jj_spike

I installed the subs tonight and wired them to my MMATS class D amp. I must say these play quite LOW for 8's! I did not have much of a chance to adjust parametric EQ settings or gain. I figure that I was able to only feed 1/3 to 1/2 of total power into the subs tonight. At this level they played quite loud and tight. I was also made aware that the electrical system in my Toyota Matrix is not up to the task as my lights dimmed during the hard hits. I could only imagine what will happen when I set the system up properly! As a recap, I am running a pair of RL-i8's in a sealed enclosure with a total volume of .828 cu^f after sub displacement. I added 1 pound of polyfill to bring up the volume a bit for a lower response. I may remove some of the polyfill in hopes of bringing up the 60-80Hz region. These subs play MUCH better than the high-end 10's and 12" Eclipse aluminium sub that I had in the past. Simply amazing! I will attempt to run a single 8" later this summer. I am building a second setup for times when I reqiure more cargo area. Cheers to Mike! Thanks JJ

I tried rear-firing my RL-i8's today and what a difference. The gain on the amplifier had to be turned down as the bass was too strong for general music listening. I threw my "Super Duck Breaks" CD for some serious bottom end. I could not believe that I was running 8's! People 1/2 block away were turning around to see what the hell the noise was. Listening at these levels is just not possible in general. I am almost tempted to build a ported enclosure for these things. Not that I am going to listen to regular music with this setup; I would just like to see how much louder and deeper these things could go. Is this considered a sickness? My neighbours and wife think I have turned into teenager again..... JJ

Will they work as a center channel when combined with their tweeter? I am running DLS 2-way components for the left at the moment. Thanks JJ

Any comments on the setup - beside crappy color matching on the carpet? All of the abuse I took for not having pics and no feedback apart from the rear-firing thing. I figure I did a half decent job for a I.T. guy that has little to no clue when it comes to power tools. Thanks!! JJ

Excuse me, what in the world does FTW mean? I am feeling really old for a 37 year old guy right now. Thanks

I guess I am getting old. I find my setup great. I can feel the music and the SQ it excellent. I am sure if I rear-fire the box I will love it due to the additional output. I wanted to keep my box in the current location as it does not take up too much room. What would be the port specs using 3" PVC for 2 8's in a .828 cu^3 (after sub displacement)? Thanks

Are you looking for SPL or SQ? I love the way my 2 8's perform in the sealed box. Plenty loud loud for me at this point. I would love to sap more out of them however a good ported box for these would be larger than what I have now. I can get more output from my setup if I rear-fire them in my hatch. I am sure I can pick up at least a couple of DB's if I do this.

I have not EQ'ed the setup yet and I love the quality of the response! Nice low, tight shots! Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing" sounds really sweet! For a set of 8's, they sure as hell play quite low. These play better than a single Eclipse 12" aluminium driver that I had back in 2001. Once dialed in, this will be the best car audio system that I have had. Very impressive for $150 drivers. To think that I was going to go for the JL 8w7 at $500 CDN!!!! What a joke! See the pics in my other post. Thanks JJ

No, not yet. I am afraid if I do I will like the results too much. I built the enclosure to fit partially under the floor. The box actually sits 5 inches under the floor. I prefer it this way as it does not look as large. I will try it rear-firing tomorrow. I bet it will rattle the hell out of my rear hatch. I played some old-school hip-hop tonight for the kids. They loved the way the rear view mirror went into a total blur! My wife could not take the booooooooooom. I think I will be doing the "big 3" shortly in order to maximize the potential of my setup. Thanks JJ

Here are the pics. I am not an installer by any means. Please be nice. Amps are under drivers passenger seats. Will post those later if ya want. http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2395349 Cheers! JJ

Hi all, I will be running 2, RL-i8's via an MMATS D1100.1 (2006 model) which outputs 750WRMS at 1 ohm. Each driver will have a full .414 cu^3 and will be in sealed enclosure. I was hoping that the MMATS would output slightly more than the rated power. Unfortunately, the amp does not come with a birthsheet so I have no way of knowing. Will the RL-i8's perform well with this particular setup? I was hoping to run a 900 WRMS amp however I picked up the MMATS for a great price. I increased the original volume from .3 cu^3 to .414 cu^3 in order to compensate somewhat. This is going into a Toyota Matrix in the hatch area with the drivers firing upwards. What do you think? Regards, JJ

I have read that some folks have installed dynamat on the inside walls of their sub enclosures. Would this improve output? Thanks JJ

Sorry for the lack of pics. I will attempt to score a digital camera and take some pics of the install. Will camera phone pics be OK for this weekend? Thanks JJ

My pair of RL-i8's are installed and man, do they play low! Thanks for all of your help! JJ

I thought bracing would be a better option. I added a centre brace to the cabinet prior to installing my RL-i8's tonight. Thanks for the feedback! JJ

I used .414 cu^3 per driver and will be running 375 WRMS per sub. Mike had told me to use up to 450 WRMS if I really wanted to get the 8's to play to their fullest. I should have the box carpeted with sub installed tonight. I'll let you know how it plays as soon as this is done. Thanks What size box are you going with for you 8s and what kind of power ? <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Based on what I have been told, 250WRMS is not enough for these subs in a sealed enclosure. People have told me that 2 of these subs in a sealed enclosure are incredible! Ported will surele provide more output but at the expense of a slight decrease in SQ (depending on ported setup). I am working on my dual 8 setup right now. My box is built and I will be carpeting and installing the drivers tomorrow night. I will test them in a small room first and let you all know what the results are. Thanks

Hey M5, how was the impact in your cabin? I have never run single or dual 8's - especially the high-excursion units. I do recall listening to an Alpine demo van with a pair of 8's installed and it was very tight with decent impact. This must have been about 12 years ago. I am sure the RL-i8's will perform MUCH better. Actually, Fedex was just here with my pair or RL-i8's!!!!! I will rotozip the cabinet tonight and install the drivers. I will test them with a 2400 WRMS Yorkville pro amp (with subs wired in series for 4 ohm load). I will be careful of course..... Thanks!

Thanks for the explanation! This why Mike stated .5 for better bottom-end extension. How many RL-i8's are you running and are they in a sealed enclosure? How much power are you providing? Thanks

I have seen this graph. Again, excuse my lack of knowledge on this topic. On what premis are these graphs generated? Does the software figure that .2 or .6 are the "best" sizes for this driver or are these sizes used simply for comparison? Also, what does the dB output actually mean? What input is used? If someone can explain this, I would appreciate it. Thanks JJ

I understand that is a .2-.3 enclosure is used, the recommended amount of power is about 450-500 watts. As I am not an enclosure designer I am not sure if my sightly larger, .414, cabinet would reduce the requirement for power. I believe Mike stated that you could place the RL-i8 into an .5 sealed box for better low end response. Is there a tool that I can use to plug in speaker parameters and my box volume in order to calculate response and optimal output frequency? I tried WinISD pro however it threw-up when I entered the parameters for the RL-i8. Thanks <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Yes, you only need about .2-.3 <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I was pressed for space as I did not want to consume too much hatch area. Were you referring to the .5 cu^3 per sub figure? Thanks JJ