is cone area really king????

[DbDesigns]

Is a lot of cone area what puts up the big #'s??? Now I know that there are MANY other factors that play in.... For example My new build is five sa8's on 3k, but should I have gone with 3 12's on 3k???

[KTMrida4life]

Lol I saw your post in my thread and immediataly knew who this post was by. I have the same question, if you couldn't tell by my thread.

I want to say no, since you would also have to factor in each subs usable excursion. Not sure if thats correct or not, but if you had 32 12" subs that only moved 2mm, versus 12 8" subs that moved 2", the 12 8s would be louder. I think.

[Kangaroux]

The phrase cone area is king really only has one application and that's when you are talking about lows (<30hz). You don't need a lot of cone area to get loud off some of the higher frequencies because high motor force can go a long way. But when it comes to lows, it's much more difficult to build up the same kind of pressure and you need to move a lot of air to do so.

[DbDesigns]

see my thought is that if you have one 18 playing at the same amplitude as two 8's the two 8's will be louder... why? because you may have less cone area but you are doubling the "signal"... signal is not the proper term but this seems correct to me... 5 8's vs. 3 12's, the twelves have the cone area but there are more 8's playing at the same amplitude... more speakers will propagate more sound correct?? I agree with kangaroo that the bigger drivers kill the lows but I beleive that it is more box dependant than anything.... please correct me if I am wrong.

[AStovall]

It's not so much about cone area as much as it is about how much air you can move.
Just because you have more subs doesn't really mean it will be louder,power and cone area ,xmax, enclosure.....many factors come into play.
As far as playing low there are a few vids of SA-8s making cars flex at low frequency.

[KyleBechtold]

there are so many factors its impossible to tell.. Now then the same factors and the cone area wins out..

I.E two identical subs minus size a 18" on 3k in box specific for it vs a 12" on 3k in box specific.. All same vehicle box design(actual design not size) and the 18" would be louder.. you start getting multiple subs and box designs it gets complicated and no one can say with out testing it

[DbDesigns]

do you get what I mean about how more speakers = louder than fewer larger speakers.... it is simple thinking but sometimes simple is the ticket.. more speakers should propagate more sound....

[galacticmonkey]

Bass is about nothing more than displacing air. In general, the more subwoofers you have (with all things equal), the more air you will displace, and the louder you will be.

Obviously 12 12s in an absolutely terrible box on 6,000w wouldnt be as loud as 2 18s on 6,000w in the right box, but for an everyday setup that plays a range of music, I prefer to run a bunch of speakers.

I tried a setup with 4 BTL 18s on like 17,000 watts. Was ok, but it stresses the subs to run that much power. Then I went for a setup with 24 15s on 20,000w and was much happier with the results for a daily driver. It played a wider range of music, was more efficient, was louder, and since the subs barely had any power to them, it would play all day with no equipment stress or failure.

[Kangaroux]

Bass is about nothing more than displacing air. In general, the more subwoofers you have (with all things equal), the more air you will displace, and the louder you will be.

Obviously 12 12s in an absolutely terrible box on 6,000w wouldnt be as loud as 2 18s on 6,000w in the right box, but for an everyday setup that plays a range of music, I prefer to run a bunch of speakers.

I tried a setup with 4 BTL 18s on like 17,000 watts. Was ok, but it stresses the subs to run that much power. Then I went for a setup with 24 15s on 20,000w and was much happier with the results for a daily driver. It played a wider range of music, was more efficient, was louder, and since the subs barely had any power to them, it would play all day with no equipment stress or failure.

[DbDesigns]

so for bass race( which I plan to compete in) the key is more drivers instead of more cone area.... correct?? of course, the two almost go hand in hand but we do have size limitations... no 24 15's for me either way 5 sa8s on 3k with 76 in^2 of port and a 30 hz tuning will get nasty...

[galacticmonkey]

Are you trying to do the 39.9 class?

If so, a pair of nice 12s on the 3k should be great. I wouldnt mess with 5 8s.

[mazdakid]

Bassracing with 5 8s tuned to 30? What class?

[DbDesigns]

140-149.9.... too low of tuning??? it ended up being more like a 32 hz tuning...

[9515ROB]

you can break a 50 with 8 10s under the window line i had a buddy do it with 8 american bass xd 10s on a db drive PD2000.

[mlstrass]

there is no size restriction on subs for bass racing

x2 on what gmonk said, cone area/motor strength is king for loud daily/demo's....