Help Needed with a Sealed Enclosure for SA12 and E10

[matt scarlett]

I asked Sundown for a sealed enclosure for both the SA-12 (mine) and an E-10 (I bought for a friend) but I wanted them to hit around the low 30's. Sundown replied giving me the standard measurements as seen on their website. I'm no good with WiniSD an/or sealed enclosures. Can

0.5 ft^3 = E10

1.0 ft^3 = SA12

email from Sundown. Can anyone confirm please?

E10..... inner box dimensions... 12"x12"x7"... add polyfill
SA12..... inner box dimensions.... 14x14x9... add polyfill

[STEALTH808]

sa is not recommended sealed. if you want to hit lows, build a low tuned ported box.

[ncochran]

sa is not recommended sealed. if you want to hit lows, build a low tuned ported box.

Actually the SA 12 has a recommended sealed volume of 1 cube. Having said that, if you were trying to get loud, a ported box is probably a better path. If you want sealed, I don't see any reason why you couldn't go that route though.

Are you looking for a wedge shaped box, or just a rectangle/cube, what are your max desired dimensions etc... with a little more info it would be pretty easy to help design something. Although you could just build straight off of what Sundown e-mailed you and you would be just fine. a 14x14x9 box would work and would be super easy to build.

[matt scarlett]

The SA-12 is too much for me. Coming from JL’s w3v3 and even Digital Designs DDLE312 prefab sub, the SA-12 I’m running it on around 140 watts on a Pioneer 4 channel amp. My HU is on -3 and it’s still too much.

I had it in a sealed enclosure for the first few days … an enclosure meant for a Kenwood KFC-112S subwoofer. I always tune low, output is not a priority. Don’t get me wrong, The SA-12 does low like nothing I’ve heard/owned, however I want to curb the output.

I’ve just my PWK Designs design blueprint …. a series 6^th order BP. But I’m still terrified.

On the strength of the SA-12, I bought my friend an E-10 which is going in a sealed box replacing two Vibe Slick 10” subs in a sealed. I think 1 E-10 will outperform his twin 10 set up. On the face of it, maybe i should have gone this route, however i can't be bothered to sell the SA-12 ... selling, shipping., ebay fees etc. Might as well work with what i have

Just wanted 2^nd opinion on Sundown advice / help with a sealed enclosure to hit 30 Hz or below please?I was looking at a straight rectangle box, dimensions around 25 W x 15 H x 15 D max dimensions, although PWK’s BP is bigger. Anything sealed, to hit 30 Hz or lower with smaller dimensions, would be a help.

BTW I do have a 750 watt amp, but i'm scared on 140 watts!!!

[Joe X]

Sealed perform about flat inside a car and sees little gain on increasing net volume, the dimensions you were given translated to external dims and accounting for driver displacement result in this:

Enclosure Specifications:

Vb = 0.881 ft^3

External Height = 15.5 in
External Width = 15.5 in
External Depth = 10.5 in

Cut Sheet List:

* All Dimensions in Inches.
* Wood Thickness is 3/4 for all Parts.

External Enclosure Parts:

Front & Back = 15 1/2 x 15 1/2

Left & Right Sides = 9 x 14

Top & Bottom = 15 1/2 x 9

It will reach 30s and lower just not to the level most people like.

[matt scarlett]

Sealed perform about flat inside a car and sees little gain on increasing net volume,

It will reach 30s and lower just not to the level most people like.

would a larger enclosure raise the efficiency at lower frequencies then? Would hooking the sub up to my 750 watt amp improve things?

[CleanSierra]

Just a quick observation, but if a single SA12 is TOO much for you, car audio might not be your thing. This is an audio enthusiasts forum dude

All joking aside, you may look into making the cleanest, possibly SQ route, since output is not your thing. You might try really focusing your time and energy and learning(if you don't already have the knowledge) about staging, imaging, and designing a system meant to be stupid clean and accurate.

On a side note. Im not sure I'd trust a PWK designed 6th order.

[matt scarlett]

Joe X, I forgot to add a; Thank You!

However, that's smaller than my Kenwood enclosure, and that doesn't quite hit the depth. When it comes to sealed enclosures, wouldn't a bigger box yield a lower FS and/or F3?

Kenwood = 1.53 Cubic Feet

Just a quick observation, but if a single SA12 is TOO much for you, car audio might not be your thing. This is an audio enthusiasts forum dude

All joking aside, you may look into making the cleanest, possibly SQ route, since output is not your thing. You might try really focusing your time and energy and learning(if you don't already have the knowledge) about staging, imaging, and designing a system meant to be stupid clean and accurate.

On a side note. Im not sure I'd trust a PWK designed 6th order.

Please don't take me for a Vibe Audio owner, or for someone who thinks Audiobahn is the best thing since sliced bread. I chose PWK, because I agree with 90% of what he says and/or does. I may not be on the level of some 'Car Audio' enthusiasts, however there are some fundamental attributes to acoustics that simply don't change, just because one is in the Car Audio business instead of the Home Audio business, or the Portable Audio or PA industry. Some people (not your good self) would do well to understand that 'Fact'. The same could be said for enclosure building,

As for Car Audio, I only studied for about a year before I started my own little enterprise only to have to shut it down due to health reasons. I didn't factor into my business plan of enclosure building, that I would have to be gas'ed up by the Ambulance men in order to get me out of my car. Never factored that humping loads of MDF around would trigger my ol' 'Slipped Disc' issue.

I was also given fair warning about cutting MDF. One builder at the timber yard recounted stories of people walking off building sites if MDF was being cut on site. He emphasised that its only in recent years that the issue of MDF cutting has been taken 'Seriously'!

Now i'm on 15 tablets a day for my asthma, and since I lost my mother to asthma (I did my best to revive her) when I was 16, after a major asthma episode that landed me on hospital for a week, my family simply asked me to give up the box building.

I concentrated on transmission lines, and horn research more so than sealed enclosures, and I rarely touched on researching ported designs. And I’m the kind of person that regardless of expertise or lack of them, If I’m unsure or don't know, I put my hands up and say! Better that, than perpetuating any misconceptions that people then accept as truth.

I find it hard to translate a YouTube flex video into reality … hence when PKW did his 'Just Imagine' video I wanted to see if it could be done ... could people really be convinced that a 6.5 can sound like 2 x 10's? I'm my case, the best guess I had from my Hybrid Audio I6SW build was: 3 x 10's on 500+ watts (it was running on about 110 - 120 watts).

http://www.stevemeadedesigns.com/board/topic/166982-good-65-sub/?p=2434694

So when I went to my local Sundown Audio dealer (Dave @ matrix-audio.co.uk) and said to him;

"I want really deep bass!"

… Dave suggested the SA-12. Again watching flex videos on YouTube never really gave me a true feeling for what the SA-12 is actually capable of ... neither has any other 12" i've owned, including the Digital Design 12" that never performed anything near as well as the SA-12 for output or SQ.

Even at 140 (or so) watts, I believe I’ve had a glimpse at what true output is ... and you may be right, it probably isn't my thing, although it is nice to show off now and again.

SQ: I still say the SA-12 is truly one of the best SQ subs I’ve heard, and the best SQ sub I’ve personally owned, So I’ve no issue there. Again, depth ... the SA-12 digs deep even at low volumes. I guess I need to set gains and tune a bit better. But I would find it hard to go back to JL after owning a Sundown Sub.

It si fun to show off now and again!

On a side note. Im not sure I'd trust a PWK designed 6th order.

Who would you suggest to go to? I may not know the best route, but I have seen many enclosure designers/builders who I personally would not want to give my hard earned to!

CleanSierra, forgive if I’ve come over abrupt. Its never my intention to offend. I've never seen the point in arguing, fighting or getting abusive with a person half way across the world.

[Joe X]

Sealed perform about flat inside a car and sees little gain on increasing net volume,

It will reach 30s and lower just not to the level most people like.

would a larger enclosure raise the efficiency at lower frequencies then? Would hooking the sub up to my 750 watt amp improve things?

You're welcome matt, I just took the dimensions you posted ( SA12..... inner box dimensions.... 14x14x9... add polyfill ) and add 1 1/2 to each to make them external, I just posted the cutsheet to show you that in fact those dimensions result in an enclosure BELOW 1 cubic feet once you add the displacement of the driver.

To answer your question, yes bigger box increase efficiency and low frequency response but you run the risk of bottoming out the sub if it's too big so for a given power there's a limit on the size of the box you should build.

[matt scarlett]

To answer your question, yes bigger box increase efficiency and low frequency response but you run the risk of bottoming out the sub if it's too big so for a given power there's a limit on the size of the box you should build.

Do you think a sub ... the likes of Sundown, could handle just a little bottoming out?