Added a sub and now it is not as loud wtf

[GrnEydDvl 10+ year member]

I started off with one 12w6v2 in a sealed box running of my 500/1. Everything was cool and I was actually pretty impressed with the output considering it was one sealed 12 in a trunk car off 500 or so watts.

But then I decided I wanted more output so I added another 12w6 and built a ported box. Sound quality went way down and so did low extension which sucked. I guess it might have been louder. It was more like I felt more vibration and more things rattled but it didnt seem as loud to the ear.

So I figure put them back where they sounded better, in a sealed box. So I had a third box built, sealed for the 2 12's. Strangely enough it seems not as loud as the single 12 sealed. SQ is back.The bigger box has sealed off more of my trunk but I still have 2 inches or so width clearance on the side of my box. I ride with one of the back seats down when bumpin.

Also, now if I crank it to near full volume I get a noise which I assume is the woofers bottoming out. It is not loud but is a mechanical noise like the cone is slapping something. This never happened with the one 12 setup.

I have kept the amp the same with each setup. All boxes have had the woofer(s) facing towards the rear of the car. All boxes built to JL recommended spec concerning volume.

So my question is is why is it not as loud? Assuming everything else is equal, same power with more cone area should be louder, right?

Is it possible I am choking off the trunk even tho I have clearance on the side of the box?

I am considering going back to just one 12 but then I am back where I started, better than I am now but still looking for more. Or I can say the hell with it and buy one 13 or 15.

What do you guys think?

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[Ctminime 10+ year member]

do u have ure amp wired to a 1 ohm load? how is it that u have it wired now?

 

[supraman1379 10+ year member]

Youre only giving them 250rms? Or did you get another amp for the other sub? And how is it all wired

 

[TwistedMovistar 10+ year member]

are the jl amps the one that gives you all the power no matter the ohm load???

 

[GrnEydDvl 10+ year member]

Truth be told, I don't know how it is wired. I told the installer to wire it to a 4 ohm load. I will check as soon as I get home.

There has always only been one amp. Each one is now getting about 250-300 RMS.

 

[937DYTBOI 5,000+ posts]

i thought on the jl amps it didnt matter what ohm load u have between 2 and 8 ohms that it would put out 500 watts on the 500/1. i may be mistaken. but my cousin had the same subs with the memphis 1100d and it slammed ur starving the 2 subs of power that they need together to wang

 

[TwistedMovistar 10+ year member]

500/1:

Rated Power: 500 W RMS @ 1.5 ohm - 4 ohm (11V-14.5V)

so that may not be the problem ...

my 1 mt 12 was louder at .5 ohm than 2 mt 12 at the same .5

 

[arsonbob 10+ year member]

Truth be told, I don't know how it is wired. I told the installer to wire it to a 4 ohm load. I will check as soon as I get home.
There has always only been one amp. Each one is now getting about 250-300 RMS.

I think you should add another 500/1. I think that will fix the problem. I think the one sub off the amp to itself was louder do to the power it was seeing, which they are both now seeing half? At least, that sounds like what the solution could be.

 

[GrnEydDvl 10+ year member]

500/1:Rated Power: 500 W RMS @ 1.5 ohm - 4 ohm (11V-14.5V)

so that may not be the problem ...

my 1 mt 12 was louder at .5 ohm than 2 mt 12 at the same .5

I should have very similar power levels assuming the load is within spec. Again I will have to check this with the multimeter tongiht.

Were your two 12's running off the same total power as the one 12?

 

[mannyb18b]

yes doubling power should yield the 3db increase, doubling cone area area but cutting power in half is almost the same as the single 12 off more watts. Now double cone area and double power+a correctly built ported enclosure you should see 6db+ in output, sq is goin to depend on the box

 

[slc72005 10+ year member]

yes doubling power should yield the 3db increase, doubling cone area area but cutting power in half is almost the same as the single 12 off more watts. Now double cone area and double power+a correctly built ported enclosure you should see 6db+ in output, sq is goin to depend on the box

what the f**k sub is that in your sig, wholly s**t

 

[T3mpest 10+ year member]

06 XXX I'm pretty sure, not much else looks like that . Back it up!

 

[mannyb18b]

ya xxx

 

[GrnEydDvl 10+ year member]

Why did you post this? It isn't even funny.

 

[GrnEydDvl 10+ year member]

So this weekend I checked the wiring on the box. The installer had the 2 12w6v2's wired at 1ohm. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/verymad.gif.3f39c5c2fd57527b671fad3efdfac756.gif Even though when he was building the box I specfically asked them to wire it to 4 ohms.

Since the JL slash amps are not recommended to be run under 1.5 ohms. I rewired it to 4 ohms and now I don't have the noise problem at high volumes.

It still isnt THAT much louder than the one 12 setup. Now I am on the hunt for another 500/1.