Boat sub recommendation - low power, small enclosure >>

[platinum00]

Putting some sub(s) in a Yamaha AR195. Looking for help on sub options that are lower power and work well in a small enclosure. These do not need to be marine rated.

Would like to keep around 500watts RMS total. I can fit up to 1.75 cu/ft ported box on each side. Single or Dual 10s or 12's.

I have been looking at the below;
Alpine Type R
JLW3
Rockford P3

Started browsing Sundown, Skar, American Bass as well but they seem to have much higher power requirements.

Thanks for any suggestions.

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[hispls 5,000+ posts]

can fit up to 1.75 cu/ft ported

That's a reasonable box volume for most 10" woofers and the three you listed should all do fine.
Probably lots of other options in the 500W range as well. ID Max is always popular in that category and you might have a look at the Dayton lineup over at PartsExpress.

 

[platinum00]

Thanks!

Do you recommend 10's over 12"s for that application? I would probably have better luck in my power range with a single driver I would assume.

I have a few Dayton UM18's for my home theater. Love them. Any recommendations on a good model for this application. maybe RSS315HF or Eminence Lab 12C

The RSS315 Looks pretty good in comparison.

 

[Bobbytwonames 5,000+ posts]

Type R's are very underrated subs IMO.

 

[platinum00]

I have a Type R 12 in my car. Its in a sealed enclosure and hits pretty good. Maybe I will move that to the boat and see how it sounds. Not sure why I didn't think of that first.

 

[platinum00]

OK.. here is where I landed. Below is a scape from a boat site I posted this on.

So I was on the hunt for a subwoofer to go in a 2018 AR195. Started out in my typical process, researching and creating a list of subwoofers and there specs. I don't know why but decided against Free Air / Marine Grade subs. Maybe because of the price, maybe because the performance. Most likely because I don't have experience with them. I already had and amp that is set at 500 watts x1 RMS @ 2 ohm so my power requirements were limited in my search. I also had a ported box that was 1.8cu/ft and tuned to 33hz so tried to stay close to the ported box requirements.

I ended up down to 2 options. JL W3v3 and Alpine Type R. Both 12 inch 2ohm. I couldn't decide so just ordered both of them to see which one I liked better. My thought was I would just throw the one I didn't want for the boat in my car. This is not an exhaustive test by any means and there are a ton of variables here. box, amp, placement, mic, etc.. However it suited my needs to determine which direction I wanted to go. Anyway, thought I would share in case it helps someone else.

Summary: The JL W3 in my configuration has a advantage over the Alpine. Fit and finish of the JL is very basic and poor in comparison to the Alpine. I was shocked when I pulled them both out of the box how much more substantial the Alpine was. If I was basing my decision on first impression and looks alone, Alpine wins hands down. JL looks and feels like a cheap basic sub with a nice logo on it. My assumption is if I had some more power to throw at these the Alpine would start to walk away.

Attached is the full list of subs I started with. Highlighted in pink are the marine subs and in green are the Alpine and JL. Couple Pics of the subs and then the graph showing the comparison. This was done using REW and UMIK-1 calibrated microphone. After 21hz the JL has over 6db peak over the Alpine and noticeable increases throughout. From a sound perspective, you can surely hear and feel the bump around 30 hz.

 

[akheathen Premium Member]

given those box store sub choices, id go with type r. the older, the better, but really, i would go with 8's, and sundown 8's, MAYBE 10's.. i know the general rule of thumb is that lower powered subs make more volume with less power, but efficiency changes with manufacturers. the sundown, even if it has a much higher rms rating, is going to put out more on the same power than a box store driver. i can attest to this first hand in a personal shootout of different subs. the sundown, hands down put out way more clean bass on the same 100 or 200watts rms of the same amp, in the same enclosure, even being under powered. bigger issue is corrosion resistance, which means you want to avoid paper/pulp and untreated steel. a jl would bepretty good, or maybe just a kicker marine model, but then again, you leave something on the table for efficiency. at such a low price, its worth giving sa a try. worst case, they fall victim to miosture and you buy something that wont in a couple years.