creyc

Well good I do see two peaks! But if not the resonance of my drivers, what is the peak at 30Hz?

Following this tutorial I just plotted the impedance rise for my two Ascendant Audio Havocs in a bandpass box. They are wired to 2 ohms final. I think the peak at 30Hz must be the resonance of my Havocs (Fs 29Hz). Does the rest of the curve seem normal? I'm just getting into this more advanced stuff and trying to learn as much as possible.

Im somewhat partial to the AVICs, that would be my choice. They look clean and have a pretty good user interface.

Where did you get that number from, because it's not even remotely correct for our applications. Using the values found in the Handbook of Electronic Tables and Formulas, a 20g wire is safe for 1.5 amp of current in a power transmission line or 11 amps free-air such as in a panel or box. ref: http://www.cablesandconnectors.com/wiregauge.html Perhaps you are talking about the inner copper conductor failing at 30 amps, which is of course after melting through the wire insulation, any nearby plastic and igniting any flammable materials it comes in contact with. Sure, 30 amps. Not that you need to worry about this in a car, of course. The maximum current you might be seeing on your speaker wires is only around 8.5 amps. Meaning you could probably push it on 18 in a pinch, sure.

I know it wont help win a SQ competition, I meant to say I'm not looking for a sundown SAZ amp or anything special. I just need some decent cheap power in a small footprint. And yes its for the truck with the 8" Kicker CVT. It really does sound OK now, not quite the low end of the stock subwoofer off 50 watts but it turns out my mom might be keeping the truck a bit more so it's worth putting an amp in.

Just remember its unsupported however and if your amplifier fails while under this load, it wont be fixed under warranty.

Nice amp! But with a price tag of at least $300 I'm a bit hesitant. The rest of the system is stock, and I'm not looking to win any SQ competitions.

I'm trying to find a very small mono amplifier to power an 8" Kicker CVT at 2 ohms. The chassis itself needs to be very small as I plan to mount it above a wheel well hidden. I'm looking for 200 watts, any ideas guys?

Go with 12s definitely. With BTLs your port will probably consume at least 1 cu ft of that box. (approx 63 sq inches area x 30" long) That gives you 4.5 cubes for two subs, or 2.25 each after porting. Remember install accounts for maybe 90% of the final product. Tuning higher could help reduce the port volume a tad. But fitting two 15s in that small of air space will hamper their performance, while 12s or a single 15 will shine!

For ease of tuning I would say go strapped. All the gain, crossover and subsonic controls come from one amp. (master) That's the way I have my 1000D's hooked up, with a chunk of 8g bridging the two and a tiny (mono) RCA for the signal. Apparently the ams will put out more power wired individually, but I've heard the difference is indistinguishable. Worth a shot if its easy to wire this way I suppose.

Turns out I'm not the only one who thinks 18g is a tad thin: http://www.bcae1.com/images/swfs/speakerwi...orassistant.swf I've just never liked cutting corners. Do what you like, yes 16g would probably be plenty. Speaker wire is a pain to run through doors and floors hence spending $4 more to do it right the first time. Not to mention future-proofing for amp/speaker upgrades down the road..14 is probably overkill, I'll give you that.

Havocs DO look good with their clean badarse-black look and they sound fantastic! My only quip I can come up with on my two 15" Havocs is that they LOVE power. Every turn of that volume knob makes you want to turn it one notch more, and the subs keep asking for more! I've got two SAE-1000D's on the pair and they sound crisp and clear as anything else I've ever heard and don't even get warm. Plan to give them at LEAST rated power. (1250)

Its cheap safety. You can run longer lengths of wire. You'll spend a few measly bucks more at the end of the day. Why not?

Chris at dB-R is a great guy. He will work with you if anything goes wrong with your purchase.

Me too pleaseeee! Gotta show love for my Havocs! 1coreyster(at)gmaill.com

Looks awesome man! Jon I think I originally saw your van down in clearwater at some CA meet on the beach, back when you were running CVRs! It was sick then I remember, but it looks like a whole different animal now. I'm running two 15" Havocs myself now, off 1000 watts each. They pound hard in a sealed box, but I think these Havocs are craving a bit more power. Fi Q's might be more sensible off 1000 W each. Then again..judging from the looks of it there's nothing sane about this build!

The CVT works OKAY. Sounds clean but as expected not a ton of output due to the small amp. Its my moms car so I'm just trying to restore that "factory" sound without adding a bunch of amps and wires. A little 200-watt amp would do wonders however. There's quite a bit of room back there behind the wheel well cover, if I could find a small enough amp.

bigjon your chick has snakebites?? looks good, i have them too! haha

With 160 watts I would strongly recommend 14g wire, especially if it has to travel many feet from the amp to the doors.

I think there are a bit too many variables there to make a good assumption. All else being equal, the old adage is that two 12s are about comparable to three 10s. Changing box size effects some woofers much more so than others. It's difficult if not impossible to say which will be louder. I will say however that with limited space for a box, often times smaller drivers with the right size box will outperform a larger driver in too small of a box. Go by how much room you have first, then decide which driver fits best in that space.

I know, I'm a bit concerned with that myself being that I only have around 50 watts to work with and the CVT is rated all the way up to 200. Cone feels might stiff too, I'm going to hold onto the box...

Well I found a 2 ohm Kicker CVT that I think will do the job! Its local too, how can I refuse?

I was hoping I could pick up another 2 ohm driver, or at least a dual 4 ohm. :\

I posted this someplace else but you guys seem to know Parts Express pretty well from my brief experience here! I have an 8" subwoofer from a 2001 Suburban with a completely disintegrated foam surround. Voice coil still works and spider is intact. The speaker is 2 ohms and sees about 50 watts from the amplifier. It sits in a small sealed box, around 0.5 cu ft. Thats about all I know of it. Parts express has many options to choose from. I want as cheap as possible since this vehicle is getting sold and I'd like it to have a fully working radio. If it was mine, it would be getting two 18s about now! Any ideas guys?

If you can fit two 18s, why not just do that anyways, regardless of amp power? BTL's will definitely pound on 2kW each, why not get 2 and relish in all the extra displacement as an added bonus to the fact that you'll be better safe than sorry with 2.