canuckerjay

Hi everybody:

Okay, I'm not an expert, and I'm here to learn. I havent' been really into car audio in about 5 years or so, and have just completed a new install for myself (the fourth). Holy crap I forgot a lot of stuff and this one took a while!

Anyway, hopefully you can help me.

Currently, for drivers I've got Type R components in the front (new), Type R 6.9s in the back (new), and 2 10" Boston Acoustics Competitor Series in the back (from my old install).

The one thing I'm unsure of is the subs. The issue: I love my rock and metal. But the subs don't pound out the drum sounds. A bass drum in a typical rock recording is only a light pop, I really don't 'feel it', so to speak. BUT! any really low frequency bass is really loud. At a drive in, for example, if there's an explosion -- holy crap! The subs are also sounding really good on all that nintendo music (no offense, I like some 'hippity hop' or whatever it's called now).

The dillema:
buy new Type R subs or put the existing Bostons in a new box?
Okay, I'd rather not replace the subs. I prefer to spend my money on motorcycles first, car audio maybe 6th. The box that the Bostons are in now is rather big for them. They each need 1.5 cubes -- they have double that.
Could that be the issue? Could I get more higher end bass out of them if I just went and bought a smaller box for them?
Or do I actually have to replace them to get what I want?

Thanks for helping out a noob. I used to know some of this stuff. . .

zzzzzzz

iTrader: (5)

phone books inside the box

zzzzzzz

iTrader: (5)

if that give you what you are looking for then i would redo the box

rorybreaker

if it's a ported box the punch you may be "missing" will be coming from the lack of transient response. A ported system involves the speaker resonating the box at lower frequencies, and in turn resonating the vent section, this takes several phases sometimes adding up to tenths of a second.

Sealed enclosures don't suffer this weakness, but there is the advention of "q". Smaller boxes have a lower q leading to weaker transient response. Larger sealed boxes actually yield higher q values meaning quicker movement of the drivers in the system.

If this is the case pull the ports out of the box (semi-optional), and glue and screw some MDF over the openings where they were. No leaks!

KenC

If you're lacking the overall top response of the woofers, it may also be that your amplifier's low pass crossover is set too low. That would lead to lower resonance at the low mid bass to high sub bass (where a lot of that drum is). You'll probably consider making it somewhere around 80-100hz, but the intermodulation from your 6x9s gives it a possibility of it sounding messy or 'off'. If you can find where the crossover of the woofer of the 6x9 is set at, then you'll have a better chance of setting everything up properly. As a general guideline, you really shouldn't need the 6x9s at all - it's more speakers playing sounds that other speakers are playing, creating intermodulation. Every speaker has it's own sound - it's not always wise to mix and match. The less speakers (particularly with crossovers) involved, the better.

If mounted in the rear deck, your 6x9s also might be distorting because of the increased sound pressure in the trunk pushing them upward. Not totally on topic, but something to consider.

MTA

iTrader: (1)

if ur playing your bostons in 2 x the size box of what they need you will be lacking tightness and kick from the system!

lower bass notes like you said pound like crazy... naturally occurs because of the large box size.

basically make your box aprox 2.5 cubic feet total and your rock music will come to life
put a small amount of pillow stuffing in the box to smothen the edge a little

that is the simplest I can think of explaining it

canuckerjay

Thanks for the advice guys.

I'm going to play around with the gain and if that doesn't work out, then I'll haul my cheap *** to a store and grab a new box.