My first subwoofer: lots of questions,answers gladly appreciated

[CKY 10+ year member]

Hello everybody ! Here's my story so far ... For the last month i've been searching forums and sites up and down to read and learn as much as i can about different subs , amps , etc. Due to my location i don't have many options , and the car audio scene is almost inexistant here (about 3-4 meetings/year) , and no more then 60 people that are involved in car audio , spl , and so on. Buying a subwoofer from USA isn't an option , the shipping would cost around 100$ and i have to pay an additional 30% fee when the product enters my country.

The 2 final choices were the 15" JBL GT4-15 and the Alpine Type R 1221D/1241D.

My final decision was the Apline , yet i still don't know what to choose , the 1221 (2ohm+2ohm) or the 1241 (4ohm+4ohm). For the 1221 , i don't want to wire it to 1 ohm , so if i would like to wire the coils together , getting the 1221 would be pretty pointless. I don't have an amplifier yet so i'm confused about what to get. I will buy the amp from the web because it's not that heavy comparing to a subwoofer.

My system will contain only 1 subwoofer and 1 amp (powering only the sub). Should i get the 1221 , wire the coils together for a 1 ohm load and get a 2ohm mono amp ? or should i get a 2 chan amp (2ohm + 2ohm) ?

Will this make any difference over the other option , getting the 1241 and wiring the coils to a 2 ohm load ?

I don't know what to do //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/help.gif.cee8f684da1ba626487a8bc51152e1ec.gif//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif

About the box , i want a ported one , tuned mainly for SPL (45 Hz, dunno yet) .. any kind of tips regarding the box will be greatly appreciated.

One more question , sorry //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

I was puzzled by the fact that the JBL GT4-15 is a 15" and requires something like a 4 cu. ft enclosure and it's rated only 250 RMS ? would this sub kick much harder then the 12" Type R wired to 300 RMS ?

Woah , thanks a lot for reading all that , and thanks in advance for any kind of help //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/blush.gif.99bc659ee2012b7d826165e26fb5eebe.gif

Best regards,

Ovidiu

Click to read more...

 

[CKY 10+ year member]

Yep , i'm going to get the Alpine , i don't know if the 4ohm+4ohm or the 2ohm+2ohm.

The SWR-1241D gets a first vote //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

It's not going to be used for competitions , so i guess i'm not going to tune above 40 Hz then... that's what i was talking about , i have no ideea how 40Hz sounds , 30 and so on //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

 

[CKY 10+ year member]

Any other directions that i should follow ? Thanks!

 

[Unreal 10+ year member]

Load just depends on what amp you want. If you get a 1 ohm stable amp, get the 2+2, if you get a 2 ohm stable amp, get the 4+4.

Pick out an amp, then buy the sub. You'll probably be better off finding a 2 ohm stable amp, especially for that low of power. Anything that does 300 watts RMS at 2 ohms would work well.

 

[ShakinSupra 10+ year member]

Get the 4+4 model with a 2-ohm stable amp. There aren't a lot of amps that put out that little power at 1-ohm. I would tune low for better sound quality, somewhere around 30hz.

 

[Norcalracer283 10+ year member]

If you want to wire it in at 2 ohms, get the dual 4 ohm voice coil.... i know this is right because i just bought two 10" Type R's with the dual 4 ohm voice coils. Below is a pic of how you should wire it for a two ohm load. I havent installed my subs yet, but i am very happy with the quality in the basket, cone, surround, etc... I think its a good choice. And just to let you know, that sub will take more than 300 RMS even though Alpine says thats its max. IM JmacCaCom on AOL or AIM and he can tell you more about how much those subs can take. He owns two of the SWR-1241D's.

 

[CKY 10+ year member]

Thanks a lot everybody , i really appreciate all the info ! I will be getting the dual 4 ohm then.

What amp would you get for this setup , and what frequency would you tune to ? Thanks ..

 

[alum10 10+ year member]

WOW STOP right there, You got an amazing company a few countries away and probably distributes in the countries right next to you. SPL DYNAMICS!!!!!!. This is high end stuff. They have set records over 170 DB

http://www.spldynamics.fi

 

[CKY 10+ year member]

Ok everybody , i purchased the Alpine Type R SWR-1241D , it will arrive next week ... every help,tip,info,etc is appreciated .. regarding box, tuning,amp, anything.

Big thanks //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/thumbsup.gif.3287b36ca96645a13a43aff531f37f02.gif

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

good choice.

 

[alum10 10+ year member]

AMP, reciever, car.

I would get a second one if i were u. what are ur plans bro

 

[CKY 10+ year member]

Thanks a lot dudes ! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/thumbsupwink.gif.129404938effda6ad9cca39e7f4b58a3.gif

I'm not planning to get a second one any time soon , it will be a sound install for everyday use , not comps ...

The next thing that i'm planning to get is the amp , i've been searching for amp options lately , but i got a big problem if i want to buy it outside my country. The import taxes and duty taxes will get me paying again for the product when it enters my country //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/waycrazy.gif.f4a380c3f94043939fd369defd9e6be2.gif//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/uhoh.gif.c07307dd22ee7e63e22fc8e9c614d1fd.gif The amp will be a mono one. I was thinking about pushing the sub with around 350W and getting the Alpine MRP-M350 , this one i can get from a shop down here. The problem is that it puts out only 250 RMS at 12V , and 350RMS at 14V , and i own an Opel Astra 1,6 , 12V battery.

If i don't find any other options that would feed the sub with a bit more, i think i'm going to get a Rockford Fosgate P3001. (300 watts RMS x 1 at 2 ohms )

 

[ANeonRider 10+ year member]

The Alpine will push the Type R sub well. Especially if you are porting the enclosure.

 

[CKY 10+ year member]

Yes but it would get only 250W RMS and i want to feed this baby //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Yep , it will be a ported enclosure, don't know the tuning yet , i think around 32Hz ?

 

[ANeonRider 10+ year member]

your battery may be 12V when the car is not running, but like most other cars, it runs at ~14.4V when running.