Bigger is....worse?

[Mugen 10+ year member]

You'd be surprised just how much the vehicle effects EVERYTHING. Take the classic CRX as an example, it's just naturally louder then most other cars, that's just how it is. I'm not saying it's impossible that you two would hit the exact same number with the same system in different cars, just trying to stress the fact that the vehicle is more than a tiny factor.

Oh, I understand it's a very important factor, I just thought they were actually hitting the same dBs, it just sounded different in different cars. And now that I think about it, I guess it was kind of a dumb assumption, but I'm pretty new to all this //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crazy.gif.c13912c32de98515d3142759a824dae7.gif

 

[UndercoverPunk 5,000+ posts]

Oh, I understand it's a very important factor, I just thought they were actually hitting the same dBs, it just sounded different in different cars. And now that I think about it, I guess it was kind of a dumb assumption, but I'm pretty new to all this //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crazy.gif.c13912c32de98515d3142759a824dae7.gif

Don't worry about it, I've been doing this for a couple few years and I'm still constantly learning.

my 15"s are very tight.

My 18's were pretty **** tight sealed in the trunk... now the wall, I'm just going to pretend that never happened.

 

[creyc 10+ year member]

Guys, I'm not denying your 15's are "tight". I have always been under the impression that the eclipse I heard in a sealed box was tight. It sounded fine to me..until I heard something much, much better.

I suppose it's kind of surprising that "better" happens to be a stock system in a pickup truck. But once I heard it, I realized the big bulky 12's and 15's are just...sloppy.

12" RE SE, 1.8 cuft box net, ported and tuned to 32 Hz. Receiving 750 watts. "Sloppy" in comparison.

Gains set by ear, verified with digital multimeter. I don't know what else to consider as far as "install".

 

[T3mpest 10+ year member]

hmm ported box tuned low will give you lots of low end, lower frequencies tend to sound slower to the ear. That little stock 8 isn't playing the lower notes, hence it sounds fast! Put any sub in a small enclosure and you hurt it's low end performance, same effect. Small sealed boxes will make any sub sound quick, period. Ported boxes aren't going to sound tight, unless you tune them high, then they'll sound tight, so tight everything sounds the same usually! So in terms of "what's wrong with the install", and to summarize.

1.The "slow" sound of a woofer is a lack of lowend (or balanced low end, depending on what your used to)

2.Smaller woofers dont' play as low (all things equal)

3.A bigger woofer will play lower, making it appear slow, especially if you arent' used to the added low end.

4.Take a big woofer, tune it low, you get LOTS of lowend, hence it'll sound slow (your ported install)

5.Take a big woofer, put it in a small sealed box to cut off some of it's lowend, then you have a loud, tight, punchy, woofer!

 

[Precisely 10+ year member]

I would look to get a different set up, maybe be as bold to go tubular (I do not like them, but you could give it a shot) especially if there is no back seat. Remember, more space, more equipment.

 

[skadude016 5,000+ posts]

Vehicle is a major factor in this all. I made a box tuned to 32 for my girlfriends 91 camaro. After I finished it I put it in my Jeep GC to have a listen. The lows were decent and the 40-45hz range was alot louder. I stuck the box and woofer in her camaro and the lows just became ridiculous. but 40-45 seemed more quiet than the Jeep.

 

[skadude016 5,000+ posts]

Guys, I'm not denying your 15's are "tight". I have always been under the impression that the eclipse I heard in a sealed box was tight. It sounded fine to me..until I heard something much, much better.
I suppose it's kind of surprising that "better" happens to be a stock system in a pickup truck. But once I heard it, I realized the big bulky 12's and 15's are just...sloppy.

12" RE SE, 1.8 cuft box net, ported and tuned to 32 Hz. Receiving 750 watts. "Sloppy" in comparison.

Gains set by ear, verified with digital multimeter. I don't know what else to consider as far as "install".

1.8 is kinda small. but hey you just might have a different perception to what sounds good

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

1.8 would be closer to 10" size than 12" unless your wanting upper bass...

 

[creyc 10+ year member]

hmm ported box tuned low will give you lots of low end, lower frequencies tend to sound slower to the ear. That little stock 8 isn't playing the lower notes, hence it sounds fast! Put any sub in a small enclosure and you hurt it's low end performance, same effect. Small sealed boxes will make any sub sound quick, period. Ported boxes aren't going to sound tight, unless you tune them high, then they'll sound tight, so tight everything sounds the same usually! So in terms of "what's wrong with the install", and to summarize.

1.8 is kinda small. but hey you just might have a different perception to what sounds good

I understand the first quote, but not the second. They seem contradictory.

1.8 was taken directly from an RE tech guy on the phone. It's for a single driver.

 

[GrnEydDvl 10+ year member]

Since I own a new f-150 that had the factory sub I'll comment. It was a nice little factory sub. Tight but really ran out of gas quickly when you turned up the volume. Totally decent for low level listening. I threw it away as soon as the w6s were installed.

And you can definitely achieve the impact, "speed", and sound quality of it with aftermarket drivers. Choose a sq oriented sub, put it in the right box, install it correctly, and set your levels/gains properly.

I think many people get in the mindset of "I have large subs they should be loud and stand out all the time so let me set the gains that way" which is fine if that is what you want. But there is no reason a large sub or even an array of large subs can't be configured to blend in with the rest of the system. Most just either don't want that or lack the understanding to achieve it.

 

[azbass 5,000+ posts]

Don't worry about it, I've been doing this for a couple few years and I'm still constantly learning.


My 18's were pretty **** tight sealed in the trunk... now the wall, I'm just going to pretend that never happened.

because we know whats up. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/cool.gif.3bcaf8f141236c00f8044d07150e34f7.gif

 

[blackonblacksls 10+ year member]

factory subs seem very punchy. but turn them up and they sound like shit. or if you play low bass its like its not even there. i think the reason factory subs have that nice punch sound is because they play very little frequencies. in my old car i had a free air factory 12 inch. the hardest hitting factory system i have ever heard. but it had no low end. and when you pushed the sub to where it was really moving it would just loose it. so how hard is it to do something well when you dont have to do much else.

 

[linvillegorge 10+ year member]

^^^^

Is that you and yo blingin' grill! Paul Wall lookin' mofo! LOL!!!//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/eek.gif.771b7a90cf45cabdc554ff1121c21c4a.gif//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rotflol.gif.b453361716769b8110ddefc85ff03cd2.gif

 

[Notwerk 10+ year member]

It has nothing to do with the size of the speaker, it's dependent on the driver itself and the enclosure you up it in.

Generally, bigger enclosures mean more low-end extension, but boomier sound. Smaller enclosures result in tighter sound, but less low-end extension.

But again, it's dependent on the individual driver and what it needs. Factory recommendations/WinISD help. But a small-sealed enclosure usually sounds tighter than a ported or band-pass box.

 

[nauc 10+ year member]

good reading about "tightness"

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30