Mixing Subwoofers (car audio)

[92saturnsl2]

Not sure how many car audio aficionados are on here, but I'm trying to cobble together an audio system for my '96 Grand Prix using parts I've collected over the years (any chance to clean out the basement I take!), rather than buy new.

I've got the mids & highs taken care of but I do want to add a couple subwoofers to reinforce the lower end. I'm not after record breaking sound quality or volume for that matter. Some music I listen to stresses a single sub pretty good, so I'd rather use two if for no other reason than I'm not driving them as hard-- and I have plenty of space.

I have an OEM kicker 10" square sub (that came out of a Chrysler SRT vehicle) and an Audiobahn 12" Alum12 subwoofer. The power requirements of both are pretty similar (as is the impedance), so I imagine it should work okay on a single amp. Would the two pair together okay sound quality wise or is that asking for trouble? I have to buy an enclosure for the kicker sub, so I figured I'd throw this out there before I commit the money toward it.

 

[d00df00d]

AFAIK, that'd work best if you could have each sub playing a different frequency range, esp. with a steep crossover between them. If their frequency ranges overlap, you might run into phase issues causing weird peaks and nulls in the response.

Give it a shot, though. You're the only one who has to like it.

 

[Hall]

Worst case, if their response rates are even slightly off from each other, they may end up fighting and potentially having one cancel the other out. Or you might get a slight echo or reverb sensation as one 'hits' and then the other 'hits' milliseconds later. You probably won't hear this but you might feel it. Have you considered running the 12" only ?

 

[Cujet]

I think the only way to know is to try it. I'd guess that the result will be just fine.

 

[Malo83]

The 12" sub is all you need.

 

[meep]

The 12 should be plenty. But if you want two, there's likely little harm the frequencies are low. They're in the trunk. You may find that one taps out before the other, but there's so much more in box tuning than in the driver itself.

I assume you'll want ported for a couple more dB on the low end. Look up bill fitz Maurice if you'd like to see some interesting and highly regarded plans.

M

 

[edyvw]

The position of the speaker, any speaker, is much more important than size. Rightly positioned speakers do not need to be huge to provide good sound. Is there any chance you can move one of the subs from trunk to passanger space? Do you have space under the seats? Sub going through armrest in back seat?

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Don't mix them, for reasons already stated. Car acoustics are a complex problem, and you will spend an infinite amount of time chasing acoustics problems using both subs rather than just putting one of them in a correct-sized and -tuned box. In a 96 Grand Prix you're going to have plenty of issues with structure rattles and vibrations, so unless you're willing to spend about what the car is worth in damping and sealing the vehicle up, just use the Audiobahn and tune it to where it sounds best to your ear.