3 10's or 2 12's???

[AhChit]

I am sure this has been debated at great length before but I could not seem to get the search terms to dig it up.

I am stuck trying to decide between 2 sealed 12's or 3 sealed 10's in a Montero sport. I am trying to do this with somewhat of a budget..... $125 per 10 or $150 per 12.

I am more interested in "you just got hit in the chest with a sledgehammer" bass than something that goes boom boom boom from 3 blocks away. My taste in music covers all genre's.

They will be powered by a Powerbass 1500.1 amp.

Which set up would you prefer and which drivers would you recommend?

Amp Specs

SPECIFICATIONS:

• 4 ohm Power : 375W x 1

• 2 ohm Power : 750W x 1

• 1 ohm Mono Power : 1500W x 1

• Peak Power : 3000W

• Total Harmonic Distortion :

• Frequency Response : 20Hz - 250Hz

• S/N Ratio : >80 dB/W/M

• Damping Factor : >150

• Input Sensitivity : 0.5 - 4.0 volts

• Crossover Slope : 12 dB

• High-Pass Crossover Freq : 40Hz - 250Hz

• Variable Subwoofer EQ : 0/+18 dB

• Subwoofer EQ Frequency : 40Hz

• Dimensions : 15 " x 11.3" x 1.9"

• Dimensions : 381mm x 288mm x 48mm

Click to read more...

 

[Hintzyboy 5,000+ posts]

The 10s will have a wierd impedence when wired up (.67 or 2.67 ohms). The 12s will each be overpowered by about 67%. I say try to get 4 single-4 ohms 10s if you can. Otherwise I'd say go with the 2 12s and set the gains very conservatively.

 

[mattf 5,000+ posts]

What about 3 12's?

 

[AhChit]

Space concerns limit to either 3 10's or 2 12's....... there is only 35" to work with from side to side and height is limited by the cargo cover. I guess it is time to look at something with single 4ohm coils which would bring the load in at 1.33 correct?

 

[Kold_Killa 10+ year member]

with 3 12s he still Runs into the same problem with ohm load being a little off..... with only 2.67 ohms you would probably only feed the woofers around 200 watts a piece.... same as Hintz said.... go with the two twelves simply because you can get 750 watts a piece to them, maybe a little overkill, but they should be able to handle it. Again... KEEP GAINS MODERATE.

 

[Kold_Killa 10+ year member]

Just go with 2 12s.... wire them down to 1 ohm like this:

http://mobile.jlaudio.com/graphics/Support/Tutorials/wiring_images/DVC_Parallel_2.gif

and there you go... you have maximum power output of amp.

 

[Gary S 10+ year member]

Everyting else being equal (which it never is, LOL!), if you could get the right ohm load you need to get max rated output from your amp, I say 3 - tens... theoretically, they are smaller and therefore stiffer... I have seen frequency plots from tens that look better than larger drivers (but that may be related to box size and/or driver design). Plus, three subs will handle more power/compress less.

However, at the end of the day, going with the subs that will give you max safe power from the amp (total ohm load) will probably sound best.

 

[Hintzyboy 5,000+ posts]

Everyting else being equal (which it never is, LOL!), if you could get the right ohm load you need to get max rated output from your amp, I say 3 - tens... theoretically, they are smaller and therefore stiffer... I have seen frequency plots from tens that look better than larger drivers (but that may be related to box size and/or driver design). Plus, three subs will handle more power/compress less.
However, at the end of the day, going with the subs that will give you max safe power from the amp (total ohm load) will probably sound best.

Yay for the most useless non-cotjones posts I've seen for a while