sub and amp opinons

[TurboKA37]

hey guys im trying to build a light quality system that wont be too expensive. right now my plans are to use a 10W3 V2 using the rear quarterpanel/fender as the sub enclosure to save weight. im having trouble deciding a amp for the sub because i dont know how many watts the sub will actually be recieving compaired to the amp manufactuer's claims because i dont know if they are talking about rms or max and whether the amp actually sends that much power when i dont have the volume all the way up etc. i was looking at the Alpine Mono amps such as this one:http://www.crutchfield.com/S-9...DM501im not sure if they are any good but the stats looked appealing. also i was thinking about running the dual 4 ohm voice coil version of the 10W3 V2 bridged at 2 ohms. my questions:1. would the 10W3 V2 be suitable for my needs? (good quality and durability?)2. if i do end u using this sub, how powerful of an amp do i need to power it? (i no the sub recommends 300 rms but do i need a more powerful amp to acheive the 300 watts rms?3. is there anywhere i can find dynamat or similar brands or dynamat for cheaper than i can get it at pep boys?.thanks for the help and feel free to suggest personal favorite subs and amps.

[Rex]

Here's a couple threads that discuss a small amp/sub set up.

FirstSecond, more of an amp discussionThird, general discussionFourth, more ampFifth, Amp & subSixth, 5 channel discussionSeventh, Sub discussionEighth, some enclosure talk

[Rex]

Oh, to answer your question,

1) Is that an Alpine sub? if so, probably good, but not on the bargain side of things.2) A good "honest" 300 watt amp should do the trick, but expect to pay close to $400 for something like that.3) Here's some dynamat alternates

[TurboKA37]

no, the 10W3 V2 is made by JL audio. thanks for all the help. im gonna have to look at that stuff tomarrow when i have time.

[Rex]

Doh!?! on me. I saw the V2 and thought Alpine, should have paid more attention to the "W3" part.

JL Audio is good stuff, just make sure you're getting a good price, as you can get a close to comparable sub for much less if you shop around.

Also, given what you're trying to accomlish, figure out what box you can make to fit the location you want to put it in and then find a sub that will perform well in that volume of space/size box. That will be better than a good/great sub in the wrong size box.

[TurboKA37]

heres a cardomain page showing what i want to do for the enclosure:http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/526842/8and heres a link explaining the process:http://www.240sx.org/links/ins....htmlThe overall volume of the fender area is .75 CF from what the guy says in the install link and that is about perfect for the 10W3. what other comparable subs were u thinking of? i was thinking about getting the W3 off ebay for about $125 not including shipping which isnt too bad.

[Rex]

Well, if the spec sheet says the min sealed is .75 or less, you're in good shape, but few 10's that I know of work in that small of a box.

I was thinking something along the lines of a Kicker Solo-baric L7 or L5. They're square subs, so that might not fit?? Now I'm pretty sure someone will tell you the effeciency of the Solo-barics are shamefully low, but don't be scared by that.

I'm trying to remember the name of a sub that was design for SUPER small locations, but can't recall it now.

Also, there's a guy (Scott B-somethinganother) that did the same thing and he had a national award winning system. There was a thread about his system, I'll try to find it.

[ayjay]

Well, if the spec sheet says the min sealed is .75 or less, you're in good shape, but few 10's that I know of work in that small of a box.

I'm trying to remember the name of a sub that was design for SUPER small locations, but can't recall it now.

Elemental Designs? that's prolly what you were thinkin of Rex... go to http://www.edesignaudio.com/13kv2_overview.htm ... awesome sub for great price, these subs are known for awesome sound quality.

[TurboKA37]

im not sure how well a square shaped sub would fit, the hole going into the fender area is kind of odd shaped. .75 cF should be about perfect for a 10W3 considering JL recommends .6-.9cf in seal boxes. As far as the elemental designs subs go, they look amazing for the price but unfortunatley i dont think they will work. the 13" sub wont fit considering the mounting hole diameter has to be 11" (from the measurements i have made, about 9.5" is about as big of a mounting diameter that will fit) if i went down to the 11" elemental designs sub it would fit but i dont know how well it would work considering the maximum sealed enclsure recommendation is .6cF and ill be running larger than that. thats a shame tho cuz those subs look to be pretty good for the money and what im looking for. btw, thnx for the help guys

[Rex]

Admitedly, I didn't read the details about building the enclosure, but does the volume calculation take the sub structure/mass into account. To clarify, is the empy bow .75, if so, then once you put the sub in the enclosure you'll effectively have a smaller amount of volume as the sub's structure consumes some of the "volume".

I think the Elemental Designs are worth looking into more.

FYI, subs in small tight sealed enclosures with clean high power (correctly crossed over) amps perform really well.

[audtatious]

You can "fake out" a sub into thinking the enclosue is larger by using polyester fiberfill.

http://www.win.net/audtatious/audio/fiber.html

[Silvia2b]

I really like the Alpine amps, good quality high power. Also High on the price. I can't say much for JL, i don't work with them to often. Many of today's best sub manufactures will work in as small as .66cu ft internal not including the volume of the sub assy itself. but if you build an enclosure that small you better have a lot of power and hope for best. It will generally sound better if you error on the slightly large enclosure than on the right power rating for sub vs. amp rating.

[twofortyesecks]

Don't know if this will help but I had an Image Dynamic 12" sub and that thing sounded great. Not super loud but very clear. They are designed to be in a tiny enclosure. Also they start pretty cheep. Check them out. I was running it with an Arc Audio 2050 amp (low power but it still hit way harder than I needed). This setup sounded good enough to get my car stolen.

[TurboKA37]

thanks for the advice, ill check out image dynamics. is a .75cF sealed enclosure really that small for a 10"? most subs ive been looking at recommend between .5-1cF. anyways, i went out and got some 3/4" MDF over the weekend and ill be working on the baffle board tomarrow during school. havent bought any of the audio components yet but ive got a pretty good idea of what im getting.

[twofortyesecks]

I was just on the image dynamics web site the IDQ 10" is something like a .25cF. - .50cF. I'm going to be buying another one pretty soon here myself.

[TurboKA37]

so a sealed enclosure of .75CF wouldnt sound too great with that sub? also, where are u guys buying the image dynamic subs? i looked on ebay but they didnt have a great selection

[twofortyesecks]

I'd go to their site imagedynamicsusa.com and find a dealer near you. Be sure to listen before you buy anything. I've bought stuff which I was told is good off eBay then got it and wasn't happy. Go to all the stereo shops and listen until you like something. In my experience most stereo guys tell you that what ever they can make the most money on sounds the best.