I recently upgraded the sounds in my car because as everyone is aware the factory sounds is garbage. I thought I would be satisfied with new Focal speakers and my Pioneer 80PRS head unit...I thought wrong. After using the system for a couple of weeks it became very apparent to me that I there is almost no low end. So I started looking at Amps to power all of the speakers which eventual led me to subs. I found a JL 400/4 amp which would be a great all in one amp. I am stuck with figuring out what Sub to buy. I was looking at 2 different subs both from JL 10 inch and an 8 Inch . The box I am looking at has ~.3 CU FT of air so I am leaning towards the smaller one because a larger sub will require more air - I'm also not completely clear as to what difference the volume inside a sealed box would make, but that is besides the point. My question is simple is it worth it to get a higher end 8 inch or a more basic 10inch. All of my research has lead me to bigger being better when it comes to subs, but the eight inch sub is more expensive than the 10inch for a reason, right?

I would appreciate any suggestions. I am also flexible on the sub and the amp if anyone has any suggestions.

 

Are you saying you want to just use the 400/4 amp? So you would have 2 channels @ 100rms to the speakers and then bridge 2 channels to the sub for 200 rms? Just curious

The reason the 8 inch is more expensive is because it is the W3 model and the 10 inch is a w0 model (they have wx, w0, w1, w3, w6, and w7) The higher "number" will produce more power, but cost you more. To produce more power out of a smaller sub takes more engineering and thus you have the increased price. I would go with the 10w0, however...

What you really need to do, is figure out your final goal. You wouldn't want to dump a ton of money into this and then realize "hey, I might want a 500 watt sub" and have to go get a new amp and sub. Are you running just 2 front speakers, or do you have rears?

Personally, I was running JL 300/4 to my fronts with 2 channels to my 500watt sub(10w3v3). Then I added a second amp, pushing 500 (from a 500/1v2) to the sub and having the other two channels from the 300/4 go to my rear speakers. My initial sub/amp combo worked out in favor of my final goal. I didn't have to get rid of any part of my sound system to upgrade.

 

One thing I've found is what when I'm stopped with the car off, the low end from my door speakers is very impressive, almost like the sub is on (even when it's disconnected). However, once the car is running and I'm driving, the low end seems to disappear. Note that my doors are fully sound deadened and that made a huge difference in low end. I've found trunk subwoofers are almost worthless. They can make a ton of noise in the trunk, but they don't translate well into the cabin (especially if you have effective sound deadening in the trunk).

I almost wonder if some of the Bass Shakers that home theater guys use would be better than a sub in the trunk.


Tim

 

yes you are correct. I want to use the 4 channels to run 100 rms to the speakers bridge the 2 extra channels and power the sub. I would like to avoid buying a second amp to power the sub exclusively partially because I think it may be over kill and i really don't want to spend extra money on another sub.

My final goal is balanced quality sound that i can hear clearly at highway speeds. I am not a bass head and I am not looking to shake my neighborhood but I would like a little extra thud to my music when I listening in my car. My home computer speakers have (z5500) a sub so i am accustom to hearing more low end when I listen to my music so when I listen to my ipod in my car I feel like there is part of the sounds spectrum that is just missing from my car. Which is why I wanted a sub. What brought this whole sub idea on, started with getting an amp currently so I wouldn't have to turn my radio all the up when I am doing about 65+ and want to hear semi clear sound.

If by rear speakers you mean headrest speakers then yes. I would like to upgrade those but Everyone who I have talked to has said they are a waste of money to upgrade.

Will the 10w0 have muddier bass since it is a "less engineered" sub? How Important is the space inside the box of the sub. I was looking at the V1 sub box from dark side subs it only has .38 cu ft of space and the 10 requires .65 I guess I could go with the V2 sub which is .58 but i am still going to be about .07 Cu feet short of the requirements for the volume, is that going to effect my sound significantly?


Why would you go with the 10w0, just because it is cheaper and you would get the same as you would out of the 8inch? Is there any upside to purchasing the more expensive 8 besides saving room?

 

I appreciate your input and I do agree. Even with the door speakers that I have in there the sounds is pretty clear my problem is the highway speeds and all of that sounds disappearing. I found some sound deading rolls on amazon that are pretty cheap I think I may try to do the whole car to try and reduce road noise, and trunk noise if i settle on a sub. Have you had a sub in your S? What are you complaints about it? Just the trunk rattle it creates? I would think that the sound would transfer pretty well since there really isn't that much between the trunk and the cabin. The other option is the modifry foot well sub where a sub is placed in the passenger side footwell. Do you think that will make a difference in the quality of the sound sub sound?

 

thats y i went with this in mine. theres that one 8 u can see then theres the other 8 u cant see. no trunk used and the bass even travels to the trunk.

 

Thats pretty sick. Is there a box on the other side of the woofer or is it just open?

 

I have a darkside enclosure and an Alpine S series with a JL250/1 and it sounds as good as anyone needs it to in a convertible.

See my signature for details and pics.

 

I like the amp placement. Do you have any issues with the amps moving around or rattling?

 

None at all, it's a pretty tight fit height-wise for the Alto amp, width-wise between the fuel filler pipe cover and the spare and length-wise between the back of the compartment and the fuel filler cover.

Put it this way, it didn't move at all on a recent track day, and the spare tyre had been removed.

Concentrating on getting the fronts right is the first thing to do, and then use a sub to do what a sub is supposed to, i.e. the sub-bass, and all will be well.

If you do what most people seem to, and use the sub for mid-bass duties, then that's not so good, as the rear placement will mess up your soundstage.

The combination I have is plenty enough to rattle the boot lid