Santa Fe - Caravan subs
 

In my Grand Caravan I had a Pioneer TS-W257D4 10 inch sub in a closed box matched to a MTX TC3001 amp. However, the sub got stolen and although I liked it, it was missing some oumph. So I'm looking at possibly moving the amp into my wife's Santa Fe and would be looking at getting her a new 10 inch sub. Any recommendation for 200-300$ range ? The head unit is to be changed (other post) and the original speakers are going to be phase 3 later on.

Now, I would need to put in new subs and amp in my Grand Caravan. Would 500w or so be alright?

Head unit is a Kenwood KDC-MP728

For now I was looking at the 2 12 inch MTX subs at Future Shop for 150$
I know it doesn't sound sexy but I'm thinking the box alone is almost worth that. Would it be that bad? Could that be matched to a half decent amp and do respectable sound ??? If not, what would you suggest ? Price range would be around 600-700$

if you are looking for more "oumph" you will probly be better with a ported box. because a 300watt in a properly designed box in a caravan should sound alright. Also I wouldnt do a sealed box in a trunk because I think you wont hear a lot of the bass.

Agree - you want more "oumph" move up to a ported box, and a 12" speaker and you'll likely have close to 2x more "oumph" than your closed 10' on the same amp.

If you liked the Pioneer sub, go with a new 12" and put it into a ported enclosure and use the existing MTX amp that you have. It will deliver the results that you need. The Premiere TSW1207D4 and TSW1207D2 subs are on sale right now, 2 for 1 - $120.00 gets you two of them. This would get you a sub for the caravan (the dual 4) and then we can use the dual 2 in your Voyageur and match it up to a mono amp like the MB Quart DCS500.1 for $250.00 or the Bassworx BA500.1 D for $200.00. Easily within budget and will definitely give you the performance that you need.

I like your recommendations folks !
The ported enclosure in the van is a piece of cake, but for the Santa fe, wouldn't a closed box take a whole bunch less room ? Are we comparing the size of a beach cooler versus a big lunch box ?

And is there any difference running a double 4 ohm voice coil with a bridged amplifier or a single 2 ohm voice coil with a mono amp ?

I know I might sound silly but numbers for numbers, I am a strong beliver that 100 watts coming from 5 volts X 20 amps does not equal 20 volts x 5 amp when talking about moving a sub motor.

Mildly over-stated. With most 12" subs, you would be looking at roughly 1 cubic foot sealed and 1.5 - 2.0 cubic feet ported. So in a cubic box design, it would be a upto a beach cooler, or half a beach cooler for the sealed (Or do you have lunch boxes that are half the size of a beach cooler.
Boxes don't have to be a cube shape - you can warp and twist them to fit into odd cracks etc that normally wouldn't be used by cargo.

There is a problem here. (But I'm confused by the information you provided earlier and this question). Most stereo amplifiers (bridged) are not 2 ohm stable in bridged mode. So running a double 4 on a bridged amp will overload the amp, cause heat issues and possibly blow something. You would want a dual 2 to match with the bridged amp.

Where does this bridged amp come from? In your first post I saw you mention an MTX TC3001 - which is a mono amp that is 2 ohm stable (and a good match for the pioneer Dual 4 ohm). I'm not familiar with MB Quart's line, but based on MR2NR's suggestion of a dual 2 on the DSC 500.1 that the amp is 1 ohm stable.

I'm still confused completely by that question because you changed both variables - bridged vs mono; DVC vs SVC - but gave both amps the same final load of 2ohm . . . .

Why do you introduce this to the discussion? Is there something on a spec sheet that concerns you? As for numbers (and the scenario you gave) it can go either way. It all depends on how the amps are built (voltage regulators play a big part). . . either one, depending on the make-up of the internals could produce more than the other . . . but basic power is V x A = W . . . so unless you want to challenge these basics of electronics 100 watts in, is still 100 watts in.

Yah, I guess I was confused about the MTX TC3001. I thought it was a two channels bridges into one.

What I was trying to get to was that I was wondering what setup was preferable between parallelling the two 4 ohm voice coils of the Pioneer to end up at 2 ohm or driving a single 2 ohm voice coil. Does it make a physical difference driving twice as much coil or am I looking way too deep in the weeds.

In practical terms, should I run the MTX/dvc Pioneer combo in the van or the suggested MB Quart/svc Pioneer?

You're looking too deep into the weeds.

There is little difference between a 2 ohm svc, and 4 ohm dvc when it comes to mechanical resistance (ie the weight of the cone etc) - for equal wattage, the two coils will be wound differently, yet the different windings will be very close to equal in the end. For a 500watt SVC, a thicker coil would be required than for a 500watt DVC because in the DVC each coil is only rated for 250. In the end, the difference is minimal to none (if there is a difference it would not be noticeable to the human ear)

Electrically there is no difference at all. The amp will see a 2ohm load either, and the amp doesn' know how may coils it is pushing, just the final load.

back to basic electronics - back to basic electronics.

If I could I would kick my own butt.