12 or 15? Bridge No Bridge? Port? Sealed?

1967 Views 19 Replies 6 Participants Last post by MustangChris810, Jan 4, 2011

MustangChris810

Discussion Starter · Jul 15, 2010

Hey guys. While i'm away from the states I am planning some mods for my ride. I have a 10" Infinity powered sub right now, but it just doesn't go boom like I want. I am not looking to rattle the neighbors walls, but when I crank the stereo listening to rock I want it to HIT!

With that, I also only want to afford room for one speaker. I have found some of Kicker CompVR loaded box 12 and 15 inch ported combo's on Ebay for sale. I'm just not sure which one to get. I have had 12's in the past and I loved them, much more bass than a 10 IMO. Seems like I have heard a 15 is just a bit to big and does not sound good. I am looking for an opinion on this.

Also, the amps I am looking at only push the ammount of watts I need when they are bridged. Seems like I have heard that this puts extra stress on your amplifier but if the amp is built for it you are good to go. So I am asking, is it OK to bridge an AMP?

Lastly, the loaded Kicker Comp boxes I am looking at are ported. I have always had sealed boxes and have no experiance with the ported boxes. One thing I can say, it's a factory sub and box, meaning kicker makes the box and sub and sells them as one. So I know they are made for each other....

Just looking for some advice. Thanks.

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94mustanggtfast

· #2 · Jul 15, 2010

yea iv always owned 12s. i had 2 memphis 12s in a sealed box with a 2000 watt amp and it was a heart stopper. now i have a competition 12 in a walmart box with a 2500 watt solo baric and its ok need a better 12. 15s are to big and dont beat as good as a 12 to me. kicker makes good products iv heard a few and there hard to blow lol iv tried

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jltcat

· #3 · Jul 21, 2010

kicker makes nice stuff. the cvr is a inexpensive sub but will take some abuse. As far as sizing if you want tight sounding bass 10" if you want deeper harding hitting bass 12" and 15" if you want sloppy sounding boom.
I would also recommend a L7 or L5 solo they are one of my favorites and will have a little more presence than a regular round sub due to the increase in surface area.

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MustangChris810

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jul 21, 2010

Thanks guys. I am still eyeing deals on subs. I have three months till I get home, so I have time.

I decided to look for a Kicker Solo Baric L5 or L7 12" Sub. Not decided on ported or sealed box.

I did find a deal on the amp I wanted. I got a Eclipse xa1200 Mono amp 500 watt RMS 2-OHM stable for about 100 bucks shipped. It's brand new. Should push one L5 or L7 just fine. Here is a link to the amp.

Eclipse XA1200 - Monoblock Car Amplifier, Power Amp - Sonic Electronix

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Boosted74M2

· #5 · Jul 23, 2010

First off thanks for your service. I prefer a ported box for for hard hittin rock/rap. Most factory ported boxes are tuned at 40 to 44 hz so they can still hit low notes without bottoming out. A 15 would be great unless you listen to fast/ speed metal then it will not keep up unless you amp the hell out of it. Bridge what ever amp you get unless you get a mismatch on impedence load ( dual 2 ohm voice coil sub they don't like to be run series to get 4 ohms for some reason) then you could run 2ohms stereo . Good luck hope this helps. :yelwacko:

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MustangChris810

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jul 25, 2010

I have been looking at a Solo Baric L5 12" Sub in a 38Hz ported box. How do you think this would sound?

I'm still a little foggy on how the tuning of the Hz effects sound....

Boosted74M2

· #7 · Jul 26, 2010

I think 35to 38 hz is perfect for a daily driver system. The tune frequency of your box is where the box has its highest output. If your box is tuned to high ( 50 hz or above) it will be boomy and cannot hit lows, But if it is tuned to low (28hz or lower ) it will be to flat And that is best for the sq crowd that like to hit a 40 on the rta meter. A 12 in a 38hz box will slam with kick drums but also hit those Micheal Anthony bass riffs that make your side mirrors flapp like bird wings .Also with the mono block amp you are planing on using you could beat on that amp for hours before it went into pertection mode and shut down. hope this helps. :bigthumbsup

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MustangChris810

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jul 27, 2010

Thanks boosted. I sure hope the amp I ordered works well. Everything I read says it's good.

I'm still undecided on the ported or sealed box. The sealed is a bit smaller and will leave me more trunk space, but I think I may get better bass hits off the ported box....

Hmmmm......

Boosted74M2

· #9 · Jul 27, 2010

One thing is for sure ported boxes play louder with less power. Also don't forget to upgrade your amp kit, that amp pulls at least 80 amps at 14.4 volt or 100amps at 12.5 volts and a small cap 1 farad may not be a bad idea or your headlights will blink to the bass. Sorry for the ohbytheway just thought i would remind you of the much overlooked part of a slamin system.

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MustangChris810

Discussion Starter · #10 · Jul 28, 2010

I guess I really did not think about getting a cap. I used to have two 12's in a sealed box with 450W RMS and I never had a issue, no dimming head lights no nothing.

Seems like the only people that needed caps were the people running like 1000-2000+ super systems. Seems like with 600RMS I would be good.

About the amps. I used a calculator and at 12 volts I should only be sucking about 50 amps........

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Boosted74M2

· #11 · Jul 29, 2010

50 amps is still a pretty heavy draw esp when you are running a/c or defrost.

MustangChris810

Discussion Starter · #12 · Jul 30, 2010

Yeah, well I figure if I have a problem CAP's are relativley cheap, so i'll pick one up and splice it in if I have a problem. Thanks for the advice though!! I do appreciate it!!!!

MustangChris810

Discussion Starter · #13 · Aug 10, 2010

Update:

Got the sub ordered today. Kicker Solo Baric 12" L5 for 103 bucks shipped!!!! What a deal!!!

It's a factory refurb, but for the money I thought I would try it out.

Still debating the box.....

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EagleAutosports

· #14 · Aug 10, 2010

Way to go everyone about this subject, even I've learned a lot on this. I'm no rookie on sound but the specifics about mHz will go a long way.

About the box... it can hinge on what type of music you'll be listening to. Rap and a lot of bass does better with a ported bandpass type of box. Rock and metal, where it needs a tight bass sound without all the boooooom badooooooom to it, that music sounds better with a sealed. The flip side is, rock/metal sounds alright with a bandpass if you tone down the bass and rap sounds alright with a sealed if you work with the EQ settings. I'm not a basshead, I'm a metalhead and have a sealed box with 2 MTX RoadThunder 10s in my car and it pounds just enough for me. :bigthumbsup

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MustangChris810

Discussion Starter · #15 · Aug 12, 2010

EagleAutosports said:
Way to go everyone about this subject, even I've learned a lot on this. I'm no rookie on sound but the specifics about mHz will go a long way.

About the box... it can hinge on what type of music you'll be listening to. Rap and a lot of bass does better with a ported bandpass type of box. Rock and metal, where it needs a tight bass sound without all the boooooom badooooooom to it, that music sounds better with a sealed. The flip side is, rock/metal sounds alright with a bandpass if you tone down the bass and rap sounds alright with a sealed if you work with the EQ settings. I'm not a basshead, I'm a metalhead and have a sealed box with 2 MTX RoadThunder 10s in my car and it pounds just enough for me. :bigthumbsup

Yup, your right. Thats why I am leaning on a sealed box. The music I most listen to is rock/alternative. I do some rap, but not much. I am from Michigan so I am a huge Eminem fan, but his stuff gets old fast.

Not to mention the more I think about it, the more I would like to have usable trunk space, and thats what a sealed box will afford me. Some people say you can take it out for long road trips, but thats when I am going to want it most!!!

When I get back to the states this stereo is one of the first things I am going to be doing to my car. I will take plenty of pics and post specifics on my setup. Whatever box I get, this sub should rock the stang good and hard!!!! :winks

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alleymad95GT

· #16 · Aug 16, 2010

Alternative? I am starting to get a little long in the tooth, but to me that means Nirvana and Alice in Chains and Soundgarden?

What is "alternative" describing now, just out of curiosity? The Killers? Franz Ferdinand? Or Seether? I just don't know...

Personally, I prefer some Pantera or old Metallica or even Slipkont...but that is beside the point...

I would go with a sealed box for ANY of the music choices I listed above. They all kind of fall into the "rock" genre, and, IMHO, a ported box will require a bit of a sacrifice on the volume to get the music to hit properly. Often, it just seems like you end up with way too much bass guitar and far too little drums...

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MustangChris810

Discussion Starter · #17 · Aug 17, 2010

Thanks Matt. Yeah, Alice in Chains, Sound Garden, Nirvana, old metallica. I listen to all that and more.

BTW - I used to work at a Digilink Computers store in Okemos. Nice town...I LOVED partying it out at MSU. I know this is off topic but when I was 19 I dated a girl I met in the comp store, she was part of a sorority down off of Grand River. Man that was awesome....just a house full of drunken chicks.....it was like heaven..... :bigthumbsup

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alleymad95GT

· #18 · Aug 25, 2010

Mustang Airman said:
Thanks Matt. Yeah, Alice in Chains, Sound Garden, Nirvana, old metallica. I listen to all that and more.

BTW - I used to work at a Digilink Computers store in Okemos. Nice town...I LOVED partying it out at MSU. I know this is off topic but when I was 19 I dated a girl I met in the comp store, she was part of a sorority down off of Grand River. Man that was awesome....just a house full of drunken chicks.....it was like heaven..... :bigthumbsup

About a week ago, it was like 90 degrees, and they had a huge slip and slide set up in the front yard of a sorority house on Grand River. They had music, beer, water, and bikinis. Looked like the place to be for sure. Took me an extra 20 minutes to get home that day. No one was moving faster than about 5 mph through there. :bigthumbsup

I prefer the sound of the sealed box. Just my preference, but I find it easier to make the entire system sound how I want it to sound. You know, lots of guitar, bass that hits as opposed to bass that booms. You know what I mean I think.

Okemos is pretty decent. Bikes can stay out at night and no one steals them, if you leave the car unlocked the radio isn't gone in the morning...

Trade off is that the cops are EVERYWHERE, so you gotta watch the right foot when the light turns green...

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MustangChris810

Discussion Starter · #19 · Nov 7, 2010

Alright. I'm back! I checked out the 1.45 CU FT box I ordered and even slid it in to the trunk. It fits well and seems to be a good compromise. It leaves me with about 75% of the trunk space as usable. The wife and I can still get away for a weekend and keep the sub in the trunk.

I'll be installing it here this week sometime. I'll let you guys know how things go. The Kicker SB S12L5 is MUCH heavier than I had figured it would be. I can't wait to check it out.

The clarion AMP looks to be of the best quality. I'll have to give it a listen but if it sounds like any other clarion I have heard it's going to work out great.

See ya! :bigthumbsup

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MustangChris810

Discussion Starter · #20 · Jan 4, 2011

Just an update. I have had the sub and amp installed for almost two months now. Everything works and sounds great! I am glad I went with a sealed box. It seems to hit better with the rock style of music. More so than the ported sub it replaced.

Thanks for everyones help! For a factory headunit and just a sub additon, I could not be any happier with the way my stereo sounds.:bigthumbsup

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