95Honda

I'm not trying to be a smart ass, but I thought there were volume knobs on most head units... The point is, he has no idea how much power he needs because he hasn't modeled. He also, under no circumstance must apply over the thermal rating of the sub, with any amplifier. Additionally, basing any subwoofer selection on RMS rating is only slightly more meaningful than the color on the dustcap.

What does "handling the power" have to do with anything?

Hey just curious, why is the power quoted for Xmax in a 1.5^3 box but the recommended box is 3^3? Am I missing something?

How hot before it fails, doesn't even sound to my ears like it would help me design a box for it any day of the week, know what I'm saying?

Personally, I think RMS ratings should only be the thermal rating of the coil, nothing more, nothing less. Any other rating should be called something else. I say this because it is the least meaningful specification given by a manufacturer, but none the less, it should be an objective one.

Or just have 2 ports, one for SPL and one to sound good...

Also, current still flows below the skin depth, this isn't a hard cut-off point.

This is it. If they can't understand this, there is no point in explaining further... http://www.microwaves101.com/encyclopedia/images/Skin%20Depth/versusfreq.jpg

It happens above DC. It is proportional to frequency, it doesn't really "come in". You have to calculate to figure out how much effect it has, there is help with this online. The thing to remember is, it really isn't a big factor in the audible range...

The whole point of an L-network is not to effect the impedance the crossover network sees. So you'll be good... Just make sure you use the appropriate L-network (it should have you input driver impedance). I would shoot for at least 20-30 watts rated dissipation, with that amp. Just gang them up and you'll be fine. Better safe than sorry...

A good example of where skin effect plays a role in car audio is the transformers inside the switching power supplies of our amplifiers. They switch at frequencies above the audible spectrum. The transformers (the donut shaped ferrite cores with all the red/brownish wire wrapped around them) have multiple strands of individually insulated (with red/brownish varnish) wires. They are built this way to improve the transformer efficiency at the higher frequencies they operate at. The litz construction reduces the losses due to skin effect. I would post a pic, but this site has so many goddamn extension criteria limitations it isn't worth my time, lol. Here is a link: https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRM_xAQvPDTtRuJwnXwrJ7nItzHIuM2OwMgBACWqsY4HonqnU1VLg

Skin effect plays no part in DC. Wire cross sectional area doesn't change due to solid or stranded construction if it is the same Awg. The physical size changes, but only due to strand construction not being 100% solid (there is air or something else between the strands)... If the stranded wire isn't Litzed in some way, it doesn't really do much to combat skin effect vs. solid core. Skin effect doesn't really effect us enough in the audible range to be a huge concern. It is a huge concern in the Radio Frequency spectrum. Solid wire is less durable due it to being more prone to fractures due to increased bending radius. It is cheaper to make, that is why it is used in homes. It is also used where it is never bent/moved. The power lines outside are always bending and moving due to the weather, that is why they are stranded.

You need to do an L-network (series and parallel resistors) instead of a single resistor in series or you will alter the crossover frequency. There are a ton L-attenuator calculators online, just choose one and run with it. By the way, if this is going to get a bunch of power (like a DJ rig) make sure you combine a few of the resistors in parallel (at least in the series component) to increase heat dissipation... You can easily burn up a 10 watt resistor in minutes. I you have powerful pro audio amps try and get at least 30+ watts of resistors on the series portion and 20+ on parallel portion...

If you don't stuff, you are going to get 100% better performance out of a standard 4th order... In all aspects...

And yes, don't finish the box until you finalize stuffing...

Read the white paper, it will help you decide on the stuffing and how to properly install it.

Stuffing it is the only way to adjust for flat impedance and decent response. Unstuffed is the worst way to run a T-line, you loose all the non-resonant behavior a T-line provides, and that is the only advantage they have. I have been building 1/4 wave T-lines since the early 90s... Read Martin Kings white paper.

Looks cool, btw...

No "tuning" with a T-line. What are you going to stuff with?

Just think about this. You are talking a daily driver, right? So you will be listening while you drive, right? Lots of road noise... You could (A) increase you system output level potential 10db while trying not to be increasing distortion (this is a LOT! hard to do...) Or you could (B) lower the noise floor in your vehicle 10db (completely doable with the right treatments)... Both would give you same increase in dynamic range. I would choose option (B) personally...

Additionally, having a low noise floor will do more for dynamic range than power. This is true for Audio, RF, etc...

Especially with the compressed music 99% of us listen to 99% of the time...

The point I am trying to make is you don't need all that power to sound good, period. The whole headroom requirement gets blown way out of proportion...

I have never heard them, they look nice though. Just realize you are paying a huge chunk for aesthetics with those...

The scientific answer is in order to use all that "headroom" that is supposedly necessary you would need to listen to your system at full tilt in order for it to sound good... That is ridiculous... Case in point, Sterophile's "Best sound at CES 2014" entries. These are the best sounding systems in the world, period. There is no mobile audio systems that can even approach what you hear with these. One thing to notice is, about half these systems are 100 watts or less... Some as little as 10 watts... Yes there are high power amps too, but not the majority... You don't have to have a ton of power for fidelity. You only have to have a ton of power to play loud. By the way, as someone who worked for a manufacturer that built high end equipment and went to CES many years, nobody plays these systems at levels that tap the amps out... When I worked for Audioprism in the mid 90's we had a Stereophile top 10 best sound at CES entry 2 years running, with 30 watts per channel...