Car audio gurus chime in

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Originally Posted By: grampi
I already have an amp, a pair of 10" subs, and a sealed enclosure. The amp is an Alpine MRV-F545 and the subs are Tidal Audios. The amp is quite powerful and is rated at 125 watts X 4 into 4 ohms, or 250 X 4 into 2 ohms. I'm going to replace the subs for a couple of reasons...1) I don't think they have dual voice coils and I don't think they can handle the power of this amp and 2) I don't care for the sound of them...they are kind of boomy sounding, which I don't like...I like tight, punchy sounding bass.

Active equalization and countour filtering will fix that and are necessary to achieve the results you desire.

To me, Watt ratings need a THD & IM distorsion figure to complete the picture. Keeping also in mind finding a woofer with a low THD figure and reasonable cost can be a challenge as THD will go through the roof at high excursions.

Kudos on your sealed box choice...as long as you have room for the box that is!

Cabin gain is rather phenomenal in vehicles and can be your friend when used wisely.

The sled has the Alpine/Dynaudio/Dolby sound system with a center channel and is indeed most impressive. I enjoy it every day, especially in traffic.

Good luck!
 
That amp shouldn't draw any more than 80 amps. I would use an in-line 80 amp fuse.
For a 10 foot run of 4 gauge wire at 12 volts, you will only see a 0.4 Volt drop at full load (80 amps). I wouldn't bother with bigger wire.
Since you are not pushing it all the time, and with your type of music I would leave the alternator stock.

Best of luck! I would skip the ear buds...but to each their own.
 
Originally Posted By: sleddriver
Originally Posted By: grampi
I already have an amp, a pair of 10" subs, and a sealed enclosure. The amp is an Alpine MRV-F545 and the subs are Tidal Audios. The amp is quite powerful and is rated at 125 watts X 4 into 4 ohms, or 250 X 4 into 2 ohms. I'm going to replace the subs for a couple of reasons...1) I don't think they have dual voice coils and I don't think they can handle the power of this amp and 2) I don't care for the sound of them...they are kind of boomy sounding, which I don't like...I like tight, punchy sounding bass.

Active equalization and countour filtering will fix that and are necessary to achieve the results you desire.

To me, Watt ratings need a THD & IM distorsion figure to complete the picture. Keeping also in mind finding a woofer with a low THD figure and reasonable cost can be a challenge as THD will go through the roof at high excursions.

Kudos on your sealed box choice...as long as you have room for the box that is!

Cabin gain is rather phenomenal in vehicles and can be your friend when used wisely.

The sled has the Alpine/Dynaudio/Dolby sound system with a center channel and is indeed most impressive. I enjoy it every day, especially in traffic.

Good luck!


Your sled.. I see it says T5. I've been considering a 2000 V70 R. Are the sound systems the same? (Center speaker, great amp under seat)
 
Originally Posted By: OilyWaterMIXER
I've been considering a 2000 V70 R.


Of course.
mad.gif


For [censored] sake, Joseph...you'll never learn.
 
Originally Posted By: grampi
Originally Posted By: uc50ic4more
Originally Posted By: RF Overlord
A car's passenger cabin is not a good place to make tight, accurate bass. The wavelength at 50Hz is over 22 feet and at 20Hz is over 56 feet. Any frequency below about 112Hz will generate room modes that will make the bass thin or boomy, depending on the exact frequency and where you sit. This is one reason so many car stereos with twin 15" sub woofers and kilowatt amps make that awful boomy one-note bass.


Truth has been spoken here. You can throw enough money and enough power at the problem to get something passable; but you're still putting lipstick on a pig.


Maybe you missed my earlier post, but I've had subs in the past that produced such tight, punchy bass, you wouldn't believe it unless you heard it, but it wasn't with 15" drivers, it was with 10s, and they were always in sealed enclosures...


Sealed 10"'s are great.

~400 Watts? In the car with you, not in a trunk?

01.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Ramblejam
Originally Posted By: OilyWaterMIXER
I've been considering a 2000 V70 R.


Of course.
mad.gif


For [censored] sake, Joseph...you'll never learn.

I guess this means Volvo #3 was abandoned in Georgia. Onward to #4!
 
Originally Posted By: Bandito440
Originally Posted By: Ramblejam
Originally Posted By: OilyWaterMIXER
I've been considering a 2000 V70 R.


Of course.
mad.gif


For [censored] sake, Joseph...you'll never learn.

I guess this means Volvo #3 was abandoned in Georgia. Onward to #4!


?
 
Fools with ugly 240s.
lol.gif


I like cars that have the speakers in the car with you. Could be a Roadmaster or Caprice Wagon, Golf, or like a Suburban or something. These all have great sound, since the speakers aren't sitting behind a trunk.

Whatever car I get, I like the wagons, and a lot of pose. Maybe an Audi next time. My present car is fine but its summer and there kids steal things.
 
Originally Posted By: Ramblejam
Originally Posted By: OilyWaterMIXER
My present car


Which is?


I'm telling you because why? You labeled me already, you think I'm telling you things? Move along, bub.
 
Originally Posted By: OilyWaterMIXER
Originally Posted By: grampi
Originally Posted By: uc50ic4more
Originally Posted By: RF Overlord
A car's passenger cabin is not a good place to make tight, accurate bass. The wavelength at 50Hz is over 22 feet and at 20Hz is over 56 feet. Any frequency below about 112Hz will generate room modes that will make the bass thin or boomy, depending on the exact frequency and where you sit. This is one reason so many car stereos with twin 15" sub woofers and kilowatt amps make that awful boomy one-note bass.


Truth has been spoken here. You can throw enough money and enough power at the problem to get something passable; but you're still putting lipstick on a pig.


Maybe you missed my earlier post, but I've had subs in the past that produced such tight, punchy bass, you wouldn't believe it unless you heard it, but it wasn't with 15" drivers, it was with 10s, and they were always in sealed enclosures...


Sealed 10"'s are great.

~400 Watts? In the car with you, not in a trunk?

01.gif



These would be getting 1000 watts (for the pair), and in the trunk IS in the car with me...unless the trunk isn't sealed...
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: OilyWaterMIXER
I like cars that have the speakers in the car with you. Could be a Roadmaster or Caprice Wagon, Golf, or like a Suburban or something. These all have great sound, since the speakers aren't sitting behind a trunk.


Lol! That's funny. A sub enclosure in the trunk IS in the car with you...do you think the car's interior is sealed off air tight from the trunk or something? It isn't. In fact I would bet a sub enclosure located in the trunk facing the rear of the vehicle would hit a lot harder than the same enclosure sitting in the back seat facing the front of the vehicle. It's the same effect as corner loading a sub in your living room...
 
Originally Posted By: grampi
Originally Posted By: OilyWaterMIXER
I like cars that have the speakers in the car with you. Could be a Roadmaster or Caprice Wagon, Golf, or like a Suburban or something. These all have great sound, since the speakers aren't sitting behind a trunk.


Lol! That's funny. A sub enclosure in the trunk IS in the car with you...do you think the car's interior is sealed off air tight from the trunk or something? It isn't. In fact I would bet a sub enclosure located in the trunk facing the rear of the vehicle would hit a lot harder than the same enclosure sitting in the back seat facing the front of the vehicle. It's the same effect as corner loading a sub in your living room...


Why do people put Dynamat in trunks then?
 
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
To keep the sheet metal from vibrating. It's wasted energy.


It avoids license plate rattle, right? It doesn't affect the sound sound all?

I still have a single-channel amp I never used, someone stole my 10" sub before I ever got to use it. The amp is about 10 years old and I wonder if it is still good.
 
Originally Posted By: OilyWaterMIXER
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
To keep the sheet metal from vibrating. It's wasted energy.


It avoids license plate rattle, right? It doesn't affect the sound sound all?

I still have a single-channel amp I never used, someone stole my 10" sub before I ever got to use it. The amp is about 10 years old and I wonder if it is still good.


No, it affects the sound. If the energy from the speaker doesn't transfer into or through the car's sheet metal... It stays in the car. Sound deadening works both ways.
 
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
To keep the sheet metal from vibrating. It's wasted energy.


Yep, and it also cuts down on road noise...and people don't just put it trunks, they also use it on door and the floor too...the quieter the inside of your vehicle is, the more you get out of your sound system...
 
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