Audio Question fer ya'll sub guys

Ricky B

Ricky B

Wiiide Open
Joined
Mar 20, 2005
Location
LKN - Tha Dirty Mo (Mooresville, NC)
ok for those of you who know audio stuff

I have one audiobahn 10" 800watt rms sub right now

- in your opinion whats better 2 10" 800watt rms subs or a single 15" 1300rms sub?

- that being said i'm leaning toward the single 15" 1300rms sub just because of the greater wattage and surface area.

- the single 15" sub has:
#2,600 watts MAX
# 1,300 RMS Output
# 180 oz. Triple-Stacked Magnet
# Multi-Connect Lug-Lock Terminals
# Mounting Depth: 9 5/8”
# Hole Cutout: 13 3/4”
# 15 inches
# Recommended Sealed Box Dimensions: 1.50 - 3 cu. ft.
# Recommended Ported Box Dimensions: 1.6 - 4.0 cu. ft.
# Sensitivity: 94 dB
# Frequency Response: 15-500 Hz
# Dual 4 ohms voice coils

- I have two audiobahn a8000t amps that push 800watts each when you hook em up right (like 1 ohm maybe i dont really understand ohm stuff i just know how to hook one up to my current sub to push the 800watts)

- i know how it works to hook up the a8000t amp to get it to run the 800 watts to my audiobahn aw1006t 10" sub, how would i hook the two a8000t amps to the 15" awes15p sub to get it to run its wattage? Main thing im worried about is just trying to figure out where/how to hook the two amps to the 15" to get it to run at full capacity.

Thanks
 
it's all about cone inches man

the two 10's will push more air.

but, a good box will play a huge roll in it as well. to get deep, loud bass......a bigggg ported box is the best. if you can't fabricate a GOOD, TUNED ported box....the biggest sealed box you can fit will work as well.
 
GSRswapandslow said:
it's all about cone inches man

the two 10's will push more air.

but, a good box will play a huge roll in it as well. to get deep, loud bass......a bigggg ported box is the best. if you can't fabricate a GOOD, TUNED ported box....the biggest sealed box you can fit will work as well.
Click to expand...

Hmm, was thinkin bout just runnin a sealed box on the top of my rear bench seat, all i care about id if have room for at least one person back there so i can make a kinda long box thats sealed, i've never done ported b4.

As far as the subs in my expereince it seems like adding another of the same kinda sub doesnt do what you expect at all, i kinda feel like getting a sub with more surface area/wattage makes more of a difference? Or am I just way off on that one?

I mean i have two 12's pushin 400rms wattage each and the 10" 800rms watt sub in the truck now and am extremly dissapointed in the results, but then again im looking for a sound system that others can quite clearly be discomforted by as you drive past :lol:
 
mixing subs, amps, and boxes NEVER works how you want it too...believe me.

the two tens, witht he same watts, will be louder (if you set it up correctly) than the 1 15. there are more con inches in the 10's...therefore, they'll physically move more air

i mean...you have to take heed to motor setups, linear excursion, air space, and everything....but at the most basic level....more surface area (cone inches) more air is moved = more sound
 
Its about quality, not quantity. Im no "audio guy" but I do have personal experience. I had 2 12" sony Xplods in a good sealed box with an 800 watt amp. Then I found a 10" JL in a JL box, and stuck a fairly cheap 400W amp on it, and it sounded ten times better (louder, cleaner, lower).
 
yea tru, IMO i like audiobahn stuff, they hit super low and there reasonably priced

JL audio is hands down best quality thou, just waaaaay outta the price range :lol:

one question thou, i see that the jl audio 13W7 is only 1000rms watts where as a similar audiobahn 12" sub pushes 1500rms watts would that not mean the audiobahn sub would hit harder?
 
Don't be fooled by all the wattages on speakers. Lots of manufactures put BS on there to sell more. For your truck you can easily fit two 10's under the rear bench. You might have to cover the box to look like the bench seat to get enough airspace though. I have done this in many trucks with 10's or 12's firing at the ground and the sound extremely good. By aiming them at the floor you give the sound waves time to develop in such a small space.

Myself. I went with a wall of 15's that took up the whole cab. I don't have them anymore but they could be heard from a long way from where I was. I am now saving to put 2 JL 10's in my cab. Just going to build a box that becomes the bottom of the bench seat. It is easy to build, easy to cover, and hides them so the pesky theives have a harder time finding them. Plus then they are bolted down in the truck so they are harder to steal.
 
Down&Dirty said:
Don't be fooled by all the wattages on speakers. Lots of manufactures put BS on there to sell more. For your truck you can easily fit two 10's under the rear bench. You might have to cover the box to look like the bench seat to get enough airspace though. I have done this in many trucks with 10's or 12's firing at the ground and the sound extremely good. By aiming them at the floor you give the sound waves time to develop in such a small space.
Myself. I went with a wall of 15's that took up the whole cab. I don't have them anymore but they could be heard from a long way from where I was. I am now saving to put 2 JL 10's in my cab. Just going to build a box that becomes the bottom of the bench seat. It is easy to build, easy to cover, and hides them so the pesky theives have a harder time finding them. Plus then they are bolted down in the truck so they are harder to steal.
Click to expand...


Well what I have now is 2 12" subs under the rear bench pushing 400 rms watts each and a audiobahn 10" 800watt rms sub kinda like a center console box on the rear bench

the audiobahn sub is pretty decent and I added the two 12's and just am not getting what i want outta a system, which is basically the ridiculous factor.

Unfortunatly you cant fit a sub with any kinda mounting depth to it under the rear bench, I dont have aproblem with putting a box on top of the rear bench as long as I have room for one person to sit back there which gives me a good bit of room to make a large volumn box.

Idk i have been looking at audiobahn, jlaudio, rockford fosgate, and it seems liek audiobahn is the only one who has the high wattage subs, everyone else plateus out at 1000rms watts where as with audiobahn you got till 2200rms watts

Idk I'm just trying to figure out what works it all seems very unclear when you ask anyone about a sub at the 1000rms watt level or higher noone seems to have a strait answer, lol.

I might have to start lookin at a audio forum, become a bling audio geek just to figure out what works :shaking:
 
It really all just depends on what your wanting out of the sound... the 10s will give you alot cleaner sound, more then likely, then the 15, but the 15 will typically be able to go deeper... Plus, as stated, speaker quality goes a long way as to how good a speaker will perform....

The best way to get maximum preformance out of a speaker, is to run the recommended box size for that speaker, and if its tuned right will sound insane, even with 10s...

either way, i would try to get a speaker that has dual 4-ohm voice coils, cuz its almost like doubling your speakers....
 
ricky...forget all this "wattage" speak. If you want subs like you want trucks (big, slow, and stupid) then you are on a quick road to a shitty sound system. The two 10's WILL sound better than a 15. 15's in my experience never sound as good as other sizes. They will have a much tighter sound than the boomy sound that you would get from most cheaper 15's. When i used to be into audio systems, I started off just like you are...most watts period. Then i learned that a well balanced system will sound way better than an overpowered shitbucket system. JL Audio stuff isnt really all that expensive. Yes the W7 is, but there are deals. I paid under $700 for my 12W7 and box when i had it. Ran a JL 1000/1 amp on it and it didnt ever hesitate.

Now onto your wattage fetish. That RMS you are reading on most subs is BS. Dont believe me? Plug a real 1000/1 (read: JL or other high end, no BS amp) and i promise you it will eat it alive. Your truck cab is pretty small, meaning you dont need a massive air movement in there to make it loud (that clearly what you want right?). IMHO, Get away from audiobahn, they are OK...but there is much better out there for your application.
 
well are you wanting to keep the 12s? if so, i would probly look at getting 1-2 more 12s before id run 10s or 15 with it.... alotta times the different sounds of the different size speakers dont work well together.... unless you tune them in to play different frequency levels....

also as far as the seat goes.... maybe you could modify the rear seat to accomidate a bigger box better? or as said before make the box become the bottom of the rear seat? because if you want it to be loud, you need air space... and 4 cu ft is a big box when its ported...
 
I agree with what slravene said... I had an installer buddy once put 2 rockford 10s in the back on his civic, in a tuned ported box, and he would beat guys with 15s all day long in SPL competitions....

but a GOOD sub and tuned right, makes a shit-ton of difference...

and as i said bfor, airspace makes a diff... we took a pioneer 12 in a custom ported box in a reg cab chevy, and it was loud as shit... and a cheap speaker with 400W amp... its all about being tuned right


personally i would go with a ported or sealed box for sound quality.... but a bandpass system will make it loud... (thats what most of these gangsters in their 80s model caprices have)... its a cheap way to get volume, but sounds like shit, and the boxes are huge
 
I totally agree with the 10's. I ran 4 10w6 JL's with a Precision Power 1000w art series amp years ago (still have it and you got me thinking again) and I had a much crisper bass than a guy running large cerwin vega subs with similar total cone surface. He might have been hitting higher dbs, but I actually enjoyed listening to mine.
 
If you already have 2 12's and a 10 in there and it is not loud enough then the enclosures are not built right. With the right enclosure those should almost knock the wind out of you. The trick in the back seat of a truck is to rip out the bottom half of the seat and build the box to replace it. Then you just use the seats upholstery to make it look stock. The people in the back don't have a great seat, but they are in the back so you aren't trying to get any from them anyway. Just keep the girlfriend and cute girls in the front seat and make the friends ride in the back.

From my experience with about 6 years installing show systems on the side, speakers are only as good as the enclosure they are in. Bandpass systems work great for large air spaces because they are tuned for it. Work great in jeeps with the top off or in the store. Ported-tuned boxes when done right are great for any vehicle, they are tuned to that vehicle so they should be. This is much more of an art than anything else. It takes someone that really knows what they are doing to get the best sound. A really tight sealed box is incredible in a truck. They are also easily built at home by someone that isn't an audiophile. No one can argue that JL would be better, but you have something else so the best thing to do is to build the right box for what you have.
 
hmm so maybe my issue is box/airspace then, i kinda figured it played a role but not as much as you were mentioning. The box's under the seat are cool and fit but yea there is no room there for an actual box with airspace.

Im kinda liking the idea of a sealed box that replaces the bottom half of the seat, my only issue with that is my seat kinda pivots and stuff so that you can flip it up down/etc, I dont know if you can seperate the top for the bottom? And I also know nothing about uphosltry so it needs to be kinda simple.

I mean I realize you can get better quality outta the better end subs, im not really concerned about that to a certain degree, all i really care about is the "show off" factor to people that are around the truck when you crank it up. I mean i don't want it to sound like crap but i can make exception to a certain degree for the big boom.

I mean basically you know how youll be sittin at a stop light and everyone can feel this one dudes bass around him, or you'll be walking down the street and hear it comin and it rattles you as it drives by kinda thing is what im lookin to acheive to an extent.

So do you guys think building a big huge sealed box that takes up the bottom of the seat would get me that with the three subs I have now?
 
slravene said:
ricky what is your budget?

That will help us be able to tell you what road you should take.
Click to expand...


As cheap as possible, lol.

That being said this will be the third time I'm trying to get what I want outta a system so im tired of cutting corners to a certain degree, im not gonna go out and buy brand new 12w7's and 1000 watt amps but im willing to search for deals to get what i need or hook a couple of "pretty good" things together to acheive a fairly decent quality.
 
haha...you want to have your cake and eat it too.

You can get a super loud sound for cheap...but it is going to sound like ass and most likely burn up pretty quick. You can get a nice, tight bass that will knock peoples socks off...but it wont be cheap.

Give me a numberical budget range. Ive still got friends in that scene and can most likely find you something. I just need a figure.
 
you are also opening a new can of worms with this. You want your bass to be loud...but what about the other speakers? Are they stock? If so, they will be struggling to keep up if you are going to try and over-do this like i know you are going to ;).
 
idk im thinkin building a new box that would provide enough airspace for the subs would make a big difference, however id really like to not have to modify the rear seat and just put a box on top which would entail me getting ahold of some more subs/amps. Idk really as far as $ wise, i'd be down for tradin someone some parts or if its a really good deal i might buy some crazy ish it just depends. I might end up getting ahold of another audiobahn sub/amp just like i have now and run them in a large box with enough airspace, or i might sell everything i have except for the audiobahn amp get another one of it and run both on a single high powered sub. I just really dont know what im gonna do, it all depends really on what kinda deal i stumble across first.

And also how much this Rockdub swap is gonna nickel and dime me, its goin together this weekend finnaly :driver:
 
GSRswapandslow said:
the two tens, witht he same watts, will be louder (if you set it up correctly) than the 1 15. there are more con inches in the 10's...therefore, they'll physically move more air
Click to expand...

since I don't understand a lot of the other stuff being discussed...but I do understand basic math...I'll question this...

area = pie are squared

two 10":

area = (3.14159)(5)(5) * 2
area = 78.53975 * 2
area = 157.0795

one 15":

area = (3.14159)(7.5)(7.5)
area = 176.7144


theory of two 10" subs pushing more air than one 15" sub still hold true?

Greg
 
You will lose alot of that air movement with a larger sub due to flex in the cone. The 15 wont stay as tight and true to its shape when its moving quickly, thus they tend to sound boomy and slightly elongated. The 10s will keep their shape alot easier and wont flex as much producing a much tighter sound.
 
Just remeber, if you set a box on the rear seat it is just as easy for someone to take it off of the rear seat. People with loud systems that crank it up are asking to be broken into. Ask me how I know. After loosing over 3k in stero crap out of my truck, having to replace 2 windows, over 100 CDs, recover my seats, and replace the dash I now hide everything. It gets bolted down and typically requires pulling the interior out to get the box in or out.

With a pivoting rear seat, like I have in my tow rig you just unbolt the bottom portion, rebuild the box to replace it, bolt it back in. Then the seat still pivots. Great for the beach where you can pivot the box up and listen to the music. If I had access to a truck like yours I could shot you some dimensions, but I don't. I am hopefully going to build a box for my tow rig this week if I can get the free time. If i do I will try and get some pics so you can see them.
 
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