Audio Guys Help please

[JonT]

I'm putting two subs in behind my seats in an "enclosure" that will seal off the area behind the seats. Its a peice of 3/4" plywood that has been measured and cut to fit behind the seats (at an angle from the bottom of the seat to the floor under the seat) has beveled edges with foam trim and carpeted to make a tight seal. It is similar to the car audio innovations piece. I need a recommendation on subs--do I go with 8" or 10" and which brand and model would you recommend? An amp recommendation would be helpful as well. I'm guessing the budget is around $600 for speakers/amp. TIA

[Jarrett88]

I personally am a fan of JL audio subs, with the amount of air space you are working with i think they would be ideal. You really want to design the box around the speaker for optimal sound. For an amp i like my rockford fosgate amps, they are very powerful and dont bs on ratings like most other manufactures. Oh and i wouldnt use plywood, try MDF instead. You could easily have $600 bucks in the subs alone so look around for the best pricing. Audio comes down to personal likes so go to some of the high end car stereo shops in your area if there are any. I usually go overboard with my stereos so dont get sucked in or your daily driver truck will have two 15's with a couple thousand watts, makes it difficult to breathe sometimes

[goat]

Though I do not have a stereo in my 911.
I do have a good setup in another car. In my own opinion I feel like the 8" bass is tighter sounding and should be enough for such a small cabin.
Amp.. Check the specs of many models, you can pay alot for a name. Also how many channels it has you may want single?. that said I went with Jenson and Rockford.

[Eric Coffey]

Sounds like your "enclosure" is just a baffle. You will get much better results if you actually build an enclosure optimized for your chosen driver(s). There are also a couple guys on the BBS (Bell & Piedogger) that have a front smuggler's box sub in the works. You might do a search.

[greglepore]

I have one of these, made with MDF-its heavy, but its much denser than ply. And Eric, if its templated carefully, it is an enclosure, and you can calculate the volume and port it apropriately.

Mine runs 8's - tighter with less amplification, not quite as much ultimate bass, but I prefer the overall sound. Plenty of low end in a targa with the top off. If I had more bucks and bigger amps, 10's could be made just as tight with a little more bottom, but given the enclosure size and my budget, the 8's work better. YMMV.

[3.2 CAB]

I have 10's in the back, Pioneer 6's in the doors and rear panels. These DO fit the factory holes. I have a "NOCK" box driving the 850 watt, amp which is mounted under the pass. side seat, that along with a Sony CdXM630, Outstandiing!!!! It will make your chest hurt! I only intstalled the Sony, since Christmas, a present from my two sons. It givesl clear Bach, Mozat, or Nine Inch Nails... whatever your taste is.. Just Quality sound. My car is only a 2 seater, never had a rear seat, just a small platform there. It does make for a excellent pressure chamber for the 10's...........It will THUMP, with the best of them, but I rather listen to what I am trying to listen to, my 3.2, to make sure it has not gone crazy, and started making weird noises, $$$$$$.and I really don't want my mirrors vibrating so much, I can't see when they are are about plow into my ASS.

[bell]

i think he'dhave too much airspace for 8's if the board is how i'm thinking.........plus most 8's on the market are going to cost as much as 10's..........hell i've got 8's going in my doors, with a single 10 in the smugglers box.

JL's are great subs and take alot of abuse, but the enclosure is the most important, i'd get an accurate measure of the internal airspace of your box and find the sub which will work best in that airspace.
amp choice can be more flexible, stick with a name brand that'll do the rated power of the sub you choose and you'll be fine.

[greglepore]

I think it worked out to like 1.2 cf per driver if you divided it into two chambers-the board is slanted, not flat. Its been a while, and I'm working from memory....

[glee911]

Speaking of stereos, I have a 87 Coupe - when did the factory change from one to two speakers in door. I happen to have 2 speakers in the door panel but I don't know if this is the factory setup or not. I am missing the 4" speaker grille on one door. If anyone has a lead on one. let me know. Thanks.

[dlearl]

Originally posted by JonT
I'm putting two subs in behind my seats in an "enclosure" that will seal off the area behind the seats. Its a peice of 3/4" plywood that has been measured and cut to fit behind the seats (at an angle from the bottom of the seat to the floor under the seat) has beveled edges with foam trim and carpeted to make a tight seal. It is similar to the car audio innovations piece. I need a recommendation on subs--do I go with 8" or 10" and which brand and model would you recommend? An amp recommendation would be helpful as well. I'm guessing the budget is around $600 for speakers/amp. TIA

Speaking as an audio professional, I much prefer to listen to the music of my 3.0 than anything under 100hz. I listen to music at work and use my 911 to ESCAPE it!

[D Hanson]

JL12W6v2 seems to be the hottest thing out, especially for the price. Two of those and a JBL 1200.1 would be a very nice set up for the price.

[bell]

ewwww...........did you say jbl? sorry, i just don't like their amps............overrated IMO.
the JLv2's are extremely nice subs

dlearl......my system is only on during long trips or sitting still.........there is no substitute for 3.2 and a custom muffler setup

[howie944]

Rod Birch's enclosure is normally made for 8s. I had 10s and since he lives in the area he custom made an enclosure for me to fit the 10s. After a couple of trial fittings at my home (and one wasted piece of MDF) he was successful and did the installation. (This was before he opened his "shop" and was working out of his home garage) Problem encountered was the depth of the 10s. With a larger "basket" the angle of the enclosure had to be changed to keep the back of the 10s from resting on the floor pan. The bevel along the inside edge of the enclosure had to be changed to allow a tight seal. I've known Rod for almost 10 years now and can say he does quality work.

[D Hanson]

JBL 1200.1 is great for a low budget amp and I was trying to recommend an amp that would stay close to the $ 600 price limitation with 2 12W6v2s. For about $ 200.00 it is hard to find a better 1200 watt sub amp that will actually meet its rated power.

I use McIntosh in my set ups (have 1 brax also), but those amps alone would exceed his budget. I would prefer the higher quality sub driver with a cheap but durable amp that meets rated power if on a tight budget. The 12W6v2 powered by a JBL 1200.1 would sound better than say a 12W3 powered by a $ 500 PPI or Phenoix Gold Titanium series for about the same or less money than the latter with the better quality amp.

With subs, you can get away with THD. I would not think about using a JBL on a full range speaker. I am complete stereo snob when it comes to hi fi, but the equipment alone in my 964 costs around $ 10,000.00 and I do all of my own install work. I would feel very confident that a 12W6v2 and a 1200.1 in his price range would be a very satisfactory performing sub SQ and SPL wise.

Based on the price limitation, the setup I mentioned would be as good as anything else that can be assembled for the same price for both SQ and SPL.

One other option to consider would be the Elemental Designs K series subs with a PPI 4125 or an Orion Extreme 900. I, however, am confident that the 12W6v2 even with the 1200.1 will out perform these set ups due to immense quality in the driver.

[bigrubberjeep]

Go all MTX - MTX amp and 2 MTX 10's both top of the line stuff and you will have window and ear shattering base (BUT ONLY IF YOU MAKE THE RIGHT ENCLOSURE AND GET AT LEAST 1 FARAD CAP)

[Porschekid962]

if you want the best sound dont bother at good guys or those crap electronic stores. first off go with 8 inch subs, 10's would be nice but the crispness will be much nicer with 8's and since they are right behind you all that bass will not go to waste. on the material for your box i would seriously suggest either having one custom made from fiberglass or MDF, the plywood box will fall apart after time and the sound quality will be poor. secondly your head unit you have right now needs a set of RCA unamplified outlets known as RCA preouts, your head unit will also determine sounds quality because of this simple diagram: {head unit}--crap out--{amplifier}--{subs}--amplified crap out! on the matter of subs and amps, if you go JL audio get the W7's, forget fosgate, mtx, cerwin vega, sony, all that. eclipse makes awesome subs that will deliver, also McNtosh are very good. for a set of two 8 inch subs of competition quality you will pay at least 1000, for an amp, i would say nakamichi, phoenix gold, PPI, or a high quality T series or higher amp. wiring is also extremely important. you can also go out and buy a decent alpin/panasonic/pioneer/clarion/sony head unit, mtx subs and amp and be happy with it because the price was right but replacing blown subs and fried amps adds up after a while. plus if you ever want to sell a setup that you could get from just the good guys you wont get much for it. if you have any q's shoot me a pm, i used to install custom competition systems and competed back in high school.