Before you buy subwoofers or amps read this if your a noob to audio

[PlatinumTracks]

Decided to do a write up once I kinda explained it to someone else.
Hope it helps somebody.

Ima try and be less technical as I can so any idoit can understand.
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Never buy something because of its max or peak Watts....!!!!!!

ALWAYS CHECK THE RMS VALUE!!!!!

So if something is 1000w peak power but only 300 rms then they are truly 300w speakers......

Peak power is the point where the sub can safely handle a sudden burst of power and not blow out... while RMS is its continuous power...

This would be an example of peak watts

And this is an example of RMS

Sound from your speakers is about it moving the air around it. Bass notes are long wave lengths so your subs need to move in and out a bigger distance compared to other speakers.... this is why tweeters are so small because high freq. are short and fast. If you look at the examples above you will see that the 1st one is of a lower freq. than the 2nd one.

So the bigger the Sub equals the more sound. So it is better to go larger than more powerful.......
Now we are talking budget wise.

Ways to tell a shitty sub from a good one....

You can tell right off the back visually without even looking at the stats if the sub is any good....

Look at the width of foam edge around the speaker cone. This shows you how much slack the cone has when moving. So the more slack equals the more power because more movement...

Look at the coil or the butt of the speaker. For sub larger coil mean more power.


So don't get scammed into believing View Sonics and Lower model Kickers will do you any justice.

A GOOD SUB

A SHITY SUB

 

[Pernilongo]

The width of the surround isnt really an indication of long stroke or anything pretty much. And the designs are so different. x-max is determined by a voice coil not a surround.
Whats a view sonic subwoofer? is it some kind of cross between alphasonic and visonik? view sonic makes computer monitors.

 

[Sside]

The width of the surround isnt really an indication of long stroke or anything pretty much. And the designs are so different.

x2

 

[Sside]

And wait a minute...just hold on a second....... A kicker comp is by no means a bad subwoofer... If anything its one of the best budget subwoofers out there.... Yes its the bottom line Kicker sub but it still bumps hard for the money... There is an endles list of subwoofers that cost the same and perform alot worst..... There are also subwoofers around the same price that perform better... Still the Kicker Comp is not a bad subwoofer if anything a good one...


So you are saying this Pioneer

Will sound better then a memphis pr

Just because the back is bigger? Those two subwoofers are not even close to sounding the same....

 

[Poodles]

:: facepalm :: @ bigger = better

 

[Pernilongo]

Just because the back is bigger?

I think its the butt , subwoofers have butts apparently.

 

[supra1008]

Yea I have the kicker c10 and it has deep bass. and is also pretty loud. I like it. So I don't know what you're talking about.

 

[toyo4life]

The OP is an idiot or at least expressed himself as such. Every sub has its purpose. Take the two pics he posted, At the same amp wattage the kicker will out perform the pioneer. Most cars don't have the electrical system to power the type of amp it would take to see the advantages of the pioneer. Then there's the cost, if space is not at a premium mutiples of a "lighter or cheaper" woofer will tend to out preform big, heavy, high power woofers. I once built a class winning SPL car with a 800 watt amp and 12 $30 15"s. Like I said every sub has its purpose.

 

[BoostJunkie]

The only statement that the OP said that means a damn is....

ALWAYS CHECK THE RMS VALUE!!!!!

So if something is 1000w peak power but only 300 rms then they are truly 300w speakers......

Peak power is the point where the sub can safely handle a sudden burst of power and not blow out... while RMS is its continuous power...



I have a pair of Kicker C10 and they sound great. Even a "shitty" sub can sound good with the proper amp and tune.

 

[Sside]

Ok, the reason these threads dont do the Noobs much good is because you cant put down how to buy subwoofers in a few senteces... It all comes down to what the person wants to do. A subwoofer setup has to be planned out and have a little thought put in to it in order for it to actually work. There are different kind of subwoofers for different applications/amps.... Subwoofers also have a specifications for the enclosure they will be in..... This comes down to what kind of enclosure will you be using.... Enclosures are also a part of the set-up and when not chosen correctly your set up will suffer and underperform..... Then after all of this, it comes down to the amp again wich is prob the best place to begin with.... Different amps for different applications... Best thing I could advice a noob is to do some research on all of these things... single voice coil subwoofer vs dual.... Types of enclosures..... Types of amps..... The different ways to wire a dual voice coil and so on this could go on for pages..... Guys, look at the rms and think a little..... If I see a Memphis Pr at 300 rms then that actually makes sense prior to a Sony Sub at 1200 Peak and 600 rms or w/e it is.... Research brands, the good brands actually have lower rms but true watts if not alot closer to the number they slap on the box.. Same for amps...... If you want hard hitting bass a mono block 1ohm stable amp is a no brainer.... Do research..... then bang.....

 

[PlatinumTracks]

I understand and know most of what you all are talking about this was ment to be a non- technical of buying a sub if you know nothing about audio you can follow these basic guidelines and not get rip off nothing more nothing less...

 

[PlatinumTracks]

Whats a view sonic subwoofer? is it some kind of cross between alphasonic and visonik?

Yeah I ment visonik....

I havent seen em in a while for i sort of forgot their name...

Just know they blew out with in 5mins of fresh out the box use....

 

[TheAmazingDave]

I use a Kicker zr600 (under-rated, puts out ~800 watts RMS) on a 12" Solo Baric L5.

It really F'ing knocks. Thinking about moving to an L7, tho, since the L5 gets smelly with constant deep bass...

 

[TheAmazingDave]

lol @ whoever gave me a bad rating for that post, lamer.

 

[PlatinumTracks]

I use a Kicker zr600 (under-rated, puts out ~800 watts RMS) on a 12" Solo Baric L5.

It really F'ing knocks. Thinking about moving to an L7, tho, since the L5 gets smelly with constant deep bass...

I didnt mean all kickers are bad.....

my personal exp. with the COMP sucks...

 

[thedave925]

PlatinumTracks,
please continue along with the info a noob should read before making a purchase.

Realize that not everyone needs a setup beyond what is required to overcome road noise with the windows down, and that the path usually starts with adding a small sub to a gutless stock stereo setup.

How about starting with your setup.
-Why did you pick it?
-How did you graduate and evolve up to your current setup?
-Pics for visual examples of a good install?

 

[Pernilongo]

lol @ whoever gave me a bad rating for that post, lamer.

hah i got one too. i think its the OP getting upset

 

[Sside]

hah i got one too. i think its the OP getting upset

I got two... no wait 3...... Does this mean I'm that good....

 

[TheAmazingDave]

I didnt mean all kickers are bad.....

my personal exp. with the COMP sucks...

I was just posting my setup that sounds good and has been working great for several years now.

I bought the S.B. L5 because it had a high RMS power rating at 600 watts.

I bought the zr600 (RMS rated) because I thought it would be an excellent match. As it turns out, Kicker rates the amp at 12 volts input, and many users including myself find that the amps put out much more power above 12 volts than advertised, as the amp gets about 14 volts with the engine running.

So the poor L5 is being overpowered and starts to overheat when I let it beat, thus the reference to it being smelly.

Just trying to share some advice and I get a bad rating... nice...

 

[MarkIII4Me]

As previoulsy mentioned several times in earlier posts, you can't judge a book by its cover. Subs for instance can use different magnets. One with Neodymium magnets will have a much smaller basket then one that doesn't. And Neodymium magnets are very powerful. The OP mentioned looking at the voicecoil, however, voicecoils are rarely exposed. Some subs use foam surrounds, others use rubber. The only benefit to rubber over foam is durability. As far as sound goes, many still argue that foam surrounds have the edge, and many of the highest-end subs and speaker use them. You can't tell how good a sub is just by the materials used. The best way to get a good system on the cheap is to DO YOUR RESEARCH.

I used to be real big into car audio years back and from experience I can tell you that the best bang for the buck is in "old school" equipment. Many companies that are considered "so so" quality today were made with extremely high-end components back in the day. If you know what to look for you can snag an incredible sounding system off of ebay or audio forums for little $$$. Especially amplifiers.


I'm talking back in the day when US car audio manufacturers built their products in the USA. Before they offloaded manufacturing to China and began implementing low-end components. Before companies went belly-up and were pieced apart just for the use of their names.

Old Rockford punch amps, Gen VII or older hifonics, PPI Art Series, AudioArt, Harman Kardon, Soundstream reference, Coustic DR, US Amps, MTX Terminator (identical boards as PPI Art), Old Orion HCCA, ADS (PPI and Orions parent company), Blade, and many others are wonderfully powerful and well-built amplifiers. Many of who's internals were all manufactured by the same company (ZED Audio) at one time.

All of these amps were highly underrated (output wise) to give competitors an edge in their wattage class. I know my AudioArt HC100 is rated at 1100w RMS but actual output is 1398w rms.

Not all classic equipment is cheap however. Some equipment still has a following such as Alpine 7909 decks or Nakamichi CD700's; which sell for as much now as they did 20 years ago. But other great decks like the Eclipse 5303R can be found frequently for under $100 and sound great. I've even seen Rockford RFX-8250‎ decks (rebadge Denon R1) for under $300. These decks were $1200 back in the day and the Denon R1 was something like $2000+.

Speakers and subs can be had for cheap as well, but I'm a little weary of buying them used. Very few people ever break them in properly and they were mostly likely overdriven or underdriven (worse in my opinion) at some point in their lives. I did snag a unopened box of the original british made black cone Kef Uni-Q coaxials which are arguably the best sounding ever made (still have them on a shelf ).

The point being if you do your research on old school audio there are deals to be had.

I don't believe any car audio equipment I currently own is less than 10 years old and I'd put it up against anything you can find manufactured today.