looking to buy Looking for two budget. Powerful 15s that will be capable of 1ohm

[jgi420]

Okay so I got a 2008 Grand Marquis. I was thinking about upgrading from 12 to 15s for my subwoofers. Now what I have already sounds fairly loud but I'd have much deeper base and more low. Obviously with 15 I could easily fit them in the trunk I would say. So I'm trying to figure out something that is budget friendly that will pound now. The amp have is a 1 ohm monoblock amp which is supposed to be 1500 w RMS. 

 

I actually have two brand new dual voice coil subwoofers in a box that are 12 in.  really nothing wrong with My current setup but 15s seem to pound more and have deeper base and I figure 2 15s should be louder than 2 12s. 

 

Now I understand. I'm going to need a box along with subwoofers so maybe a loaded enclosure would be good. Now I am not really concerned with the hz of the box at this time because I know it is going to be expensive If I were to chase down a 32 Hertz box for 15-in woofers and I don't really have 100% carpenter skills to be able to build one that was tuned myself for cheap. I'm sure I could build a regular enclosure but I don't know anything about tuning.

 

Now obviously I'd like to have a 32 Hertz dual 15-in box that's ported. That would be the key for a good sounding setup, but right now I believe The box I have is tuned at 39 Hertz and the system sounds decent but leave something to be desired.

 

So I guess if anyone has any suggestions or knows of anything reasonably priced that I could get as far as subwoofers that sound decent.

I currently have volfvenhag which at the time when they were made most likely where unknown budget friendly high powered competition type subs now I'm not saying that the brand was JL quality. But as most of you know some of them were made really well and were at beast of a sub heavy plenty of xmax

now like I said there is nothing wrong with my setup. My speaker is not blown  they are just  extremely old but if I could find something that is budget friendly like they were the time I would probably consider.

 

 Now if I could get a reasonable setup that comes with  two 15s in a box I might just go that route. 

 

 But the way I figure it most of the time it seems like with car audio you can get a reasonably priced mid-range pair of subs and a box fairly cheap and install them yourself because  a lot of times what you'll see is that the loaded enclosure comes with a cheap basic bottom of the barrel box which is no different then just buying a cheap enclosure yourself and installing subs into it. I mean if you look online at a lot of the sites and places that sell subwoofer boxes, most of them look exactly the same but have different names slapped on them and they are all tuned around the same. 

 

 My current setup is ported as you can see from the attached picture

 But the boxes rather flimsy. You know it's just a typical cheapo a trend standard ported box that is all over the internet and sold on the many different names made with the cheap particle board like material and If you ever heard of or seeing the old school subs that I have. They are fairly heavy so you can't really turn the box sideways because they will blow right out of the box in no time and be falling out of it. So that's why I have it facing upwards. But it still seems like they've gotten loose from the box already and it's only three or four months old. I've already replaced the box three times for those same subs.

 

 One time I had a cerwin Vega 18-in concert speaker that I hooked up in the back of a Jeep and it seemed like it slammed thing was hooked up with a guitar phono looking type cord clearly not much power could go through that wire. But I remember it sounding pretty good for what it was for just one speaker.

 

 Now I seen another guy and he had two 15-in subwoofers in the back of a suburban and it seem like they were loud and I asked the guy a little bit about his setup  and he basically said he had two batteries and a stock alternator He claimed his vehicle at a recent competition did 140 db which who really  knows people bullshit.

 

 I would like to think that my car could probably produce the same, but I have no way to really measure or a test without going to an audio shop  or entering a competition.

 

 So to recap the setup that I currently have It consists of a standard battery from Napa which came with the car a few years ago when I purchased it.

 

Since then I have  upgraded the stock alternator I've used several different alternators no need to get into all that I will just get straight to the point of the post the alternator I currently have is a custom built aftermarket 250 amp alternator I also have the big three done.

 

 I also have a door speaker amp

 

 So with the setup that I currently have, I highly doubt that I am exceeding any power limits. I should have plenty more power to make use of If I wanted to.

 

 Now the second set of subwoofers that I have which are brand new in the box are rated for 2500 Max watt 800 watt RMS each sub after purchasing them, I realized that the amount of power they can produce is not much more than the volfs had the opportunity at the time to purchase higher rated subs from the same brand but I didn't want to spend too much money I just kind of saw something and bought it so I probably won't use those ever and I'm just going to sell those.

 

 Now clearly the most power each sub of my current setup could receive is around  750 watts a piece so obviously we would want to probably double that say around  1500 watts a piece RMS. 

 

 As we all know some people who don't know enough about stereo systems. They might see a better brand or a speaker that has claims of x amount of power and they think it is going to be better than what they have. Then they buy it and hook it up and you got maybe 100 watts extra power or they are reading the max rating or something stupid or they just come across the deal and purchase it kind of like what I saw at a store a few months ago.

 

 So I am well aware that I may only have a 1,500 watt amp currently, but I can always upgrade in the future once I purchase the subs and run it for a few months. I can probably get something like a 3000 watt mono block amp.

 

Just kicking around ideas trying to see what's out there if I can do better than my current setup for a reasonable price

[Joe X]

I would recommend the skar audio VXF 15 which are $280 each for a few minutes more at their site, they are 1500WW RMS and are very well reviewed.

 

I would do a ported box BUT you need to open up the rear deck in that car for sound pressure to pass to the cabin effectively.

 

Some people have done a 4th BP blowthrough to minimize loses but is very complex project that I would only recommend to very experienced people.

[jgi420]

On 12/21/2023 at 11:40 PM, Joe X said:

I would recommend the skar audio VXF 15 which are $280 each for a few minutes more at their site, they are 1500WW RMS and are very well reviewed.

 

I would do a ported box BUT you need to open up the rear deck in that car for sound pressure to pass to the cabin effectively.

 

Some people have done a 4th BP blowthrough to minimize loses but is very complex project that I would only recommend to very experienced people.

What do you mean blow through

[Joe X]

Is a single reflex bandpass box ported directly to the cabin, easier said than done:

 

 

It's an advanced project that you can get done wrong in a million ways. In fact I don't know if it can even be done properly.

[jgi420]

I was going to cut that round hole out and let the air go through that to the cabin and put a screen over it.

 

So I did some research and i ended up going with the standard 12 inch subs  like I've already had and I decided to go with the EVL so two dual 4. Ohm voice coil EVL 12s now I figure they should put out double the power clean then the last setup they say 1250w RMS. 

 

The only thing that I don't like about skar and their sales tactics is the fact that every single time I went to their website they were advertising that there was a sale acting like they have a deal going on every single day the counter says the same thing so it doesn't seem like the price has changed for 5 years on the same speaker. Don't know if the quality has increased or if they have changed anything around for an improvement that I know nothing about. If you go to Amazon or eBay they have the same speaker for the same exact price as it claims to be on the skar website and this is pretty much every day no, I don't know if that's something that all audio shops and places do whether online or not. If they decide to sell the brand, does the company tell them to charge the same rate and then just give them a discount of 10% or something for buying in  bulk because it would seem to me that you would have to charge more than the manufacturer in order to make a profit just something I've been thinking about

 

Also went with a Birchwood cabinet that I will be putting together myself now it's not quite the setup that The guy with the custom Vicks does, but I figure air should still escape and it will sound a lot louder than previously. And the trunk will be able to breathe which hopefully less rattling.

 

As far as the amp, I have not upgraded yet, but my plan is to get a 2400 watt RMS monoblock at some point I figure right now the 1500 should be enough during the break-in to play the speakers without really damaging them.

 

The only thing I'm unsure of about the birch kit is the fact that the hole might not be cut exactly so I might have to trim. But I figure real Birchwood should be far superior to the a trend. MDF that's out there and I shouldn't have any problems with The woofers rattling loose or the screws becoming loose that hold them down

Edited December 30, 2023 by jgi420

[Joe X]

Do the box so you can fire the subs and port to the rear to avoid rattling and open up that rear deck and hopefully enough output reach the cabin, that is actually THE problem with those VIcs, lots of space but then sound gets trapped in there,  build a custom rear deck or as you say get some grilles so that it looks nice.

 

Also go for a larger box with generous port area so that the box is efficient even if it plays a bit peaky, you will need every bit of possible output so that you can still get a decent experience at the front seats, let us know how it went.

 

Edited December 29, 2023 by Joe X

[jgi420]

On 12/29/2023 at 4:26 AM, Joe X said:

Do the box so you can fire the subs and port to the rear to avoid rattling and open up that rear deck and hopefully enough output reach the cabin, that is actually THE problem with those VIcs, lots of space but then sound gets trapped in there,  build a custom rear deck or as you say get some grilles so that it looks nice.

 

Also go for a larger box with generous port area so that the box is efficient even if it plays a bit peaky, you will need every bit of possible output so that you can still get a decent experience at the front seats, let us know how it went.

 

 

 

Thanks brother. I appreciate your information and help you seem to have experience. I hope my experience goes well.

 

I'm getting older now so I might not invest in too many more systems. I might get out of it one day but for now, I hope my sound quality experience increases over the cheaper and low quality woofers I used to have. Don't get me wrong the previous setup was pretty loud still but I figure I should be able to have double the  power now.

 

I'm waiting for the stuff in the mail and I will update once I get everything set up. 

[jgi420]

Well man I have a Birchwood box now. I just need advice to trying to get everything tight. I have to put the box together myself but I want to make sure it doesn't come apart I plan to glue it together and screw it down with some screws. Number 8 2-in screws and I got the fancy wood glue.

 

 

The only thing I don't understand is the plans for the box which is a flat pack kit kind of a show when the images what looks like pieces of molding that appear to go into the corners probably for extra stability and strength. However, the kid didn't come with any. 

 

Now should I be going out and getting some type of bracing? Whatever I can find at the local store possibly pine trim and gluing it to the corners for extra support or is that not really needed. 

 

I wonder if that would ruin the sound quality of the Birchwood by adding a couple strips of pine to the mix or whatever they sell at the local hardware store to the corners like the image shows Or is the difference neglible because it's just a couple of strips. 

 

As you can see from the schematic in the image, it looks like small pieces of trim go in the corners for extra  support of the box

 

Also wondering if at the very least I should add some silicone caulking in all the seams in the inside  corners before I seal it up

 

 

[jgi420]

Well I completed the project of building the box. I am almost upgraded. I have to install the subs tomorrow and I got the box mostly together and solid and everything seemed to line up pretty good. I don't think anything will rattle loose I'll attach a picture.

 

All in all, the flat pack went together pretty smooth.

 

You got a couple of factory pre-drilled holes that get in the way other screw holes which are on the corners where they meet. So you pretty much have to drill your own hole off to the side a little  so it doesn't intersect with another screw from a different side of the box. 

 

Also, there was a review on the flat pack box kit where someone said that most standard subs wouldn't fit into the holes that were pre-cut that you would have to trim. While I can assure everybody that the EVLs fit in perfect, no cutting required or extra fitting. The guy in the video might have had an off-size sub or they remedy the problem and revised the kit from the factory.

 

Also, countersinking is important pre-drilling holes along with the pre drilled holes that they have because they don't go deep enough into the other piece of wood they did not add holes to the side pieces . Can't stress that if anyone's trying to put a box together. If you don't pre-drill the holes to completion, you will crack the wood.

 

I managed to only crack two areas with a screw because I forgot to pre-drill one hole and the other hole it missed because when you install the port when you put the top over the box and screw that down you can't see the l shape of the port that good so it's harder to line up the screw holes. You want to measure, check then remeasure double check. Make sure any hole that you're going to drill is lined up in the right spot so you don't have that problem You want to avoid any cracking.

 

I could have just glued all the joints together but I also used screws.

 

For this kit you probably want to use a #8  1-1/2 flat head Phillips screw The one I used was from the typical big box hardware store and it was zinc coated I ended up getting a box of 100 because that's all they had and that size they didn't have a box of 50 but you need at least a box of 50 of these.  

 

Now all is that's left for me to do is to get some ring terminals for the speaker wires and to install the speaker box terminal to the side of it. Then I just have to install the subs which I got number 10 screws for that and I got 1 and 1/2 and also 1 in. I think one inch seems more appropriate and not too long  so I am going to  use those to secure the subs panhead Phillips sheet metal those are also, zinc coated. 

 

Can't wait to see how they sound tomorrow. I also have to cut a hole in the upper trunk deck to let some air out into the cabin

Edited January 12 by jgi420

[Joe X]

As long as you have used glue rather abundantly and left the box alone enough time for the glue to dry completely you should be fine, the parts come already cut so caulk or other stuff to patch up holes should not be necessary.

 

EVLs motor is not that powerful or the subs need that much port area so I say that even if the box is prefab it should do fine, 4 cubic feet net and about 50 square inches of port area should be enough.

 

You should leave the 6x8 speaker slots in the rear deck open and open a big hole in the center and hope for the best.

 

Look up proper gain setting procedures for your electronics which involve getting a cheap handheld scope or a SMD DD-1 to do the job correctly.

 

Let us know how it went.

 

Edited January 13 by Joe X