Subwoofer Recommendation for an Old Man (1 Viewer)

I am a 45yr old married man with 2 kids, a dog, a cat and drive an old Volvo 240 sedan. Looking for suggestions on a subwoofer upgrade. Currently power my fronts and rears with a Kenwood 4ch KAC 649s (40W X 4 at 4Ohms). My sub is an 8" MTX driven by a MTXRT2120 (120W bridged). I like my music, but I don't want to thump down the road and embarass myself with the neighbors. I just want a simple subwoofer that I can use to enhance my jazz and oldies. The 8" MTX is o.k, but I'd like a little more umph. I am thinking I need a 10" or 12" in a single sealed box. I don't want anything huge, no multiple subs or huge boxes. Any ideas out there amongst the experts? Sizes, brand names,online suggestions, etc? Did I mention that I am a tight wad too and don't want to spend much money? I'm looking on ebay. Could my current 4ch Kenwood amp power a 12" in the bridged mode?

Thanks,
Luke

Well, I am no expert, but I once had a Bazooka 8" amplified tube in the back of a Integra Type R hatchback. I was amazed at how well it itgrated with the mains speakers (which were HPF'd at about 100 Hz).

Great bang for the buck. Nice solid low end, but in no way did it make it into a boom car.

My current ride (a 911) has no room for a tube, so I had to go with a custom enclosure and a seperate amp. Had a Bazooka been able to fit, I would have gotten another one in a minute.

BGL

Your kenwooud can only be bridged in to 2 channels.

I whould not get a Bazooka tube. Your mtx in the right box should be better.

Here are two low cost sub options.

http://www.sounddomain.com/sku/MBQPWD254
http://www.sounddomain.com/sku/POLMM10


I also think you could use some more power.

some like a a jbl 300.1 or 600.1 would be nice for the MB Quart.

http://www.ikesound.com/product-product_id/148

http://www.ikesound.com/product-product_id/186

Look for an Infinity Beta 10 or Infinity Beta 12 subwoofer SVC or DVC. They were made for very small boxes and had a great tight bass to them. Not boomy at all. Very accurate. (e.g. - there was a certain Metallica song that my older MTX's and Bazooka 10" just couldn't get right. The kick drum was so fast that the subs made it sound muddy but the Infinity's picked it up and produced each individual beat.) Alas, I sold my two Beta 12's about 1 year ago and I really miss them (needed money). They are an older model but you might be able to find them on eBay for less that $100.00 in a box.

have you looked at the Brahma or the Shiva

james

One or two more ideas

Judging by the criteria, I am going to assume that you are going more for sound quality than SPL. With that said, I would look at the following brands:

MA Audio
Image Dynamics
Diamond
Eclipse
a/d/s
CDT
Boston Acoustics
DEI
Kicker
JL Audio

I would not go larger than 10" for your application unless you listen to a type of music that requires it (e.g. Rap, Dance).

I don't think the Keenwood woox or the infinity basslink will be a improvment over his current setup. I would also stay away from MA audio.



So what size sub would you sugest for classical and organ music?

i know what you mean, i was just throwing them out as ideas. As for organ music i thank this would work

A second nod for Brahma, Shiva and JL Audio. I have JL now and they are great for jazz and well... Everything else.

Why not replace your MTX 8 with a better 8" model. One with more excursion? A single 10" sub with enough power can thump down the road and embarass you with the neighbors. I think if you find the right 8"er, you will be more than satisfied.

Actualy 10's and 12's are usually the better choice. You could annoy your neighbors with sparkomatics! It comes down to what YOU do with the system!

a high Xmax 8 would be easy to do, and should work well

check out these companies

Elemental Designs
- I have there 12O and LOVE it
RE SPL
TangBand


all make good SQ oriented 8's that have a good amount of throw

Regardless of what your musical taste is a 10" or a 12" woofer in a proper sealed box will sound great. I listen to a lot of Jazz and classical an I have 2 Infinity kappa 10" in a sealed box in my trunk. Just adjust the gain of your amp and any bass boost (or whatever) to your liking. Frequency range is determined by woofer size. SPL and sound quality are more of a function of amplification and box design. It is better to have too much and turn it down then not enough.

Brad_Harper has delivered good advice here! I'm WELL over the hill and listen to classic rock, blues, and jazz. I prefer a pair of 12's assuming the car will allow 6.5's in the front. (If I am limited to 5.25's I might choose a pair of 10's.) A single 12 will often do the job, especially in smaller vehicles.

By the way, as others have noted, some popular DIY drivers for home use work fine in cars. I've used the Shiva and the Parts Express Dayton 12DVC successfully. The 12DVC works just fine in a box of about 1.1 cu ft sealed; the Shiva works best in a slightly larger box.

You don't need name brands to get quality. You do if you want a high price. JL and MB Quart are good, but you can find just as good and better(than MB Quart) for cheaper.

I say go larger if space is not an issue unless your fronts are tiny. What is your front sounstage, is it amped?

The TB sub is good but the amp is crap. Go to ebay and grab a referb kicker 350dx for 69 bux.

You need the 8" from tang band!!!! I promise it will be everything you wanted and more but only $32!!!!!!!!!!

Dont need a new box either this way. I think it would work fine with 2 of your channels bridged to one. Then use the other 2 channels to power your other speakers. You should run your front right and rear right to one channel and then your front left and rear left to the other channel. Then your amp will be running at 2ohms per channel and will put out 80 watts to each side which will give your speakers 40each. Then you have the other half of the amp available for your sub. Bridge a 4ohm sub to those 2 channels. You need the 8" tang band!!!