One sub or two

[bigaudiofanatic 10+ year member]

Well I am trying to figure out what I want to do for my final setup. Back in December for christmas I got 2 polk momo subs because it was buy one get one free. I have been using one sub for a while now. One reason is that I am a SQ guy and like quality and it sounds good just how it is. But i dont know if I want the other one or not. My previous setup had one sub and my neighbors setup has one sub. I have been in cars with 2 but did not sound good but I think because they were not setup right. So what should I go with one or two.

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[skateboardkid 10+ year member]

Two for no other reason than cone area.

 

[wishbone 10+ year member]

Im going to tell you what I noticed when going from playing only 2 subs due to not having the proper amp to push 4 . When playing 2 Clarion SW1051 subs rated for 300 rms@ 200 watts in a box made for 4 subs the bass was lound, but often not defined for certain music. I almost didn't buy 2 more because when turned up to the 3/4 volume setting it was almost unbearable to listen to for long periods of time. IE 3 songs.

Now keep in mind, the amp pushing the 2 subs is now pushing 4 infinity reference 6922cf speakers. Before hooking up the 4 subs with the new amp, I hooked up the highs/ mids and played a few tracks and almost decided to say forget the subs because of the clarity of the music. I enjoyed the clarity for 3 hours or so.

On the same day I installed the new amp which I believe is holding it's own pushing the 4 Clarions @ 325 watts a piece, 2 ohms per channel. At first the highs floaded out the bass which made me think i had a dud amp, but after adjusting the volume of the highs to compliment the lows, the system sounds like I have a decent home rack system in my car. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY no engine noise or whine. No hissing or clipping. I also have true bass control, when some songs require more or less.

IMO 2 subs give you a fuller sound and helps fill in the missing depth of the bass you my experience when using one sub. To put it in plain english, 2 would sound better than one if set up properly. And so on and so on and so on as far as adding subs.

WB

 

[bigaudiofanatic 10+ year member]

Thanks for that info man nice to read something in depth.

 

[andrios 10+ year member]

Do you think one really good sub would sound good in a trunk of a 4 door sedan?? Im a SQ guy and two would be overkill for me (I think).

 

[bigaudiofanatic 10+ year member]

That is what I am trying to figure out I have been using one sub and it sounds good but may do two, I think one is plenty.

 

[thevic24 5,000+ posts]

Do you think one really good sub would sound good in a trunk of a 4 door sedan?? Im a SQ guy and two would be overkill for me (I think).

right now iam running a 10w7 with 1k to it and it sounds very good and detailed. it has great sq and gets suprisingly "loud" for how its set up.

 

[thevic24 5,000+ posts]

iam a big fan of one sub systems. along with the w7 in my olds i have a bronco with a single dd1508 on 1k and that one gets it real good. here soon i will be switching both subs out. the truck is getting a dd2510 with the same 1k and the olds will be getting a 3510 with a little over 2k.

my point(imo), one sub with good power can be quite impressive.

(and save space too)

 

[mbaoo]

Before I got my two IDQv.1's, I ran single infinity kappa 10 inch sealed.

It had great SQ and got surprisingly loud I thought for only 300rms.

I prefer 2 subs though. My IDQs sounds just as good as the kappa but with more force on the lows.

 

[wishbone 10+ year member]

You are welcome.

When some one mentions one sub being played at 1k, SQ is not the first thing that comes to mind. When comparing 2 10" subs being played at lets say 300 watts a piece vs 1 what ever being played at 1k a piece, there is no comparison. At low volumes the 1k sub would still be too loud in my opinion whether in the trunk or not although the bass can be set lower on the deck. With 2 10" subs being played at 350 watts or less, a SQ person would appriciate the set up.

I didn't finish with my system yet. I ordered a crossover so I can get even lower bass tones due to my mid to highs having such good SQ. I will run the mono out on the crossover to the mono in on the bass amp which will allow me to play all four subs at 4 ohms, which also helps the amp work less and improves SQ.

Just to let you know, I am not a fan of a subwoofer boxes being used in a trunk unless the back seats fold down to allow the sound out. I used to customize rear decks which takes alot of work but sounds incredible. I even seen a guy who had a box made to fit his rear deck and the subs basically filled in were the factory rear speakers would sit. THE BASS was incomparable to most systems.

WB

 

[Bass Addict 10+ year member]

i'd say two for a trunk car and suv's and one for small hatches

 

[TheFiverMan 10+ year member]

However many you can fit in the space.

 

[bigaudiofanatic 10+ year member]

^^^rotflmao

 

[bigaudiofanatic 10+ year member]

i'd say two for a trunk car and suv's and one for small hatches

lol I guess you have done a lot of cars ad trucks.

Bump

 

[ARSkemp 10+ year member]

if its the same model of sub, and the same amount of power, 2 subs should theoretically sound better than 1 (whether it is an audible is argueable though). This is because their will be more excursion from a single sub with 700w to it than 2 subs getting 350w. The less distance the cone is moving, the more linear the travel of its motion will be, which should theoretically make for better sq.