Is Bigger Really Better?

[SV.Gato 10+ year member]

I am about to design my first box which I plan on placing in the rear hatch floor of my Dodge Magnum. So this setup will be facing the roof. That being said, is bigger really better? Putting asside the quality of the subwoofer and the design of the box, what is the difference between say a single 15" and two 10"? Which one would one sound better? I even read where someone had three 8" subs and swore that it absolutely pounded.

I understand that much has to do with the quality of the sub, amp, and box design...even the placement of the box; however, in a nutshell...would you A/V gurus please explain how size factors into all this?

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[dragnix 5,000+ posts]

size of the sub? More cone area=more volume displaced

 

[brtnboarder3241 5,000+ posts]

sub or penis?

 

[adam_merseal 10+ year member]

Bigger boxes will usually produce a deeper sound. Smaller boxes will produce a tighter bass. The way I see it is if you are wanting SQ go with a smaller sealed. If you want SPL use a medium to big ported. Like you said though...it really does depend upon the displacement, sub, and type of box.

 

[jbizzle 5,000+ posts]

sub or penis?

Both? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif

 

[G0NGSHOW 10+ year member]

anyone please correct me if i'm wrong, but from my understanding, it comes down to overall cone area. so find the area of the cone (Pi*R^2) for a 15 it's ~706.85 in^2. Now for 2 10's its ~314.16 in^2 per sub so that means ~628.32 in^2 total. so in this case the 15 would have more cone area, which means it can move more air which would create a higher SPL. And this is assuming that you have enough cabin space for the sub(s).

 

[thorshammer1 10+ year member]

I prefer 10's.

 

[groundpound4200 5,000+ posts]

I prefer 21"s //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crazy.gif.c13912c32de98515d3142759a824dae7.gif

 

[DDSC 10+ year member]

just get one 18 in a large sealed box and call it a day

 

[azimuth 5,000+ posts]

i prefer 3 inch subs

 

[azimuth 5,000+ posts]

20 of these would be tight

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=264-877

 

[Rashaddd 5,000+ posts]

anyone please correct me if i'm wrong, but from my understanding, it comes down to overall cone area. so find the area of the cone (Pi*R^2) for a 15 it's ~706.85 in^2. Now for 2 10's its ~314.16 in^2 per sub so that means ~628.32 in^2 total. so in this case the 15 would have more cone area, which means it can move more air which would create a higher SPL. And this is assuming that you have enough cabin space for the sub(s).

Don't forget that a good portion of the overall diameter of the speaker isn't useable cone area

go based on the SD parameter given (actual useable cone area)

Also, you aren't multiplying correctly...exponents are multiplied out before products

so if the actual useable diameter was 15", you'd do (7.5^2)*Pi which gets you 176.6 in^2

Edit: just noticed you actually were multiplying correctly..just remember R is radius, so use half of the diameter

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

Multiple smaller subs will usually sound better and can potentially get louder on a given amount of power due to reduced cone travel and reduced power compression.

 

[iwearpro 10+ year member]

This weekend In at a spl comp there was a guy with 4 dd 8's hit 154 and some change...

 

[80INCHES 5,000+ posts]

to the thread starter

wat sub r u using and how much power r u goin to use...

cuz depending on the sub determinds how much power u need

if go with 1 15 in a small box u will need more power to achieve the same output of the 15 in a bigger box with less power theoretically speaking.

personall just do 1 15 in 3.5 cubes ported with 60 square inches of port tuned to 33hz..and if ur doin 2 10's do 3cubes ported with 50 square inches of port tuned to 35 hz

80