Let’s see some subwoofer setups!

Man, thanks a million for all the awesome information!!

To answer your questions, I listen to all kinds of music - rock, country, EDM, rap... no specific reason for kicker, that just happened to be what was included in those 'kits' i linked. not stuck to any brand in particular really. What i currently have is lacking in ultimate 'thump'. It does great for what it is but it isnt that deep, rich bass that I am looking for. This is what I have: https://www.crutchfield.com/p_777B8PTD/Sound-Ordnance-B-8PTD.html

As far as the dual 10, again just came across the kits. I dont mind losing the room either so figure it would be neat but then again if its not worth it to go duals than I'd prefer to save the space and $$.

Ultimately looking for a setup that will provide a rich deep bass, something that has the capability of vibrating the heck out of the mirrors; something I can easily hear when I'm outside of the truck.... not sure how else to put it lol!

Thanks for the links and the info, gives me a bit to run with. Given the information I just provided, would your recommendations still stand?

I appreciate the input man!! that polk seems like a good bang for the buck for what it is... so many freaking options!!

 

yep, that 'tone' is inherent to the underseat subs. stepping up to a 'real' sub with actual airspace behind it will change that.

yes, i'd still recommend the same thing. though as i'm sure you know, there's always adjustments that can be made-- the gear i recommended isn't perfect. even the gear i run, i'm never entirely sold on! my other car has had 4 different tweeters, and 2 different subs, and 2 different mids!

if you're looking for adjustments though, my main bullet points that i follow in any sound system hunt:

amps: needs to have CEA-rated power output. off brands without tend to run overzealous marketing wattages. no one likes hearing that their "4,000watt" amp is really a 100 watt amp that only makes 4000 watts when the moon is in the right spot, and needs to be powered at 250v..

subs: name brands are good for expected sound quality/performance, but i skew away from well-known car audio brands, they're usually low on specs, and tend to rely on brand recognition too much instead. more obscure brands tend to highlight build quality more. i focus on models with 'shorting rings'(aka faraday rings) in their magnet structure. that feature tends to reduce distortion more than many other features-- if they care enough to implement that kind of thing, they care enough to be more transparent with more in-depth specifications and build quality attention to detail as well.

wire: don't buy anything that doesn't say "oxygen free copper" or "pure copper". CCA, or Copper Coated Aluminum wire is just garbage. it is significantly cheaper, but has long term issues. aluminum is extremely sensitive to heat expansion/contraction, and improper connections irreparably crushes the aluminum part of the wire in a way that can cause even more problems, and to properly carry the same amount of power, it must be up-sized, usually 1 gauge. aluminum is a worse conductor than copper. "penny-wise, pound foolish" applies. the cost savings of CCA is not worth the rest of the risks and hassles.

boxes: a box is a box is a box. there's really nothing special, unique, or interesting about sub boxes. almost every brand/company makes them about the same. that's also why tacomatunes and supercrewsound cost the same. any cost savings on a new box is going to come down to cutting corners in the material used. outliers should be questioned, but any brand that's roughly the same cost is going to be about the same.

 

Phenomenal information, I really appreciate your time put in to these responses! I'll make a decision soon and report back. Thanks again for all the advice and pointers

 

I sort of agree with this, but then you look at sealed vs. ported and that will have an impact on how the sub performs.

I have always used sealed boxes. I don't necessarily have a reason for that. It's just what I've always had and never had a reason to try the other.

I read this as "stay away from that really cheap Polk sub."

 

So, I have a couple questions about the NVX gear you recommended here.

First the sub - Its rated at 350-500w RMS at 4ohms. The amp you suggested is rated for 310w at 4ohms. Wouldn't this be a bit underpowered for the sub? Would it be better to go with the NVX NDA 103 that is capable of 390w at 4ohms? There is also the NDA104 rated at 580w at 4ohms but i think that would probably be overkill unless I were to turn it down a bit (I assume thats what the level adjustment can do? i am a complete noob to this!).

Am i looking at this all wrong?

 

Inching closer on my truck. Does anyone have a referral handy for carpet or vinyl wrapping in San Diego?

 

The RMS rating is what it is capable of pushing(amp) or receiving(sub/speaker). If you turn the volume down to next to nothing, it isn't going to push LOTS of power. You generally want an RMS rating on the amp that is below the RMS rating on the sub. Of course, you can try to match them, but they don't always line up.

In my exerience, there usually isn't a range of RMS rating. So I would say that sub is either rated at 2 different ohms, or it can handle 500W RMS. I don't think there is such thing as a minimum RMS rating (i.e. the 350).

 

Ah okay - that makes sense and I think that 'range' may be throwing me off. Perhaps it is 350W at 4 ohms and 500W at 2 ohms?

 

ok so if I am understanding correctly, I believe you saying to run the nvx in parallel rather than series, that that would have it at 2ohms vs 4 ohms, which the nda102 amp you suggested would pair perfectly with. Am i wrapping my head around this correctly?

 

Ok so I believe I just answered my own question. Running the dual 4ohm voice coil NVX VSW104v2 sub in parallel would net 2ohms which the NVX NDA102 supplies 500w RMS at. Running in series would actually give me 8ohms which is not at all what we are looking for.

 

Just placed the order direct from NVX for the sub and amp! Scored a promo code that knocked 10% off. Free shipping an no taxes; came out $40 cheaper than Amazon and Sonic with the coupon code and no taxes! Thanks again for the recommendations, a bit of research concluded this hardware will perform exceptionally well for the price point so I am excited to see how it all turns out.

 

I bought a roll pf carpet and glue from Oreillys. Cost like $30 for everything and did it myself. Super easy

 

I hear you and I'm considering it as well as just clearing it but I know myself well and this is something I tend to be super bummed about when I see my imperfections.

I've had one sub box done for me and I was very impressed by the quality, far better than anything I've ever done.

Anyway, yeah, just trying to waste some cash on this one

 

i generally like sealed boxes as well, specifically because porting adds a number of complexities in port tuning, resonant frequencies, and port noise, generally also requiring a box about 2 times larger than sealed offerings. and half the time, it seems every one of my installs ends up turning into measuring space in millimeters. sealed boxes are more universal for more subs where adding up all those variables can tend to lock the box and sub combo together a little too much for my preference.

i was admittedly keeping things simple. there's entire sections of audio forums dedicated to box wall thickness, wall composition, bracing, and mitigating internal resonances. real in-depth box design is less a rabbit hole, and more an endless tunnel with a very high end told booth at the beginning.

but being a thrift-store audio nut, i've learned over the years that while all of that can matter, none of it needs to matter. one could definitely eek out another 1 or 2 db with some of the more nuanced details of box building over those off-the-shelf boxes, but the real question is, "is it really worth it?" to the majority of people, it's not. especially when one remembers that the human ear generally can't hear differences in amplitude less than 3db...

everyone's audio journey is different. to those interested in the nuances of audio design, the endless tunnel is more desirable. but people in it for that journey aren't looking at pre-built boxes, or generally put a specific budget number on the build. they tend to focus on the goal, and shift things to meet that goal.

but someone starting with looking at package deals on Amazon, it means that all those nuances don't matter, and even discussing them is a waste of time for Gilmore61. he wanted more bass, and wanted it simply and effectively, he didn't want the endless tunnel!

should be read as "stay away from that really cheap kicker/alpine/pioneer/sony/polk sub"

my observation is that they tend to differentiate lower priced offerings with build quality differences, where the more obscure brands tend to prefer to differentiate offerings based more on anticipated user requirements outside of cost.

sounds good! glad to help!

 

You couldn't have said it any better!! Glad ya picked up on what I was going after, I've got too many other endless tunnels going on at the moment haha!

 

I tend to think, when talking about most vehicles (not competition level stuff) if planning something other than sealed, bandpass is the best option.

Why? Purely my opinion because I value these things:

1. Stealth installs where you don't see, you hear
2. Protected installs where you run a lower risk of breaking stuff because it's enclosed and out of the way
3. Not having to deal with subwoofer grilles. I find them annoying and extra parts and rarely fun but necessary to achieve 2 when the cone is exposed.
4. A sub which is out in the open / up front and center but doesn't scream "look at me, I'm a subwoofer".

And, as mentioned, once you go ported you're marrying the box to the driver a fair bit so why not just go all the way and make it for better or worse, till death do we part?

 

got all the big cutting/routing/mounting out of the way today. box is assembled, preliminary sealed, and routed for the big parts at least. need to let it set for a 'week' for the glue to setup before i do final sanding and painting. probably another 2-3 saturdays to go on it.






i ended up making some mdf donuts to thicken the mounting surface for the subs. i'm not happy with the subs sitting proud of the box. looks cheap. next part of the project, once the glue sets up on the donuts will be to pull all the screws and router out some mounting lip recesses for the subs so they sit flush with the front panel. i think i'm going to run into some clearancing issues on the back wall with the powered sub doing it, but it looks too stupid to leave this way.

 

looking good! Love the attention to detail so far

 

The plastic backing of the seat comes off easily and gives another good couple of inches for clearance.

 

i noticed that in a few other builds. while i'm not opposed to it, i'm also unsure of where i'm going to do just yet. the initial plan was to have the seatback semi-permanently reinstalled and it would never move. security for the box, so no one can see it's there.

but, i've really been enjoying leaving that 2/3 seat portion torn out, it makes the truck much more suited to my purposes, specifically where i need to get expensive tool bags that are physically taller than the bed to/from work, while also running by stores for 30+ minutes to grab material. i've got an expectation that my tools will still be there when i get back(lol), so it's been a lot easier to toss them in the locked truck than to try to conceal them in the bed somehow.

so the alternate plan now is to attempt to keep the plastic backing in case i need to use it to store tools, though i'm also playing with the idea of a hinged flat platform where the seat base would normally be, with some sort of undetermined quick-release system to alternate between the platform and seat bottom configurations.