Right, I'm going to attempt building my own sub box. I had thought about getting a car audio shop to build me one, but I was always pretty good at carpentry and it's not a complicated shape.

 

Because I have no audio engineering knowledge, I am at a bit of a stumbling block. Really need to know, in essence, what's the key to building something that not only looks good, but also does what it's supposed to and sounds good?

 

Not after a mega system as sounds offs or high street parading aren't really my thing. So a single sub box for my for my 10" pioneer and amp is pretty much all I am after.

 

I can't get the bass definition from my current speakers, even with sound deadening and new cabling. Quality is very good, but just can't get good bass. Not sure whether putting and amp on all 4 speakers would do anything as the Alpine headunit is quite a high output unit anyway.

 

Since the HU has an pre-out for a sub, I can use the headunit to power the mid-range and trebble from the speakers and the sub pre-out for the sub.

sealed subs are usually faster than ported unless you spend mega bucks on your drivers. 10" drivers are about optimum for speed/depth. Depends what music you're into fast paced music can sound laggy with crap drivers/bad ported box design as legrath has said check driver manufacturer detail on freeair or sealed design as they may rely on the suspension from a sealed box.

So running my 4 speakers from the headunit, powering trebble and lame mid-range (bass turned down low), with the amp being powered from the sub-woofer pre-out to a sealed box should be exactly what I need?

 

Rather than having the bass turned down low on your front and rear speakers, you might be able to turn it off below a certain frequency altogether. You said you have an Alpine headunit, it is likely that it has High Pass Filter (HPF) and Low Pass Filter (LPF).

 

You can set the HPF and LPF so that only bass goes to your sub and so no bass goes to your other speakers. You may be albe to to set it so that there is a small frequency range that goes to both the sub and the other speakers so you don't lose any frequencies.

 

As for the enclosure, I'd say ported/vented for loud bass, or sealed for decent punchy bass if youre after sound quality.

i agree... definately a sealed box. it makes the sound very tight/punchy and works well if your looking for good sound quality. my box is currently out atm si so il take some snaps all round so you can get an idea of what i did...

it is also important to make all the dimensions of the box different as this helps stop internal reflections building up into nasty sounding vibrations, so dont build a cube, build a rectangle. also sloping sides will help.

 

This isn't that important for a sub as the frequencies it is handling are way below those of any standing waves that could exist within the dimensions of the enclosure.

 

Definitly drive your mid/tweeters from a separate power amp if you can. Head units usually claim a silly power output, which when you read the small print is no where near its actual RMS output. You'll get a better sound all round (treble, mid and bass) if you drive them from a decent power amp. Although I'd probably leave the rear speakers driven from the head unit as the front speakers are the important ones, and it'd save space and money in terms of amplifiers.

Some people prefer not so loud with more quality.

Others (like some saxos and clios lol) prefer loud and less quality.

 

we're striving for both, loud and quality sound.

 

its all up to personal preference.... if you got the time and the funds, make 2 boxes... one with vent and one without. (you don't have to carpet and finish them off perfectly) and see what you prefer or what sounds better with the system you are running. You could always sell the other box you decide not to keep ;)

 

this is what I'm running with a air tight sub box thingy - and managed to get 129.1db (and it doesnt sound kak either!)

 

Kenwood 4 way 7 x 10 Speakers (in the boot)

Alpine: SPR-13S - 13cm components (in doors)

Kenwood 1200W KFC-WPS1202D Sub (in boot)

Kenwood 1600W Amp (powers sub)

Vibe Black box Amp (powers 7 x 10's)

1 farad power cap in boot

Pioneer Headunit with bluetooth etc

I've found you a light weight sub box Si! :D

 

 

:rofl:

 

I used to have 4x 12" subs in my old car with a Lanzar 1000W RMS amp driving them plus 3 other big Alpine amps for front, rear and mid bass.

Now that rocked!

I've installed some of it in the Z but haven't got it up and running yet.

I like these

 

I like these

 

 

I'm havin a go at making these at the moment, goin to the trade wholesalers to get a jigaw tomorrow :)

I like these

 

 

 

I've made a set of these and put the amp onto the table behind the seats. Looks not too bad, just needs finishing off! :dance:

I'm going a slightly different route. I have a 2+2 but i don't use the back seats at all in mine so they're coming out, the boot floor is going to be lowered to make a nice deep boot, the sides brought down and a storage box/sub box built behind the seats with the nitrous/amp mounted up.

 

I was going to do it this week for japfest but i've had to sort all the engine bay and wheels out which took up all my time.

 

It will follow the profile of the rear seat side panels and hopefully look OEM all being well :D

 

I'll pop some pictures up during the build

the boot floor is going to be lowered to make a nice deep boot

 

:wack: :confused:

:wack: :confused:

 

2+2 have a stupidly low profile boot area, i have ground out the mounting points for the targa straps and the centre of the spare wheel mount so it lowers the floor by about 3-4 inches all the way across, doesn't sound much but works a treat!

2+2 have a stupidly low profile boot area, i havebround out the mounting points for the targa straps and the centre of the spare wheel mount so it lowers the floor by about 3-4 inches all the way across, doesn't sound much but works a treat!

 

Yep, I took the false floor out of my last zed and it made it plenty deep enough for my Golden retriver to happily go in the back.

I may structure in a false floor that lets the targas sit inside with the floor over the top or let the slot in over the sub box or something. I haven't really thought that far ahead yet but it should look good when its done

Yep, I took the false floor out of my last zed and it made it plenty deep enough for my Golden retriver to happily go in the back.

 

Golden? Your dog's ginger Dave! :rofl: ;)

 

Thanks for all the comments guys. Shan't be doing anything with the boot floor though. Want to keep it all intact.

Si, I will try and get a picture of the back of mine to give you some idea of the shape I had to make them.

 

The boxes are far from the right size but looks and practicallity, I need to get the targas in still, over function.

 

Darrell

here a couple of sneaky shots for ya... as you can see the box itself only follows a very rough shape of the trim. its the top panel which follows the exact contour to make it look neat...

 

 

you have seen what it looks like when installed. it sounds like you want a very similar design to mine but to sit taller in the boot and have the woofer itself round the side and the amp underneath? be nice to see what it looks like as iv never seen one like that i dont think.

You dont need a vent tube (Aeroport), they are only really used to tune the boxs optimum frequency and add a little bit of potential air space, thats why they are mainly used in loud setups.

 

A sealed box would be what you are after. Make sure the box has internal airspace to match what your sub requires (X.XX cubic/ft). I found that putting some thin parcel foam inside the box helps rid any nasty vibrations

heres the sub boxes in mine,but it leaves stuff all room for targas and a spare wheel now comes in a can lol