Subs: Small vs. Big? What are the traits of each?

[I Like Waffle]

In general sealed applications, bigger drivers will play lows better it seems, but smaller drivers are more musical IMO. Ive never heard a 15" or 18" that had the punchiness of say a 10 or 12" sub. However, design a box right and you can make any speaker perform however you want it to pretty much //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Mass Car Audio 10+ year member]

In general sealed applications, bigger drivers will play lows better it seems, but smaller drivers are more musical IMO. Ive never heard a 15" or 18" that had the punchiness of say a 10 or 12" sub. However, design a box right and you can make any speaker perform however you want it to pretty much //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

I hate it when people say that a 10'' is more punchy than a bigger driver, that is not correct at all. I all depends on the drivers parameters and the Q of the box and what atmosphere it is playing in.

 

[cx-7heaven 10+ year member]

I hate it when people say that a 10'' is more punchy than a bigger driver, that is not correct at all. I all depends on the drivers parameters and the Q of the box and what atmosphere it is playing in.

This^^^^. I guarantee, I can make an 18 sound as "punchy" as an 8. The only real difference between 2 different size drivers-everything else being the same-is volume output.

 

[scottyk 10+ year member]

Well a lot of what people have stated here is absolutely correct and has covered a very large spectrum of what you've been asking. I'm new to Car Audio myself in the sense of doing my own set up and not just buying a pre-made setup from my friends that I liked so don't alone as far as knowledge.

So whatever your looking for in taste will affect what you should buy. Like others have said, you have sound quality and you have sound pressure subs, one focuses on quality and the other on loudness. The quality of a sub itself must be taken into consideration; a crappy 10 sub that doesn't handle a lot of power and only cost you 40 bucks from Walmart will not sound nearly as loud or well as compared to the same size sub of a company that makes real quality stuff. Not only will the nice 10" sub cover a much wider range of lows and highs, but it will get louder as it can take more power.

Same with larger subs. Other members have stated on here that an 18 can sound just as great as a 10 can if its put in the right box, tuned properly and given the right amount of power. It all depends on the sub you buy and what its designed for and it has to be put into the proper enclosure with correct power.

 

[WheresTheButta 10+ year member]

To sum up what everybody else said:

It's not the size of the sub, it's how you use it.

 

[Alter Ego Trip 10+ year member]

To sum up what everybody else said:
It's not the size of the sub, it's how you use it.

That's not what your woman said. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif Sorry, couldn't help myself.