Multiple Small subwoofer set up options

[zaytser 0]

Hi guys. I currently am running a single Alpine SWX-1242D with a pdx 1.1000 in a 2.25 - 2.5 cubic foot enclosure in the back of my Hummer. I csn't remember what it is tuned to, as I got the design off of a forum a couple years ago. Unfortunately I haven't been able to get the ouput I want. I am not sure why, but there just doesn't seem to be enough bass. My input source is a Mac mini running to an Alpine PXE 650 with the Ant EQ, which has 4 volt pre outs. I also run a stock batt, with a yellow top optima in the back. Stock alternator and all power And grounds are 0 gauge welding cable.

So since I can't firgure out the problem other than the box may not be right, I think I would like to get multiple 8 inch drivers and get rid of the large box with the 12 type X. With the smaller drivers I could build a box that sits over either wheel well in the back and possibly have one up front. I have never been a big fan of big boxes and gave it a shot with the type x but it hasn't worked out.

What are my options for 8 inch drivers out there other than the Sundown SA-8 and Soundsplinter RL i8 as they don't seem to be avsilable yet? Or is there something you can recommend to get my type x playing right. I know it is more of a sq sub, but quite a few have gotten way more output than me. I don't have any real bass cd tracks, just listen to rap, mostly old school, but the bass is still poor. My old school pioneer from a decade ago sounded just as loud as this type x. Any suggestions are greatly apprectiated.

[stevemead08 752]

if you have 2.5 cubic feet. you could do 4 sa-8s. i believe there in stock now. that will be way more bass than you need.

[KU40 173]

You realize that a box for four 8s is going to be as large as the one for that one 12, right? Going with just two 8 inch drivers most likely won't be much louder than what you have.

[zaytser 0]

Ya I was thinking I could make two boxes that would sit on top of each rear wheel well (fibreglass set up perhaps). I also have read that thr shallow mount SI's are popular but are not in stock as of yet. I am definitely more into an overall sound quality system that is more effeicient and not so hungry for power, but at the moment it is as if my type x mids up front are contributing more kick than my type x 12. However I do like to feel some bass in my chest. I just cannot sacrifice too much room as within the next year the truck will be laying rocker panel and the frame notch will not allow a big ugly box.

[zaytser 0]

You realize that a box for four 8s is going to be as large as the one for that one 12, right? Going with just two 8 inch drivers most likely won't be much louder than what you have.

But making the enclosure for the 12 is much more difficult to do over the wheel well. I sat the type x over the wheel well last summer to see what may be possible but it sticks out too far. I am also cotnsidering shalloe mount subs. I would most likely end up with a sealed application.

[KU40 173]

Perhaps there is something amiss in your installation of the Alpine? It should definitely be louder than your mids up front. How did you set the gain? Where is the low pass and subsonic filters at? What head unit do you have, and how are you getting the signal to the amplifier and using what outputs on the head unit to do so?

[zaytser 0]

Perhaps there is something amiss in your installation of the Alpine? It should definitely be louder than your mids up front. How did you set the gain? Where is the low pass and subsonic filters at? What head unit do you have, and how are you getting the signal to the amplifier and using what outputs on the head unit to do so?

I mentioned in my first post I use a mac mini carputer which has the signal boosted by an Alpine PXE-H650 with Ant Eq processing (4 volt preouts). My subsonic filter is at 30 and my gain is just barely passed half way as I haven't tested it, because I am not sure if my old school multi meter is accurate. My box is 2.25 cubes to 2.5 cubes tuned to I believe 30-35 hz. I got the box design off of caraudio.com/forum over a year ago. The system has been in for over a year and I have fiddled with it a bit but,it seems like I forhet everything I have learned about car audio after a year just listening to the system.

I suspect my box may be at fault or the Alpine processor as originally it was supposed to hook inline with the factory bose system to flatten out the response before running the auto EQ. However Alpine designed it to splice into the factory speaker wires and I felt that was a pretty cheap way to integrate amps and subs into a factory system, so I removed the factory system completely and just auto eq'd the carputer. Unfortunately a couple of steps are skipped when just using the Processors aux source so that may be the problem. Wish I could explain it better. The rest of the system sounds great.

Edited August 9, 2010 by zaytser

[KU40 173]

Where is the low pass crossover at? Did you set the gain with the multimeter? Have you tried just turning up the gain or does it bottom out if you turn it up anymore?

[zaytser 0]

Where is the low pass crossover at? Did you set the gain with the multimeter? Have you tried just turning up the gain or does it bottom out if you turn it up anymore?

[/quote

I don't have a digital mm, just an old school mm so I am not sure if it will work as well which I mentioned in the previous post and I don't have any test tones to use yet either. I have had the crossover set at 80 hz and 55 hz and there doesn't seem to be much difference. I forgot to mention that.... sorry about that. I also have the crossover on the pxe-h650 set at 80 hz with the level up at 10 out of 15. The gain on the amp seems to do very little between half way and full out. I know I need to set it up properly, And need some test tones and a netter multi meter. Also my pxe-h650 allows for either 24db/ octave slope or a 12db/octave slope and I am not sure what tomset that on. The main gain level on for the aux output is about 3/4 of thway turned up. So as you can see, it seems like thete atw just too many volume and gain controls for my level of knowledge.. I am kind of lost and don't want to reck something. The more I read about settings and tunning the more I get confused and just end up putting it off.

I never have the gain up full out and the sub barely even moves. Also if I was to put a piece of paper in front of the port there wouldn't even be enough air force to move it like in the various vids shown around the forum. So there is never any bottoming out. I know it is supposed to be a low end monster, however I haven't heard the low notes play very well with my settings. I just need to dig into some car audio articles and learn some new stuff and some old stuff.

Edited August 9, 2010 by zaytser

[hondakilla98 29]

Did you double check your sub wires inside the box? Maybe it's wired incorrectly and your amp is seeing over 4 ohms reducing power output? Maybe a wire is disconnected inside the box and your running on one coil? Check the simple stuff first. And get a cheap dmm. They are only $15.

[zaytser 0]

Did you double check your sub wires inside the box? Maybe it's wired incorrectly and your amp is seeing over 4 ohms reducing power output? Maybe a wire is disconnected inside the box and your running on one coil? Check the simple stuff first. And get a cheap dmm. They are only $15.

There is no way that the sub is wired incorrectly. The type x has two jumpers that are plugged into it that allow for easy wireing. I have checked the users manuals online multiple times before dropping the sub in the enclosure. However I am so desperate I may have to check it anyways. No matter what my crossover or gain are set at I just don't feel the bass. I have a feeling that the box may be too big. But a couple years ago on this forum and on caraudio.com/forums, the consensus was to use the box I have. Maybe my amp is faulty? Don't get me wrong, there is bass, it just isn't impressive at all for what Alpine claims this sub should do. My $200 home theatre sub punches harder. Also the alpine processor may not be putting out the 4 volts from the pre outs. It is just weird that my 5 channel alpine pdx amp gain is only up half way runnning my front end flawlessly, yet my pdx 1.1000 sub amp can have the gain up 3/4 of the way and it doesn't keep up to my components. Maybe I am just expecting too much from 1 12" woofer in an H2 Hummer cab?

Edited August 9, 2010 by zaytser

[tschuster 0]

If you have a box fiberglassed to stealth fit somewhere you could get the space your trying to save. But mdf box for a lot of small drivers will rival 2-2.5 cuft box. Two 8 inch woofers already push more air than one 12. Just do 2 8s, If u need more add them.

[///M5 2,833]

There is no way that the sub is wired incorrectly. The type x has two jumpers that are plugged into it that allow for easy wireing. I have checked the users manuals online multiple times before dropping the sub in the enclosure.

Ha, there is your first mistake. Don't assume the posts are labeled correctly. Test it yourself.

[zaytser 0]

There is no way that the sub is wired incorrectly. The type x has two jumpers that are plugged into it that allow for easy wireing. I have checked the users manuals online multiple times before dropping the sub in the enclosure.

Ha, there is your first mistake. Don't assume the posts are labeled correctly. Test it yourself.

So you are saying that Alpine's instructions may be at fault? All I know is that the amp is supposed to be bridged all the time so you don't have to do any extra wiring. The sub as well, but there is something clearly wrong as there is nomway that a 1000 watts is going to that sub. Guess it is time to upgrade my crappy multi meter.

[Dictator1992 6]

..I seen alot of people run multiple DD 8inch drivers and get crazy loud for 8's.

[ssh 924]

There is no way that the sub is wired incorrectly. The type x has two jumpers that are plugged into it that allow for easy wireing. I have checked the users manuals online multiple times before dropping the sub in the enclosure.

Ha, there is your first mistake. Don't assume the posts are labeled correctly. Test it yourself.

So you are saying that Alpine's instructions may be at fault? All I know is that the amp is supposed to be bridged all the time so you don't have to do any extra wiring. The sub as well, but there is something clearly wrong as there is nomway that a 1000 watts is going to that sub. Guess it is time to upgrade my crappy multi meter.

He's not saying the instructions are wrong, but the terminal posts on the actual driver may be switched around

[zaytser 0]

..I seen alot of people run multiple DD 8inch drivers and get crazy loud for 8's.

No doubt. I am not too worried about getting crazy loud, but it is just frustrating that my sub and amp set up hardly perform any better than tiny little 7 inch woofer that comes stock in most GM Bose factory systems. Gotta get a digital multi meter and see what is going on with my amps and electrical. It could be the 2.25-2.5 cube box tuned to 30-35 hz. It may be to big. Alpine actually only recommends .75 -1 cube sealed and 1.5 cubes ported. I tried a small sealed enclosure and it sounded like poo as well. Been busy with work and family so this simple job keeps getting put off.

Thanks for all the input guys. Keep throwing out some ideas as to what may be my problem. All the help is appreciated.

[zaytser 0]

There is no way that the sub is wired incorrectly. The type x has two jumpers that are plugged into it that allow for easy wireing. I have checked the users manuals online multiple times before dropping the sub in the enclosure.

Ha, there is your first mistake. Don't assume the posts are labeled correctly. Test it yourself.

So you are saying that Alpine's instructions may be at fault? All I know is that the amp is supposed to be bridged all the time so you don't have to do any extra wiring. The sub as well, but there is something clearly wrong as there is nomway that a 1000 watts is going to that sub. Guess it is time to upgrade my crappy multi meter.

He's not saying the instructions are wrong, but the terminal posts on the actual driver may be switched around

Ya, I am going to try everything I can to find out what is wrong. If none of my attempts of finding the problem resolve the issue, the equipment may be the issue, but I doubt it. We will see this weekend. I know this sub and amp perform better than whatbI have experienced. I have seen plenty of vids of the type x shaking the shit out of people vehicles.

[zaytser 0]

There is no way that the sub is wired incorrectly. The type x has two jumpers that are plugged into it that allow for easy wireing. I have checked the users manuals online multiple times before dropping the sub in the enclosure.

Ha, there is your first mistake. Don't assume the posts are labeled correctly. Test it yourself.

So you are saying that Alpine's instructions may be at fault? All I know is that the amp is supposed to be bridged all the time so you don't have to do any extra wiring. The sub as well, but there is something clearly wrong as there is nomway that a 1000 watts is going to that sub. Guess it is time to upgrade my crappy multi meter.

He's not saying the instructions are wrong, but the terminal posts on the actual driver may be switched around

So would I just test the terminals to see if in fact the positive and negative are labled incorrectly? Would there be a problem in testing that with the way Alpine has this jumper set up? My knowledge in this area od car audio is limited.

[///M5 2,833]

There is no way that the sub is wired incorrectly. The type x has two jumpers that are plugged into it that allow for easy wireing. I have checked the users manuals online multiple times before dropping the sub in the enclosure.

Ha, there is your first mistake. Don't assume the posts are labeled correctly. Test it yourself.

So you are saying that Alpine's instructions may be at fault? All I know is that the amp is supposed to be bridged all the time so you don't have to do any extra wiring. The sub as well, but there is something clearly wrong as there is nomway that a 1000 watts is going to that sub. Guess it is time to upgrade my crappy multi meter.

Nope, I am saying the labels on the coils on your subs might not be right.

[altoncustomtech 773]

Why not try bypassing all that processing. Temporarily run directly into the sub amp with another source and see if you notice a difference. It sounds like you have so much going on before that amp there could easily be a setting or adjustment that isn't correct. I agree with M5 as well, use a battery and verify the polarity of the terminals on the sub. If one coil is out of phase from the other it won't work anything like it should. You could try hooking another sub up to the amp as well and see if you have another inherent problem with your sub as well.

[SPL_Man 20]

it may be a lousy box or like u said expecting too much from a 12" to fill a hummer

i have done single 12" type R that can get almost unbearably loud with around 750wrms on it but those were in regular size sedans so the added cone area of multiple subs will help if ur willing give up space u can do 4 12" RE RE series which go about $65 shipped each on ebay

[zaytser 0]

Why not try bypassing all that processing. Temporarily run directly into the sub amp with another source and see if you notice a difference. It sounds like you have so much going on before that amp there could easily be a setting or adjustment that isn't correct. I agree with M5 as well, use a battery and verify the polarity of the terminals on the sub. If one coil is out of phase from the other it won't work anything like it should. You could try hooking another sub up to the amp as well and see if you have another inherent problem with your sub as well.

Can't bypass the alpine processor as it has the 4 volt pre outs. The low voltage ouput of a Mac mini would be terrible. However I do have an old Earthquake 200DHC that was supposed to put out 2000 watts at 2 ohms so I will try that as well. There are several things mentioned that I will try before giving up.

One thing interesting though, is that the bass seems to hit pretty hard and low close to the dash and windshield. I have my seat set quite aways back for leg room and the bass is way different even though it is only about a foot and a half away difference. Not sure if that is just the door speakers or if that is the sub bass.

[zaytser 0]

Well I switched out my Alpine PDX 1.1000 with my Earthquake 200DHC and instantly I noticed a difference. So I don't know if my alpine amp is poor or it is just because the Earthquake is supposes to put out 2000 watts at 2 ohms. I would say it only puts out a half to 3/4 of that rms rating. I only have to turn the gain up a 1/3 of the way. However it does not have a subsonic afilter, so should I be putting this sub back in a sealed enclosure. It is currently in a slot ported box tuned to 30-35 hz, can't quite remember and the amp is crossed over at 70 hz. Also I am still experiancing a loss of bass where I sit. My seat is back further and if I move my head closerr to the dash the bass is so much better. It is as if where I sit there is a dead zone as far as sub bass is concerned I have shot the sub and port up into the ceiling, facing forward and facing backward. So far facing the rear hatch is best, but I know major improvements can be made. Any ideas?

Edited August 19, 2010 by zaytser