wkollmeyer

Wow, forget everything I just said, the RE calculator is beyond inaccurate. It should just straight up not be available to use. Looking around, and I found this: How would this box work out for a 12" Fi Q? It looks to be about 2.6 cubes @ 32hz, so after displacement it'd be 2.44 cubes.

So about a year ago, I had bought the 12" Q, had a 1.8 cu ft box @32hz built, and recently just purchased the sundown audio sae-1200d v2. The Q sounds freakin amazing, but I was at a car show this weekend, and a guy with 2 12" alpine type R's ported had beaten my output, with the same wattage. I refuse to be beaten by alpine type R's... So I want more air movin through my car, and am loving what I am hearing / seeing about the BTL. I plan on getting a 15" (if she fits) dual 2, wire it to 1ohm, and temporarily keeping the amp I just bought for it. I do have electrical work to do, but that's a whole 'nother story. The max dimensions of a box in the back of my scion tC that I could fit would be 41" long, 20" wide, and 15" high. I need help designing the box for this beast. I am looking for a lot of moving air, so I am assuming I want the most port area I can get out of that box. It must be ported to around 32hz, I still want to hit the lows. Currently my box for the Q has small port area, and is basically a SQ setup. My plan would be to get some help drawing out this box through win ISD, and seeing as how I have a mac and no knowledge with Win ISD, then any help is greatly appreciated. I will have this box built by a local shop around me.

Oh okay well that helps a lot. The BP option is exactly the same thing as the cooling and the spider so no need to upgrade the old! The box my Q is in now is as shown: Would putting the sub in a different box help output? I'm almost positive that the box shown there is 1.8cu ft w/ 13sq in of port area per cu ft, tuned to 33hz. I would probably put the sub in a new box, dimensions of 41"L x 15"W x 13"H and according to the horribly inaccurate RE Enclosure calculator, that would give me a box that is 2.6 cu ft, tuned to 32.4hz, 3.75" width port @ 16.5 sq in of port area per cu ft, and a 20" port length

Looking at those dimensions, If I changed the 30" width to 20", the 36" length to 20.5", and made the 13.5" height to 15" (everything being max), a sealed box w/ 3/4 MDF would measure out to 2.5 cu ft per box. I need to figure out port area and such, which I have no clue how to do. If we can reduce dimensions in any way, I would probably shrink down the 20" width so I have room for my amplifiers.

Yeah I actually have been thinking about it over the past hour or so. I love the sound quality of the Q, it just sounds so good. Now seeing as how there are new Fi's out, I was debating on just replacing the one I have now also with a newer one. i was gonna get the Cooling option, Spider option, and I Heat ring. My sub now only has the BP option, so I don't know if they would sound different, handle the power differently, i don't know haha. Could use some good advice on whether or not I should upgrade the old sub. Also, i'm probably gonna need some help designing a box for these two Q's. I want as much port area as I can, with the max box dimensions tuned to 32hz. I am thinking a sub up / port back as mentioned before from Duran. The box would probably look something like this: Only with two boxes like that, and different dimensions. Anyone have any ideas? Or anyone that can help me design a box?

Port back as in toward the back seat? Cause that is what the kid w/ the alpines had. My current box is sub up / port up.

I just got a box designed by chris @ fishercustoms.. What I learned is: 1. Start with a box that will meet the sub's recommended volume. Net volume must be within 1.8cu ft and 2.5 cu ft. 12-16 sq inches of port area per cu ft. When calculating net volume, make sure to take sub displacement, bracing, and port volume into account. You can use the RE Enclosure Calculator, but take about .2 cu ft off of the volume it gives you for the port and bracing, then another .16 cu ft for the Fi Q. 2. When making the port, being that you want it to be an SPL enclosure, you probably want the port tuned to around 40hz. SQ might not be as great, but SPL will be much greater. Also, remember to keep as close to a 1:8 ratio with the port. So 1" width, per 8" length. That should get you started, I'm not the most knowledgeable person about this but I did learn a lot about it when designing my box. He had used WinISD to get good measurements, and AutoCAD to draw it out. If you want, email Chris, [email protected] and for a measly 25 dollars he will do all the work for you, and make the perfect box for that sub, make it sound great, and give you full detailed drawings from autocad. Not to mention he will answer any questions you have. Hope that helps, and good luck.

I had a box designed by chris at fishercustoms, and here is what he came up with: The total Net volume came out to be 1.8cu ft exactly, a 1.74" x 14" port tuned to 33hz, 13.53 sq in of port per cu ft, and I have a couple questions: 1. Is that too small for a 12" Fi Q? They do recommend a minimum of 1.8, but i'm worried this box won't make it sound good because the net volume is too small. 2. What happens if the box is too small? 3. Whats the difference between having a larger box versus a smaller box? Like having a 2.2 versus 1.8? Most of the videos I see online of this sub have a box larger than 2.2 cu ft, and their car is basically falling apart. Any help would be great. I want to know this box will sound good for a 12" Fi Q before I tell someone to build it for me

Will 1.8 cubes @ 33hz be too small for the Fi Q? I know that they recommend a minimum of 1.8 but will it be louder in a bigger box? Most of the videos I see of the Fi Q are in 2.2 or 2.5 cubes. I wasn't sure if those boxes would make the Q noticeably louder than a box at 1.8.

Alright so I am trying to build a box for a Fi Car audio Q 12" woofer. They recommend I build a box using 1.8-2.5 cubic feet @ 28-33Hz (32hz tuning is optimal, and has the most output and is still the most musical daily driving), and to use 12-16 square inches of vent area per cubic foot of volume. I am talking to Chris at fishercustoms, and he is helping me design a box. I was using the RE Enclosure Calculator, and I'm not sure what he uses. I gave him my max specs, 23" long x 15.5" wide x 16" high, and he came up with: 1.8 cu ft, 33 hz, 1.74" x 14" port ( 13.53 sq in vent area per cu ft) When i put those dimensions into the RE ported enclosure Calculator, i got: 2.068 cu ft, 31 hz, 1.74" x 14" port ( 11.79 sq in vent area per cu ft) His port size keeps his idea that a 1" to 8" port ratio is optimal Now I am wondering if the RE enclosure calculator is correct or his? 1.8 cu ft seems so small with those large of dimensions. I trust his port calculations, but if that ratio is wrong, put your two cents in on what you feel is right. If the RE port calculator is correct, then the port size is way to small. Let me know what all of you think.

No I live in CT... I just don't have the tools, and chances are good that I would mess something up with the bracing or dimensions.

haha yea about all that.. I just emailed Quentin at Audible customs to see if he would be willing to build the box for me if i sent him the specs.

how hard is it to build a ported box yourself?? bad idea?

I am just anxious to get this box built.. I want to get it in the back of the car and listen to it! When i brought my original design to the shop, and asked them to build it tuned to 32 hz and that size they basically told me to fv<k off lol. Which means that they probably will alter the design.. are there any other good box builders online?

would it be a bad decision getting this box built at a local audio shop? I want this box to be perfect, and as of right now I want BJ to build it (from fisher customs) but he has been on hiatus for god knows how long now. I was going to have chris send me the exact dimensions for all pieces, and I will bring that to the shop and have them build it. I just don't want the shop to mess anything up.

very true. plus he emailed me back and said he uses winisd and autocad, which is the best way so i've heard. hopefully the Q will still be able to hit the double bass just as well as the sealed!

so should i assume his dimensions are correct? everything with his are fine except for the fact that when the sub is put in, the ported box will be only 1.64 cu ft....

Here is a response I found at yahoo answers: "Well I can tell you from 25 years of knowledge on the matter of "breaking in subs" that this particular myth was started in L.A. many years back. Here's WHY it's a myth. The cone moves freely (vertically), the coils are wound to a tube and attached to the cone, the surround is plenty flexible, the frame and spider mesh will flex no matter what. There is nothing else about the speaker that requires to be broken in. I will say the T/S parameters do change over time (slightly) due to use, so re-tuning some settings may be required. I work for a commercial audio company that installs very large speaker systems in arenas, venues and sound stages and we don't "break in" anything. Source(s): A.A.S. degree in Electronics/Industrial Electronics with 25 years in the mobile audio/consumer electronics field" Does that sound like a smart person?

I just ordered my 12" Fi Q (w/ bp option) and i could never be more excited for it to come. I'm upgrading from a JL Audio 13TW5, mainly for loudness issues. I have a couple questions however... 1. Will the Q be much louder than the JL? The JL is running 500watts @ 4 now off a Kenwood 9104D amp. The Q will run off the same amp for now, getting 900watts at 2ohms. I'm upgrading cause the JL is shallow, only 13mm excursion and barely moves any air... And I loveeeee SQ subs, but also want pretty loud... 2. Now before you bash on me and tell me I should have gotten a BL instead, I must state that i drive a scion tc, with an open hatch area, which is where the sub will be sitting. I plan on putting it in a 1.2 cuft sealed enclosure, and will it be loud being that the trunk is open to the cabin? 3. The famous "break-in" period. Is it real? Is it not real? We need to clear that up. I don't want to be blowing my Q on the first week it comes because i was playing rap or w.e. too loud. 4. Is the Kenwood 9104D a good amp? Yay or Nay? for now, its all i got, so would upgrading it this summer really make a difference? Will this amp "clip" the sub at all? 5. My wiring/electrical issue: I run 4g amp wire setup. Stock battery. Is that gonna give enough power to my Q? I know the basics when it comes to car audio, just not that nitty gritty schit.