should be sufficient to keep the material hard, but again, you should be 7-9 coats on the entire topside, remembering to overlap the bottom where the staples connect the now solid shirt. The result should be a fully formed enclosure, now solid. Just needs some layering work.
Also note... check the recommended box dimensions for your selected speaker. For an abnormally shaped speaker box it is pretty much impossible to find the volume, but if you find a square cardboard box and cut it to size, you can fill that with a material such as packing peanuts and then dump it into the newly created sub enclosure to check your dims. If the new box is too big, I generally use either a hard foam packing, or a spray foam such as Great Stuff (can be found at home depot). It expands upon spray, and can be used around the bottom portion of the box, ensuring that all overlapping edges have been fully sealed.
Anyway... that post was alot longer than I figured, but I wanted to be able to save you some money if you're a bit handy. A custom formed box will run you anywhere between 100 and 300 bucks bought from a site, whereas a gallon of fiberglass resin will cost you about 25 bucks at walmart, and the rest of the materials can be picked up for about another 20 bucks total.
Couple gallons of fiberglass resin/hardener/cloth, masking tape, tinfoil, sheet of 3/4" MDF (if you plan to make some solid walls), an old t-shirt, some wood dowells, some hot glue, sheetrock screws, and sand paper.
It feels pretty good to fab up something like that, i'll tell you lol. I've been building boxes for quite a few years. I built a sherical enclosure for my other car a few years back that turned out so well I sold it for a couple hundred bucks. Easy to make too. Just take one of those big walmart bouncy ***** and glue it onto a wide, MDF ring base. Take another MDF mounting ring and glue it in place onto the bouncy ball. Then proceed to fiberglass it up. Once you get your first couple of layers on the ball and connected to the baseplate, you can pop the ball and drag it out. Since the outside should still be fairly smooth at this point from only 2 layers of fiberglass, the easiest way to increase the wall width of the bass sphere is to fill on the inside.
I usually do 7-10 layers of fiberglass with sheeting all the way around on any of my enclosures to build up thickness, then seal off with a layer of automotive sealer (bondo works wonders and is strong as hell). The ouside is then sanded down, constantly increasing grit until you've got a smooooooth surface. Then it's 2 coats of spray primer, 4 coats of high gloss enamel, and a clearcoat.
Pretty sweet stuff. Going to use the same method in the back of the truck. Just going to mask off the floor and backwall area with masking tape and then lay tinfoil over the top. The tinfoil acts as a releasing agent for the fiberglass since it wont detach from the tape. Then you put on 2 layers of fiberglass.
Once it dries you have an exact form for the back of the truck so that it will exactly fit over the center hump (at least there's a center hump in my 98).
From here, I plan to figure out how I can fit in my 12. I have the distinct impression that it wont fit centrally behind the seat, so I'm thinking of side firing it, angled toward the driver's seat leaving the passenger's side for mounting the punch cap and amp. So, you just increase to 7 layers on the form (having removed it from the vehicle). Place it back in when it has fully cured and grab your mounting ring, dowells, and hot glue gun.
This is where you have to know the mounting depth of your speaker. My JL 12W7 has a mouting depth of about 8.5", whereas my Rockford Fosgate Stage 3 has a mounting depth of about 7 and 1/8". Cut your dowels to lenth, and hot glue them to the floor form, supporting the mounting ring. I'll be doing the same on the opposite side to allow for the sake of symmetry.
Once the pieces have hardened, take out the whole unit here is where you take your old t-shirt and stretch it over the entire enclosure, stapling it to the underside. Alternately, any fabric will do, but old tshirts work well and are always on hand, and if you're fat enough its a perfect use. What this has done is created an easy outer shell on the box which fits tightly over the speaker mount and tucks beneath.
Now put some coats of fiberglass resin over it. The first coat should be sufficient to keep the material hard, but again, you should be 7-9 coats on the entire topside, remembering to overlap the bottom where the staples connect the now solid shirt. The result should be a fully formed enclosure, now solid. Just needs some layering work.
Also note... check the recommended box dimensions for your selected speaker. For an abnormally shaped speaker box it is pretty much impossible to find the volume, but if you find a square cardboard box and cut it to size, you can fill that with a material such as packing peanuts and then dump it into the newly created sub enclosure to check your dims. If the new box is too big, I generally use either a hard foam packing, or a spray foam such as Great Stuff (can be found at home depot). It expands upon spray, and can be used around the bottom portion of the box, ensuring that all overlapping edges have been fully sealed.
Anyway... that post was alot longer than I figured, but I wanted to be able to save you some money if you're a bit handy. A custom formed box will run you anywhere between 100 and 300 bucks bought from a site, whereas a gallon of fiberglass resin will cost you about 25 bucks at walmart, and the rest of the materials can be picked up for about another 20 bucks total.
09-12-2009, 11:14 AM
#7
Est Ars Vitae
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 194
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Def would just go with reg 10s compared to shallow mounts i've just put 2 Diamond helix sm 10s in the truck to replace 2 10'' kicker cvrs. Sounds like total garbage so i ordered a pair a d1's and a pair of Solo-baric classics to see what would work besides throwing another pair of Cvrs in.