For my new car (1991 Volvo 240 Wagon), I plan on having a pretty good audio setup in it. I'm selling the old setup I was using to a friend. It consisted of Two 12inch Pioneer subs in a bandpass box, powered by a 1200 watt amp. I'm very interested in keeping the Volvo clean, and just having one JBL 15 in a sealed box, but nobody around that I'm in contact with uses 15's because BestBuy or Circuit City doesn't carry that big.:tongue: The Question at hand, Is one 15 going to give me enough bass? I'm looking for very crisp bass, that you can feel, any help?

(I plan on running said 15 in a sealed box, after hearing/feeling the difference, and powering it with a 800watt monoblock amp.)

If anyone else is intersted in the rest of the plans, the car has Six 4inch component speakers, I plan on Eclipse 4inch loudspeakers w/bass blockers. I think I'm going to have to use my 4 channel amp for those, amping the front door/rear wheel well speakers, and running the rear doors off my headunit (Pioneer DEH-P6500). Any opinions?

The Sub Wanted:
http://www.crutchfield.com/S-6KusZatuNbA/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=520&I=109GT1504D

I used to have a 15 with a 1500watt amp. It was loud, alot of bass, but 15's tend to not as crisp as a 12 or 10" sub

Yea go with 2 12's. 15's aren't clear or crisp and they don't respond as well. And is that 800 watts max power? You should match it up with an amp that's of equal RMS power. You should use something like RF, Kicker, or JL if you really want somebody to hear them. I currently use a 12" RF with a 400watt RMS RF amp and it gives more thump than other amps of the same watts.

I'd try a soundstream T5 or SPLX 15. The right 15's CAN sound just as clear as 12's when done right. I know it's alot of money but if you were serious you could get a RE XXX 15.

i agree 15s are to big for accurate bass production get a good 10-12 inch sub and build a good sealed box for it. With 4 inch speakers you might be missing sound in the woofer range which a 15 wont make either. look for a 12 or 10 with a good frequecy range from 25-250 or so to get everything out of your system.

Lol @ you guys. A subs size has no affect on how accurate it is. A larger sub has the ability to get louder due to the increased cone area. A 10 of the same series of sub will be just as accurate as a 15. It will play just as low and accurate as it's larger counterpart (just not as loud).....ahhh I'll link a post that has some great info regarding this very subject. Ignore post #4. Link (http://www.caraudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=233263)

I don't know...i've had 10's, 12's and 15's...15's to me just don't sound as clear and tight

Lol @ you guys. A subs size has no affect on how accurate it is. A larger sub has the ability to get louder due to the increased cone area. A 10 of the same series of sub will be just as accurate as a 15. It will play just as low and accurate as it's larger counterpart (just not as loud).....ahhh I'll link a post that has some great info regarding this very subject. Ignore post #4. Link (http://www.caraudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=233263)

Finally someone that agrees with me. But what the hell do I know, I only do it everyday.

I don't know...i've had 10's, 12's and 15's...15's to me just don't sound as clear and tightThe install is 90% of the sound. If it works for you then that's all that matters but personal opinions are irrelevant to a subs performance. Read the link and the links provided there are some very respectable people answering the questions including a few that actually make subwoofers..One of the links regarding woofer speed is written by Dan Wiggins owner of Adire Audio.

Lol @ you guys. A subs size has no affect on how accurate it is. A larger sub has the ability to get louder due to the increased cone area. A 10 of the same series of sub will be just as accurate as a 15. It will play just as low and accurate as it's larger counterpart (just not as loud).....ahhh I'll link a post that has some great info regarding this very subject. Ignore post #4. Link (http://www.caraudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=233263)


thank you. so much. That helps alot. yet again, thanks.:biggthump

the key to tight crisp bass is mostly in the amp and box you use. if you are useing a giant ported box its going to sound like hell. if you are useing a crappy pile, duel, pyramid amp it will also sound like hell.

i personaly make the smallest or close to the smallest seald box the speaker calls for when i am setting up my sound system and pack them with pillow stuffing. never buy a premade box.

if you want tight crisp bass, go with sealed 12's. if you want sick power and nice spl numbers, go with triple 12" bandpass or vented enclosure. NEVER do 12s in even numbers because they will distort, if you do 12s you go one at nice 50-75 watts over what the rms can handle. I have been working with 12s ever since i started working at a local audio shop about 3 years ago and 12s are usually the biggest and baddest sounding setups.

By local audio store do you mean the one in walmart?

the key to tight crisp bass is mostly in the amp and box you use. if you are useing a giant ported box its going to sound like hell. if you are useing a crappy pile, duel, pyramid amp it will also sound like hell.

i personaly make the smallest or close to the smallest seald box the speaker calls for when i am setting up my sound system and pack them with pillow stuffing. never buy a premade box.

i completely agree premade boxes are always the weak link in audio systems. I would rather have a pyramid amp than one of those premade bandpass boxes that everyone seems to sell.

if you want tight crisp bass, go with sealed 12's. if you want sick power and nice spl numbers, go with triple 12" bandpass or vented enclosure. NEVER do 12s in even numbers because they will distort, if you do 12s you go one at nice 50-75 watts over what the rms can handle. I have been working with 12s ever since i started working at a local audio shop about 3 years ago and 12s are usually the biggest and baddest sounding setups.:rofl: WTF :squint: 3 years you say? Where you guys come up with this stuff is beyond me.

Like I said maybe he's doing shit from Walmart. I know we've had some customers come up with some wild shit, but damn.

i completely agree premade boxes are always the weak link in audio systems. I would rather have a pyramid amp than one of those premade bandpass boxes that everyone seems to sell.Quoted for truth. A properly designed bandpass box requires 2 things. Vehicle(trunk,hatch,suv), and the most important the subwoofers parameters so you can design the box around the sub.

I still have these from an old system and kinda fits in this thread. 20hz test tone(that's low)Crappy vid but you see what's going on.
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f342/thehardknoxlife/th_100_1276.jpg (http://s50.photobucket.com/albums/f342/thehardknoxlife/?action=view&current=100_1276.flv)

Here is what's moving all that air. Keep in mind it's in the trunk of a B13 with no fold down seat.
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f342/thehardknoxlife/100_1253.jpg

1 10" woofer in a 6th order bandpass.

^^^ now that is one big box!! that's a serious driver there.

Back in the day - 1986 era - my brother had 2 12" M&M woofers in a dual sealed box. They rocked hard but I'm too old for that now. Actually, I think they were 15s now that I think about it..but yeah, not into that type of bass anymore.

I recently helped my buddy in TX install an Alpine TypeR 10" in his Ram Charger 3500 Cummins Turbo Diesel. It replaced a TypeS and he bought a new Crossfire XP Series amp to run it. And it rocks. I was sold on a single 10.

Here's mine -
http://users.rcn.com/nanikeala/ebay%20pics/sub.jpg

It's an Arc Audio DVC [wired in parallel] in a custom fiberglass enclosure I made. The Alpine VR350 runs it 350w @ 2ohms. I'm really happy with the sound.

I hope your able to find what you like.

btw, I'm running 4" Polk components up front with a 6.5" MTX midbass in doorpods with the 4" Polk mids in the kickpanels. Just can't beat kickpanels. oh and yeah, the doorpods really helped too.

"Unfortunately, many subwoofers have a distortion rate of 25% to 30% which translates into a lack of detail and clarity. These poor-performing subwoofers sound muddy, boomy and lack accuracy in music systems. Good distortion figures are less than about 5% and excellent ratings are less than about 1%. Listen to a selection of deep, bassy music and evaluate the sub's performance."