quote Originally posted by 85fiero_fanat: Also, suggested air space is just a suggestion...the smaller the enclosure, the more pronounced the bass beats.

in other words, you get punchy bass (heavy beat) but extended tones of lower hrtz will suffer. The sub is not free enough to move inside the enclosure. therefore the low tones of can not play as easily.

quote The bigger the enclosure the louder the bass beats, but not necessarily the best sounding.

Not quite. It's not louder, it just resonates differently as the sub has less resistance inside the enclosure. Too large of an enclosure will make sound quality suffer because the sub will play more distortion. The coils will also suffer, causing a premature death of the sub woofer. The reason you may think it is louder is because the sub is now resonating more freely. It is also may be playing a bit more distortion.

quote The suggested size gives you a good amount of each. Too small of box and you could ruin sub, too big and it will start getting really quiet and won't be pronounced.

I am not sure what you are saying here, your contradicting your previous statement....

quote In my quest I'll be using two of the same 10" subs, but one enclosure will be a little bigger than suggested, and one a little smaller.

If you tune your amps correctly, then there is no reason to make your sub suffer by over stressing them or tiering out a coil....

quote Bass is a resonant sound, so you don't know where it's coming from, therefore I will get loud and pronounced bass. The smaller enclosure will be set up for a little higher frequencies. Not positive yet though, need to see what sounds best. What do ya all think?

Think about it this way, 10hrtz is 10 cycles per second (one cycle means the sub has left base position, fully extended, fully retracted, and is back at base position). 100hrtz is 100 cycles per second. so the lower the tone, the fewer cycles per second. To accomplish this feat, the sub must be able to move with enough freedom, but also without excessive play. Therefore you can use the "cubes" as a guideline, but for a longer life and clarity, use them as the measure. The size of an enclosure is listed for a reason. The suggested enclosure size is to allow your sub to preform AND live a long happy life.

Here is my suggestion of your thinking of two different size boxes. One that is sealed (please remember when calculating cubes that the sub takes some of the air space) and one that is ported. Try the two different sound and see what you like best. If you like clarity, I am sure you will pick the sealed enclosure. If you are not concerned with clarity, the ported will be the box for you. Ported will be louder with lower wattage but you may get "port noise". A ported enclosure will also be a bit less picky when figuring cubes.

------------------
Myke

PAST: 88 L4 5spd, 84 L4 auto, 88 L4 5spd, 87 L4 auto

Present: 84 L4 4spd, 88 L4 5spd

Future: Tomorrow will tell...

[This message has been edited by Myke (edited 04-11-2008).]

MIKE ---- you're right on. I second what you said especially if you really want different sounds coming out of the sub, have one sealed and one ported. I hate to see what the air space would be for a "true" tuned ported box especially in a Fiero. Some need 1.5 cuft.

P.S. I loved hearing the different tones with the cycles of the sub. Especially feeling the lower base waves. You can definitely tell the shape of a base wave due to the tones.

I love my system I have a 2gz onboard pc, 10" touch screen in custom center console, Infinity seperates in dash, 6.5" Kicker midbass in the doors, 2 12" Blaupunkt flat sub-woofers behind the seats, Polks in the seats, Infinity plates in the rear, Infinity amps under the hood, digital caps, Below is a quick pic of the subs.



Sounds Very sweet.

I use the seat speakers more for if I'm just sitting parked and want to hear music with out killing the battery. I just shut the amps down and play through the seat speakers. Sounds nice this way also.

Vince

[This message has been edited by Snapperhead (edited 04-11-2008).]

quote Originally posted by Snapperhead:I have a 2gz onboard pc, 10" touch screen in custom center console, Vince

Hey Vince, could you post some pics of your Carputer setup here https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum1/HTML/069619.html

quote Originally posted by Myke: I am not sure what you are saying here, your contradicting your previous statement....

What I'm saying about the suggested size of enclosure is that it gives you a good amount of life and sound quality out of the sub. If it needed to be that size, it wouldn't say suggested. Therefore, you can change the sound produced by changing the enclosure. I also said earlier that you don't want to get to far away from suggested size, because you could damage the sub, or lose sound quality and volume.

quote Originally posted by Myke: Think about it this way, 10hrtz is 10 cycles per second (one cycle means the sub has left base position, fully extended, fully retracted, and is back at base position). 100hrtz is 100 cycles per second. so the lower the tone, the fewer cycles per second. To accomplish this feat, the sub must be able to move with enough freedom, but also without excessive play. Therefore you can use the "cubes" as a guideline, but for a longer life and clarity, use them as the measure. The size of an enclosure is listed for a reason. The suggested enclosure size is to allow your sub to preform AND live a long happy life. Here is my suggestion of your thinking of two different size boxes. One that is sealed (please remember when calculating cubes that the sub takes some of the air space) and one that is ported. Try the two different sound and see what you like best. If you like clarity, I am sure you will pick the sealed enclosure. If you are not concerned with clarity, the ported will be the box for you. Ported will be louder with lower wattage but you may get "port noise". A ported enclosure will also be a bit less picky when figuring cubes.

I don't plan on porting my subs, I've heard that it's tough to figure out the enclosure size needed, and the size of the port needed/where it should be located. I'll just stick with my sealed enclosures and tune a bit different.

Most companies have posted their recommended enclosure sizes with port dia. and depth of the port tube.... It's trying to tune a bandpass box that are a shoot and miss or hit kind of thing. Experience comes with it too.

quote Originally posted by Mister: Hey Vince, could you post some pics of your Carputer setup here https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum1/HTML/069619.html

Sure will, I have the interior apart right now with a few updates going in but plan to do a spread on it this year.

Vince

[This message has been edited by Snapperhead (edited 04-12-2008).]

quote Originally posted by unboundmo: Most companies have posted their recommended enclosure sizes with port dia. and depth of the port tube.... It's trying to tune a bandpass box that are a shoot and miss or hit kind of thing. Experience comes with it too.

Agreed. There's lots of things to consider when building a box. Unfortunately, the lack of room in a Fiero often necessitates a sealed box is the only way to go. Great rundown on th different types and advantages of the various sub-boxes. http://www.the12volt.com/caraudio/boxes.asp