What Size and How Many Subs?

[azzfox]

What Size and How Many Subs Would People Prefer With 6" Speakers All Round?

[azkwazere]

I wont go anything smaller than a 10".....

2 X 10" Thats just a nice amount. The 10"s will punch nicly with no wobble.

2 X 12" Not bad also.

4 X Anthying is too much.... seriously... if you've only got 6"s the whol way round!!

Anything greater than a 12" will warp and wobble.... i want punchy bass.

aZk.

[253@7k]

Depends what you want.

Single or twin 10 inch will be good for short sharp bass eg: metal etc.

Single or twin 12 inch will be good for some short sharp but more longer bass eg: doof doof

Single or twin 15 inch will only be good for big deep long bass.

As to single or twin it is up to you, single will give less bass but clearer and twins will be more bass but may not be as clear.

It also depends on brands and amps. For example cheap twin 12 inch subs and a cheap amp will be killed by a single good quality 12 inch in all aspects.

For what you have I would go for 2 good quality 10 inch subs with a good amp but that is because I listen to more metal than rap cr*p.

As I say its up to you, you just have to look at what your going to use them for before you get them.

Hope I could help,
Steve.

[VLACS]

when you say a good sub and good amp. are you referring to brand, ie clarion. or are there bad clarions for example. sorry if thats a slightly unco question but yeh

[253@7k]

No not unco, I did not explain myself properly.

What I am refering to is brand in general. For example; an Alpine type R sub will be better than any sony sub.

IMO good would be any Alpine subs, any Clarion, the better Pioneer and any others of that sort of level. Just to clarifiy.

[azzfox]

Id be referring to high wattage (rms) and a high damping factor for a good amp. I read in a car audio mag that this is how you can tell a good amp.

[253@7k]

Id be referring to high wattage (rms) and a high damping factor for a good amp.

There is that to but I believe that quality is a very big factor to consider when choosing any audio equipment.

[1991_Vn2nV]

I voted for dual 12's as thats what I have now I like the look of 2 12 inch subs and I still think the bass quality is good, its much better bass imo than you get from an equivalent 15 inch sub

[azzfox]

There is that to but I believe that quality is a very big factor to consider when choosing any audio equipment.

The quality is the damping factor. The damping factor is how well the amps ability is to control a sub. The mag described it as "Applying brakes to the sub" so it doesnt flap around and sound sloppy. (something like that anyway)

[253@7k]

The quality is the damping factor. The damping factor is how well the amps ability is to control a sub. The mag described it as "Applying brakes to the sub" so it doesnt flap around and sound sloppy. (something like that anyway)

Something I didnt know. Then again you learn something new every day. That would apply to amps but I am also saying that the manufacturers will build thier products to different qualities (alpine better than sony for example) and that should play a part in what you choose..

[mouce]

It depends on what you listen to. If you listen to metal then 10" is the way to go. If you listen to lots of doof doof stuff then 12" would sound better, 15" will be great for long low rumbling bass notes, but don't expect them to handle drum kicks too well.

[Brycestro]

It depends on what you listen to. If you listen to metal then 10" is the way to go. If you listen to lots of doof doof stuff then 12" would sound better, 15" will be great for long low rumbling bass notes, but don't expect them to handle drum kicks too well.

As a general rule yes, but obviously a quality 12" will sound alot "punchier" than a eerr... not-so-quality 10". You may also find that you can get one 12" that can sound better than two 10"s for the same price.

As for amps there's so many different factors to consider. Dampening factor as mentioned, whether it'll meet your power requirements, ohm stability and whether it'll suit your equipment/desired wiring options, build quality (for example Earthquake make some amps that pack some power with 0.25 ohm stability but are renowned for breaking). The first bit of advice i could give is don't buy anything with "BOSS" written on it if you don't want a fire

I've got a Soundstream Davinchi 10" on the way that i plan on putting in. Ahhh 1000wrms from the little mongrel :P. Searching for another one to accompany it, preferably new if anyone happens to have one. They'll be running off a Soundstream PCA3500D amp, should be fun :P.

[garfa]

alpine better than sony for example.

well some of the alpine h/u's of past has severly challenged that!

[253@7k]

well some of the alpine h/u's of past has severly challenged that!

Please explain.......

My family have had alpine h/u's in farm machinery for years now because the are the only ones that can handle the bumping and the dust. Which ones are duds?

[ascension24]

When will people learn its not the size of the sub its the quality of the sub.

You buy some some 10 inch sub from jb and its not going to sound anywhere near as good as a nice phoenix gold 15" or a IDMAX 15"

In the end you have to decide, am I going for the BEST sound quality? loudness? am I on a tight budget?

If you want good sound quality, stay away from alpine, clarion, pioneer, and buy some real car audio gear.

If your on a tight budget, then the JB brand stuff will do you fine.

if you want loudness, then you need 2 subs this is because in theory:

Two subs at 200 watts, will sound as loud as one sub at 800 watts.

This is because of the physics behind how waves works and how the forces multiply when they come into contact with each other.

So if your buying two subs, for say 500 bucks, your getting only $250 quality subs, so wont be as good sounding as the single sub but will be much louder.

Its all up to what you want.

[Brycestro]

When will people learn its not the size of the sub its the quality of the sub.

You buy some some 10 inch sub from jb and its not going to sound anywhere near as good as a nice phoenix gold 15" or a IDMAX 15"

In the end you have to decide, am I going for the BEST sound quality? loudness? am I on a tight budget?

If you want good sound quality, stay away from alpine, clarion, pioneer, and buy some real car audio gear.

If your on a tight budget, then the JB brand stuff will do you fine.

if you want loudness, then you need 2 subs this is because in theory:

Two subs at 200 watts, will sound as loud as one sub at 800 watts.

This is because of the physics behind how waves works and how the forces multiply when they come into contact with each other.

So if your buying two subs, for say 500 bucks, your getting only $250 quality subs, so wont be as good sounding as the single sub but will be much louder.

Its all up to what you want.

I have to agree with alot of what's said here. Should still consider however that 2 subs half the power of one louder sub won't "always" be as loud as the single sub. In theory yeah you'd have a bigger surface area and physics behind it would suggest louder from less power, but there's just so many variables in the given environment to consider that it's not funny. I'm not going to get into it all a) because there's just way to much to cover and b) i quite honestly don't know it all off the top of my head :P. It should be remembered however that a quality installation is just as important if not more important than quality gear. Sure your not going to get any moments of sheer brilliance out of something made by BOSS but neither are you from high end equipment that has a bodgy install not worthy of how much was spent on the gear.

Cheers, Bryce.

[garfa]

Please explain.......

My family have had alpine h/u's in farm machinery for years now because the are the only ones that can handle the bumping and the dust. Which ones are duds?

well its quiet simple Mr hanson.
alpine and their motorised faces have had huge quality issues in the past. the mechanism was crap and just died in many units.

[VXWAGMAN]

It's not about the size. You can get 2X 10" that pump way harder than cheaper 2X 12"ers... I guess it depends how much your prepared to fork out.

[StoneX]

One GOOD 12... Why spend $350 each on two average subs when you could spend $700 on one GOOD sub? It makes no sense to me why people get two subs, it's barely louder and if you bought a good sub in the first place it'd be louder than the two average subs anyway.

I've always used one sub and it's been fine, but now i've just purchased two 12" subs... Two GOOD 12" subs, there was no single sub that would do what these two subs would do.

[253@7k]

well its quiet simple Mr hanson.
alpine and their motorised faces have had huge quality issues in the past. the mechanism was crap and just died in many units.

Ah, never had any problems myself but now you mention the swing faces, I have heard of some of them sh1ting thwmselves. Other than that I think they have developed a good name for themselves in terms of thier quality.

Cheers for setting me straight,
Steve.

[garfa]

Ah, never had any problems myself but now you mention the swing faces, I have heard of some of them sh1ting thwmselves. Other than that I think they have developed a good name for themselves in terms of thier quality.

Cheers for setting me straight,
Steve.

yeah some times its best to use the kiss principle. look atr alpine f1 h/u. no swing face there.

[253@7k]

yeah some times its best to use the kiss principle. look atr alpine f1 h/u. no swing face there.

The one I have atm is a non-swingface type and it is great. Have had one swingface in a truck in the past but it got stolen.... Nothing wrong with that one

though. But yes your right, the more moving parts, more chance of something breaking.

[Tasmaniak]

I'm a fan of 10s personally.