Which subwoofer should I choose?

[Greg Roles]

At a "reasonable price range" I'd buy any of the follwing 8" subs:

Boston, RE, JL, Focal or the Image Dynamix you mention. All nice units for SQ and to blend in with the rest of the system. My boston is on sonix for $70 US!! but at 87.5 at 4ohm its the lowest sensitivity there, Image 91.5db and Focal up at 93db! You have some great choices in the low volume smaller subs.

[Pullstarter]

Hertz make a nice 10" but I haven't auditioned any of their 8" subs. Then again the box volume needed for a Hertz sub is pretty low so might work out about the same? Pretty reasonably priced at around $250-$350 and very clean sound.

[Joe Bellissimo]

Make sure your going to be happy with an 8".

I'm learning this the hard way but there is no substitute for surface area!

[Pullstarter]

Make sure your going to be happy with an 8".

I'm learning this the hard way but there is no substitute for surface area!

This is very true, I had a 10" JL in my Golf which was an excellent sub but the extra depth I get from the 12" Hertz in the Tiguan is AMAZING. The box size isn't all that much bigger either.

[ICEDIST]

At a "reasonable price range" I'd buy any of the follwing 8" subs:

Boston, RE, JL, Focal or the Image Dynamix you mention. All nice units for SQ and to blend in with the rest of the system. My boston is on sonix for $70 US!! but at 87.5 at 4ohm its the lowest sensitivity there, Image 91.5db and Focal up at 93db! You have some great choices in the low volume smaller subs.

Try this :
sq8lg.jpg

TS Parameters: http://www.vibeaudio.co.uk/support/m...paramaters.pdf

Available from these dealers: http://icedistribution.com/dealerslist.html
RRP for SQ8Active (amp included) $449.00
RRP SQ 8 inch sub on its own (no enclosure) $229.00

These are 'arguably' the best 8 inch drivers in the world. (quoted by a leading industry expert)

[TDIESEL]

Question time again

Can I run a sub rated at 250w RMS off an amp that runs 200w RMS x 1?

[Joe Bellissimo]

Ofcourse you can. Just make sure you don't push it too hard of the amp will be overdriven and cause clipping.

[G-rig]

To answer your actual question TDI, I find a decent longer throw 8" just fine in the Golf. Depends just how "deep" you want the sound to be. It's simply not the ferocious bottom end of say a decent 12" in a 30L plus box, but it's tight, punchy, and the blend is just seamless. Small sealed volumes too, 8-10L. The sound is "full" without me sounding like I obviously have a fooly sik sub bro. I have a full sound, not a doof sound.

This sounds like fairly good advice cogdoc. Most people don't realise how good an 8" can sound and have probably never heard one (and just copy everyone else that says 'get a 12" '). It blends with the stock speakers sizes very well and can still pack a lot of punch.

Also not a fan of real low deep bass that shakes the car apart and most doof doof people just have a 12" sub totally overpowering everything else.

I'm learning this the hard way but there is no substitute for surface area!

There's always trade offs like the extra room/volume a 12" will take up, if it can be installed in a stealth manner like smaller ones, and you'll need a lot more power to drive one ie 500W+ (generally speaking). Hatches are a bit easier ti get the volume than sedans or bigger cars too.

[BI65ND]

Hey mate,
Dont know if you've had a look at Rockford Fosgate P1 subs, but very very good entry level sub for low powered systems. Tight and punchy sub, but because its rated at only 150W RMS, very easy to power it and run it to its full potential. Good for SQ, but also if you want to go for db down the track somewhere they are very easy to get good bass out of. We had a 12" one at work pull 137db off a 2 channel amp rated to about 120W RMS when bridged.

[G-rig]

I'm into SQ not SPL. I'm not sure how those spl competitions work, but i wouldn't expose yourself to those kind of dB for very long unless you want permanent damage.

This is a good guide:

continued exposure of unprotected ears to noise over 85 dB will cause a gradual hearing loss in a significant number of individuals. Louder noises will accelerate this damage. The allowed exposure time decreases by ONE - HALF for each 5 dB increase in the average noise level.

So 135dB is about 28 Sec.