Subs in my Minivan

[Stocktonian 0]

Hello, I am new at this type of thing, but I want to put one, or maybe two subs into my minivan. It's a Chrysler 2002 Town and Country, and I was thinking about getting some JL Audio 10" W3v3's. The thing is, my dad doesn't want to have them in their all the time. So I was thinking that maybe I could use some banana clips to make them easily removable, but any other Ideas would work. Also I have a very small background concerning speakers or wiring or any of that stuff, like I said, I am new at this. I am open to any suggestions that anyone may have, I don't know what to do for a box, if I should buy one or try and make one, also I would need an amplifier. My dad say's that our head unit is pretty good, so I don't think that we would be replacing it or swapping it out, but if you have any ideas, I am really open. My budget is around $600 at the Very most, and that would be pushing it a bit, but I may be able to find a little more, probably not, the cheaper the better though, but I still want a good sounding system.

Thanks for the help in advanced!

[altoncustomtech 773]

What the hell? I thought for sure I replied to this thread, along with a second post in this thread by you OP.

I'll reply again though. What kind of restriction are you going to have on enclosure size? It seems like you'll need it to be fairly light if you're wanting to be able to easily remove it. I would suggest a single DCON 12 or a pair of DCON 10's for several reasons. First being that the enclosure size for 10's or a single 12 will be very close with the distinct possibility for more output from the pair of 10's due to the extra cone area and increased power handling. Second the subs themselves are relatively light in comparison to others. Third the small amp that would be needed to run either setup would be a bit less expensive to attain which would help stay well below the budget. Fourth, the smaller amp would also very likely not require much in the way of electrical upgrades if any which helps a lot in the realm of usability and budget as well.

The DCON's may be lower powered subs but don't let them fool you they're true performers. My sister has a single 12" DCON in her Durango and it is truly fantastic. Very good and articulate response that sounds great and it can also get plenty loud enough for most anyone who she's demoed it for. If I were forced to replace the Q's in my van with her DCON it wouldn't upset me much at all, except for the money difference, lol.

Also, for making the enclosure easy to remove you might look into Neutrik Speak-on connectors. They're not real expensive, are non shorting by design and can be disconnected/reconnected with power applied.

[ricksi30 923]

What the hell? I thought for sure I replied to this thread, along with a second post in this thread by you OP.

We lost about 12 hours worth of posts when Mark changed servers.

[Stocktonian 0]

I'll probably be doing 2 10's, but I've looked at the specs for the subs, and the it say's the Dcon's weigh more than the JL's, they are about the same price though if I buy them off of amazon. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place though. In my trunk we have about 1 foot and 2 inches of carpet space/before the seats get in the way depth wise, and I should have plenty of space width and height wise. The Speak-on connectors would probably work, i'll most likely use them to hook them up, it looks like they are easy to assemble and can just be plugged and unplugged easily, I think that you just have to lock/unlock it. I don't know much about amps or connecting speakers, I've been looking around and researching for a couple of hours now, and I haven't understood much about connecting them. In my other post that was deleted by the server reboot said that my dad knows more about this stuff than I do, so I am going to talk to him about connecting them and stuff. More info on amplifiers would be helpful though.

Thanks for the help!

[ricksi30 923]

Why wouldn't you just buy them from the SSA store?

[altoncustomtech 773]

We lost about 12 hours worth of posts when Mark changed servers.

Thanks, I made that post before seeing or reading anything about the server change. It made sense when I saw that.

I'll probably be doing 2 10's, but I've looked at the specs for the subs, and the it say's the Dcon's weigh more than the JL's, they are about the same price though if I buy them off of amazon. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place though. In my trunk we have about 1 foot and 2 inches of carpet space/before the seats get in the way depth wise, and I should have plenty of space width and height wise. The Speak-on connectors would probably work, i'll most likely use them to hook them up, it looks like they are easy to assemble and can just be plugged and unplugged easily, I think that you just have to lock/unlock it. I don't know much about amps or connecting speakers, I've been looking around and researching for a couple of hours now, and I haven't understood much about connecting them. In my other post that was deleted by the server reboot said that my dad knows more about this stuff than I do, so I am going to talk to him about connecting them and stuff. More info on amplifiers would be helpful though.

Thanks for the help!

I'm not certain the weight is posted correctly. It's after 3am right now and while the SSA store won't load (probably issues due to the server switching, best time to take things down for those kinds of reasons are the middle of the night when traffic is lowest) the 1800Woofers store would and it shows the same 20lb weight for the 10, 12 and 15 inch sizes which I know isn't accurate. I can remember the shipping weight being right at 20lb for my sister's 12" but the 15" I bought recently from a member on here weighed in at 28lb shipped. If the DCON 10 is heavier than the JL 10W3 then I can't imagine it's by much at all. I see what you mean about the price too. That's got to be the cheapest price there is on the JL and due to that fact I would definitely imagine it's not going to be coming from an authorized dealer/distributor. Also, when you open the page that shows all the prices sorted in price+shipping order the cheapest price is $175 as the other stores that show up with a $147 price don't have free shipping. JL Audio will not honor the warranty for any product not purchased from an authorized dealer/distributor so you have to make a judgement call on how important that is to you. JL makes a great product and if you decided to go with the JL I know you wouldn't be disappointed, but the DCON's will save you a few dollars and its my opinion the DCON would effortlessly compete with the JL on all fronts if not exceed it.

[R3dt34rz 21]

I would go with the SSA subs also. Should be cheaper than the JL Audio stuff with better performance. As for the enclosure I'm sure you could have one built for cheap, plenty of guys here that could probably do it for you. As for amp AQ 1200D should be good bang for buck and plenty of clean power.

http://audioque.com/Q1-1200D-Amplifier_p_30.html

[SS Teacher 177]

On a budget I'd recommend a Boston Acoustics GT 2125 for a single sub and a GT 2200 for a two sub setup. Check out Sonic Electronix, they are 110 and 150. You'll run them bridged into 2 ohms so make sure your sub(s) can be wired to that load.

[Stocktonian 0]

After the many post's about buying SSA subs instead of JL's, has lead me to consider the option. I will do some more research, and check out both subs and their different component's and weigh the Pro's and Con's of both of them, and in the end I will make a decision. Currently I am just researching though, I should probably have mentioned this in the main post, I want to gather enough information right now, so that I can be able to install some things into my car in the summer time, I don't have enough time right now with school and other things to do any actual work, but I will eventually be putting something in. Also I was wondering if I could put 2 12's in maybe, I don't know though. Any thought's on that idea? I haven't really done much research into any specific subs themselves really, besides just a little bit on the JL's, but I have pretty much been just looking at the component's needed for this type of system and how everything in general works surrounding a car's audio system.

Just FYI to everyone, I haven't made any solid completely set in stone decision's yet on the equipment that I am going to use. I still need some time to look around and dig a bit deeper before I know very much about the subs or amplifier's themselves, I maybe know what 2 of the things mean underneath the spec's section on the subs and amplifiers that I have looked at. I want to know your ideas though about specifics and such because I want to look at what you have used or seen other's used, or heard's good or whatever, and then try and take a look at them and see what would make them better for my usage than the other products on the market. I don't want to have to take a look at 50 (probably more) different websites all with 10-20 different type's and brands of sub's or amplifier's or any other equipment, just to have spent 5 hours looking at stuff that I won't even use, or probably even remember. Sorry for the analogy, but: I don't want to have to dig through a stack of needle's to find a few "golden" needles all by myself, it is easier to look at the needle's that other's have found and get an idea of maybe what I am looking for inside a stack of needle's.

Thank's to everyone that has put an input to this thread, all of the info so far has been very helpful!

[R3dt34rz 21]

I'm doing a van install and decided on 2Xcon 15s. If you are good on the price I think 2 12s would do your Chrysler just fine.

[altoncustomtech 773]

I'm doing a van install and decided on 2Xcon 15s. If you are good on the price I think 2 12s would do your Chrysler just fine.

Yeah those XCONs would definitely kick some ass but he's trying to run closer to $600 total on the budget AND have the subs/enclosure removable. Being removable wouldn't be too easy with about 100lbs worth of subs plus the weight of the enclosure. Hell my Q's are a fair bit lighter and removable as well. It takes two people to do it carefully enough so I don't have to worry about dropping it. Besides the DCONs will still offer plenty of output.

OP, dollar for dollar I think you'll find the SSA subs, no matter the series, will stack up against equivalent subs from the well known brands with ease. Very few companies offer drivers that off the performance, quality, and reliability these will for the money.

[SS Teacher 177]

OP

1. if you're doing research, please do NOT pay any attention to customer reviews at websites like Sonic Electronix and Crutchfield, most of them are complete idiots.

2. with a limited budget you would probably be better off buying one sub rather than 2. ie 1 12" is cheaper and almost as loud as 2 10"s, or 1 15" instead of 2 12"s.

3. your budget has to include installation gear, like a line out converter (LOC), power cable, RCA's, fuses, and speaker wire.

4. your box will play a huge roll in the quality of your subs output, make sure it is built correctly.

[Stocktonian 0]

I think I want 2 10's even though they are a little more expensive. Also when you have two subs, you only have one enclosure that has two spaces right? Could you have two separate enclosures? If so, how would that work?

[lithium 358]

very simple to use two subs in one box. just double the recommended size for a single sub, the internal volume would be shared (no separation required). on the other hand, if the box is to be removable then you might have an easier time removing 2 separate boxes.

Edited January 25, 2013 by lithium

[DanP 19]

very simple to use two subs in one box. just double the recommended size for a single sub, the internal volume would be shared (no separation required). on the other hand, if the box is to be removable then you might have an easier time removing 2 separate boxes.

At the same time 2 separate boxes would be more expensive then 1 single box when on a budget these are things to think about.

Edited January 25, 2013 by DanP

[Stocktonian 0]

I guess I'll have to see how everything would lay out budget wise when I decide what to buy and stuff. Speaker wire doesn't look like it should be that expensive. Also I've read a little bit about the LOC, and I'm confused, is it a converter from the head unit to the amplifier? or from the amplifier to the speakers? and are there different sizes, or voltages or whatever, of them, and if so does the size matter, and what size would you suggest for me. Also, what is an RCA? What I've found is stuff about the Radio Corporation of America, does that have anything to do with it? Another question on boxes, is there much of a sound difference between a ported or sealed box? Also is there much of a weight difference between the two, because I know that the ported boxes are usually bigger.

Thanks for the help!