Upgrade from an Obsidian 15?

[VazzVenom]

Hi guys. This is my first post on this forum. I've been lurking for a while but have never gotten around to posting. I've learned so much in my short time in the car audio world from this site. I'd like to thank anyone that has unknowingly helped me through my first small build. Anyways, my current setup is an Obsidian Audio 15 off of a Precision Power 1300.1D wired at 1 ohm. The enclosure is a slot ported box that I designed myself. It's 3.6 Net cubes at 30hz. The car is a 2003 Audi A4. I feel like with the Obsidian, I'm not getting as much as I could out of the amp. I have the gains turned up about 35-40% of the way. If I turn them up any higher, the Obsidian's coils get a little smelly. I would like to be louder. Would it be worth it to upgrade to something that would be able to take more power? I've heard that the Obsidian is more of an SQ woofer (compared to the Sundown SA's) and to my ear, it sounds very good. I also love how low the Obsidian gets. Because of these factors, I've started to look at Fi's Q. I know that it would do good in my 3.6 cube box and that it would handle my 1300 watts like a champ. The question that I have is... would it be worth it to upgrade the woofer without upgrading the amp and if so, would you recommend the FI Q or something else? I'm a senior in high school so the Fi would probably be the most expensive that I can afford right now at around $330 with the carbon fiber dust cap that I love. Thanks in advance.

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[MXcarAudio]

can u fit 2 15's?

 

[VazzVenom]

No. Unfortunately just one.

 

[Freeman]

icons are around that and are //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/yumyum.gif.0556df42231b304b9c995aefd13928a8.gif:yumyum:

 

[globalminds_ent 10+ year member]

Opti 15 they get low

 

[fatboytyler]

I would look into the SA (Rated at 600, could handle 1300 well) series or their X (1250 RMS, but could handle lots more) series. However there are plenty more that are just as good.

Also, could you fit 2 12s? It'll be more cone area. If you can fit 4 Cubic feet for a box there are plenty of 12s that would be perfect for you. 2 SA-12s (Again with the SA? Well I run two of these so I'm a bit biased haha) running off a 1300W amp would be beautiful.

 

[C21H30O2]

Also, could you fit 2 12s? It'll be more cone area. If you can fit 4 Cubic feet for a box there are plenty of 12s that would be perfect for you. 2 SA-12s (Again with the SA? Well I run two of these so I'm a bit biased haha) running off a 1300W amp would be beautiful.

x2, I do not think you will notice much of a difference changing to a different 15" sub with all else staying the same. Your best bet would be to increase cone area.

 

[VazzVenom]

Alright. The icons look good. I'd rather keep the box that I have. That's why I'm looking for a 15 that'll do good in 3.6 cubes and not two 12's. The reason why I'm considering upgrading is because if I turn the gains up a little to about 50-60 percent the obsidian really starts to slam. After about ten minutes it starts to get smelly though. I'm looking for a good woofer that sounds good on music and can handle my amp without any problems.

 

[fatboytyler]

Like 321H0O1 said, you're not going to see tjat much of a gain. Plus, the gain knob isn't something you should constantly change. It is designed to be set to the voltage output of your head unit. So if you have 2V preouts, your gain should be set to around the 2V mark. And it should be set at the max volume you play at, whether that be 30/50 or 40/50 or whatever.

Youre likely getting really smelly becsuse you're starting to clip the amp. Clipping is bad bad bad.

 

[bmk6795 10+ year member]

imo look into maybe a dc level 4, they like a box that's about as big as you have.

 

[T3mpest 10+ year member]

The Q is actually a good choice here. It will easily handle the amp you have now, even if you clip it some for the extra output. It also has even more xmax and plays the lows very well, similar sound to your obisidan likely. If you can afford it go for it, you can probably even find one in the classifieds if you wait and look for a bit, it's a pretty common woofer.

 

[bbeljefe]

Changing from one sub to the next while leaving everything else the same isn't likely to provide any noticeable increase in volume. Your best bet is to up the power when you change subs. Or at least, plan to do both as you have the funds.

And to clarify what was said about gain... it isn't a volume knob and the percentage you have it turned up is completely irrelevant. If you buy a 2000 watt sub and turn the gain up till it hits harder, the end result will be thermal failure of the sub. You can get by with a slight bit of clipping but by doing it that way you're riding on the ragged edge of safety for your sub.

 

[VazzVenom]

Thanks for the info about gain. I guess I'll stick to the Obsidian until maybe I can afford to upgrade to more power... and a HO alternator... and a better battery. Thanks, guys.

 

[fatboytyler]

Changing from one sub to the next while leaving everything else the same isn't likely to provide any noticeable increase in volume. Your best bet is to up the power when you change subs. Or at least, plan to do both as you have the funds.
And to clarify what was said about gain... it isn't a volume knob and the percentage you have it turned up is completely irrelevant. If you buy a 2000 watt sub and turn the gain up till it hits harder, the end result will be thermal failure of the sub. You can get by with a slight bit of clipping but by doing it that way you're riding on the ragged edge of safety for your sub.

I was trying to say this, but I typed it on my phone and had too many issues and eventually gave up haha, thank you for the clarification.

Thanks for the info about gain. I guess I'll stick to the Obsidian until maybe I can afford to upgrade to more power... and a HO alternator... and a better battery. Thanks, guys.

Yea man, it an expensive hobby. I'm looking to drop near $3,000 into mine this summer provided I receive the funds. Well worth it in my opinion though. Patience is a virtue.