Pure Cone Area vs Motor

[DJSmooth245 10+ year member]

This is something that ive seen over plenty of threads. Most say pure cone area prevails...there is no replacement for displacement..ive been hearing that since ive been in the Car Tuning world. A statement been held true through many applications. But then there are the few times to where motor force or just not enough displacement replaced one sub.

For Example:

1 Kicker Solo X 12"

Vs

2 Kicker Comp 15"s

I highly believe that those comps will not outperform regardless of what box they are in...maybe if the solo x is in a horrible box maybe.....

I understand that Enclosure as well as wattage plays a major role in determining something like this....but to me i dont think its that cut and dry that more cone area means its louder. This is all speculation as well as curiosity. Instead of posting multiple "versus" threads..i figure whenever my curiosity sparked id post it here. And any others that have questions on the same concept. Theres no way that this will or has to be a sticky...but im pretty positive that itll help other noobs as well as just the curious with their setup or future setups.

My first one i have a question about.

1 Kicker L3 12" or 2 Kicker Comp 10"s? 600w of 2ohm power. comps are not mine as i was asked by a buyer which would be louder. L3 is in a 5cu ft ported box

Click to read more...

 

[Sub Bass Woofrz 10+ year member]

5 cubes on 12 inch sub seems pretty big...

 

[DJSmooth245 10+ year member]

yeah...it was originally for a L7 back in the gap but that was the only box i had laying around for it besides some kicker prefab and a normal prefab and they both top out below 3cubes too small for what i wanted...but which u think would be louder?

 

[dragnix 5,000+ posts]

You're also forgetting coils, spider, cone material which can all plays into a sub's performance. That box will have the 12 hitting the lows for sure

 

[DJSmooth245 10+ year member]

well yes of course like i said..things play a part but the most things i hear are oh 2 12s are better than 1 15 because of pure cone area...but ur telling me 2 12 comps will outbass 1 15 solo x??? that concept isnt true all the time. i feel thats only the case when subs are within performance range of each other EX: Comps to Cvr, E to SA, SSA Gcon to SSA XCON etc

and yeah it hits the lows trust me..lol even tho i dont use it. im selling it.

 

[denim 5,000+ posts]

Power compression should also be taken into consideration.

 

[Phoenix Risen 10+ year member]

it should also be taken into account that most of the drivers mentioned are crap, at the end of the day there is only one real way to know, and that is hands on experience. so play around with as much equipment as possible and get a feel for different things. it can also depend on if the vehicle has the space available for the larger cone area.

 

[nu2spl 10+ year member]

dude its not that simple cone area vs motor force is only about 25% of the equation,you can not just use those two points of math and get an answer.i fully understand what you are saying and trying to do,but its not possible with only those two points.

 

[Bear gri11z]

Take 2 12s on 1k

(Perfectly built box)

And 1 15 on 1k

Perfect built box aswell

See which one wins

Even if that 15 is a level 5 and the 12s are sa-12s its on the same power

Xmax also is a part of it

 

[ace_800 5,000+ posts]

5 cubes on 12 inch sub seems pretty big...

My 12" XXX is in 5^3

 

[itsblown 10+ year member]

its very hard to only take cone area in motor force into consideration but I always be a firm believer in more cone area.. It takes a lot for less cone area to be louder than more cone area

 

[gckless 5,000+ posts]

Really you don't want to look at simply cone area, but Vd, volume displaced. That takes Xmax into account as well.

 

[DJSmooth245 10+ year member]

dude its not that simple cone area vs motor force is only about 25% of the equation,you can not just use those two points of math and get an answer.i fully understand what you are saying and trying to do,but its not possible with only those two points.

i wasnt only focusing on two pure points....those are just the two i mentioned...again..i know it focuses on multiple multiple things...but not everyone focuses on those multiple things...if i say hey...which is louder....2 10s or 1 12 of Sub X...most will say righ toff the bat get the 2 10s theyll be louder because of cone area...and if it isnt that cut and dry why answer it that way?? ya kno?

Take 2 12s on 1k (Perfectly built box)

And 1 15 on 1k

Perfect built box aswell

See which one wins

Even if that 15 is a level 5 and the 12s are sa-12s its on the same power

Xmax also is a part of it

My question is...which would be louder in this scenario? the 12s because of pure cone area? seems like thats the answer ill get most

it should also be taken into account that most of the drivers mentioned are crap, at the end of the day there is only one real way to know, and that is hands on experience. so play around with as much equipment as possible and get a feel for different things. it can also depend on if the vehicle has the space available for the larger cone area.

and yeah i figured but my thing is..some people are just plain curious before they buy. they dont have too many shops that play the subs before you buy...so the first thing that pops into mind is....if these woofers are from the same brand...why get one big expensive one when i can get two cheap ones? would the cheaper ones be louder? if so why make the expensive one at all? all these questions come to mind when purchasing car audio to noobs....experts would ask themselves. Have i heard good reviews on this? How much power am i working with? Is big 3 needed for this? things that the ordinary buyer wouldnt consider right off the bat. and most answers that are given to fresh noobs are around the idea that....more cone area is louder than less cone area regardless of the sub..when that isnt true...like all you guys are saying it should be more than just motor force and cone area....but thats the point ive been trying to make this whole time.....why narrow it down to.."oh this sub is louder because of cone area" when thats not 100% the answer...im looking for a more detailed answer and more of a pros n cons list

 

[nu2spl 10+ year member]

i wasnt only focusing on two pure points....those are just the two i mentioned...again..i know it focuses on multiple multiple things...but not everyone focuses on those multiple things...if i say hey...which is louder....2 10s or 1 12 of Sub X...most will say righ toff the bat get the 2 10s theyll be louder because of cone area...and if it isnt that cut and dry why answer it that way?? ya kno?
umm they would answer that way because they dont know any better,or they think thats all there is to it,either way they dont know what they are talking about.i used to be one of those guys,until i had a 30 year car audio veteran school me on how it really works

 

[itsblown 10+ year member]

In most cases more cone area will be louder, the only time that wont be true is if your comparing garbage woofers to something really good. Like if you were comparing 2 12s to 1 15 the 15 would have to have atleast double the xmax and a **** ton of motor force to louder than the 2 12s