Boat Subwoofer Help

[kerpit 10+ year member]

Hi There

I am seeking help on a subwoofer setup recommendation for my boat. I currently have an alpine type r 1242d sub in a sealed .85 enclosure that is ancient and the aluminum is rotting from the elements in the boat over the years. Anyhow I'm looking to start over. The storage compartment the subwoofer is in has only a 9" wide door. So I would like to have an enclosure that's 9" wide or tall and then install the sub once the box is in the compartment. This is how it's currently setup. The compartment is large, just the access door is small! If its a must I can assemble the box inside the compartment but I'd rather not. So that being said I was thinking I should get somewhat of a shallow mount sub for a sealed enclosure. I was looking into the Dayton rss315ho-44/rss265ho/rss315ho-4. With the small volume requirement of these subs I was planning on attempting to fit 2 12" subs in this compartment at near 1.0 cubic foot. These subs are around 5.75" deep so I think I can do it. One question I can't seem to find the answer to is are these subs going to be loud enough in the open space of my boat at around 83-85 db sensitivity? Or am I better off getting 1 quality subwoofer with a lot of excursion and a higher sensitivity in a 1.0 cubic foot enclosure? I listen to all kinds of music, a little of absolutely everything! And I play my music at very high volume levels so I can hear it outside of the boat while we are swimming. I don't have tower speakers yet! I want a nice boom but not sloppy because I crank my tunes and if I have to turn down the sub due to crappy sound then the mids will overpower and then I'm all treble!

Thank you for your help!

-Brian

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[Boat_guy]

First question is are you a magician..... because I wanna know how you got a 12 inch sub threw a 9 inch hole lol..... all joking aside I'm a little confused about your setup and how your box is situated. If you like to play your music loud and want your bass to keep up with your other speaker a ported sub box is a much better choice. As for subwoofer brands I would suggest Exile audio, JL Audio, Wetsounds those would be the first three that will leave you the most satisfied that come to mind right away.n

 

[Boominburban 10+ year member]

And make sure whom ever builds your box understands how to build a box that will not have any cabin gain or any real res freq to help it get loud ....

 

[kerpit 10+ year member]

No magician! The storage compartment door is a rectangle that is 9" wide. The compartment itself is huge, just a small width door. So I built a .7 cubic foot box that is 14x14x9 and once the box was in the compartment I installed the sub in the box. I'm most likely going to have to do that again as well. The sub will be going in the storage compartment that you see open on the port side. I was not intending on going with a marine sub setup like exile/wetsounds. What would be the advantage of those subs? Will one ported sub be better than two sealed? View attachment 26552176

 

[Boat_guy]

Ok I get how your making the box work now. Just a thought but a lot of people put there subs under the port and or starboard dashes. If the sub will be in direct sun light a lot I would go with a marine subwoofer, the marine sub woofers surround is rubber based and will hold up to the uv in sunlight a lot better than a standard car audio sub with a foam based surround. Other than that moister can have an effect on the sub depending on where they sit when not in uses. As for two sealed vs a single ported it would be a toss up depending on sub sizes and power. Just my two cents but your going to get the most bang for your buck with two ported boxes one under each dash..... just something to thing about.

 

[kerpit 10+ year member]

I'm only looking at subs with rubber surrounds for the moisture/uv reasons. My alpine type r lasted 10 years in the last boat. Took it apart last night and the aluminum cage was corroded. Bead blasted/paints and she's back in business! I still want something new and better than that old type r. As you can see in the picture of the port side there is no "under the dash". It's fiberglassed and a storage compartment directly in front of port and starboard. I cut holes and have a pair of massive audio ck6 components mounted there but no way will I cut a 12" hole!!! My old boat had the space under the dash like you are talking. I talked to parts express and they said that one ported enclosure will be about the same spl as two sealed. I don't think I can pull off two ported boxes in that space. Now that I'm going to do ported but still need to be conscious about space, what sub would you recommend?