15s or 18s 
15s or 18s
Staging Lane
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 87
Likes: 0
From: Austin, Texas
I wouldn't say that... 15"s sound great... as long as you stay to the SQ-oriented subs... I had some PPI C2 15" subs that rocked... but those Solobarics are pure SPL... most people don't even like the way they sound.
If you want to win competitions, the solobarics are good... otherwise look for Brahmas, XXXs, or eD makes a few decent woofers
but you can't just knock big woofers in general... I loved how much better my 15s were at filling in the bottom-end... 12s seems to lack in that regard.
If you want to win competitions, the solobarics are good... otherwise look for Brahmas, XXXs, or eD makes a few decent woofers
but you can't just knock big woofers in general... I loved how much better my 15s were at filling in the bottom-end... 12s seems to lack in that regard.
i use to have 2 15" power dvcs in a 5.5 cuft sealed enclosure that sounded nice and deep but now i have a vented enclosure with 2 12" crossfire bmfs that hits just as deed and are atleast as loud and seems to be pretty tight for a ported enclosure.with the subs in the very back in the t-top area seems to sound better to me but that is just my .02
I would suggest a single 15" in a ported box. Mine sounds great with a wide range and it hits around 150db. I used a Mmatts Dreadnaut being pushed by a US AMPS 2000X. Im not saying going that route will be cheap but it will sound great.
Originally Posted by ScrapMaker
I wouldn't say that... 15"s sound great... as long as you stay to the SQ-oriented subs... I had some PPI C2 15" subs that rocked... but those Solobarics are pure SPL... most people don't even like the way they sound.
If you want to win competitions, the solobarics are good... otherwise look for Brahmas, XXXs, or eD makes a few decent woofers
but you can't just knock big woofers in general... I loved how much better my 15s were at filling in the bottom-end... 12s seems to lack in that regard.
If you want to win competitions, the solobarics are good... otherwise look for Brahmas, XXXs, or eD makes a few decent woofers
but you can't just knock big woofers in general... I loved how much better my 15s were at filling in the bottom-end... 12s seems to lack in that regard.
Solobarics sound great too! The tune is the key.
Trending Topics
Originally Posted by ScrapMaker
they won't sound HORRIBLE, but I gaurantee that they won't sound as good as a Brahma, or XXX..
Like I said, it's all in the tune. Kicker has numorous SQL awards with them. There's many high quality subs that sound good and sound bad. It depends on allot of factors. Too say one speaker is better than another is preference or being biased. A very good tune plays the biggest role. LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
Topdon ONE vs. Artidiag 800 BT2: Which is the Diagnostic Tablet For You?
Pouria Savadkouei
Gas Monkey Built a 6-Wheel Ferrari Testarossa With a Corvette LT4 Engine
Verdad Gallardo
7 Most Reliable High-Performance Engines GM Has Ever Built
Verdad Gallardo
Amazing '71 Camaro Restomod Is Modern Muscle Car Under the Skin
Verdad Gallardo
6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them
Pouria Savadkouei
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo Staging Lane
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 87
Likes: 0
From: Austin, Texas
well what do you tune your box for? because whatever frequency that is, you will have an un-natural peak... you want the flattest response possible... that's why I stay away from ported boxes... I've heard some awesome ported setups, and they are handy because they require less power and can get louder... but I like the flatter response of a sealed enclosure.... clearly each driver is different, but out of the dozen or so I've messed around with WinISD, that seems to be the case... plus the setups I have heard seem 'boomier'...
Originally Posted by ScrapMaker
well what do you tune your box for? because whatever frequency that is, you will have an un-natural peak... you want the flattest response possible... that's why I stay away from ported boxes... I've heard some awesome ported setups, and they are handy because they require less power and can get louder... but I like the flatter response of a sealed enclosure.... clearly each driver is different, but out of the dozen or so I've messed around with WinISD, that seems to be the case... plus the setups I have heard seem 'boomier'...
I don't like ported boxes, it's a personal preference. You get lower bass frequencies out of sealed boxes.Tuning the system is the key. Where to put your crossover settings at, where to add or subtract db to each frequency. Using software is the best way but if your competing, but the average installer doesn't do a bad job in helping tuning it.
when done properly, a ported box plays lower and flatter then sealed. Problem is, not many people have the room in their car to do it right. An SQ ported box needs to be big, and tuned low. Make your box too small, and it gets boomy. Which is great for kids who want to "throw out da watts!" , but it's not what us SQ guys are looking for.
Even with sealed, I find myself liking the sound of subs in boxes larger then you typically find in car audio.
My last sub setup was a JL 12 W7 in 1.7 cu ft (they recommend 1.3 to 1.5 ), and it was much better then the 1.3 I started out with. Now I have 2 JBL 12" GTi's, in 2 cu ft each, and it's even better! I was going to go ported with the JBL's, but to get the results I'm after, the box would need to be 5 cu ft for both together, and I don't have that kind of room in my install. It's tough enough getting 4.
mike
Even with sealed, I find myself liking the sound of subs in boxes larger then you typically find in car audio.
My last sub setup was a JL 12 W7 in 1.7 cu ft (they recommend 1.3 to 1.5 ), and it was much better then the 1.3 I started out with. Now I have 2 JBL 12" GTi's, in 2 cu ft each, and it's even better! I was going to go ported with the JBL's, but to get the results I'm after, the box would need to be 5 cu ft for both together, and I don't have that kind of room in my install. It's tough enough getting 4.
mike
Originally Posted by Mike @ FbodyAudio
when done properly, a ported box plays lower and flatter then sealed. Problem is, not many people have the room in their car to do it right. An SQ ported box needs to be big, and tuned low. Make your box too small, and it gets boomy. Which is great for kids who want to "throw out da watts!" , but it's not what us SQ guys are looking for.
Even with sealed, I find myself liking the sound of subs in boxes larger then you typically find in car audio.
My last sub setup was a JL 12 W7 in 1.7 cu ft (they recommend 1.3 to 1.5 ), and it was much better then the 1.3 I started out with. Now I have 2 JBL 12" GTi's, in 2 cu ft each, and it's even better! I was going to go ported with the JBL's, but to get the results I'm after, the box would need to be 5 cu ft for both together, and I don't have that kind of room in my install. It's tough enough getting 4.
mike
Even with sealed, I find myself liking the sound of subs in boxes larger then you typically find in car audio.
My last sub setup was a JL 12 W7 in 1.7 cu ft (they recommend 1.3 to 1.5 ), and it was much better then the 1.3 I started out with. Now I have 2 JBL 12" GTi's, in 2 cu ft each, and it's even better! I was going to go ported with the JBL's, but to get the results I'm after, the box would need to be 5 cu ft for both together, and I don't have that kind of room in my install. It's tough enough getting 4.
mike
I only thought that the ported sounded deeper and flatter because of their large box requirements. Meaning the average 12 needs 1.5cf minimal versus a ported 12 needs 3cf minimal.
I mean it's nearly doubled for a box ported than sealed. But doubling the size for a sealed box hits lower than anything I've seen yet.
So given everything being equal, I've seen 3 cf sealed boxes hit lower than ported 3cf boxes. The ported gives 1.5-3db more volume. That's the trade off.
I agree, I haven't seen many with large enough boxes in car audio for sealed. I know I run the minimal, but I wish I had 8 cf to work with.
OH, and 9 times out of 10. 2 subs are better than 1 for pushing air.
Originally Posted by wickedwarlock
So given everything being equal, I've seen 3 cf sealed boxes hit lower than ported 3cf boxes. The ported gives 1.5-3db more volume. That's the trade off.
I guess I should clarify that I think a large ported box can sound better then a small sealed box.
how some people are satisfied with 12"s shoved in .8 cu ft boxes, I'll never know.
Originally Posted by Mike @ FbodyAudio
right, but what about that 3 cu ft sealed box compared to a 6 cu ft ported box ?
I guess I should clarify that I think a large ported box can sound better then a small sealed box.
how some people are satisfied with 12"s shoved in .8 cu ft boxes, I'll never know.
I guess I should clarify that I think a large ported box can sound better then a small sealed box.
how some people are satisfied with 12"s shoved in .8 cu ft boxes, I'll never know.
But I am too around 4cf and that's the way it is. 
Unless of course you want to switch vehicles, hehe. 12s sound fine in 1.5cf, but no way in hell would I be putting them in .8. 10s max and jl audio and kicker sound great in them in my opinion.
edit: and that's jl w6s of course, I don't like anythign below that, and w7 rocks but you just need more room as you pointed out.
Staging Lane
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 87
Likes: 0
From: Austin, Texas
I had two 15's with like 1.8cf each in the back of my thirdgen and it sounded great....
the box filled up the entire well, then came up to the top of the plastic trim, sat on the rear deck, and came up within 6" of the back seat... I never really measured the volume but I assume about 1.8cf each...
the box filled up the entire well, then came up to the top of the plastic trim, sat on the rear deck, and came up within 6" of the back seat... I never really measured the volume but I assume about 1.8cf each...
