I'm starting to make a list for a solid sound system for my '02. I'm going to upgrade the (qty:2) 6-1/2" speakers and (qty: 2) tweeters and add one giant sub.

The focus of my sound system upgrade is going to be the (qty: 1) 10" Cerwin Vega Stroker sub. Because I listen to far more hard rock than rap I'm going to utilize a non-ported sub enclosure. I'm hoping to obtain a tighter snare drum-like thump.

My real question is, is a subwoofer like this over kill?? I really DON't want a mediocre subwoofer experience. So i figure the non-ported enclosure will lessen the oscillating intensity caused by a ported enclosure, while the 2000RMS (4000 max) will ensure an awesome sound experience.


ANY thoughts????

 

Sure sounds like overkill to me, being that the car is a convertible.

There is only so much sound quality you'll get out of this car, so I guess if you've got money burning a hole in your pocket then go ahead. Otherwise no need to go so high end.

 

shoot for a bout 1000 or less sealed for good sql.
maybe a jl 12w7 or a tc sounds 10 or 12?

from what ive read, you can get about 1.4 cu ft from the tire well when fiberglassing so that should give plenty room for a sealed 10 or 12, while the power makes up for the difference of not being ported.

whats your price range?
do you have an amp or need to buy one?

 

I have yet to purchase anything, so i don't have an amp yet. My idea was to find the right sub for my application first, then choose an appropriate amp. As far as price range I'm expecting to spend about $500-1000 in all for parts (two component speakers, two tweeters, one sub, one amp) because I can usually find wholesale or deep discounted stuff.

I saw somewhere on the internet that some guy custom makes sub enclosures that fit in the side-wells of the trunk. I like that idea becuase I won't have to really sacrafice any more of the already minimal trunk space we have.

Sooooo it sounds like a 1000rms sub would be ample thump. Are there any particular subs that have a strong response time that would be able to take the pummeling of a fast drum solo?? ORRR what specs should I be looking for when shopping that would be indicative of responsiveness?

Keep the opinions coming! I usually deal solely with the mechanical performance of vehicles, so I only know enough to simply get around in the audiophile world

 

There are no speakers in production for cars...or houses for that matter that have that kind of power. It's probably a PMPO rating....the equivalent of saying "the S2000 has 1400 ant power.

100-150 WRMS is enough to cause you ringing ear drums.

 

Actually there are plenty of subs that will handle 1000-4000 RMS and up. One such example which is almost ideal for an s2000 due to the small sealed enclosure size is the Fi Q series subwoofers. The Fi Q 12 has a recommended power rating of 1000 watts RMS but will sound great on less too. TC Sounds is another good recommendation as is RE audio if you can still find their subs. Image Dynamics makes some good subs that'll handle a lot of power too if you're hung up on buying a non-boutique.

The problem you're going to run into is that larger woofers are less efficient so you'll get diminishing returns when you throw more power at it. Make sure you have a quality amp that's not overrated and/or noisy at the output RMS. Avoid audiobahn, mtx, profile, eclipse (good amps but they don't like lower impedence ratings), and anything that has a ton of blue LEDs on it.

You will also spend a lot more money for good, clean power. It's easy to throw an MTX amp on a low-end JL or infinity sub and call it a day. That's fine for lower power, high sensitivity subs as long as you don't crank the gain. However, for an actual clean 1000w RMS with <1% harmonic distortion at ~13v you're going to spend significantly more money for an amp. Look at brands like Sundown, Orion, or any number of boutiques that start with Zenon amp boards.

 

NFRs2000NYC- I was talking about subwoofers when I said 1000 rms. There are a plethora of subs out there that are > or = that wattage.
Component speakers are obviously going to be far less, I'm looking at something closer to 50-75rms watts for those.

InterHat- Thanx, I can navigate the market with that info!

 

My mistake, I mis-read the sub part...I thought you were talking about door speakers.

As for 1000wrms and etc, without some heavy engineering and dual alternators, it's not going to happen. The s2000 will rattle appart if you got that kind of power out of it.

You will break the soft top, develop fuel pump problems, lose power due to low voltage going to the sparkplugs, etc. 300-400 is plenty for an s2000.

 

300-400 watts of CLEAN power to a high eff sub will be all that you need. 1000 watts is useless if it is coming out of a cheap distorted amp. Quality of quantity IMO.

 

I think you can alleviate some of those issues with an Alumapro C.A.P. 5. Unless you're playing test tones at 1000watts with the gain cranked, you'll never be using all of the power for more than a second or so. And if you do have a 1000watt amp/sub, it's unlikely you'd be able to stand it at more than half gain for any substantial period of time. You'd sound like the T-Rex from Jurassic Park stomping around and people would be calling the police.

He's right though, you don't need more than 300watts or so, BUT you can run a 1000watt sub with the gain down on your amp. If you have a good class D amp, it'll be efficient enough to make up for the speaker efficiency loss of a high efficiency speaker with a less capable amp (85db at 1 watt for a 1000watt sub vs 89+db at 1 watt for a 300watt sub).

If you need a higher efficiency sub that'll retain value(like the old KEF stuff), take a look at Sundown's subwoofers, Dayton reference HF, and Image Dynamics makes some good subs in that range. I'm trying to plan out my system right now, and I'm really liking the looks of the Dayton Reference HF/HO line... plus they're cheap! You need to talk to the retailer of those subs about enclosures though before you go buying them. They won't come with much in the way of instructions.