Does power effect box volume?

[DubNDodge]

Will be running 2 HDC3 12's on 1k. I will eventually upgrade to around a 3k amp.

I hear people talking about the box design will change due to the amount of power the sub will be getting. Is this true? Or is it just one of those things were just build it, it doesn't matter a huge amount for daily/demos.

Also, generally does the port location change the output? i.e. Side port vs center port. It's going to be forward facing sealed from trunk

[Tarball]

The more power you are putting to your subs over rated RMS the smaller you want your box. The smaller box size will help control cone excess movement.

[skyhighcaraudio]

yes. box size directly affects the subs mechanical power handling. so the smaller the box the more power they should be able to mechanically hold up to.

and yes port direction will make a difference. depending on the vehicle one direction will typically be better than others. then again with this question car audio is "theoretical" and your car may be different from another of the same make and model...testing will be your best friend for the answer to this question.

[taylorpro]

you have it backwards. box volume can have an effect on observed power handling. For example, if you built a box for the subs right now with you're 1k amp, then you'd likely build it as large as recommended by AQ. The larger the box, typically the more efficient it is, as well, since the woofer will move more given lesser power. BUT, when you upgrade to 3k, you'd likely have to rebuild a smaller box, or run the risk of potentially damaging the softparts. If you wan't a guess on a happy medium, and I'm not SUPER keen on the AQ's, but I'd do like 2 cubes per sub tuned at 36ish

[Souldrop]

The air in the box serves almost like a "spring." The larger your box the lower the "springiness" of the box. The "springiness" of your box helps to control the mechanical movement of your driver. So you have a coupled relationship between your box's efficiency and its ability to help control the movement of your driver. In short if you're putting more power to a sub you want to to make the box smaller to give your sub more mechanical control in that situation at the cost of a lower efficiency. A larger box does not necessarily give your sub more thermal power handling.

[DubNDodge]

you have it backwards. box volume can have an effect on observed power handling. For example, if you built a box for the subs right now with you're 1k amp, then you'd likely build it as large as recommended by AQ. The larger the box, typically the more efficient it is, as well, since the woofer will move more given lesser power. BUT, when you upgrade to 3k, you'd likely have to rebuild a smaller box, or run the risk of potentially damaging the softparts. If you wan't a guess on a happy medium, and I'm not SUPER keen on the AQ's, but I'd do like 2 cubes per sub tuned at 36ish

That pretty much exactly what I was asking for. It just seems sorta goofy. I figured that it would be the other way around, bigger box for more power, smaller for less. But everything stated makes sense now. I was planning on 5 cubes for both while on 1k, I might move that down a bit more so I wouldn't have to rebuild a new box. Either way, I guess it's just mdf.

Thanks!

[DubNDodge]

The air in the box serves almost like a "spring." The larger your box the lower the "springiness" of the box. The "springiness" of your box helps to control the mechanical movement of your driver. So you have a coupled relationship between your box's efficiency and its ability to help control the movement of your driver. In short if you're putting more power to a sub you want to to make the box smaller to give your sub more mechanical control in that situation at the cost of a lower efficiency. A larger box does not necessarily give your sub more thermal power handling.

Let me grasp what was said. Efficiency means impedance rise or not? If so a smaller box will have a greater impedance rise while a larger box won't. So when it's all said and done. A 1k setup in a large box could be louder than a 3k in a small box. The large box will have a smaller rise than the smaller box. If this is the case, I might rethink getting the HDC3 and just stick with 1k on sdc2.5s

[shogen]

The air in the box serves almost like a "spring." The larger your box the lower the "springiness" of the box. The "springiness" of your box helps to control the mechanical movement of your driver. So you have a coupled relationship between your box's efficiency and its ability to help control the movement of your driver. In short if you're putting more power to a sub you want to to make the box smaller to give your sub more mechanical control in that situation at the cost of a lower efficiency. A larger box does not necessarily give your sub more thermal power handling.

Let me grasp what was said. Efficiency means impedance rise or not? If so a smaller box will have a greater impedance rise while a larger box won't. So when it's all said and done. A 1k setup in a large box could be louder than a 3k in a small box. The large box will have a smaller rise than the smaller box. If this is the case, I might rethink getting the HDC3 and just stick with 1k on sdc2.5s

No not really.... but I don't have the words to explain

[REVOofRustler]

The air in the box serves almost like a "spring." The larger your box the lower the "springiness" of the box. The "springiness" of your box helps to control the mechanical movement of your driver. So you have a coupled relationship between your box's efficiency and its ability to help control the movement of your driver. In short if you're putting more power to a sub you want to to make the box smaller to give your sub more mechanical control in that situation at the cost of a lower efficiency. A larger box does not necessarily give your sub more thermal power handling.

Let me grasp what was said. Efficiency means impedance rise or not? If so a smaller box will have a greater impedance rise while a larger box won't. So when it's all said and done. A 1k setup in a large box could be louder than a 3k in a small box. The large box will have a smaller rise than the smaller box. If this is the case, I might rethink getting the HDC3 and just stick with 1k on sdc2.5s

I may be wrong about this, but I believe efficiency of a box has to do with how much output it will create on so much power. The bigger box will be more efficient because the woofer is able to move more on less power, whereas it takes more power to move the same woofer in a smaller enclosure. However, this doesnt really mean that you could get louder on 500 watts per woofer rather than 1500 per woofer.

I also think I read on here somewhere that smaller boxes typically give you less impedance rise than larger boxes.

If anyone can confirm/correct all this, that would be great!

[ALPINE408]

The smaller the box the greater the rise in most cases