Subwoofer Help

[twiztid_blunt 0]

Hi, I have a Kenwood amp KAC-9104d. According the manual it max's 1800W

1 ohms >900W

2 ohms 900 W

4 ohms 500 w

I want new subwoofer's since I found out the ones best buy recommended are too weak for my amp, and after hearing kicker is a pretty weak brand.

I'm not sure what type of box I want yet, all I know is I want great sound quality and some good SPL would be nice too.

Any recommendations are much appreciated.

p.s. I listen to lots of rap/borderline rock

[Ohjay 116]

What type of vehicle? Max dimensions for enclosure? Budget? Give us more information.

[twiztid_blunt 0]

sorry about that, toyota camry 2006 sedan, don't know any max dimensions, and my budget is 400 give or take.

[Luke.H 33]

What size subs do you want?

[twiztid_blunt 0]

was hopin for 2 12" subs, but all recommendations are awesome.

[manrossdamn 57]

2 SA-8's?

You won't need more than 1.8 cubes if at all

[Luke.H 33]

I dont know much about that amp like if it puts out rated power or not but you might wanna look into an SA-12 they have them here for 195. Ive heard they have a good mix of sq and spl. I dont have one personally so you might wanna wait and see what others here say theyre all pretty knowledgable. You should measure your trunk tho measure the opening and see what kinda box you can fit first. Are you going ported or sealed? Check other sub recoomendation threads and see what those guys are including so that you have an idea what the members here need to know to help you. Good luck

[twiztid_blunt 0]

My amp is rated class D, I've yet to decide between ported, sealed, or bandpassed, and I was hoping for some opinions on how to go with my enclosure. My trunk is very big, so not fitting isn't a huge concern of mine but I'll measure it when I get a chance too.

What brands should I look at and what brands should I avoid?

[Luke.H 33]

If I was you I'd go ported. You said you listen to rap so I'm assuming you want a decent amount of output. For rap most people tune to 35hz. But that's just a suggestion I'm unsure how much sq you want I know you said you want sq but when you say rap I can't help but think spl. If your trunks pretty big 15s might be a better option for more output. But some brands I'd look into are fi ssa and sundown there's lots more and its really dependant on what you want out of your sub.

[twiztid_blunt 0]

Yea I think when it comes SPL vs SQ I think I'll want to slightly tilt towards the SPL, and from what I've read 35hz is perfect for that. Now I just need to figure out what sub(s) to go with. I'll look into that SA-12, any other suggestions?

When it comes to port tuning, I'm rather lost, is that decided based on how it's built?

[PHATBOi 38]

Plenty of great brands to choose from. You got Fi, Ascendant Audio, Incriminator Audio, DC Audio, Sundown, Skar, SSA, so on and so on. Find one that fits your needs and goals. Personally, with your power and car I would suggest a single 15. Fi SSD 15, AA Chaos 15, Sundown SA-15, IA Leathal Injection 15. Whatever you decide as far as subs, once your ready to consider the enclosure hit up BassHeadsEnt.net, whether you want a design done so you can build yourself or just want them to go ahead and build it to ship out to you they got you covered. Check em out, and good luck with the build.

[twiztid_blunt 0]

Plenty of great brands to choose from. You got Fi, Ascendant Audio, Incriminator Audio, DC Audio, Sundown, Skar, SSA, so on and so on. Find one that fits your needs and goals. Personally, with your power and car I would suggest a single 15. Fi SSD 15, AA Chaos 15, Sundown SA-15, IA Leathal Injection 15. Whatever you decide as far as subs, once your ready to consider the enclosure hit up BassHeadsEnt.net, whether you want a design done so you can build yourself or just want them to go ahead and build it to ship out to you they got you covered. Check em out, and good luck with the build.

Thank you very much phatboi, Exactly the kind of recommendation I'm looking for. Would you say 1 15 is comparable to 2 12's

[Luke.H 33]

Yea you got it. On this site are some box plans. Click on the tech tab and you'll see them it'll show you what a ported box looks like. You can search around and find some plans for the box you want or draw it up yourself. As far as suggestions go it depends if your pusing 2 12s or a single sub but to be honest I don't know enough about that amp to comfortably suggest something. I would definately look into fi. The bl is a good spl sub but its 1000w rms and I don't think that amp can push 2 of those. Maybe 1 15 tho assuming it really is putting out a true 900rms. So hopefully another member can step in and help you out

[twiztid_blunt 0]

when it comes to 1 15 vs 2 12's

would I get more or less SQ or SPL going one way or the other?

[PHATBOi 38]

Technically, in a perfect world, 2 12's would have higher spl than 1 15 on same power due to more cone area. But EVERYTHING in car audio is install dependent. You could put the same equipment in two identical cars in two identical builds and get different results. Personally, I have done both and just like a single sub setup better. Trial and error is the game around here.

[twiztid_blunt 0]

Technically, in a perfect world, 2 12's would have higher spl than 1 15 on same power due to more cone area. But EVERYTHING in car audio is install dependent. You could put the same equipment in two identical cars in two identical builds and get different results. Personally, I have done both and just like a single sub setup better. Trial and error is the game around here.

EXACTLY trial and error seems to be ALOT, and that's what I'm doing here. I don't have the money to do this trial and error just to be unhappy lol. I have 2 12's so maybe I'll try 1 15 for now. What do you guys think is a good way to go for a typical 4 door sadan (assuming an 06 camry is a typical sedan, not only am I new to car audio, but I don't know crap about cars lol)

oh also, if everything is so install dependant.... where the hell do I get it installed? lol, am I better off doing it myself as a noob (some of these stores, best buy, soundwarehouse, and other local stores, seem like they don't know a damn thing about what they're doing)

Edited April 14, 2011 by twiztid_blunt

[Luke.H 33]

Technically, in a perfect world, 2 12's would have higher spl than 1 15 on same power due to more cone area. But EVERYTHING in car audio is install dependent. You could put the same equipment in two identical cars in two identical builds and get different results. Personally, I have done both and just like a single sub setup better. Trial and error is the game around here.

+1 ideally the 12s should have more sq as well. Cheaper to go with the 15. With your budget I'd say get a single 15 maybe a bl or even a q. Depends on your needs. Or even an icon. They're coming out with a new one. It could be worth your wait

[twiztid_blunt 0]

I think I really like a good SPL but whats a good SPL if it sounds like crap right?

I also drive my car to the gathering of the juggalos annualy (in Illinois, livin in Utah) so trunk space is rather nice, causing me to highly consider a 15

Edited April 14, 2011 by twiztid_blunt

[Luke.H 33]

I have heard BL's sound pretty good in a properly built enclosure. If you want spl you probly want the bl. I'd start by making sure you can fit a proper box for that sub. And I'd install it yourslef not bestbuy save your money