Small box = Small output?

[bonesninja 5,000+ posts]

going to get food from BW3's...be back in a few

 

[Exploder 97 10+ year member]

i still think me and you should build a box in my car,, Ill pay you and ill buy the wood and cut it... i just need extra hands..

 

[bonesninja 5,000+ posts]

i still think me and you should build a box in my car,, Ill pay you and ill buy the wood and cut it... i just need extra hands..

i just don't do in trunks...i hate them...........but the chicken buffalitos i just ate were delicious

 

[Exploder 97 10+ year member]

Im just going to do it myself,,, But Can i just use wood glue and clamps. Or should i use screws to... I dont think it will be that hard to build a box into the trunk. I just need to find someone to make me up some plans now...

 

[Betrayer00GT 10+ year member]

Hey yall. My setup is in my sig, But the box is different since i got my new car. The box i have now is only 1cube a piece with very small port area. The subs call for 2 cubes ported. My setup gets decently loud until i get up to almost max volume. My friend is running 400 watts to 2 jl audio w0's and mines just a tad louder but i have more then twice the amount of watts. Is it my subs that ****, or is it the box that is too small...

You know, "twice the amount of watts" is just 3dB, in and of itself. You know, 3dB is the very definition of "just a tad louder".

Agreed?

I don't know how you and your friend's subs compare, but the output difference caused by the different driver designs and the different enclosures is likely bigger than what just "twice the amount of watts" does (3dB). At least that is what I think is likely. If the difference in subs/enclosures is a tie, or even goes in his favor, you would be stuck at "just a tad louder".

 

[PowerNaudio 10+ year member]

before you get a different enclosure, double check your amp and head unit settings. on the head unit check that your eq is set to 80Hz. and that any phase adjustments for the subwoofer on the head unit are set to default, and if it has a gain adjustments other then the volume control set them to half to start off or leave them like that if they are all the way up already. on the amps. check your gains, your eq and your subsonic filter. your subsonic filter set it to like 30Hz to start your eq set it to at least 80Hz and your gain to half. set the head units volume to a loud comfortable level and adjust the amps gain up, till it gets louder. if it doesn't then adjust the head unit gain a bit louder and so on, till it works out for you. if it doesn't work out then, i would go with a different enclosure. if your subs are maxing out on the Xmas already then your have actually maxed out your subwoofer output capability, you may be able to squeeze a bit more out from them by getting a better enclosure, but not much.

 

[Lakota 5,000+ posts]

You know, "twice the amount of watts" is just 3dB, in and of itself. You know, 3dB is the very definition of "just a tad louder".

3 dB is the definition of double the sound intensity. However, to the human body it's likely to take more than 3 db to feel twice as loud.

 

[bonesninja 5,000+ posts]

before you get a different enclosure, double check your amp and head unit settings. on the head unit check that your eq is set to 80Hz. and that any phase adjustments for the subwoofer on the head unit are set to default, and if it has a gain adjustments other then the volume control set them to half to start off or leave them like that if they are all the way up already. on the amps. check your gains, your eq and your subsonic filter. your subsonic filter set it to like 30Hz to start your eq set it to at least 80Hz and your gain to half. set the head units volume to a loud comfortable level and adjust the amps gain up, till it gets louder. if it doesn't then adjust the head unit gain a bit louder and so on, till it works out for you. if it doesn't work out then, i would go with a different enclosure. if your subs are maxing out on the Xmas already then your have actually maxed out your subwoofer output capability, you may be able to squeeze a bit more out from them by getting a better enclosure, but not much.

i disagree.....i used to own those subs and they came in in a custom built ported enclosure that was too small....they sounded okay but i thought they should be louder. Simply by building a bigger box they all of a sudden came to life.

edit: i mean there may be a settings issue but the box definately has to go..

 

[PowerNaudio 10+ year member]

i disagree

every person thats has a doubt of whether they should get a better enclosure to improve the output level of the subwoofer system or overall performance, should trouble shoot their HU,Amp,Eq,etc... settings before making a subwoofer enclosure change. its basic trouble shooting, once he agrees that there is nothing wrong with the current system settings and that they are at optimal, can he then move forward to designing and building a new enclosure, that will make a dramatic change. but based on some of the questions he has asked, it seems to me like it is possible that there could be a systems setting that needs adjustment. onces thats all settled, he can successfully build an enclosure, and know that its going to make the difference that he is looking for. but just guessing at it, its not going to solve his problem and may only cause him extra headache's, which may just send him getting a new sub and enclosure rather then dealing with the issues that will save him some money, time and a headache. im not saying he doesn't need an enclosure. just stating that there are procedures to follow in order to come up with a logical conclusion.

 

[SPLnut34 10+ year member]

Build your own box!! They are not difficult to build and you can build it to spec of how you want it. Sorry you have to build it in a trunk though.

 

[bonesninja 5,000+ posts]

every person thats has a doubt of whether they should get a better enclosure to improve the output level of the subwoofer system or overall performance, should trouble shoot their HU,Amp,Eq,etc... settings before making a subwoofer enclosure change. its basic trouble shooting, once he agrees that there is nothing wrong with the current system settings and that they are at optimal, can he then move forward to designing and building a new enclosure, that will make a dramatic change. but based on some of the questions he has asked, it seems to me like it is possible that there could be a systems setting that needs adjustment. onces thats all settled, he can successfully build an enclosure, and know that its going to make the difference that he is looking for. but just guessing at it, its not going to solve his problem and may only cause him extra headache's, which may just send him getting a new sub and enclosure rather then dealing with the issues that will save him some money, time and a headache. im not saying he doesn't need an enclosure. just stating that there are procedures to follow in order to come up with a logical conclusion.

i agree with you whole-heartedly...its just that when you know something is wrong, fix that first before you go thru a whole lot of un-necessary steps. I would not suggest that he get a new box if i didn't know first hand about the issue. I actually sold those exact subs to him and i had the same issue...he had the same issue because he had them in bigger box before so he KNOWS the box is too small by far. The minimum i would go is like 3.5 for the pair...hell the manufacturer recommends 5^3 as optimal

 

[Exploder 97 10+ year member]

well I guess if I have to single things out to fix the problem, The box is surely what i need to do first, If there wasnt 4 inches of ice on my car i would go take measurements right now and start getting a box built up.. Bonesninja ty for your quality time in my post lol