Best 8" Sub for SQ

[Bigpete123 1]

Hi all,

Some of you may be following my build log. Well my dad is seeing my progress and he's getting jealous. He drives a 1986 Mercedes 300SDL. He's the person who got me into audio in the first place.

He as an incredible-sounding system in his car, with the exception of bass. He only has 4" MB Quart speakers installed, running on a PPI amp and a super high-end Nakamichi head unit... the one that's all metal. The detail I hear in his system is just incredible.

He hates loud bass, but he most definitely could use some improvements in the low frequency range. Some of you may know these cars-they have a gas tank right behind the rear seats, and the trunk is relatively sealed from the cabin. Luckily his car is less-sealed than mine, so we will probably get away with 2 8" subs flush-mounted to the rear deck (i.e. "hanging" on the rear deck).

The question is this. For SQ (please ignore SPL, but if an SPL subwoofer also has the best SQ, I'm all ears), which sub and enclosure type would you recommend? I would prefer not to go the infinite baffle route since it's just a ton of work to seal things off properly, but if you guys truly think that's the best SQ setup, I will investigate it. But I don't want to have to build enclosures for his rear speakers to seal those off.

So I'm thinking 2 8's in sealed boxes, hanging from the rear deck.

I also started looking at JL Audio's 6W3v3 drivers, which won't be available until June this year. I probably won't get to this project by then anyway. But the reason I'm looking at these is because it might be cool to install the 8's in the rear, but also bring some smaller subs up into the front of the car in some false floors or something. That will maybe bring some mid-bass to the front to help balance out those 4" speakers in the dash. These little subs only require .18 cubic feet in sealed enclosures. That's mind-boggling to me!! We're talking a 3 3/16" cubic box!

Anyway, please give me your wise guidance.

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

I am biased towards the RL-i8, and I love the 300SDL,

I wanted to do put a 240D tranny in a 300D but did not have the money or enough doner vehicles.

[mrray13 30]

the rl-i8 would be an awesome choice, and only requires a .17ft^3 sealed enclosure.

if money is no object, the 5.25 focal subs would be cherry.

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[///M5 2,833]

Why not put some 8" midbass/sub drivers in his doors IB and forget the subs. I think that would do more than he needs and really sound the best anyway. That way you could have them play up to 300-400hz to blend with the front stage while still providing enough low end grunt for someone who is just into SQ. I'd try the Peerless XLS 8's in the doors

[JimJ 11]

Crystal CMP 8's

[DevilDriver 28]

Why not put some 8" midbass/sub drivers in his doors IB and forget the subs. I think that would do more than he needs and really sound the best anyway. That way you could have them play up to 300-400hz to blend with the front stage while still providing enough low end grunt for someone who is just into SQ. I'd try the Peerless XLS 8's in the doors

It's extremely tough to find the XLS series, but a good alternative is the 830844 from the HDS Exclusive line.

For a sub, I agree that the RL-i or CMP 8's would be a great option.

[Bigpete123 1]

Why not put some 8" midbass/sub drivers in his doors IB and forget the subs. I think that would do more than he needs and really sound the best anyway. That way you could have them play up to 300-400hz to blend with the front stage while still providing enough low end grunt for someone who is just into SQ. I'd try the Peerless XLS 8's in the doors

Definitely true... some designated midbass drivers might be better than sticking small subs in the front. Maybe I'm just lazy, but making another set of door pods is more work than I'm willing to put in on his car! Plus I'd have to do some research on crossovers and his current setup to make sure the frequencies are all correct.

Do you think it might sound funny to have a midbass driver from a different manufacturer than the other speakers? Would that be noticeable?

Even if I did the midbass drivers, I bet he'd still be into getting a moderately-powered subwoofer. Not something that would kick him in the kidneys, but something that would allow him to detect the upright bass in his jazz music. To me, when I think of jazz or classical music and consider a sub accordingly, I keep thinking that we should go with an infinite baffle setup. It's just so much work!

Man, it sucks to learn what good sound quality is like! It is so damn expensive!! :)

I keed I keed. I love this stuff

Edited March 20, 2007 by Bigpete123

[vladd 26]

midbasses by a different company won't hurt you at all. and you could probably go active with the naka head unit :-d

[Acidburn 10]

i <3 my RL-i8s

im also currently in the process of rebuilding my boxes for them to hang from my rear deck just as you say

[///M5 2,833]

I'd see what you could hang in his doors in an IB installation. Way easier to seal off the door than the rear deck and in particular with the midbass any brand that does the job will be fine. Matching acoustic signatures below 500hz isn't nearly as big of a deal. If I had a three way none of the drivers in my car would actually be the same brand. I typed XLS before but the SLS is still available. Not as great of a midbass driver as the XLS, nor does it have the top end of the HDS but it would make quite an impact for just having midbasses instead of a substage.

[Upstage Audio 0]

the Rl-i 8 is hard to beat. I also like the JL 8w7 but its way too expensive for it.