Comments on: How to Choose Subwoofers for Your Car Stereo

on 10/13/2008 thank you

on 3/14/2008 Thanks!

on 10/30/2007 will -25 coldness damage your speaker

on 9/15/2007 i have 2 12' kenwoods and i have an ingosian(sp) amp that powers 1000 watss and at 4 ohms 150rms. the slaesperson told me that this this amp is good for my subs but i wont push as much as it needs. and when i hooked it up the subs didnt sound that pwoerful at all. im wonder or can someone tell me wat amp i sould get. my subs are 4ohms and can handle 400 rms. so ya i want to get a better amp but idk how to choose one. can someone hlep me?

thank you.
CJ

on 8/8/2007 Make sure to pick the right amplifier that the subwoofer can handle. I really like kicker subwoofers systems that i have bought from sonicelectronix.com

on 4/16/2007 Look for specially-designed box and speaker combos. My personal favourite is the "Dual Bandpass" box. Basically, two woofers face each other at a slight angle, creating a sealed "pressure zone". The bass is ported from behind the speakers. Great low-bass response but beware; this is a specialist sub-woofer which kicks out thunderous bass notes but you will need something to fill in the upper end of the bass. Most 6x9s will easily do this, as will most component speaker systems. Single band pass boxes work in the same way, but in a one-sided fashion.

Another tip is to use a "Line Driver". Your amp is restricted in its output by 2 things; the gain (how many times they multiply the input signal) and the thermal load (things getting too hot). A line driver multiplies the input signal from a usual 1V to 2V or 4V. This can, if your amp is well ventilated, double the power output. Some line drivers come with a remote to vary the input voltage and therefore output volume. Many sound processors like active crossovers and graphic equalizers can act as line drivers.

on 12/18/2006 Prices (Price Matching) - If you are going to buy from a store and not online, find the best prices each store has to offer. Once you know the lowest price you can get, consider which store you can get special discounts from, Ex. Best Buy Reward Zone members get 12% off coupons in the mail and email. Most stores will "Price Match" another store and then you will be able to use the discount on top of the lower price. Ex. I am a reward zone member at best buy. I get a coupon in my mail and email that I can use only at best buy. I want to buy a subwoofer. I find the lowest price from other stores and compare it to best buy's price. Circuit City has the same subwoofer but for less. I take the ad form circuit city and go to best buy to price match it there and get a 12% discount as well. The problem with price matching is that it has to be verified and you cannot price match online offers. Also, the price after rebates cannot be price matched. I hope this helps any one who is trying to save some money. P.S. Reward Zone Membership at Best Buy is FREE now and is very well worth it.
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on 8/8/2006 Don't forget to change all your speakers if your installing big bass. All bass and no words sounds terrible. My mate has 400 watt bass and 2 x 45 watt door speakers...it sounds terrible!

on 3/21/2006 If the sub is ugly, like say something from Image Dynamics, it probably means it doesn't perform all that well. You should look for things like chrome and flames. Audiobahn has some of the best subs ever created.

on 3/21/2006 If you ain't hitting 195+, you ain't doing jack! I have 1-10" pyle sub in my car powered by a 200wx3 Rockwood amp and it's hitting 198.4Db.

on 2/10/2006 This is common. When purchasing a speaker/subwoofer, you should listen to your ears, not the salesman. They only want your money, and sometimes expensive is not always better. Take a listen yourself, and bring some of your own music to listen to. That way, you can judge what sounds good with what you listen to. Also, don't just look at one store. If you are able to, look at many different stores and get prices to compare. One store may be relatively cheaper than the last.

on 1/23/2006 RMS power is always better than peak power. RMS power is what a subwoofer or amplifier can play constantly without burning up or distorting. Peak power is what a subwoofer or amplifier can play for a brief musical burst. Never go by peak power. I don't care what kind of speaker or amplifier your buying. In my experience I bought a 760 watt peak power amp for $150 and two 1100 watt peak power 12" subs for about the same price. Now the problem with that was I was going by peak power instead of RMS power. Turns out 760 watts peak power was only 380 watts RMS and 1100 watts peak power was only 350 watts RMS. Peak power is only a marketing tool to get you to buy something. Now that we've got that out of the way, when you go to buy your amp and subs using RMS instead of peak power a good rule of thumb is to get an amp which will match at least 75% of your subwoofers RMS power rating. Hope this was helpful to anyone considering buying a system.

on 11/22/2005 Many people think that if I have three to four twelves that the bass will be better. That might be true to a certain degree, but its not. Yes it will be louder and more carrying but its easier to distort the sound in your car or truck. Two twelves is the most recommended for sound quality in your vehicle. Of course the type of enclosure, type of amp and how it is wired matters, but it depends all on the sound you're looking for. When it comes to size, the bigger the sub, the deeper the bass, but the bigger the sub, the slower your bass responses are. If you like for your bass to be heard more outside of your vehicle than inside then I would recommend 15's and up. If you're looking for your bass to be more inside your vehicle, I would recommend 8's, 10's, and 12's(depending on the box its in and the amp pushing it).

on 11/22/2005 If you have loud bass and can't hear the words, that's where tweeters come in. The tweeters give that nice, crisp, "CLAP" sound so you can actually hear the words while having the feel of the bass.

on 11/22/2005 Another option for smaller spaces are Bass Tubes by Bazooka. These come in 3 sizes (6.5, 8, 10 inch woofers). You can get them with a built in amplifier or get a passive version so you can add your own amp. I have the 6.5 inch 200 watt RMS amplified bass tube. Here are some things I learned:

1. Fuses are your friend! They may be annoying sometimes, but save your butt in the end.
2. Don't always go for the bigger woofer or more wattage and make sure you compare RMS wattage, not peak wattage. Peak wattage is the most the woofer can output under conditions that will never happen in real life (like a solid tone for half a second). Smaller woofers have a really really fast response time and if you port them right you can get them to resonate for deep bass too. It is harder, but worth it.
3. Wattage is just how loud it can get, it is nothing about quality. However, if you woofer isn't getting enough power then it will sound bad. Too much wattage will overpower the rest of the system (which might be what you want), but it is nice to hear the words once and a while.

So over all it is the whole package that matters. Get one that works for your system. The 6.5 inch sub with a built in 200 Watt amp from bazooka worked for me. It is more than loud enough, and gets really deep for a 6.5 and compares to many 12 inches. This is because Bazooka knows its speakers and made the tube just right. Its response time is unbelievable. I hear bass notes that I never knew were there because my friends 12 inch sub wouldn't be able to recover to play them. But most of all it is small. I was able to fit in in the spare tire compartment under my trunk without removing my spare tire!