subwoofer volume too low?

[mkiv]

hey guys, i just got my sundown sd 2 10 2 ohm in the mail, which has replaced my pioneer walmart sub. The main reason for the upgrade was that my previous pioneer 200 rms sub was just not loud enough(used to be fine in my old car). So i installed my sundown in the same box, but the lows seem almost the same as my pioneer. Im sure the sundown is far better quality than the pioneer, but why is it that a 500 rms subwoofer is the same volume as a 200 rms subwoofer. I still need the bass boost on the amp and the headunit on almost max for the bass to be at an acceptable level, which leads me to believe something is wrong with the install i did, since it was fine in my old car. the amp im using is putting out 380 watts at 4 ohms bridged, the gain is on the normal setting, can i turn it up since the subwoofer can handle more power?

Thanks guys

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[Slo_Ride 5,000+ posts]

need more info on the box and amp

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

if its a prefab box with a weak amp then thats your problem. With quality subs you need quality power and housing to go along with it. . Your comparing a big starved subwoofer against a fully fed subwoofer. Who's gonna win the tug of war? Also STOP DOING ANY BASS BOOST ON YOUR AMP AND HEADUNIT your gonna blow everything sooner or later.

You might want to put the pioneers back in until you find a better amp and build a proper box for the sundowns. Might want to see if your subs are out of phase also.

 

[garychoffmann 10+ year member]

First things first

A higher rms subwoofer is not louder. It's also still very stiff.

If you play a 200 rms sub at 300 watts and a 500 rms sub at 300 watts the output will generally be the same.

There is also the box that plays a large role in bass production and volume.

What amp? What type of box?

 

[Side Show 10+ year member]

more power!!

 

[mkiv]

The amp im using is a pioneer 5400t here are the specs:

Number of Channels 2/1

Maximum Power Output 760 W

Continuous Power Output (2 Ω, ≤ 1% THD+N) 190 W x 2

Continuous Power Output (4 Ω, ≤ 1% THD+N) 125 W x 2

Continuous Power Output Bridged (4 Ω) 380 W x 1

Frequency Response 10 Hz to 50 kHz

Total Harmonic Distortion (4 Ω)

Signal-to-Noise Ratio (IHF-A Weighted, at 1 kHz) > 95 dB

And the box is sealed and .58 cubic feet. I assumed it would be ok since sundown specifies the optimum cubic feet is .5. Could there possibly be something wrong with the install? my pioneer sounded fine in my old car with the bass boost off on the headunit and amp

Awaiting your reply guys

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

its still the same problem. Box and amp. If your using a sealed box, your going to need more power. If your not going to get more power, your going to need a proper ported box. Sundowns dont like sealed boxes anyways so most likely its your box.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

Or it could have been how you wired it also. Take a picture and let us see how you've set things up.

 

[mkiv]

Here are the pics of the install guys

 

[DukeNut 10+ year member]

how is the sub wired? it's a dual voice coil 2 ohm each, correct?

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

That box is the problem. You can put the best sub in a crappy box and get poor performance. Not like that amp is really doing you any favors, but a prefab sealed box is no place for a woofer like that.

 

[mkiv]

I think its more too it than just the box, even my pioneer used to sound really nice and loud in my old car, which was using a line out converter, my new car has a proper pioneer headunit and rca inputs. Could it be possible that the rca is sending a lower voltage signal?

 

[mkiv]

Help //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

 

[Trey803 5,000+ posts]

you cannot use a subwoofer's power handling as a parameter for volume. Usually higher power sub have very stiff suspension and the design is completely aimed at high power operation.

Since you are comparing the loudness of 2 subwoofers on the same setup (amp, battery, wiring, HU, etc) you should look at the efficiency of the subwoofers.

Also subwoofers of the same size i.e. an 8" could be designed and manufactured to perform well in completely different boxes and power consumption.

You need to consider more variables into your loudness equation before you will be able to find the weak point and then upgrade to reach an SPL that meets your requirements

1) voltage drops---battery, alternator, wiring, ground connection

2)amplifier rated output vs. actual output--some brands are more honest than others

3)speaker box design---sealed vs. ported, box volume, tuning frequency

Once you understand these concepts you can more easily find the weak point in your setup and upgrade

 

[Trey803 5,000+ posts]

I think this is your problem

The box you are using is not big enough for the Sundown sub woofer. The previous woofer you had inside of the same box was better suited for that box design.

You cannot assume that because a 10" is a 10" that all 10" require the same sub woofer box to perform well. Each sub will have its own design specs and these determine how the sub box should be designed.

I think you need a bigger box, I'm sure you can find this information from sundown