Over-crowding a box...is it possible?

[FineLinePimpin 10+ year member]

Considering picking up 4 sundown sd 8's and putting them in a sealed box...2 facing to the rear of the vehicle and 2 facing up. Now since they can work in .35 cubes sealed....if I had a box built that was 1.5cubes in the config I mentioned....could it be possible to over crowd the box? I know there's tons of boxes built with a dozen or so subs but because of its miniscule size would it do more harm? Just a thought as I sit here bored working at the strip club.

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[basswiigee]

lol, it would work, can't guarantee sq but it would work... but after my last run with facing subs up and knocking loose my 6x9s and everything else... i had 2 12s facing out and two up, and 2 12 facing into car and 2 back all sounded better than i expected even with the cancelling...

 

[FineLinePimpin 10+ year member]

Well they would be going in a 4dr jeep wrangler so I don't have to worry about a rear firewall or deck. But thanks for answering

 

[bbeljefe]

Nope.... won't hurt a thing. But why would you want to lock good subs away in a sealed box?

You might as well also take half the spark plugs out of your engine and expect performance from it. ;-)

 

[FineLinePimpin 10+ year member]

Because the cargo area is small enough as it is and I actually use it.

 

[bbeljefe]

In that case, I'd save $280.00 on woofers and have a box that performs.

 

[FineLinePimpin 10+ year member]

Two subs In a ported on 800 total outperforming 4 of the same subs with 1600w In a sealed? Hmmm idk

 

[BrownVanMan 10+ year member]

2 ported will beat 4 sealed even with the power difference. sounds odd but giving sundowns subs room to breath is a big thing

 

[bbeljefe]

Depends on your definition of performance. Do you only care about SPL? Do you want to reach way down low and still have some volume? Do you want clean and loud bass or just loud bass at 40 and up?

A sealed box is flat... no matter how many woofers are in it and no matter how much power you feed them. In other words, if a sealed box for one SD-8 hits -3dB at 38Hz, fifty SD-8s will be -3dB at 38Hz with 40,000 watts on them. Will they be loud? Of course. But they will also roll off at or above Fs and you'll not get any acoustical gains from the box, so the frequencies where most bass heavy music is oriented today will be where your box falls on its arse... or has already fallen on its arse.

In all seriousness, you're better off IB than sealed. At least with an IB setup you have ample air space for the woofer to move. Sealed boxes.... especially those designed with respect to saving space as opposed to complimenting the driver, do not perform well below the Fs of the driver and usually fall off well above that point. And the SD-8 has an Fs of ~45 Hz, so a small sealed box will be mud below 50.

 

[FineLinePimpin 10+ year member]

Well I knew most/some of that and I wiuld like to reach down low while getting a bit loud...without having a 5k watt system and several batteries of course. So I figured since I am trying tosave space just add more subs and since the sd's are a bit shallow I figued I would try it. But honestly my last box was around 2 cubes total and that's as big as I wanted to go. So even with the skar it was a bit on the small side for ported and I was happy...but wanted to try this 12...I know it would shine on a bigger bix but again I don't want to take up that much space. I don't know maybe ill see what the sd 10s need for space and ill try those in the smallest ported box possible.

 

[bbeljefe]

I think you'd be surprised with what the 8s will do but for sure, you're better off with a ported box for sound quality, acoustical gain and frequency response. And there is very little difference in piston area between one 12 and two 8s. Plus, you'll have two motors dissipating heat instead of just one.

 

[Loudmp5 10+ year member]

Just buy my 2 sa8s

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

2 sa 8s in a proper ported box would work waaaay better for the lows.

 

[Steven2002]

If you only got 2 cu ft to play with. Why not get a nice beast of a sub like a Thretcon 2 12, port it to specs and use plenty of clean power? I guarantee you it will sound better than 4 sealed 8s. I've heard 4 sealed 8s and it sounds like ***. No low bass whatsoever, just high resonating punchy bass. You will not be happy with that setup.

 

[FineLinePimpin 10+ year member]

Mainly because the shape of the avg sub in a box that size would take up more room than I want Just because of the way it needs to be shaped.

Just double checked the specs and the sd8s only need .5 cubes ported...so I can still run 3 and cone in at 1.5 cubes...before displacement adjustments.