Will a 12" Sub + Box Fit in the Trunk and Maintain Audio Fidelity?

[Daze]

This may be a silly question, but I am seeing conflicting opinions on what Sub size to use in the trunk. Conventional wisdom tells me a 12 inch sub + box will fit fairly easily, but I don't know much about where to position a sub and the impact that has. Can a 12 inch sub fit in a "good" spot, or do I need to start looking at 10 inchers?

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[h65]

Yes, it will fit. No it will not maintain audio fidelity because 12".

Go with a 10" for tighter bass and fidelity. Plenty of space on one hand, but then again it's a small space to have to fill with sound.

 

[neozeric]

This may be a silly question, but I am seeing conflicting opinions on what Sub size to use in the trunk. Conventional wisdom tells me a 12 inch sub + box will fit fairly easily, but I don't know much about where to position a sub and the impact that has. Can a 12 inch sub fit in a "good" spot, or do I need to start looking at 10 inchers?

Depends on the music you listen to and the kind of bass response you want. A 10 inch can sound great and requires a smaller enclosure. You can even get one that goes up against the side or put it in the spare tire well or up against the rear seats. A 12" will fit as well. Heck some guys are putting 2 15s in their trunk. If you get a 10 or 12 that does not require a huge enclosure then you can easily hide it. I am personally putting a 12" in the spare tire well.

 

[Daze]

Yes, it will fit. No it will not maintain audio fidelity because 12".

Go with a 10" for tighter bass and fidelity. Plenty of space on one hand, but then again it's a small space to have to fill with sound.

While I don't know about positioning, I do know about sub properties. 10" doesn't necessarily have more fidelity by nature. The "smaller diameter the bass the tighter and punchier", and the "larger diameter the bass the more volume and muddier" is only a highly basic rule of thumb. Less diameter can be easier to make "tight and punchy", while more diameter makes it easier to move more air, creating more volume. However, there are 15" subs that can be clearer and punchier than 10 inch subs, depending on the quality of the sub and what it was designed to do.

My point is, having a 12 inch vs 10 inch diameter will not intrinsically ruin audio fidelity. Why not go 8 inches if smaller is always better and more accurate?

If you have some sort of concrete proof that 10 inches is the sweet spot for car audio, I would like to see it (and no I am not being sarcastic, I really would), maybe all my research was wrong.

But thank you both for answering my question! I am likely going to put a sundown SA-12 D-2 in the trunk .

 

[stoli]

It all depends on the type of sound you want and the manufacturer. If you are after spl style bass, Sundown makes some good 8" subs for smaller spaces, but spl is where bigger is pretty much always better. If you want more clear, tight bass I prefer JL 10" or 12" subs...

Whatever you choose, check the specs for what the recommended size for the enclosure is, ported and sealed. Often the spare tire well is way too shallow for a proper setup.

 

[Cream Puff]

Yes, it will fit. No it will not maintain audio fidelity because 12".

Go with a 10" for tighter bass and fidelity. Plenty of space on one hand, but then again it's a small space to have to fill with sound.

Incorrect.

A common misconception is that larger woofers mean less accurate bass, a properly designed enclosure for any decent quality (or sized) woofer will produce a musically accurate response.

The place where you may run into trunk space issues is with certain drivers that require a very large box volume for their recommended specs. For example the alpline type R 12's require GIGANTIC volume for a ported box, and would essentially take up your entire trunk.


Look at the Hertz Hi-Energy line, they can work in very, very small enclosures. I have a pair of 12s that is in a smaller ported box than I could have put a single alpine in.



http://www.hertzaudiovideo.com/hx-300-d/


spec sheet

http://www.hertzaudiovideo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Hertz_HiEnergy_hx300d.pdf

 

[Daze]

It all depends on the type of sound you want and the manufacturer. If you are after spl style bass, Sundown makes some good 8" subs for smaller spaces, but spl is where bigger is pretty much always better. If you want more clear, tight bass I prefer JL 10" or 12" subs...

Whatever you choose, check the specs for what the recommended size for the enclosure is, ported and sealed. Often the spare tire well is way too shallow for a proper setup.

I was not intending on putting it inside the well, I was thinking about putting it to the left or right where there is the most headroom. I was going to put the amps in the wheel well. Is that a good idea?

 

[Daze]

Incorrect.

A common misconception is that larger woofers mean less accurate bass, a properly designed enclosure for any decent quality (or sized) woofer will produce a musically accurate response.

The place where you may run into trunk space issues is with certain drivers that require a very large box volume for their recommended specs. For example the alpline type R 12's require GIGANTIC volume for a ported box, and would essentially take up your entire trunk.


Look at the Hertz Hi-Energy line, they can work in very, very small enclosures. I have a pair of 12s that is in a smaller ported box than I could have put a single alpine in.



http://www.hertzaudiovideo.com/hx-300-d/


spec sheet

http://www.hertzaudiovideo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Hertz_HiEnergy_hx300d.pdf

I'm glad you agree with me about the sub size not being the only indicator of fidelity, I guess my research was correct.

As for the sub itself, I am pretty much already sold on Sundown, lots and lots of research to come to that conclusion

 

[Cream Puff]

I'm glad you agree with me about the sub size not being the only indicator of fidelity, I guess my research was correct.

As for the sub itself, I am pretty much already sold on Sundown, lots and lots of research to come to that conclusion

I've been involved with the industry for going on 15 years now (god that makes me feel old).. i've seen SPL winning cars with 10s.. and SQ cars with 18's.. its all in the setup

 

[stoli]

.


Look at the Hertz Hi-Energy line, they can work in very, very small enclosures. I have a pair of 12s that is in a smaller ported box than I could have put a single alpine in.

Those box specs are barely bigger than the subs!

Putting box size aside, just how well do these perform?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Cream Puff]

Those box specs are barely bigger than the subs!

Putting box size aside, just how well do these perform?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I cant speak for the sealed enclosure as i've not tried it.. but the ported one sounds fantastic, running off an alpine pdx amp

 

[gsxr1300]

Check Out Stereo Integrity MKIV it's designed for a .5 box.

 

[Mark5825]

10" Alpine Type R

Not sure where you want to put them but these 10's hit pretty hard RMS ~1000 Watts. Spare tire accessible with a bit of work.

 

[nelzzz]

Mark5825

trunk looks great, did you change the head unit? or line converter?

 

[Mark5825]

Head unit is the same. I believe they used a line converter that was about $100-200. Full thread has some more pics if you're interested.

http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18504

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