Nice, Those pinoneers any good?

I like that tiburon, but that setup of all them pioneers??? WTF thats pathetic. I can easily overpower that with a few 15'' Solo Barics L5's!!!

but anyways that protege is cool with them JL's

sure they were loud, i would have used MTX to power them though, and given them 400 watts or more each. also, i really think that people should be building their own boxes that fit their trunks perfect. why have your great equiptment overshadowed by a big mis-shapen box that takes up more trunk space than you need.

That was a special box made by Jl audio which perfectly fit the subs.

It was the exact amount of airspace they needed.

Plus the box was filled with polyfill and was thick as a mother.

yeah, but couldnt you make a box that had the exact air space they needed? im not sayin its not a good box, IMHO its chalanging but fun to build a box for your own car, that way you can also mess with the direction they are firing in, to get just the right reflection of the walls, roof, ect...that will add to SPL and SQ, yet i dont see many people doing it these days.

Well, I will soon be building a nice custom sub box for the pasenger side of the hatch in my P5. It will house one 10" sub and two Rockford Fosgate amps, the sub and amps being in separate partitions of the same box. According to the preliminary plans I've laid out, the volume of the sub partition should be very close to .75ft^3 - which is the recommended sealed volume for the JBL sub I'll be installing.

I've got to wait until I get all the components together - the sub and amps will be arriving Monday, most likely. I also just received my cargo tray for the hatch area, and didn't want to build until I got that in. I can also use it as a template for the footprint of the enclosure.

I'm in no great rush - best to go slow and plan ahead. I already have most of the materials - including the 3/4" MDF. I figure a weekend or two to build it, then a day for install, including running new speaker wire to the front. I've got my work cut out for me, but the end result will be well worth the time and effort.

I'll post pics and maybe a schematic/build sheet when I get it done or near done.

make sure to post pics
 

that sounds real good, make sure to post pics for us all. are you gonna use vinyl or carpet for your box? i assume the amps will be visible through fiberglass, but not completely exposed. just remember to leave air flow through the amp compartments for ventilation. and if you plan on having neons in it, make sure you leave some sort of space, and a hole or two for the wires. i forgot to leave room for neons in my first custom box, and was really bummed that i wouldnt have any. i could have put them next to the amp, but didnt want them visible. well, hope the box turns out good

I'm still unsure about what I'll cover the box with - but I am thinking that a dark-gray vinyl to match the interior plastic panels would look nice.

My plan is no plexi, no fiberglass, no neon - I'm not really into that. I will mount the amps flush with the surface of the box, and that section may not have all four sides - I might leave the back open to save some weight, make wiring easier, and provide some ventilation. I'm also considering a 12 volt fan or two just to be safe and keep things cool, but only if it won't introduce noise or whine into the system. I'm also going to try to have the flush-mounted amps on a hinged panel, so that I have sort of a "door" on the front of the box with the amps mounted on the inside. I want to be able to take this thing out in only a few minutes if I have to.

There are a lot of variables and I won't figure it all out until I start building - but it's gonna be fun.

Yes car audio is very addicting!

I can agree with that. All i did was buy a head unit and a pair of rear speakers, next thing I know I dropped $800 bucks into car audio.

I was looking at this sub and it looks pretty good. I was thinking about getting 2 12"s but this sub says it handles 400rms but it has a 2ohm impendance. Now I'm not sure what exactly that means but I wasn't sure what a lower ohm does as far as performance? Will it just be smooth or just powerfull, or both?

http://www.justwoofers.com/images2/jbl_p1220-2.jpg

http://www.justwoofers.com/images2/jbl_p1220-3.jpg

The 2 ohm is the impedance of the sub - okay, lets see how well I know this, because I'm sure I'll be corrected if I get it wrong:

The Ohm rating is how much resistance the speaker provides to the current supplied to it. Now, the signal runs from the amp, to the sub, then back to the amp. The lower the ohm rating, the more power will be "returned" to the amp, and vice versa.

A 2 ohm load requires the amp to work "less" (less resistance = less work for the amp), and 2 ohm speakers are generally more efficient than higher ohm rated speakers. However, many amps cannot handle 2 ohm loads (not "2 ohm stable"), because of the amount of power that comes BACK to the amp - if it's not 2 ohm stable, it'll overheat.

This is why you see amps rated at 200 watts @ 4 ohms, and 400 watts @ 2 ohms, for example. With less resistance from the speaker, the amp can provide more power to it.

So the 400 w RMS JBL you posted probably needs to be run at 400 watts minimum, with a 2 ohm stable amp, to function properly. RMS is the key - this is the power needed to push the sub at normal operating levels.

Hint: Don't even think about hooking this sub up to your Jensen amp.

Okay, techno- and audiophiles - did I do this right? At least close, I hope? I'm praying I've learned something from doing my own installations and reading the posts from the very knowledgeable folks on this board.

I was thinking about running a whole new sub/amp set up and I wanted to learn more about it before I jump into it. There are sooo many subs out there, but I have already decided on an amp. It's gonna be a crossfire amp but I still need to see which one b/c I don't know what subs imma be putting in tha trunk. I was just curious about those subs b/c I know JBL is pretty good but I want to be different. For example:

I'm looking at these...http://www.justwoofers.com/images2/VFH_ZX47-4.jpg
http://www.justwoofers.com/images2/VFH_ZX47-1.jpg

but if not I just wanna get some Infinity Perfects and call it a day:cool:

In another words I'm definatly not going to use the jensen amp:D

Well, I gotta be honest with you and say that I know nothing about Crossfire amps. Truth is, most of what I've learned has come from this board and some personal experience - I've always purchased cheap equipment and wound up regretting it later.

I think we all know that Jensen components are toward the bottom of the barrel - I wasn't meaning to offend - hope I didn't.

What I have learned is that you should pay attention to recommendations when they are offered as far as brand names go - different people have different tastes, and you are right - the amount of audio equipment available will make your head spin, but I think it is best to go with reputable name brands that have made other people happy before you - chances are you'll be satisfied.

Rockford Fosgate amps have been recommended to me for their good balance of power, quality and value, so I went with that. And I had a JBL sub in a previous car that performed great, so that's what I'm going with again.

I just think it is really important to match the quality of your components as closely as possible - you can get a $1000 speaker, but it'll suck (and blow :D ) with a $200 amp. And an expensive, ridiculously powerful amp will tear cheap subs to shreds.

Deciding what to get depends on what you want - do you want smooth bass that complements your music? Or are you looking to set off other cars' alarms? Keep asking and researching - there's a lot of help to be had on this board, as well as others.

Best of luck with whatever you put together - I hope it kicks!

Well the crossfire amps are pretty good from what I hear and what I see (both in person and in magazines). First time I started paying attention to them was in the Febuary Super Street where they have a page (#47) talking about how they have helped win wirld records in the 2000 SPL arena, plus the local Car Audio place here really recommends them. I also went to some sound competitions early last fall and I noticed that they were running crossfire amps but at that point I didn't know what the heck they were:p
Ok before I write a book the amps are pretty good and they run at 13.8 watts (not too high but not low). I'm pretty confident in the amps but the car audio place said to get the subs first in order to match them with the right size crossfire amp. The sub I have now is pretty loud but I'm thinking bout killing some of the weight off the back of the car:D but at the same time keeping the sound.

Oh and I listen to alot of reggae, rap, salsa and merengue... so I want a smooth pounding bass. NO car alarms b/c my exhaust already does that! :cool: