Getting more low end from 15" L7..

[Captain_Ahab 5,000+ posts]

I have a 2005 15" L7 in aroud a 4ft^3 box tuned to around 35hz.. It gets plenty loud for me, but I would like a little more low end.. I was thinking about a 6ft^3 box tuned to around 45hz or so for competitons and then have a port plug for daily driving.. I know I would lose a db or two by going sealed for daily from my current box, but would I gain more low end?? I would gain 2ft^3... How would a sealed 6ft^3 box compare to my current 4ft^3 @ 35hz??

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[talon2nr7588 10+ year member]

go 6 cubes @ 32 hz

 

[mtdewelf 10+ year member]

go 6 cubes @ 32 hz

yep, to get better lowend, tune lower //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crazy.gif.c13912c32de98515d3142759a824dae7.gif

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

It all depends on how low you are looking for. Below 30hz sealed is usually the way to go. For the 30-50hz range ported will give you more. Most music doesn't have much info below 40hz. The punch in most rap music is in the is 40-60hz or higher.

Sadly most people don't know what is really low end. A bump in the 45hz range is what most people think is a good low end. With the vast majority of music this is true. This is the basis for the statement that ported boxes have better low end output. Until you are talking about the very lowest of the audible spectrum, it's true. Since most music lacks anything in the bottom audible octave, a proted setup tuned in the mid to high 30s will provide better output in the lowest region of the used spectrum.

A way to really test what you are looking for is to dial in just a bit of bass boost. If that sounds like more what you are looking for, you want more output in the mid 40hz region. That's where 95% of bass EQs are centered. If that is what you are looking for, actually raise the tuning to about 38 hz. Double bonus is that it will get the overall output louder and give you more output in the bottom octave of the used musical spectrum.

If that isn't what you want, and you are looking for the subbass that you can't really hear but makes you feel like you have to take a crap, sealed is the only to go.

 

[SuperTrooper 10+ year member]

I just built me a sealed for my 2 L7's for the sme reason. Just finished it today. Need to do a little more sanding and then the carpeting and then I will try it out.

 

[singlesubsetup 10+ year member]

It all depends on how low you are looking for. Below 30hz sealed is usually the way to go. For the 30-50hz range ported will give you more. Most music doesn't have much info below 40hz. The punch in most rap music is in the is 40-60hz or higher.
Sadly most people don't know what is really low end.

Sooo true! I was in an arguement with someone who tried to tell me the "boom, boom, boom" that you hear is because there box is low tuned:crap: //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif

When the reality is that is music in the 40 ish hz range like you mentioned... Love to hear I'm not the only one who knows this //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif (Personally I'm not sure what the whole low tune trip is about anyway but maybe I"m just old and stupid //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif )

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

The whole "low tune" thing is a misconception by a lot of people that tuning a box really low will give better linearity of response. I see way too many people recommend a box tuned in the 28hz range as the "best for SQ." For most car subs, tuning that low will result in horrible sound quality and muddy response. If there was such a thing as an optimal tuning for all drivers, then getting a prefab enclosure would make sense. Alas, the same people that recommend a 28hz tuning for all subs will tell you that a prefab enclosure is crap. One size doesn't fit all for an enclosure and even less so for enclosure tuning.

 

[Captain_Ahab 5,000+ posts]

Would 6 cubes @ 32hz be louder than my current setup also??

The low end I was talking about is songs like Soul Survior.. Also a Young Jock song- I know You See It.. I know there is a decent decible loss at whatever frequency those two songs hit at in my current setup.. I get lots of flexing and everything but i really dont think its over a 133-134dB..

 

[PatFitz9 10+ year member]

make a test tone CD, and see what low really is. keep the volume constant (not too loud) and go through the different tones. see where you are lacking, and then decide what you want to do. low is when the sub is moving slower, and your ears start to hurt, rather than your chest.

 

[Captain_Ahab 5,000+ posts]

My biggest dropoff seems to be once i hit about the 32hz region.. Pre 32hz it drops fast!!!

 

[DBfan187 5,000+ posts]

duh!

 

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

you're really not missing out on much if you've got good output to 32hz......

30hz and below is really just a novelty, those freq's arent very audible, anything below 28hz or so with my type-x is more just a felt vibration than a sound, so you just hear the car rattling apart.......

Prob sounds great in a house, but in a car, you will notice rattles you never knew existed below that.

 

[SQBubble 10+ year member]

soul survivor hits @ 27-30hz...

i disagree with u guys saying that most rap are only around 45-60hz, its true there is alot around that frequency.... but there is alot also that goes down low...in the 25-35hz range, and a ported box tuned @29, 30 makes it lot louder in the low end(at least seems by the ears, ) than sealed box...

ive heard my arsenal in 2.3sealed box and 3.4ported tuned @30hz, the low end are so much better and a lot more alive in the ported(meaning in the 25-40hz)....

just my 2cents!

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

It depends on the sub. If you tune most subs that low they sound like trash. There is a double rolloff with a shelf to get you the lower freqs, but the [hase delay and group delay are unacceptably high most all the way across the freq range. The 15L7 you can tune down to 25 Hz without much trouble in a 6 cf box. You will lose about 4dB in the 35-50 hz region but it will be 3dB down at 23Hz. If you want low with that particular sub, that's the way to go. But that isn't the case with most subs.

SQBubble- you aren't getting real output from that sub below the tuning freq. The Arsenal can get much lower than that in a ported enclosure, BTW. With a larger enclosure you can go even lower on the tuning with that sub.

 

[SQBubble 10+ year member]

It depends on the sub. If you tune most subs that low they sound like trash. There is a double rolloff with a shelf to get you the lower freqs, but the [hase delay and group delay are unacceptably high most all the way across the freq range. The 15L7 you can tune down to 25 Hz without much trouble in a 6 cf box. You will lose about 4dB in the 35-50 hz region but it will be 3dB down at 23Hz. If you want low with that particular sub, that's the way to go. But that isn't the case with most subs.
SQBubble- you aren't getting real output from that sub below the tuning freq. The Arsenal can get much lower than that in a ported enclosure, BTW. With a larger enclosure you can go even lower on the tuning with that sub.

hey actually u got some suggestion on a box, im gonna do a new one, i want it loud in all around frequency, mostly 30to70hz, it has to be nice and loud and cover alot of frequency, my front stage isnt that good when talking of mid-bass, I HP them @ 100hz preferably, i could do 80hz but 100hz is better, even 120hz is the best for my comp.... wut would u suggest, its a 15"arsenal im not satisfied with sealed box, its for sure i need a ported, u seem to know stuff pretty good...//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

wut do u think of 3.9cu.ft @32hz? wwould i have a good response all over the bass freqquency? its a 15"

thx

editt******sry for thread jack:crap: