Hey all,
Well I think I've decided to go with a new sub and amp system. Background info: I have an Oldsmobile Intrigue.

My current system is - 2 10" Kenwood subs and 600W Kewood amp in a fiberglass spare tire enclosure. Which sounds alright, but I'd like something that hits harder, with less rattles.

This is the system I'm thinking of is - either 1 12" or 2 12" subs (brand tbd) and an appropriate amp (brand tbd, and output tbd). The subs will go in a wooden box made from 3/4" mdf, and the amp will go in the spare tire well.

So before I do anything I'd like to hear everyone's opinions, and ideas; pictures wouldn't hurt either. So here's a few questions for ya:

1. Subs mounted basket out or cone out? Is there any advantage either way?

2. Subs/box installed facing towards front of vehicle or rear of vehicle?

3. 1 12" or 2 12" subs? And how big of an amp?

4. Which brand? I'm not entering any SPL's but, I'd like to have a pretty hard hitting system.

5. Is Audiobahn any good? I love the looks of their products, and it fits with the theme of my car. On the weekend I was looking at their Eternal subs = sweet!

6. Will I need a capacitor?

Thanks guys, I really appreciate and respect everyone's opinions and experiences here, and that is why I'm posting the questions.
So please don't just tell me to search or go read a book.

Also I don't have a crazy budget, I'd like to keep it reasonably priced.

Thanks, and Happy Holidays!

Aaron - NVES

1. Inverting subs (mounting them magnet out) does two things. 1, it shows off the "bling" of the driver's motor structure. 2, you don't need to account for speaker displacement in box design. The only thing to remember is that by invert mounting them you will need to reverse the phase of the drivers (connect the positive of the amp to the negative of the driver, and neg of amp to pos of driver). This is because when the driver is inverted, it moves in the opposite direction as a normal mount. By reversing polarities you will keep the subs in phase with the rest of the speakers in the car reducing cancellation.

2. Most people (myself include) find you will get the loudest bass from facing subs to the back. This has to do with wave cancellation and wave reflection . . . I'll leave it at that for now.

3. If you want SPL 2 is always better than 1 (but there are subs out there that if you get 1 12" can kill most other pairs of subs - but if you get 2 of those 12" it is even more powerful). This all depends on your price point, and room you have. Amp power can be decided after you have you speaker(s) selected. That way you can by an amp that will match your final driver load.

4. Brand depends on how much you want to pay. For Amps, MTX is great bang for the buck (but I am not a fan of their subs) but you could also drop a lot more cash and get some high-end stuff.

5. Audiobahn . . . personally, they are a lot of "bling" with an average amount of go. Their speakers like big boxes so if you have the room perhaps.

6. Caps - this is an area of debate. I am a person that says, if all of your wiring is up to snuff (including the big three under the hood), your alternator is powerful enough, and you have a quality battery that you will not need a cap. A cap is nice for SQ systems keeping power stable. Some agree 100% with me others will say "no-way! A cap is necessary." My advice, don't get one. install the whole system give it a listen. If you think it needs more "giddy-up" try a cap and see if it helps (I doubt it will).

Let us know what the budget is so we can suggest some reasonable stuff for you.

^^^^^^Agreed, although with a few comments.

1. The third difference between mounting subs inverted is that you can sometimes hear the noise of air with a vented motor structure. However since you are running this in a trunk car you won't hear it.

3. Two subs is not always better than one for spl. As soon as you add more drivers you add the chance of more cancellation. I would recommend a quality single 12 or 15" driver capable of handling ~1000-1500rms in a ported enclosure and an appropriate sized amp and you will have all you need plus some trunk space and cash left over.

^ I don't think you are going to have cancellations between subbass drivers next to each other... however, the direction they fire and the space the box occupies can cause differences in pressure loading.... as maltese pointed out you usually get the best results with the subs firing to the rear of the vehicle...

My preference is the subs firing into the vehicle from the trunk with the front baffle sealed off... that is more work though, especially if your seats dont fold down.. lol..

What is your budget ? two 12's ported sounds good to me... what subs/amp will depend on how much coin you want to drop...

[ December 15, 2004, 03:54 PM: Message edited by: Haunz ]

Thanks for the responses guys. I know that I'm asking a lot of 'newb' questions; but I just want to ensure that I build a good system, as my first attempt was alright, but not where I wanted it to be. Most likely from a poor enclosure and my first attempt with fiberglass.

As I mentioned above Audiobahn's Eternal Subs look amazing and fit with the theme of my car. Plus I've seen them on ebay - 2 subs for less than $400 cdn; I've also seen amps from them for about $500 cdn.

So I guess my budget would be $800 - $1,000; although lower is better. What are my options? Would my Kenwood amp be able to drive my future subs?

And for the record I'm NOT entering any competitions, I just want some hard hitting bass.

I'd use the kenwood for a front stage.. I don't know the ebay subs/amps you are looking at, but I think you can find better then Abahn...

check out the 4sale section on this site man !

Alright, so you like Audiobahn for the look? Let us know what is it in particular you like about the look, so we can suggest other good-looking subs that are of better quality.

Personally, I think Kicker L7's are really good looking and they perform very well . . . but they may be out of your budget range to buy an amp and speaker.

Yes I like Audiobahn for the look - its the chrome and flames. I have a blue / chrome flame theme going.

I'm not going for an all out show car, but I will be entering a few shows (not for SPL). So I would like my system to look good, but it must first work good.
It's all about the go, with a little show!

So please suggest options for 1 or 2 subs with an amp within a budget of $800 - $1,000.

Thanks guys I really appreciate your help.

Blue, and chrome you can find elsewhere, but the third element of flames is solely audiobahn. Be sure to listen to Audiobahn before you dive in. Make sure you like the way it sounds, not just the way it looks.

I would still go with Kicker nice silver, blue combo http://www.mr2guydistribution.com/au...l72-2004-2.jpg
Then add the grill and paint the grill to match the blue . . . not quite flames, but mighty fine looking.
http://i1.sell.com/0/153/7293/5/224/355439-m.jpg

[ December 16, 2004, 12:29 PM: Message edited by: maltesechicken ]

What other options would you guys suggest?