Subs for metal

[DoesDad 10+ year member]

So if a 15 has that "special sound" does an 18 and 21 get even more special? Lol!

 

[winkychevelle 10+ year member]

So if a 15 has that "special sound" does an 18 and 21 get even more special? Lol!

nope just the satisfaction of having someone say **** thats big when they first see it. but say goodbye to space

 

[jockhater2 10+ year member]

wow lots of mis-information in the right box a 8, 10, 12, 15, 18, and 21 will sound the exact same with the exception of the amount of air displaced. but with the larger amount of air displaced the larger the box or larger amount of power is needed. there is no special 15 sound and a larger speaker wont necessarily play lower. it has more to do with the box and amount of power put to the speaker than the size of the cone. dont believe me look up some of thors builds o here he only runs 10s and id be willing to bet he is louder than a large majority of the people on here

I never said 15s are the ideal. I am just saying. If he wants the metal to be loud. Loud like how rap bass is loud. THen I don't think 12s will get it done. Because they didn't get it done for me.

 

[pro-rabbit 5,000+ posts]

I never said 15s are the ideal. I am just saying. If he wants the metal to be loud. Loud like how rap bass is loud. THen I don't think 12s will get it done. Because they didn't get it done for me.

You are saying that a 12" can not perform to the same level of a 15 per what the OP wants? I'm confused by this. Please explain this in more detail. A good 12" in a properly designed enclosure will net amazing results regardless if it is a "cheap" or "high end" model. Just as a 15 will. However, to think that the extra cone area will make that large of a difference is an interesting idea I guess.

Here is a more direct response to what you are saying. You have built up an idea that you require 15s to achieve what you want with minimal testing to prove those points. This means mentally you will require a 15 in a ported enclosure no matter what. Anything else to you will not "get the job done" as you say. However, the reality is..yes 12s can do just as well.

 

[jockhater2 10+ year member]

You are saying that a 12" can not perform to the same level of a 15 per what the OP wants? I'm confused by this. Please explain this in more detail. A good 12" in a properly designed enclosure will net amazing results regardless if it is a "cheap" or "high end" model. Just as a 15 will. However, to think that the extra cone area will make that large of a difference is an interesting idea I guess.
Here is a more direct response to what you are saying. You have built up an idea that you require 15s to achieve what you want with minimal testing to prove those points. This means mentally you will require a 15 in a ported enclosure no matter what. Anything else to you will not "get the job done" as you say. However, the reality is..yes 12s can do just as well.

I am not saying that. LOL I am not fanboying anything. All I am saying I listen to metal. Whitechapel, Chimaira and so on. And when I had 2 12s in a 4 cubic foot porte box. For rap. They were great. But when I played metal. I couldn't feel the double bass as much I wanted to. So I switched to larger speakers. He could always do 12s in a very large box? I am just a novist. But I know most people don't listen to deathcore, metalcore and so on. And they don't realize how hard it is to get that double bass from the drums to be loud.

 

[pro-rabbit 5,000+ posts]

Actually it is all about the enclosure what you just described. You had an enclosure for 12s that was more then likely tuned lower then you wanted and with how your vehicle loads it was far to low. What I am saying is that you are giving bad advice because you do not understand what is actually going on with why you "prefer" a 15. It is just in your head because you had a bad enclosure design.

 

[Flastrongman 10+ year member]

Actually it is all about the enclosure what you just described. You had an enclosure for 12s that was more then likely tuned lower then you wanted and with how your vehicle loads it was far to low. What I am saying is that you are giving bad advice because you do not understand what is actually going on with why you "prefer" a 15. It is just in your head because you had a bad enclosure design.

^^^this. It's all about the enclosure mang. Before my 21" I had 2 HCCA 10's in a 4th order that would choke you up a little on double kicks.

If you want a great metal test, download From the Shallows and see if your subs can keep up.

 

[go_go_thrash 10+ year member]

Shameless self promotion, but these would be good subs for metal:

http://www.caraudio.com/forums/subwoofer-classifieds/535951-infinity-beta-15s-idqv2-15s.html

 

[SikFly 10+ year member]

I listen to metal. actually i listen to stuff from jazz to death metal. I also have in my garage a JL W1, W3v3, W6v2, Kicker L7 and used to have others such as Infinity reference, Punch.....etc. All are/were 12's.

In all honesty, the box will have way more difference than your sub of choice. I got listening experience going back to 1993, much of it now just a fading memory and everyone has an opinion like they got an ahole. But its my opinion that most subs in general do the basic job of putting out bass for any kind of music. its the box that seems to matter the most.

I'll get a lashing for this, but accuracy is way over rated imo. its not exciting and audiophiles listen to boring. i like some excitement in my music. whether a kick drum has a slight "blum" at the end of it or whatever, i certainly would never notice..especially in a car while driving. So thats a choice you have to consider when selecting a box type and sub. not all cheap subs are inaccurate though. i never heard one in a proper box that i would call inaccurate to the point its ruins the music either unless it was an 8" underpowered or something.

Of all the subs i have or had. i can't pick a single one that i would say worked best with death metal for instance. Even my old Jenson's from 1993 handled Cannibal Corpse just fine and Pantera too. All i can say is the W6v2 can handle twice the power and seems more resiliant to being stressed than many of the other subs i've had. My L7 also seems to still perform well when pushed to loud levels even without enough amplification in a proper box.

So if you like it very loud and don't plan on using lots of watts, buy a decent quality sub so it won't sound like a racoon's head being beaten against a tree trunk. Plenty on non mainstream subs out there for decent prices that can do that too if you want to be in the cool.

Ported seems to have worked well for me. But i don't like the 32 hz tune so many here seem to like. I don't think most music even really goes that low, especially if its compressed. I prefer 35-40hz. But 32hz> to sealed does seem to do a bit better for rap that has so much consistant variation in bass.

I never noticed Sealed to have any more benefit for metal, the sound is more subdued, less exciting. doesn't hit any harder from what i can tell. (again the box design correctly) BP can work but only sounds decent if its tuned really low and most commercial packages are tuned too high and it will make the fast pace of metal blur too much together. That 35-40hz tune seems to be about perfect for metal music.

Size of subs and box is an issue for you to decide. I got groceries to get and a life to lead, so i can only use one 12" sub. A couple of under seat subs in addition to it aren't really too bad if you really want more bass and are tight on space.

 

[FlexnInLa 10+ year member]

alright i am a total metal head and i picked out 3 different sets of 12" that id like to have an opinion on whether they would be good for metal. What i am looking for is to be able to have subs that will hit every double bass kick very precisely yet very hit you in the chest hard effect. so i guess a very precise BOOM haha. i hear that a sealed box would make more precise and a ported box would be more boom and i am not sure on which i should get.
two 12" kicker l7's at 2 ohm

two 12" Image Dynamics IDQ12 v.3 D2 at 2 ohm

two 12" JL 12W3v3-2 at 2 ohm

and also i will be playing hiphop stuff like yelawolf/tech n9ne and also i like dubstep.

if you have a better pair of 12" that would fit my needs

Get in touch with Mobile Enclosures or any of the other good box designers here and let them know what you want. Sub size doesn't matter, go see Dimmu Borgir live and the 18's in the PA don't miss ANY of the double bass hits, nor are they "slow" or "sloppy."

 

[dirtyunclerandy 10+ year member]

Back to the original question... I might be a little biased, but I don't think you can go wrong with the image dynamics. They don't miss a beat.