What is the most important element for SQ in a sub stage?

[csermonet47]

If you had to pick one, what component would be the most significant when trying to get good sound quality.. head unit, amplifier, enclosure, or driver?

[SIDE SHOW]

enclosure/install

[csermonet47]

Are there any "golden rules" for building a more SQ oriented enclosure? I know sealed is preferred by many, but when building your standard ported box while keeping SQ in mind, is there any thing particular you want to do? For instance, would smaller volume keep it from being so "boomy"?

[kirill007]

There are no rules of thumb, you need to find out what works in your application, modelling software will help you a bit to find a good box once you understand room acoustics (cabin gain).

The most important part for SQ in a sub stage is not knowing that there is a subwoofer (in the back).

[philrab]

If you're building a ported enclosure for an SQ application, I'd think you would want to tune fairly low, lower than usual to get the flattest response, shallowest roll on/roll off, and lowest freqs. I've never built a hardcore SQ build (daily rigs for me), but I imagine your priority would be accurate reproduction over a wide range rather than output.

Hopefully the hardcore SQ guys will chime in, though from what I've read from several of them your most important feature of bass in an SQ build is all in the imaging, making sure the bass DOES NOT sound like it's coming from the rear of the vehicle. All the sound needs to sound like it's coming from up front.

[CleanSierra]

There are no rules of thumb, you need to find out what works in your application, modelling software will help you a bit to find a good box once you understand room acoustics (cabin gain).

The most important part for SQ in a sub stage is not knowing that there is a subwoofer (in the back).

Probably one of the best answers I've ever seen. I mean, we've seen this answer before but it's always a great answer regarding SQ.

And Phil, one of the hardcore SQ guys already did chime in, Kirill has likely forgotten more than I'll hope to know about SQ.

[Skullz]

It all starts with the source music.

If you have a shitty 128kb mp3 then it will sound like shit regardless of how expensive your system is.

Start with quality recordings and go from there.

[hispls]

The most dominant factor in your music reproduction will be the acoustics of the room (vehicle). If you're going to be a purist you will need some precision test equipment and put in a lot of time testing. In this day and age EQ and TA makes playing flat somewhat easier, but you'll still need to put in some work.

Really it's not difficult to get flat <80hz response at all, the problem area most people have is the higher end of that wherever you try to cross into your mids. All the true SQ vehicles I've sat in that seemed to be the real tricky bit...... with that in mind, I'd say your midrange/midbass driver up front, the location, and correct processing is going to make a world of difference in how the low frequency is pulled up front and blends with the other 90% of the music spectrum.

[gckless]

Good points have been made. Tuning low is generally not to "kill da lowzzz" as most SPL guys think, but instead to get a flatter response across the bandwidth. Enclosure/install is a big part of it, just like any driver install. Driver definitely has something to do with it though, you obiously can't use an SPL sub with a stiff 6-layer spider pack and expect it to sound the same as two softer spaced spiders on a driver. Your high-frequency roll-off is also generally determined by the driver, especially in sealed and traditional ported boxes. Localization (knowing where the sound source is, i.e. knowing where your sub is located by the sound) is something that can drive SQ guys crazy. Hard to avoid in some vehicles. Blending is key, and the crossover between the sub and mids can be quite tricky.

All in all, the amount of factors that come into play is mind-boggling if you're searching for a competition-level SQ vehicle, IMO maybe the same or more as trying to chase 170dB+.

[kirill007]

There are no rules of thumb, you need to find out what works in your application, modelling software will help you a bit to find a good box once you understand room acoustics (cabin gain).

The most important part for SQ in a sub stage is not knowing that there is a subwoofer (in the back).

Probably one of the best answers I've ever seen. I mean, we've seen this answer before but it's always a great answer restarting regarding SQ.

And Phil, one of the hardcore SQ guys already did chime in, Kirill has likely forgotten more than I'll hope to know about SQ.

I sure hope not.

One of the most important things for a good substage is to have a great/solid front stage, because setting the LP on the subwoofer above approximately 50Hz will pull the soundstage to the back and you will notice where the subwoofer is located.

That means you'll need a front stage capable of good output to about 40-50Hz.

The most dominant factor in your music reproduction will be the acoustics of the room (vehicle). If you're going to be a purist you will need some precision test equipment and put in a lot of time testing. In this day and age EQ and TA makes playing flat somewhat easier, but you'll still need to put in some work.

Really it's not difficult to get flat <80hz response at all, the problem area most people have is the higher end of that wherever you try to cross into your mids. All the true SQ vehicles I've sat in that seemed to be the real tricky bit...... with that in mind, I'd say your midrange/midbass driver up front, the location, and correct processing is going to make a world of difference in how the low frequency is pulled up front and blends with the other 90% of the music spectrum.

To the ear it shouldn't be difficult at all indeed.