never had a subwoofer, please help a newbie!

[scottysxc]

ok so i have a saturn L300 sedan.

large trunk, one 6 inch deck *sub*. its worthless.

I was wondering what i should choose for a speaker,

10 or 12 inch? i only want one sub.

ported or sealed box?

i like quality much much more than blowing out windows

i was thinking a 12 inch alpine type R in a sealed trunk mounted box with the speaker cone facing into the back of the 40% side of my folding seats, so i can lower it and get great sound or raise it and have decent sound but have it basically hidden.

i understand electronics but i know that no matter how much someone knows there is no replacement for experience and expertise.

i wanted the cone facing the cabin so i can keep it low but still feel it without drawing attention to myself.

i like punchy kicky bass more than rumbly muddled bass because im an audiophile in my house but never have taken my ocd about sound into my car. i couldnt care less about other people hearing my music, i play it for myself and my passengers.

please feel free to say everything i want is dumb and do so and so because i really am clueless.

im planning on getting a basic double dinn head unit without a silly touchscreen and stuff just something with sub line out and decent quality sound and feel.

im not rich so im going to try to keep it inexpensive and do the ebay thing.

thank you so much in advance.

-Scott Sherman

Click to read more...

 

[emilimo701 10+ year member]

for a head unit, it might make a difference how many preamp RCA outputs it has, depending on the level of control you want over your system. most people with experience will tell you to get am external amplifier for your speakers before you add a subwoofer.

for more detailed advice, people might ask you what your price range is. your ideal price range, and your "stretch" price range -- the most you'd possibly be convinced to spend

how noisy is the interior while driving?

 

[scottysxc]

i will cross the bridge of door speakers when i come to it. right now i can get a type r 12 for around 180 or so brand new, and i can spend maybe 400 ideally but 550 max for total subwoofer set up. i am fully capable of making a box but idk how or what material to use. i can wire myself but idk what type or gauge to use for power/line.

the cabin isnt loud, but its not quiet either.

i have 6 inch stock cones in the front doors and inch tweeters pointed at the passenger and driver's faces. the interior set up is very loud and clear because i think it has a separate amp for the doors already because it has some premium audio package or something. im happy with the volume and clarity i just get nothing below 300hz because a 6 inch deck woofer with no dedicated amp is worthless.

i just have no idea what to use for wire and what amplifier i should get. im a total noob and i like my trunk space and stuff im not looking to convert my car to a concert theatre i just want to feel music a little more in my chest than i do now.

seriously any advice will be appreciated from experienced sound enthusiasts.

i also need a head unit that doesnt look stupid. preferably just white backlighting and just a text screen and a few knobs would be fine i dont need nav. but bluetooth would be kind of cool.

 

[mebens 10+ year member]

before you go and spend $180 for a new type-r, take a look at the classified section on this site. I know it can look a little crazy when you go in there and see all the different company names and abbreviations, so just take it slow. I say this because you are thinking about spending $180 on a new type-r but you can find one in the classifieds here for $80 shipped. LINK.

I am kinda with you when you say you play your music for you and your friends, not everybody else. I personally have a 10" Fi SSD in a 1.2cu. ft. ported box (don't remember what i tuned it to, i think 33hz) powered by a Rockford Fosgate p3001 and it sounds great to me (gets the mirrors shaking a little, but not falling down). This setup cost me a little under $300 including wires and such. Idk much about double din headunits to be honest. But you can get a decent single din unit with a dash install kit to take up the extra space and be under your max budget.

You can look up box specs for pretty much any sub on the manufactures website. The most common box building material is medium density fiberboard (mdf) and 3/4" - 1" is usually used for moderate power setups. Box building is easy for what you're going to need; pretty much just a 1cu. ft. box with a hole to mount the woofer. 8 gauge power wire is enough for a single type-r setup, but if you plan on upgrading in the future it's probably best to go ahead and install 4ga. or bigger.

If you get the sub in the link i provided, you'll need an amp that does 500w rms at 2 ohms, i'm sure there's one of those for sale in the classifieds too.

I hope this helps a little. I know its messy, but i'm getting ready to go home from work after a 13hr shift. Good luck with you're new system build.

 

[bass-head79 10+ year member]

for the price of a type r you can rock jl or rockford fosgate