I would just thow a couple of 6"x9"'s in the back dash.....free air baby....

 

Why is that?

 

I had a set of Infinity 6.5" components up front running off a sony deck and orion amp and a set of PPI 6x9's in back...they sounded GOOD! If you want to actually hear your music take care of the highs first, then get the subs. get a deck it makes a huge difference. remember when you put the sub or subs in to make sure the box is big enough...one sub in the correct design/size box will sound way better than two subs in too small of a box. Focal also makes good speakers, a few of my friends have focal components and they sound amazing.
whatever you do don't just put subs on a stock system with an amp, it sounds like garbage and you can't really turn it up and enjoy the music.

 

Both subs hit harder with equalized air. Its unnecessary work and if one sub dies chances are you are gonna by 2 to replace the clapped out one that croaked. Dual chamber suck build the same box both ways and try it and see for yourself the differance I've personally built well over 300 boxes and have tried and seen many things.

 

Quick guide


Materials

A box has to be very rigid. Most common building materials are 5/8" or thicker particle board or medium density fiberboard.

If building a box with Plexiglas, do not use anything less that 1/2 inch thick.

A common material used to mold complex shaped boxes is fiberglass, but it is a real pain to work with, and several layers need to be applied for a solid finish.

Gluing, Sealing

Use glue at all joints (cheapest and most used product is Liquid Nails). Make sure there are no holes. Any leaks will degrade the performance of your subs, not to mention the annoying noise air makes when being pushed out of a small hole.

Let glue cure for at least 24 hours before mounting the woofers. The fumes of some products will eat up rubber and other materials subs are made of.

Holding Joints Together

Screw joints (use 2" - 2-1/2" screws) every four inches or so. Pre-drill about 3/4" deep, so that screws do not split the wood at the edges, especially when working with particleboard.

Making Ports

There are several way to build ports. If a pre-made port is not available, the most common material is PVC tubing. PVC tubing is very rigid, comes in different diameters, and is easily found at any hardware store.

Cut the tubing at the desired length. Consider the volume the port takes up when calculating the box volume. Cut a hole in the box. Make sure the hole is as perfect as possible to minimize gaps between the box and the tube. A couple wood braces can be added for screwing the port top the box. Seal the gaps using plenty of Liquid Nails or similar product.

Bracing

Boxes that are more than a foot on width or length or height, should be braced (use a piece of wood maybe 3 or 4 inches wide across the box, so that box does not flex). It is a good idea to put wood blocks on the corners for reinforcement. Always consider that blocks, braces, neon lights, etc. inside a box take up space and should be accounted for when calculating internal volume.

Damping/Filling

It is advisable to put damping material inside a box. Pillow polyfill and fiberglass insulation are common, though polyfill is a lot easier on your skin. This increases subwoofer efficiency by dissipating some energy that affects the sub, particularly the voice coil. Polyfill also "fools" a sub into thinking it is in a bigger box. Play around with different amounts of polyfill until you get the desired results.

Finishing the Box

Add wood filler to holes and sand the box to make a smooth surface. If you are painting the box, It is a good idea to apply primer under the paint.

It is not necessary to sand the box if you are using carpet or padding under vinyl, since the thickness of the material will cover any small imperfections. The best way to cut carpet or vinyl is with a good quality carpet knife. Blades wear out pretty quickly, so buy a handful. Cut a piece of carpet (or vinyl) big enough to cover the whole box. Apply adhesive to both box and carpet (spray 3M adhesive 77 or 90 works great). Wait about a minute and place the fabric over the wood. For a good fit, stretch the fabric when applying it. The fabric should wrap around and end in a place of the box that will not be seen. Do one side at a time, cutting excess carpet. If possible, add staples to hold the fabric at the ends.

 

Ok guys, ive decided to go with a single 12 on the back seat in the middle. I want to build a box around 1.5 Cubes. Which 12 should i go with? The box will be sealed. And which is better 2 ohms or 4 ohms? I just want a good quality speaker since im now going with one 12 instead of two 10s. The box will be 5/8 mdf all screwed and sealed.
Should i go with a mono amp or 2 ch. amp? Monos seem $$$. And should i get an amp that has the same rating as the subs max power? Sorry for the questions, i just dont want to do this over again.
Also, about the packing. How much should acually go into the box? It doesnt get wraped up in the speaker movement???

TIA!!!!!!!!!!!! -Jake

 

as far as im concerned alpine type r is the loudest,hardest hitting sub on the market but they are more money and require more power than a standard 12. (my boy runs one in his cruiser).
mooseman

 

Hellotbone,
It has been a proven fact that when using seperate chamber boxes it will slam harder and sound cleaner than one chamber boxes. I have been to multiple SPL contests and have participated in many of them. All the ones that were in my class which was super class were all seperate. Even the granny for KICKER she even has all her subs in seperate. Audiobahn tells us to make our boxes seperate. I can throw my truck down on it that seperate chamber sounds better than a single big chamber.

Sean

 

Jake,
If you want loud then wire to 2ohm. I recommend TYPE R or MTX or ROCKFORD since your not going for LOUD just for noticeable. If you want loud and very nice sound then go with Audiobahn. IM not just saying that cause Im sponsored by them I have had many people tell me that it sounds AWESOME...What do you say BigBlue? If you go with audiobahn get a 1251T which is a DVC (Dual Voice Coil) and buy a 2ch amp and make one voice coil on one channel and well you get it. If you dont go with AB then atleast get something that has DVC sounds better. When buying a amp you wanna match the RMS on the amp with the RMS on the sub. And also make sure the amp is capable of going down to a 2ohm load. If you have any other questions just post here or send me a PM. Also I wouldnt fill the box with anything. Doesnt really need it. Just as its called "Dampning"

Sean


::This is all MY OPINION::

 

Okay, so the deal is....if i go with a 2ohm sub $$$ then i should get a matching 2ohm capable amp $$$$ and im wasting money on the 2ohm sub if i only get a 4ohm amp?. If i go 4ohm, i will use a 4ohm amp (less money? Correct me if im wrong). Im not trying to spend a lot of money, of course i have to pay to play though. Im trying to stay below $160 for the sub and below $250 for the amp. Am i dreaming? What brands should i stay away from?
And what does RMS stand for, or do the subs and amps list them so i can match them? TIA -Jake

 

I think you should get a dual 4 ohm sub then bridge it to a 2 ohm load and run a good quality mono block amp and that should take care of you (most mono amps are at least 2 ohm stable). Im not sure what exactly RMS stands for, but it is the recomended amount of constent power that the manufacture has come up with.

SO

 

I got my 12 kicker L5 from etronics.com for $150 and the 600.1 amp for $350 at a clearance sale. Etronics.com and hookedontronics.com have some real good deals. Their customer service sucks but what can you expect when you pay about half of retail.

SO

 

Jamie, great post on box building tips. Quite timely for me too as Im goin to finish off my first box tomorrow. (I know your not a big fan of that particular box but Its my first try and I highly doubt Ill ever be at the competition level )

Jake, I wont even comment on the technical side of this thread b/c I dont know much about it..........but............I have the subs that Sean was recommending and am very happy with my decision. Dont think ya can go wrong with either ones advice, Seans a great guy who really knows his stuff and walked me through ordering my subs and amp, and Jamie does this stuff for a living. Just thought I might chime in with an objective opinion.

Good luck man
Jeff

 

I had 2 Alpine Type R 12's in my truck wired down to 2 ohms. They hit good and hard, but weren't as crisp as my Audiobahns (which are a higher power rating than the Type R's). I've got my current Audiobahns wired down to 1 ohm on a 1500w mono ch Audiobahn amp. It hits HARD and CRISP. Sometimes to hard for some of the music I listen to (who knew country had so much bass ).

 

I've been to a bunch of different schools to get certified for installing etc and have always been taught the way I do things. Have experimented lots and with the lines that we used. We always found a single chamber better but things have changed with newer designs in subs etc. So its anyones game now adays. I still run single chamber with my 12W3V2's and win all the time but I also have full JL everything right down to the amps for the crisp clean power that competition level requires.


Now off to questions answered!

You should go to a store and try to listen to what you think is going to suite your needs. Also some sub companies don't warranty a box built by yourself so make sure its allowed before you buy or they will deny you.

A 12 is a nice single sub but if I was going to do a larger single I would go bigger then a 12 just my preferance if you have the room. 2 12's sound really good and you really don't need to get into high end stuff if you only want a nice quality sound and not rock the neighborhood. If you looking for just a nice all round sounding subwoofer look at single voice coil to start DVC just takes to much power to run and costs you more on higher end amps etc to run.

If I were buying an amp for my subs yes a monoblock sub amp is the choice because of its class D power.

If you can get your hands on a JL center seat stealth box with one 12W3 in it I doubt you will be disappointed in it

I currently run (2) 12W3V2's @4Oms mono and (1) 12W3 @4 oms making my amp run at 2 ohms.

The lower the ohm's the harder and louder they hit but at a price its harder on everything. Sub amp everything. So you MUST make sure that the amp you buy is 2 ohm stable or lower if you plan on less. There are not many quality amps out there capible of 1 ohm stability so make sure and do some research!