Re: Sub-woofer ?

From: Josh Battles (jbattles@bankfinancial.com)
Date: Wed Mar 19 2003 - 11:22:35 EST


""Ken Allgood"" <kenallgood@cox.net> wrote in message
news:000901c2edc3$7add14f0$6501a8c0@ken...
> go for the wide bass, since rock is mostly thumping bass. My 12's kick
butt
> when it comes to wide bass, but don't do too well with thumping bass. A
> better system to get the both of both worlds is 2 10's and 2 12's, unless
> you go with like 10 12's.. :-)

If you pick up a 12" sub that has a long excursion then you eliminate the
problem of not getting that tight thumping bass. I don't have a problem
with my one MTX 12" at all...it punches pretty hard. I still miss my Focal
Audio 13" though...it was a sad day when that sub gave up. :-(

> As to materials, glass and plexiglass are about the best to bounce the air
> off of. For the box, make it of some sturdy wood, minimum 1/4" thick,
> probably better to go with 1/2". You don't want the sides of the box to
> move at all... Also, when you build the box, use some caulk (sp?) or
> something like that to fill up the cracks where the boards meet so no air
> leaks out there. Not sure about lexan, don't know anything about it,
> depends on how sturdy it is.

The standard for enclosures is 3/4" MDF (medium density fiberboard) and can
be purchased in a 4x8 sheet for about $10-$20 at most home improvement
stores. You can also get away with using 1/2" if you like. I recommend
using some "liquid nails" when you join the boards and then clamp it up for
a day. Then you want to come back with some 2" long wood screws and screw
it together. Pre-Drill your holes first!!!!! Any type of fiberboard will
split easily if you don't. When you carpet the enclosure you can use just
about any grade marine carpet and atach it with some spray glue and maybe
put a staple or two at the joints to prevent peeling. Just remember to hide
the joints on the rear/bottom of the enclosure to keep it neat and tidy
looking.

> Also, just an FYI, make sure you use thick gauge for the power and ground,
> like 8 gauge or better (think most use 6 or 4? been awhile).. For your
amp
> to your sub, if you bridge it like above, use some monster cable, like
> around 12 gauge. Remote switch from the amp to the deck won't matter, 16
> gauge, etc. Also make sure the amp can breathe, especially if bridging it
> as it will get hot. Any other questions, lemme know. I run systems both
in
> my Probe and my Dakota that I setup by myself.. I really get into this
> stuff :-)

As far as cabling goes, with that 250W Kenwood amp, 8ga should be sufficient
but might cause the amp to run a little bit warm. Since I'm captain
overkill I'd go with 6ga and leave yourself some room to grow. Remember
that you need to put an in-line fuse no more than 18"-24" from the battery
connection!!! This is important so that if something grounds out your truck
doesn't start on fire. Speaker cables and interconnects are the most
commonly overlooked part of the system. You just spent a bunch of dollars
on that amp and sub and power leads, to get good power and a nice sound, but
if you don't get good clean signal to the amp and sub the performance will
suffer. For a woofer I'd recommend using the "original" monster cable
speaker wire as it's rather large and generally a good quality product. Myu
whole truck is wired up with the stuff. Most amp hook up kits will come
with some interconnects, or you can buy your own. If you're planning on
moving some serious sound I'd definately pick up a good high-quality set of
interconnects. I personally prefer stinger custom pro's because they're
thick and inhibit signal degredation in transit, but that's just my opinion.

I hope that this information has been helpful and sorry for the long post.

--
-Josh
2000 Dakota CC 3.9L



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