Hey guys,

I'm pretty new to the sound system scene, so I figured I would post what I was thinking about to get some opinions.
I currently have Alpine Type-R speakers in my car (rear and front) - Not sure about the tweeters.
I have an AVIC-X910BT as the head unit.

Now, I see people with 2x 10" subs or 2x 12" subs, but I don't necessarily want to rattle the neighborhood. I am looking for clean, crisp, responsive bass. From what I have read/been told, that 8" have better responsiveness than 10" and 12" respectively.
I listen to all types of music, but I more-so listen to electronic music (Trance, Dubstep, etc..). Dubstep has some serious low-bass wobbles and whatnot and I want to make sure I can build a system to handle it well.

Do you guys think a 3x 8" setup would be worthwhile / produce the results I'm looking for? If so, should I build my own box or look to have someone customize one for me?

Thanks in advance, guys.

-Chris

 

Well I currently run two 8" subs and they are awesome (yes I listen to mostly eletronica type music, and a lot of dubstep lately). I've demo'd my system many times and people still don't believe I have just 8" subs. Since they're 8"s I'd port them, they'll reset fast enough for eletronic music.

Here's my set up post:
My build

And no the vents for the box do not collide with the bar, they clear it completely.

If you have any other questions feel free to PM me.

 

What's your budget? What brands are you looking into? What power range do you want to be in? Are you planning on putting an amp to your mids/highs? I take it you're looking for SQ, right?

 

damn, I could have swore I subscribed to this so I would get emails when someone replied.... I thought nobody replied so I hadn't checked back

Thanks for the replies so far.
sdz33, I have put a rough budget of 800 for this, but am a little flexible. I figure if necessary, I can probably go to 1,200. 3x isn't a requirement if I can reach happiness with 2x subs. I came to the thought of 3x after talking to a couple people for a total of about 2 minutes. They were by no means professionals at audio setups/installations, so I figured I'd swing by here.
I hadn't thought about putting an amp in for the mids/highs, but am open to that. I was planning on using the stock sub space behind the driver seat for the amps (make a rack for them of course).

Yes, quality is what I'm after.
As for brands, I am not sure. From what I've read, there seems to be a leaning toward JL Audio, but I really have no clue about brands really.

 

Any further input, guys?

 

Let me ask you a few questions and I am sure I can help you out here and I will be sure to reply. I will also make some suggestions and you can let me know what you think. First you were saying 8's because they are more accurate? This is not necessarily true but in some cases it is due to the lower weight of moving parts in relation to motor force. You also said that you don't want an enormous amount of bass and you are on a reasonable budget. In this case I would advise you to chose a larger sub but only use 1 instead of three. The extra two will only make it louder but end up costing you more than if you just used 1 larger subwoofer. For example I took the prices of the JL audio W7 8,10, and 12" subs priced at $300,370,480 respectively. At the 8" size it costs $5.97 per in^2 of cone, 10" $4.71, and 12" $4.24. This doesn't even account for if you were to buy several of one of these vs 1 of a larger size and the fact that you may need more amps for more subs. So after all that I would advise buying 1 of the largest sub you are able to fit in the space allotted. Which brings me to my next question are you dead set on using the areas behind the seats? I just installed a woofer in my Z and I used this box http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Custo...#ht_3594wt_918

I he will cut it for 1 subwoofer if you ask him as well as change the airspace if need be. I guess I should stop for now and let you answer some of these questions and we can go from there. Hope this helps!

 

don't mean to thread jack, but how do you like this enclosure? how is the build quality? how many subs you running? thanks.

 

Well, my initial thoughts/post were based on not knowing much about car audio myself and basing it off of what I had pulled from a couple people I know personally. Thinking about it now, 3x 8's would basically be for more power over 2x 8's. So I'm pretty sure I've lured myself away from 3x 8's and more toward 2x 8's.

I don't pretend to know anywhere close to what any/most of you know in regard to car audio, so I'm definitely open to suggestion and criticism of things I post here. The downside is, I don't have much access to QUALITY setups to "preview" sounds/setups in person.

Based on my personal experience with other people's vehicles and their audio setups, I haven't been much a fan of the 10/12" setups that I've seen. Then again, most of what I've seen/heard are cheap punks freshly joining the military and heading to walmart with their first paycheck and buying their entire setup there. (I live in a military town).

So far I like what Rubidium has mentioned and that has given me more drive to 2x 8's instead of 3x.

Regardless, I do appreciate any posts in here, whether to tell me I'm severely misguided or give me suggestions of what to look into. In either case, it should help me and anyone else in the same boat as me guide the learning process so we can have the knowledge to build a decent setup.

As for my budget, it's pretty flexible. I initially just figured it would cost around $800 for amp/subs/box. I am thinking that to achieve what I want, it will likely be more around $1200...

 

Since you seem to like the idea of 2 8s we will work with that. If you want to talk about the woofers themselves the w7's are a great, but quite expensive. They deliver a nice mix of sound quality (SQ) and loudness (SPL) that many people call SQL. Luckily they are efficient so power wont be too much of an issue as well. To budget the whole thing out here is what I see it costing.

Woofers $520
http://cgi.ebay.com/2-JL-AUDIO-8W7-8...ht_1776wt_1139

Amp $200
http://cgi.ebay.com/AUDIOPIPE-AP1800...ht_3773wt_1139

I know the amp seems crappy but they get rave reviews on the car audio forums for being good, cheap, and durable. I used to use Hifonics but lately their build quality has gone way down so I stopped. I am currently running the 1500w version of this amp in my car now and it is quite good.

That leaves $480 for the box and install. If you do the install yourself it will save a ton but I am not sure if you want to do that or not. Also I would recommend using a sealed box if you want to be able to play a greater variety of frequencies. Ported boxes tend to be more "peaky" making them louder some of the time but if you play below their tuning frequency you can damage the woofer. Using the box from my previous post would work just fine for this and he will modify it to accommodate the subs well if you ask. Also do you need a new head unit or do you already have an after market radio because the sound quality will be affected negatively by a line output converter.

 

Nice find on the subs. I actually was looking at those specific ones, partly by reference that Rubidium's reference, but I've read a bit of reviews on them.
The box I would probably buy. The install I will attempt myself. I would like to do the line conversion for the speakers, so I would be doing that at the same time. Obviously I would also be putting in the sound deadening material, so that would be a good time to do that while I have a lot of the trim/carpet up anyway. The only thing that has me a little concerned is running the line directly to the battery. I know that's the way to do it, but I've always been hesitant to do that (I've read quite a bit about doing that and have done a bit of custom electrical work in my GrandAm, but have mostly wired directly into the fuse box in spots that are wired for features that are not in my GrandAm).

As for the head unit, I have a Pioneer AVIC X910BT in there now.

Do you think I should have a second amp for my speakers? (They're Alpine speakers (Type-R I believe... I'll have to look again) in both front and back speakers)
I've been considering pods for the front, but don't want to get in the way of the foot rest/clutch

Again, audiom3, I really appreciate your input, as well as everyone else's.

 

Thats good that you have a after market deck it will make things a lot easier. The wiring isn't too difficult if you have some experience because you really only need to run 1 0 gauge wire or 2 4 gauge wires through the firewall if you are going to use 2 amps. Speaking of that the sound quality should improve quite a bit if you amp the door speakers. Honestly running the wire into the doors was the hardest thing I have done so far so the wires through the firewall should be no problem if you can do that. I don't think you need door pods necessarily because you are not looking for the absolute best sound quality ever and they are mainly to help with mounting depth issues which you obviously don't have since they are already mounted. I would estimate another $150- $200 for a decent amp if you decide to go that route.

 

a local guy had two of these subs in a sealed box as well. they were loud and hit VERY hard. i don't think people know how good these thing sound in the Z. I wouldn't say these are your average 8" subs though, lol.

 

I can tell you how they sound to me and could even get others on this or G35driver to tell you how amazing the dual 8w7's sound in my car......every time we have some kind of meet there's someone new that wants to hear it.

When I want it loud I just have to turn it up, but they're just amazing all around for the Z, specially since it's a hatch it's just that much better.

I always get into conversations at work about car audio and always bring up I have two 8's people laugh till they listen......after they listen it's a different story.

Now buying JL off ebay can be hit and a miss, JL has a list of authorized dealers on their site, you'll end up paying more but you know you're getting a quality product that's not a replica (yes replica's, everyone's favorite topic on the wheels forum )

I spent about $600 on the fiber glass box (yea expensive but really well done) then bought the subs at $350 a piece during JL's factory sale 2 years ago. Purchase a good clean amp that pushes them and you're golden....you may spend a bit more, but in the long run you'll be happy.

I've had the subs in the car now for a good year, and now upgrading the components.......(just paid off the car).

 

Yeah, I am pretty sold on the w7's right now. I know nothing of amps, though. I figure I'll spend $80 more and buy the w7's off of Amazon for $300 each.

 

Either way is fine for the subs. The link I sent you is for a listing from sonic electronix which is a very large and reputable company. The only ones I saw on amazon were from some company I don't recognize not amazon themselves. Im not saying they are bad, I am simply trying to help you out here. As for the amps there are a multitude of different options and some are better than others whereas some cost more than others if you know what I mean