TheMonolith2001

So I got myself a Zapco ZX500.2 and I gotta say the hype is real. Worth every penny. I like old school amps so I'm skeptical of anything new and I have to admit my Q has never sounded so good or loud. I don't think I'm going to change anything else at this point substage wise the max volume is just unnecessary. (yeah yeah said that before lol) I wired it at 4 ohms bridged which is 1750ish watts. I wonder what the explanation for this is? Crazy slew rate? I don't know what the Zapco is rated at but one of my other amps was rated at >50 V/µS and the other two don't say. Now I just have to get some distribution blocks so I can redo my mids/tweets. I have a Pioneer PRS-D800 on the mids and the tweets off the head unit. I'm going to switch it over to a PPI PC2300 Chrome and PPI Art A300. Should be a pretty cool looking amp rack and its all A/B! RIP electrical haha.

Okay so I guess I had accepted "box rise" as the slang term for impedance curve of a box but I shouldn't. Fair enough. It is true I had never heard the term before car audio forums. I thought it was assumed that it was a curve and the rise part was just referring to how you might go from 1 to 1.5 ohms at some point for example. I have definitely noticed the regurgitating of "facts" you speak of as well. I happen to have a large amount of extra 3/4 MDF lying around. I guess I'll just try some stuff and remake it in birch when I like it. It just kind of sucks to have to do it this way instead of being able to somehow arrive at what amount of port area/tuning/cubes I should be aiming for. I guess screw around in WinISD some more? There is definitely a difference in sound with the materials used. Look at all the different woods and processes used to make drums to get different sounds. A drumhead in a drum/speaker in a box are both moving/vibrating membranes moving air in an enclosure really. Let me ask you this as well: When I am messing around with time alignment/leveling/eq if I for example lower the volume of my front right tweeter by 1dB and I notice a significant change in soundstage to the left does this mean I have some kind of super hearing?

I know that the rule of thumb is double the power for +3dB increase but if I am buying an amp either way I figure why not get the 2K? I wanted to invest in a real nice Zapco that will last me a long time and possible future builds. Why would box rise not be relevant? I'm not saying I don't believe you I just want to learn why. If your impedence is different at difference frequencies wouldn't a 2K amp basically help more at some frequencies than others? I was going to try and make sure it was always getting at least 1500 RMS at full tilt and then eq down the frequencies where it was getting more. I can do that somewhat with the gear I have now but a processor is in the near future as well. If doing this really is a waste of time that actually works out better for me because I can go for the 1700ish RMS A/B instead of the 2000 RMS D class. I know that is a whole argument in itself but to me there is a big SQ difference that is worth the extra power draw. My ears may be more sensitive than most. My family is made up of musicians and sound technicians! Depending on the frequency I can usually notice a difference of 2dB. None of us have much experience with speaker building though. As for the box I have right now at 8 cubes if I knock out one of the port extensions it brings me to 34.56Hz tuning. Port would end up being 20.5 tall X 5.375 wide X 17.125 deep. Does that seem like a solid plan or should I go for the 10 cubes?

So I've been thinking about this for awhile and everything you guys have said so far makes sense but I am already at the 18 inch driver and 8 cubes. I was thinking about building a 33hz box instead of the 28hz I'm at now. Definitely the cheaper option! TBH I was thinking about tuning to 33hz AND getting a 2K amp just because I'm in the market for a new amp anyway and box rise is a thing. Plus then if I ever do decide to change my sub depending on what I get I can probably (hopefully) just drop it in the box. I don't really know that much about the SSAs because I've never used them but from what you have described it sounds like the XCon would be a good match for me. Being loud is super fun and all but so is turning it down to appreciate how good it sounds so I don't think I can dedicate myself to the loudest driver. Should I go to the maximum 10 cubes? I ask because the easiest option by far would be to shorten the port in my current box and stay at 8 cubes. It's pretty well built (and heavy) being made out of birch with metal bracing/double baffle/etc. It is already the maximum dimension of my trunk though the only other direction I can build in is up. (hatchback) I will check how that effects port ratio tomorrow I'm getting a bit tired tonight.

I have been running a Fi Q 18 tuned at 28Hz off 1500w RMS for a few years now and I love the way it sounds however, I think I want to upgrade to get more output. I will also be upgrading to 2000-2500w RMS. Honestly I really want more of what I have now in terms of sound because I love the way it sounds but I do not want to get a second one because I do not have the room and I do not want to upgrade to 3000-3500w RMS. I do not compete and I never will. I do not care what numbers I hit or what it sounds like outside the vehicle I just want loud good sounding music. I listen to almost strictly electronic music which to be honest is kind of all over the place in terms of frequencies but I can say my current setup handles it very well. I love the low bass. Should I just tune higher (33Hz?) and put 2K to the Q? It is fully loaded. I started looking at the BL/BTL and the XCON/ZCON. What would you guys recommend for me? Thanks guys, I know you are probably tired of comparing subs but I hope I have at least described my goals clearly enough.