I was looking at a subwoofer manual and saw the recommended enclosure space was 1.5 cubic feet. Does that include what the sub displaces? Not that it would make much difference, (it might on the more expensive subs), but I was just wondering. If there is a difference, would it be better to mount the sub with the basket/magnet out(i.e. inverted)? Still a noob on the car audio stuff. Thanks
Most subwoofers displace around 0.15-0.20 cubic foot. On the most part it does not make very much difference at all, sometimes it can make a difference if the box is small like below 0.8 cubic foot. If this is the case then you usually have the enclosure built a bit larger by 0.20 cubic foot to make up the displacement. Inverted cone mounting is fine it does give you that extra space but as I said before most of the time it is not much of a problem. May I ask what driver you were looking at for the 1.5 cubic foot enclosure?
I wasn't looking at any particular sub but I did acquire an unmarked manual that recommended 1-1.5 cubic ft. I saw some Cerwin-Vega info on the HED 12's. My friend is waiting on a pair that he ordered. He says that they are one of the best brands. True or not? I've looked into them but still don't know much more than how to build a box. That is the only car audio subject I am experienced in. I'm just looking for a couple good subs for under $100 ea. I don't want to be like my friend who just buys hoping it's good. Thanks.
Hi TO be honest the CV HED's have been about for quite a while, they are not bad but certinaly not one of the better model subwoofer out there. Upper-mid to high-end subwoofer models and brands would be: Resonant Engineering SE / RE XXX. Image Dynamics IDQ / IDMAX. JL Audio W6 v2 / W7. AdireAudio Tempest / Brahma. Orion H2. Infinity VQ. Crystal Comp 12 / CompX12 Diamond Audio M6 / TDX. $200 is often a pritty low budget to get one decent subwoofer let alone a pair. There are some good efficent woofers that do not cost the earth. http://www.adireaudio.com/mobile_audio/drivers/shiva.htm The Shiva at around $125 is a solid performer. http://www.acoustic-visions.com/~acoustic/products/subwoofer_drivers/by_brand.shtml A pair with 250-350 WRMS each gives a good sounding bass system which will get pritty loud. They are 8 ohm DVC drivers so you would wire the coils in parrellel to 4 ohms and parrallel the pair of drivers together to 2 ohms. You would need an amp which is stable to 2 ohms bridged and gives out 500 WRMS. If you need help with this just ask.
Yeah, I am just going to have to slowly put together a system as I get the money. High School graduation is coming up so . Ok here's another question, are 10s better than 12s? I hear that there are differences (besides the obvious). Thanks And yes I will prolly need help later on.
Subwoofer are not created equal, there electrical and mechanical properties are quite different. You can't just generalise 8 inch vs 10 inch vs 12 inch vs 15 inch and say one is better because it is not true as it depends on the individual driver. You see output is a function of cone area x cone excursion (linear one way x-max). In general better designed more expencive subwoofer drivers have more excursion so that can move foward and backward a further distance. Then the enclosure comes into play the size and type of enclosure will define the sound quality, how much power the driver take, how low the driver can play.
