When i buy one (i've been waiting to get one since i was a kid, the day is coming) the first thing to be done will be the sounds. I want a system that can handle being played at a loud volume for extended periods of time with Bass at the maximum (without that -"you can hear nothing but doof doof sound"). What brand(s) and/or set up would you say works best for BASS response and quality sound? Also what about the speakers in the front? what would work best to replace them? (without having to put up with soundloss 7 or 8 months later)

Quote: Originally Posted by CLD Also what about the speakers in the front? what would work best to replace them? (without having to put up with soundloss 7 or 8 months later) That wont be your speakers having sound loss! It will be your ears!! 8O Whats your budget for the sound system? (you must have one)

try and stick some phat subs in, phat subs r good, good bass from phat subs :P i was thinking of redoing my system with jbl gto splits front and rear and 3 15" subs in the boot, but do whatever you want ey

If you looking for quality but loud bass as well its gunna be hard, you either have loud bass, or quality, having the two is near impossible. Having good quality involves equal response from the system accross the whole frequency band (so your not going to have loud bass as such), but if its SPL your after you dont give a **** about high end as such, therefore putting in 8x20" subs (for example ) and running your speakers through rediculous amps and having your sub channel out on your headunit set to +15. What you want is something like 2x12" subbies in the boot and a couple of front splits or the like. Dont bother with replacing the 4" dash speakers, just place your tweeters there or something (as long as the tweeters are nice wide spread range ones) hmmmm, blabber blabber blabber all that didnt even make sense to me in the end so good luck to you working it out Cheers Chris Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Quote: Originally Posted by Morgz85 What you want is something like 2x12" subbies in the boot and a couple of front splits or the like. Dont bother with replacing the 4" dash speakers, just place your tweeters there or something (as long as the tweeters are nice wide spread range ones) hmmmm, blabber blabber blabber all that didnt even make sense to me in the end so good luck to you working it out Cheers Chris as far as the subs go, thats EXACTLY what i was thinking of doing. it makes sense. Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

2 12's will be more than enough bass for you... in a tuned ported enclosure it will be enough to shake your bowels... im not sure what car you drive, but if its a sedan make sure the subs are facing through the ski port in the back seat... if its a hatch, take advantage of rear loading and face them towards the back of the car... experiment with box positioning... i run a JL 12 and a response 2x150 (~400wrms bridged) and this is heaps of bass... make sure you plan your amps and subs together, you dont to get the wrong Ohm subs and then not be able to get the most out of your amp/s

To get what you're aiming for, your choice of box for your sub is going to be the most important factor. If you really want sound quality, a sealed box or and infinite baffle configuration will serve you best. If you want volume then you should considera tuned ported box, or if you can afford one, a bandpass box. You might also want to consider the option of putting two subs together in an isobaric configuration. pm me if you want more detail.

id go ported with my 2 12's but i would be sacraficing too much boot space so ill stick with ported :?

Quote: id go ported with my 2 12's but i would be sacraficing too much boot space so ill stick with ported ??What the??

Once again the burgandycalias guru has struck. Like I have said before, you may know somethings about car audio but you should definately learn when not to speak in other areas. Just watch some of your advice as it is not always correct. 1.big bass (spl) = huge subs and hugh rms from amps. pretty simple but expensive. 2. Don't go infinate baffle for anything- it is simply ****house. 3.if you mean good bass(quality) go the 12" route with a decent amp and more importantly a good quality headunit. A $100 head unit will make a $5000 dollar system sound like a $100 system. Whereas a $1000 head unit can turn your $100 speakers into speakers sound like they would have cost 2-3 times as much. If you don't believe me chat to one of the better car audio stores. Actually you should chat to them anyway. 4. if you just mean alot of bass, by 2 12" subs put them in a ported box (but beware ported boxes are larger then sealed boxes for the same subs) power them with at least 400wrms and a middle range headunit @ $400 and sit back and go deaf. Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Quote: Originally Posted by BurgundyCalais Quote: id go ported with my 2 12's but i would be sacraficing too much boot space so ill stick with ported ??What the?? LOL! I mean ill stick with SEALED.... :roll: silly me

Yeah i know Morgz, just havin a go at ya! And VK dude, the advice I have given is good advice. Infinite baffle setups are great for utilising small boot spaces, and in vl's, particularly with their diff hump, they can be very effective systems. If you've got a problem with the advice I give, at least say WHY you would advise otherwise. Don't just have a stab at me ok, save it for a pm. Back to the point though, you're right about the head unit part... definately makes a difference! But you can't dismiss you box type as a crucial factor in what sound you'll get.

I agree with you there, the box type and design is almost as crucial to the overall sound then the head unit, so get it right and you'll be amazed. My stab was at the use of infinate baffle sub setups. Infinate baffle is not needed anymore as box sizes needed for subs has decreased. Unless the subwoofers are physically designed for this setup, they will sound extremely boomy with the Q way outside exceptable levels for tight or even just nice sounding bass response. If you really need the least amount of space, try and design an isobaric setup (or have designed for you), which almost halves the space required for most subs. Otherwise your 100% right with what you suggested. You could also try a 4th or 4th order bandpass design, which is more efficient then almost all other box designs. The higher the efficiency the loud it is with the least amount of power. In one of my older setups I had a 2 x 12 alpine 4th order bandpass and it was the loudest and equally the best sounding sub setup I've owned. The best thing was that this was achieved with a 4 x 50wrms @ 4ohms amp with 2 chaneels bridged for each sub. A classic example of how efficient they can be. When I used this same amp on a 15" sub in a sealed box it was not powerful enough to even come close to powering the sub to a decent level.

Yeah i hear you about the effeciency of bandpass designs, problem is that I have neither the skill nor time to set one up for me. The reason I posed the point of infinite baffle is that my SPL15 posed sooo many problems with box design due to the confined space above the diff hump (the SPL15 is large in both diameter and depth) that infinite baffle became a realistic option. Instead, I just sacrificed boot space and went for a simple sealed enclosure!

Yeah thats cool. If your sub is 15" or so in size and needs a huge enclosure the infinate baffle approach does seem more realistic. BUT what you are actually doing is turning your boot into the enclosure, so like all enclosures you need to check if there are any air leaks and fill them (many in the boot). Also you need to check that the boot area is not too big or you will just get crap response and lower levels. Thats why you should see how much space is available first and think about the requirements need for the sub/s you may buy.

Yeah well i threw the infinite baffle idea out the window 'cause of how much power i was planning to run into the sub. As far as I thought though, with infinite baffle, it didn't matter if there were air gaps or whatever. As soon as the box volume goes over three times the Vas, it really doesn't matter what happens does it?

?? tricky. I'll have to check my books on thatone. But if the subs are not meant for infinite baffle, eveything matters especially the box volume. Just be carefull as you increase box size as you generally loose volume = more power needed. Infinite baffle subs are made so there Qts when used in a free air box (usually based on boot sizes) are close to QTS 1.0, Normal subs will be like @ 0.3 Try sticking close to between a Qts of 1 - 1.3. the bigger the box the smaller the Qts. a jump from Qts of 1 to say 0.5 can drop @ 10db from your sub system - not good in anyones language.

Quote: Just be carefull as you increase box size as you generally loose volume = more power needed. Yeah, problem with that is that (up to a certain point) the larger the box, the lower bass extension (generally speaking of course). But throw into the mix the fact that the larger the box, the lower the power handling of the sub, and you've got a real problem indeed... damn physics!

got to hate the physics. It's great that we can debate like adults there burg. There was a time when people just blasted/flamed everyone, but this is much better for the forums and people asking questions. Cheers Some original photos have not been recovered yet.