2 12's or 4 8's?

[jrdnhsnbrg 10+ year member]

Hey guys! Recently in my other thread a member informed me that 2 12's will have a little bit more cone area than 4 8's. I understand cone area isn't exactly king, but I want more. My box builder will have box construction and design handled, he will design the box depending on the subs I pick.

So, my question is, should I go with 4 8" woofers or 2 12" woofers? I have 1600W of what I believe to be clean power to work with. Electrical situation is in the process of being upgraded, so no need to worry about that. From what I've heard my amp should get really close to rated power if not do rated.

I want to go with 4 8's for the uniqueness of it, but it's more complex and possibly more expensive than 2 12's.

Please weigh in, everyone. I can't decide for the life of me.

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[Full Tilt 10+ year member]

I considered doing 4 8s in my car. But after going through a few simple thoughts, I found a dual 12 setup to be much more practical. You're getting a wider variety of choice, more cone area, and at least in my case, better enclosure compatibility. This is what I mean:

I wanted all of my subs to be on one face of the enclosure, but 4 8s side by side would mean at least a 32" wide box (which I couldn't fit to begin with, and it'd have to be a bit more than that). I didn't want to fire them up as that can introduce a few problems in a trunk. The 12s allowed me to easily find the right setup to fit the enclosure, which isn't even 30" wide.

Sure, 8s are more unique, but 12s are just so much practical (even in the financial aspect of it) that it only made sense to me to go that route. However, it sometimes is easier to fit smaller drivers when you're working with a certain dimension (H, W, or D) that's very limited. For example, 4 8s would work a lot better under the seat of a trunk than 12s would.

So, my next question is this: Where are the subs going?

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

How to calculate cone area

Cone area = pi x (r x r)

pi = 3.14 r = radius of sub

One 8" = 50.27

One 10" = 78.54

One 12" = 113.1

One 15" = 176.71

One 18" = 254.47

Two 8" = 100.53

Two 10" = 157.08

Two 12" = 226.19

Two 15" = 353.43

Two 18" = 508.94

Three 8" = 150.8

Three 10" = 235.62

Three 12" = 339.29

Three 15" = 530.14

Three 18" = 763.41

Four 8" = 201.06

Four 10" = 314.16

Four 12" = 452.39

Four 15" = 706.86

Four 18" = 1017.87

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

thats just cone area, no motor force or anything else inputted in yet. I would do the 8s if your going to do custom fiberglass shapes, would look really cool with that. 12s would be a lot more practical and budget friendly.

 

[jrdnhsnbrg 10+ year member]

I considered doing 4 8s in my car. But after going through a few simple thoughts, I found a dual 12 setup to be much more practical. You're getting a wider variety of choice, more cone area, and at least in my case, better enclosure compatibility. This is what I mean:
I wanted all of my subs to be on one face of the enclosure, but 4 8s side by side would mean at least a 32" wide box (which I couldn't fit to begin with, and it'd have to be a bit more than that). I didn't want to fire them up as that can introduce a few problems in a trunk. The 12s allowed me to easily find the right setup to fit the enclosure, which isn't even 30" wide.

Sure, 8s are more unique, but 12s are just so much practical (even in the financial aspect of it) that it only made sense to me to go that route. However, it sometimes is easier to fit smaller drivers when you're working with a certain dimension (H, W, or D) that's very limited. For example, 4 8s would work a lot better under the seat of a trunk than 12s would.

So, my next question is this: Where are the subs going?

Trunk, and I can fit all 4 8's on the front of the box and still have enough room for a port somewhere around 4" wide. This would be done by offsetting/staggering the subs, kinda like the olympic rings. I have 37" wide and 14" tall to work with.

 

[Full Tilt 10+ year member]

Trunk, and I can fit all 4 8's on the front of the box and still have enough room for a port somewhere around 4" wide. This would be done by offsetting/staggering the subs, kinda like the olympic rings. I have 37" wide and 14" tall to work with.

Then, honestly, I'd say it's down to personal preference. If the unique factor is worth it to you, go with the 8s. Like jeffdachef said, they could look really cool, especially with some custom work done. If you're trying to keep towards a bit of a budget, and make everything just a little more simple, maybe the 12s are what you're looking for. (14" will be tricky to work with, but it's definitely possible). Think about what works for you, not what other people think. Just my $.02 //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[jrdnhsnbrg 10+ year member]

Then, honestly, I'd say it's down to personal preference. If the unique factor is worth it to you, go with the 8s. Like jeffdachef said, they could look really cool, especially with some custom work done. If you're trying to keep towards a bit of a budget, and make everything just a little more simple, maybe the 12s are what you're looking for. (14" will be tricky to work with, but it's definitely possible). Think about what works for you, not what other people think. Just my $.02 //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

No custom fiberglass work will be done, maybe a ways in the future. What would you recommend for 12's then if each one will be seeing 800W RMS? Most budget friendly option at this point is another XFL 12" and use my current one in addition to the new one, but I'd be underpowering a veeeery power-hungry sub.

 

[Full Tilt 10+ year member]

No custom fiberglass work will be done, maybe a ways in the future. What would you recommend for 12's then if each one will be seeing 800W RMS? Most budget friendly option at this point is another XFL 12" and use my current one in addition to the new one, but I'd be underpowering a veeeery power-hungry sub.

I'd say run two of them at 1 ohm and see what they can do. That's what I'll be doing here shortly. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Remember, there's nothing wrong with saving up for a bigger amp in the future. As long as you watch your signal, underpowering your subs isn't going to hurt a thing.

Plus, that way you're not going through the hassle of selling a sub and looking for 8s along with somebody to design/build the enclosure. But I guess you'll be 'upgrading' your box either way.

 

[UsAmpsFreak]

While 2 12's is technically more cone area (barely) 4 8's is pretty much the exact same output (with all variables equal). But, that being said, if you run the same power to 2 12's as to 4 8's, the 12's would be getting more power 800 watts per speaker rather than 400 per speaker with the 8's. There are some other considerations though, if the 8's are more efficient and only need 400 watts to reach their peak and the 12's would run good but not hit their max with the same amp setup it's feasible that the 8's will sound the exact same, or maybe even louder by a little. We pulled out 2 12'' Type R's a while back that was doing 149's on the dash, changed nothing but the speakers and through in 4 8's and he gained 2 db on a meter. I credit that to the fact that the 8's were maxed out power wise while the 12's hadn't hit their max with the power that he had. I wouls imagine had he upgraded his amp instead of changing woofers he probably would have seen the same gain, or maybe even 1-2 db more. It's pretty much a toss up in my eyes output wise.

 

[jrdnhsnbrg 10+ year member]

I'd say run two of them at 1 ohm and see what they can do. That's what I'll be doing here shortly. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif
Remember, there's nothing wrong with saving up for a bigger amp in the future. As long as you watch your signal, underpowering your subs isn't going to hurt a thing.

Plus, that way you're not going through the hassle of selling a sub and looking for 8s along with somebody to design/build the enclosure. But I guess you'll be 'upgrading' your box either way.

I wasn't going to sell the box and sub in the first place so I could swap in and out of systems if I wanted to but now I guess I'll sell the box if I do go this way. Maybe my box builder will take it in on partial trade for the new one.

 

[Full Tilt 10+ year member]

While 2 12's is technically more cone area (barely) 4 8's is pretty much the exact same output (with all variables equal). But, that being said, if you run the same power to 2 12's as to 4 8's, the 12's would be getting more power 800 watts per speaker rather than 400 per speaker with the 8's. There are some other considerations though, if the 8's are more efficient and only need 400 watts to reach their peak and the 12's would run good but not hit their max with the same amp setup it's feasible that the 8's will sound the exact same, or maybe even louder by a little. We pulled out 2 12'' Type R's a while back that was doing 149's on the dash, changed nothing but the speakers and through in 4 8's and he gained 2 db on a meter. I credit that to the fact that the 8's were maxed out power wise while the 12's hadn't hit their max with the power that he had. I wouls imagine had he upgraded his amp instead of changing woofers he probably would have seen the same gain, or maybe even 1-2 db more. It's pretty much a toss up in my eyes output wise.

Just out of curiosity, how'd you 'change nothing but the speakers'? I mean, did you just re-baffle the enclosure or actually use a different one? 80% of a driver's performance is dependent on the enclosure it's in..

 

[Full Tilt 10+ year member]

I wasn't going to sell the box and sub in the first place so I could swap in and out of systems if I wanted to but now I guess I'll sell the box if I do go this way. Maybe my box builder will take it in on partial trade for the new one.

That might be possible. I'd also look out for people looking for a box. You'll definitely get more money out of somebody who actually has a good use for it. I got lucky and sold my box for my SA-15 to a local kid who just bought a 15" Type R.

 

[jrdnhsnbrg 10+ year member]

That might be possible. I'd also look out for people looking for a box. You'll definitely get more money out of somebody who actually has a good use for it. I got lucky and sold my box for my SA-15 to a local kid who just bought a 15" Type R.

Yeah it would have to be to someone with as big of a car as me or an SUV. My trunk is massive.

 

[UsAmpsFreak]

Just out of curiosity, how'd you 'change nothing but the speakers'? I mean, did you just re-baffle the enclosure or actually use a different one? 80% of a driver's performance is dependent on the enclosure it's in..

Rofl, we built a new box for them, yes. I meant nothing but the sub's were changed, same amp, ect ect. lol, sorry for the lack of detail.

 

[dirt101 10+ year member]

you can check my videos of my 8s, they were weak in comparision, but I still really enjoyed them while I had them.