Followed Guides, Can't Decide

[HoneyBadgerRy]

My sysytem sounds hollow, and I think I need more bass. I think my solution is a subwoofer, but I can't decide what sub, or what amp no matter how many hours I spend looking at guides.

First I should describe my system. My head unit is an Alpine CDE-134HD, that feeds into an audiopipe 9 channel eq, that feeds into an Alpine PDX-F4. In the front I have a pair of Infinity 4629CFP kapas, in the back I have a pair of Alpine 6x9 type-R.

I like tight base, not that boomy garbage, so I'm looking at a small sealed box I think.

I'm not sure if I want an 8", a 10", or if I need two 8"s. I'm also clueless when it comes to 1 ohm vs 2 ohm vs 4 ohm. I was told that the 1 ohm would be loud and boomy, where as 4 ohm would be tighter (being an electrician I am pretty sure it will need more wattage for the same volume). I had my eye on an Alpine sws10-d2, then was steered towards an Alpine swr8-d4 and then to a swr8-d2. I was looking at a Jl Audio Jx500/1d for the amp, but it seemed low end cheap for my system, and I already experienced what garbage cheaping out gets you (Alpine mrv-f300). Any help is much appreciated.

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[sinzx2]

soundqubed hds210

very musical sub that likes small enclosures although ported would be better

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

My sysytem sound hollow, and I think I need more bass. I think my solution is a subwoofer, but I can't decide what sub, or what amp no matter how many hours I spend looking at guides.
First I should describe my system. My head unit is an Alpine CDE-134HD, that feeds into an audiopipe 9 channel eq, that feeds into an Alpine PDX-F4. In the front I have a pair of Infinity 4629CFP kapas, in the back I have a pair of Alpine 6x9 type-R.

I like tight base, not that boomy garbage, so I'm looking at a small sealed box I think.

I'm not sure if I want an 8", a 10", or if I need two 8"s. I'm also clueless when it comes to 1 ohm vs 2 ohm vs 4 ohm. I was told that the 1 ohm would be loud and boomy, where as 4 ohm would be tighter (being an electrician I am pretty sure it will need more wattage for the same volume). I had my eye on an Alpine sws10-d2, then was steered towards an Alpine swr8-d4 and then to a swr8-d2. I was looking at a Jl Audio Jx500/1d for the amp, but it seemed low end cheap for my system, and I already experienced what garbage cheaping out gets you (Alpine mrv-f300). Any help is much appreciated.

\

A subwoofer will help fill in your sound A LOT!

Can you build your own box? Know a friend who can build?

It is likely that a single 10" sub in 1 - 1.5 cube sealed box would do nicely for you, but you must buy a decent quality sub which is designed to function well in a sealed box!

Either ported or sealed boxes can give good sound, but you need the correct box for the sub you use.... or the correct sub for the box you plan to use.

JL slash amp should do nicely, if you like Alpine they should have a good 500W offering as well. Running higher impedance on speakers will generally sound better and is easier on the electronics. Remember Ohm's law. E = IR P = IE High voltage is easier on the amplifier than high current, though often high current turns out cheaper price per watt in the mobile audio arena. For the most part though, you'll just want to pick an amp and whether it will drive 1 ohm or 2 ohm chose your sub's coil configuration accordingly.

Alpine Type R subs are pretty good for what they are, but IDK if they're designed for sealed alignment.

I'd suggest browsing the lineup of Dayton subwoofers over at partsexpress.com you can read reviews of which works well in what sort of box and they're typically well thought of for modest power handling, good sound, and build quality.

 

[HoneyBadgerRy]

\A subwoofer will help fill in your sound A LOT!

Can you build your own box? Know a friend who can build?

It is likely that a single 10" sub in 1 - 1.5 cube sealed box would do nicely for you, but you must buy a decent quality sub which is designed to function well in a sealed box!

Either ported or sealed boxes can give good sound, but you need the correct box for the sub you use.... or the correct sub for the box you plan to use.

JL slash amp should do nicely, if you like Alpine they should have a good 500W offering as well. Running higher impedance on speakers will generally sound better and is easier on the electronics. Remember Ohm's law. E = IR P = IE High voltage is easier on the amplifier than high current, though often high current turns out cheaper price per watt in the mobile audio arena. For the most part though, you'll just want to pick an amp and whether it will drive 1 ohm or 2 ohm chose your sub's coil configuration accordingly.

Alpine Type R subs are pretty good for what they are, but IDK if they're designed for sealed alignment.

I'd suggest browsing the lineup of Dayton subwoofers over at partsexpress.com you can read reviews of which works well in what sort of box and they're typically well thought of for modest power handling, good sound, and build quality.

I have the tools to build my own box, but for the price and hassle, it seems like I would be better off buying a box.

The Alpine Type R sub's have specs for both sealed box and ported box on ctutchhfeilds website. For example, the 8" says .15-.5 cuft, best .5cuft sealed. I'm not sure if I'd be better off 8 or 10, speaker wise they are similar prices, but the 10" needs a lot more power.

Alpine does have the mrv-m500 but I've had a MRV amp fail on me, and its rated at 1%thd. I don't want to commit to under watting at 4 ohms, but I think that would better suit me. Maybe over watting at 2ohm would be fine. If I would be better off saving up for an Alpine swr-10d4 and an Alpine PDX-M6 (600 watts at 2 or 4 ohms) then that's what I'll do.

I haven't heard of Dayton before, maybe I'd be better off there? I'm certianally not an Alpine fanboy, I have just heard great things about their type r sub's, and I love my PDX-F4, and my 6x9 type R.

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

I have the tools to build my own box, but for the price and hassle, it seems like I would be better off buying a box.
The Alpine Type R sub's have specs for both sealed box and ported box on ctutchhfeilds website. For example, the 8" says .15-.5 cuft, best .5cuft sealed. I'm not sure if I'd be better off 8 or 10, speaker wise they are similar prices, but the 10" needs a lot more power.

Alpine does have the mrv-m500 but I've had a MRV amp fail on me, and its rated at 1%thd. I don't want to commit to under watting at 4 ohms, but I think that would better suit me. Maybe over watting at 2ohm would be fine. If I would be better off saving up for an Alpine swr-10d4 and an Alpine PDX-M6 (600 watts at 2 or 4 ohms) then that's what I'll do.

I haven't heard of Dayton before, maybe I'd be better off there? I'm certianally not an Alpine fanboy, I have just heard great things about their type r sub's, and I love my PDX-F4, and my 6x9 type R.

Really I've not heard many reports of problems with Alpine amps. Mind you, they're nothing special, but it's not a brand known for poor quality or being prone to premature failure either. Their subs and component speakers are definitely pretty nice in the type R and type X lineup. Though the R is also nothing special apart from being about the best performing thing you'll get out of a big-box store.

Definitely don't get hung up on feeling like you need to give max power to your sub. 500W is a good range for a small 1 channel amp, giving you plenty of options that won't break the bank and should provide enough output for sane folks, and throwing that on an 800W or even 1000W rated sub is fine. You will NEVER notice 1% distortion below 100hz. Most people wouldn't notice 10%.

I'd lean you towards the Dayton lineup. Refurb/B-stock 10" can be had for a steal here:

RESTOCKED Dayton Audio TS280D-4 10" Titanic Mk 4 Subwoofer 4 Ohm

The catch is you'll want an amp that can deliver a few hundred watts into 4 ohm load. That's a lot of sub for 100$.

 

[los33 10+ year member]

Sealed = boomy

Ported = tight

Ported will only be boomy if you make a poor box

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk

 

[HoneyBadgerRy]

Sealed = boomyPorted = tight

Ported will only be boomy if you make a poor box

Sent from my Z970 using Tapatalk

Are you sure, because everything I read said the exact opposite. Also everything said that the smaller the box the tighter the bass.

 

[Papermaker85 5,000+ posts]

Are you sure, because everything I read said the exact opposite. Also everything said that the smaller the box the tighter the bass.

the sound we refer to as tight/punchy is a matter of dampening. to put its easy a smaller box offers a higher Q(dampening) and sounds puncher/tighter. you can make any woofer sound tight or boomy just by altering the box size.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Are you sure, because everything I read said the exact opposite. Also everything said that the smaller the box the tighter the bass.

You got idiots that buy a pre-made garbage ported box and then they automatically make assumptions which causes ignorance and misinformation to spread around to people trying to do actual research.

You also got people that build boxes based on horrible tuning recommendations by others. My two 18s in a ported are hella tight and punchy on rock and metal because the box was designed around the subwoofer and its electromechanical parameters.

When it comes to ported subwoofer setup, its not as simple as buying a sub and shoving it in whatever ported box you can find on ebay/amazon. You build a box based on your vehicle's acoustics, the subwoofer's parameters, the amount of power you put on the sub, the space you have, proper box orientation in the vehicle along with your listening preferences.

Most boxes online are designed by chimpanzees and people talk sh*t on ported because they bought those particular boxes and say its boomy.

There are subs that work well in ported, there are subs that work well in sealed. You can judge from using its theile small parameters by dividing the FS of the sub by the Qes rating of the sub this gives you the Efficiency Bandwidth Product (EBP). A 49 and below are more suited for sealed while above 50 is suited for ported. However the closer it is to the high 40s to low 50 range, the sub can go both ways just fine and dandy.

For the type R, you can do a medium-small to medium sealed box if you want just a solid thud. If you really want a nice punch, you'll want to throw more power onto it or get a 15 if you can fit it. Cone area from a bigger sub increases spl capabilties across the frequency spectrum and that's pretty important if you want a nice punch in the chest feeling.

If you really want tight and punchy bass music and you can build your own box. hit up CSCStang for a 1/4 wave transmission line design for a soundqubed HDS 200 series sub and you'll get a wide frequency response and very tight bass.

ANOTHER thing to point out. Boomy or punchy bass is mainly dependant on the music you listen to. Any sub will play boomy notes from a hip hop song even in a small sealed box because those notes are in the subwoofer range so I dont see the point in classifying boomy or punchy. A better point of reference is good frequency response up top and down low vs a sub just playing deep whale notes.