Subs for electronic dance music?

[JonathanSQ]

Hiya all,

So I've been patiently waiting to replace the stock stereo system in my car and I came home to discover my parents had taken to a local shop to get a setup installed, as a early birthday present, while I was away for 2 1/2 weeks for work. I am fairly happy with it... but not entirely impressed or happy. The bass sounds "muddy" and while it sounds awesome for hip hop/rap and a handful of tracks of what I normally listen to-- it just doesn't seem right for most of what I listen to. Plus I no longer have a trunk thanks to the huge ported box.

So I am thinking of possibly swapping out my subs for something else. I have searched the forums but everything I found related to the type of music I listen to seems to focus on 12" or larger... so it would not help in the trying to reclaim my trunk space.

Car: 2011 Mitsubishi Lancer

Amp: Kicker 11DX600.5 pushing 300w @ 2 Ohm for the subs

Current subs: pair of 12" Kicker CompR in a Kicker ported box

(Link to the exact setup HERE)

I listen to various types of EDM probably 75% of the time. Artists/DJs like Armin Van Burren, Sander Van Doorn, Zedd, Foxes, Krewella, Afrojack, etc. The rest of the time it is a fairly even mixture of rock, hip hop/rap, R&B, and country. Maybe slightly more country than the rest.

Does anybody have any recommendations for smaller subs that would allow me to enjoy the type of music I usually listen to, yet take up much less space? Looking to keep the same amp for the time being but would prefer subs that could handle slightly more power as I will probably end up upgrading the amp sometime next year when I re-do the door speakers and head unit.

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[Umbra]

With a wide range of music like that, you're probably better off with a sealed enclosure. That should cut the box size in half too.

I don't know how different size subs sounds relative to one another, but they make some beefy 8s and 10s that can take double and triple the power you have now.

Check this thread: http://www.caraudio.com/forums/subwoofers/605686-ten-brands-you-cant-go-wrong.html, find a brand you like, and a sub you like. So long as you don't clip the signal you can underpower the sub(s) until you get a more powerful amp. If you're on a stock alternator keep it under 1,000W, though that might be way more power than you need. My 12" subs call for 1.25 sq. feet each. That's not much room at all.

Edit: looking at the link for that loaded enclosure it looks like it can take up to 1600W RMS, or 800W RMS for each sub. That 300W is almost bare minimum. Personally, I'd first pull one of those subs, figure out exactly what model it is. Build it a simple sealed box based on it's ideal sealed size and put the 300W to that. It'll give you less output at whatever frequency this box is ported at, but should be cleaner and about as loud across a broader range of frequencies while sacrificing much less trunk space.

 

[I'mPoor:(]

Edit: looking at the link for that loaded enclosure it looks like it can take up to 1600W RMS, or 800W RMS for each sub. That 300W is almost bare minimum. Personally, I'd first pull one of those subs, figure out exactly what model it is. Build it a simple sealed box based on it's ideal sealed size and put the 300W to that. It'll give you less output at whatever frequency this box is ported at, but should be cleaner and about as loud across a broader range of frequencies while sacrificing much less trunk space.

If he powers them with enough watts it will clear up the muddiness and they will hit properly.

on the other hand I like your idea if he does want space that much. Single 12" Sealed Car Subwoofer 3/4" MDF Enclosure/Box 1.0 Cu Ft

 

[JonathanSQ]

Checking the model number on the subs and comparing to Kicker's website, they are rated 800w RMS each. Like I said this whole situation kind of caught me by surprise so now I'm just scrambling to get it changed to something I can live with until sometime early next year, which is when I had planned to change out the stock system anyways (traveling 3 weeks of each month between now and November so just simply no time).

So if I keep the current amp... you think best bet might be to simply put one of them into a sealed box and go with that? Looking on Kicker it shows minimum sealed size is 1ft cu., so thinking maybe 1.25 ft cu. would do the trick... or no?

As far as the amp goes... I could replace the amp early but I am limited as its a 4ga power wire running right now, stock alternator, and the big 3 upgrades have not yet been done. I also simply don't have the time to change that up. So whatever I buy I'd prefer it to be a 5-channel setup and able to work without me having to re-do the power wire, etc.

I appreciate the help, Umbra & Kyle

 

[I'mPoor:(]

Checking the model number on the subs and comparing to Kicker's website, they are rated 800w RMS each. Like I said this whole situation kind of caught me by surprise so now I'm just scrambling to get it changed to something I can live with until sometime early next year, which is when I had planned to change out the stock system anyways (traveling 3 weeks of each month between now and November so just simply no time).
So if I keep the current amp... you think best bet might be to simply put one of them into a sealed box and go with that? Looking on Kicker it shows minimum sealed size is 1ft cu., so thinking maybe 1.25 ft cu. would do the trick... or no?

As far as the amp goes... I could replace the amp early but I am limited as its a 4ga power wire running right now, stock alternator, and the big 3 upgrades have not yet been done. I also simply don't have the time to change that up. So whatever I buy I'd prefer it to be a 5-channel setup and able to work without me having to re-do the power wire, etc.

I appreciate the help, Umbra & Kyle

After sub displacement you are looking around 1cu foot. Buy some polyfill from walmart and stuff it full with one bag.

Btw, I am running 1000 watts RMS and I can hit that 1000 watts no problem with 4GA stock alt no big 3, just have a big of light dim. Voltage drops from 13.8 to 12.9. You won't have to worry about that with one sub woofer.

 

[Umbra]

If returning it or getting credit towards another purchase is out of the question then I'd go with putting one in a sealed box. 800W is a hefty amount of power, so in theory you could get real loud if you wanted to with a single sub. You could hold onto the other and the enclosure so you have options down the road.

I haven't been able to figure out if the coils are 4 ohm or 2 ohm on those subs, so you'll have to check that. If they're 4ohm coils you can wire the coils in parallel for a 2 ohm load. If they're 2 ohm coils then you can't wire the sub to 2 ohms. If it's one of those fancy Kickers where you can choose the coil configuration then you should be in business.

Assuming you're using OFC material wiring of a respectable brand, you can use this chart to estimate how much power it can handle based on the length (amp install kits are roughly 17ft). If you end of using two amps you'll need to account for the total draw. You can stick a distro block on the end to power them both.

As far as the size of the enclosure is concerned you might want to wait for some who's more knowledgeable on the subject and can explain the science behind TS parameters. Or you can pose the question over in the enclosure building subforum. The minimum is 1 cube, the max is 4.6. 1 cube would work if you'd like to maximize the available trunk space, but if you listen to lots of lower frequency stuff try to make the box a bit bigger - maybe 1.5. This should give you a better low end. You can stuff it with polfill or fiberglass insulation to make it "appear bigger" to the sub (that's a gross over simplification). I've used it myself and noticed a difference. I've read gains can be up to 30% extra "space", but I think that's optimistic. Use 1lb per cubic foot of pink fiberglass if you go that route, just use gloves and a mask. You should also account for driver displacement, which varies by driver, but you should be safe with adding an extra .1 cubic feet.

 

[brian84corvette 10+ year member]

in my personal experience with everything kicker has down here in south FL = the do get loud - but in my opinion the kicker subs sound almost the same loud bass note over a range of frequencys.... i mean every bass note basicly sounds the same... with loud haha

but

sealed box for them should help out some... maby down the road if you still are not satisfied - id say sell that box with them on craigslist or trade it for something thats "musical" and more oriented for sound quality.

 

[fasfocus00 5,000+ posts]

so you have 300 watts for 2 12s that are suppose to take 1600 watts. you need to get a better box and a more powerful amp. I install those subs on the regular and they sound good in the right enclosure. you either need a ported enclosure around 4.5 cubes net or a large sealed enclosure like 10 cubes. that's the problem with Kicker subs is they need huge sealed enclsoure or slightly larger ported enclosures.