Is sub power handling overrated?

[Magnus 10+ year member]

Is cone area more important? Take this example.

Two 12' 1000 watt RMS subs vs. One 15' 3000 watt RMS sub.

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[CL1CKCLACK 5,000+ posts]

somewhat

 

[Magnus 10+ year member]

somewhat

Aren't power hungry subs that take 2-3k really inefficient? Why buy a sub that takes 3k to get it moving vs a sub that only takes 1k to get it moving? It seems like cone area is far more important in a lot of cases. Your car electrical system can only get so big and that determines how many watts RMS you can run.

 

[csu87 10+ year member]

depends on so many things

 

[1rockford1 5,000+ posts]

i went from a few single sub set up's to 4 12's and i love the cone area. i think i would rater have 2 subs that would handle 1500 over one sub that can handle 1500 on its on

 

[MONSONwarrior Premium Member]

I just prefer to buy one larger sub to two smaller because of price. I can get an 18" for 400 bucks that handles the same power and has more cone area than 2 12's when the 12's are 250 a piece.

 

[Magnus 10+ year member]

I just prefer to buy one larger sub to two smaller because of price. I can get an 18" for 400 bucks that handles the same power and has more cone area than 2 12's when the 12's are 250 a piece.

True but it usually takes 6-7 cubes for an 18 vs 2-3 cubes for a 12. You get a little more cone area with an 18, but with 2 12s you get more thermal power?

 

[miker 5,000+ posts]

True but it usually takes 6-7 cubes for an 18 vs 2-3 for a 12.

Also get over twice the cone area.

We got a response saying somewhat and depends on so many thing, I would like some elaboration? Becasue I'm kind of curios about this as well.

 

[Magnus 10+ year member]

Also get over twice the cone area.
We got a response saying somewhat and depends on so many thing, I would like some elaboration? Becasue I'm kind of curios about this as well.

I meant 6-7 cubes for an 18 and 4-6 cubes for 2 12s. I'm curious to know the advantages of having two magnets vs one.

 

[miker 5,000+ posts]

I meant 6-7 cubes for an 18 and 4-6 cubes for 2 12s. I'm curious to know the advantages of having two magnets vs one.

Ohh, gotcha

 

[Vossy 10+ year member]

Well cone area and stuff, matters if you're limited on space

for example I run 1 15, because my trunk is very limited on space.

I'm pushing it space wise already.

 

[Magnus 10+ year member]

Also I heard the more subs you have, the more chance of noise canceling.

 

[CL1CKCLACK 5,000+ posts]

i thought we were talking about power handling? not SPL. things like rms, max those kind of ratings. not sure how we got into cone area and such

 

[Magnus 10+ year member]

To get the loudest you possibly can, you want to maximize cone area, mechanical power, and subwoofer efficiency. The only way to get louder after maximizing these is to get a bigger amp and run more watts after upgrading your electrical system.

 

[Magnus 10+ year member]

i thought we were talking about power handling? not SPL. things like rms, max those kind of ratings. not sure how we got into cone area and such

Power handling is directly related to SPL as is cone area.