TooPoor Posted June 18, 2015 Report Posted June 18, 2015 I've been doing a lot of reading lately trying to get a handle on the right path for me. Just looking for suggestions based on my preferences/limitations: - 2010 Toyota Highlander (not sure on dimensions, don't have it yet) - Smallest enclosure possible (wanted sealed originally, but could probably get away with ported) NEED room for toddler/family things (strollers, bags, etc) - Ported: 2.5cf3, sealed: ~1.5cf3 ?? Just learning about optimal enclosures - Going to do the Big 3 + XS Power 2400, not looking to replace the alternator - 12" Subs in consideration: AA Havoc, FI Q/BL, DD 3512, you get the idea... I'd like to stay around $500 - Would prefer single sub as I'd need to get a bigger enclosure for every additional sub (no?) - Amp: No idea. I'd like to stay around $500. Want something as clean and efficient as possible, would raise my budget if needed. - Music: Everything from hardcore to trap - Looking for the best possible all around, minimalist setup and willing to pay for it If I'm going at this wrong, please point me in the right direction. I realize there are a lot of opinions out there, but the more I'm exposed to and research, the better off I'll be so I appreciate any input. Also, feel free to tell me how I could get away with a 15" while considering all the above criteria ...
Joe X Posted June 18, 2015 Report Posted June 18, 2015 Your vehicle is large and you don't want to upgrade electrical, larger cone area always means better efficiency (output per watt), for example a single Zv3 15 can work in only 3 cubic feet ported, that would be efficient, which is necessary since it's a large vehicle, you would need to get dimensions and alt capacity to be sure but maybe a 1000W amp could work there.
TooPoor Posted June 19, 2015 Author Report Posted June 19, 2015 Joe, I appreciate the input. What would you say the smallest possible enclosure I could go with for a 15"? I don't have the actual dims yet (42.3cu-ft total), but we know it's a pretty large area. I'd really like to go 15" at this point, I just never really thought I could sacrifice the room... but maybe I could . Assume that I could give it a very good, non-budget minded amp, and willing to do electrical.
Joe X Posted June 19, 2015 Report Posted June 19, 2015 Just to give you a general idea of box size, about 16Hx35Wx17D would be something on the compact side that should work in that vehicle for a 15" sub. It would not be significantly larger than a box for a 12" that requires large airspace.
Inetba Posted June 19, 2015 Report Posted June 19, 2015 DD LE-M12. http://ddaudio.com/products/mobile-audio/enclosures/le-series It has a grill so you don't have to worry about sub stuff wrecking baby/toddler/kid/groccery stuff. It's simple for a first setup. At 42 lbs it's very portable if you need to remove it for more space. Won't need an upgraded alternator OR battery or even the big 3 since it maxes out at 500 watts power handling. Lastly, I don't know how much "boom" you need but here's a video of my old 8" sub on 370 watts. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XrCocoS2NIs Now that's only 370 watts and an 8" cone. Imagine ~25% more power with more surface area. I don't know if you can see my profile picture very well, but that's a 15" sub in my trunk. Here's a larger picture http://i.imgur.com/qGfkWP5.jpg
Joe X Posted June 19, 2015 Report Posted June 19, 2015 DD need larger boxes, also the first is a 250W RMS sub.
Inetba Posted June 19, 2015 Report Posted June 19, 2015 It doesn't "Need a bigger box". It comes with an enclosure. The measurements are on the website. It is 20" wide, 12" deep, and 15" tall. Period. That's 2.1 cubic feet which happens to be in his initial space requirements. Yes, the sub is rated at 250 RMS, it also has a peak power handling of 500 watts. This isn't a competition SPL vehicle, the dude has a wife and children who will be riding in the car with him. I'm sure he isn't looking for something that he can blast at 35/35 on the head unit all day every day. If his wife doesn't kill him, the tweeters will. It's his first aftermarket setup and he wants some boom in his trunk. I would imagine when he has his wife and/or kids in the car he will probably have the volume at 16/35 or 12/35. A 500 watt amplifier does not supply 500 watts at all times, at 16/35 the amplifier probably supplies around 250 watts which is PERFECT for a subwoofer rated at 250 RMS. If he gets a 250 watt RMS amp he will have to crank the amplifier up 100% to reach the RMS power handling of the sub and that probably isn't good for the life of the amplifier. In the video i posted, my 250 watt RMS 8" sub handled 370 watts perfectly fine. I currently have the sub attached to a 450 watt amp and it's STILL doing fine because digital designs has a problem with under rating their subwoofers. You will find videos all over YouTube of people supplying 8k+ watts to a single sub even though digital designs doesn't have a single sub rated to handle over 2,500 watts RMS. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IDFmaVDaUig. This sub is rated for 2,500 watts RMS. Daily driven connected to TWO 5,000 watt amplifiers. That's 4x the rated RMS and happens to be EXACTLY the burst power rating. Daily driven and still happy. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XDbmrxUQKdo once again, two 2,500 RMS subs connected to 15k watts. Still fine. There are SO MANY videos of digital designs subwoofers handling more than what they're rated for, it's not even funny. He mentioned carrying other things in the trunk with the subwoofer. One of those things hits the sub while it's on? Bye bye subwoofer. The enclosure comes with a protective grill. Lastly, budget. He can blow $500 on a sub, $500 on an amp, $150 on wiring and other electrical, $50 buying metal to hand make the grill to protect his subwoofer from rogue grocery bags, $60 making a custom MDF box with color matched carpeting. or he can spend $300 on a sub, $200 on an amp, $30 on wiring, $100 on beer, and call it a day. If something blows two years down the road, he has over $300 still left in the budget. This is a guy looking for his first setup in a family vehicle. He doesn't need 1000 watts.
Inetba Posted June 19, 2015 Report Posted June 19, 2015 as for the size of the box in my car, it is 19" tall, 20" wide, and 22" deep. Which is smaller than the box size you recommended for a 15.
TooPoor Posted June 19, 2015 Author Report Posted June 19, 2015 So if I were looking at the Ascendant Audio Havoc 15"... they recommend a sealed enclosure of 2-2.6cuft. Can I safely assume that I can stay within those parameters and get decent output? Or would I benefit much more from their PORTED box recommendation of 2.8-4cuft? I'd go for an amp near their recommended 1500W RMS rating
Joe X Posted June 19, 2015 Report Posted June 19, 2015 It all comes down to what you consider decent output, sealed is an option but is less efficient than ported, I guess you could do that and change to ported later if sealed was not loud enough after all.
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