If I had the budget, I would have looked for matching Focal speakers. Between the budget constraints I had at the time and wanting to match the speakers, I went with the MTX. I’ve been fairly happy with them, even running off the head unit. As I’m planning on placing the sub behind the driver’s seat, and the small nature of my truck, I’ve been looking more at the 10" subs, particularly the TW1 and TW3 series from JL, as:
from my understanding, JL is one of the better brands
while they may be shadow mount, from my understanding based off reviews, they don’t act like it.
Price and reduced complexity have had me leaning towards the TW1 over the TW3, beyond the smaller volume requirements and reduced forward clearance (doesn’t stick out as far).
Going to an Alpine PDX would also mean increasing the amp budget by about a factor of 3, depending on where you buy. That’s a little much for me.
Gotta remember, it’s going on this old girl. Given the manufacturing date she’s about 20 years off the line, and I haven’t sent her in to be sound treated.
JL is decent, not a sub that takes abuse if you run them to clipping so just be aware but they do sound good. Iirc the Alpine is less money and they tend to be more robust and take a little more abuse. Shallow mount subs sound shallow when you get into that type of sub. Oh maybe a sundown shallow mount or skar shallow mount would work well for you and not cost a ton. Oh and take a look at wiring diagrams. Once you see dual voice coil wiring compared to single voice coil it’s not anymore complicated. I believe Rockford foagate has a great wiring wizard to help you out.
Okay, the Sundown audio isn’t that much cheaper, and has me wondering what the fuck kinda material did they use for the cone… The Skar… idk… it seems either the Walmart cheap price or wants hella power. Even then, the 10" prefab box with the sub for $136 on Amazon is still 600w rms. If I was pushing 75w rms into each channel of the other speakers, that would throw the balance into 33%-67%. Kinda unbalanced.
So balance doesn’t work that way in caraudio. Distances are greater and you have separate speakers for each region of sound. Bass tends to take way more power to make loud because of the physical size and material of the speaker. Motor force and efficiency play into this as well but doesn’t really matter unless you are building and enclosure to a specific frequency.
So I ran the skar vvx 10s back in the day and due to motor design they take power very welland sound good. Same is for the sundown but the sundown is based on their SA sub that is incredibly low distortion so you don’t get that massive kick that you hear instead you feel it. It’s different when you hear it. Another sub to check out is a stereo integrity Mag 12. I had one in my last build that’ll run with the really expensive sq subs but will get rowdy if you want it too.
and even if it’s old stock. It’s still brand new and never been used. Probably.
We also have few Alpine SWR available so in local stores.
If someone really wants one, it possible to have. Just need to “work” bit more than click a amazon/crutchfield shopping cart.
There also few other slim design brands and as we know. Small magnet 10-12" are also available and can be fitted in small/slim shaped boxes.
My favorite slim sub is the stereo integrity bmkm3. If you ever get ahold of one it’s nuts. Gets low, ultra low distortion and doesn’t need tons of power.
Personally i have liked A LOT of Focal car drivers/speakers and subs.
They do sound really good in terms of sound quality with good amps and proper installation and subs also give bit punch when pushed. Even the “budget” line if they have one.
Nothing crazy SPL reading but most would consider it enough. Specially in cabin environment.
Think this is pretty new design from them? Have not seen it before.
Focal Flax Evo P25FSE, 10" sub.
That’s the kinda space you’re working with(this is with the seats pushed all the way forward with the driver seat leaned all the way forward), only right behind the driver’s seat. It’s about enough for a child to sit there, only the side folding jump seat behind the driver’s seat won’t be getting used. If anything the speaker behind the driver’s seat is closest the my ears then the one on the driver’s door.
So speaker W RMS does not in any way equate subwoofer W RMS. Gotcha.
English please.
If we’re going into things outside the budget, please don’t. I’d still like to be able to use the other part of the space in the back of my truck.
Like I’ve stated before, I don’t like the idea of vibrating my truck to pieces with bass, and don’t plan to wake the neighbors or my 3 year old nephew when I come home late. I like a clean, warm sound. Not “let’s liquefy your brains so it comes out your fucking ears” levels while overpowering the rest of the audible spectrum with just bass.
Before we go getting pissy that I’m being hostile, then here’s my question… Why won’t you listen? And please don’t say you are, cause it certainly doesn’t seem like it. At most you seem to take one piece of info and fuck the rest. It’s always interesting to watch people flip shit when I start putting my foot down and suddenly I’m just being mean and hostile, apparently.
So car audio like home audio you are working in a space withe material that either reflect or absorb sound. Your seat will absorb more of the bass than you would think while the speakers that is on the passenger side has a direct path to your ear.
Had a 98 Mazda b3000 Im familiar with the limitations.
Ok so distortion is a funny thing. Most people think it’s the sound of the speaker breaking up or sounding awful. The simplest way I can explain it is that It’s the ability to play sound without the speakers limitations/materials influencing the sound. Have you ever been listening to a sound in a vehicle and thought oh the treble is getting to be to much so you turn it down. That’s the tweeter/mid distorting. No if you have a speaker that has ultra low distortion you won’t get that ear fatigue unless you are listening to seriously loud music. Hope this makes sense.
The mag 12 used to be less expensive than anything JL had. You are paying for a name with the JL subs. I haven’t made any suggestions that will liquefy your brain unless you want it too. Your volume and gain settings are going to be key here and if you are doing the install it’s your responsibility to understand how to tune them to your liking. The reason I give you suggestions that seem like they are louder is that while tuning it’s easier to turn a speaker down than it is to turn up. This method 99% of the time negates any buyers remorse or damage to your speakers.
Definitely not going to flip shit I’m typing this on my phone, making dinner, doing work and drinking beer. I get distracted and don’t always point out or direct what I think is obvious.
Ok so direct method.
The JL will work fine, I think you are over paying for 10s. I also think once you get used to it you’ll want to turn it up more. It’s the Nature of how our brains adjust to sound.
Road noise will play a big role in this as well since the old danger rangers weren’t the most quiet thing to go down the road. You’ll inherently be turning up the volume because of this.
If you have a car audio shop near you definitely go take a listen to what they have, maybe you can get a demo of the sound you are looking for. That’s probably the best advice I can give you. Go experience it before buying if at all possible.
When I build for sound quality I ideally would want to have double the RMS of the speaker available for headroom when I tune. 5 ch amps never have enough power for that but your situation it’ll do just fine. I use a DSP so the headroom is needed as you eq down peaks in the frequency response.
So long story long yes you leave performance on the table with the available power of you amplifier. Will it damage the sub? No not unless you push your amp to clipping.
Did I miss you budget earlier in the thread? What are you looking at for Max spend?
I haven’t set an exact max spend so much as what I feel is more reasonable. Throwing a $1k USD component in a mix where everything else is much cheaper seems l rather unreasonable. Like pairing a 3080ti with a core i3.
I’ve been doing things in stages. First the stereo, then the front speakers, followed by the rears (partiality cause I had to fabricate new mounts out of mdf). It would be kinda hard to do the sub without the amp, so if I don’t do them both at the same time, I’ll probably do the amp next and the sub following. I’d probably rather not go much past $500 US for an amp
low frequency takes more energy because the waves are longer. driver size should not matter. it takes the same energy for a 6 1/2" woofer to produce a 30hz sine wave as it does an 18" driver with the same DB rating. the 6 1/2 just moves a lot more then the 18 to accomplish it. rms is total long term wattage a speaker can handle, i.e. what it tops out at DB wise.
personally, unless your going to treat your car, subs sound like shit in all cars. cars rattle. and you hear that rattle.
you have room back there for dual 10" in a slim cab. point them at the back of your truck, not towards you. you want subs reflecting in cars before they get absorbed by the interior. @Etroze86 is 100% right about seats absorbing bass response. they will eat it up.
do you need to use the back seats ever?
edit: thats the 12" version of that kicker combo i linked. they also make a smaller 10" version. not sure your exact measured room back there.
edit2: and alternately, if you got a couple tool and are handy, diy sub boxes are cheap and easy to make. and drivers are really cheap without the box.
Ok so for shits and giggles you pick up this set from sound cubed for you bass needs.
That leaves a good deal for a 4 ch amp like this.
It’ll be less than a grand, sound great but adds a little complexity.
You have the right idea with the 5 ch amp to keep it simple and in the end you’ll be fine with your selection of gear. I just know there is better for less out there than jl.
At some point, I do plan to, however I just am not at a position to go an extended period of time without my truck.
Yes. Yes I do. I’ve had a passenger in the back seat behind the passenger seat on multiple occasions. Once I’ve secured a tool box for the bed, I’ll have all the tools currently living in the back in the locked box instead of taking up that space.
Edit: the only back seat I don’t plan on using is the one behind the driver’s seat
) of these and enough power should be good.