Subwoofer Questions, Help
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 17,602
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From: Palm City Florida
Subwoofer Questions, Help
I see that different size Subs require different size enclosures.
Is the enclosure size based on the actual CONE size or the measured on simply the outside diameter of the SUB????? How are they actually measured?
You can look at 2 different 8" Subs.. One with a 1/2 inch of rubber surround and another with almost 2" of Rubber surround... However the actual cone area is much smaller on the one with the bigger surround..
Worse yet.. I have seen 10" Subs with a smaller cone than an 8" :eek: WTF??
I realize the bigger the surround the further the cone movement...
Sooooo.....Can I stick a 10" sub in an enclosure designed for an 8" if I use one that has the Smaller Cone designed for much higher power????? :confused: :confused:
Is the enclosure size based on the actual CONE size or the measured on simply the outside diameter of the SUB????? How are they actually measured?
You can look at 2 different 8" Subs.. One with a 1/2 inch of rubber surround and another with almost 2" of Rubber surround... However the actual cone area is much smaller on the one with the bigger surround..
Worse yet.. I have seen 10" Subs with a smaller cone than an 8" :eek: WTF??
I realize the bigger the surround the further the cone movement...
Sooooo.....Can I stick a 10" sub in an enclosure designed for an 8" if I use one that has the Smaller Cone designed for much higher power????? :confused: :confused:
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 51,504
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From: Sacramento CA
Re: Subwoofer Questions, Help (chuckster)
whoooo boy.. its based on a lot more than cone size!
I realize the bigger the surround the further the cone movement..
Not at all.. My sub has a small looking surround for example, but moves THREE TIMES more than any given audiobahn sub which has a MUCH bigger surround.
Some tens will fit in the same airspace an 8 will. Some wont.
you could take two identical looking 12 subs - that you cant tell the difference of. One might require 1.3, one might require .8.
One might be EXCELLENT in a ported enclosure, one might be a fart machine ported.
its all in the specs.
qes, vas, xmax, blah blah blah
I realize the bigger the surround the further the cone movement..
Not at all.. My sub has a small looking surround for example, but moves THREE TIMES more than any given audiobahn sub which has a MUCH bigger surround.
Some tens will fit in the same airspace an 8 will. Some wont.
you could take two identical looking 12 subs - that you cant tell the difference of. One might require 1.3, one might require .8.
One might be EXCELLENT in a ported enclosure, one might be a fart machine ported.
its all in the specs.
qes, vas, xmax, blah blah blah
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 17,602
Likes: 20
From: Palm City Florida
Re: Subwoofer Questions, Help (Kale)
Sweet, you know what your tallking about.. OK...
I have a 2001 Tahoe with the Stock 8" Subwoofer in the rear... It is mounted in its own sealed enclosure..
I want to replace the driver with something that will PUNCH HARD and still fit in the same space... I will feed it it's own updated power source (What ever it takes) The rest of the stock stereo sounds great (Good enough for my wife.) I want it to hit harder...
I realize this is tough to do in a limited space.. So what would you recommend?
I have a 2001 Tahoe with the Stock 8" Subwoofer in the rear... It is mounted in its own sealed enclosure..
I want to replace the driver with something that will PUNCH HARD and still fit in the same space... I will feed it it's own updated power source (What ever it takes) The rest of the stock stereo sounds great (Good enough for my wife.) I want it to hit harder...
I realize this is tough to do in a limited space.. So what would you recommend?
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 51,504
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From: Sacramento CA
Re: Subwoofer Questions, Help (chuckster)
how mcuh airspace is there? A signle 10 with low airspace or single 8 is not going to give you much bass.
if you have about .5 theres a few tens you could use.. but a JL 8W7 or ED8a at 400-500 watts should punctuate the music nicely.
in an SUV, you really need a serious subwoofer for serious boom. Ive got a sub that i finally consider to "punch hard" and to give you an exampkle, the box is 48x14x11, weighs almost 70lbs and is powered by a 1000 watt amp.
if you have about .5 theres a few tens you could use.. but a JL 8W7 or ED8a at 400-500 watts should punctuate the music nicely.
in an SUV, you really need a serious subwoofer for serious boom. Ive got a sub that i finally consider to "punch hard" and to give you an exampkle, the box is 48x14x11, weighs almost 70lbs and is powered by a 1000 watt amp.
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 17,602
Likes: 20
From: Palm City Florida
Re: Subwoofer Questions, Help (Kale)
how mcuh airspace is there? A signle 10 with low airspace or single 8 is not going to give you much bass.
if you have about .5 theres a few tens you could use.. but a JL 8W7 or ED8a at 400-500 watts should punctuate the music nicely.
in an SUV, you really need a serious subwoofer for serious boom. Ive got a sub that i finally consider to "punch hard" and to give you an exampkle, the box is 48x14x11, weighs almost 70lbs and is powered by a 1000 watt amp.
if you have about .5 theres a few tens you could use.. but a JL 8W7 or ED8a at 400-500 watts should punctuate the music nicely.
in an SUV, you really need a serious subwoofer for serious boom. Ive got a sub that i finally consider to "punch hard" and to give you an exampkle, the box is 48x14x11, weighs almost 70lbs and is powered by a 1000 watt amp.
Ever see the stock 9 Speaker Tahoe setup? sounds great.. Just needs more hit.. :smash:
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 51,504
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From: Sacramento CA
Re: Subwoofer Questions, Help (chuckster)
well, either the Elemental Designs 8a or JL 8w7 will be your best bet. Give it 400 watss. Id say Elemental for cost reasons. JL subs are very expensive. Give it a good honest 400 watts ffrom like, a us acoustics 2150 in bridge mode.
[Modified by Kale, 3:40 PM 3/9/2004]
[Modified by Kale, 3:40 PM 3/9/2004]
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 17,602
Likes: 20
From: Palm City Florida
Re: Subwoofer Questions, Help (Kale)
well, either the Elemental Designs 8a or JL 8w7 will be your best bet. Give it 400 watss. Id say Elemental for cost reasons. JL subs are very expensive. Give it a good honest 400 watts ffrom like, a us acoustics 2150 in bridge mode.
[Modified by Kale, 3:40 PM 3/9/2004]
[Modified by Kale, 3:40 PM 3/9/2004]
Pro
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 687
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From: Kansas City MO
Re: Subwoofer Questions, Help (chuckster)
I just got my car back after I had a new system installed. The JL 8W7 HITS HARD in this thing.... (99' FRC) and I only have a JL 500/5 running all of my speakers and the sub. around 250 watts to the sub. It sounds AWESOME!!!!! Definitely has EXCELLENT sound quality. I didn't get a chance to get pictures today, but I will definitely get some tomorrow.... I will post them then. This sub sounds badass in the C5!!! Definitely can't go wrong with it!!! :cheers:
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Re: Subwoofer Questions, Help (chuckster)
Are you talking about the plastic sub boxes that GM has? If so, they are useless. Unless your sub has a box built for it's airspace & bandwidth, you are better off to go with a free-air sub. :cheers: No box required. That being said, a JL with a properly designed box will rock it like you want. :cool:
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 17,602
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From: Palm City Florida
Re: Subwoofer Questions, Help (Kale)
I found out the stock sub is 2 ohms... and is being fed only 22 watts...
I am going to try to feed it more power to start..
I just bid on this...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=18797
Once I blow up the sub :D I will replace it with a real one....
I am going to try to feed it more power to start..
I just bid on this...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=18797
Once I blow up the sub :D I will replace it with a real one....
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 4,691
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From: Framingham MA
Re: Subwoofer Questions, Help (chuckster)
Not sure how much space.. but I have to believe more power will hit harder. rght? What is the hardest hitting 8" and I will toss a few hundred watts at it.. Has to be tons better than the stock sub..I hope.