Why do people put their subs in the trunk? (1 Viewer)

[Brett DiMichele]

I run my Subs Crossed at 125Hz and let them do everything
from 125hz down. I don't have the power nor good enough
door speakers to handle 80Hz at this point in time.
My subs are RF Series 1's (very old) in a 3 Cubic Foot
box that I built when I bought the subs (it's been in and
out of more cars than I care to count) and running on 300
or so watts it works real well. Yeah my trunk rattles (I
really need a roll of dynamat) but most times I just keep
the sub down at -6 anyway... When I get up around +2 my
HS Tassle starts dancing on the mirror And suprisingly
the bass is clean for subs so old.
If I wanted to do it all over again I would buy much better
equipment but to be honest the car just isn't worth tying
that kind of cash up on.. If I ran out and bought a brand
new daily driver then I would be inclined to go real crazy.
One thing is that my installs are clean, always have been
and always will be.

Yep they are antiques!

 

[Reginald Trent]

What I find curious about the premise of this thread is..too many here are making erroneous assumptions on things they seem to have no firsthand experience with. Including but not limited to...never listening to a professionally installed custom audio system from inside the car. Also basing the sound quality of a car system on whether they hear rattles from outside of the car.
Flawed logic at best, unless you ride on the outside of your car while listening to the stereo.....

 

[Adam Bluhm]

Neat thread. Good opinions.
I agree that a good bass in the car is worth while. However, there were some punk kids at Circuit City yesterday crouched down feeling a car sub in a listening room which I could feel from 20 feet away. It was basically rattling the merchandise throughout the store for the couple minutes they had it pumped. I was annoyidly curious. I looked into the room and it was an oddly shaped triangular sub which I could see moving about a 1/2 inch! It was outrageous.
I guess these guys really need attention. Either that or they need to make up in other areas in which they are lacking.

 

[Andrew S]

Most car sub installations around here consist of a ignorant (about audio) teenager throwing a cheapo sub into the trunk of a car

...And that's why I'm so glad I found this Forum as well as the Adire Car Audio forum...
Sure.. I am a teenager and do plan on having a LOUD (and accurate) system that will blow away everyone elses Sony Explods (around here that's pretty much the majority)... But I do understand the complaint of people at traffic lights blasting their systems... I personally don't mind it but that's me... and I can understand how other people would be annoyed. That's why I would never blast my system at traffic lights... (or in a drive-thru line for that matter) - that's just plain rude. I WOULD however, push my system if I was in a parking lot during reasonable hours next to a guy claiming his cheap subs would blow mine out of the water.
As a teenager I do understand the many arguements expressed in this thread. We just have to remember that even though there are a lot of ignorant people with car stereos there are also many car audio enthusiasts that wish to appreciate their music - at whatever frequency it may be. And as long as they respect others there is nothing wrong with having a system capable of 120+... just my thought...
- Andrew

 

[Larry B]

IMO, very few people have ever heard even reasonably accurate bass reproduction. It is the rare system that can make a double bass or cello sound like a musical instrument, and not just a boomy rumble.

Larry

 

[Mark Seaton]

I guess the real question is why on earth anybody would want two 15" speakers in a car audio system. Seems a bit excessive IMHO; I don't even have any 15" drivers in my home theater.

Hi Jeff and others,
My simple answer? Because they happened to fit!
More importantly my '86 Cutlass has a pair of IB Tempests(15") which do an awesome job without much power, and don't mind having 750W available between the two. A big benefit can be efficiency, not just output. This also allows a system like mine to have power into the single digit Hz range once I find or mod electronics to not roll off at 15-20Hz. At healthy levels I have near zero compression or distortion, the sub sounds great, and no-one can say I don't have a good reference to compare to in home.
Great bass to all,

 

[Mark Seaton]

my home audio isnt the greatest at this moment but my car audio sounds 100 times better. Yes i have 4 12's with 1200 watts going to each of them in a cavalier. I have no rattles what so ever. Everything is perfectly clear and sounds great. I have gone to competitions and won in spl competitons. I can hit around a 167. I have also competed for sq and i have won competitions. I think you can make a car sound better than home audio. I love home audio but im in my car a lot more. Cabin gain can be a great thing. You say you're not a big fan of car audio but when u do have it hitting 140-160db and up its a big rush. While it still sounds great. Everyone has different opinions. I also have 300 watts going to each one of my focals.

If you think hitting >140dB is fun in a car, I can attest that it is even more of a rush when you can do this outdoors, into honestly low freuqencies. Anyone who makes it to SummerFest this year in Milwaukee should take note of the bass they have coming from the Marcus Amphitheater. Then check the badging on front of the bass horns they are using... All 8 of them!
Regards,

 

[Bruce Chang]

OMG, you people have to go to competitions for SQ and listen to them. There's no way a room can hit 146db with one 12 inch woofer and make it sound good with your speakers. It's much easier to setup a subwoofer in a car then home audio. If your near berkeley, come listen to my system. [email protected]

 

[Sebastian]

my home audio isn't the greatest at this moment but my car audio sounds 100 times better. Yes i have 4 12's with 1200 watts going to each of them in a cavalier. I have no rattles what so ever. Everything is perfectly clear and sounds great. I have gone to competitions and won in spl competitons. I can hit around a 167. I have also competed for sq and i have won competitions. I think you can make a car sound better than home audio. I love home audio but im in my car a lot more. Cabin gain can be a great thing. You say you're not a big fan of car audio but when u do have it hitting 140-160db and up its a big rush. While it still sounds great. Everyone has different opinions. I also have 300 watts going to each one of my vocals.

It has been a while since I have been up to date on car audio, but about 5 years ago, if I recall correctly there was no way four subs could hit at 167 dB. The only systems that were hitting in the 140-150 dB range were guys with around 10 woofers. I don't think speaker designs or amp's changed that radically where only 4 12" would hit at 167. Where did you have yours tested?
Sounds like you have been competing so I guess i will take your word for it.
I remember in an old Auto sound & security mag there was an Astro van with I think 12, 12" Cerwin vegas hitting in the 150's. I should dig up all my old car magazines and see if my memory is accurate or I am just getting old.
I appreciate nice sounding car audio systems and home systems but I will have to disagree with you on car audio sounding better than home audio. IMO, that's impossible, but hey everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

How is hitting at 140, 160 a rush?
My car hits over 130 Db and I can barely stand it more than a few seconds. My whole body starts to feel funny and my ears starts to ring. I could not imagine hearing a car hit at 167 Db.
My car too, was built for competition back in the day. I am running two Orion 12" powered by their big reds (HCCA 250)
The amp is bridge at 200 watts.
I will have to agree,that a nice sounding car system (bass) is an awesome thing. It would take some serious cash and several SVS subs to match the bass coming from just my two 12s".

 

[Sebastian]

Ah! found it!
It was an Aerostar van in the January, 1991 Auto sound and security mag. (man I am old!)
It had 15 cerwin vegas 12-inch subs with 10,000 watts.
Straight from the mag:
"Jim's Aerostar can reach a shattering 162,8 decibel level"
So your hitting at 167dB with 4 12's"? What are the guys hitting at nowadays with similar set-ups to this Aerostar?

 

[DavidAM]

There's a guy on the SPL circuit right now that hit 169db with 1 10" sub. SPL woofers today have a HUGE excursion and power limits and can take 5000-10000watts each. Go to the carsound forum and you'll quickly learn what's going on in 2002.

 

[Matt_Briol]

Can anyone actually go in a car when it has the subs blasting at 169DB? I have heard that 180DB will cause severe hearing damage the instant one is exposed to it. If you were in the car when it hit 169DB your ears would probably bleed.

 

[Reginald Trent]

I wrote:

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Ken, I'm not sure how much you know about car audio but I'll ask you this. Would you put a cabinet with two 15" speakers in your backseat, therefore, effectively eliminating your backseat? Thus turning your four door into a two-seater? Doing so would immediately make your car a easy target for thieves.
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Jeff Kohn wrote:

I guess the real question is why on earth anybody would want two 15" speakers in a car audio system. Seems a bit excessive IMHO; I don't even have any 15" drivers in my home theater
-------------------------

I direct your attention to this sentence. "Seems a bit excessive IMHO" I wonder if you feel the same about people with multiple subs in their home theater setups?

 

[Oachalon]

it is almost impossible to hit 180db. It would have to be in a vaccum. A Space shuttle is 180db but it makes a vaccum when it takes off. My stereo was tested by a car audio place by me named Autosound and security. I do all the stereo work i wont let car audio places touch my stereo. They test it though. No i wasnt in the car when I tested it. I have a remote to my head unit so its easy to do. If i remember 150db can stop ur heart. Ive been in a car that has done 150. Which would be mine. I lived another day. I dont play it loud much usually only for competitions. When im on the road im only using 2 subs. Can still get quite loud. Car audio has gone quite a way since a couple years ago. It has sounded better and has had harder hitting bass. Most kids around here do have horrible sounding speakers. They are bass heads. Even though i have a loud stereo, I only play it loud during the day and on a main busy street where people around me are louder.

 

[DaveDi]

ken-
have you ever listened to good rap? not the stuff on the radio... but groups such as del the funky homosapien, the roots, hieroglyphics, g love and the special sauce? your ignorant comments which may offend people here should be kept to your lame self.
peter
true they never play the good stuff on the radio and i bet if some of the guys here heard the instrumental versions of a couple or tracks they might be quite surprised about its musicality, if thats a word.

 

[Matt_Briol]

If 150DB can stop your heart then claiming that a 10" sub can do 169DB is crazy. I find that extremely hard to belive that a 10" sub can sound be half as loud as the space shuttle when your inside your car. Most rock concerts are 120DB just imagine 32 times louder than a rock concert (OUCH!). Even if the 169DB is true do you have to like make everyone stand back from the car when you turn your sound system on because if you were actually inside that thing your eardrums would'nt work to good after a few seconds. If they have that much excursion and power then how low do they go? I would love to hear how many DB these things will do at say 10HZ. The sub would like rip out of its cabnet unless it was reinforced good.

 

[Oachalon]

Its all about tuning the box. It was probably tuned right. If you tune it right then u can have it play at 10hz. It wont rip itself out. They usually dont test them at that level. I have a bass test cd where it plays a constant 38hz. thats where the most bass is because thats where i have my box tuned to. They can go that low. It hurts if your in a car that is doing 160db. Your ears will ring for a while. Thats why people put ear plugs in when they are testing if they have to. It is amazing what just a 10 can do. Take a look at the adire audio brahma. That has tons of excursion. You can be next to the car cause the car keeps sound in and if you have it sound proofed well you wont even hear any sound.

 

[DavidAM]

Remember that these db's are at SPL competitions so the sub's are only played (burped) for a split second. They are not booming bass at 169db for hours. Also, no one is in the car when they do it....its done from outside of the car by remote control. And these systems are built for one purpose and that is to hit as high as a number as possible, so no, it probably won't sound good at 10hz, but then what would since you can't hear that low.