2 12's vented, or single 12 4th order BP?

[island boyeee]

I've been out of the game for about 10 years now, but used to do some competitions and build stereos for friends. So I'm trying to relearn what I used to know, and possibly expand my horizons a little with some new stuff.

As the title states I'm considering a couple options for my 2006 Subaru WRX. Unfortunately the trunk opening isn't huge, so I can only finagle about a 3 cu.ft. box into the trunk opening. However, if I built 2 separate boxes, I may be able to get closer to 3.5 cu. ft. by being able to slide them in separately. My dilemma here comes, that the main goal is to seal everything off from the trunk, but trying to face the subs and ports forward is going to be near impossible with about 32" of width in the seat opening (can't really go wider than 30" with one box and still be able to slide it in).

I guess finishing assembly in the car could be an option, but since I do race/auto-x every so often, it would be ideal to be removable.

SO, on to the meaty stuff. The subs I'm considering are either 2 12" RE Audio *** V2, or 1 12" RE Audio SXX V2... My initial intent was one big box with a divider and everything facing forward. Well, since I found out I'll be pushing the limits to even get close to 1.7 cu. ft. per sub (more realistically, 1.5 cu. ft., after account for port and sub), I started to wonder if just doing one beefier sub may be a better option.

This is when I remembered that 4th order BP boxes exist, and I always wanted to try one. This would also be ideal if I could line up the port with the ski hole in the middle of the rear seat, allowing me to keep the seat in place if I choose. Either way, there will be a board sealing off the trunk that I would bolt the box to (with an opening for the port, of course).

I'm going for SQL here: I don't need all out bass like I used to, but I still want to be one-up on the trunk-thumpers (hence sealing off the trunk, which is practically made of tin on my car). I figure with this bigger sub in one properly built box, even if that means just a regular vented design, that I could be as loud or close enough to the 2 12's in mediocre-sized boxes.

I'll stop rambling for now, hopefully this is enough to get a solid conversation going. Any more info needed please ask. I would love to make this decision soon as the bug has bitten me hard and I'm ready to get back to building.

Thanks!

-Ian-

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[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

RE isn't the same RE as 10 years ago

 

[island boyeee]

So I keep reading...

I came across AD after remembering a friend had a cool build done last year. They have some pretty awesome looking stuff, and I have a great talk with one of the employees today. Might be switching brands.

They have two new lines of subs specifically build for 4th/6th order BP's. I may have them help me determine what enclosure would work best for my car and come up with the proper design for the proper sub.

 

[VWBobby 10+ year member]

More cone area for the same power level will almost always gain more overall.

Example: you could build a 4th order with a very narrow band that would have similar output to the Two 12's.

However, the two 12's would have a flatter overall curve/better SQ, for the same output at peak freq.

Depending on how much trunk area you are willing to give up, and how big of a box you can fit, you might be able to go with an 18" //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif Just build it into the spare tire well, with part of the box making a false floor for extra cubes. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[island boyeee]

Spare tire well has the amps. I'm willing to give up the whole trunk, but the openings to the trunk don't leave me with much room at all to slide a box in. That's the main factor. 2nd to that, the opening behind the rear seat is only about 30x14. There are some arched support pieces at the upper corners that I may grind down. This may get me an opening closer to 32+x15. If I can slide

This box in from the front, I'd be a lot less limited in depth. Going to try taking some more precise measurements tomorrow.

AD has some enclosure designs on their website for dual 12's with a single shared port that should fit in my constraints. They use a crazy long port structure. I'm interested to work with them and see what they can come up with.

I'm gathering that the 4th oBP is probably not worth it. A shared port should be easily doable with 2 12's, I just thought that should be avoided if possible.