This is what i plan to do, help me out with the details

[camflan 10+ year member]

Ok, so I am building a sq setup in my 2001 Jetta VR6 GLX. Please comment on install ideas, tuning tips, etc as well as comments/criticisms of my equipment.

Goal -- To have a SQ system that sounds/feels like you are in a recording studio or at a concert with the artist right in front of you. Keep car stock looking to passersby and passengers for that extra "Wow, what is this?" factor. The trunk (with the amps / subs) will be extremely usuable, as will the fold down seats, and will look *mostly* stock, but not completely.

HU -- Alpine 9835 with iPod, Sirius, and AmpLink

Proc/EQ -- none, do I need any? I have quite a powerful HU tuning wise...

Front Stage -- Focal 165 KP in stock locations

Rear -- Focal 165 Woofers only, no tweets

Subs -- 4 JL 8w3v2 D4 subwoofers -- wired down to 2 ohms

Mid/High Amp -- Alpine V12 545 (at 14.4v into 4ohms 125w RMS x 4 channels)

Sub Amp -- Alpine V12 605 Monoblock (at 14.4v into 2ohm 600w RMS x 1 channel)

Damping -- HushMat

Connections -- JL Connections both power and speaker

The trunk will have a slim-as-possible enclosure for the subs underneath the rear deck. All four subs will be side by side. I am going to cut 2 holes into the deck so I port the subs into the cabin. Amps will either be attached, somehow, to the sub-box, or they will be built into the side walls of my trunk.

Questions::

1. Do I port the subs directly into the cabin? Do I make the box sealed and then just have holes that go into the chamber? Which would be best for SQ?

2. JL 8w3v2 have the depth I am looking for, are accurate and musical. Anyone know how deep they will play in the proposed install? How about sealed? Are there other subs I should look at?

3. In ported boxes, do the subs/can the subs share a volume or should there be seperate chambers for each sub like a sealed setup?

4. Is 125-150 RMS per sub enough for these?

5. Would it be smarter to run 2 8"s and 1 10" for the lower notes? How would I set that up?

6. Should I run external EQs or processing? I don't want to introduce too many possible places that could produce noise/loss of quality.

7. Is there a better enclosure type, that would yield tight accurate bass with some lowend extension better than a ported box that is still fairly small?

I am sure I missed a few questions I have, but that is a good start. Thanks a bunch, and sorry that my questions skip around alot.

TIA

camflan

Click to read more...

 

[saywhat? 5,000+ posts]

1)dont run alpine amps

2)i say run two tens. the 8's will NOT hit lows like u want. end of story

3)you could possibly run the profile amps and save money, and have the same quality as alpine IMO.

4)id cut a couple holes in the deck, and run a SEALED enclosure.

 

[camflan 10+ year member]

why should I not run alpine amps? I planned on using them for the AmpLink capability, plus I get them really cheap. Is the price/power the reason? Or what? I have only heard that they are over priced, but clean power, is that untrue?

 

[bcarpenterfhl 10+ year member]

-first of all, with the exception of the RCAs, ditch the rest of the JL wiring. It is a waste of money.

-Sealed IMO will always have better SQ. I dont understand what you mean by having holes that go into each chamber with the sealed box.

-4 JL 8W3v2s sealed will have very good SQ, but if you have the money, the W6v2 sealed will own those in SQ.

-It is okay for the subs to share a common chamber, sealed or ported.

-150 rms each will make the those subs pound.

-You should not mix different sized subs.

 

[cjjackson85 5,000+ posts]

If you get them cheap get them, they are overpriced usually... not bad amps otherwise. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[camflan 10+ year member]

-first of all, with the exception of the RCAs, ditch the rest of the JL wiring. It is a waste of money.
-Sealed IMO will always have better SQ. I dont understand what you mean by having holes that go into each chamber with the sealed box.

-4 JL 8W3v2s sealed will have very good SQ, but if you have the money, the W6v2 sealed will own those in SQ.

-It is okay for the subs to share a common chamber, sealed or ported.

-150 rms each will make the those subs pound.

-You should not mix different sized subs.

-What cable should I run for power/speakers? I figured since I was ordering from JL I would just make it easy and get it all... :/

- I meant that having the subs in a sealed box and then leaving free air between the rear deck and the enclosure, with the holes through the deck allowing the sound to enter the cabin vs. making a ported enclosure and porting directly INTO the cabin

- I am looking for the thinnest depth, as the 8w3's are about 1/2 the total mounted depth of the w6's that is the reason that the w6's were ruled out. (if my measurements are wrong, PLEASE tell me, as the w6s are nice //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif)

-I was unaware that they could share space, AWESOME!

- 150 RMS works for me then //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

-I figured that mixing sub sizes would be bad, just an idea i thought i would ask the more experienced about :thumbup:

another question:

with these subs, for the best in accuacy and low end, should i port them? Or will they play low enough in a sealed enclosure? I want as low as possible with the best SQ. is 30k low enough? 20k? Or am I way off? does it even need to be that low?

Thanks guys! great help so far.

 

[camflan 10+ year member]

If you get them cheap get them, they are overpriced usually... not bad amps otherwise. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Ok, good, I hadn't heard anything bad about the quality, just that they were overpriced //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif the amplink is appealing to me, so I'm going to get them then.

 

[bcarpenterfhl 10+ year member]

for power and speaker cable, go cheap. its all the same. weldingsupply.com has some cheap power wire, as does knuconceptz (sp).

 

[camflan 10+ year member]

another question:

with these subs, for the best in accuacy and low end, should i port them? Or will they play low enough in a sealed enclosure? I want as low as possible with the best SQ. is 30k low enough? 20k? Or am I way off? does it even need to be that low?

Thanks guys! great help so far.

??

 

[camflan 10+ year member]

anyone?

req? adidas? squeak? i read all your guys posts and seeing your work I would love your opinions, as well as everyone elses.

 

[cjjackson85 5,000+ posts]

Port them and tune them low, 28-34hz. Lowpass them at 80hz or lower... I don't know what you are talking about when you say 20k & 30k...

 

[camflan 10+ year member]

LOL, sorry i mean 20 and 30 hz...not 20k and 30k. i posted that while at work....

no wonder no one was posting, they thought i was nuts

 

[camflan 10+ year member]

Port them and tune them low, 28-34hz. Lowpass them at 80hz or lower... I don't know what you are talking about when you say 20k & 30k...

porting them in this way will give me best SQ with low end extension? Will the JLs play that low and react well ported at those freqs? sorry I am a ported box noob, having only run singles and duals in sealed enclosures before. :/

 

[bcarpenterfhl 10+ year member]

IMO, if you're going for all out SQ, ported is not going to be the way to go. However, those will sound nice tuned to about 27-28 Hz. buy enough wood to make two boxes, experimentation is worth it, and left over MDF always comes in handy. i'm really liking the four 8 W3s idea, it'll be unique. in my entire 6 months of working for a JL dealer, i still have never seen an 8 W3v2.

 

[camflan 10+ year member]

IMO, if you're going for all out SQ, ported is not going to be the way to go. However, those will sound nice tuned to about 27-28 Hz. by enough wood to make two boxes, experimentation is worth it, and left over MDF always comes in handy.

yeah, for SQ i was definatly thinking sealed. will they play low enough in a sealed enclosure though? I see guys running koda 8" in their doors like a midbass, not a sub, so that makes me wonder. what do you think? are the koda's made as a midbass? convince me that the JLs will serve the purpose!

or should i just go with a single 10w6v2 or a 10w7? I want to keep the enclosure very slim and kind of stealth for a "how does it sound so good" wow factor, ya know? also, what size mdf? 3/4"?