Trunk Monkey

iTrader: (1)

I'll try to keep this short and sweet.

I've got:

2 10" JL w3v3's
Kicker 400.1
3cu.ft. @ 32hz (built by me)


I've been thinking about going with a single 12" to possibly make a smaller box that will fit flush against the rear seats and free up some trunk space for me. I would like to not go any less on SQ or SPL though. Don't get me wrong, these JL's are ok but they sound a little dry and don't have that umph I like. I'm trying to sell all this stuff now but I figured I would start looking into what to change to. I feel like these JL's don't have the power down low and sound dry with rock and electronic. Not bad for just an average sub but I'd like to step it up a little. What about any of these?..and can anyone comment on them personally?

*this will be a ported setup*
SSA Icon
FI Q
IDq
Eclipse Aluminum (guy is selling locally $170)
RE MX (guy is sellin locally $250)

Any more?

eggyhustles

Either of those would fit the bill. The mx would need a lot of power and a huge box, though

Flipster23

iTrader: (15)

so ur gonna sell the JL's I always wanted another set of JL's

eggyhustles

If space wasn't a concern, i would say 2 sa 12's in a 4th order

Trunk Monkey

iTrader: (1)

I always thought the SA's were more geared towards SPL, but the box makes a huge difference too.

jda123

You gonna keep the kicker?

My new idea is to build a 1 cu ft sealed box and screw it to the back seat supports and keep the armrest open. You could design it up to be only 8" deep or so and would be like it is in the cabin with you. I am a sealed guy though... mostly because I need the trunk room.

I think that any of those would be more than fine.

eggyhustles

More spl than sq but it does its thing in the right enclosure

Trunk Monkey

iTrader: (1)

Definitely not if I went with any of those. I know someone with an alpine m1000 for like $125 so I'll do that most likely.

myron

iTrader: (4)

this is exactly what I wanna do but just trying to figure out the best way to do it. And the size of the sub I wanna use. I was thinking shallow mount sub, 10 or 12" mounted just like that. Do you lose basically no trunk and if done right most people wouldn't even be able to tell you have a sub on the trunk. I hate the look of a huge box.

jda123

TM - I would start with the box size and work backwards. If you have not upgraded your fronts yet, then even a 600 watt single 12 in a sealed box would be able to overpower the front stage right now. ...so any of those would work if you ported them. Ported is not even necessary with the stock bose unless you just want lots of bass and don't care about balance - which is cool if you do - of if you are planning ahead.

My bad if you did upgrade your fronts already.

My neighbor has been using some of the new MB Quart Onyx stuff. It is not like MB Quart of old, but the D class sound pretty decent and are pretty cheap. They have subsonic filters at least. I was worried when I heard that they were bought by hifonics, but his Onyx 1500 d class something (sorry, I forgot the name/model) actually did more than rated at 14.2v in my garage. Anyway, just wanted to offer.

jda123

I am thinking about it with one of my FI Qs which are 7" deep and would require a 9" deep box. In any case, make a false back and carpet it so it looks stock. The false back would also make a great place to mount amps.

I dunno if I will ever do it since I bought some fiberglass corner boxes for plenty of money, but I might get up the urge.

Trunk Monkey

iTrader: (1)

JDA- any box designs for a long skinny box for a single 12" like you're talking about doing? That would look really nice to free up all that space and build a false back to mount an amp(s) on. So you have an Fi Q?? How do you like it? Have you ever heard any other sq/sql drivers that you can compare it to?




Also, I haven't upgraded my fronts yet but they seem to keep up decently with these subs. I have the gain a little under halfway (bass boost off), Treble/Bass settings to 0(middle), Subwoofer setting to -4. With some rap songs the bass does drown out the front soundstage pretty easily. I'm not sure how long I'll keep this car so I'm a little hesistant about upgrading everything. I've got a year left of college but once I get out i'll start building a new 5.0, shelby, or something of that nature. Now that I think about it...I might as well keep this for the good mpg's and a DD.

Look like I'll start another thread about 6.5" components haha. I like a warm sound that is still detailed. Harshness kills me as I'm used to my Home Theater setup (Energy RC line). Probably wouldn't want to spend more than $200ish on them b/c I'll still need to find an amp.

eggyhustles

NO WONDER....

It's not the subs, it's your midbass. It's not blending in properly with your subs. Use that sub money toward some components.

jda123

For $200 you are in the range for some Boston Pro60s or ID CTX. I like both of these in this price range, but I am a dogmatic dinosaur and don't know it all. You could double your money on some used CSX or Polyglass - another couple of sets that I like. The midbass on these sets has really produced for me. I have a set of older Hertz HSK that I really like, but there are so many fakes on the market right now I cannot recommend that anybody buy them from an unknown source... and full retail is expensive. Perhaps others will have better component suggestions... eggy is well schooled on good shit.

The beauty about a sealed box is that it really doesn't matter the size. Just get one with the correct displacement and it will work. You can go a bit smaller too with some polyfill.

I know that you can make a box. Looks like one of your W3s only needs a .625 sealed enclosure. ...so call that .7 with driver displacement and rounding. It is almost 6 inches deep, so you could build a box about 6 deep, 12 high and 14 wide (inside dimensions) to get there. You can do the math, but it is small.

Try out one of those W3s first and spend the cash on some components. Lumber is cheap to give it a try. Make sure that the sub does not contact anything while it is at max excursion since you will be close to the back seat.

I am not sold on ported boxes in cars without massive amounts of power. The box blocks most of the area for sound to get into the car and I hate how it sounds like they are ported twice. You might be surprised on how well a single 10 can sound pointing towards you with the armrest down. I am speculating here though... I have no idea since I abandoned ported boxes in cars a long time ago.

eggyhustles

From experience, jl's usually like bigger than advertised. I'd shoot for .75 sealed each with some polyfill. I'd also up power to 800-900. If you can fire them forward and seal off the trunk it'll be even better.

The money that you were gonna spend on a new driver, put all of that toward a pair of components. For <$200, nothing beats the image dynamics ctx65cs. A jump from that @ 250, i'd opt for the hertz esk. There's some pioneer stuff that sounds good in that price range, but 84db sensitive drivers would be a deal breaker considering the id and hertz have triple the efficiency.

jda123

Regarding the Q, it is my favorite driver for high powered sealed. Both of mine have the high QTS option (made for sealed) and cooling. They can really handle some power. The only thing that I can compare it to is a IDq, but your list above is pretty good. I run them up to 90 and they sound great. I have heard better sq drivers from both Morel and Focal, but at 4+ times the money and half of the wattage, they are neither SQL nor reasonable for me to purchase and use.

myron

iTrader: (4)

exactly what I was thinking. And I am hoping for no trunk rattles either since the sub would be pointing right into the cabin.