Time to blow up my Boss 15

[Zefyr18]

Don't laugh just yet, it gets better! I got 4 Boss 156DVC's for what I thought was a good deal ( $20 each new ), even free is a bad deal with them. I put one of them into my Geo in a 3 cu ft sealed box with an Infinity 1600A mono block pushing it at 8 ohms. Two ohms was all bad, amp went into protect mode at any kind of volume level. I have pioneer 3", IIRC, up front and Bose 3" with their factory Cadillac ported boxes ( minus the Bose amps ) in the rear with an old Sony 4x25W rms amp pushing them. The deck is a cheap DP Audio mechless deck ( I hate CDs ). I have mid level Monster RCA's feeding the amps and 1 line converter for the rear channels. The amps are fed by two 4 gauge cables with distribution block and a 100A circuit breaker. I have upgraded from the stock 55A alternator to a GM CS130 and making the brackets to fit another one on the A/C belt later. The stock alternator couldn't keep up with the projector headlights, fog lights, 6" spotlights, heater, and music at the same time. Plus I tow a small teardrop camp trailer I built behind it. Yes with a Geo.

I just received my Soundstream Rubicon 1600D today, and know that the advertised "1500WATT" for the Boss is most likely just a Chinese model number instead of a real rating. This could be fun letting all that magic blue smoke out. I also have new 1/0 gauge cable to replace the anemic 4 gauge I have right now.

Really I am asking for recommendations on a few things for this system. I am no stranger to box building or fiberglass. Box design however, not so good at. I am looking for the best of two worlds, SPL and SQ, with SQ being more of a priority. I am at a point where I can afford to dump some $$ into a good system. I like 15's, it may just be me, but they seem to hit the lower frequencies better than 10s or 12s. I have been debating between a pair of RE Audio XXX 15D2's, Dayton UM 15-22's, Audiopipe TXX-BD3's, and a few others for subs. I am not sure of what to use for mids or highs, or even a good amp to use for them. I have been reading some good things about the Fosgate Power series speakers, but I am pretty leery of Fosgate. Up front I can fit, with some work, up to 4x6 and the rear I can fit up to 12" without getting too creative with the panels. I also would like to know of a good mechless deck single, but preferably double din to complement. Keep in mind that this system will ultimately end up in an S10 Blazer, and my old MTX Jackhammer 12's will go back in the Geo with the Infinity amp. Thanks in advance.

[timc31610]

As far as subs, I would take the RE over the others any day but before you plunge into that look at some other brands first like Soundqubed, FI, AA, the list goes on. As far as an amp for the mids/highs i've heard good things about the Soundqubed 4 channel amps. Mechless DD, probably the Pioneer AppRadio, but it does not have high/low pass xovers.

[Joe X]

Welcome, you need to set a budget and goals, also cheap stuff is a waste of time avoid getting any of it, better wait up.

[MACnonsence6]

its cheaper to build then buy i just built 2 destroyers for the cost of 1

[Zefyr18]

As far as budget goes, I can afford to buy what I mentioned in my first post and plan to dedicate at least 1/3 of the system cost to wiring. I was looking over the FI subs and there is one spec I don't like compared to the RE Audio XXX15. The FI subs have an Fs of 30Hz+ whereas the RE XXX has an Fs of 19Hz. As far as I understand, it means I can tune a ported 2nd+ order box to a lower frequency with the RE subs than I could with the FI subs. Granted that isn't all I'm looking at, but that stuck out to me. I did notice the speaker I was looking at from FI uses a 4" voice coil and RE uses a 3". How much of a difference does that make when it comes to performance, longevity, and SQ?

As far as goals, I want to attempt reaching hair trick status or at least a broken windshield in the Geo. It's a love/hate relationship with that car. I can't entirely hate a car that reliably gets 50+mpg on the highway and 35+ towing my trailer. I figure, when you drive a shitbox, the only way to make it livable is to enjoy the slow drive with some good tunes, thus the need to upgrade the shoddy, dumpster and junkyard find system I currently have.

[Guest]

tuning low doesn't mean you'll play low.

sp4 is 4" coil. will handle more power than the XXX. XXX is harder to find OEM recones if you blow it.

edit: you likely wont do decent window completely down hairtricks with 2 15's. and you sure as hell wont break any windshields with that little amount of cone.

edit 2: what is a 2nd order box?

[poorfish88]

ouch Kranny, the true hurts.

random k in the post

[Zefyr18]

Are they harder to find recones because they don't blow often or that RE doesn't make them anymore?

Are you saying 18" would be better or could it be done with 4 15's?

2nd order is a ported box, 4th order is a bandpass. I could go on, but I'll leave it at that.

When it gets into the blazer, I will be using 4 15's. I built a 24 cuft IIRC sealed box that holds 4 15's. Absolutely solid, used 2x4s and 4x4s for bracing and 1" mdf, with liquid nails at the joints, siliconed the joints inside, a lot of poly-fill, and 8 gauge silver speaker wire. I would try it in the Geo, but there is no way to fit it into the car. It does fit nicely in the blazer tho. Before you ask, why not start out with the blazer, I am in the process of installing a new engine. Idiot previous owners drove it around on a blown head gasket and cracked a cylinder head. I picked up another 4.3L, but may change my mind and install my 3800 supercharged engine instead. Still looking into whether I can program the 3800 ecm to control a 4L60 trans vs the 4T60 it came with, but all of that is for a different forum.

[Guest]

woofer is a little older. if you do manage to find an oem recone, its probably gonna be pricey.

you want to move air? ported wall at the B pillar.

[Zefyr18]

A ported wall you say? that could get pretty tricky, not to mention the lost cargo space.