FAO Luke B. - Subs

[Carl T]

Hi Luke,

Hope you remember me from the last meet. Just wanted some independant advice on the sub for my new install as
every car audio shop just pushes the subs that they get the best deal on.

I dont want a massive box as I need the boot space and so I am probably going to get a single sub. Probably a 12". It would be running of the Genesis Dual Mono Bridged giving about 500W RMS.

What sort of subs would you consider for all round performance with a range of music ? Current list is JL 12" W7, Alpine Type-R 12".

Also have you heard of Hollywood Excursions ? A local audio shop was pushing them but I hadnt heard of them before.

Cheers mate,

Carl.

 

[luke.B]

Alright mate.... woa loads a money huh! well as you know i think jl make the best subs period, but fo £800???? the w7 is the benchmark, it is probably the best sub on the market. the alpine will take up less space but will sound rubbish compared to the w7.

If you are interested in a top end sub but want to go a little cheeper try the JBL GTI 12 (about £550) , massive but incredibly over engineered. these all need big boxes! if you really want to keep it small go for the jl w6 12 which is also an incredible piece of kit.

I have never herd of Hollywood Excursions and therfore would not recomend them, they are probably inprted from another country and therfore will have a bad customer service.

I would personally go for 2 10" w6 one each side of the boot... use glass fiber and save even more room! but that is just me.... hope this helps


Luke

P.S also buy this months fast car mag as it has a review of some of the above subs.

 

[luke.B]

oh yeah find a place that has these to demo and listen to them first as this is the best way to tell if you will be happy with them.. i think i know a place in slough that has the jls if thats any good to you... also if you find another place that has them tell me as i would love to hear a w7

 

[Scott_Mck]

If you wanna save space, I have heard Diamond Audio M5 series subs working very well in a Clio.... smaller box than the W6 too....

If you can afford it the W7 is the best, but strange as it may sound, the Dual Mono isnt really upto the task...need the JL 500/1 more. Before you say they have the same power, this is technically true, but the JL delivers it at all resistance levels - which the Dual Mono cant do at lower levels....

The Diamond is good, very musical and a bit more punch than the JL W6 - though this is being replaced for the summer - so if you could wait....

 

[Carl T]

Thanks for you views guys.

I wont be doing any of this till I get the car in the summer so the market place might be different, so I suspose I will have to wait till then to decide.

Luke - Thanks for the ideas. As I want a removable box that is not tied into the install, I think I will build the system and then go round a few places and try out some different models to see what I like/can afford.

Scott - Thanks for your advice on the Genesis amp. The reason I am going for that is I already have a Genesis 5 Channel and wanted to keep the look the same but I cant afford the Monoblock.

Also a quick question about the impedence of various subs. If for example a amp says it will do xxx W @ 4ohms how is this affected it you use a Sub with dual 4ohm coils ?

Thanks

Carl

 

[chris172]

I have a JL 10w6 in a box that is only .62cu/ft. It goes low...very low...rattles the car. Not that I drive it that hard though, not a bass head. Its also very punchy and tight, the best allrounder I think and its reference quality, expensive though, I paid £250 but good value on the rest of the gear I bought. I wanted to fill all the available space thats wasted in the arch but all those angles would have been a pain, so as the box only measures 17"w x 12"h x 9"d (external) and I built it myself it doesnt take up too much room.
Will post some pics when they come back from the chemists.

 

[chris172]

Oh, and it is a dual 6ohm that needs to be wired series to 3ohm if you run it on its own.

 

[Carl T]

Chris, I take it, that size is in a sealed box not a ported one ??

Would be good to see some photos of the install for ideas.

Cheers,

Carl

 

[Scott_Mck]

Carl, it depends on how you wire the subs up. Dual 4 ohm coils can deliver either a 2, 4 or 8 ohm load to an amp. If you are after loads of volume and not the most quality, go for a 4 ohm load, good compromise is the 4 ohm load. Many amps will not be happy about a 2 ohm load bridged, as the impedance can drop even further, the Dual Mono would probably be OK, but it would be getting loud!

The Dual Mono amp is great btw, I am a big fan, it will run most 12" subs very happily, but just not the W7 - that needs real power!

The M5 sub would be great in your situation, it can run in a very samll box (0.5 cu ft sealed) and the Dual Mono would be good enough for that in the situation.

If space is at a real premium, the Phase Linear Aliante is great...not the loudest or hardest sub around, but you can mount it in your spare wheel...

 

[Carl T]

So do subs with dual voice coils have twin terminals then ? Otherwise if you running a single sub how can you wire them in series/parallel ?? (maybe I am being stupid !)

Thanks for the idea on the M5, I will try one out when the system is installed. Also Luke mentioned the W6, What are the W3 like ? I saw that Huets have a fully boxed 2x 12" (or 10") W3 500W package for about £500. I think they look like boxes direct from JL as well.

Cheers,

Carl.

 

[Carl T]

Ah I see now just found a JL install guide for the W3s and shows how you can get different loads by wiring the two terminals in series and parallel.

Is there any reason to choose say Dual 4Ohms over Dual 2 or 6s other than to match the load to the sub depending on the number subs in use (e.g. with a large number of subs you would choose Dual 6s to keep the total load to a usable level on an amp).

Thanks for everyones help. I havent done this level of planning before as I have only had a basic single alpine sub in my last install, so its all new to me.

Cheers,

Carl

 

[Scott_Mck]

I was going to point you in the direction of JLs site....but you found it anyway!

As for the Dual 6 question, you have basically answered it yourself it can be advantageous for high SPL to use a Dual 2 Ohm with a bridged amp on each voice coil - obviously lots of power, but also lots of control.

Dual Voice Coils basically add flexibility and can increase power handling. No major sonic gains when using one amp - as I said when you use an amp per voice coil they become a bit special...

 

[Scott_Mck]

...and another thing, you mentioned the W3 subs, they are very similar to the W6 but need bigger boxes and can handle less power, sonically very similar, but not quite as refined, in the right setup I actually reckon they may have a bit more punch to them....

You also say you are owrried about space and then consider a Dual 12" Box.... if you are coming from a single alpine sub, you will be amazed at the level of bass (and the quality) from something like the Diamond Audio/W6. I honestly reckon that unless you are some sort of basshead, a single W6 will be more than ample...

 

[Carl T]

Well when I said space I basically meant that I didnt want to take over the whole boot with a fixed install. I dont mind having a largish box as long as it is quickly removable if I need the boot.

I think that once the main install is done I will take a trip down to Huets to try out the subs you have recommended. It is quite a distance but they seem to stock all the ones you mention (Diamond/W6/W3) so it would be easy to compare them. Unless I find a store closer, somewhere in Essex.

Thanks for the advice,

Carl

 

[Scott_Mck]

Huets are a great place...very helpful too. I am sure you could find a dealer more local than them though....

If you are interested in optimising space, then AutoAcoustics do a moulded box for the boot...but it still seems quite large...IIRC it was pretty ideally suited to the W3/W6 sub (12") but a bit big for the Diamonds

http://www.autoacoustics.co.uk/sbo-rc91.htm

 

[Carl T]

Thanks for the help Scott. I certainly have a much better understanding of the different types of sub options now ! Thanks.

Now just got to get the 172 in the summer and build the system !

Thanks,

Carl