A good subwoofer? Options

[SwissFerdi]

I've been wanting a sub ever since I got my speakers, it's just another upgrade.

My speakers:
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_500SPS17C2/Al...ssi=0&tp=95

Head unit:
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_130DEH2000/Pi...i=0&tp=5684

Now neither are fantastic, but they work excellently for my purposes. In that same trend, I'm not looking for the sub-of-all-subs, just something to fill in the lows. I listen to mostly trance and dance, with some hiphop and rock in between. Basically, I'm looking for a good budget setup, and happened upon this:

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_575P1S412/Roc...ockford+Fosgate

Now my question to you fine folks is if this is at all a good sub. I know RF makes quality subs, but would this fit for my use and application? I don't want anything boomy, just crisp, clean, yet deep bass. And best of all...the sub is 2 for 1, which means I can sell the other to make some money back. I would be pairing the following amp to it, which I believe (this is where I need your expertise) will match just because it can do the required watts at 4 ohms.

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_037A4002V/Aud...si=0&tp=115

Thanks guys. I'll also be calling Crutchfield tomorrow, so don't think I'm just ignorantly asking for your help.

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Dec 1, 2009 - 10:36 PM

[richee3]

You know what? Just my personal opinion.. I've been through several sub setups, and it doesn't take much of a sound system in our cars. I'm currently running a 300 watt Dual amp turned all the way down and a JL Audio 10W0 ($100 FTW) and I absolutely love it. I've had a 1,500 watt amp and a Kicker L5 15" square sub, I've had a few 10" sub setups, and I've had an 800 watt 12" sub setup, and the 10's have been my favorite, hands down. My JL and amp now can be turned up far above what I have them at to make songs like "I'm On A Boat" more fun, but right now I've got it set up where you don't know there's even a sub there, you just know there's more bass than a factory system should be producing. It's docile with rock, kicks only as much as it needs to, but with a song with any bass, it comes alive.

Again, this is just personal preference, but a sub is kinda hard to tune to your system. At first, you get it and you love it, it's tons of fun and all. Then after a while, you notice that all it wants to do is kick, and it's not adding much to the bass line of a song. It takes a little while to get your amp dialed in perfectly so the sub is adding a good bass line without hitting too hard. But it's well worth it.

I will recommend a smaller setup for a Celica. The hatchback design acts like a megaphone and throws all the bass into the cab. A 10 or 12 is well suited for our cars. The sub and amp you linked us to would be just fine. A 12" will be fun for you at first, as it will hit fairly hard and be plenty of fun, yet you are able to turn it down later if you want to. One really big factor in any good sound system is just to match your amp and sub. You want them running about the same RMS. So the amp and sub you've picked are matched well to each other there, even though the amp puts out a lot more power if you bridge it. You won't be able to turn it all the way up without blowing your sub, but you'll be fine.

The box is just as crucial to a good setup as a good sub and amp are. I'm sure you know this already, but there are 2 different types of boxes, ported and sealed. A ported box will get you more volume at the risk of sacrificing tone, where a sealed box will get you more tone. Get a box with the appropriate amount of air for your sub to hit off of. A bigger box will get lower lows from your sub, but a box that is too big means you won't get a whole lot from your sub at all.

Sound systems are easy stuff to learn and plenty of fun. Just because I said earlier that I prefer a smaller sound system in a Celica doesn't mean you can't go all out. I just decided that I liked my hearing a lot more than I liked the bragging rights of having the loudest sound system in 3 counties. Keep me updated on what you get

[azn87]

im running this......
http://signature.crutchfield.com/s_500SWR1...ype+r&ssi=0
with this
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_500MRPM500/Al...e+amp&ssi=0
juss my amp is m-450 the old version of that amp
ported box at 2ohms

everyone who had heard my sub and how it hits, they said it better they what they have


my friend who has an evo vIII with the alping type X and a 1000 watts amp said he rather have my set up.
my other friend who has 2 kickers and a 1000 watts amp said he want to buy my set up but doest have the space for the box.

This post has been edited by azn87: Dec 1, 2009 - 11:49 PM

[SwissFerdi]

So, slightly new setup recommended by Crutchfield. I feel like the amp is cheap, but it'll put out the required RMS for the sub, 150.

Same sub:
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_575P1S412/Roc...ate-P1S412.html

Dual amp:
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_070XPA2500/Dual-XPA2500.html

12" box
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_236BS112S/Bas...mer-BS112S.html

Amp wiring kit, recommended by Mark at Crutchfield:
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_142PA10/EFX-1...Wiring-Kit.html

Speaker wire, for the amp to sub:
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_211UCT12/Stre...eaker-Wire.html

So this seems to be the bottom line for me to put everything in the hatch, 280. Not a bad price at all.

[richee3]

Not bad at all. I have a Dual amp. They aren't the greatest in the world, but I'm not having any problems. $280 isn't a bad price at all. I got my system in my car for $200 flat, but I made my box myself. I say go for it! You can always upgrade later if you need to.

[SwissFerdi]

I was skeptical, but the amp provides 150 watts at 4 ohms if I bridge the channels, and the RMS on the sub is 150...so in theory, it should work.

[richee3]

If the sub is 150 RMS and the amp is 150 RMS, then they are matched perfectly. Do keep in mind that the amp probably won't put out that much in all reality. All the manufacturers like to play up what their stuff will do. But also keep in mind that your sub won't be blown any time soon by that amp. That's a very good thing.

[SwissFerdi]

I guess the manufacturer likes to 'amp' up the output? Oh god, I'm hilarious.

Anyway, anybody else have thoughts/input on this setup?

[richee3]

Oh, my thoughts aren't good enough for you?!?! Lol. Just kidding, man.

[trdproven]

ive tried a lot of setups too, and it doesn't take much too sound good because of our hatch. Hatches are made for sounds. Ive ran, different JLs, Kicker, Resonant Engineering. But the one thing Im waiting for (still being shipped) is my 2000 watt Precision Power's top sub. Again, its easy to get bass in our cars but its different to get bass and hear it from far. like real deep bass.

[SwissFerdi]

Thanks for the input proven.

Kind folks, is this any good?

http://www.amazon.com/Infinity-Basslink-20...7167&sr=8-1

[samir0189]

Thanks for the input proven.

Kind folks, is this any good?

http://www.amazon.com/Infinity-Basslink-20...7167&sr=8-1

that one sucks. whoever recommended it should die.

[freddy121389]

infinity has declined in the rankings for great speakers over the years, i would go jl or alpine

[SwissFerdi]

It's not that I don't trust the brand, I don't trust the all-in-one factor...it just can't be that simple.

How's this wiring kit guys? Recommended by Crutchfield, just want to make sure it's a good buy for the money.

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_142PA10/EFX-1...Wiring-Kit.html

I also noticed that a RF grille was 35 bucks, thought that was a little high...I couldn't find anything as far as a universal cheaper grill goes, is there anything along those lines?

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Dec 12, 2009 - 1:35 PM

[TEAMFaint]

If you want a honest opinion on car audio, I do this for a living, let me know what you listen to mostly,
what your budget is, and we can go from there.

Truthfully, the deck that your using is going to limit how good your system is going to sound.

Get something with a dedicated subwoofer preout and something with better than .5v preouts.

I love my Alpine CDA9887. Best deck I have ever owned and I won`t own anything else.
I would highly recommend picking up a better deck as soon as you can. Pioneer makes great products,
if you enjoy the use of yours, check out the DEHP410UB. 4v preouts and 3 sets. I have owned this deck in
the past as well, however I went with the Alpine because of ease of use.
CDA105L & CDA9886 are two great decks, just with a few less features than the CDA9887.

Someone here recommended the JL Audio W0 subwoofer. Absolutely amazing recommendation.
I have made many set ups with JL Audio and the customers response is always amazing once they hear it.

The great thing about the JL audio product line is it is very power efficient, so you won`t need to spend $500 on an amplifier to run
your one subwoofer. I would highly recommend this subwoofer if you are on a budget and you like deep crisp bass. I would not recommend
puting anything more than 150 watts rms to it however.

Find yourself a nice small JL amp such the JLA1200.
Small amp, with enough power. Great sound quality.

I would hands down recommend going JL in most applications. Unless all you listen to is rap and hip hop. Then grab yourself some Alpine Type R's and a huge amp.
(bye bye budget).




Also, dont cheap out on your power wire.
Don`t run 10 gauge. Run at least 8.
Unless you are running bigger power (500 watts+) then jump to 4.

Check out the Stinger SPEL8 kit.
Runs like candy. Best wire I`ve ever worked with.

[SwissFerdi]

^ Good, that's exactly what I wanted. I usually listen to trance/dance/some hiphop/some rock, but mostly trance. I don't want anything boomy, I just want the lows filled in, and I want it to be clear yet deep.

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_13612W0V24/JL...io+W0&ssi=0

So that one? There's also a 10" for 99.99. As far as my budget goes, there's nothing set, necessarily. This is supposed to be a gift, so the sub is being paid by my dad (I would sell the second sub, since it's two for one, to pay toward the amp and wiring), and the enclosure is coming from my grandma. I don't want my dad to pay more, because then I'll be compelled to put money toward the sub as well and that will cut into what I can spend for other people's gifts...so I'm pretty comfortable with 280. Does the head unit really affect the overall sound that much? That was also a gift, so there's really not much room to upgrade in my budget right now. Is there really a huge difference between that JL model and the RF in the original post? It's just appealing because it's a good deal, really. If anything, I will get 8 gauge wiring, that's the exact advice I was looking for. Thanks man.

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Dec 14, 2009 - 6:54 PM

[trdproven]

For subs, get high end JL, Kicker, Resonant Engineering (RE), JBL, and I donno gonna try it these top of the line precision subs.

[SwissFerdi]

Appreciate the advice, but I'll be sticking with this one. Too good of a deal to pass up. However, I'll be dropping by Wal-Mart tomorrow since Dan got this exact amp there for 50, and wiring for cheaper as well.

[SwissFerdi]

Ordering the RF sub and enclosure tonight, and I'm getting the Dual amp from somewhere else. Bought a 680 watt Scosche amplifier wiring kit for $25 at Wal-Mart today, and also 50 feet of 16 gauge speaker wire for 10. The kit includes:
-16.5 ft 8 gauge power wire with fuse holder
-2.5 ft 8 gauge ground wire
-16 ft. twisted audio cable
-remote turn-on wire

So I assume I should be good as far as wiring goes? Thanks for the patience folks, I realize I'm asking a lot of questions.

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Dec 16, 2009 - 3:31 PM

[SwissFerdi]

NVM...got it done with the help of richee3.

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Dec 28, 2009 - 4:19 PM