Subwoofer size

[xc_machine]

Hey, I'm interested in getting a subwoofer/amp for my sedan and want some advice on size.

Iv'e been told that the smaller the size the more "punchier" and quick the bass is, and the larger the cone size, the more slack the bass is. Has anyone had experience with both 10 and 12 inch sub, and notice any difference in quality sound(as a whole)?

I'll be buying Pioneer if that makes any difference.
Thanks

EDIT-

The question is this: Was told that for HT that a 12 inch is a good size as it gives you all the thunder. But for music 10 inch is better. But for all around I was told that 10 inch is still better because the 12 inch size speaker does not recover as fast as the 10 inch and in music it might start to sound muddy. The 10 inch size recovers faster simply because of the size.

I found this, which explauins more.

 

[beaty]

My mate has a 12 inch pioneer sub in his hilux ute! Absolute ripper! Im planning on getting the same sub for my corolla. I also have a 10inch sub at home on my sound system, its heaps good! But i couldnt give a answer for the punchier theory. I personally find the 12inch alot harder hitting, and no complaints about the fast pumping bass.

 

[TheLunchbox]

Depending on how you tune your system!

10 are good for punk rock,

12 is good all rounder good for big bass lines

15 pure bass rnb hip hop slower basslines

I was running a MTX 12 and 500rms amp and it use to shake the windscreen
wipers when playing drum and bass

make sure you get a good amp
IE: MTX,JL,Alpine

 

[brisneyland]

Whilst size may play a small role, it's entirely insignificant when compared to the install. The type, volume and design of the enclosure are way more important.

 

[Ham]

the bigger the sub the lower the frequency response, 12 inch subs are a good allround sub size good lows and good response.

Whilst size may play a small role, it's entirely insignificant when compared to the install. The type, volume and design of the enclosure are way more important.

yeah an enclosure designed for your car is probably the most vital thing in getting the sound you want.

 

[Alec McJo]

Really depends what kind of music you listen to.

Alot of music you don't even need the sub, so you just buy an 8 Inch sub because it fills in the bass and gives the speakers a much deeper sound, which creates an all round better sounding system.

But yes, what kind of music will you be mostly pumping?

 

[Yowie]

Iv'e been told that the smaller the size the more "punchier" and quick the bass is, and the larger the cone size, the more slack the bass is. Has anyone had experience with both 10 and 12 inch sub, and notice any difference in quality sound(as a whole)?

Was true back in the day (pre 2000) but subs are much better now and I regularly see SQ cars running 15's.

My first comp system had a fith order bandpass box/boxes with two tens which sounded ok and made 136DB at AS 2000 Melbourne which was good enough for third place in DB Drag and top ten in SQ. After that I went for two 12's which pumped out 140 and a bit and still sounded good.

Now days I run a single 12 in a sealed box and it keeps me happy, but as someone said before it's the quality of your install that makes all the difference, my first system was a giant killer for under 5G but had hundreads of hours put into it's install.

Here is a dodgy pic from a comp in Frankston circa 99/2000 Damm Lancers and their flimsy doors +2DB held shut.

 

[Black Ice]

Was true back in the day (pre 2000) but subs are much better now and I regularly see SQ cars running 15's.

My first comp system had a fith order bandpass box with two tens which sounded ok and made 136DB at AS 2000 Melbourne which was good enough for third place in DB Drag and top ten in SQ. After that I went for two 12's which pumped out 140 and a bit and still sounded good.

Now days I run a single 12 in a sealed box and it keeps me happy, but as someone said before it's the quality of your install that makes all the difference, my first system was a giant killer for under 5G but had hundreads of hours put into it's install.

Here is a dodgy pic from a comp in Frankston circa 99/2000 Damm Lancers and their flimsy doors +2DB held shut.

Yeah to right mate,

Many people are lead to believe, Big subs = delayed timing. Small subs – punchy with the beat

The main question you should be asking yourself is,

Are you wanting a SPL or a SQ set up?

Either way I wouldn’t limit yourself to pioneer, Bang for buck I could probably recommend the Polk woofers. We sell a heap of them at work and people love them!

Cheers, Oh and nice system Yowie! I should have two RE 15’s going in my new ride!

 

[ajay]

Every time a caraudio thread comes up, I cry thinking about the 2x12" boston Rally's i lete got for peanuts....

Those were the days...


For now i use a 10inch jarcar sub in a sealed 1cubic foot enclosure, powered of a 4x50w jarcar amp, its cheap as chips but SQ:$ ratio is as good as it gets.

It really does depend on what you want to spend as well. For 500bucks you could get a pretty reasonable sound ing sub/amp/wiring setup, and obviously theres no upper limit.

 

[downhillboy]

get one of those bad boys its caled a jackhammer but it will set you back a bit.


http://www.be-loud.ro/data/extra/jackhammer.jpg


http://www.mtx.com/caraudio/products/subwoofers/jackHammer.cfm

 

[MasterOfReality]

I have a Pioneer 10 inch free air sub in my sedan, its bolted on a large carpeted board that is bolted onto the back seat, so when I pull down the centre armrest I expose the sub.

I can't remember the RMS figures cos its been years since I looked at it, but it is just adequate. Its hooked up to a Alpine V12 amp.

When I say adequate, I have to have the bass turned all the way up, and the sub control in the head unit screwed to max to get the bass that I like. I listen to metal.

Then again, everyone has different ears.

 

[Binaural]

the bigger the sub the lower the frequency response, 12 inch subs are a good allround sub size good lows and good response.

yeah an enclosure designed for your car is probably the most vital thing in getting the sound you want.

Correct on both points.

1. Responsiveness (or transient response) of a loudspeaker is heavily dependent on how the driver interacts with the enclosure, and also the size and quality of the voice coil assembly. Nobody with even a fractional knowledge of sound system design will tell you that you can guess how a speaker will sound based on the diameter of the driver. For a car, 12" should have a bass response that will take you down into the noise floor from the road and wind.

2. Larger diameter means lower frequency response, conventionally measured as the cut-off point (-3dB) where the speaker just can't move enough air anymore. This is because at low frequencies the air doesn't provide enough resistance to transmit sound effectively, and this can only be compensated for with a larger driver diameter. However, your electrical power requirements required from your amp go up dramatically the lower you want your cut-off point to be.

Note that in general, larger enclosures will allow you to to get lower cut-off, but do NOT guess this because if you go too big your transient response will go to pieces. Look up Thiele-Small parameters on the internet, you should find all you need to calculate some simple enclosure sizes (some websites even have calculators built into them)

3. Alex McJo also has it right - get enough sub for your needs. Most rock music doesn't have much LF energy relative to hip hop for example.

3.

 

[xc_machine]

I'll be playing hip hop most of the time, so i think the extra bass is nessecary.

Thanks heaps for the reply's.
I'm off to mach 1 tomorrow looking for an amp and sub.