Which would you get?

[PerfectCreature]

Okay. So I have made up my mind on the subwoofer.
I am going to go with the JBL GTO1214D it has an Xmax of 14.5 and a sensitivity of 93 @2.83 volts... I have that covered.
The RE Audio subwoofer looked great but the box said one thing and the website said another so...that kind of made me skeptical.
I will be keeping RE Audio and Sundown Audio in mind when I do my next subwoofer install.

So, I would like to build a ported box for the JBL subwoofer....any article on how to tune a box and all of that?
Thanks so much.

[DSkip]

Polk has some of the same issues about conflicting information for speakers. Do you not have shops nearby that can audition the subs for you? (I realize some of these are internet-based companies)

I would think you wouldn't have too much issue sampling the JBL, JL, and Polks

[PerfectCreature]

I wish I did, but I do not. The closest shop is roughly 4 hours away and I don't think they have the carry higher end subwoofers. We used to have one, but they ditched car audio and they no longer let you listen to their speakers anyway.
Best I can do is watch videos online.
Kind of a raw deal I guess.

[KaosTsoc]

Okay. So I have made up my mind on the subwoofer.
I am going to go with the JBL GTO1214D it has an Xmax of 14.5 and a sensitivity of 93 @2.83 volts... I have that covered.
The RE Audio subwoofer looked great but the box said one thing and the website said another so...that kind of made me skeptical.
I will be keeping RE Audio and Sundown Audio in mind when I do my next subwoofer install.

So, I would like to build a ported box for the JBL subwoofer....any article on how to tune a box and all of that?
Thanks so much.

Well the tuning is really subjective. It really all hinges on the vehilce really. The spec from the manufacture are in a prefect setting, and in an open room, so you can not really go off what they have posted. I mean you car is not an open area, and is not a perfect setting. I mean the website for JBL will give you their suggested spec's. It is a good starting point, dont get me wrong. If you want to do it correctly I would suggest getting with a car audio place, and have them build you one that will sound the best in your car, and they can tune it all for you so that it sounds the best.

Now if this is a DIY project then, you can take the suggested spec's as far a internal volume, the port tuning, and length goes. Then with that you need to measure how much room you are willing to take up in your trunk. HxWxL, then apply that, and see if that equals the suggested internal volume.


Thanks.

[chu]

I wish I did, but I do not. The closest shop is roughly 4 hours away and I don't think they have the carry higher end subwoofers. We used to have one, but they ditched car audio and they no longer let you listen to their speakers anyway.
Best I can do is watch videos online.
Kind of a raw deal I guess.

Can't you call them and ask?

Anyways, I'll post links later for tuning a ported box.

[PerfectCreature]

I called them several times. Not a damn one of them knew how to speak English. I tried and tried to tell them what I wanted they kept telling me the page....
I gave up. Maybe someone else could have better luck?
Anyway. If someone knows how to use the WIN ISD and could give me the box cut outs that would be cool. I tried but couldn't figure out how to actually get to the box portion.

[kawizx9r]

Not sure if you got a sub yet or not, but I heard the Polk DB sub and didn't like it much. Same with RF P3 but instead went with the MTX TR5510 (svc).

It's so tight and accurate :)

Be gentle, just installed it yesterday. Had to pull out all the old wiring I had put in last week (went from 8awg to 4awg) so I was a bit tired doing this install.



Ignore the wires on the far right, they're inputs for the DVD player.

[PerfectCreature]

Looks nice to me. No, I have not bought the subwoofer yet.
I am planning on doing so end of this week.

[kawizx9r]

Looks nice to me. No, I have not bought the subwoofer yet.
I am planning on doing so end of this week.

Thanks!

I slit through the carpet in the Focus so all wires were hidden until it came out to the amp. I'd have to pull the panels off the sides to get the floor up and out in order to do that so I figured I'd just run them the way you see there.

What sub are you looking to get, and what amp/how much power will you be running to it?

Ported or sealed?

[PerfectCreature]

Eh, could have read the previous posts....
No big.
I have the JBL GTO 3501 gives 360 RMS at 2 ohms.
I am considering the JBL GTO 1214D at the current moment...but have others on the back burner....
As for installing....my trunk was a breeze. Take my spare tire out run the wires under bam. Takes a minute tops haha.

Want ported if I can....

[kawizx9r]

Eh, could have read the previous posts....
No big.
I have the JBL GTO 3501 gives 360 RMS at 2 ohms.
I am considering the JBL GTO 1214D at the current moment...but have others on the back burner....
As for installing....my trunk was a breeze. Take my spare tire out run the wires under bam. Takes a minute tops haha.

Want ported if I can....

Lol my bad, I remember reading your other threads just not this one. :p

I'll take a look at the GTO! Did you consider any other subs other than the ones you first posted?

Installing mine was easy as well, except the fact that I had to drill a larger hole for the thicker wire.

I'll need a cap though, my lights dim on bass notes :(

[PerfectCreature]

Caps only help so much....I think I was only able to turn mine up +3 on the volume knob before the lights dimmed when I installed mine. (1 Farrad)

Which one would you go with?
I have a large trunk and a large car....sound and quality is hard to achieve.

[kawizx9r]

Caps only help so much....I think I was only able to turn mine up +3 on the volume knob before the lights dimmed when I installed mine. (1 Farrad)

Which one would you go with?
I have a large trunk and a large car....sound and quality is hard to achieve.

I had a JL Audio (same series but 10" not 12") and though I liked it, it was still a bit sloppy. Had some nice SPL, especially for the $$$ but that was about it for me.

I haven't heard the others you've posted, other than the Polk and an RF P3 that I considered and didn't like either. Not enough "slam" for me from the Polk and the P3 just wasn't as tight as the MTX. My friend let me borrow his RF, and the Polk I heard at a store (maybe not the best place to pass judgement) but in the end I just got the TR55.

In my short-personal experience, I've liked sealed over ported. I don't like boomy-sounding bass. Yeah I know that's not true for all subs but like I said, just in my short experience I've always preferred sealed. You can get away with underpowering (not by much though) a sub if you go with ported though can't you so you may be able to step up to something a bit better?

[PerfectCreature]

Eh, potentially...I am in the midst of smoothing out a cut out for a ported box for the JBL subwoofer....
Wondering if building it is going to be cheaper than buying a prefab box. Probably will sound a lot better though.

[kawizx9r]

Prefab box only if it's made to the specs required by the JBL sub, then again you know that! :p

If going ported, I'd plug the T/S parameters into WinISD. You can put in how many watts/etc. you'll be running it and it'll tell you what you should technically hear given said-sized port/etc.

[PerfectCreature]

Already have....

Front & Back= 16 1/8" X 25"
Sides= 8 3/4" X 25"
Top & Bottom = 8 3/4" X 14 5/8"

Rough estimates. I am having a hard time finding a port tube that is 4 in wide and 10 inch long like JBL wants....

[kawizx9r]

Hmm, PVC pipe?

I used a 4" diameter port for my HSU-sub project but I forget the length (sure you can add more length to it though).

Got it at Parts-express, one minute.

[PerfectCreature]

Oh...DUH! I forgot about them....haha. Wow.....

[kawizx9r]

Get this and cut it down to size! - http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=268-338

Inner flare - http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=268-332

Outside flare - http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=268-330

And coupler rings for the tube+flares - http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=268-336

I used solar-seal silicone sealant when sealing+gluing the port to the brace inside the box. Used cement to attached the couplers+flares when I made mine :)

[PerfectCreature]

That port tube is crazy pricey.
Thanks for finding it though.....but wow....15 for a port tube....oh my.

[kawizx9r]

Considering it's just ABS plastic, yeah you're right but there's always Home Depot or Lowes!

Edit: Pages 2+3 show the tube - http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/show...t=88361&page=2

Mine came as a set rather than buying the pieces separately. I'll see if I can find that on the site, but that's 4" ID you're looking at!

[PerfectCreature]

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...&vReviewShow=1

This will work just fine. It is 17 inches long...for 12 that is not to terribly bad.

What type of board did you use? I like the looks of that board.

[kawizx9r]

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...&vReviewShow=1

This will work just fine. It is 17 inches long...for 12 that is not to terribly bad.

That's the one!

[PerfectCreature]

Haha....I am good.
Anyway, how much did it cost you per board and such...have not had a chance to take a trip down to lowes yet...

[kawizx9r]

It took one sheet of MDF to make my subwoofer (dimensions of the box were 17"W x 21 1/2" L x 25" D) which was pretty damn big. I had MDF left over as well.

Think the 4' x 8' board came out to 24 bucks or so? Oh, and it was 3/4" thick.

[PerfectCreature]

That really is not that bad....12 for the port 25 for the board....maybe 10-15 for supplies and glue...
Just have to find the time to get over there and actually get the board...and the supplies, then run over and have my father cut the boards to spec....
I wonder if the results will be better than buying a prefab sub in an enclosure....

[kawizx9r]

Sometimes you can find a shop that'll make it for you, hell just ask that they don't carpet it or install the binding posts just to save money if it's not cheap enough already.

There's always that sense of satisfaction though you get when building something yourself. If you do build your own, go with Gorilla Glue, awesome stuff! Sanding the edges though was a huge PITA (most likely because I did it by hand).

Edit: Real question is, how quickly do you want to do this? If you're patient, I'd probably just build the box myself that way I can make it look and perform the way I want.

[PerfectCreature]

Eh, I have a guy in town who would get the wood, build it, install the port probably would sand it and do the works for me....but it would cost a penny or two....well...maybe more haha.
I may give him a call tomorrow morning and see what he can do....
As for patience....yes and no. I mean, I could if I had to...would I want to be patient...no...but I would.
I may use some of that bed liner. That would make a solid finish and would probably cancel any vibration and act as a rather nice dampener.

I do like to do stuff myself though. If I can help it anyway,

[kawizx9r]

Eh, I have a guy in town who would get the wood, build it, install the port probably would sand it and do the works for me....but it would cost a penny or two....well...maybe more haha.
I may give him a call tomorrow morning and see what he can do....
As for patience....yes and no. I mean, I could if I had to...would I want to be patient...no...but I would.
I may use some of that bed liner. That would make a solid finish and would probably cancel any vibration and act as a rather nice dampener.

I do like to do stuff myself though. If I can help it anyway,

Case he charges a bit much, you can always check out local car audio shops. I asked a few before I decided to build my own, but some quoted me anywhere from 50-100 which is more or less what others pay for a prefab box alone.

That's the nice thing too, build it yourself and you can finish it anyway you want! If you're going to line it, I'd probably primer it anyway just so the wood soaks up the primer and gives you a nice smooth surface (after you sand it) that way it sticks to the box better.

[PerfectCreature]

I have looked up a few videos and I think i will do it myself.
It looks easy enough probably would take no more than a day if I did it all that day.
So, best sealant would be silicone right?
Any takes on what would be the best bracing?
Thanks.

Right take a softer grit and hand sand it smooth, put some nice primer on it a coat or two let that dry....then spray some nice even coats of a vibration dampener much like truck bed liner....?