subwoofers sounds weak
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Senior User
Joined: Oct 2006
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From: youngstown, ohio
subwoofers sounds weak
hey all, i have a few questions on the system in my 99 f-250 standard cab. first of all i installed a few systems in my life so im not a beginner. but...i year ago i bought a lanzer 4000 watt 2 channel amp and wired it to my kicker comps 12" dual voice coil subs. this amp is has quite a bit of power, more than any of my other amps. i believe i have them wired correctly to the amp also. i just imagined it hitting so much harder than it does. the kicker subs i have are rated at 400 rms and their in shallow behind the seat truck boxes(which im kinda limited too). i mean the subs do push some air, and everything works fine, i just thought they would have more ***** than this. you think if i upgraded to something above a 400rms range, it would sound better. the subs seems to get distorted when its cranked up, like maybe theirs too much power goin to them. the amp is rated at 2x1650w at 2 ohm rms. i wish i had more space to build bigger boxes but its a standard cab pickup.
Elder User
Joined: Jan 2004
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From: Rio Linda, Ca
A couple things I would look at.
1st at what ohm load do you have the subs?
Is one out of phase from the other?
Is the box big enough for the subs?
Distortion can be from not enough power or from the subs bottoming out from being pushed to hard.
I'm going to say if the rest is ok that it is the box. A bad box can make even the most expensive gear sound bad.
1st at what ohm load do you have the subs?
Is one out of phase from the other?
Is the box big enough for the subs?
Distortion can be from not enough power or from the subs bottoming out from being pushed to hard.
I'm going to say if the rest is ok that it is the box. A bad box can make even the most expensive gear sound bad.
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Senior User
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From: youngstown, ohio
the sames are dual 4 ohm subs. i have them wired each like this inside the box...pos to pos then out to the outside of the box and then neg to neg and out to the outside of the box. then each sub is on one channel of the amp. is presenting a 2 ohm load to each channel i beilive. i've tried other ways but the amp runs too hot but this way the amp stays cool, so i know im not over working the amp. the subs are in phase with each other, hit at the same beat. each one of the subs are in seperate boxes. i didnt make the boxes, they were in there when i bought them and so were the subs. this is my first time dealing with dual voice coil subs. the boxes have a port on the top also. they seem small but i have limited space. i love music and i did my best at buying polk and infinity speakers from the factory ones and i have an amp to them also. the highs sound nice, im just disappointed in the subs
Elder User
Joined: Jan 2004
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From: Rio Linda, Ca
Ahhh A ported box.
Now were getting somewhere.
They have them set for these boxes.
» sealed box volume: 1.0-4.6 cu. ft.
» ported box volume: 1.75-2.25 cu. ft
Now for the port, If the box is with range for the sub then we can play with the tunning some.
If it's short on the lowend you can make the port longer, or if it's too low then you can raise the tunning by cutting of about an inch and test until you get it where you need.
If the box is too small, you will have a short range of what sounds good. It will sound flat and weak outside of it's tunning range.
If it's too big then it will be boomy and have little to no control and will bottom out quickly.
Ported boxes are great for undersized amps as it takes less power to get the desired boom then that of a sealed box.
Now were getting somewhere.
They have them set for these boxes.
» sealed box volume: 1.0-4.6 cu. ft.
» ported box volume: 1.75-2.25 cu. ft
Now for the port, If the box is with range for the sub then we can play with the tunning some.
If it's short on the lowend you can make the port longer, or if it's too low then you can raise the tunning by cutting of about an inch and test until you get it where you need.
If the box is too small, you will have a short range of what sounds good. It will sound flat and weak outside of it's tunning range.
If it's too big then it will be boomy and have little to no control and will bottom out quickly.
Ported boxes are great for undersized amps as it takes less power to get the desired boom then that of a sealed box.
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Senior User
Joined: Oct 2006
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From: youngstown, ohio
so your thinking its the boxes and not the subs?? and your saying its better to have a ported box than non ported box? what if i made one box that fits both subs? or just buy new subs
Elder User
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 763
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From: Rio Linda, Ca
Either ported or sealed.
Sealed will take up less space and you will be able to give the subs more power.
Ported is a bigger box the requires working with the port to get it right. You also have a better chance blowing the subs with more power
Speaker Enclosure Volume Calculator
Section 110 cover some basic box design calcs.
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Elder User
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From: Rio Linda, Ca
The box can really make or break a system. If it's too small, which it sounds like then it will have a short bell curve.
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I put a couple of kicker 15's in a reg cab f150 back in the 90's with a linear power 2202 amp bridged on the woofers and at first it was not that loud.. the box was 5 cubic feet, the guy that owned truck was small and the seat was all the was out, anyway the problem really turned out to be that it was a basic truck, no carpet , headliner etc, and the truck was rattling like crazy , we put some dynamat on the floor and actually bought a peice of foam 4 inches thick that we put between the box and the back of the cab and bolted throught the box to the back of the cab with 3/8 bolts and and pulled that box down tight against the back of the truck to where the foam was maybe an inch thick... it was a NIGHT AND DAY difference, before it was like the sound waves were just bouncing off of everything and after they were coming through loud and clear, the truck actually did a 136 on the dash with the meter... not bad for only 500 watts of real power not like these amps today that put on thousands of fantasy land watts.. my point is the box was right and had a "real" amp but still needed some sound deadening to help the truck out..
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