What does it take to get louder down low????

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

Well, i've been farting around with various setups in the last few months, wasting ALL sorts of funds. At first i didn't know what kind of sound i really wanted, i was just headed in the direction of 'SQL' wanted to get decently loud, and sound pretty decent.

Setup A:

2 12" Alpine type-x's in 2.0cf each tuned @ 30hz...

this made me fall in love with low bass, cause it was the first setup i've had that could really get me there. But i wanted a little more output.. So i bought....

2 15" L7 15's in 4.5cf each tuned @ 42hz...

well, this was a mistake, so new box for them and came up with....

2 15" L7 15's in 4.5 each tuned @ 33hz....

now we're back in the right ballpark, but still not hitting any grand slams, i'm afraid... it just seems that going from the type-x's to the kicker didn't make that much of a difference in output, honestly. It's noticeably louder when pounding out a beat, but actual tones and basslines aren't really that much of an improvement. If anyone's heard type-x's, they get **** loud down low for their size, and they sound better than the l7's to boot.

So i'm quickly learning it's real hard to get loud(er) down low... seems like once you do the inital hard task of getting loud down low in the first place, trying to get more output down there is like getting blood from a stone, you hit a plateau very quickly...

What would it take to get really punishing amounts of low bass that i desire? A ton more power? Sound deadener out the a$$? Or is the problem just that increases in volume at low frequencies are hard to notice? I've noticed that super low frequencies sound louder than other frequencies when the volumes turned down, but then the other frequencies catch up to them, while they don't get all that much louder, so i'm thinking that could just be the problem right there...

So is there something i'm doing wrong, or have other people noticed that it's hard to increase the output of low frequencies? I would think 2 12" type-x's to 2 15" l7s in a huge box would be quite an increase in volume, or atleast vibration in the car, but it seems like only a marginal increase in heard OR felt output.

What's up with that? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crazy.gif.c13912c32de98515d3142759a824dae7.gif

And to put 'low' frequencies in perspective, i'm looking for bass that is felt more than heard, i just want my subs to punch the beat, and let my components make the actual drum beat sound, if that makes any sense.... And like i said, the l7's ARE an improvement, they're just not as big of a change as i expected, especially for the drop in transient response between hitting the beat, and a bassline at the same time, they get out of line real fast as the volume increases, where the x's would keep their cool at full tilt, still not to the point of being 100% transperant, but definitely acceptable, and let's just say i don't find myself forgetting the l7's are back there.

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[2LouDFoRThiS 10+ year member]

the type x's are better.

 

[Chevyaudio 5,000+ posts]

Honestly, The Type X Subs are low end monsters, its gonna be hard to beat them with those kickers, but its not impossible it can be done...you just have to find the right box. Those Type X's Really shine in the 25-35 Hz. Region.

 

[kotec123 10+ year member]

yea i went from type X to type r because i was looking for more spl, but i was, and still am somewhat dissapointed...

The type x's were definitally louder on the low notes, and still loud on the higher ones too... I might go back to type x's in fact....They are def better woofers compared to the type r's in my mind

 

[ravendarat 10+ year member]

Playing low frequencies require a ton of power. Its far hard for a driver to produce a 20hz tone than a 50 hz tone. You are also right that to the ear the increase in volume at the low end is not linear with the increase at the higher end. I would suggest that if you want to increase the volume I would add more power and another driver.

 

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

yea i went from type X to type r because i was looking for more spl, but i was, and still am somewhat dissapointed...
The type x's were definitally louder on the low notes, and still loud on the higher ones too... I might go back to type x's in fact....They are def better woofers compared to the type r's in my mind

i honestly didn't know how good i had it at the time with the x's...

they're not the loudest subs out there, and i don't want to admit it, but i really kinda miss 'em

i really wanna love these kickers, i feel like i'm just doing something wrong..

all i ever hear about the kickers is that 'they're REAL f'in loud' but 'sound like poop'..... and i've had loud kicker setups, and they tear it up 45-80hz, but they're falling short in my newly discovered LOW bass terrirory, and tuned @ 33hz, they're not even good up top, i think they fall short even lower than the type-x's did ~55hz or so they nosedive

 

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

Has anybody ever done something like a 12" type-x to hit 25-50hz with a 18db slope and then a type-r with a 50-80hz in the same car?

that would probably be sick...

cause i too have wondered why awesome lows have to come at the lack of loud (or any) high subbass to low midbass response?

it's just been so long since i've had a system that hit the more spl-oriented frequencies (or even been in a car that hit those frequencies) that i can't remember if i liked that as much i like the lows anymore....

argh, good sound is complicated on every level when you really get into trying to perfect it.

 

[SlammeD_SiR 10+ year member]

Has anybody ever done something like a 12" type-x to hit 25-50hz with a 18db slope and then a type-r with a 50-80hz in the same car?
that would probably be sick...

cause i too have wondered why awesome lows have to come at the lack of loud (or any) high subbass to low midbass response?

it's just been so long since i've had a system that hit the more spl-oriented frequencies (or even been in a car that hit those frequencies) that i can't remember if i liked that as much i like the lows anymore....

argh, good sound is complicated on every level when you really get into trying to perfect it.

this is what im starting to think of, because i really hate the fact that i dont have the whole package.

i would think its possible to do wit a crossover

 

[Hundreth 10+ year member]

Yea the same thing happened to me... I started out with my sub in a sealed box that was too big for it (or atleast I thought so at the time.) When lows hit, it shook my entire car to peices, but it wouldn't hit the punchy bass worth a crap. Then I made a smaller box and got all that punchy bass I've been lacking, but then I missed that insane low end. Now I really appreciate the lows and made a happy medium box that I believe sounds fine.

Once you've had the lows though, its hard to live without them lol

 

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

Once you've had the lows though, its hard to live without them lol

so true, it's like a movie theater in your car

 

[psych0ticnemes1 5,000+ posts]

i cannot get any sub to get low in my hatch... it is like my vehicle isn't designed for lows... it acts like a bandpass box it seems like...

 

[bamaboy 5,000+ posts]

2 XXX 15's would deff be right up you alley, but would need atleast 1200 apiece to go somewhere, but put around 2000 to each one and you woulnt be lookoing at the type x anymore

pre 06 xxx's

 

[Johnny Drama 5,000+ posts]

the above xxx idea

15" MTs would be loud and low and very power hungry

12 or 15" Mags in the right tuning would shake the piss out of your car.

 

[DFW40 10+ year member]

Build a box to the large end of what the manf. recommends and tune very low 26-30 hz, this will give you a bump on the low end. Then get large subs with alot of xmax and a low fs does not hurt. I would say the most important part would be the large box tuned low. If Kicker says for ported to be between 3 cubes and 6 cubes go with the 6 cubes etc.

 

[psych0ticnemes1 5,000+ posts]

are RE SE's known for good lows as well? I have heard good things about them being loud down low... could be wrong?