whats the sole purpose of big subwoofers??

[blackdrag450r 10+ year member]

ok, i'm still new at this so don't bash too hard... but i was wondering what someone would gain going from say, 2 12"s to 2 15"s or 1 18" ?

if 2 12"s are getting crazy loud these days, how much can you really gain? and "what" do you really gain?

would 1 1000watt 18" beat harder than 2 600 watt 12"s???

sorry, i'm just trying to figure all this stuff and get it right the first time. measure twice cut once....

thanks

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[thegreatestpenn 5,000+ posts]

there's not replacement for displacement. cone area is just as valuable as big power. 1 18 has more cone area than 2 12's, and probably cost less as well so there it is.

 

[Rich B 5,000+ posts]

It makes up for other shortcomings.

 

[ahole-ic]

Also high power ratings don't mean the sub will be loud. An efficient subwoofer that takes 100 watts can be as loud as an inefficient 1000w sub. The reason people are stuck on power ratings is it is trendy.

 

[FurbiesAndBeans 10+ year member]

there's not replacement for displacement. cone area is just as valuable as big power. 1 18 has more cone area than 2 12's, and probably cost less as well so there it is.

^Pretty much^

 

[blackdrag450r 10+ year member]

well, thats what i had in mind but i wasn't quite sure if it was solely that, or maybe a 10" sounds way different then a 15".....

thanks for the reply's

my buddy at work says that a 15 or an 18" will sound sloppy? not as tight?

hes a sq guy so we don't really see eye to eye sometimes.. lol

its crazy to me though that an 18 needs a bigger box then 2 12"s or even sometimes 2 15"s.

 

[Databyter 10+ year member]

Generally speaking the larger the diameter the lower the effective frequency range. But really for most modern speakers you can get low enough with 10's for good rich bass (you can't hear below 20 HZ so why bother with speakers that are less snappy (or working harder to be snappy) at the higher end of the Subs job and would be perfectly happy producing sub audible bass that does you no good and is probably filtered out in the first place).

If your looking for hair tricks or competing then by all means get more or bigger for pure air displacement and volume. But it's gets trickier to balance real music with too many bass monitors if SQ is what your primary concern is..(let the flaming begin)

Your friend is sorta right in my opinion. For sq purposes there is no reason to go beyond say a 10" or a 12 if you just want a rich full range sound at normal volumes for listening in the car or maybe outside within a reasonable distance.

That's why I have one 10" in my vehicle, a good one.

 

[misfit138 5,000+ posts]

my buddy at work says that a 15 or an 18" will sound sloppy? not as tight?

He's wrong.

hes a sq guy

No, he isn't. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

 

[Johnny Law.Lulz 5,000+ posts]

With any enclosure you can make whatever sound you want. You can make a 18 sound tight as hell or an 8" sound loose, its all in the box.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Generally speaking the larger the diameter the lower the effective frequency range. But really for most modern speakers you can get low enough with 10's for good rich bass (you can't hear below 20 HZ so why bother with speakers that are less snappy (or working harder to be snappy) at the higher end of the Subs job and would be perfectly happy producing sub audible bass that does you no good and is probably filtered out in the first place).

You can't hear it, but you can certainly feel it. Pipe organs have fundamental notes that are below 20Hz.

For sq purposes there is no reason to go beyond say a 10" or a 12 if you just want a rich full range sound at normal volumes for listening in the car or maybe outside within a reasonable distance.

What about less coil travel for a given SPL, keeping the coil more in the gap, reducing BL nonlinearities...etc...

With a trunk car, I'd really want to try a 15" IDW in IB //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[T3mpest 10+ year member]

very limited throw on those jim. I dont' know how much bass you need or what your normal listening levels are but I have heard its almost always better to double up on IDW's lol. Coil in the gap is important, remember lol.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

True. Between going less than 4x Vas or running out of linear throw, I'd rather have the first //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[blackdrag450r 10+ year member]

so cone area is calculated by the circumfrence right?

so 1 2000 watt 18" in the right box has the potential to be louder than 2 1000 watt 12"s??

man it would be cheaper and easier just to buy 1 18"

 

[Kross6622 10+ year member]

Cone area is measured in 3.14(pie) r^2 r= radius. if you do the math a 18 has more then 2 -12's. Power handling as said above depends on many factors.

With 2 12's you could have more motor strength and cooling, if the subs are similar. This would be safer and possibly louder. There is no exact way to judge. Power ratings and size isnt all that counts.

I personally am trying to understand the T/S parameters of subs to compare, these values hold lots of importance when comparing. If you have subs in mind, share as many people can help you distinguish between them. But from a generic point its hard to say whats better.

 

[MikeyF 10+ year member]

Good thread.