Plz help me find a good woofer for my truck! (1 Viewer)

[Henry Carmona]

Hello,
There are so many choices out there i dont want to have missed a good one, so im asking you car audio gurus what you think is a great subwoofer to put in my truck.
I have mostly looked at the JL Audio 12W6's as this will probably be going into a 1 cu.ft. enclosure.
What is the best quality sub i can get without breaking the bank.
I am interested in both sound quality as well as DBL.
If you can post some numbers id really appreciate it.
FYI, JL claims 20hz for this one.

 

[DonnyD]

JL is always a good choice. I've got the 12W3 in a ported box with 700 watts pushing it... great SPL and SQ. The 1.0 cf box for yours will probably have to be a sealed box since it is so small.

 

[Robert_J]

What is the best quality sub i can get without breaking the bank

I've been out of the car audio loop for about 10 years but there are a of subs that people use for home theater that can perform double duty.
The Dayton DVC12 works in a 1FT^3 enclosure. Here's an archive with both home and car applications. It's available from Parts Express and Link Removed for around $120.
The Adire Audio Shiva is very similar to the DVC12. It's also available from Acoustic Visions.
The Link Removed '01 series are very in-expensive but are quality drivers. The 1201 ($79) is very similar to the original driver in the SV subs. Another option is a pair of the 1001's ($69 each) in a 1FT^3 enclosure.
-Robert

 

[Jeffrey Noel]

Henry, although JLs are good speakers, you'll be paying a lot for just the name. I would highly suggest the Titanic MKII 12incher from Dayton at Partsexpress.com. It looks like it would be a killer in a vehicle. It is 4 ohm and has an Xmax of 17mm! That would surely shake the shit out of you. Here's the link:
Titanic MKII
However, if you don't like that one, go with one Robert suggests. Either the Shiva or the DVC 12" would sound awesome, and cost you a lot less that the JL!
Best of luck in your search though!
EDIT: Henry, if you do end up buying the DVC 12", buy it through acoustic-visions.com. Great customer service, thanks to Kyle, and you'll save about $15.00 compared to buying it from partsexpress.com.

 

[Mike boettner]

i would avoid any subs with foam surrounds as sunlight and heat will kill the surround. i will never buy any speakers with foam surrounds. i know speakers dont last for ever but i would like to get as many years out of them as possible. i too was looking at the jbl's too. crutchfield has some on close out for like $59 each. the only thing about them is they are 8 ohm. but thats a good reason to get 2!!!!

 

[Ryan Wright]

The problem with woofers is you have to pick the right size. Since you have a truck, you're pretty much open to any size you want. Those of us with cars usually have to go with smaller woofers.
Some woofers, especially the larger ones, have built in anti-theft systems. If you're going to be leaving your woofer alone in your vehicle for any extended period of time, I would highly recommend one with good security features.
Here is a picture of my woofer. It's a medium sized model, the largest I could reasonably fit in my car.

If this model is too big, you can get the sub-yapper model, as shown below:

I'm not sure of the wattage of either of these woofers. If I had to guess, I'd say mine puts out roughly 80db of midrange. The little one is much louder, at least 120db, but it's mostly trebal. If you want a lot of bass, you'll have to go with a much larger model, such as a German Sheppard MK-II from BigDog Audio. Not sure if Crutchfield sells those or not. You might try the local pound.
Look long and hard before making a final decision on a woofer. They add a lot to your vehicle, but can be quite expensive depending on the model & features.

 

[Henry Carmona]

Ryan, your crazy
Ok any input would help.
Heres what ive been looking at. Unfortunately i really DONT have much room to work with :frowning:
This enclosure is from JL and is two separate boxes, one for each side. It is 1ft3 and will hold a 12 in each box.
These do not come with woofer and therefore will allow me to choose one of the ones you guys have listed.

This is a box from MTX but includes two Thunderhead 10" MTX woofers.

And finally this is a single sub inclosure from JL agian.
This one comes with a 12W3 12" woofer.

Thanks to all for your help.
These things are all some sort of platic and im a little leary about it.
Do you think some of these plasitcs will hold up well, or should i just build my own box to fit under the seat?

 

[Dustin B]

How about the Brahma Series from Adire. It's a little pricey, but not bad. Supposed to come out next month.

$370 for a 12"

27.32mm one way Xmax and Adire recommends .65 to 1.25 ft^3 sealed boxes for car audio.

 

[Dan Whalen]

Ah, Henry, you have now entered my area of expertise (not a vast knowledge of it, but quite a bit ). Robert beat me in mentioning the Adire Audio Shiva. I have one in my truck, being powered by an MTX Thunder 275x (280x1). I absolutely loooove this sub. Hits very hard with what little power I have going to it, gets loud, and goes very deep. The only downside of the Shiva is it takes a rather large box, but I'm willing to give up the space for, what in my opinion, is the best subwoofer for the money on the market today. JL does make good subs, but I like using subs that no one else has or that a lot of people haven't heard of. Nothing like someone saying your no-name subs are crap and then blowing them out of the water. I'm looking into getting an Adire Audio Maelstrom next (18" monster ). But with the space you have, I'd look into Hollywood Sound Labs eXcursion 12's. They are supposed to be great subs and they don't cost much either. MTX subs are alright, but I've lost some respect for them after the incident between them and Atomic Thunder. They sued AT for using the word Thunder in their name. So they are now known as Shocker Audio (they make kick ass subs BTW). I've also heard good things about the Dayton and Blueprint subs that Robert mentioned. Need to know anything else?
Mike-The majority of car audio subs do have foam surrounds. But, they have special treatments on the surrounds that protect them from heat and sunlight. I beleive that foam surrounds today will actually last longer than rubber ones (remember reading that somewhere).
Dan

 

[Henry Carmona]

Well thank you fellas!!
So how much is this Adire Audio Shiva?
And what website can i order from?
You mention they require lots of room. More than 1ft3??
Thanks.

 

[John Besse]

Can the HSU car sub fit in there?

 

[Robert_J]

So how much is this Adire Audio Shiva?

Shiva - Link Removed
DVC - Link Removed This one will work in a smaller enclosure. Please see my previous post with a link to the DVC project archive.
Blue Print 1201 - $79
The Shiva can also be ordered directly from Adire Audo. The DVC can also be ordered directly from Parts Express. The 1201 can be ordered directly from Blue Print drivers.
-Robert

 

[Thomas_Berg]

henry- although it probably won't fit, you just need to see this car sub from Hsu. http://www.hsuresearch.com/
TN did a test of this sub and it "puts out 121.7 dB at 12.5 Hz with under 10% THD in his Corvette." holy shit!

for $239 assembled, nothing will come near that kind of SPL. i need one!

 

[ryan davis]

Well, lets see where to start. W6's are usually out of the question unless you either run 3 (they have dual 6 ohm coils, so youd have to run 3 to get a 4 ohm load), or run 1 or 2 with a amp that will run under low impedence conditions. The shiva requires a larger box to reach its full potential. 1cf of air space isnt going to be enough.
Id personally check into image dynamics idq line. They fit in small boxes, handle plenty of power, and get loud. The also are one of the best sounding subs for the money. You can get them online for less that $150. http://www.imagedynamicsusa.com . Other subs you might want to look into are: alpine type r's, crystal cmp's, kicker L7's (square subs though), audiomobile mass ( http://www.audiomobileinc.com )
Happy sub hunting

 

[ryan davis]

TN did a test of this sub and it "puts out 121.7 dB at 12.5 Hz with under 10% THD in his Corvette." holy shit! for $239 assembled, nothing will come near that kind of SPL. i need one!

Actually, 12.5hz is the peak frequency of his car. So you can factor in at least 10 dbs of cabin gain. Many of the subs he tests get higher scores than 121 dbs @ 12.5hz.

 

[Dan Whalen]

Shivas perform best in 1.5-1.8 cubes sealed after displacement. But I've got mine in 1.37 cubes sealed before displacement. Did some playing around with it today. I've now got it firing into the side wall of my truck. OMG, it got sooo much louder doing this. I'm thinking of getting a Tempest (Shiva's big brother 15") with about 600 watts and firing it this way. It's gonna kick ass. I also second Ryan's suggestions. Never had any experience with any of them, but have heard good things about them all. I know a guy on caraudioforum with 2 Type R 12's doing upper 140's (close to 150 I think). Supposed to be excellent subs for the money. Need anything else?

Dan

 

[Jeffrey Noel]

Damn Thomas, that's one helluva sub! Thanks for the link. I didn't even know HSU dealt with car audio. If I ever decide to reinstall a sub amp in my car, I at least know the sub that will be going with it!
Bookmarking that page!
What would be a good amp to match the HSU sub with?

 

[Clinton McClure]

I used to run a single 10" Punch Power sub (with an Alpine MRV-1005 amp) which was measured at over 140dB in USACs. The enclosure was about 1.5 cubic feet, I believe, and tuned to around 35 or 37Hz. Of course, Rockford Fosgate no longer makes the Power series, but you can still have pretty good performance from their normal Punch line. I also recommend Kicker Solo-Barics and Alpine Type-Rs. They are expensive subs, but if tuned correctly and driven with the right wattage, worth every penny.

My next system isn't quite through the design stage yet, but it's looking at two 15" Alpine Type-R DVCs with two flagship Alpine amps pushing them. Hopefully, I'll be able to reach at least low 150s.

 

[Henry Carmona]

What would be a good amp to match the HSU sub with?

Yeah, what Jeffrey said.

 

[Dustin B]

Going off the specs, a Shiva should be able to best that HSU sub. Lower Fs, higher displacement, only 10L larger Vas.
A single Tempest with 500 watts in 4ft^3 tuned to 23hz hit 152.3dB in a truck cab in an SPL competition. His website is here:
Link Removed
The 12" Brahama is capable of almost as much displacement as the Tempest, but can be used in tiny boxes.
HSU = 1.3L
Shiva = 1.5L
Brahama = 2.4L
Tempest = 2.5L