whats difference can I expect between 8, 10 and 12inch sub

[ymee 10+ year member]

Guys,

Bear with me, new to this stuff. I am in the market for a sub for my xterra SUV to complement my Focal system. Looking for something that will blend with the rest of the system and give a nice kick. Nothing that will make the car shake, rather something I can feel in the small of my back.

So what is the best size sub to get for this purpose? This is a SUV so it has tons of space, do I need a 12" or can I go smaller for my purposes?

Whats the general strategy on choosing a particular size for subwoofers? Oh, and I have a 300W amp for this purpose.

Thanks!

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[dragnix 5,000+ posts]

as long as it's a good SQ sub, i don't think size will generally matter. But sticking with a smaller size will probably save you both money and space. I think a good 12" would be adequate

 

[leon 10+ year member]

I too have a Xterra and for size consideration/your needs, one 12" would be good enough. However, 300W won't do you any good imho. So you might consider a single 10" or 8" or upgrade the amp.

 

[DidUHearThat? 10+ year member]

A 12" is more flexible and easier to achieve your goals. Smaller drivers can still do the job, but bass frequencies require alot of power and surface area to reproduce realistic bass music sounds. Larger drivers achieve that goal more easily.

Since you have the space I would suggest a good 12" in a good box. I prefer a sealed box for SQ.

12" is also the most commons size so you should be able to find more choices and sale prices on 12's.

 

[bass-aholic 10+ year member]

I too have a Xterra and for size consideration/your needs, one 12" would be good enough. However, 300W won't do you any good imho. So you might consider a single 10" or 8" or upgrade the amp.

There are plenty of 12"s that will fill his needs off 300 watts.

 

[DidUHearThat? 10+ year member]

I too have a Xterra and for size consideration/your needs, one 12" would be good enough. However, 300W won't do you any good imho. So you might consider a single 10" or 8" or upgrade the amp.

Actually I think the opposite. With less power you should have a larger driver. That same 300 watt amp will produce more bass with a larger driver. A 12" or 15" driver will give much better bass than an 10" driver from the same amp. Speaker size is not releated to power handling the way you suggest. The efficeincies work the opposite. You get more SPL per watt from a larger driver than a smaller one.

A single 8" at 300 watts will be a bit weak, but a 15" or 18" at 300 watts may be a bit more "Bang" than he's looking for.

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

Cone area is your friend. A 12 with 300w is plenty. What amp specifically do you have? Into what impedance does it do 300w?

 

[ymee 10+ year member]

guys,

wow thaks for all the feedback, this forum rocks!

I was looking at the Alpine PDX5 to run my 4 Focal's and the 1 sub. Sounds like 12inch is the way to go. anyone have any experience with 12" 300W subs, whats a good punchy sub or is that more of a function of the enclosure, i.e. sealed vs open.

 

[blazeplacid 10+ year member]

how much money do you want to spend?

Id say an Alpine type S would suit you well

 

[BoxdGM 10+ year member]

I loved my 12" CVR ran off a 350.2. sounded great in a sealed 1.0cf box and got suprisingly loud in a 3cf ported box, people always thought I had 2 15's. CVRs are on ebay for 100ish. just my 2c.

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

I would recommend the Dayton RSS 12 either the HF or HO depending on how much space you want to use.

 

[skmfkr 5,000+ posts]

i had a dayton titanic mkiii on 600w and loved it. im sure the HO and HF are just as good

 

[JRock10 10+ year member]

I'm a Rockford fan (punch HE2) that i used for a while and my gf still uses on 300 watts, and had a CVR that sounded killer on 300 watts.

 

[SSS 18734 5,000+ posts]

How much do you want to spend?

You might also want to talk a look at these drivers:

Soundsplinter RL-i

Ascendant Audio Assassin

Resonant Engineering SE

Stereo Integrity Magnum (I've heard great things about these, even off very little power)