two 12' + amp

[Stealthlead]

Hi guys,
I am planning on putting two 12' subs, closed box and an amp in my car (1991 MGM LS). I listen to a lot of electronica (Hardstyle, trance, hardcore. Pretty sure closed is best) and am looking for a powerful bass (around 500-1k watts for each sub) and obviously an amp that can handle this. I thought since I am starting without any of these components, it would be best to buy a package. These are a few packages I'm considering, any suggestions are appreciated.

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_38801_4600W-Boss-Autotek-Complete-Bass-Package.html

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_38788_1600W-Kicker-Autotek-Complete-Bass-Package.html

^^Rms rating of those amps seem to be in line with the subs.

Obviously I'll need to install a capacitor as well, and while I'm at it (just to be safe) I'll put in a 3G alternator. I'm wondering what the best way to wire the system up with the capacitor is. I've been advised to use 0 gauge wire as well. I plan on placing the subs in the lowest area of my trunk (12' sub box wont fit on the shelf) facing towards the rear of the car, is this going to be a good place to install the subs? Also, how should I wire my amp to my subs ohms wise?

Any help or suggestions are appreciated!

~Stealth

[r2t]

Awesome genre selection dude. I have been in the "rave scene" for about 15 years. Breaks, Trance, Drum & Bass, Hard House, etc. Good luck with your selection.

[Stealthlead]

Awesome genre selection dude. I have been in the "rave scene" for about 15 years. Breaks, Trance, Drum & Bass, Hard House, etc. Good luck with your selection.

Thanks bro! you know exactly what I'm going for with my sound system then haha XD I've been in the scene for a little over a year (2 weeks ago was my 1 year mark :3) but I was raised on all the oldschool hardstyle.

Anyways, back on topic :p

*edit* omg I forgot house o:

[r2t]

FWIW, in my HUGE DEEP trunk I have a sealed box containing one 12" MB Quart that's pushed by a Rockford Fosgate amp. It's nasty. Nice and punchy, too. Just make sure with all that bass, you have enough mid's & high's to balance everything out.

[packman]

Oh shit, I didn't know we had other 'ardkore fans. Sweet! I used to be one of few people rocking hardcore/drum 'n bass in my car back in the day. It's nice to see other fans of that genre. Bop your head and uh, stomp your feet!



Packman

[85crownHPP]

Are you looking for earth shaking 'impress your friends' bass or just enough to sound good and reproduce your music well?
10's are enough to get the job done - I have two old 10's in a shitty box and its plenty... more bass than I would want to listen to for an extended interval. You could save a lot of money if you don't have to have 12's.
I listen to electronica with super-low bass too (mostly stuff performed by musicians in a real band with real instruments though) and it sounds great.

[r2t]

Like who, 85HPP? Soundtribe Sector 9? Disco Biscuits? Soulwax (my personal fav)?

And I agree. I have a dual 15" sub box that's HUGE and would fit my trunk nicely but for what? I am 39 now and far beyond the need for obnoxious volumes anymore. I should just sell it on CL or something. The amount of space my GM has surely helps make the bass resonate that much more and for real my 12" sub box is only like 15x15x20. Very small.

[Stealthlead]

Are you looking for earth shaking 'impress your friends' bass or just enough to sound good and reproduce your music well?
10's are enough to get the job done - I have two old 10's in a shitty box and its plenty... more bass than I would want to listen to for an extended interval. You could save a lot of money if you don't have to have 12's.
I listen to electronica with super-low bass too (mostly stuff performed by musicians in a real band with real instruments though) and it sounds great.

There's no doubt I want serious bass. I'm at the point in my life where I've been raving so much I can barely stand to listen music without the matched bass at an event lol. Although I suppose impressing friends comes with the package, I'm not specifically looking to impress anyone in particular... I'm just a major house head :P I can definitely tell you I want it to do more than just sound good and reproduce my music well. I've wanted subs for a while; a friend of mine has a little Nissan CRX with a single 12' + kenwood amp. It bumps pretty nice, but then again his car is like half of mine haha. I've also been to a few different audio places and tested dual 12' out. I love the way it sounds. The only fairly overpowering subs I've heard were those HUGE MTX's, but even still they were pretty cool.

However I'm always open to new ideas. The potential thought of dual 10' that intrigues me would be the benefit of them probably being able to fit in my trunk shelf, is that where you put yours? What is your sub+amp combination?

[85crownHPP]

I tried two 8"s up on the shelf, it didn't work out too well. The same 8's sounded much much better down in the floor firing up and back. I did some reading and saw that the way the bass waves travel through the car will greatly affect what you hear/feel in the driver's seat.
I have the two 10-15 year old 10" Cerwin Vega's in a crappy sealed angled box firing the same way, with a 200w RMS Alpine amps for each one, and a 3 farad capacitor. When the box was new, it was good enough to tickle you in your seat, but the box had got wet and the wire terminal cups like to pop out now, lol.
I've sat in a car with one 12 and literally jingled my balls in the seat! it was awesome, but too much for me, lol.

[85crownHPP]

Like who, 85HPP? Soundtribe Sector 9? Disco Biscuits? Soulwax (my personal fav)?

A fan!

Ive seen Sound Tribe a few times, and actually just got the bad news that the show in C-ville this weekend is sold out!! Lotus is another good one, and the New Deal. I've been listening to those guys and seen them all a few times since around 2002...
I like the Prodigy since way back when before I knew what was what... I just new they were something special.
I'll have to check out this Soulwax

I haven't heard much of any house/jungle/drum n bass stuff that I like, mostly because its too repetitive! I did however take a fancy to LTJ Bukem when I heard him, he had a lot of sounds Id never heard before and felt more like he was making progressive soundscapes than just spinning beats.

[sly]

the 2 pioneer 10s in my 88's trunk pound pretty good. Techmaster P.E.B. will rattle everything in the car that's not tight, but it still sounds good inside (Bassgasm FTW - Dragon Bass FTMFW). It's nothing like powerful enough to shake your eyes... but it will give a decent low back massage. It's also nice and clean on the highway too. Overcomes road noise easily. One 760W Pioneer amp driving both (one per channel) mounted in scoche boxes (walmart specials) that I sealed with carpenter's glue and sheetrock screws. Bolted to the side shelves... they sounds pretty good.

[Stealthlead]

I've sat in a car with one 12 and literally jingled my balls in the seat!

I just wanted to let you know I loled irl for about 10 minutes after reading that. I told my friend I was with at the time and we starting loling together for another 15 minutes.

So you all really think dual 12' is too big for my car? I want to get my setup, get to work and start driving around with my subs ASAP.

I'm thinking this is the best option for me

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_38788_1600W-Kicker-Autotek-Complete-Bass-Package.html

The subs run an RMS of 400w each and the amp runs at 750 watts with 1 ohm. For $400 that seems pretty good, but the again this combo

http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_38801_4600W-Boss-Autotek-Complete-Bass-Package.html

has subs that run at 1150w each for only $380 o.O that's a lot of power lol

I've heard kicker subs IRL, they sound nice and clean and the first setup I posted seems a little bit toned down from the Boss subs. Its also in a closed box as well (mdf) which is what I conclude to be the best setup for my genre. And believe me, what I said I listen to is all I listen to lol.

Advice and comments are really appreciated. As 85CrownHPP said, if the bottom of the trunk is the best way to position the subs I have no problem. I use my trunk, but not extremely often.

[85crownHPP]

Lol... yup, it was a warm day, and the end of the seat must have been resonating just right...
It's all about resonance... you can do miraculous things with small subs when you design/locate a box just right for a vehicle - think Bose...

But "too big" is definitely relative... if you want people to get in and say OMFG, 12's is what you want. If you wan't them to say OMFG LET ME OUT then get 15"s by all means. Each step up is a leap up in cost with other things, not just the subs and amp. Things like a capacitor, dynamat, even an extra battery in the trunk isn't a bad idea if you want earthquake bass.

I took a look at those last two packages, thats weird how the 2nd is supposed to be that much more powerful but it's cheaper... I get suspicious of those...
And I notice the one you mentioned 750 watts RMS at 1ohm... but 175 watts at 4 ohms... my older Alpine amp I got off eBay for 50 bucks can do that... most specs try to dazzle you with numbers.
Since that kit has two dual 4ohm voice coil subs, you can wire it for 1ohm, but it comes at the cost of noise/clarity.
Notice those specs don't include signal to noise ratio and THD (total harmonic distortion)... this is where cheaper amps fail. Wiring the subs for lower ohms is like 'over-clocking' something, pushing the amp harder. The two spces just mention drop fast when you do this, and amps tend to overheat more this way.

I think you can put together a kit with the same punch with name brands and better clarity specs if you shop around for the 5-year-old new stuff. I saw a new 500W RMS @ 2ohm Alpine amp with wiring kit for $175 shipped, that leaves $200 for a loaded sub box. Something worth 300w RMS per 4ohm sub would do nice (you don't want to max them out) or even one DVC 15"...

I highly recommend this site - it will change what you shop for...


http://www.bcae1.com/ <--- Basic car / audio electronics

It's a little funny to navigate with the menu on the right, but its golden once you get used to it.

[interceptor1985]

All this talk about subs reminds my I gotta replace my 750w 12" with a 1400w sub for my home entertainment system, I just replaced my amp with a 1400w peak amplifier and I got it bridged running into a 750w sub =No bueno half way up and I get the crackles and those are total party killers.

[Stealthlead]

In response to 85CrownHPP - Thanks very much for the response and link. I will start reading up on that now because there are way to many terms you used that I am unfamiliar with (which is why I didn't aimlessly buy a system, but instead post here first =p). I like to know exactly what I'm getting before I buy it and not be a mindless consumer lol.

I'll respond back when I've read up some more!