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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / Car Audio / September 2006Opinions on "weekend flyer" Subs
Nearly every weekend, Best Buy and Circuit City in our area will feature a dual 10" sub box with amp. These will usually be in the upper two hundred to mid three hundred dollar price range and a (non-pictured) 12" package is mentioned below that for an nominally higher price. The brands I can recall (seems to vary every week) are Sony, Kicker, MTX, Alpine, etc.. Without concern for building a system for competition, are these units typically any good? I am currently running a powered 8" bazooka tube which I have been mostly satisfied with, but have toyed with the idea of upgrading. My biggest concern with my current system is that it sounds pretty darned good when cranked, but I struggle to get good clean bass when the volume is lower. I already have a line-level amp controlling the sub's level, but cranking that too high at lower volumes tends to muddy the bass or make it boomy. This obviously varies with the song and source. I mostly listen to my Sirius radio connected via an input jack on the front of my JVC HU. My car (94 Dodge Stealth) is a rather noisy vehicle which I know is a big influence. The package in this week's flyers: Circuit City - Bazooka Dual 10" subwoofers with custom slot-vented enclosure and amp. $199.00 Best Buy - Alpine two 750w 10" subs with 1800w amp and box. $379.00 (12" upgrade for extra $20.00) The Sony, MTX, Kicker units I have seen in the past would fall somewhere between the prices above. I know... no model numbers for exact comparisons. I'm mostly trying to determine the likelihood that a unit like this would be a significant improvement over my current setup. Although rarely needed, I do like the fact that I can easily remove my current sub should I temporarily need the space for hauling something. These pre-built enclosure units would seem to provide that same advantage. From my lurking, it would seem that the MTX and Alpine units would be the better choices in this category. Would you agree with that? TIA they will likely be a little better than your bazooka just due to increasing cone area and power. I'd stay away from any of the ported boxes, though because they are likely tuned to 40-45 hz and will have pretty bad sound quality. If you do that deal, go sealed.  SignatureKU40 > they will likely be a little better than your bazooka just due to > increasing cone area and power. I'd stay away from any of the ported > boxes, though because they are likely tuned to 40-45 hz and will have > pretty bad sound quality. If you do that deal, go sealed. Thanks for the feedback. While one cannot tell for sure from the picture the Alpine unit appears to be a sealed enclosure. I'd stay away from any of the ported > boxes, though because they are likely tuned to 40-45 hz and will have > pretty bad sound quality. Oh here we go on this old argument.... Ported boxes DO NOT all sound like crap. It TOTALLY depends on the box and the subs being used with it. I will say that sealed boxes tend to play lower given the fact that ported boxes are not able to produce significant output (well, nearly any output) below the resonant frequency of the port. But that old argument that sealed boxes are somehow "tighter" than ported boxes is crap. Case in point, my two MTX 7500 12" in a ported box sound tighter (to me, anyway) than my old JL 12W3's in a sealed enclosure (the lower harmonics of the snare drum sounds "snappier"). They also play VERY loud. But, as I said before, they do not play as low, but this is really only noticeable on test discs and some bass discs (not regular music). So my point is don't be afraid of ported boxes. True, it is much easier to make a bad sounding ported box than it is a bad sounding sealed box. But if done right, you gain about 6 dB of SPL and you CAN STILL have excellent sound quality. MOSFET MOSFET Wrote: > I'd stay away from any of the ported > > boxes, though because they are likely tuned to 40-45 hz and wil [quoted text clipped - 33 lines] > > MOSFET I said nothing about transient response. I said sound quality. I ru a ported box myself and believe it has very good transient response an as good sound quality as I want in any fashion. The problem with thos premade boxes, as I said, is that they are tuned high. they will hav a huge peak in response at about 50 hz and have no low end. horribl frequency response range and loudness discrepencies within that range. my box is tuned to 30 hz and is basically flat in frequency respons from 25 hz and up. I wanted the extra 30-40 hz output, which i normally where sealed boxes start decreasing in SPL. so you just wasted your written breath -- KU40 > The problem with those > premade boxes, as I said, is that they are tuned high. they will have [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > so you just wasted your written breath. OK, fair enough. I stand corrected. I didn't know you meant SPECIFICALLY those premade "blue-light special" boxes. MOSFET "From my lurking, it would seem that the MTX and Alpine units would be the better choices in this category. Would you agree with that?" Generally speaking, yes. I'd say you may or may not be happy with these types of boxes (how's that for a "Mr. Obvious" answer? LOL). The nice thing about CC and BB is that they should have some fairly decent return policies. You should be able to plunk those boxes in your trunk for a few days and give them a good listening to. If you don't like it...return it. (obvoiusly check with the store first) Tony Signature2001 Nissan Maxima SE Anniversary Edition Clarion DRZ9255 Head Unit, Phoenix Gold ZX475ti, ZX450 and Xenon X1200.1 Amplifiers, Dynaudio System 360 Tri-Amped In Front and Focal 130HCs For Rear Fill, Image Dynamics IDMAX10 D4 v.3 Sub 2001 Chevy S10 ZR2 Pioneer DEH-P9600MP Head Unit, Phoenix Gold Ti500.4 Amp, Focal 165HC Speakers & Image Dynamics ID8 D4 v.3 Sub 2006 Mustang GT Coupe Alpine IVA-D310 DVD Head Unit, Alpine MRA-550 Digital 5.1 Amp, Boston Acoustics Z-Series Speakers, Alpine SBS-05DC Center Channel Speaker, Amplified MTX Thunderform Sub > "From my lurking, it would seem that the MTX and Alpine units would be the > better choices in this category. Would you agree with that?" I agree, Tony. MTX and Alpine would be the brands I would look for. Nick |
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