[WoLLy]

I'll soon have a custom box behind the passenger seat of my deuce.

I am going to wire in a 10" sub into about .75 cubic foot of airspace.

The amp is going to be an audiobahn a4004t.
2 channels running a component set in the door
2 channels bridged running a single 10" sub behind the seats

I've been told by my audio shop that I need a subwoofer with a single 4 ohm voice coil to keep the amp operating, not pulling 1 ohm load or whatever amps do when you bridge them wrong.

*****So the question*****

What 10" subwoofer would you recommend in the ~250 watt rms range that doesn't need much air or space. Must have single 4 ohm voice coil. I like to avoid companies like pioneer and stick with main names, crossfire, rf, alpine, some kicker, jl, but if you have a reason to steer me to an off brand subwoofer (aside from price, which isn't much of an issue now), please do so.

Thanks

 

[Kilika]

You CAN use a dual voice coil sub and have it wired to 4 ohms. Your shop is just saying single voice coil because they probably don't want you to screw up on the wiring. Most better subs use dual voice coils, so by going single voice coil, you could be limiting yourself to certain subs. For your application, I'd go for a JL Audio 10'' W3V2 with dual 2 ohm voice coils and wire them in a series so they are at 4 ohms in a single subwoofer setup.

 

[WoLLy]

Would that work right being powered by 2 bridged channels of my a4004t?

I am just worried about my mr2 having the problem that my other car did. I had a fosgate 300.2 amp, 150 watts per channel, 2 channel. I had them powering 2 audiobahn 12's, dual 4 ohm voice coil. I guess how it worked out, was that it ended up pulling 75 watt x 2... and I didn't get the sound that would've been possible. I think it ended up that in a series, i'd be pulling [email protected] ohm, and in a parrallel, it'd be like 600 [email protected] ohm, and series-parallel was going to be something like [email protected] ohms.

I just know that my 300 dollar amp was sounding crappy, because I didn't buy the right stuff to go together properly... and The fact i'm bridging 2 channels of a 4 channel amp to power the subwoofers is already putting me in an odd situation. I just want the right stuff.

 

[WoLLy]

My amp does:

Amplifier Output Details

50 Watt - 4 Ohm - 4 channel(s)
100 Watt - 2 Ohm - 4 channel(s)
200 Watt - 4 Ohm - 2 channel(s)

 

[gico007]

yes can be wired in dvc, impedence of coils matter. (2) 2ohm coils, (2) 8 ohm coils would work fine. i would try polk audio, mtx, infinity, kicker(probably needs a little more air space)... those should work for you. go in to circuit city the other blue box and test them out what ever sounds better to you and will fit into your system is what you should buy. also makes a difference if you want ground shaking or sound quality in which you will buy. if you have wiring questions i will be able to help you out.

 

[WoLLy]

I'm doing some pretty crazy wiring, and don't have the time or energy to do it myself, (not to mention garage space, it's cold here).

I'm having my amp mounted on the wall between the headrests, powering the door speakers, door tweeters, and then the amp behind the pass seat. Then, the driver seat is going to soon have a carputer installed, wired into the amp for the sound. Crazy stuff.

So either way, A sub with dual 2 ohm coils or dual 8 ohm coils would work, but not dual 4 ohm coils, right? (as that would put me either too high or low impedance?)

 

[HalfSpec]

Kilika is right. You can use a 2ohm dual coil sub and wire it for 4 ohms . Your amp won't know the difference between it and a single 4ohm sub and it'll be more flexible for future changes.

The JL Audio 10'' W3V2 is nice, but I opted for the Image Dynamics IDQ 10" . JL Audio definitely has a made name, but Image Dynamics matches and in some cases exceeds JL Audio quality. If you search around for reviews on each sub I'm sure you'll make your decision quickly. The IDQ 10" actually recommends 250watts RMS with an upper limit of 300RMS, whereas the 10W3v2 recommends 300 watts RMS with an upper limit of 500RMS. The IDQ also requires less volume with a min size of .3 cu ft and a max of .6 cu ft. So the IDQ isn?t as thirsty and is happier in a smaller enclosure...

I have one behind my passenger seat right now. It's a beefy little bugger, but I haven?t heard it at its full potential because of amplifier noise issues (see my thread "New System Install - Please Help Me Get Rid of The Noise (Lots of PICS included)" a little ways down). I have been very impressed with what I've heard of it and I am convinced it's worth the money, but it's your choice. Either of the mentioned subs would work great with your amp.

Lane

PS
Couple of personal notes about some other brands
Kicker = Loud, but require lots of power and don't deliver the highest quality sound (square).
MTX = good all around quality and pretty affordable
JL Audio & Image Dynamics = Quality but Expensive

 

[WoLLy]

If a sub recommends 250 watt rms like the IDQ, and I only send ~200 to it, am I going to hurt anything? I've always picked a sub rated slightly higher than my amplifier, just to prevent any possible damage to the subwoofer...

But am I losing anything by picking a ~250 watt sub for a ~200 watt power?

 

[HalfSpec]

I don't think you will "hurt" it because you aren't "severely" under-powering it. However, I don't think you'll see its full potential @ 200 RMS because 250RMS is already a pretty low amount to require, but I could be wrong.

Lane

 

[babybooda]

sub recommendations

JL 10w3v2 is a nice all-around sub, but there are lots of choices in this mid-high level subwoofer class

Keep in mind that there are a lot of competitors for this level sub...
(power handling under 500w, 4 ohms, work in small enclosures)

There are a few dimensions to consider but to help clear things up, you just gotta ask yourself what's most important to you

1/ Sound Quality

2/ Sheer boom value (how loud...ignoring how nice it sounds)

3/ Transience (how accurately the sub reproduces nuances in rapid or dynamic bass notes)

4/ Frequency response: sometimes you can have a loud ass sub that only booms certain notes and craps out on others

5/ Upgradeability: if you intend on upping your amp power.. will this sub have to be upgraded? or could u keep it?

6/ Price: I suggest using this as your filter first, give or take $100/ sub. compile your affordable choices and then go listen to them.

7/ Appearance - some people choose subs cuz they are pretty, some good subs are overlooked becuz they look like ass.

8/ adaptability to different box designs: will your sub work well in different configurations should you choose to modify your install

for eg. bandpass enclosures, isobaric, ported vs sealed, aperiodic membrane?

9/ Do you listen to your music loud all the time or quietly all the time?
choose a sub that performs well at the listening level you use most frequently

10/ buying good used subs may allow you to break into a higher quality sub at a medium quality price

Cheers!

 

[WoLLy]

Price, like I said, isn't much of a concern. I'd prefer not drop 800 dollars on a diamond audio sub capable of handling 1600 watts rms like my friend did.

I'm not some thumping gangster. I could buy a 3000 watt amp and stick a 10 behind each seat and vibrate down the road, but that's not my style.

My style is listening to a variety of music from eminem, to tool, to alan jackson, and having it sound full and vibrant.

If a song has fast bass beats like some DMX, for example, I don't want the sound to mush together. I don't want a sub that's going to rattle my doors off.

I didn't pick a 400 watt amplifier to run my entire car because of the price. I picked it because anything more than 50 watts RMS to my component sets and I'll go deaf, and any more than about 200 watts to my subwoofer and it'll overpower the rest of the music. My head unit also has full subwoofer level controls, so I'll be able to adjust when necessary.

Just because I'm only asking about a subwoofer, doesn't mean it's the only part of a system I'm concerned about. I've just got the rest of my stuff figured out, and need help choosing my final component.

So, for a high quality subwoofer needing approximately 200 watts, what would you recommend booda? You seem to be quite knowledgable in the subject and I certainly respect your opinion.

My music is loud when I'm alone and very low with passengers, mainly my girlfriend.
Upgradability with the current subwoofer isn't an issue.
Adaptability isn't an issue.
I'd like good frequency response.
Appearance is negligable, if it's pretty then good, if not, I couldn't care less... it's a speaker, not a body kit or rims.

 

[gico007]

i agree withe halfspec and booda. i would have you audition the mtx. i think it is in the ballpark of what you are looking for and wont cast you a ton of cash. there are multiple lines that mtx makes. i would say you seem like a candidate for their 5500,7500 models. also on mtx.com there is a link that compares their subs to their competition. i cant remember exaclty where but i know it is there...

 

[WoLLy]

I don't trust any comparison to other products that are sponsored by the product currently for sale. Leads to bias, of course. They're not going to be comparing their product to the diamond audio subwoofer, they're going to compare to low end ____ to make their product seem better. It's marketing, and I'm not going to fall for it.

 

[gico007]

i am not selling to you i am just offering suggestion. i could care less about marketing on this board. i use it for help and like to offer the same to others. i like diamond as well even xtant and macintosh stuff but it is expensive and i thought you may not need to spend that dough to get what you are looking for. i only meant to suggest you try out subs to see what you want not what I want because i do not drive (listen to) your car everyday that is why it is YOUR choice.

 

[trdny]

I kinda in the same situatin as you with picking a sub. I had mtx before and they are good for the money. You can also try the RF punch subs. I'm looking at them for the tiny enclosures. The 8" can be in a .15" box.

I just found a new beat to test subs with. It some reggea beat that's crazy. It'll really give any sub a work out. If you want to test a sub for low end and response you can use Biggie "dead wrong". Most subs can't seem to really hit that low note and keep the beats defined.

 

[WoLLy]

I settled on a crossfire cf3. Fits my box, my budget (which is pretty limitless), and my specifications.